I liked the game! The story is interesting and I like the characters! Angel and Lee have such an interesting dynamic how they bring stuff out in each other and Angel kinda pushes Lee to do things he wouldn't usually. The art is beautiful and I could stare at the pixel art for hours. However my main problem comes from one of the endings.
[MAJOR SPOILERS]
Its very clear you intended for there to be a good ending and a bad ending. The "bad ending" having a pretty somber and vague end with no clear implications of what happens to Angel after Lee kills himself.
The "good ending" has more effort put into it, it gives a clear ending to Angel's and Lee's lives together after the events of the game. A fully animated montage that shows them moving in and even replaces the main title background; but honestly? The "good ending" gave me such an ick. Moving in with your stalker who went out of his way to kill someone and involve you in a crime you never asked him to commit.
The game tells us time and time again Angel is weaker than Lee, they're lonely and its revealed no one was looking for Angel when they disappeared. If you accept Lee's feelings it definitely feels like Lee is taking advantage of Angel's lonely and clingy behavior. The "good ending" gives me a bit of an ick. Its mentioned throughout the game how weak Angel is and Lee comes off as an intimidating presence in the end. I genuinely thought Lee was gonna do something drastic to Angel in the end that leaned into his mental illness and Angels rejection would throw them off the pedestal Lee put them on, a pedestal Angel should've never been on to begin with.
Don't get me wrong, I love this game! I love the relationship between Angel and Lee. These are characters with deep rooted trauma and mental illness who try to navigate through life the best they can and its nice that they found each other and found some comfort with each other but I WISH the game leaned more into the dysfunctional aspect of their relationship in the endings (Lee's obsession and Angel's desperation for intimacy), I wish the game truly said something about these topics but it really doesnt.
autist here, i found myself largely relating to lee, of obsessing over a person and wanting to know everything about them, to be there for them, to know their history n stuff. But if the person tells me to just stop, I stop stalking and obsessing over them, but they occasionally pop into my mind but i'm able to rid of it quickly. I dunno if its the same for everyone but you just kind of respect / like them too much to disregard their opinion and want.
wow you really put my thoughts into words!!!!! honestly i liked the "bad" ending more because it felt more, hopeful, to me? maybe we're supposed to assume that angel's life only gets worse or goes back to the way it was from there but... i dunno, to me it feels like they're a survivor. they may be described as weak but imo they're pretty strong to be able to step away from a situation like that all by themselves, and to have been supporting themself all this time. im somone who likes to think that life can always get better, no matter how bad it currently is, (that mantra has helped me get through a lot) and i think angel's a strong enough person who would be able to get better. maybe i just projected onto them too much lmao. the "good" ending really did give me the ick tho, and i 100% agree that looking more at their dysfunction instead of just pretending that they're gonna be a totally happy perfect couple now would've made it better. sorry for the long reply, your comment was just the first i saw that really resonated with me lol.
Second itch.io game to tear my heart and mind asunder. I see a lot of myself in Lee in some regards (Oh and Angel somewhat). So when I play this, I either do the accept route because I want good things for him, and to accept him despite all his flaws. And in some moments, I want him to suffer, to have whatever small hopes he has reduced to zero. Because that's what I want for myself at times. To enforce my own negative and bleak outlooks. To give myself what I think I deserve. Didn't expect to find a game to allow me to torture myself.
Excellent story, writing, music, art, and characters. Easily a 10/10.
Hi homie. I really liked your game! I want my friends and people over here to be able to enjoy the game so I wanted to offer you a Spanish Localization. Please feel free to contact me over Twitter at @facuseghezzo_ / Discord over @facuseghezzo / or email facuseghezzo@gmail.com
Ouugh. I really liked it. Out of curiosity, how do you do portrait management? I saw your post on twitter about having 300-500ish for Angel and Lee each. I imagine it takes a while to select portraits for each line…?
Thank you for playing! Lee has 310 talksprites and Angel has 470. The naming sequence goes [Character name][Outfit number][Pose letter][Expression number].
They each tend to fidget in a specific order. So Angel might go A1a1, A1b4, A1c6, A1d3, and so forth. I stopped pretty often to make a new expression if I couldn't find a preexisting one that fit the dialogue. Like you said, it took a while.
There's a link to the talksprites here if you are interested.
Thanks for your reply! I have a similar work process where I like to read my script and make new expressions as I go. I just find it difficult to manage for much less dialogue than Clinical Trial so I wanted to pick your brain about it. I noticed while stalking your twitter replies that some sprites also remained unused by mistake— the same thing happens to me. It’s tough to remember to use them all. I don’t think anyone would mind you retroactively going back and putting them in where they were meant to go.
this was so insanely well written,, i am enamored with them both so so much. i smiled i laughed i cried i screamed and i will think abt this til the end of time i fear
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
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Good work, but man, I really didnt want something like this.
i did, but it still hits like a truck doesn't it
i loved this so much
Really enjoyed this. Definitely worth checking out!
this game is so terriffying i love it
dude what the hell
10/10
I liked the game! The story is interesting and I like the characters! Angel and Lee have such an interesting dynamic how they bring stuff out in each other and Angel kinda pushes Lee to do things he wouldn't usually. The art is beautiful and I could stare at the pixel art for hours. However my main problem comes from one of the endings.
[MAJOR SPOILERS]
Its very clear you intended for there to be a good ending and a bad ending. The "bad ending" having a pretty somber and vague end with no clear implications of what happens to Angel after Lee kills himself.
The "good ending" has more effort put into it, it gives a clear ending to Angel's and Lee's lives together after the events of the game. A fully animated montage that shows them moving in and even replaces the main title background; but honestly? The "good ending" gave me such an ick. Moving in with your stalker who went out of his way to kill someone and involve you in a crime you never asked him to commit.
The game tells us time and time again Angel is weaker than Lee, they're lonely and its revealed no one was looking for Angel when they disappeared. If you accept Lee's feelings it definitely feels like Lee is taking advantage of Angel's lonely and clingy behavior. The "good ending" gives me a bit of an ick. Its mentioned throughout the game how weak Angel is and Lee comes off as an intimidating presence in the end. I genuinely thought Lee was gonna do something drastic to Angel in the end that leaned into his mental illness and Angels rejection would throw them off the pedestal Lee put them on, a pedestal Angel should've never been on to begin with.
Don't get me wrong, I love this game! I love the relationship between Angel and Lee. These are characters with deep rooted trauma and mental illness who try to navigate through life the best they can and its nice that they found each other and found some comfort with each other but I WISH the game leaned more into the dysfunctional aspect of their relationship in the endings (Lee's obsession and Angel's desperation for intimacy), I wish the game truly said something about these topics but it really doesnt.
Good comment; I largely agree.
autist here, i found myself largely relating to lee, of obsessing over a person and wanting to know everything about them, to be there for them, to know their history n stuff. But if the person tells me to just stop, I stop stalking and obsessing over them, but they occasionally pop into my mind but i'm able to rid of it quickly. I dunno if its the same for everyone but you just kind of respect / like them too much to disregard their opinion and want.
Same, mate, really dislike being "forced" to follow a narrative I personally feel disgusted by.
wow you really put my thoughts into words!!!!! honestly i liked the "bad" ending more because it felt more, hopeful, to me? maybe we're supposed to assume that angel's life only gets worse or goes back to the way it was from there but... i dunno, to me it feels like they're a survivor. they may be described as weak but imo they're pretty strong to be able to step away from a situation like that all by themselves, and to have been supporting themself all this time. im somone who likes to think that life can always get better, no matter how bad it currently is, (that mantra has helped me get through a lot) and i think angel's a strong enough person who would be able to get better. maybe i just projected onto them too much lmao. the "good" ending really did give me the ick tho, and i 100% agree that looking more at their dysfunction instead of just pretending that they're gonna be a totally happy perfect couple now would've made it better. sorry for the long reply, your comment was just the first i saw that really resonated with me lol.
Second itch.io game to tear my heart and mind asunder. I see a lot of myself in Lee in some regards (Oh and Angel somewhat). So when I play this, I either do the accept route because I want good things for him, and to accept him despite all his flaws. And in some moments, I want him to suffer, to have whatever small hopes he has reduced to zero. Because that's what I want for myself at times. To enforce my own negative and bleak outlooks. To give myself what I think I deserve. Didn't expect to find a game to allow me to torture myself.
Excellent story, writing, music, art, and characters. Easily a 10/10.
god this hit rlly hard for me
beautiful game
This game pulls at my heart (in a good way), and also reminded me to set up an appointment to get tested for ADD and/or Autism
Hi homie. I really liked your game! I want my friends and people over here to be able to enjoy the game so I wanted to offer you a Spanish Localization. Please feel free to contact me over Twitter at @facuseghezzo_ / Discord over @facuseghezzo / or email facuseghezzo@gmail.com
You can also check out my portfolio here
Hope to hear from you soon!
Really disliked this..
Ouugh. I really liked it. Out of curiosity, how do you do portrait management? I saw your post on twitter about having 300-500ish for Angel and Lee each. I imagine it takes a while to select portraits for each line…?
Thank you for making this!!
Thank you for playing! Lee has 310 talksprites and Angel has 470. The naming sequence goes [Character name][Outfit number][Pose letter][Expression number].
They each tend to fidget in a specific order. So Angel might go A1a1, A1b4, A1c6, A1d3, and so forth. I stopped pretty often to make a new expression if I couldn't find a preexisting one that fit the dialogue. Like you said, it took a while.
There's a link to the talksprites here if you are interested.
Thanks for your reply! I have a similar work process where I like to read my script and make new expressions as I go. I just find it difficult to manage for much less dialogue than Clinical Trial so I wanted to pick your brain about it. I noticed while stalking your twitter replies that some sprites also remained unused by mistake— the same thing happens to me. It’s tough to remember to use them all. I don’t think anyone would mind you retroactively going back and putting them in where they were meant to go.
this was so insanely well written,, i am enamored with them both so so much. i smiled i laughed i cried i screamed and i will think abt this til the end of time i fear
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