Caucasus ~Nanatsuki no Nie~

The map movement, having random one line dialogue with the characters type of investigation is infuriating at the very least. The reader is plopped in a place, knowing absolutely nothing about how anything works, or more importantly, how to approach anything at all. There's basically no indication of any of the major clues until you find them. This wouldn't be so much of a problem since trial and error is a thing and a bad system can be compensated with a good story, but that jumps into my second point. I just don't care about the entire situation/mystery at all. If I don't care about what's happening, then I won't put in the effort to actually give a shit about the system itself. I can see what it's going for but it's not for me. It sort of reminds of Fureraba in that respect.

It kind of feels like InnoGrey wanted to make a detective game first and foremost and completely put the story and characters on the wayside. Trying to split resources like this is not an ideal way to craft an experience like this and it shows since Caucasus sort of feels half-baked at its core.

The story is just there, as plot points just happen one after another with no breathing room in between. After one thing gets resolved, almost immediately, something else pops up. It feels like I'm reading a sparknotes version rather than experiencing a proper story. In that way, the characters feel like their only purpose is to serve as puppets to the story and nothing else. Each character is given a "role" and left playing that part to the end. The protagonist is non-existent for 97.5% of the VN and his inclusion is very questionable at best.

The whole setting is an inferior take on Umineko's deserted house. While I'm not too partial to Umineko, one thing I do like about Umineko is the family dynamic at the beginning of the VN, which is why episode 1 is my favorite episode. In Caucasus, this sort of family dynamic is non-existent and barely explored, making them bland as characters from the get-go, with no spark at all to care about the mystery and murders. It just feels so lifeless.

One thing I can praise about Caucasus is that Suzuka Miya's writing is as melodic as ever. His style really lends well to scenes that are short and descriptive, well still having lots of impact. That being said, his writing works a lot better when paired with more vibrant characters and deeper themes, which Caucasus doesn’t really have much of at all. In some sort of ways, Caucasus feels more like a tech demo for potential things to come more than anything else.

Overall, I came in cautious, but with an open mind; however, I was left disappointed by the experience it gave me.