Saturday Side Quest - Games I Can't Recommend

Where has faith and fandom intersected this week?

Apologies for a slightly delayed newsletter post this morning. I’ve been enjoying some good ol’ fashioned North Carolina ice sledding. We didn’t get much, but when you’re a desperate Southerner, you’ll sled in a slick enough puddle.

I’ve just rolled credits on a unique game franchise entry—the sequel, to be exact. I stumbled upon this series last year after it had recently been released. I’m a sucker for a particular niche of video games: the Visual Novel. When I hear there is a new VN sweeping the circuit, I pick it up pretty quickly.

Without further suspense, the franchise is called Misericorde—named after an archaic Benedictine room in medieval convents with supposedly no rules on meat consumption. The game takes some liberties on this theme and allows the nuns to really let loose in that space, leading to some antics.

I was enamored by the first game, which followed the unprecedented release of an anchoress named Hedwig from her solitude. The Superior releases her to solve the mysterious death of a Sister.

If you know my love of Danganronpa and Ace Attorney, you can really understand why this one caught my attention. A murder mystery visual novel set in a convent? Sign me up.

I looked forward to writing a nerdy sermon at some point on the first volume (and still might), but having finished the second volume… I’m not so sure.

The first entry pushes some boundaries, but the second entry starts with outright naming the choice between censoring the game or not. And it’s quite warranted.

While I enjoyed the second as much as the first (if not more), there is a theme of sexual indiscretion in this game that makes it a tough sell to any of my parishioners… or friends, really.

Or anyone, in fact.

This had me considering some of the other games I couldn’t recommend from the moral obligation of a Pastor.

So, none of these games do I recommend (at least, not to most people), but they sure are good.

Plus a little bonus reflection at the end where I discuss why I break this rule and recommend these things anyway. 😏