VN Talk: even if Tempest - Part 3: Tyril

I probably should be glad I'm writing this two years after release instead of immediately after, because I'm sorry Tyril fans, he just didn't work for me. When I first got the game I thought he might, because his relationship with Anastasia has so much potential.

Tyril is an inquisitor whose job it is to ferret out witches and mete justice upon them. He's an uncompromising individual and known as the best in his organization. Since Anastasia's knowledge of future events due to her Fatal Rewind ability can make her seem like a witch, conflict between her and Tyril should be ripe with tension. If he found out, would he believe her? Or would he follow his duty and treat her as a witch?

While that fear is there from Anastasia's side of things, Tyril is entangled in an entirely different mess that ultimately did neither his route nor the main plot any favors. In fact many of the items I'm going to discuss in my later "dropped plot" thread originate in Tyril's route, and the result was that his route is very busy with details that end up going nowhere. And ultimately I had to question his competency as an inquisitor at all.

VN Talk: even if Tempest - Part 2: Crius

I struggled over how best to write my Crius entry since I knew I wanted to discuss him as a character without making it specifically about his route. Part of it is because of how his route ends. I was flabbergasted and given the timelooping nature of even if Tempest I wondered if somehow we might pick up again from that ending and then move on to a happy one.

But how? Would there be a new story branch ahead where Anastastia could make a different decision?

As you probably know from my overview post or having played the game yourself, Anastasia experiences every rewind. Regardless of whether a given timeline still exists, she remembers it, and Lucien's route, being the final one, wraps up the overall story--for everyone.

So while I normally do a critique of each love interest's route, it just doesn't make sense for even if Tempest, and I knew that would be the case as soon as I finished Crius's ending. Spoilers ahead, but I have to say that dang I loved the end of his route.