A Tithe in Blood

It’s difficult for me to really pin down exactly how I feel about A Tithe In Blood on the whole. Its setup, its theming, and its presentation are all incredible, making for a memorable experience with reading the visual novel. As a story of the experience of grief and living through it, I connected with it quite a lot.  Once it gets to actually having to progress its narrative, however, things gradually get shakier and shakier in the way it pieces together its various sections, and it features an overall letdown of a conclusion. While in its set-up act, it’s one of the most emotionally resonant and striking parts of a visual novel I’ve read in some time. Unfortunately, by the time I was done, I spent more time dwelling on how I felt about the story rather than the impact it had on me, the sign of something with a share of missed potential with the direction it took. Still, there are compelling aspects to this story and a lot that I did really like about it. There is something genuine beneath it all, and I found I got more out of it than I do from a lot of attempts at this subject matter. It won’t work for everyone and the story that it tells is rough and uneven, but it manages to have the memorable good aspects to stand out just enough.