Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[pogofish]

Oh god the Night Market is a disappointment of the century. To me, the whole group felt like they couldn't dive less of a damn about MC's wellbeing, especially the whole thing about being sent to the deep and almost dying, no one gaf. Milo situation is egregious, because even if it is MC's fault (because the player had no agency nor knowledge of it, feels like a copout), Milo still decided to take advantage of an amnesiac and be needlessly cruel (without any repercussions, really, as far as I remember from the demo). I didn't mind the poly but Milos admission that he never loved mc (which is apparently not a lie bc he's half fae) just ruined it all. And yeah, MC feels like a spectator in the whole story (DESPITE BEING **THE** NIGHT MARKET????), so i genuinely couldn't stomach it anymore. The first part was tolerable bc all this information was withheld til the very end, but the second part feels like a genuine slog to go through. I regret wasting so much time on it.

No I'm not salty about wasting so much time on this story what do you mean-
Okay but it is crazy how little regard goes towards the wellbeing of a character whose death will make their entire universe self-destruct. Like okay, all of u are passively suicidal i guess.

 

[Tidebringer]

No I'm not salty about wasting so much time on this story what do you mean-
Okay but it is crazy how little regard goes towards the wellbeing of a character whose death will make their entire universe self-destruct. Like okay, all of u are passively suicidal i guess.

Lmao is this night market IF that bad?? I have seen so many people complaining about how much they utterly despise it lmfao.

 

[Tidebringer]

I'm half tempted to play it just to bathe myself in some hot fresh garbage

 

[game_hunt3r]

Lmao is this night market IF that bad??

It is. Because the Night Market isn't an IF game, it's a scam.

While some weak IF's are at least amusing or so bad that they're good, NM is nothing of the sort and I wouldn't even waste my time pirating it. There's no real choices, no sincere connections with the others and no way for the MC to make an impact on the story at all because the entire plot has been predetermined right from the start--and no, there's no decisions you can make that will change it in the least (or at least make the ride towards the inevitable feel meaningful). I mean, why would there be? You're not the protagonist. You're not a side character. You're not even a passing thought in the minds of the other characters that quite literally only care about one another no matter how close you get to any of them.

You're nothing but a glorified cameraman shoved into a book and forced to watch the world unfold around you with less agency than a braindead coma patient. And I 100% believe it's because the author knew she would not have made it in the publishing world quickly (if at all) and decided to scam the IF community instead by cursing us with her novel and made sure we can only play as the most bland protagonist in history so that we wouldn't interfere with her pre-written story and she didn't have to change anything at all.

 

[pogofish]

I'm half tempted to play it just to bathe myself in some hot fresh garbage

As a story it's pretty alright but as an if it sucks majorly. You character definitely is an afterthought and you can feel it from start to finish. The second part is even worse with this bc from what I remember we deadass barely do anything, just watch how the author’s characters interact with one another and be a third wheel.
The romance is very weak as well because the author cannot for the life of her write a poly where mc dosen't third wheel the other two. (Despite the author being poly herself so it just proves to me more that mc clearly wasn't planned)

 

[Kein]

As a story it's pretty alright but as an if it sucks majorly. You character definitely is an afterthought and you can feel it from start to finish. The second part is even worse with this bc from what I remember we deadass barely do anything, just watch how the author’s characters interact with one another and be a third wheel.
The romance is very weak as well because the author cannot for the life of her write a poly where mc dosen't third wheel the other two. (Despite the author being poly herself so it just proves to me more that mc clearly wasn't planned)

Funny I remember her stating that she writes MC as their own character and not self insert and this is such a bullsh*t. It isn't self insert for sure, but it is also the worst character in the whole story in general. The blandest, most nothing-burger person that is supposed to be a God lmao. Any random NPC in this thing is 100% more godlier in comparison. So yeah it is just some voyeurism simulator.

Also, as an addition to - the fanbase and the author herself gives me an ick from the very beginning. Idk why and if it's just me.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Also, as an addition to - the fanbase and the author herself gives me an ick from the very beginning. Idk why and if it's just me.

Over here? It's not just you, the author is a c8nt beatch and so are her followers. She's honestly a nasty piece of work, and her story reflects that

Anywayyy, I wanna complain about Vertex Fall and how the two authors that made The Split clearly works better together than on their own.
Like I know what Darkling is going for for the MC in Vertex Fall, but playing as a problematic (to say the least) MC the instances of him being shy and suddenly mild mannered feels awkward and jarring instead of natural and adding depth like the author wants it to.
I said so to her on the Tumblr, but as you can guess instead of reevaluating the story they just goes "well, that's how it should be it ain't gonna change". So... it should be awkward and doesn't feel like it fits? It should feel like it's an unintentional mistake? Because that's what it's like atm. MC can still be reserved and show a bit of his past temperament (or lack thereof) without smiling so much and diverting too much from the new person he's become. Idk cause it's just so out of place.
And it's kinda frustrating cause she and the other author manage to actually do this with the Split MC. I played an a55hole MC there but sometimes I tried the milder action choice and it works seamlessly (almost, but certainly better than in Vertex Fall).

 

[Gone_Dead]

Over here? It's not just you, the author is a c8nt beatch and so are her followers. She's honestly a nasty piece of work, and her story reflects that

Anywayyy, I wanna complain about Vertex Fall and how the two authors that made The Split clearly works better together than on their own.
Like I know what Darkling is going for for the MC in Vertex Fall, but playing as a problematic (to say the least) MC the instances of him being shy and suddenly mild mannered feels awkward and jarring instead of natural and adding depth like the author wants it to.
I said so to her on the Tumblr, but as you can guess instead of reevaluating the story they just goes "well, that's how it should be it ain't gonna change". So... it should be awkward and doesn't feel like it fits? It should feel like it's an unintentional mistake? Because that's what it's like atm. MC can still be reserved and show a bit of his past temperament (or lack thereof) without smiling so much and diverting too much from the new person he's become. Idk cause it's just so out of place.
And it's kinda frustrating cause she and the other author manage to actually do this with the Split MC. I played an a55hole MC there but sometimes I tried the milder action choice and it works seamlessly (almost, but certainly better than in Vertex Fall).

The MC has the sudden rare bouts of being shy and mild mannered because thats how they were before the amnesia. The MC was an abuse victim. Its their old personality slipping through occasionally. I thought the author said it will be so at first and over time it well blend out of the narrative as we find more and more about our past. The author also said that the old MC is their own character and amnesiac MC can shape their character away from their old self. I like this as it sets a good precedent for some really satisfying revenge moments, be it against MC's mother (who's the abuser) or Jace (they have some rather corrupting implications regarding MC), or the ones responsible for MC's amnesia,scars and horrible condition. i mean, i doubt the author is biased about making the MC reserved and shy since we can trap your best friend's cat inside a washing machine, crave raw flesh and meat, break a guy's nose, steal a lady's purse and probably more. The author said she wont change those few out of place moments of being shy and reserved cuz they were actually intentional and not a result of bias.

 

[SasariRomanii]

The MC has the sudden rare bouts of being shy and mild mannered because thats how they were before the amnesia. The MC was an abuse victim. Its their old personality slipping through occasionally. I thought the author said it will be so at first and over time it well blend out of the narrative as we find more and more about our past. The author also said that the old MC is their own character and amnesiac MC can shape their character away from their old self. I like this as it sets a good precedent for some really satisfying revenge moments, be it against MC's mother (who's the abuser) or Jace (they have some rather corrupting implications regarding MC), or the ones responsible for MC's amnesia,scars and horrible condition. i mean, i doubt the author is biased about making the MC reserved and shy since we can trap your best friend's cat inside a washing machine, crave raw flesh and meat, break a guy's nose, steal a lady's purse and probably more. The author said she wont change those few out of place moments of being shy and reserved cuz they were actually intentional and not a result of bias.

I'm not asking for the bouts of attitude change to disappear... at all. Never said that, never want that because like I said, I know why they're there and I know what the author's going for and I read all the disclaimer about how MC's going to have a fixed persona at first.

But the execution of it is poorly done. Imo.

They did it better in Split the Mortal Wound where a jerk MC can sometimes show a softer side, and it adds depth to the character and feels natural rather than some flavor text mistake.

But then again, if it's the author's intention for the sudden bouts of shyness to feel out of place rather than an understandable side-effects of still having phantom pieces of past MC, I guess she did good.

 

[Gone_Dead]

I'm not asking for the bouts of attitude change to disappear... at all. Never said that, never want that because like I said, I know why they're there and I know what the author's going for and I read all the disclaimer about how MC's going to have a fixed persona at first.

But the execution of it is poorly done. Imo.

They did it better in Split the Mortal Wound where a jerk MC can sometimes show a softer side, and it adds depth to the character and feels natural rather than some flavor text mistake.

But then again, if it's the author's intention for the sudden bouts of shyness to feel out of place rather than an understandable side-effects of still having phantom pieces of past MC, I guess she did good.

Yeah it did feel weird for me when those moments came about, but it wasnt really on the front of my mind since i mostly enjoyed everything else the IF has to offer. Now i'd complain if it still happened after learning about out past. I still think the author is doing a good job with the IF, under 100k words and they've managed the pacing well and gave enough time to the side characters and ROs. And most importantly, from their work in Split and what we've seen so far in Vertex Fall, i dont think they're the kind to overshadow the MC or give other characters more importance than the MC. Its sad that something like this has to be said out loud and appreciated when it should be common practice in every story.