The House in Fata Morgana: Introduction and Review | Estimated Completion Time (Visual Novel)

This is an article introducing the indie game "The House in Fata Morgana" (Steam version) by NOVECT (formerly Novectacle).
Originally created as an indie visual novel for PC, it gained popularity and was subsequently ported to iPhone, 3DS, PS4, Switch, and other platforms.
This is a feature-length work that unfolds with beautiful, painterly visuals that are appropriate for the era in which the story is set, and accompanied by a very well-crafted background music.
Officially billed as a "Western Romantic Suspense Horror," it offers an enjoyable story with many twists and turns.

The main story took approximately 15 hours to complete.

Game Overview (may contain minor spoilers about the game's structure)

This game is a visual novel game where you progress by reading text.
While there are moments where the content temporarily changes depending on the choices you make along the way, it's basically a linear story.
Choosing the wrong answer usually leads to a bad ending immediately, so there's no detailed flag management.

The story begins with the following introduction:

Review (no spoilers)

I played the Steam version and finished reading the behind-the-scenes stories after completing the main story.
This review is spoiler-free, as revealing spoilers might diminish the enjoyment of the main story.

A friend recommended it to me a long time ago, but I didn't play it for many years, and now, more than ten years later, I've finally gotten around to playing it.
It's not that I didn't play it at all; the reason is that I dropped out during the introductory part of the first story.
It's true that the slow pace of the early stages and the heavy atmosphere of the story, along with the lack of major events, led to a decline in my motivation.
Once you finish reading the first story, I think the impact it had on you would make you want to keep reading out of a morbid curiosity.

A white-haired man shouts with a terrifying expression on his face.
Is this a serious scene or not? See for yourself!

I felt that the beginning had few humorous elements and was mostly heavy and tragic.
However, from the middle of the show onwards, the interactions between a certain duo (?) were like a stand-up comedy routine, and there were many moments that made me laugh out loud.
In the end, their relationship became like that of a detective and his assistant, making it as interesting as a mystery novel.

While some of the language may not be appropriate for the time period depicted in the story, that's precisely what makes it interesting and often makes me laugh.
The more serious the story and visuals were, the more interesting the contrast became.

I think this is an emotionally engaging scenario, so whether or not you can become interested in the characters and empathize with them will be the deciding factor in whether or not you enjoy this film.
Empathy doesn't necessarily mean liking the character; it simply means having some kind of emotion towards them, whether it's liking or disliking them.
If you can't take an interest in the characters' feelings, you might find it difficult to enjoy this work, or any other work for that matter.

However, the book is written in a way that naturally draws you in as you read, so unless you have a strong interest in the human mind, you shouldn't have to worry.
At first, there were quite a few characters I didn't like.
However, by the time I finished reading the main story, I had been acquainted with the character for quite some time, and even though I disliked him, I had developed a strange kind of affection for him.

It's a long read, but the graphics and background music are of very high quality, and the scenario is of a comparable quality.
While some parts of the scenario are difficult to read (in fact, most of them are), if you can persevere until the catharsis in the latter half, I think it's a work that will deeply move you.

サントラ: ファタモルガーナの館 オリジナルサウンドトラック 1 & 2 セット(Amazon)