Where the Heart Rests Steam Charts & Stats

I think I've mentioned in other reviews for her games that I love how ebi-hime writes child characters, so I've been interested in and excited for [i]Where the Heart Rests[/i] as soon as I heard about it. She delivered with Reza being a cutie, as I knew she would, and on top of that, she delivered with an excellent balance of sweet and heartwrenching moments here. The story deals heavily with grief and family trauma, often pressing down on tender emotional bruises for me, but despite this it still manages to feel largely lighthearted and relaxing to read with Tavi and Safiya offering uwavering support for Yuel - what a true wish fulfillment fantasty, haha. I think a huge part of the appeal here is Yuel being just so hugely relatable honestly, lol. We may not all be adopting a secret little brother or falling in love with our handsome older cousin, but Yuel's burnout, money woes, and general exhaustion with life had me saying "oh me too lol" at least twice every scene. On a note that I think is more personal and less broadly relatable, Yuel's struggles with his intensely overwhelming and sometimes irrational attachments made me feel seen as well - I rarely see this kind of thing portrayed outside of fluffy romances where the more difficult side of such intense feelings doesn't tend to be explored. Despite the low points, though, Yuel's story comes to a satisfying conclusion, and the slow-burn payoff is very sweet <3 I also have to just take a moment to shout out the art and music, which were done by a talented artist and composer that I'm familiar with from some of ebi's other work. The character artist, salmon_gra, also did the art for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3096440/How_to_Melt_a_Maidens_Heart/]How to Melt a Maiden's Heart[/url], a game which I thoroughly enjoyed and definitely sang its praises in my review over there. As in the previous game, salmon_gra displays a mastery of both color and texture in their art. I was impressed by how lifelike and detailed characters' clothes were, and CGs as simple as Yuel and Tavi sitting in the car together were a delightful burst of colors. The composer, Lentil, also did the soundtrack for [url=https://ebihime.itch.io/antonym-obscure]Antonym Obscure[/url], which is sadly not up on Steam but is available on itch.io (and it's free!). This composer does a lot of cool rock-sounding tracks that are unlike the music I typically hear in VNs. Really cool and refershing and maybe one of the most memorable soundtracks in recent memory for me. (And, psst, both of the games I've linked here are also BL games, if you're curious about checking them out!) This game is a definite recommend from me.

I'm still in chapter 2 but this is a incredible vn so far. I love the gut punches and the character relationships, it feels very grounded and believable, with it's roots in really mixed emotions of grief and sadness. Yuel and Tavi counterbalance each other, with Yuel having his heart in the the right place but too mixed up in emotions to really do too much, and Tavi being rough round the edges but being the one who DOES THE THINGS! I really enjoy their dynamic thus far and look forward to seeing more from them. Will hopefully update this review with more thoughts as I finish the vn. But if it keeps going in this direction, its definitely worth the read so far UPDATE: Finished the vn, has a really good curve from grieving people to fluffy wholesome vibes Highly recommand

I've been following the series for a while now and I like the change of pace that Where the Heart Rests brings to the table. Usually it's been Yuel's father, Khalil, being the estranged and unfeeling parent who always is dead in the beginning of the games. Now with Reza, Yuel's younger half-brother, it brings some nuance to Khalil's character which is quite refreshing. Anyway, I welcome the addition of Reza because the plot becomes more like a "two fathers raising their son" kind of a deal which is pretty darn wholesome. It is quite a lengthy read but I honestly enjoyed the build up to Chapter 4. Recommended!