Loved, Locked & Shackled
Content warning: This game contains a mention of double suicide. Viewer discretion is advised.
꧁𓊈𒆜𒆜𓊉꧂
Summary
Fail to confess your emotions to your girlfriend.
꧁𓊈𒆜𒆜𓊉꧂
Features
- ~1000 words
- 1 sprite, BG, sound and ambient track
- Fully voiced companion making her comeback, this time in reality instead of internet ✮ ✮ ✮
- Flavor text based on choice
This game was made for O2A2 2025 - Visual Novel Jam, a micro Visual Novel Jam with strict asset limitations and a 1000 word limit.
꧁𓊈𒆜𒆜𓊉꧂
Credits
Script
Innocent
Graphical User Interface (GUI) | Itch.io-page background
suskueve
Voice Acting | Sound Design & Engineering
unimilumi
Background & Character Art | Coding
temteno
Information about asset attributions can be found in the game on "Credits".
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Comments
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Pretty interesting concept, the nostalgia is real with the 2000s art style, but i also got strong yandere feelings from Sof, if i were MC, i would take care of not upsetting her…
This game was interesting! First of all, I am genuinely IMPRESSED with the art direction, to the point I had to check the artist's portfolio to see if it was their actual style, and it isn't, so the fact the 2000s VN art style was emulated SO WELL is impressive! The GUI also participated in setting the vibe, and the background looks magnificent!
Now, for the story, I think the fact MC's relationship with Sof is a wild ride, as they both feel very distant from each other. A quote I love, from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (writer of The Little Prince), is that love isn't about looking each other, but looking together in the same direction. That is, I think, wat MC and Sof completely fail to do! And that's where the connection to the retro aesthetic of the game shines through: while MC seems more grounded in reality, Sof seems to avoid it, somehow feeling fictional, artificial (in a way that reminds me, for some reason, of those old VNs striking you with a yandere ending the moment you make one wrong choice looool), hence her attachment to pseudonyms, and the braindead lingo ("I aishiteru you" was peak, it reminded me of Nyan ~ Neko Sugar Girls). The VA also did an amazing job at making Sof sound out of place, unhinged almost, and give life to the text in a most endearing way!
Thanks for making this, and congrats on the release!
Thank you a lot for your compliments and playing the game!!! <3 I'm glad that you were able to feel the disconnection since it was our goal to show how out of sync both Sof and MC were. Our talented voice actor definitely made Sof come alive in wonderful ways and the story would've felt very different without them!
I didn't realize this game was a sequel, so I played this first and went to play Digital Curtain. Is it weird to say I'm kind of obsessed with Sof, lol! (Probably lmao)
She's such an interesting character, and it makes me wonder whether or not MC is the same person in both games or just time itself has passed. I think it could be more the latter as Sof herself has changed as person. Here, she is desperately holding onto this toxic positivity whereas in Digital Curtain, she is incredibly pessimistic. The change may seem drastic, but it highkey make senses noting the themes that lingers across both games.
Overall, I love these snippets of this weird anime girl (?) and would love to see more of her if there's more in store <33
Thank you a lot for the kind and thoughtful words!! <3
There's a lot of room for interpretation due to how short both entries are and I'd like to think that even us creators have some differing opinions. Glad to know that you like Sof: both games are meant to be stand-alone experiences but still fill in more of who Sof is!
Aaa, gotcha! I do love it when a character is that complex (even with how short entries were) that it even tests the creators' understanding of them. Tysm for the game!