Holy, I saw this game on Let's Plays but to actually experience it is something else. The dialogue in this game is great, feeling realistic while still providing emotional moments. I also commend the developer on their ability to accurately mimic the doctor's office check-up experience. I don't want to spoil anything major but both characters have interesting mental struggles that are revealed as the game goes on and is shown really well in the facial expressions. Lee and Angel are very odd people and their motivations are well done. Also, I will never fully hate on Lee because he's got shrimp facts, and I NEED MORE SHRIMP FACTS!
Bravo to Homie for this work of art! I hope there is more to come, from either these two goofs or someone new.
(Awaiting the Puppet Combo crossover with Lee. If you know you know)
I literally haven't written in years beyond the bare minimum it takes to make a d&d character sheet, and yet playing this game inspired me to get my laptop out and start up a new doc. I recommend this game heavily to anyone who can stomach it.
Absolute masterpiece of a game. I love it, the characters, the art, the music and the story. The game is really charming and suspenseful. I don't know what happened with the girl in the clinic or what weight she brought to the story but everything else is fantastic. Fully Recommend!
If you're wondering whether the game is good or not, it absolutely is good. The art is charming and the suspense part is working well. The characters are really well-written and you'll find yourself bonding with them a bit too well over a rather short period of time. I absolutely adore the amount of work the devs put in this game. It's showing.
I usually don't write comments, but I came as far as register an account and write all this stuff, because the thing deserves it.
[MAJOR SPOILERS]
I respect the devs SO MUCH for all the detail they put in this work, from a variety of sprites for some miniscule actions and infodumps about stuff (really enjoyed those) down to A CHOICE to accept Lee. I'm usually that person that gets ultra annoyed about characters getting rejected the very second they do something "not normal" (probably because I relate a lot to them, the whole thing with Lee being too stiff and fearful about doing something "inappropriate" felt just too real), like I genuinely don't understand what's so wrong to get such a drastic response. And Angel put it really cleverly: you do strange things when you're desperate. Happens to a lot of us. Just depends on your moral compass and understanding of social stuff, maybe you'll find a more "acceptable" way to express something you don't know how to express, or maybe you'll be weird and creepy because you just don't know how social rules work and don't care enough.
Of course, I do not advocate the murder, it was an unwanted and wrong decision, but then again, I'm so grateful to devs for a choice to accept it. That ending was something I really needed it media. I finally feel at peace, knowing that such a choice exists, even if it's in one game. Knowing that people like me can be understood. Knowing that there are people who won't pronounce you being rotten and "bad" to the core because of one mistake. It really helps a lot. Guess "waiting and seeing it" was worth it, haha.
I just LOVE this game!!! When I was playing it I time after time catched myself on thoughts that characters are lively and humanly. I can't help but smiled to all events where Angel and Lee develop their relationships. I was happy to see them together. Graphics are incredible, style is really cozy (??) and inspiring. Love Angel's drawings. Game really resonates with me and will definately become one of my favourites. Thanks for your work and I look forward to next games from you if you have planned some!
I don't usually write reviews but I loved this game so much I decided to do so.
Clinical Trial is an incredibly well-written, unique visual novel and a MASTERCLASS in suspense. A friend had mentioned it in passing and recommended I play it. I ended up downloading it and made it a whole event streaming it to my friends that same day (I highly recommend this. Two of you can voice-act the leads and it's like watching a super intense play). I could have never expected how INVESTED everyone was about to get. My friends and I were consistently anticipating for the proverbial shoe to drop only to be surprised every single time it did. The dialogue is very natural and isn't forced which is pretty difficult to pull off. I played it a few days ago and I feel like I still can't get enough of Angel and Lee. I just want to know more and THAT'S what makes Clinical Trial so good. The fact that one can become so enamored with characters you only spent 2.5/3 hours with. It genuinely speaks volumes to the quality of the writing and story.
All my friends and I agreed we would have wholeheartedly bought this game because we were just so impressed with the overall quality and the sheer enjoyment we experienced(so if there's a ko-fi or something we would love to donate!) It's also a quick 2.5/3 hour adventure so get yourself some snacks and a drink, and settle in for pure cinema. So if you haven't played already, please do.
Anyway, thank you Homie for keeping my love for thrillers and indie games alive. I hope you continue to create more and I'm excited to see where you go from here.
-Possible Spoiler-
P.S. I love Lee so much, he's my freaky little guy. Whenever you draw art of him, an angel gets its wings. (pun intended)
i need more of angel and lee their personal circumstances and specific context is quite dark and twisted but they are so gentle to one another. it's such a stark contrast and i'm obsessed with it !!
this is an exceedingly well-written game and i loved the dialogue and character relationships. unfortunately, the ending (both of them) wasn't really made for me.
if you ever make more games in the future, though, i'll be sure to check them out. i do love your writing style
i've never had a game floor me this easily with such a distilled summary of struggling with ADHD esp as a struggling trans person and the atmosphere in the entire front half of the game made me so deeply uneasy and nauseous that i had to take a break for a bit. super well-written, super charming aesthetic, super effective atmosphere, i need lee carnally, incredibly solid experience all around
if you have adhd, (the kind that knots your brain into anxious hysteria such that your grasp of reality is too tenuous to reliably narrate to the psychiatrist who keeps increasing your methylphenidate dosage.) there are many lines of dialogue in this game that will cut into you like a hot knife cuts into butter. i was surprised, then i burst into tears for a minute or two.
the writing, overall, is intelligent. it shows in the sensitivity of the story's subtext. by that i mean the slow moments, the scenes that give angel and lee a great quality of verisimilitude, as you infer the significance of everything they don't say. of course the charming and wonderfully expressive artwork helps too.
regardless of how receptive any audience is to the niche the game occupies, i hope the creator is proud of, or at least satisfied with what they've made here. their emotional insight and technical skill are what made their game special.
ill be thinking about angel and lee for a good long while.
Love this game so much, decided to download it after seeing a ManlyBadassHero playthrough on Youtube and it was a great decision. Only suggestion for change would maybe be to add a bar for autoplay, quick saves, x2 speed dialog options etc like some other VN games? Another thing I’m adding on to my yap is that I love how some of the text is broken up when appearing to affect how it’s read and it’s a really nice detail. Quick question, is Angel canonically genderfluid/trans?
-SPOILERS-
Idk if it’s just me overthinking it but was Week 6 the week of the assault? And if so, was the “Didn’t I say no?” sequence also a jab to that? I’m asking because of the “You’re just going to stick it in.” part but I might be tweaking. I mean it’s either that or just Angel thinking that the placebo was actually affecting her. Or both? Idk though, just a silly fella who enjoyed the game thoroughly !! :D
(Sorry if I sound stupid, it’s just that I’m so awestruck by this game and the clear effort put into it :3)
I want to share my impressions of the game without any special spoilers. I express my wildest respect to the author, his game gave me such a fascinating, interesting, romantic and wonderful experience in my life that I will never forget. I haven't felt such emotions since I was 7 or 6 years old, and even if I did, it wasn't as strong or noticeable. The game seemed to pull the soul out of me, kissed everything from the inside and put the soul back, it's such a unique experience in my life that it's hard for me to describe or imagine.
It may seem that I am overly praising such a project, but it really influenced me so much and I would really like to personally contact the main author of the game on Twitter or any other social network to discuss something. I am a Russian-speaking YouTuber and I would really like to promote the product to the masses for absolutely free, I just want to discuss some details to avoid possible conflicts. Have a nice and pleasant day!
P.S. - Translated through Google translator, because I don't speak English as well as I would like, so there may be semantic and grammatical errors. Im Sorry, bro
Hi, i dont know if there is any other way to report this but there is a typo in week 4 when Lee is talking about shrimp, he says "Indo-Pacifc" instead of "Indo-Pacific", i think its something insignificant but i guessed you would want to know.
Also, your game is incredible, it has left me inconsolable for days, thank you for making it.
This was so amazing. One of the best itchio games of recent. I can't believe its free. Do you have any kind of site where I can support you? I just think you deserve some compensation for this tbh. 10/10
Holy shit man! That story is insane! genuinely so engaging and the twists were like wow!! i did not see them coming. I love the visuals and the writing! The characters and dialogue are written very well, and the story like i said was suuper engaging. absolutely loved it.
in the second act if you will, as they grew closer i wondered if this even was a horror. i was like wow i relate so much to some of this stuff, it was made for me! then boom! i mean its really really well done. even having stuff you dont want to happen youknow? like taking the jacket out of the washing machine, i was honestly disappointed in lee 😭😭
amazing job! when i have money ill def come back to support
SOME SPOILERS!! hey! so while we were playing something happened and I'm not sure how we can fix it cus everytime we reloaded it was still not working but in part where Lee says goodnight to Angel the second time, the sound effect of the cloth didn't load :((
how do we fix this?
sorry if its the wrong place to ask this I didn't know where else
Sorry you ran into this, I messed up yesterday's deployment. A fixed version is uploaded on here now, but you can use your version by doing the following:
Go into the game's files. Find the 'audio' folder, then the 'SE' folder. Duplicate any file in there (such as 'click.ogg_') and rename it to 'cloth.ogg_'
Edit: one thing i found it weird was being able to make a save file on the start of the game / options. It weirded me out how you can create a Save File on the game... without even playing. Also, for some reason, it wouldnt let me select slot 1? minor thing obv bc theres plenty for slots. :P
(SPOILERS AHEAD) // I just finished this game and, i gotta say, thank you. I relate so much to the character of Angel in many of its aspects. and the SA part... it hit really close to me. Im a person who was assaulted/ R-Word and i wished, day to day, to the one who harmed me in such way, died no matter what. It was horrible to hear that person just dismissing it or saying he would do it again. it was 10 years of suffering before he died due to illness. Also, i really enjoyed on how Angels gender or identity was put in a mystery to say it in a way, it comforts me. Also Lee has also its own scars, the way he found comfort in suicide but saw a reason to keep going... Is something me and my partner can relate, sometimes... life is like that.
So, basically. This games really good! It handless adult topics for and adult audience very well. I dont like the term of being it problematic, personally i think you can have such dark topics as long as you dont glorifyit or try to make excuses for it or that kind of stuff.
Thank you, again, for this.
EDIT 2: dont really like the people who look at Angel and think theyre a minor.... like... first thing in game that the Trials are only for people 18 or more.... and second, because there are people who look younger than their age??? personal experience, the guards at the hospital tend to confuse me for a kid/teen, and they get freaked out specially in the ecography area, like "YOURE SO YOUNG AND ALREADY PREGNANT???" like... no... im over 20.
amazing art and story! The only mild “bug” I encountered will be listed below, but otherwise I quite enjoyed the game! I do feel like the trigger warnings listed for the game however are a touch misleading, though I’m sure unintended. I’ll again break that into another paragraph since it’s a spoiler.
(SPOILERS AHEAD) The use of “references to sexual assault” do not really properly communicate to potential players the importance and intensity of the related content, I would personally warn people I recommend this game to as follows: “Off screen sexual assault, as well as traumatic flashbacks and anxiety attacks.” The intense nature of the appointment following Angel’s accident was almost too much to handle for me when playing it, but I understand that varies person to person.
The bug of sorts I encountered is when opening the latched shelf, you can actually still click it without moving in front of the shelf first, and since Angel doesn’t reposition before or after opening the door, their sprite will be shown layered on top of the open door standing to the side, and their respective turning during the conversation also becomes broken as a result (staring off at a wall, things like that). That’s the only issue I personally encountered though, amazing game, and truly cannot get enough of the art!
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Holy, I saw this game on Let's Plays but to actually experience it is something else. The dialogue in this game is great, feeling realistic while still providing emotional moments. I also commend the developer on their ability to accurately mimic the doctor's office check-up experience. I don't want to spoil anything major but both characters have interesting mental struggles that are revealed as the game goes on and is shown really well in the facial expressions. Lee and Angel are very odd people and their motivations are well done. Also, I will never fully hate on Lee because he's got shrimp facts, and I NEED MORE SHRIMP FACTS!
Bravo to Homie for this work of art! I hope there is more to come, from either these two goofs or someone new.
(Awaiting the Puppet Combo crossover with Lee. If you know you know)
I literally haven't written in years beyond the bare minimum it takes to make a d&d character sheet, and yet playing this game inspired me to get my laptop out and start up a new doc. I recommend this game heavily to anyone who can stomach it.
i am going to think about this game for the rest of my life
Do you plan on making a Bluesky? Love the game and want to keep up with anything you make in the future.
I dont know if i should lets play this on my channel bcs idk if i can take it ;-;
if ur thinking of downloading this game you should u like should do it rn in fact its like really cool and awesome sauce
Absolute masterpiece of a game. I love it, the characters, the art, the music and the story. The game is really charming and suspenseful. I don't know what happened with the girl in the clinic or what weight she brought to the story but everything else is fantastic. Fully Recommend!
the characters' resonated so much with me.. thank you so much for making this game!!
If you're wondering whether the game is good or not, it absolutely is good. The art is charming and the suspense part is working well. The characters are really well-written and you'll find yourself bonding with them a bit too well over a rather short period of time. I absolutely adore the amount of work the devs put in this game. It's showing.
I usually don't write comments, but I came as far as register an account and write all this stuff, because the thing deserves it.
[MAJOR SPOILERS]
I respect the devs SO MUCH for all the detail they put in this work, from a variety of sprites for some miniscule actions and infodumps about stuff (really enjoyed those) down to A CHOICE to accept Lee. I'm usually that person that gets ultra annoyed about characters getting rejected the very second they do something "not normal" (probably because I relate a lot to them, the whole thing with Lee being too stiff and fearful about doing something "inappropriate" felt just too real), like I genuinely don't understand what's so wrong to get such a drastic response. And Angel put it really cleverly: you do strange things when you're desperate. Happens to a lot of us. Just depends on your moral compass and understanding of social stuff, maybe you'll find a more "acceptable" way to express something you don't know how to express, or maybe you'll be weird and creepy because you just don't know how social rules work and don't care enough.
Of course, I do not advocate the murder, it was an unwanted and wrong decision, but then again, I'm so grateful to devs for a choice to accept it. That ending was something I really needed it media. I finally feel at peace, knowing that such a choice exists, even if it's in one game. Knowing that people like me can be understood. Knowing that there are people who won't pronounce you being rotten and "bad" to the core because of one mistake. It really helps a lot. Guess "waiting and seeing it" was worth it, haha.
Keep it coming, i need more
i lovethis game somuch i cry 1 million time
this is what itch was made for
I just LOVE this game!!! When I was playing it I time after time catched myself on thoughts that characters are lively and humanly. I can't help but smiled to all events where Angel and Lee develop their relationships. I was happy to see them together. Graphics are incredible, style is really cozy (??) and inspiring. Love Angel's drawings. Game really resonates with me and will definately become one of my favourites. Thanks for your work and I look forward to next games from you if you have planned some!
i love them so mu
jesus chris
I don't usually write reviews but I loved this game so much I decided to do so.
Clinical Trial is an incredibly well-written, unique visual novel and a MASTERCLASS in suspense. A friend had mentioned it in passing and recommended I play it. I ended up downloading it and made it a whole event streaming it to my friends that same day (I highly recommend this. Two of you can voice-act the leads and it's like watching a super intense play). I could have never expected how INVESTED everyone was about to get. My friends and I were consistently anticipating for the proverbial shoe to drop only to be surprised every single time it did. The dialogue is very natural and isn't forced which is pretty difficult to pull off. I played it a few days ago and I feel like I still can't get enough of Angel and Lee. I just want to know more and THAT'S what makes Clinical Trial so good. The fact that one can become so enamored with characters you only spent 2.5/3 hours with. It genuinely speaks volumes to the quality of the writing and story.
All my friends and I agreed we would have wholeheartedly bought this game because we were just so impressed with the overall quality and the sheer enjoyment we experienced(so if there's a ko-fi or something we would love to donate!) It's also a quick 2.5/3 hour adventure so get yourself some snacks and a drink, and settle in for pure cinema. So if you haven't played already, please do.
Anyway, thank you Homie for keeping my love for thrillers and indie games alive. I hope you continue to create more and I'm excited to see where you go from here.
-Possible Spoiler-
P.S. I love Lee so much, he's my freaky little guy. Whenever you draw art of him, an angel gets its wings. (pun intended)
Absolutely agree!!!
i need more of angel and lee their personal circumstances and specific context is quite dark and twisted but they are so gentle to one another. it's such a stark contrast and i'm obsessed with it !!
11/10 game, would play anything else you release, please make more games! nwn
actually one of the best visual novel games ive ever played and im a huge fan of them, will be thinking about them for months. thank you Homie
this is an exceedingly well-written game and i loved the dialogue and character relationships. unfortunately, the ending (both of them) wasn't really made for me.
if you ever make more games in the future, though, i'll be sure to check them out. i do love your writing style
i love you please make more games
this bum ass game i damn near broke my screen playing this shit Never create shit again OK
HELPIUHJU
accurate rating
i've never had a game floor me this easily with such a distilled summary of struggling with ADHD esp as a struggling trans person and the atmosphere in the entire front half of the game made me so deeply uneasy and nauseous that i had to take a break for a bit. super well-written, super charming aesthetic, super effective atmosphere, i need lee carnally, incredibly solid experience all around
if you have adhd, (the kind that knots your brain into anxious hysteria such that your grasp of reality is too tenuous to reliably narrate to the psychiatrist who keeps increasing your methylphenidate dosage.) there are many lines of dialogue in this game that will cut into you like a hot knife cuts into butter. i was surprised, then i burst into tears for a minute or two.
the writing, overall, is intelligent. it shows in the sensitivity of the story's subtext. by that i mean the slow moments, the scenes that give angel and lee a great quality of verisimilitude, as you infer the significance of everything they don't say. of course the charming and wonderfully expressive artwork helps too.
regardless of how receptive any audience is to the niche the game occupies, i hope the creator is proud of, or at least satisfied with what they've made here. their emotional insight and technical skill are what made their game special.
ill be thinking about angel and lee for a good long while.
honestly SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS BIIIIIIIIIIG SPOILER ALERT BIG SPOILERS DO NOT READ IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS
honestly lee is kinda VERY mentally unstable but he's hot for that no joke like i absolutely respect a person who would kill a sex offender.
Love this game so much, decided to download it after seeing a ManlyBadassHero playthrough on Youtube and it was a great decision. Only suggestion for change would maybe be to add a bar for autoplay, quick saves, x2 speed dialog options etc like some other VN games? Another thing I’m adding on to my yap is that I love how some of the text is broken up when appearing to affect how it’s read and it’s a really nice detail. Quick question, is Angel canonically genderfluid/trans?
-SPOILERS-
Idk if it’s just me overthinking it but was Week 6 the week of the assault? And if so, was the “Didn’t I say no?” sequence also a jab to that? I’m asking because of the “You’re just going to stick it in.” part but I might be tweaking. I mean it’s either that or just Angel thinking that the placebo was actually affecting her. Or both? Idk though, just a silly fella who enjoyed the game thoroughly !! :D
(Sorry if I sound stupid, it’s just that I’m so awestruck by this game and the clear effort put into it :3)
I want to share my impressions of the game without any special spoilers. I express my wildest respect to the author, his game gave me such a fascinating, interesting, romantic and wonderful experience in my life that I will never forget. I haven't felt such emotions since I was 7 or 6 years old, and even if I did, it wasn't as strong or noticeable. The game seemed to pull the soul out of me, kissed everything from the inside and put the soul back, it's such a unique experience in my life that it's hard for me to describe or imagine.
It may seem that I am overly praising such a project, but it really influenced me so much and I would really like to personally contact the main author of the game on Twitter or any other social network to discuss something. I am a Russian-speaking YouTuber and I would really like to promote the product to the masses for absolutely free, I just want to discuss some details to avoid possible conflicts. Have a nice and pleasant day!
P.S. - Translated through Google translator, because I don't speak English as well as I would like, so there may be semantic and grammatical errors. Im Sorry, bro
10/10 left me in total despair
I really don't know how to feel about this game-
Hi, i dont know if there is any other way to report this but there is a typo in week 4 when Lee is talking about shrimp, he says "Indo-Pacifc" instead of "Indo-Pacific", i think its something insignificant but i guessed you would want to know.
Also, your game is incredible, it has left me inconsolable for days, thank you for making it.
This was so amazing. One of the best itchio games of recent. I can't believe its free. Do you have any kind of site where I can support you? I just think you deserve some compensation for this tbh. 10/10
Holy shit man! That story is insane! genuinely so engaging and the twists were like wow!! i did not see them coming. I love the visuals and the writing! The characters and dialogue are written very well, and the story like i said was suuper engaging. absolutely loved it.
in the second act if you will, as they grew closer i wondered if this even was a horror. i was like wow i relate so much to some of this stuff, it was made for me! then boom! i mean its really really well done. even having stuff you dont want to happen youknow? like taking the jacket out of the washing machine, i was honestly disappointed in lee 😭😭
amazing job! when i have money ill def come back to support
I came here specifically to give you money... WHY is this not set to "Pay What You Want?!?"
I watched ManlyBadassHero play this on YouTube. I have never felt so seen - or so called out - by a video game.
I need a Lee in my life 10/10 game
I'd play this and post it on YouTube but there's no PT-BR translation :/
I think I'll still play it offline though,
SOME SPOILERS!!
hey! so while we were playing something happened and I'm not sure how we can fix it cus everytime we reloaded it was still not working but in part where Lee says goodnight to Angel the second time, the sound effect of the cloth didn't load :((
how do we fix this?
sorry if its the wrong place to ask this I didn't know where else
Sorry you ran into this, I messed up yesterday's deployment. A fixed version is uploaded on here now, but you can use your version by doing the following:
Go into the game's files. Find the 'audio' folder, then the 'SE' folder. Duplicate any file in there (such as 'click.ogg_') and rename it to 'cloth.ogg_'
thanks bro!! awsome game btw
Edit: one thing i found it weird was being able to make a save file on the start of the game / options. It weirded me out how you can create a Save File on the game... without even playing.
Also, for some reason, it wouldnt let me select slot 1? minor thing obv bc theres plenty for slots. :P
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
//
I just finished this game and, i gotta say, thank you. I relate so much to the character of Angel in many of its aspects. and the SA part... it hit really close to me.
Im a person who was assaulted/ R-Word and i wished, day to day, to the one who harmed me in such way, died no matter what. It was horrible to hear that person just dismissing it or saying he would do it again. it was 10 years of suffering before he died due to illness.
Also, i really enjoyed on how Angels gender or identity was put in a mystery to say it in a way, it comforts me.
Also Lee has also its own scars, the way he found comfort in suicide but saw a reason to keep going... Is something me and my partner can relate, sometimes... life is like that.
So, basically. This games really good! It handless adult topics for and adult audience very well. I dont like the term of being it problematic, personally i think you can have such dark topics as long as you dont glorifyit or try to make excuses for it or that kind of stuff.
Thank you, again, for this.
EDIT 2: dont really like the people who look at Angel and think theyre a minor.... like... first thing in game that the Trials are only for people 18 or more.... and second, because there are people who look younger than their age??? personal experience, the guards at the hospital tend to confuse me for a kid/teen, and they get freaked out specially in the ecography area, like "YOURE SO YOUNG AND ALREADY PREGNANT???" like... no... im over 20.
This game really means so much to me. I really connect with the characters especially Angel. Please keep telling stories
those last 20 minutes, ouch
amazing art and story! The only mild “bug” I encountered will be listed below, but otherwise I quite enjoyed the game! I do feel like the trigger warnings listed for the game however are a touch misleading, though I’m sure unintended. I’ll again break that into another paragraph since it’s a spoiler.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
The use of “references to sexual assault” do not really properly communicate to potential players the importance and intensity of the related content, I would personally warn people I recommend this game to as follows: “Off screen sexual assault, as well as traumatic flashbacks and anxiety attacks.” The intense nature of the appointment following Angel’s accident was almost too much to handle for me when playing it, but I understand that varies person to person.
The bug of sorts I encountered is when opening the latched shelf, you can actually still click it without moving in front of the shelf first, and since Angel doesn’t reposition before or after opening the door, their sprite will be shown layered on top of the open door standing to the side, and their respective turning during the conversation also becomes broken as a result (staring off at a wall, things like that). That’s the only issue I personally encountered though, amazing game, and truly cannot get enough of the art!