Once Upon an Earl

ok this is a genuine question because i just started playing but is earl culpepper inspired by ciel phantomhive?? im getting a lot of references

No one in this ball is quite who they seem, and I love how the game perfectly captures that! Alright, my round of praises and appraises (in no particular order):

• THE UI IS STUNNING! Beautiful colors, striking silhouettes, and smooth animation! The font is also readable and pretty!
• THE ART IS GORGEOUS!!! The sprites are stunning, the CGs are chef's kiss! The outfits and the amount of detail!!! so good!!!! and the backgrounds are so beautiful and honestly, great for a wallpaper!!! Really enhances the immersion in the game.
• Soundwise, the music is catchy and gives a good feeling of the tone and individual characters! Voices are amazing and add to the whole experience of investigation and romance <3 (Noelle's voice is sooo dreamy <3)
• The writing is evocative and engaging!!!! The story's premise itself is so fun (catching down a phantom thief while being in disguise at a ball!! so exciting) with the MC having a strong, independent girlboss personality that never forgets her relatable flaws (that can logically lead to bad endings), adorable quirks, and admirable strengths (that, of course, reasonably lead to the good endings should the player choose them.)
• Each route has its charms as each gentleman has an intriguing perspective, allure, secret, and dynamic with Noelle! I loved her and Butler Everly's banter (I'm a sucker for friends to lovers) and his backstory made me gasp. (I accidentally got his bad ending on the first try asghfkl). Mystery Man Marsden's route was a surprising delight and brilliantly executed play on one of my favorite tropes! Of course, the host himself was an absolute Darling(ton) with how much depth he had (though his bad ending got my jaw dropping too). They also provoke different sides of Noelle, the tsundere she is, and I highly enjoyed trying to get all the endings!

Overall, a fun, fantastic game that I cannot recommend enough!

I need to have a very specific type of mood to get into historical drama/romance, so it took me a while to finish all the routes but I loved it! I enjoyed the MC and her dynamics with the LIs

Might check...

Loved the story) Especially Earl Darlington - he was my favorite)
Is there a walkthrough?

walkthrough?

I just finished playing all the routes and the endings! 

Firstly I just want to compliment the crazy amount of polish in this gamejam entry, everything from the stunning UI to the GORGEOUS logo to the music / sound effects, down to the different colour credits slide (I didn't imagine that right?) made the experience so pleasant.

I enjoyed Noelle's differing dynamic with each love interest, but there was just something uniquely intriguing about her relationship with Everly that made me curious about their history together and what kind of shenanigans they've been up to.

Design-wise I really love Darlington's butterfly collar piece!! And the detailing on Marsden's tie with the metallic features and the boutonniere were really pretty. The CGs and the backgrounds were pretty as well.

The voice acting was perfect, it's usually such a hit or miss for me in games but man did I especially love Everly's voice, props for the direction + the VA.

- SPOILERS - 

On Marsden's route, I really liked the nuance in his motives and how Noelle kind of didn't fully believe him to be selfless, I thought that added some grounded realism to that confrontation.

Overall, very enjoyable and I had a great time playing it.