Grotesque Beauty - A Horror Visual Novel Reviews

[i]' I don't know about this painting, I get a weird vibe for it like is the woman trying to seduce me, read my mind, or even drag me into the painting with her.'[/i] Grotesque Beauty is a short but jam-packed horror visual novel game with [b]30[/b] different endings, do I need to see any more, well I will. [h1] Positive:[/h1] Firstly, the theme of this game sorta remains me of Junji Ito but it does feel unique and different enough that I feel the developer can trademark this type of style as there's own if they want to continue creating a game like this. All of that is emphasised by a simple black and white hand-drawn sketching art style which is beautifully animated in certain sections of the game along with squeaking and humming sounds making it intense for me throughout the whole game, even whilst I was replaying it. I'm not afraid to admit it, but I was scared at least 3 times. [h1]Lists Quality of life improvements:[/h1] [list] [*] More save slots [*] Add achievement [*] A quicker way to skip dialogue instead of just holding the window key [*] A way to screenshot [*] A way to keep track of the endings that you finished[/list] [h1] Conclusion:[/h1] None of these improvements I mentioned is by any means me diminishing the game, as you could properly tell I highly recommend this game (as long as you don't mind the technical issues). The 'creature' in this VNs is more of your mind-controlling* manipulative monster of the week, so expect to be scared or at the very least creep out by the suggestion.

the fact that you're able to get 30 endings is worth the price alone. love the visual and sound effects! I also appreciate the language/dialogue with the characters in this game too. as a streamer {Lozza's Emporium on Facebook} I agree with the creator that you should NOT stream every ending. I have played this game... about 5 times and have gotten a different ending each time. overall, this is a GREAT visual novel game

I enjoyed the visuals and overall aesthetics of this game. It was pretty cool to see the art and the animations. I noticed some pretty minor grammatical errors but like I said, they're all so minor that it doesn't take away from your understanding or general experience. Pretty neat game!!

Grotesque Beauty is a visual novel that stands out from the norm of the genre with its monochromatic and quasi-simplistic art style. The author claims it was inspired by Junji Ito's works and I can kind of see the correlation. However, a story that starts promising - subtle and eerie - can quickly devolve into an action-packed survival experience that requires picking the right choices to survive... and I think that's where it started to slip for me. When the "main antagonist" is given a face and it becomes a game of cat and mouse, the mystery and psychological elements are thrown out of the window. My biggest issue with this game, however, is that it is short... very short. A single playthrough offers about 20-ish minutes of gameplay. If you're like me and prefer to experience the most a game has to offer in a single run (or at least have it feel that way) then you may find Grotesque Beauty lacking. I discovered about 3 endings before my curiosity and interest waned. While I don't mind branching paths in videogames, I think fragmenting a (short) story into 30 different conclusions (some being early 'bad endings') to be a bit too much. If you chose to experience all the game has to offer then I think you're getting your money's worth. Would I recommend this game? I wish there was a neutral option because that's what I'd choose here yet I recognize it can still be enjoyable for some, if not most horror fans. The game, however, didn't click for me... and that's fine.

Firstly, I really did enjoy this horror VN, especially since it had so many different endings. The art was good and it worked really well for the story. The sounds were also good with boosting up the suspense as well. The story was pretty interesting and it kept me hooked. I did notice some typos and odd phrasing, which for a VN, the writing is a big thing for me. For the most part, the typos were small enough that the context is still understood (just a few examples: "een" instead of "even", "we're" instead of "were", "feeling concussion", etc). Some of the phrasing did come across as a tad bit odd to me personally, but it wasn't grammatically correct. Honestly, the game could use a bit more proofreading, but really, the writing in general was good and the mistakes weren't overly obvious or confusing to deter the enjoyment of the game. I didn't experience any major bugs beyond a hiccup with one of my save files, I was able to load it up but it loaded up in the screen right before where I actually saved, and the game wouldn't let me progress at all. Also, sometimes alt+enter didn't change screen mode properly (I would either have to load a save or go back to the title for the game to change from full screen to window). Not a big deal, just something I noticed late in my gameplay. Overall, even with the few typos, I definitely recommend this game to any VN fans who love horror. This is a definite must play.

The story is short but with 30 different endings it will take some time to finish the game. To get an estimate, I did 4 endings in 1 hour. Pros: Lot's of endings A captivating story-telling The art is really enjoyable, I appreciate to work in the different characters and backgrounds too Quite minimalist but still a lot of choices to explore A few negative sides: The music was mostly sounds and not pleasant ones. I had to mute it to enjoy the story. The text box is moving non-stop, it's asthetic but for those having light epilepsy it would be nice to be able to desactivate that. As there aren't jump-scares it doesn't seem necessary to the story. The save screen is not easy to read with those font and colour. All in all I really appreciate the effort. We need more good horror stories like that! All the negative points were design elements for me that others may not find as disturbing.

I'm gonna be succinct in my review here and not be too wordy because it's a visual novel and thus is story driven. The game has a lot of choices you need to make to achieve certain endings, etc. It's very much what it says on the tin. That being said, this game is very well written, very scary, and very much makes you feel like you're there, like any good piece of literature should. And if you're a fan of Junji Ito, his influence shines through the game's visuals exceedingly well, and it's not all just still images, either. A lot of the scares are animated, which really helps drive them home. More people need to play this game. More people need to review this game. This game is a grotesque beauty.

As a fan of Digital Bento's previous offering, A Salem Witch Trial, I was pleased to see a new release, especially a horror offering such as this, and just in time for the Halloween season no less. Grotesque Beauty bears little aesthetic resemblance to the developer's colourful predecessor, this time being presented in a muted—though no less striking—palette of black, white, and grey. The minimalist approach to the visuals shouldn't dissuade you, as each illustration is lovingly crafted and framed to maximize the accompanying text; this same approach is taken with the soundtrack and sound effects, both of which are admittedly sparse, but still manage to marry well with the story as it's being revealed. Whether intentional or otherwise, the main menu theme subtly reminds me of the Tales from the Darkside theme, which I helped set the mood for what is to come. In terms of length, a single playthrough is only going to take roughly an hour or so, but there are thirty available—often grisly—endings scattered throughout the myriad branching points; the process of getting new endings can be mitigated by saving at opportune moments, compelling you to reload and seek out each alternate path. In my nearly four hours, I've managed to get about ten of those endings thus far, and have every intention to continue playing until I've seen the rest, as the story tends to take some rather drastic, unexpected, and suitably sadistic turns. If you're looking for a quality horror visual novel, this one comes recommended, especially at such a relatively cheap price.

This has to be one of the scariest horror visual novels that I have played. Seeing from the screenshots on the page, I thought this doesn't look scary at all but I was so wrong. The creature in this game is so weird and scary that it never failed to keep me scared throughtout the game. With its animation and its looks, I can't seem to sit well on my chair whenever that thing popped up. Whoever who likes to play visual novels especially horror, you should get this game. Trust me, it's very scary and it doesn't help when the music makes you scared more

It's been a while I played any horror novels. It felt nice for a change. I used to be a great horror fan, watched all possible horror films I could only find. It is a bit nostalgic to dive into some scary, gruesome story once in a while. Thanks. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2611383508 The novel is created in dark colors, visuals look simple but quite atmospheric. The story is short but it contains 30 endings. It's amazing how many ways exist for you to die at just one night, at one house xD I applaud to the writer's imagination. I mean the endings are quite diverse, you may survive if you choose right, plus there are some 'open' endings I personally enjoy a lot. It's up to your interpretation to decide what kind of ending it is. Unfortunately, once again I'm not satisfied with the technical side of the game. Too many similar games recently, sadly. Welp, --I wish I was rewarded with achievements for all the endings; --it'd be nice to have the list of endings in the menu; --too few save slots AGAIN (｀□′)╯┴┴ There's a helpful steam guide but as the story is short, it's easy to get all the endings on your own IF ONLY I could save before the choices:(( not enough save slots for that:( just one page, that's too little! --skipping is too slow due to lots of transitions between lots of new scenes, plus you can't skip all those animated moments; --only full window mode, at least I didn't see how to change that. Usually while playing I write down my thoughts, so I need to minimize the game but when I click window key it triggers skipping, so not only ctrl forced the game to skip for whatever reason and when I have to use a backlog it's just unreadable with light text on a white background. Very inconvenient! --typical F12 for screenshots doesn't work here, it's been a while I played such games, I have a new computer since then, so I had to spend lots of time to actually find that comment where one of my steam friends recommended me 2 programs I need to use for that xD --lots of typos, and I may be wrong but I think that mixture of past and present tenses in the same sentence can't be right grammatically. Anyway, the game needs some editing for sure. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2611383139 But all those issues aside, I liked the game. I guess the main reason we read horror stories is to feel scared, right? The feeling we don't usually experience in real life. I mean some supernatural fear, like while fighting against monsters. And at first I thought it was not scary enough, just gory. One of the reasons I stopped watching horror films as they were mainly disgusting but not scary. But then I had such a bloody, nasty nightmare, first in so many years I felt shaken to the core. I couldn't fall asleep despite being very tired and sleepy. And I mean it as a good thing, I llove powerful emotions. I wouldn't like to experience nightmares often, I know some ppl really suffer because of them, but once in years felt kinda exciting! Thanks again. Horror stories seem so far from our actual reality but more reason to enjoy that unique experience. When I play visual novels, I always self-insert, give MC my name, honestly imagine how I'd act in those circumstances but horror... Gosh, I have no idea what I'd do if I face a monster: will I save my life sacrificing my friend, will I honestly be able to sacrifice my life to save others, will I be strong enough to fight against such monstrous creatures, will I be smart enough to find a solution, will I be lucky enough?! I guess it'd be the same way as it was in this game xD Looooooots of ways to die and so few chances to survive xD All the time I watch horror films, read horror stories or even real news about criminals I try to imagine if I'd be a victim—will I just scream, trip over my own foot and die or will I actually be able to fight in this or that way. I hope I'll never know. I hope horror stories will be enough for such an experience. And I'm grateful for this emotional, thought-provoking ride. [table] [tr] [th]More thoughts about the game in a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/readingnook/discussions/0/3043859512581058733/] Reading Nook [/url][/th] [/tr] [/table]