Info about Crimson Gray: Dusk and Dawn:

Official game description:
(Note: This game is a direct continuation of the story of Crimson Gray.)  
Lizzie has it all: a loving boyfriend, a beautiful collection of knives, and an intense desire to murder. She's escaped the conspiracy that forced her to kill in self-defense, but now she needs to adjust to normal college life.  
All Lizzie wants is to act like a normal couple, graduate from university, and get married. But a committed relationship isn't enough to stabilize her, and she finds herself spending a lot of time with her knives.  
This visual novels plunges you into the mind of a deeply unstable young woman, viewed entirely from her skewed perspective. Your task is to find a way for her to be a normal student, a supportive partner, and not a serial killer. This is a short visual novel with an emphasis on unreliable narration and subtle consequences of the player's actions.

Release date: Oct 5, 2018

Categories: Visual Novel, Choice-based Narrative, Multiple Endings, Psychological Horror, Romance, Character-driven Narrative, Adult Content, NSFW


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that while the game is considered worth buying, it is often recommended to purchase it on sale. This indicates that the full price might be seen as slightly high, but still acceptable. The term 'cheap' suggests that the base price is not considered exorbitant.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 3.3h
  - Story completion: 3.3h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 2.5h
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides multiple data points regarding playtime. The first and third quotes indicate that a typical playthrough takes between 3 and 3.5 hours, which we can use as a baseline for both game completion and story completion times. The second quote suggests that additional experimentation (likely referring to exploring different routes and endings) adds more time, which we can infer as endgame content. The fourth quote mentions that exploring all paths and endings takes about 6 hours, supporting the idea of additional endgame content.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Story-Driven Romantic (buy)
    - Motivation: Engaging story and character development
    - Playstyle: Immersive and narrative-focused
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Visual Novel fan; Romance enthusiast
    - Reference games: Crimson Gray; Crimson Gray: Dusk and Dawn
  - Series Supporter (buy)
    - Motivation: Supporting the developers and experiencing the complete series
    - Playstyle: Comprehensive and supportive
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Series fan; Developer supporter
    - Reference games: Crimson Gray; Crimson Gray: Dusk and Dawn
  - Mechanics-Focused Explorer (sale)
    - Motivation: Exploring gameplay mechanics and themes
    - Playstyle: Explorative and completionist
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Achievement hunter; Theme enthusiast
    - Reference games: Crimson Gray; Crimson Gray: Dusk and Dawn


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:
- Good continuation of story (weight 0.92): The game is praised for its well-written continuation of the story from the first game, with players hoping for further continuations.
- Unique perspective from Lizzie (weight 0.9): Players appreciate the unique perspective of experiencing the game through Lizzie's eyes, finding her decision-making and viewpoint interesting.
- Strong character focus (weight 0.82): The game is noted for its good character work, advancing both plot and characters, with a particular focus on Lizzie's development.
- Praised as great sequel (weight 0.6): The game is widely regarded as a great sequel that surpasses the original, with players expressing high satisfaction and noting that it doesn't disappoint.
- Good value for price (weight 0.43): Players feel the game is well worth the money, offering good value for its price and being reasonably priced.
- Colorful and artistic visuals (weight 0.36): The game features colorful backgrounds and art, with players appreciating the visual style and colorful CGs.
- Recommended visual novel (weight 0.31): The game is highly recommended as a good visual novel, with players finding it enjoyable and worth recommending to others.
- Beautiful art and music (weight 0.3): The game is praised for its beautiful art style and good music, contributing to the overall aesthetic and enjoyment.
- Satisfying true ending (weight 0.18): Players find the true ending of the game to be satisfying and sweet, adding to the overall positive experience.
- Explores mental health struggles (weight 0.18): The game explores the mental health struggles and daily challenges of its characters, providing depth and relatability.

Common complaints:
- Weaker than the first game (weight 0.96): Players felt that the game did not live up to the standards set by its predecessor in terms of story, content, and overall quality.
- Game is too short (weight 0.84): Many players noted that the game is significantly shorter than its predecessor, with some completing it in about an hour. This brevity was a common point of criticism.
- Lack of content and choices (weight 0.75): The game was criticized for having a lack of content, fewer choices, and less divergence in story paths compared to the first game.
- Lack of visual variety (weight 0.61): The game was criticized for its lack of character sprites and variety in visuals, making the experience feel monotonous.
- Disappointing execution (weight 0.56): Players expressed disappointment with the overall execution of the game, including its plot development, narrative techniques, and artistic choices.
- Abrupt and unsatisfying ending (weight 0.49): The game's ending was criticized for being abrupt and leaving players with a cliffhanger. Additionally, there were fewer endings compared to the first game.
- Language and translation issues (weight 0.23): Some players mentioned language barriers and the lack of certain translations, which affected their understanding and enjoyment of the game.
- Adult content criticism (weight 0.22): The game was criticized for its handling of adult content, including the quality of 18+ scenes and the lack of such content.
- Technical and design issues (weight 0.15): Players noted various technical and design issues, such as the game opening in a small square and certain cut-scenes not being in watercolor.

Gameplay feedback:
- Choice-based narrative gameplay (weight 0.6): The gameplay is driven by choices made by the player, which significantly affect the story and character interactions.
- Multiple endings (weight 0.24): The game features multiple endings based on the choices made by the player throughout the story.
- New game mechanics (weight 0.23): The game introduces new mechanics such as hidden options and cursor mechanics, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Sequel to Crimson Gray (weight 0.23): This game is a sequel to Crimson Gray, building on the story and mechanics of the first game.
- Psychological visual novel (weight 0.19): The game is a visual novel with psychological elements, focusing on narrative and character interactions.
- Adult and NSFW content (weight 0.16): The game contains adult and NSFW content, including scenes with a blonde character.
- College life setting (weight 0.16): The story is set in a college life environment, providing a slice-of-life experience.
- Romantic and emotional scenes (weight 0.16): The game features romantic and emotional scenes, contributing to the overall narrative and character development.
- Passive events and story exploration (weight 0.15): The game includes passive events and encourages story exploration, allowing players to uncover more about the narrative.
- Expression of mental states (weight 0.09): The game explores the expression of mental states, adding depth to the character interactions and narrative.
- More images than the first part (weight 0.09): The game includes more images compared to its predecessor, enhancing the visual experience.
- Achievement hunting (weight 0.09): Players can engage in achievement hunting, adding replay value to the game.
- Unreliable narration (weight 0.09): The narrative includes elements of unreliable narration, adding complexity to the story.
- Manage stressors for true ending (weight 0.09): Players need to manage stressors to achieve the true ending, adding a layer of strategy to the gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Runs well on older hardware (weight 0.11): The game performs well on older systems such as Ubuntu 18.04 with Intel HD Graphics 4400.
- Game starts confined (weight 0.1): The game begins with the player confined to a small square area.

Recommendations:
- Play the first game first (weight 0.39): Many players recommend playing the original or previous game before starting this one to fully understand the story and context.
- Recommended for specific fanbases (weight 0.32): This game is highly recommended for fans of yanderes, explicit games, good visual novels, warped romance, and psychological games.
- Buy on sale or discount (weight 0.25): Several reviews suggest purchasing the game only when it is on sale or available at a discount to get better value for money.
- Bundle with the first part (weight 0.18): Players suggest buying the game only in a bundle with the first part to ensure a complete experience.
- Prepare for depressing stories (weight 0.1): The game is recommended for those who can tolerate potentially depressing stories, indicating that the narrative may be emotionally challenging.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Enjoyment (weight 0.12): Players enjoyed the game primarily due to the character Lizzie and the engaging story. The narrative, combined with the unique perspective of playing as Lizzie, provided a fun and entertaining experience. Additionally, the game's focus on a twisted love story and its short length, which did not overly emphasize adult content, contributed to the overall enjoyment.
- Positive (weight 0.11): Players appreciated the game for its story, characters, and art, finding it a fulfilling and recommendable experience. The sequel's quality, character development, and new mechanics were particularly enjoyed. The game was seen as a worthy conclusion to the story and a great value for yandere fans.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Players found satisfaction in the character development, dialogue details, and the overall emotional journey. The True Ending was particularly wholesome and satisfying, providing a good resolution to the story. Despite some flaws, the game's performance and potential for a sequel contributed to a pleasant experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.08): Players were disappointed by the game's lack of development and plot, as well as rushed dialogue and limited content. The loss of freedom compared to the first game and the short length ending in a cliffhanger also contributed to this feeling. Additionally, the absence of certain visual elements and the short story length did not meet expectations.
- Love (weight 0.07): Players loved the game for its story and characters, particularly the dynamic between John and Lizzie. The expression of mental states and the overall enjoyment of the games were highlighted. The sequel was appreciated for continuing the story and showing Lizzie's issues in a compelling way.
- Negative (weight 0.06): Players felt negatively due to the story's lack of tension and character variety, finding it shorter and less intense than the prequel. Issues with the game's lack of threat and duration, as well as the abrupt ending, contributed to this sentiment. The possibility of no more Crimson Gray games also added to the disappointment.
- Satisfied (weight 0.06): Players were satisfied with the game as a fitting sequel that offered a straightforward and well-priced experience. The improved graphics and well-written story were particularly noted. The game was seen as a near-perfect sequel and a good value for the price.
- Disappointed (weight 0.04): Players were disappointed by the uninteresting story and lack of character interaction and plot development. The limited adult content and the game being too easy and not as thrilling as the original contributed to this feeling.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciated the game's focus on characters and emotions, as well as the good character work. The story about mentally ill people was particularly noted for its depth and sensitivity.
- Curiosity (weight 0.03): Players were curious about the weird and interesting story, particularly the desire to see the story from Lizzie's point of view. The interest in experiencing the story from different characters' perspectives also piqued their curiosity.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Players felt nostalgic due to references to the first game and the return to familiar music and settings. The mention of Crimson Gray getting players into the visual novel genre also evoked this sentiment.
- Happy (weight 0.03): Players were happy to see Lizzie and John's dynamic again and enjoyed the story and routes. The overall experience of playing the game contributed to their happiness.
- Engaged (weight 0.02): Players were engaged by the interesting story, finding it compelling and worth their time. The narrative kept them invested throughout the game.
- Amused (weight 0.02): Players were amused by the funny story and the new gameplay features. The humorous moments added to their enjoyment of the game.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Players felt joy from the existence of the sequel to the Crimson Gray novel. The character development and love story also brought them happiness.
- Interest (weight 0.02): Players were interested in seeing Lizzie's decision-making from her perspective. The unique perspective of a sociopath also intrigued them.
- Excitement (weight 0.02): Players were excited about the continuation of the Crimson Gray universe and the canonical ending. They looked forward to more games of this style.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Players felt hope for the potential for a sequel and desired more Crimson Gray adventures. The possibility of future games kept them optimistic.
- Surreal (weight 0.01): Players found the experience surreal due to seeing color in the backgrounds. This visual element added a unique and dreamlike quality to the game.
- Bored (weight 0.01): Players felt bored due to excessive narration, which detracted from their overall enjoyment of the game.}