Skulljhabit

The setting is fantastic (and mentioning Ligotti in the blurb is a sure way to catch my attention). The story moves forward in tiny, inching steps, constantly having to pause for a rest, and at first even large apparently "game-changing" moves (Spoiler - click to show)simply don't. After a certain point (Spoiler - click to show)the locale does in fact change, showing that the cycle of grim work can be broken, but there's always another cycle to get trapped in beyond the first cycle; maybe shoveling skulls forever isn't the worst job in the world after all.

(This didn't work quite right for me with firefox--after about 2/3 of the way through the links stopped working. It was fine with safari, though. I don't know why. It is definitely worth finding a browser that lets you see the whole thing.)

No idea what Dampe the gravedigger is, but "Harvest Moon meets Ligotti" means I had to play this one. (Used Firefox, but unlike the other reviewer had no issues with links.)

Thoughts: Lovely setting with classic Porpentine weirdness. Similar structure to With Those We Love Alive, possible shared setting based on mentions of the Skull Empire, wouldn't be surprised if they share a codebase. Been ages since I've played With Those We Love Alive, but both games have the same bed-to-bed structure where you wake up, work, wander around, and go back to sleep, in a fascinating alien world that becomes less fascinating as you wear out its excitements. Then it's only mundane. Depressing, even. Repetition turns it all into mindless drudgery.

Skulljhabit is like that, (Spoiler - click to show)and when you run out of things to do your only recourse is to leave. You end up in another town, with another job not so different from the first. The more things change the more they stay the same.

The ending was anticlimactic, but in a fitting way. This game is full of anticlimax and hints at greater revelations that never actually happen. There are recurring dreams and mysterious books that don't add up to anything. Not sure if there are multiple endings, but I feel like there aren't, and that smidgen of grandeur is all you get. A strange and melancholy story.

Playtime: around 35 min