fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE Review - Capturing A Moment Of Beauty

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Genre – Science Fantasy. Playtime – 6 Hours. Developer – ALICE IN DISSONANCE. Publisher – Phoenixx. VNDB

Before The Storm

LIGHTKRAVETE marks ALICE IN DISSONANCE’S first new fault title in seven years and this gap has lead to a substantial change in their overall style. Gone are the static character portraits, now each character has their own live 2d style model which moves as they speak and react. A dynamic camera now changes to focus on key characters or background elements and gives each scene more life. However, do all these bells and whistles come at the cost of what made the fault series so special? Let’s find out.

The main menu is truly beautiful.

A World of Wonder - Narrative and Structure -

There is something special about the world of fault. Its blend of fantasy and sci-fi concepts always made for an engaging read in their previous games and this trend continues in LIGHTKRAVETE. Unlike in previous fault games there is no overarching villain to push the narrative forward, since this is a prequel, and as result the world building has to do more of the heavy lifting. The story starts by presenting the kingdom of before the events of the first game which provides it with a sense of place that had previously been lacking and sets the stage for the story. Once this has been established the narrative moves onto the meat of the world building, the technical mystery. Without spoiling the exact nature of it this mystery, it is an exploration of the limitations and practicality of utilising magical technology for a new purpose not previously achieved. This section of the story is by far the strongest as it has the player piece together the solution along with Khaji, our protagonist, by having the two gain a full picture of the puzzle at the same rate and when the solution is revealed it is extremely satisfying.

This game has an encyclopedia of in-universe terms.

The only issue with the emphasis LIGHTKRAVETE places on world building is its overuse of in-universe terminology to the point of being actively distracting. One such example of this is the in-universe word for bear which is beare. This might at first glance seem like a petty nitpick, does a single letter difference really matter? The answer is in the frequency and the way these instances impede the players enjoyment by forcing them to stop and reread the sentence to understand it. This collectively adds up to distract for the excellent core narrative and, since most in-universe terminology is used were standard English would have been clearer, the writers could have easily avoided this problem by reducing their usage of these terms.

Ignoring something does not make it go away.

A story cannot exist on world building alone and so LIGHTKRAVETE has a character focused narrative to complement the world building and give it context. It is through Khaji’s struggles that this aspect manifests and we slowly get to see the development of his character in tandem with the growing mystery. His overall character arc is one of the most cathartic experiences in a recent visual novel release as he grows before our eyes from someone who is cowardly and unsure into a person who achieves his dreams. While it is not the most original arc, it is used by many for a reason and here its strength is obvious.

Khaji’s character arc creates some strange pacing issues within the narrative which can sometimes takes the player out of the experience. One of the most frequent early examples of this is an overemphasis on Khaji’s cowardice. This manifests as extended sections of the narrative where events are pulled to a screeching halt so that Khaji can express his unwillingness to do something. If this was a singular incident to show this aspect of his character then it would have been fine, but it happens repeatedly and they all follow the same pattern and the result is a lot of stopping and starting. Thankful this issue dies down in the second half when the technical mystery takes centre stage.

A Cast Of Many Qualities - The Characters -

The cast of LIGHTKRAVETE is one of the areas in which the game stumbles slightly as character development and interactions are not evenly spread among them leading to some characters feeling underdeveloped or unnecessary. This flaw can be explained by splitting the cast into three groups, the main characters, the minor characters and the old fault characters.

What an understandable protagonist!

Having a memorable main cast is key to any visual novel and LIGHTKRAVETE succeeds at this for the most part. Khaji Oberg has the excellent character arc need for a protagonist and being in his head space throughout the story gives the player a mix of outsider and insider perspectives on the workings of the fault world. This high bar of quality defines all the important characters of the story and it is clear that the writer knew that this was where they wanted to focus their efforts and the fruits of their success are obvious.

It is when we reach the minor characters that the cracks begin to show themselves. This secondary cast are noticeable less fleshed out and seem to exist just to deliver exposition. The lack of emphasis on these less important characters is understandable given the short playtime of the game but it is a disappointment none the less. The larger issue is the one scene each of these character has where they explain their backstory and without exception they are tragic in some fashion. This is not so bad in theory, but these backstories are all delivered almost back to back over a small section of the story and the result is a parade of misery which comes across a slightly silly. If they had been spaced out over a larger time frame then this issue would have been less noticeable and each story would have been given the space to breathe.

The final and most problematic group are the old fault characters, Ritona Reighnvhasta and Selphine Rughzenhaide. These two feel out of place in the narrative and seem to merely exist to justify the use of the fault name. Ritona is the worst offender since she has the greater amount of screen time and at times overshadows Khaji with her presence, particularly early on when he is somewhat cowardly. Her presence is meant to act as a reflection of Khaji’s own issues, but instead she comes across a character out of place compared to the rest of the cast with her extreme talent. The story would have been better served by not being so attached to the fault name and feeling confident in carving out its own identity.

The Spark of Life - Visuals and Audio -

If there is one area where ALICE IN DISSONANCE are at their strongest it is in the visual design and the quality of their narrative presentation. Each character portrait has been given a complicated live 2d style allowing for a stronger suite of dynamic expressions and the addition of motion to formerly static scenes. This works well for the talking heavy nature of the fault series with its focus on ideas and world building and adds emotion and spice to the character’s discussions. Complementing this change is the addition of a dynamic camera which focuses on aspects of the scene to increase the emphasis on certain characters and places while lending a sense of life to the world. Together these elements support the already strong narrative by lending weight or levity when needed to keep the player engaged with Khaji’s story.

The character animations are extremely expressive.

However, this approach is not without issues and even if they are not deal breakers, they are still worth discussing. The first is the mouth movements while the character is speaking. If the game had voice acting then this would not be an issue at all, but since it doesn’t the silent mouth moving as the text is displayed makes the otherwise emotive portraits come across as lifeless dolls. The other problem is that some of the poses which characters take cause parts of their body to noticeable clip through each other. It is not a frequent occurrence but when it does happen it is distracting from what are otherwise effective narrative moments.

As for the quality of the actual artwork itself and the music, they are a step above the previous fault games and show that the gap between the games has helped ALICE IN DISSONANCE step up their craft. The backgrounds pop with life and the character portraits are detailed to a level which has previous not been found in the series. The music focuses on establishing the mood and as a result is not memorable but it empowers the moments it needs to and works well with the type of narrative which is being told.