As the second son of the Count de Valmain, Ian de Valmain was neither destined for greatness nor to inherit his father's noble title. But when the King of the neighboring nation is assassinated, old rivalries, unchecked ambition, and political intrigue thrust Ian into a world of war and violence he...
As the second son of the Count de Valmain, Ian de Valmain was neither destined for greatness nor to inherit his father's noble title. But when the King of the neighboring nation is assassinated, old rivalries, unchecked ambition, and political intrigue thrust Ian into a world of war and violence he isn't prepared for. In order to save his county, Ian must go undercover in a mercenary camp, where he will be pushed to his limits, forced to choose what lines he's willing to cross and which ones he cannot live with. Can he protect those he loves and find happiness and love for himself? How far is he willing to go? Whatever he chooses, one thing is certain: Ian's life will never be the same.
Winner of 7 Alex d'Or awards, including Best Game, Best Story, and Best Atmosphere & Immersion, Bleeding Moons is a mature interactive adventure about fate, duty, honor, love, and free will. The decisions you make as Ian de Valmain will change both your life and those of the people around you. Determine the outcome of a war and the fate of several countries as you take on vital missions, meet unexpected friends and powerful enemies, find love with one of three remarkable women, and navigate your way to multiple possible endings in this fully interactive world.
Features:
Fully interactive world where your choices determine the fate of the world around you
Three potential romances to choose from
Multiple endings to discover
Over 100 hand-drawn locations
A cast of more than 170 unique characters
Winner of 7 Alex d'Or awards: Best Game (Gold), Public Choice (Gold), Best Scenario (Gold), Best Direction (Gold), Best World/Background (Gold), Best Story (Silver), and Best Atmosphere & Immersion (Silver)
I saw this on day it came out and it remind me of To The Moon the creator was in fact inspried by To The Moon. The game is really intresting and has dark tone. it dose deal with real issues and you have real choices. I don't want to give anything away but all your choice do effect the story. It only £7.49 in the UK it worth it the game last a good 8 hours before I finshed my first play through but I want to play again to see diffrent outcomes. The NPC's do have depth to them.
Worth a play through.
Intrigued by the title, I decided to give it a go. As a RPG Maker title, it was refreshing to witness a story more mature than the average title in this category.
Whatever your morality might be, you WILL commit heinous acts in order to progress the plot. I won't spoil anything, but be prepared for some haunting actions, all in the name of the greater good.
Sometimes it suitably strikes the emotional chord, sometimes it seems a little forced, just to push the main character beyond the pale once more.
War is a messy affair and Bleeding Moons does not stop at anything to show us that.
Hower, you will still have to suspend your disbelief quite often. Ian might be described as a "natural" in this line of work but as the missions get increasingly difficult and risky, the contrived coincidences keep piling up in his favor.
Even being tutored by a master assassin, it gets ludicrous sometimes...
Beyond that you will also have to pursue one of three possible romances : River, your childhood friend, Luna, said master assassin, and Sélène, whom you are bound to marry.
Problem is that you will spend most of your time with Luna. With less screen time, it is harder to develop the other two's characters...
Of course the game invites you to play multiple times, to get different endings and different romances. Problem is you cannot skip anything, making repeat plays a chore !
In the end, Bleeding Moons might suit you if you are all looking for a different kind of visual novel, with a dark tone. Do keep in mind though that all choices are not cleverly offered to you and that the "gameplay" parts are not terribly riveting.
Good story, some interesting moments and plot twist. Finished it in 8 hours with some replayability if you want the "perfect endings". Felt that romanceable characters had a very uneven character development and interaction (mainly centers in Luna, less River and Selene), but maybe need to play again and make another choices. Worth the praise.
For me, the game is best defined as a visual novel realized with RPG Maker. If you liked To the Moon (which was, as admitted by the developer, the inspiration of this game) and its sequels, you are likely to like this one too: it tells an exciting tale and tackles complex, mature themes.
Bleeding Moons follows an essentially linear plot while offering throughout the game different choices to the player: most of these do not change the immediate outcome of the plot but contribute to determine which endings are available at the end of the game (four main endings with many variations for each ending). Additionally, during the play, certain choices will unlock certain dialogues and cutscenes providing therefore different perspectives on the same story.
The game offers three romance options, and although romance seems initially an accessory to the "main story", eventually becomes the very point of the game. It is thus a bit unfortunate that the girls are treated so unevenly. Luna, for instance, gets most of the screen time and thus the player has most opportunities to "bond" with her. River gets much less spotlight but she is the choice made by the main character before the player takes control, and while choosing someone else is possible, to me it feels a bit wrong from a role-playing perspective. Finally, Sélène gets very little screen time and the player is given little incentive to care for her (though she's an endearing character in her own right) and I also found more difficult to get a "good" ending with her.
Being VN-like, it's a pity there is no way to "skip dialogues" as in VN: even with a plurality of saves, there is no way to quickly see the outcome from different choices without replaying linear stretches (one playthrough is 5-8h depending on playstyle and reading speed). Bonus points for the commentary mode.
In the end I was torn between 4 and 5 stars but thinking it was done by a one-man team I said to myself what the hell and I went for 5.
I haven't played very long yet but i already can tell you that i love this game! The art style, the story, the psychology of the game are all very compelling. Makes me think of a visual novel, lot of texts to read, but you control your character and there is missions to accomplish. A very interesting game, plus you can play it in french!
