Embraced by Autumn

This visual novel is filled with a cozy autumn charm. The character art is adorable and the landscapes are lovely. The protagonist, Marcel, is a very cute character. So are the four romanceable girls. Each route is unique and tells its own story. I especially liked Mirabel's route, her character development was amazing.

I've only finished one route, Celine's and while I enjoyed the writing of this route, I was left wanting more because of that ending.

BIG SPOILERS INCOMING 

Wish there were spoiler tags but I'm pretty sure there aren't any here. But I feel I have to state this because it's been really bugging me since I finished the route. The ending was depressing imo, doesn't even feel like a happy ending like what your features here stated. All that work only for a meh maybe or maybe not they'll get together in the future. Like there's no certainty at all with these two, even that final CG doesn't feel earned because Celine said it herself, she doesn't feel that way right now. That ending really took the wind out of my sails, I was planning to jump into other routes right after finishing this route because of how much I was enjoying it but yeah that ending really took it out of me. A epilogue would have likely helped, I was really hoping there was one like your other games but sadly nothing came. But yeah these were just my thoughts that I just had to get off my chest. Good writing and route but the ending was heartbreaking imo, too much uncertainty. Felt like I wasn't rewarded at all with a romance even after all that relationship progression. Like yes one solution is that I could make my own headcanon that they'll get together but it doesn't help because no story would ever need an ending if we could just headcanon whatever. That's all I wanted to say, thank you. I might need a break before I even get my hopes up on the other routes and hope they're more satisfying with the relationship ending than this one was. I don't want to sound mean but I really felt I needed to jot these thoughts down. I did enjoy most of my time with the common route and this route but I guess I came in wanting some fulfilling romances haha.

Hello, I just finished reading through this VN. For the benefit of anyone reading this: No story spoilers in this comment, but I do talk about the author's note some and a few themes which could be considered light spoilers.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Otoboku listed as one of the two main inspirations in the author's note, since it's where my mind usually wanders to when I think about this type of setup (I also read the VN and could see the similarities in vibes). I'm unfamiliar with the Claudine series, but it was interesting to read about what you pulled from it as well.

I really enjoyed Embraced by Autumn a lot. Having read through some of your earlier VNs semi-recently, it was interesting to see how your style has changed and improved (and also generally appreciating the sheer variety of stories you take on). You do a great job setting the vibes, and this has been my first time in a long while just diving into a VN without knowing much about what to expect. I really enjoyed Marcel as a protagonist and the themes of identity (not even just limited to Marcel, now that I think about it).

The author's note has a mention of a hypothetical Noémie route. When first reading through the common route/prologue, I had no idea who the four love interests mentioned in the description were and wondered if Noémie was one or not (in hindsight I think paying more attention to the screenshots on this page would have clued me in, whoops). I did enjoy her role in the story, but if you ever do decide to return to the world of Embraced by Autumn, I would love to see what her route would be like. Of course, if you have any other ideas for the setting, I'd be interested in those too. I understand you have other projects so maybe you won't be able to return to it, which is perfectly understandable. I wish you the best of luck no matter what.

Thank you for this VN, and thank you to everyone who made it possible. I have put the shortcut to it next to Otoboku's on my desktop, because it only felt fitting to me to see them side by side.