A Hand in the Darkness

(maybe spoilers? dunno)

I recently discovered this game, downloaded it, and took a few weeks to start playing, and I regret having waited so long, you know? It's really good. The reading is quite light and fast-paced; it didn't make me tired, and I really loved how the story is well-crafted and without loose ends, although I was curious about the spirit of the woman! 

And also about the boys—my favorite is definitely Damian. I'm guilty of liking bad boys like him, although I found him a bit... too much? With our little bird during the game. But as a friend, he is really dedicated. He really cared about the boys in his own way and did everything to protect Alex and go after information, whether because he doesn't like being bored or just out of concern. He was a great help and gave me many laughs during the game.

Rick, on the other hand, is quite cute and quiet, the typical nerd, but in private, he’s not so innocent, if you know what I mean. He passed unnoticed by me when I played Damian’s route, which was also my first time playing, but when I went to play his route, I started to notice the details and found him increasingly cute. I wanted to keep him in a little jar to protect him. 

Buuuut, some might judge me a little because I didn't like Monty very much. Maybe he’s not the type of personality I usually like, and also, all this being the center of attention thing annoys me, as well as how he exploded at Alex, and then came that ridiculous insecurity and gaslighting with the poor boy (I won't lie that certain jealous scenes amused me hehe), but his good ending is quite nice, and I liked it. However, my favorite is and always will be our problematic Damian! I loved the game, and now I’m going to play the sequel!

Is this the original game or a pre-sequel ? I've seen that you have a second version of this game taking place into college.

I hope this title is one of the ones that will eventually be released on the Switch someday. I love all your work. :)

This is full of spoilers sooooo don't read if you haven't played the game also really really long comment.

So when I played the demo I did the ~Let's meet the others and start studying.~ then I didn't do the other path. Then the falling happened and I see that Damian is already suspicious of what's happening, so I got hooked right away, got and played the full game. Instead of doing the ~Let's meet the others and start studying.~ again, I did the ~I would like a bit of time for myself.~ so I got to the Damian route by accepting his offer after him kissing Alex. And then I chose the ~Get Angry.~ so I got the death ending for Damian. Also when I'm playing a game I really wanna get every single ending and hidden or easter eggs, so I always save every choice. Since I got the death ending, I chose the ~Excuse yourself.~ and then they had their first sexual intercourse in the forest. But when it came to the church I just chose ~Don't obey him.~ even though I'm not that religious it's still very disrespectful. And then ~Ignore him.~ or ~Accept his apology.~ I did it both but it was the same except for the first few lines of the dialogue after you choose it, but it was the same anyways. At this point, I was like, "so maybe there's 3 endings per character cause -death ending, -good ending, and then -bad ending", I knew of course that there will be an ending that they will break up cause of the description of the game. So the way I do this is that, you know I save at every choice, then I go back to the most recent choice first, that's how I got the 2 good endings (which is the same), then I went back to the church and chose ~Obey him.~ cause I'm a good pet (kidding) then got the bad relationship ending... p.s. I got Death, Good, and Bad Relationship Endings, perspectively.

So my say in this is that it's really good like the way that Damian has two personalities basically, you know the more genuine one when he's in the kitchen, and the asshole rule-breaker one. And I like that when Alex got angry in the library and when Alex didn't obey him in the church, Damian basically had the same reaction, like he was genuinely sorry (I hope, I think he is genuine though cause he just doesn't know how to treat Alex right, and blackmailed him, if he knows how to treat a person right, then he probably just pursued Alex and not blackmailed him) when Alex hid because he was angry then he went in the stairs then got stabbed we hear Damian actually worried and sorry for Alex the same way he was when Alex talked to him in the hospital. So I think that's a nice touch, that we could've gotten a good ending if Alex didn't die that night cause Damian would treat Alex differently by then. Oh and that hospital scene is so fucking good, Damian basically confessing his love for Alex, and Alex actually accepting his apology and getting back with Damian. And it was also good that because Alex obeyed him in the church, it lead him to think that the way he treats Alex is okay and that leads to a bad relationship ending. The only thing I criticize about the Damian route is that we really don't get to see much of Alex's interaction with Rick and Monty, especially in the good ending, it says that we got along well with Rick and Monty after the culprits where detained, but after that they weren't even mentioned and the ending was just Damian and Alex going to Oxford together, we don't get to see where the other two are going to study (and I know there's a sequel game, and I don't know yet if the other two will be there if I choose Damian's route) ps. its sad to think that Alex is probably still gonna die in the bad relationship ending because they didn't even catch the culprits or the aunt, unlike in the other bad relationship endings at least they caught the culprits and the aunt, he's just broken hearted. But for Damian's bad relationship ending, he sure is dead, not only broken hearted also dead soon.

So again, I played from the last save, which is the part where Damian took Alex's first kiss and I chose ~Push him away.~ (I thought at this point that it would still be Damian's route cause, I thought the route where the first choice is ~Let's meet the others and start studying.~ would be Rick's route cause in the demo it seems like Alex and Rick was getting closer already in that route. And the one where ~I would like a bit of time for myself.~ but instead of ~Hide again quickly.~ the choice ~Sneak away without being seen.~ would be Monty's path. But boy was I wrong.) So I chose ~Push him away.~ and then ~Go with Monty to the cricket training.~ and then when Damian didn't take me away I was surprised straight away and realized this is Monty/Rick route choice. So Alex went with Monty, and at first I thought it was weird that he was glaring at Rick and Alex when they were watching his training, then the kiss happened and it I thought it was alright that he was glaring, cause obviously he likes Alex, but boy was I wrong again, well not completely but it was more than just casual jealousy (and since I forgot the character description that it says Monty is jealous and possessive and man the story didn't disappoint me with that personality cause he really is so jealous and over possessive). So the next choice was either ~Leave and talk later.~ or ~Try to reason with Monty.~ of course I chose ~Try to reason with Monty.~ and the next choice was ~Enough is enough.~ and ~Try to understand him.~ and I was contemplating if I should do the same like for Damian, or try to understand him, and I chose the former cause I was like "it worked for Damian so why not for Monty" but it lead to Monty almost leaving me for dead... I felt betrayed there... so I got the bad relationship ending. So now I load to my last save again chose the latter now, and things were going great, until the last choice ~Play it off.~ or ~Tell him everything.~ and I did the latter and the ghost showed up and it was one of the cg's, but anyways the endings for both the choices are the same, with some extra dialogue if you saw the ghost. And I went back to the saves again, loaded to the ~Leave and talk later.~ or ~Try to reason with Monty.~ and I chose the former now and I already knew when Damian went to explain to Monty that Alex is already dead lol. p.s. I got Bad Relationship, Good, and Death Endings respectively.

So my say for the Monty route is that it's my favorite route, although I love the Damian x Alex relationship most, the story of the Monty route is the best out of the three routes, like for the bad ending again Alex would've been happy with Monty in the end cause Damian explained what happened to him and they could've fixed Monty's problem with his possessiveness, if Alex didn't die there oof, so that was good cause at least Damian didn't push himself on us and even tried to solve the problem he made. As for the bad relationship ending, it was really bad (not as in bad as a review) because they could've talked it out y'know? and they didn't even talk even in the graduation about their problem they just left it with their hearts broken (cause if it was me, I would've sought for closure at least, but they don't get that, so that was really sad) and we even see Alex thinking back to when he's 16 in the future and what could've happened if he and Monty got together, that says a lot cause you don't just casually think about your ex y'know it means its still bothering him, so that was a nice touch for that ending. And now the reason why Monty route is my favorite is because of the good ending. It's so good cause first of all it shows that the friendship of 4 of them is really good in the end, they were even waiting for Monty's result if he can get in Oxford or Cambridge so that was really nice and it shows that all 4 of them got into Oxford together, yay!!! And then the part where they found the evidence, like really really solid evidence, in the 3rd floor like I would think in the other two good endings that the culprit will probably tell them about that secret passageway but it's not that satisfying than the 4 finding it on their own (they probably don't even know about the secret passageway in the other endings) also the addition that you show that the ghost is real is so good like it adds another part to the story that's unexplored (although it could've been Alex's imagination, but I'd like to think that it's not, and it's real that the ghost only showed up for him). The things that I criticize is that it's so stupid that in the bad relationship ending the father didn't even bother explaining about the aunt like it's not like he doesn't already know that it's his aunt that wanted him dead, and also stupid saying "you didn't tell us about your close death experiences, so you're not mature" it's so stupid cause in the other endings he also didn't tell his parents about those. And the other thing is about Monty in the good ending, like I know he managed to get in Oxford/Cambridge because the teachers were like "he's hardworking, balancing sports and studies" and I wish that he could've at least got it with his sports, cause in Rick's good ending he either got in Cambridge with his good grades or because of his cricket (I don't know which one it said there that Monty also had good grades although Alex's is better, but he also said that he's in the cricket team so I'm not sure how he got in). What, was he so busy fucking with Alex that his grades nor his cricket experience is not enough for him to get into Cambridge/Oxford in his own. Like I would've thought that Alex would be a great inspiration for him to do better in both. But it's still my favorite good ending anyways since they all are in the same university, heck yeah.

So now to Rick's route, I came back to the choices ~Go with Monty to the cricket training.~ or ~Go to the study room to meet Rick.~ of course I choose Rick and I already knew that he was engaged and he likes Alex when he asked if Alex is engaged, and I knew this would be their biggest obstacle (of course setting aside the murder), then time went by the next choice is ~Agree with Rick's idea.~ or ~Try to think of something else together.~ of course I chose the former because you know Rick xD, and also he would be angry if it's only Damian and I (Monty and Rick are so jealous of Damian darn, Damian you playboy xD). And then they had their first ever sexual intercourse yay, then the note. The choice is ~Show him the note.~ or ~Play along and say nothing.~ so when Alex got the note he was so happy and he looked at Rick, but Rick was clueless so obviously it was not Rick who gave the note, but oh well I chose the latter cause I already knew it was the death ending and of course I already knew that Alex was gonna die, but I was still half hoping that it would be those moments where someone walks in, but apparently there's 4 of them that killed Alex there so that's a nope. So after that I came back to the save and chose ~Show him the note.~ and of course there's the Sarah scene and the next choice was either ~Trust in Rick.~ or ~Stop him and leave it in Damian's hand.~ and when I read that I was like "what the fuck of course Rick, his father is a lawyer and he probably has lawyer running in his blood and you know I thought he would be great at interrogating or convincing someone so I chose him and yeah it was the good ending. ps. so I got Death, Good, and Bad Relationship Endings respectively. And it's kinda funny cause for the Damian route I got Death, then Good, then Bad Relationship, then for Monty it was the other way round, Bad Relationship, then Good, then Death, and then for Rick it reversed again lol. I find that funny about my gameplay.

So my say about Rick's route, it was really cute, this two are just so cute and adorable, and I was surprised when Rick topped Alex damn that was hot. I thought he would be bottom, cause Damian - Top. Monty - Switch. And Rick - Top apparently xD. thought it would be bottom but hey its still hot asf that he's a top. The bad end for this route is just Alex's fault you know? xD like he didn't even make sure if Rick forgot or not, so it's his fault that he went up without asking Rick. The part that Sarah tried to save Alex is also very good, since we know that they befriended Sarah it made sense that she tried to save Alex before he died and I really like that, and also she got protection (I hope) so she won't get detained? That was really good, cause at first I was like "why the hell did she try to save Alex now?" and I was like "oh it's because they talked to her like every other day" and even though it wasn't showed in great detail it was nice. Now for the good and bad relationship ending, I really freaking love this part, cause it was the last choice you have for Rick's route and it decides whether it's a good or bad relationship ending, and damn when I finished both I was thinking about it so much, cause in the good ending Alex trusts Rick, but in the bad relationship ending Alex didn't trust Rick and put the situation in Damian's hand. At that point when I first saw that I thought that both has the same endings like for Damian's last choice it's both good endings, but after I played both ending I was like "holy shit its 'The Butterfly Effect'" and I really love that, you know I thought Rick would be fine with Alex not trusting him there but that choice made him insecure and lose confidence, cause in the good ending since we trusted Rick he was proud that he managed to convince Sarah to tell the police. And that made him confident to talk with his fiancee about that and tell his father in the graduation. Whereas if Alex didn't trust him it broke his confidence and became more insecure, thus he couldn't face his father and tell him to break the engagement. Fuck I really love that Butterfly Effect. The only thing that I'd like to criticize in Rick's route is in the good ending, like this ending could've easily become my favorite, instead of Monty's good ending, but the part that you made an effort so that Damian is actually in the group of friends when Damian asked "what do I get from this?" and then in the end Damian got separated from his friends is just not it for me, and sure it's more realistic this way cause school friends mostly separate when they graduate but you could've made it so that the other three chose Oxford so the four of them are together just like in Monty's ending. So that's why Monty's ending is still better than Rick's ending. 

But wow the game is just so good, and I'm not even finished yet, I just went here to type this because I finished 3 endings per character... but there's still some choices that I haven't done like the one where you see Damian getting a blowjob where you either ~Hide again quickly.~ or ~Sneak away without being seen.~ I've only done the former, and then specially the very first choice, I haven't seen anything from ~Let's meet the others and start studying.~ except for the Demo so you know how short that is... so yeah I might do another comment after I do everything in the game... then I'll play the after stories. 

Wow this is such a long comment. I really love this game, it's my first game about romance and there's also a lot of angst such as murder. And also I freaking love the historic times, I wanna see more games that takes place in the 1900's or so.

And I have a question, is there any other endings except the ones I already got? Cause I already got all the CGs. Also is doing the other path, where I study with them, gonna lead to the same endings or is there another endings for all the characters? And is there any easter eggs that I don't know, like a secret path? I would like to know. Also which character did you write about first? Like which route? (If I was to guess I would say it's Damian cause it's the shortest, and also it's not so detailed as the other routes ~ for the friendships at least, it's mostly just focused on Damian and Alex together not much interaction with Rick and Monty, or was that intentional cause to say Damian is a bad influence at first and that put distance between Alex and the other two?) 

~Thank you for making this game!

Also sorry I don't have any money, so I downloaded this for free in another website...

ps. remember I said that I don't remember much about the character descriptions, well I remembered that it said that Monty is Alex's best friend, so at first I thought in the first choice, the study with them its Rick's route and the go alone was Damian's route and I was surprised when there was a Monty route and the first kiss with him like I was screaming, also there's no CG here about Monty and Alex together, it was 3 Rick and Alex, then 1 Damian and Alex.

As I was scrolling through the comments I saw about the Valentine's Day, so it's just an extra story right as well as the other 2 pdfs i suppose? so 3 extra story and the other game yay... Also again I don't have money I don't have paypal nor have I a work yet, I'm a student and takes allowance from my parents, and since in my country our face to face classes are just coming back this school year, I really didn't have any money the past 2 years, if I had I would at least buy the game here.

me acabo de descargar el juego y nose porque no me deja guardar ni cargar?? alguna idea de que pueda estar pasando pls, como lo soluciono

did this incase of spoilers

whew that was a lot. i'm wondering why the school never had any cameras installed lol..? i was only really interested in Damian and wow i love him so much when i got bad relationship end i was honestly so shocked. i was like where did i go wrong then i realized my mistake xd. literally just thought to myself if i was Alex what would i do and i thought to confront him and what Damian said in the hospital just made me scream....my overprotective knight in shining armor. also is there any extra content that has Damian route in it ? cause i'm totally hooked more than ever.

how long would you say the play time is ?

Is this game on steam?

Do you still recieve a Steam key for this game once bought? I only ask because it still says so under the "buy now" button so just wanted to confirm it or not! :)

Why can't I pay with my card? I don't have Paypal and I don't want Paypal.

Quick question - in the post on Steam when the game was discontinued you referred to DLC content to download which I assume was for after the original purchase.  If I was to buy the game here, does it already include the DLC content you referred to?  And I assume the updates still follow the original disclaimer: "No NSFW CGs but still graphic descriptions" ?

I know I could probably purchase this on Steam, but there really needs to be an option to purchase any Ertal Games games on Itch.

The demo link appears to be broken? :[