ReIn∽Alter (Free Visual Novel) Introduction and Review

Preface

After playing "Choir::Nobody" and "Kensen Shinki Chuubatsuden" by the same author, I played this game, "ReIn∽Alter".
I had been interested in it ever since I saw an article about it on "Mogura Games".
However, at the time, not all episodes had been released, so I refrained from playing it.

Currently, it is available as a complete edition containing all episodes.
I believe the completion time was about 5 hours, as advertised.

Game Overview

This game, "ReIn∽Alter," is a visual novel game where you progress by reading text.
In the main story, there are no choices to make; you will follow a single, linear storyline.

A detailed synopsis is available on the download site.
The following is a quote from the "Freem" website's product page.

That's all for now.
I think the description is perfect, so I have nothing more to add.

Synopsis (no spoilers)

As described in the previous section, there is nothing to add to the synopsis in the download description.
However, that wouldn't really make sense for an introductory article, so I'll try to give a slightly more in-depth introduction while avoiding spoilers.
Please note that this includes my subjective opinion based on having completed the game.

This work, "ReIn∽Alter," is by no means a cheerful story.
As the title suggests, "A modern supernatural sci-fi world-building visual novel game about boys and girls living with loneliness," all the main characters are burdened with loneliness in various forms.

However, the main focus isn't on intense battles with supernatural powers against enemies; rather, the writing devotes space to depicting each character's loneliness and their perspective on the world.
The writing is easy to read and lighthearted, but the themes feel heavy, so it might not be recommended for players looking for a lighthearted experience.

However, the story develops into something on a scale unimaginable in the early stages, so I think it's largely captivating as a grand science fiction work.

The mechanism behind "ReIn" (the superpower) is also based on scientific evidence, which demonstrates a sense of integrity.
I had read a similar story in a Kadokawa Horror Bunko novel called "The Demon of the Double Helix" a long time ago, so it made perfect sense to me.

Furthermore, this work is rich in meaning and content in each sentence, requiring careful reading.
While I can easily read through books with a lot of dialogue, this book has a lot of descriptive text in addition to the content itself.

Because it takes a considerable amount of time to read considering the amount of text, I think this is a game that you should sit down and play slowly and carefully.

Review (contains spoilers)

(This section contains spoilers for "Acassia∞Reload," so please be aware if you plan to play the game.)

"A person is alone from the moment they are born. And then, when they die, they lose everything again and become alone once more."
This phrase appears repeatedly throughout this work.
If you were to ask me what the theme of this work, "ReIn∽Alter," is, I would say it has to be this word.

The question of what the meaning of being born is, or what the meaning of life is, is probably a question that everyone has thought about at least once.

However, I think most people live their lives by somehow coming to terms with the situation, finding their own answers, or simply choosing not to think about it.

In my case, I did see some similarities between the protagonist, Rei, and my past self, who had sought answers to those kinds of questions.
I've come up with my own answers to those questions, so I'm not really thinking about them anymore.

However, playing this game made me confront that question once again, leaving me with a bitter feeling.
However, since my own answer remained unchanged, I didn't feel much empathy for Rei.
The fact that I don't relate to Rei much means, conversely, that I currently feel connected to the world (even if it's just my imagination), and perhaps that's a good thing.

Rei's misfortune stemmed from the fact that he was an outsider in the truest sense of the word, having come from outside the world.
Even if he hadn't done anything in particular, he probably felt like an outsider on this planet, so he must have felt lonely.
If it's a Zero species, which should be fully developed as an individual, it shouldn't be fazed by something as trivial as stepping on an insect.
Unlike Prim, Zero was probably an unconventional and highly sentimental being even among the Zero species.

Amidst all this, he meets a blonde girl, and as fellow outsiders, they begin to deepen their friendship.
I think this encounter made Zero feel a sense of connection, a feeling that "it's okay for me to exist in this world."
After the blonde girl's death, in addition to losing someone close to him, he also felt his connection to the world severed, which likely made him feel even more lonely.

Even after Zero was reborn as Rei, he must have been tormented by that feeling of loneliness.
In other words, the reason Rei feels lonely from the beginning of the story is, to put it simply, because he has lost someone important to him.

The scene in the main story where Yuri watches over Rei after the battle with Prim seems to be a contrast to when he was still Zero.
Thanks to Yuri being there when I was dying, I think I was able to avoid, even for a moment, the feeling of "losing everything and being alone once again when I die."

One thing that left a strong impression on me in this work is the existence of "Acacia Reload."
In the story, it functions like a transcendent recording device, memorizing and saving information about individuals, and then reviving it by rewriting it.
As suggested in "Ep.-[Transcendence]", Acacia Reload is an allusion to the player themselves.
The structure is such that Acacia can continue to exist as an individual because the player, Acacia Reload, remembers Acacia.

After reading this episode, I imagine that the reunion between Rei and Yuri at the end of the main story (after the conversation between the aged Yuri and the Demon King) took place inside Acacia Reload.
Is it too romantic to think that by reading and playing this game to the very end, the two characters were able to exist in the player's memory and thus be reunited?
However, when I think about it that way, I feel that reading this book was worthwhile because I feel that the characters were saved.

I believe the "∽" symbol in the title represents the double helix structure of genes.
Just as humans gained eternal existence as a species by becoming a vehicle for their genes, perhaps the Zero species also gained eternal existence by using Acacia Reload (the player) as a vehicle.
Alternatively, this double helix might represent the relationship between people that seems to intersect but never quite do, a relationship of zero types.
If we consider it as a structure where they never intersect but are eternally close, it can also be interpreted as a close relationship.

I've rambled on with all sorts of personal opinions so far, but I think that games that allow players to imagine all sorts of things are something unique to free games.
For consumer products aimed at high sales figures, a certain degree of easily understandable entertainment value is required.
Therefore, for better or worse, it will be difficult to make the content too edgy, and it will be necessary to create content that can be enjoyed by as many players as possible.

However, free games are released free of charge.
You are free to play or not, and if you don't find it interesting, you can stop playing midway through without incurring any financial costs.
That's precisely why creators can put their own hobbies and preferences front and center in their works, and I think that's the charm of doujin works.
In that sense, I think that free visual novels tend to produce works that are more akin to "pure literature" (as opposed to popular literature), and I feel that a characteristic of them is that many of them deeply resonate with certain people.

Judging from the cute character visuals and descriptions, this work, "ReIn∽Alter," seems to be a light novel about supernatural battles.
Indeed, "Choir::Nobody" and "Kensen Shinki Chuubatsuden" were not just visual novels, but also had a significant emphasis on gameplay, making them easy to understand and enjoyable works.

However, I think this film was too heavy and profound to be enjoyed in the same way as those other films.
Because it doesn't seem to be easily swayed by mass appeal or entertainment value, I think the purity of what the creators wanted to express was high.

I hope that by leaving these thoughts on the internet, which can be considered a real-world equivalent of Acacia Reload, I can contribute to ensuring the enduring appeal of this work.