fault - milestone two side: below is a upcoming video game developed by ALICE IN DISSONANCE and published by Phoenixx Inc., and is the sequel to their 2015 kinetic novel fault - milestone two side:above—the original concept for fault - milestone two having been split into two games. As opposed to the first two games, which were simple kinetic visual novels, side: below enables players to control Ritona and interact with other characters as she explores the Neo Sasary Medical Facility and unravels its mysteries. It was announced to be available on Steam for the Microsoft Windows at sometime in 2025, though delays have pushed the relese window back.
After overusing her manakravate, Ritona has been taken to the Vita Domain and confined to the Neo Sasary Medical Facility in order to recover from a life-threatening illness. However, she soon discovers that the doctors and nurses are more enigmatic and sinister than helpful, and that time within the Vita Domain moves faster than time outside—causing her memories to fade. Meanwhile, Selphine and Rune seek to find a way to rescue her while dealing with the repercussions of their actions against the Guild and the former's use of Empress Syndrome to channel the ruthless queen Rhegan.
A demo for Windows and MacOS is available for subscribers on ALICE IN DISSONANCE's Patreon page.
External Links:
- Steam Page
- Promotional Videos: Promotion Video TGS 2020 English Version, Short PV, Mid-Production Promo, Staff Observation 01 - Nurse Detri
NOTE: As this is a direct continuation of fault - milestone two side:above, there will be untagged spoilers for it and fault - milestone one here.
fault - milestone two side: below provides examples of the following tropes:
- Battleaxe Nurse: Nurse Detri—revealed in the Staff Observation 01 video—is downright menacing, saying that any and all issues patients have will be resolved by her "medicating" them, and that dying without permission and living without permission are both forbidden and that those experiencing such circumstances should come to her for immediate medication.
- Boom, Headshot!: In the Mid Production Promo, a nurse named Dust is shown shooting a man in the head, with Ritona musing that it's just another peaceful day in the Vita Domain.
- Gaining the Will to Kill: Implied by the "Promotion Video TGS 2020 English Version" trailer, where Rune is shown lamenting being too weak to save herself or Selphine from being captured by the Guild's thugs... only for Rhegan to bodyjack Selphine and order her to stop holding back. Rune snaps her manacles and—sporting glowing red pupils—lunges at the thugs with a Death Glare.
- Genre Shift: The promotional videos reveal that Ritona's segments of the game veer into Medical Horror, as she finds herself trapped in a hospital where the doctors and nurses don't exactly have their patients' health in mind. Ritona's sections of the game also contain free-roaming sections where she can walk around and talk to other characters, as opposed to the strict Visual Novel formula of the previous games.
- Good-Guy Bar: The Cellar Door, introduced in the Mid-Production Promo, is a bar in the Vita Domain where the patients can pass the time drinking, conversing with each other or the bartender Binnack, and watching the bioluminescent giant jellyfish outside the VIP room.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: In contrast to her Royal Guardian uniform from the first two games, the trailers reveal that in this game Ritona is wearing a sleeveless, backless nightclub-style dress that leaves her legs fully exposed, as well as some ornate gold jewelry attached to a strap on her right thigh.
- Tainted Veins: The trailers reveal that the left side of Ritona's face and her left shoulder are covered in distended veins after a dubious medicinal apparatus is connected to her corresponding arm.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: As revealed in side:above, time passes more quickly inside the Vita Domain, which the Mid-Production Promo reveals causes the memories those inside it have of the outside world to fade.
- Villainous Medical Care: After coming down with severe mana deprivation sickness in side:above, Ritona is taken to the Vita Domain to recover... and—as revealed in the promo videos—is confined to a Bedlam House where she's used as a test subject. The promotional videos show her side of the story as the struggles to retain her memories of her friends and find a way to escape.
