My Final Thoughts on the Chromatose Demo
‘Wait, JP, you’re not done talking about Chromtaose?’
Yes and No, dear Anon. First off, congratulations to the Akabaka team and all of the Kickstarter backers for securing the funding goal for the game! That’s good news not only for the developers, but for the entire EVN scene. However, now we must wait. Chromatose will now enter a full development cycle: hopefully completing three years from now in 2021. While there will be updates and potentially new demos to prepare for, we have to accept the reality that our conversations will be sparse until we get closer to release. This means this may be my last time to have a substantive discussion about all of the promise this game’s narrative, artistic style and gameplay has to offer.
OR I CAN JUST TALK ABOUT WHO THE BEST GIRL IS. I DUNNO, YOU TELL ME.
Look, I spent five thousand words on a deep dive into the substance and promise of this game. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 if you need an argument. But, the fact that the game is clearly majority female cannot go unnoticed here.The relationships our protagonists Leroy forms with these women will be the best expression of the dramatic tension and themes of the plot. The ‘Best Girl’ signifier isn’t just an aesthetic choice here; although, this will certainly be a very ‘on-brand’ list for anyone who follows me….you’ll see. It’s the girl who is the best character expression of the larger narrative goals of the game. It just so happens that list also coincides with the hottest girls in the game.
Which means no Depth Knell. Sorry Chromacult.
I’m only including the girls we’ve seen so far in gameplay, which means no Mercy Ross…this time. Imogen O’Connor was never going to make a list like this because, well, she’s a kid. SO, with those rules in place, let’s list them out! Here are the Chromatose Girls: RANKED!
5. Quah Ting Win (Quentin)
Quah Ting Win is rather unassuming compared to the boisterous, colorful (cough) personalities this game will foist upon our protagonist. Quah Ting Win is, in comparison, much more reserved on purpose. Her shyness is directly related to the reasons she’s in a coma. It’s also probably the main reason she’s so low in my rankings, at least. The girl known as Quentin is a tragic character and I want to see her overcome the circumstances leading her to this world so she can have a second chance at seizing her own life. However, that desire for her character cancels out other….desires for her character. Sorry kid, but in the Best Girl Rankings empathy and hotness rarely go hand-in-hand.
4. Sheer Kamal
Sheer Kamal is the literal incarnation of every single ‘Step On Me’ thirst comment created by the Internet. Her own creators denote that she is the personification of a stiletto (jokingly of course). From what we’ve seen of her in the demo, she is an Alpha, Type-A personality with no shame and, just from what we’ve seen so far, has similar abilities to our protagonist Leroy at least thanks sheerly (I GET IT) through her own determination and not leaving her own world. The hotness on this one cannot be denied, but at the same time I need to see more than just the Free-LC we got in the demo. It would be incredibly easy for that confidence to become arrogance and for Sheer to become a villain…not that that’s a problem or anything, we just need to see much more before a final call can be made.
3. Izzy
Does anyone trust Izzy at this point? Anyone?
Much of the mystery surrounding Chromatose is based on what Izzy does and does not know about the world around them. Her willingness to play coy with the main character and audience by proxy makes her the story’s antagonist off the bat. However, it feels like her story arc bends less towards a straightforward antagonist and more as someone who is just being kind of selfish. She wants to help, but ‘help’ insomuch as it keeps Leroy close to her. In the ‘Bad’ ending, our protagonist just stuck with her until the alternate world collapses. Whatever Izzy’s intentions are with Leroy are, they’re go in one direction. The audience just doesn’t know what that one direction is.
This keeps Izzy high in my books, at least. Yes, she’s kind of cute if you don’t mind a whiff of sulfur about her. But it’s the intent behind her actions, her motivations, that keep her interesting to me, at least. And, as a wise man once said, interest is the beginning of infatuation.
2. Lilith Lacroix
SPEAKING OF INFATUATION, HOW ABOUT A GIRL WHO DOESN’T REALLY LIKE YOU.
AT. ALL.
The interesting thing to note here is that, at least for now, while she may not like us, Lilith isn’t lying to us. If anything, she seems perfectly fine with helping Leroy get out along with the others who are trapped and can leave. This doesn’t make her intentions good. If anything, fueling Leroy’s desire to help keeps him here far longer than he probably should. But it also is the only reason Leroy questions Izzy, which may be saving him from a worse fate. Lilith is a wild card in all of this and her apparently independent decisions in a world where everyone seems to be dependent on their past is a refreshing change-up. And, despite her not liking Leroy, it’s hard for the audience not to like her.
1. Primadonna
She’s an amazonian prize-fighter with a one-track mind and dark sense of humor. I’m pretty sure Spike Spiegel said it best when it came to these type of women.
P’s story in the demo is hands-down the most fun.Considering the overall tone and atmosphere of the game, that’s a Hell of a thing to say. But there is something attracting in that ‘Live for the Moment’ mindset: an intense passion that pulls you along despite your better sense. And as you follow her in the early parts of her route, that’s exactly what happens. Yes, her mindset clearly because self-destructive in the end and I, at least, got the feeling that subconsciously she does get it. She knows that this could be it for her and if she’s going to die, she’s just going to go down swinging and getting in as many drinks as possible. So, while trying to get her to take her foot off the gas pedal will play a role in possibly keeping her alive, the fact that we’re apart of the wild ride either way is very good and it elevates Primadonna, for me, to the Best Girl in Chromatose so far.
That’s going to be it for Chromatose content for a bit! You can follow Akabaka as things develop and we will keep you posted on all of the news over the next few years as we patiently wait for the full game. In the meantime, what did you think of the demo if you played it and who would you consider the Best of the Girls introduced so far? Feel free to let me know in the comments. JP3: OUT
