With Eyes of Ice Reviews

Ebi-hime is one of the most riveting writers I've ever had the pleasure to read. Her stories always, without fail, either make me smile, despair, or think, and "With Eyes of Ice" had me doing all three. [spoiler] Though mostly I was staring aghast at the screen and feeling Greta's fear of Steina...and absolutely mourning for Kai, who deserved none of this [/spoiler] I can't say much for the gameplay--it's a linear VN. I do think it could have benefited from choices and routes [spoiler] where maybe you could avoid the grim ending [/spoiler] but I think such a thing would be better as a separate release, an alternate version of the story. I wanted more, but I'm happy with what I got. Still...I wish there had been more to the final scene. [spoiler] An after-credits scene would have been exquisite. But there is something called "Fragments" that unlocks after completing the story, so I'll have to see what that's all about. [/spoiler] I own every one of Ebi's Steam releases, and each game is usually better than the last. I look forward to the rest of the year's releases, and any that may catch me by surprise. Keep up the fantastic work, Ebi-hime!

Greta and Steina are cute. [spoiler]I can't believe I was bamboozled into thinking ebi wouldn't bully her characters in this one though.[/spoiler]

A masterfully written tragedy. From the first moments, the tension builds and builds, and you can see the crash coming but struggle to look away, until it all spills over in one horrible climax. My only specific criticism would be that the age gap in relationship with the doctor is a bit wide, but it is explained in a way that makes sense for it to exist; also, Greta's fascination with him makes sense for her age and even moreso in the time period in which the story takes place. Also, the soundtrack does feel a bit limited, and is frequently used even when the tone of a song doesn't exactly match the tone of a scene, it just happens to be the best fit from the small soundtrack. I would have preferred to just let the scenes breathe without music in those instances. However, those complaints I have really are minor in the grand scheme of things. I would like to say many more positive things about the story, but it's hard to do so without giving some of the excitement of reading it yourself away. Overall, With Eyes of Ice is a great visual novel, and the best work I've experienced from ebihime thus far (although, sample size of 2). 8/10

With Eyes Of Ice is a superbly well-written visual novel set in 19th Century Iceland. It focuses on the life of Greta and cleverly incorporates her interactions with a host of characters; Grandma Ragna, Petur, Nataniel, Steina and Kai as well as cameo appearances of several additional and important characters. As mentioned, the story is brilliantly written, though it can get rather brutal and even upsetting at times - a reflection of the author's key theme, pointing out that life is by no means all wine and roses. The UI, artwork and music are excellent, though may I place special emphasis on the music - beautiful, aptly-selected pieces. Assuming the reader can handle some nasty developments, I highly recommend this VN as a great read.

This story is really really good, it's so interesting and I love the characters they all have so much depth.

With Eyes of Ice is a rather dark tale mixed with love triangles, drama, and thick atmosphere, from it's rather descriptive writing to its overall art style, direction, and design. A confusing story, that's for sure, whether for good or bad, a linear story, whether for good or bad, and a culmination of the overall experience, makes this for a rather interesting tale. I still wish that this game had choices to be made, and I actually think that this game would of greatly benefited from the ability to make choices given how its story is written. The overall messaging of the story is also, a bit confusing and aimless. I don't really know what it is that I am supposed to learn here or draw from this story other than the story telling me some stance that revolves around cheating within a relationship. It's very confusing and weird, but this entire story is in a sense, confusing and weird. There were also times in which it felt like characters had to act the way that they act just for the sake of advancing the plot and not so much in a more natural feeling way. Still, this was a rather interesting game, and I did enjoy and like this game overall, and I am going to give this game a 7/10.

A perfect reading to cool off on summer and to set the mood on winter ! Also protecc thee sweet Gréta and Nataníel is best husbando (although to be honest, I want to protect all the others characters too. dammit ebi-hime did an another excellent job at making me emotional attached to their characters).

I haven't finished the game quite yet, but I am at the climax and so emotionally invested. For that alone, I think this game deserves a positive review. The characters are complex and layered and I can't help but root for them even when they're at their worst. Definitely recommended if you like drama or romance VNs.

[i]''Now you can be a real martyr. You’ve even got the stigma to prove it, but it might be a bit lacking in its current state.''[/i] [i]With Eyes of Ice[/i] is a great visual novel that feels Otome In Name Only and deftly explores themes of loneliness, uprooting and loss, as well as longing and (self-)sacrifice. This is a kinetic story (give or take 12-15h of reading time) with not a single choice to make and no route to choose from: although there are several ’’love interests’’ in the loosest sense possible, the player can’t influence Gréta’s thoughts or feelings, only be privy to them. It is a pretty bold creative choice for this genre, and it pays off really well. [i]Is there fluff?[/i], the romance-loving crowd - which I’m part of - asks. Yes, quite a lot of genuinely sweet and wholesome moments are to be found here, and the main romance sure is an interesting one. Since this is an ebi-hime novel though, it is permeated by a moody, melancholic atmosphere, which matches well the desolate Icelandic landscapes and claustrophobic little villages she chose as her settings. The game also does cross into more disturbing territory at some point, although this is not a horror game in disguise. Just one that isn’t afraid of making its characters suffer for their bad life choices and miscommunication issues. For those familiar with the developer’s previous work, the writing is not as literary or ornate as in, say, [i]Asphyxia[/i] or [i] It gets so lonely here[/i], but it does such a good job at peeling the layers of the characters (Gréta is an endearing main character and it was great to see her evolve - or struggle to - during the course of the novel) and being engrossing! You really do want to know what’s going to happen next: The story, in a twist that can’t fail to immediately grab the player’s attention, starts [i]in medias res[/i] with the scene shown in the trailer (Gréta running in the snow at night), and the novel then unfolds in flashback form, explaining what she is running from, and why. The pacing isn’t perfect (I really wish some of the slice-of-life content had been cut back in the latter third of the game because it does feel like an artificial way of avoiding the - good - drama that’s happening in parallel, but it’s a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things), and an epilogue could have been welcome, although upon finishing the game, the player unlocks fragments of memories from other characters than Gréta, which actually shine some new light on the ending. They’re really good and contain some of my favourite moments in the game. Actually, I think that this VN might become an even better experience during a reread. This might count as a slight spoiler but it is worth noting that [i]With Eyes of Ice[/i] contains a very well-written depiction of asexuality, which is fully embedded in the plot in a smart and respectful way. It was a welcome surprise, and I absolutely loved it. To conclude, I really, really enjoyed [i]With Eyes of Ice[/i] and especially the three main characters, who form the most unusual and unsettling love triangle I have had the pleasure(?) of seeing in a while. I loved learning how and why they ended up as they did. Honestly, the game could be trimmed down to half its length and focus almost exclusively on them and I would be happy with it. It could become stifling real fast though, so I get why the developer didn’t do that and added some lighter scenes… Anyway. If you enjoy reading and like the slice-of-life/romance/drama genres, this game is for you. It might not be groundbreaking but it does contain some truly compelling bits and pieces of characterisation I have rarely seen the like of before. I like the fact it plays with otome tropes and embraces some while bending and twisting others. It also has pretty high production values with a lot of pretty CGs and a really atmospheric soundtrack, with slightly haunting character themes and beautiful songs inspired by nordic folk music that truly enhance the scenes instead of merely accompanying them. Oh, and you know the popular adage, ’’The road to hell is paved with good intentions’’? Well. That’s what [i]With Eyes of Ice[/i] is about. You just have to see it for yourself.

(I played this game on itch.io initially, so my time played is not accurate - it probably took me somewhere between 10 and 12 hours to read this VN.) I expected to enjoy this game (and I did), but what I didn't expect was that I would like every single one of the characters. Some more than others, certainly, but given how dark the game gets, and the actions of some of the characters early on, I was surprised when I was able to like and empathize with every single one of them. This, I think, is a testament to the care ebi-hime puts into writing her characters; even the more antagonistic characters felt human and, if not relatable, at least with a degree of charm. While I don't think this game could really be classified as a "romance game" (hence the label "otome-esque"), there's a lot of really fun moments with all the pretty boys (and one very pretty girl) that I enjoyed reading (Kai best boy). This enjoyment always had an undercurrent of Fear knowing that things would take a turn later; the longer that things were mostly Normal, or at least Okay, the more and more tense I got waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think the payoff when it finally did was well worth it; the story was suitably heart-wrenching, but at the same time not nearly as bad as I'd feared after becoming so attached to the characters. The art and music are also absolutely gorgeous, and the music in particular fits the story perfectly. I tend to have trouble remembering how a song sounds if I'm not Currently Listening to it, but the title track of this VN is embedded in my brain (and I have zero problems with that, it's a nice soundtrack to go about my day to). This VN is a bit more expensive than ebi-hime's works tend to be, but I really think it's well worth the price for the story alone, not to mention the stunning visuals, effects, and music. I hope that people consider playing it even if they don't usually play kinetic VNs or VNs without explicit romance.