Oh, Athanasy, where can I even begin?

The issue is not that I can't find the words to describe Athanasy's narrative merits. The problem is that I cannot say them without damaging the very things that make it so great. This story definitely falls into the rule of "the less you know, the better". Going in blind is best and my speaking of events or showing anything in detail would harm the experience for anyone interested in it.

To get the technicalities out of the way for those concerned, the sound, music and art designs are all top notch and highly polished. And the writing is excellent, as is the translation. There are a couple of grammatical habits that could make one wonder if this isn't a native English work (and it isn't) but to me those things fit the universe and style in a way that complimented the mood rather than distract from it.

Athanasy might not be for the faint of heart, but Its absolutely breathtaking.

There's buckets of body horror certainly, but Athanasy isn't shock value schlock. It also has heavy threads of psychological, existential, religious, geopolitical, medical, science fiction and eldritch horror sewing up its messily stitched up, bloody seams. The story is also as thought provoking and philosophical as it is uncomfortable. The result is something disturbing and oppressive, akin to Cronenberg nightmare fuel blended with a pervasive, Kafkaesque sense of dread and despair that never lets up as the story continuously gets worse with every turn of the page.

And yet, somehow, despite the high stakes, all it's complex ambitions and many themes — Athanasy tells a concise and simple story that doesn't get lost inside its own brilliance. And at its core despite being seemingly unknowable, there is an incredibly human heart to be found beating there within its eldritch shell.

Athanasy is grotesque and terrible but it is also painfully beautiful. So very beautiful.

Each path and every ending is vital to completing the whole picture and the experience as a whole. Despite its brutality nothing is needless, nothing is wasted and nothing is gratuitous. It is one of the most creative and impressive things I have read in a long time, and it will stick with me far longer.

Athanasy is special, a genuine experience that resonated with me on an existential level and hit a mood and feeling that only a handful of other things ever have. I hesitate to name any of them openly because they are all also unique, nothing like each other and nothing like Athanasy so I don't want to mislead with comparisons. But if you're like me, constantly seeking for that evasive, elusive something that's so hard to explain, I can't possibly recommend Athanasy highly enough. By now, you'll probably know if you are.

Its heavy and so very dark; and some lines hit like a truck but there is a method in the madness and a point to all the suffering. I won't say the 'ending' is worth it singularly because no two are similar and all outcomes have a place in the narrative and in understanding what's really happening.

But there is definitely payoff. In more ways than one.

It's a shard of pure brilliance, even though that brilliance is ruined and corrupted beyond repair.

...Or is it?

Perhaps hope is the most human thing of all.

[h1]A gem. A corrupted, sickly pulsating gem.[/h1] Oh, Athanasy, where can I even begin? The issue is not that I can't find the words to describe Athanasy's narrative merits. The problem is that I cannot say them without damaging the very things that make it so great. This story definitely falls into the rule of "the less you know, the better". Going in blind is best and my speaking of events or showing anything in detail would harm the experience for anyone interested in it. To get the technicalities out of the way for those concerned, the sound, music and art designs are all top notch and highly polished. And the writing is excellent, as is the translation. There are a couple of grammatical habits that could make one wonder if this isn't a native English work (and it isn't) but to me those things fit the universe and style in a way that complimented the mood rather than distract from it. Athanasy might not be for the faint of heart, but Its absolutely breathtaking. There's buckets of body horror certainly, but Athanasy isn't shock value schlock. It also has heavy threads of psychological, existential, religious, geopolitical, medical, science fiction and eldritch horror sewing up its messily stitched up, bloody seams. The story is also as thought provoking and philosophical as it is uncomfortable. The result is something disturbing and oppressive, akin to Cronenberg nightmare fuel blended with a pervasive, Kafkaesque sense of dread and despair that never lets up as the story continuously gets worse with every turn of the page. And yet, somehow, despite the high stakes, all it's complex ambitions and many themes — Athanasy tells a concise and simple story that doesn't get lost inside its own brilliance. And at its core despite being seemingly unknowable, there is an incredibly [i]human[/i] heart to be found beating there within its eldritch shell. Athanasy is grotesque and terrible but it is also painfully [i]beautiful[/i]. So very beautiful. Each path and every ending is vital to completing the whole picture and the experience as a whole. Despite its brutality nothing is needless, nothing is wasted and nothing is gratuitous. It is one of the most creative and impressive things I have read in a long time, and it will stick with me far longer. Athanasy is special, a genuine [i]experience[/i] that resonated with me on an existential level and hit a mood and feeling that only a handful of other things ever have. I hesitate to name any of them openly because they are all also unique, nothing like each other and nothing like Athanasy so I don't want to mislead with comparisons. But if you're like me, constantly seeking for that evasive, elusive something that's so hard to explain, I can't possibly recommend Athanasy highly enough. By now, you'll probably know if you are. Its heavy and so very dark; and some lines hit like a truck but there is a method in the madness and a point to all the suffering. I won't say the 'ending' is worth it singularly because no two are similar and all outcomes have a place in the narrative and in understanding what's really happening. But there is definitely payoff. In more ways than one. It's a shard of pure brilliance, even though that brilliance is ruined and corrupted beyond repair. ...Or is it? Perhaps hope is the most human thing of all.