Archive for February 2025
MYTH Review – Walking With My Shadow
Genre – Mystery, Thriller, Denpa Play Time – 20 hours Developer – Circletempo Steam VNDB
Walking Without A Shadow
In
a world where everyone is shadowless, should you trust someone who
has one? This is a tale of multiple dimensions, interweaving
character relationships and even parents eating their own children.
There is nothing quite like MYTH and it can make explaining its
qualities to another person somewhat difficult, especially since it
relies so heavily on plot twists and this constrains what can be
discussed. Nevertheless, this review will endeavour to cover the ups
and downs of the game while keeping away from the deeper aspects of
the winding plot. One of the ways it likes to keep people guessing is through a
variety of POV characters who at first glance seem to have nothing to
do with one another and the small casts which surround them. In order
to keep track of all these different moving parts MYTH gives ample
charts and reference information to encourage theorycrafting at every
turn. The most noticeable flaw in the title is its limited
presentation which stems from its low budget and small development
team. Is the weakness enough to draw people out of the experience and
undermine its elaborate narrative? Let’s locate ourselves a shadow
and find out.
Step Into The Labyrinth – Narrative And Themes
The
largest reason to play MYTH can be found in the complex and
interconnected narrative and the way it is carefully given to the player
one helping at a time. From the moment the game starts we are
presented with a mysterious world where people do not have shadows
and it is here we are introduced to our first protagonist, Tanabe Meito.
Not much time is initially spent here and Meito is swiftly pulled
into another equally strange world by Shimon, yet it will linger in
the player’s mind while leading to a pay off much later on. This
process of highlighting key elements of the story for future reveals
through their sheer abnormality is what makes the journey so
memorable as it pulls on all kinds of sci-fi and mythological
references to hint at the bigger picture. Slowly teasing ideas with
distinctive yet separate elements, which invite the player to consider
how they functions, can provide an incentive to form theories about
how all these pieces link to one another. The way MYTH loves to jump between protagonist’s, sometimes
without informing the player, reinforces these feelings of intrigue
as it reframes concepts which the player may have thought they
understood. In many ways the build up where all the theory crafting
takes place is more interesting than the truth about what is going
on. Not because the truth is boring or underwhelming, but rather the
back and forth between player and game as theories are tested
against new information is so incredibly engaging that it carries a
powerful momentum throughout the entire experience.
 |
| MYTH is broadly series yet know how to add some levity into the mix |
Perhaps
it is inevitable that the strengths of a complex visual novel are
also one of its primary weaknesses. This is a game so in love with
its plot twists and reveals it can sometimes take it too far and they
become somewhat overwhelming and nonsensical. Towards the end of the
story the twists come at a rapid pace and in order to justify certain
revelations there have to be leaps in logic to accommodate them. Many
are inoffensive and make some degree of sense, but there are a fair
few pushing the bounds of believability too far and causing the
player to be distracted by them when they should be focusing on the
narrative climax. The really important twists manage to avoid this
fate since it is clear the developers have thought about their
implementation at length, but it hurts them by proximity and a
feeling of inconsistency. At the point this issue arises a player is
likely already going to see the game through to the end, but it does
take away from what it otherwise an emotional and tense finale.
Many Universes, Many Faces – Characters
Swapping
between the various point of view protagonists and seeing their very
different views on their worlds acts a major pillar for MYTH. To
start out there are just two POV characters in Meito and oddly named
Berserker with more being added as the game moves along. This pair
perfectly captures the range of characterisation the player can
expect from future POV characters. The seemly ordinary Meito
contrasting against the violent and strange Berserker who is being
eaten by his mother perfectly represent the extremes of MYTH's narrative
space. Everyone other POV character falls somewhere within
this space and expands their respective angle on the greater
mysteries. Being inside their heads helps make the more esoteric
protagonists, in particular Berserker, more engaging to witnesses as
the player gets to see the full twisted and morbidly fascinating
workings of their minds rather than the potential vague outline of
them a third person view would provide. The regular switching between
them helps keep the narrative feeling fresh through a constant sense
of new things being uncovered and new strange worlds coming into
focus. It is important for MYTH that these POV characters be as
memorable as possible since they form a large part of what is a
relatively small core cast and so the scrutiny placed on them from the
player is more intense than might otherwise be found in a large
group. As such their intense nature is a direct response to this
requirement and this elaborate solution defines a lot of the game’s
identity.
 |
| Berserker is a truly odd character |
Beyond
the POV protagonists, the main cast is a relatively small affair with
each group consisting of no more than a handful of characters
each. Take for example Meito, he has a total of three important
characters around him, in Riri, Shimon and Sou, and together they are
the people the player will spend the majority of their time as him
interacting with. Such a small group ensures an intimate knowledge of
their relationships and a greater number of opportunities to grow
attached to them during the slower paced moments. These bonds make it
more personal when the doubts about the characters’ intentions come
crawling out of the woodwork and the player has no choice but to
reevaluate them in the context of Meito’s story and also their
appearances from other perspectives. Having this doubt weave into the
protagonist switching creates an interesting push and pull about how
the player feels about certain cast members due to their seemly
contradictory presentation. While this is happening the game provides
characterisation to all these sides of them so they come across as distinct
and create uncertainty about the reliability of each protagonist’s
testimony.
Pushing Through Limitations – Visual, Audio and Technical
The
first thing you will notice when starting up MYTH for the first time
is its low budget nature. From the simple character portraits with
limited expressions to the small pool of background music and sound
effects, it is a constant presence throughout its play time.
Having this constant reuse of assets can lead to some sources of
confusion about what is being show on screen. For example, if a
background asset of a forest is used in two different characters’
perspectives how should this be thought about? Are they in the same
location or is this just a strategic recycling of assets? Due to how
vague the narrative can be, and the fact that both are true at
different times, it muddies the player’s understanding of what is
going on and hurts the viability of their theorising. It also suffers
from the standard feelings of repetition from being forced to use the
same visuals and audio on a regular basis. Through a clever
re-framing of these assets from the different perspectives and
contexts MYTH mitigates the fatigue that might otherwise be present.
Keeping everything fresh with new framing is a key pillar of every
part of MYTH and it is just as strong here as it is everywhere else.
 |
| Good charts are always a blessing |
As
the complexity of the plot and the number of cast members increases
it can be difficult to keep track of everything. To alleviate this
burden MYTH has a series of charts and notes which keep track of all
the big reveals and character relationships.
This helps the narrative avoid repeating information for the sake of
catching the player up on something they may have missed and it gives
the player a space to take a break and speculate about what is going
on. Keeping each part as clearly defined as possible is a big focus
for these charts and one of the main way they achieved this is
through dividing it along the lines player’s are encountering in
game. The largest example of this is how the character relationship
charts are each centred around a different POV protagonists to match up
with what the player is experiencing. It cannot be overstated how
much these charts and notes make the feeling of playing MYTH more
accessible and it is something more visual novels should include if
they want to lean into complexity in their narratives.
Conclusion
Strange
is perhaps the single word which best sums up every aspect of MYTH
and it uses this to its advantage. The twisting story keeps the
player guessing and encourages them to engage in their own
theorycrafting about what is going on. This is aided by a well put
together suite of charts and notes to help them keep track of events
and characters. Presenting all of this through a variety of POV
protagonists each with their own small main cast works to create an
interesting and dynamic set of characters. It is only held back by
its status as a low budget title limiting its available assets and
the way it can sometimes push its plot twists a little too far.
Verdict –
Strange worlds and imaginative characters populate a rich and
winding narrative that rewards the player’s willingness to engage
with it. Despite its low budget presentation, there is nothing quite
like MYTH.
Pros -
+
Complex and interweaving plot which engages with the player’s
ability to think about the situation from different angles.
+
Smart use of a variety of POV characters to create intrigue.
+
Small core casts around each protagonist ensure the player is able to
get intimately familiar with them.
+
A suite of charts and information which constantly updates to help
the player keep track of what is going on.
Cons -
-
Can push the plot twists of its tangled plot too far and it can be
distracting.
-
Its low budget nature leads to the reuse of a lot of assets.
