#critisim

Overall Thoughts:

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*Warning* These are my thoughts. Do not take them seriously. You can disagree all you want in the comments below. Enjoy!

First hearing about The Coffin of Andy and Leyley left a sour taste in my mouth. And it's probably for the same reason most people refuse to engage with the story being told by creator Nemlei. The notion on Twitter (or X, ew) dubbed this media as just the 'incest' game unfairly and failed to appreciate the themes being showcased by the siblings.

I believe that The Coffin of Andy and Leyley will grow in popularity by the release of the third episode. And this game will be a cult classic in no time, setting new records for storytelling in future indie projects.

I deep-dived into Nemlei's gameography, and dare I say, those other projects walked so Andrew and Leyley could run. There's only praise that should be afforded to Nemlei based on their improvements.

Watch or play through No-Good Noelle, which had come out three months prior, and see the differences. I also recommend Divilethion for those yearning for Nemlei's storytelling/art style.

But what those two games have in common, is that there's less to do for the players. While Andy and Leyley have the mechanics within its gameplay to be 10x more interactive for audiences. No wonder it had grown in popularity.

Now, to address the incest.

You do not have to like taboo topics. You do not have to engage with media that showcase it or be a part of a hate campaign because you don't like something. And as a society, we should bring awareness to media forms that encourage/promote dangerous ideology. Which in most cases does include incest.

However, art forms can get away with handling these taboo topics because they turn them into tools for driving a theme forward. And they aren't inherently romanticizing dangerous ideals. With that said it can be tricky for creators to handle these topics with care. You can hold the opinion that The Coffin of Andy and Leyley didn't utilize the concept of incest effectively in its narrative.

But, most people who've 'criticized' the game, dog pilled it because of the incest without understanding its importance to the themes. I get it, okay. It's disgusting that these siblings are down to bone.

Yet, as a writer, Andrew and Ashely are stellar characters with unique relationship dynamics. The theme of codependency is heightened by the pair's familial ties. Here's a little exercise:

Imagine Andrew and Ashely weren't siblings... They become slightly less interesting. Mainly due to the fact, they cannot uphold their OG purpose.

Episode two has two endings, Decay and Burial. Both hinges on the siblings making a choice to either let the past go or hold onto Andy and Leyley, their childhood nickname, now a source of resentment. Ashely idolizes the past while Andrew strives towards the future. On paper, they are foils of one another. These characters can work while not being related.

They could've been childhood friends if Nemlei wanted. But, then the plot would need to change.

Episode 2 wouldn't have worked to flesh out these characters equally because it was a murder scheme against their parents. Both Andrew and Ashely's interaction with their mother and how the events of the murder played out, heightened the themes of willingness to change or the lack of. And subsequentially, the codependency of the siblings.

At the end of the day, creators should be encouraged and pushed to create narratives through uncomfortable lenses. Sometimes a story can only stand out with that unique perspective. Nemlei's rap sheet as a game developer has never been taboo-free, however, it was this game that got them hated, bullied, and doxed.

Because of implied incest -from what I'm concerned. Aside from the dream stuff.

I'm not shocked, just disappointed that people took to the internet to be hateful about a game with merit.

I hope Nemlei takes this in stride and comes back to the platform with the release of episode 3. I am in love with The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. There are many unanswered questions. And I can only see a bittersweet ending for these characters.

Join me next time, when I give my thoughts on Andrew and Ashely Graves. I will deep dive into episodes 1 and 2 as well in the future.

⚰️🔪⚰️🔪⚰️🔪 Thoughts on Ashely Graves:

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⚰️🔪⚰️🔪⚰️🔪 Thoughts on Andrew Graves:

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