What is YTTD?
Kimi ga Shine is an independant RPG Maker game made by solo developer Nankidai. Mechanically functioning between a visual novel and a puzzle game, YTTD is part of the Japanese subgenre of games called 'Death by Majority Game' or just 'Death Game.' Dangan Ronpa may be the best-known example of the genre. In such games, through some contrivance or another, like organized crime, aliens, lawless megacorporations, or corrupt governments, a carefully selected group of people are trapped inside a real-life game show. The point of the game is to force otherwise normal people to kill each other. In each round, the contestants play minigames, get to know each other, and balance human feeling with cold strategy before the round culminates with a vote in which the players decide who will die next. The loser is killed, the survivors advance, and the cycle repeats until there is one victor standing.
In YTTD, a set of twelve initial contestants dwindle quickly, some killed by being voted out and some through mistakes or interpersonal violence. It becomes clear early on that some players are actually plants, already in on the game and potentially working against other players; eventually some human places are also taken up by 'dolls', robots who insist they are themselves human but who are made of metal and plastic parts. The tone shifts constantly between realistic and fantastic, grounded and surreal, to make an overall unique atmosphere that pulled me in immediately and has me running back for a full replay every time there's an update.
Also, the soundtrack BANGS.
I originally found and played YTTD because it was translated by vgperson, an incredibly talented translator and developer who has translated many Japanese indie games into English and, through a decade plus of high-quality work, has finally become recognized as the culture-maker she is. I've been following vgperson's work for a long time and I'm so happy to see her getting some real attention and recognition. Nankidai, too, has earned every inch of cult following they're gained through this game.
I know I first played the game in 2019 when it was only begun, I believe that vgperson only had the first two chapters translated and published on her site at the time. I know that hardly anyone knew about it when I first played it through in one sleepless night, stressed out of my mind because I had an important job interview the next day (I got the job). It was a lot of fun to watch the fandom grow and some independent talents thrive.
