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D.Nd: poisoned (M/M, free, 18+)

• overall: B. D.Nd poisoned was a popular death note fangame made in 2007, if i recall correctly, starring mello and near as teenagers in wammy's orphanage. the game has a nice artistic style and simple yet unreasonably difficult gameplay, but covers some very dark themes. for clarifications sake: i was 15 when i played this, and my ratings are based on my interpretation at the time. i don't know anything about the creator. i suspect, based on the content of her social media pages, that she was a similar age. even so, given the content of this game, obviously nobody should be playing it now, even if it werent nearly impossible to do so by now. im reviewing it only for completion's sake, as i remember enough of it to do so, and will not be putting it on the masterlist.
• plot: B. mello is constantly competing with near, but is stuck at #2 no matter what he does. when hes tasked with a group project and told to work together with the boy he hates more than anything, he doesn't think he can do it. not without losing himself in the process, anyway. also matt is there, we guess. as setups for a romance sim go, its pretty much easy mode. forced proximity on command. the identity issues and competition bump this plot up, however, even if those aspects are misused.
• characters: B. they're just the death note characters. are they in character? i dont really know. i remember canon near, vaguely, but i never finished reading death note. what i can say is that all the characters in this game are 3 dimensional, developed, and frankly rife with complicated motivations and appeal. ...except for linda. linda, in this game, really only exists to be a hypothetical obstacle (and in some cases a direct obstacle) for mello/near. i dont need to explain the tendency for mysogyny in the "yaoi" community, and elements of that are visible in her portrayal. however, shes never actually demonized. shes written shallowly, but sympathetic. even though shes low-key homophobic.
• writing: B. the quality of the writing is, honestly, good. aside from a few language issues, its pretty up there. mello is a non-stop angst machine, but that is more or less the point. he really sells whichever route hes on, for the most part. but... the romanticization of their unhealthy relationship, while obviously the intention, is shallow. the "addiction" "poison" metaphor is overused, even in the routes where theyre more healthy. please, for the love of god, use the word "love". even just once. i am begging you. given the way the game handles their attraction, combined with lindas reaction being presented as right, this m/m romance game somehow manages to come off as openly homophobic. i mean, thats yaoi for you, i guess.
• routes: puzzle > bodyguard > games > forever > loyal dog > punished > unreachable
• gameplay: C. the gameplay consists entirely of navigating to various locations on the map (sometimes in certain orders), playing through VN sections, and making dialogue choices. it needs a skip button. it really needs a skip button. im pretty sure this game was made in rpg maker, and having made VNs (poorly) in that engine before i understand some limitations are unavoidable. but the game definitely suffers for it, since its so long and expects you to get all the endings in one file. the main gameplay itself, on top of that, is... very very difficult. when i played this, i needed to follow extremely detailed walkthroughs for every ending, and if even one thing was different then you just wouldn't get the ending. the novelty of having it take into account when you explore certain locations and what order you go to them in is nice, but these design bugs keep it locked at a C.
• art: A. the art is, frankly, very good. the sprites are stylized, but well done, and the (chaste) art is very soft and sweet. the more murdery stuff is very spooky and atmospheric. those are the only two categories we are discussing. if i have any complaints its that the characters are all extremely thin and a bit noodley, which can be off-putting, and mello looks a bit too neat. the UI is very basic and a bit dull, including the title screen, but the map design is actually fantastic, the perfect balance of minimal and artistic considering how often youll wind up seeing it.