Info about Dies irae ~Amantes amentes~:

Official game description:
**_The common part scenario can be played as a basic free of charge.  
In order to play each heroine scenario, purchase of DLC is required separately._**  
Dies irae is an immensely popular Japanese visual novel.  
Ever since its initial release in 2007, the game has sold over 100 thousand copies domestically, with new fans being drawn to it every passing year.  
In 2015, a Japanese crowdfunder was conducted for an anime version of Dies irae.  
It successfully raised over 30 million yen less than 24 hours after it began.  
The anime is currently in-production, and scheduled to begin airing in 2017.  
Of course, there are plans to air the anime in North America as well.  
The game contains a dark and rich atmosphere, characters with twisted personalities, poetic and sophisticated dialogue, and heart-poundingly thrilling battles.  
Every single one of these aspects are finely-tuned.  
Dies irae also has a splendid cast of voice actors, many of them legends amongst anime fans the world over.  
Naturally, many fans have also been feverishly drawn to the story and its ride of thrills.  
**Story**  
May 1, 1945- Germany.On the eve of Berlin's collapse, a group of men and women carried out a certain ritual. To them, suffering defeat in the war meant nothing. If anything, the countless lives lost in the battle served as a catalyst to their sacrificial ceremony. Whether or not their attempt bore fruit ― not a soul knows. Following the war, they faded from sight, mind, and eventually into the realm of myth.  
・・・・・・・・・・・・  
61 years later ― Japan, 2006.  
Ren Fujii, a young man attending high school in Suwahara City, finds his friendship with his old buddy Shirou Yusa shatter to pieces following a certain incident, ending in a vicious fight that sees Ren hospitalized for two months.  
The season shifts from autumn to winter ― to the dawning weeks of December, with Christmas on the horizon. Having lost his best friend, Ren leaves the hospital with the intention to rebuild his new life without Shirou.  
But even that plan soon falls apart. Irrationality that defies the realm of common sense begins to assault and devour the city. Abnormalities soon seek to destroy everything Ren holds dear before his eyes with overwhelming violence.  
He must change, even if it means crossing the boundary between the ordinary and the extraordinary. His desires are hardly anything grand. All he wants is to return to those days of old. Back to those days filled with simple, everyday joy.  
The battle with the Longinus Dreizehn Orden. A continuation of that war full of madness, carnage, and maledictions. What future awaits Ren at the end of his road...?

Release date: Jun 2, 2017

Categories: Visual Novel, Choice-based Narrative, Character-driven Interactions and Dialogue, Branching Narrative, Multiple Endings, Story-driven Gameplay, Narrative-driven Gameplay, Psychological Horror

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: High Dependency on External Guides; summary: The reviews indicate a significant reliance on external walkthrough guides to fully experience the game. Users frequently mention the need for these guides to make correct choices and access all alternate routes for each character. This dependency on external data sources highlights a potential issue with the game's internal guidance system.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Well-developed characters (weight 0.97): The characters are praised for their depth, development, and engaging narratives. Many reviews highlight the strong characterization, fitting verbal quirks, and superb voice acting.
- Outstanding music and soundtrack (weight 0.89): The music is consistently praised for its quality, variety, and emotional impact. It is described as exceptional, thrilling, and awe-inspiring, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere.
- Engaging and well-written story (weight 0.77): The story is frequently mentioned as a strong point, with reviews highlighting its engaging plot, unexpected twists, and good development. It is also noted for being thought-provoking and captivating.
- Beautiful art and character design (weight 0.64): The art is praised for its beauty, detail, and variety. Character designs and animations are highlighted as particularly impressive.
- Unique narrative and writing style (weight 0.43): The writing style is described as unique, interesting, and exquisite. It contributes to the game's distinct narrative approach.
- Superb voice acting (weight 0.41): The voice acting is described as superb, colorful, and enjoyable. It is a standout feature that enhances the overall experience of the game.
- Epic and well-done battle scenes (weight 0.39): The battle scenes are noted for their epic scale and detailed execution. They are a strong point that adds to the game's appeal.
- Deep and philosophical themes (weight 0.34): The game is praised for its thought-provoking themes and deep philosophical content. It explores a variety of otherworldly concepts.
- Enjoyable visual novel experience (weight 0.23): The game is praised as a visual novel, with reviews highlighting it as a favorite and a must-try in the genre.
- Villains with good backstories (weight 0.14): The villains are noted for their detailed backstories, which add depth to their characters and the overall narrative.
- Impressive CG and visuals (weight 0.14): The CG and visuals are highlighted for their impressive quality and the effort put into them. They contribute to the game's overall aesthetic appeal.

Common complaints:
- Combat scenes are overly long (weight 0.38): Many players find the combat scenes excessively lengthy and overly descriptive, making them tiring to read through.
- Slow start and pacing issues (weight 0.37): The game has a slow beginning and suffers from general pacing issues, with a sluggish narrative that may not appeal to everyone.
- Poor translation quality (weight 0.36): The translation is criticized for being lazy, of poor quality, and containing errors, with some parts reading like amateur writing.
- Weak romance elements (weight 0.35): The romance in the game is generally weak and poorly treated, with some routes being better than others.
- Lack of language options (weight 0.32): The game lacks multiple language options, including Japanese and Chinese translations, which is a drawback for non-English speakers.
- Technical and UI issues (weight 0.29): There are various technical issues, including crashes, DRM problems, and UI design flaws.
- Excessive monologues and descriptions (weight 0.25): The game contains excessive monologues, philosophizing, and lengthy descriptions, making it feel overly long and tiring.
- Character-specific criticisms (weight 0.24): Specific characters are criticized for being annoying, bland, or poorly developed, such as Ren, Kasumi, and the villains Reinhard and Mercurius.
- Moral and ethical concerns (weight 0.07): Some players have raised moral and ethical concerns about certain aspects of the game.

Gameplay feedback:
- Philosophical and literary themes (weight 0.48): The story includes philosophical themes, literary references, and complex narrative styles, making it dark and intricate.
- Character-driven storytelling (weight 0.46): The game focuses on character-driven storytelling with lovable characters, each having their own motivations, weaknesses, and history.
- Unique narrative and combat (weight 0.41): The game features a unique narrative style combined with action-packed and battle-focused gameplay, including detailed fight scenes and strategies.
- Multiple routes and endings (weight 0.32): The game offers multiple routes with different outcomes and endings, providing a rich narrative experience.
- Complex world-building (weight 0.31): The game has a complex and grandiose writing style, with a rich cosmology, unique characters, and a massive amount of content.
- Interactive and strategic gameplay (weight 0.24): The game includes choice systems, enforced play orders, and text-based RPG elements, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Emotional and psychological depth (weight 0.2): The story includes emotional storytelling, psychological depth, and melodrama, making the characters and plot more engaging.
- Supernatural and fantasy elements (weight 0.2): The game features teenagers with supernatural powers, urban fantasy elements, and characters with superhuman abilities.

Performance notes:
- Stable 60 FPS (weight 0.1): The game runs at a stable 60 frames per second, providing a smooth gaming experience.
- Loud sound issues (weight 0.09): Players reported that the game's sound effects and music are excessively loud, causing discomfort.
- Crashes in gallery menu (weight 0.09): Some players experienced crashes to desktop after right-clicking in the gallery menu.
- Aspect ratio cuts images (weight 0.09): There are problems with the aspect ratio settings, which result in parts of images being cut off.

Recommendations:
- Try the free version first (weight 0.41): Players suggest trying the free common route before purchasing additional content to ensure enjoyment.
- Recommended route order (weight 0.28): Players strongly recommend following the specific route order: Kasumi -> Kei -> Marie -> Rea for the best experience.
- Great for VN beginners (weight 0.22): The game is highly recommended for those new to visual novels and fans hoping for more western releases.
- Chuunige fans recommended (weight 0.21): The game is highly recommended for fans of the chuuni genre but not for those who dislike it.
- Chinese translation requested (weight 0.21): Chinese players express a strong desire for an official translation to attract more players.
- Read Dies Irae (weight 0.14): Players recommend reading Dies Irae, considering it one of the best visual novels ever made.
- Psychological depth appreciated (weight 0.09): Recommended for those who enjoy psychological depth and atmospheric twists in their games.
- Required reading for genre fans (weight 0.09): The game is considered essential for fans of specific genres.
- Use a guide (weight 0.08): Following a guide is recommended to avoid spoilers and enhance the experience.
- Alternative recommendations (weight 0.08): Some players suggest reading Umineko or Higurashi instead.

Other player notes:
- Crowdfunding and company decisions (weight 0.06): This cluster mentions the game's crowdfunding efforts and the decisions made by the company. Players seem to be discussing the context around the game's development and funding.

Emotions:
- Excitement (weight 0.2): Players are thrilled by the gripping battles, deep ideological clashes, and engaging characters. The combination of philosophical depth, emotional impact, and literary references enhances the excitement, making the combat and storytelling particularly captivating.
- Frustration (weight 0.13): Players are frustrated by technical issues such as progress not being saved, crashes, and offline functionality problems. Additionally, the distribution model, lack of language options, and repetitive fights contribute to a sense of suffering and inconvenience.
- Admiration (weight 0.13): Players admire the game's strong characters, unique narrative style, and philosophical depth. The impressive character art, dynamic storytelling, and cultural references also contribute to this admiration.
- Appreciation (weight 0.06): Players appreciate the deep characters, philosophical dialogue, and good story development. The art and music are also highlighted as significant contributors to the overall enjoyment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.06): Players are satisfied with the overall experience, including the characterization, long gameplay, and complex plot. The captivating and memorable story adds to this sense of fulfillment.
- Excited (weight 0.06): Players are excited by the story, characters, and music, which together create an immersive and thrilling experience.
- Joy (weight 0.04): Players experience joy due to the exquisite level of writing and the game being considered a favorite or the best visual novel.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Players enjoy the world-building, character development, and battle scenes, finding the game highly engaging and pleasurable.
- Surprise (weight 0.03): Players are surprised by unexpected focuses in the story and startling elements like loud sounds, adding an element of unpredictability.
- Positive (weight 0.03): Players have a positive experience due to the engaging story and characters, leading to recommendations for others to play the game.
- Engagement (weight 0.03): Players are engaged by the plot's unexpected twists and the compelling narrative and characters, making the game highly immersive.
- Frustrated (weight 0.03): Players are frustrated by difficult-to-read text and unreasonable UI design, which hinder the overall gaming experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.01): Players are disappointed with the translation quality, which negatively impacts the game's narrative and character development.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Players are interested in the game's setting and terminology, finding them intriguing and worth exploring.
- Awe (weight 0.01): Players are in awe of the epic battles and the sheer creativity and intensity of the game's narrative and scenes.
- Contemplation (weight 0.01): Players are led to reflect on the philosophical themes presented in the game, adding depth to their experience.
- Addiction (weight 0.01): Players find the writing dangerously addictive, making it hard to put the game down.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players express love for all aspects of the game, considering it a standout in the visual novel universe.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Players feel happiness upon completing the game and enjoying the overall experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Players feel nostalgia and miss certain characters after finishing the game, reflecting a strong emotional connection.}