Adastra: a dissapointing return.

(Obligatory spoilers for the game and extra ones for Spider-Man: No Way Home)

With Adastra enjoying a second wind of attention in this subreddit, I recently decided to give it another whirl as well and see if my first impressions had magically transformed. 

…Well, it turns out it was just nature trying to bring balance to the force: Adastra’s flaws revealed to be as glaringly obvious as ever. I am honestly not even sure where to start: a lack of long-term character development? The toothless political exploration that will make “Captain America: Brave new world” blush? The complete and total lack of action or meaningful conflict? Its like, pick and choose.

While the game dangles a tantalizing premise—a cosmic political soap opera mixed with a dash of that sweet-sweet gay furry romance—it spectacularly fails to cash in on its potential. Key issues like characters that barely exist, political intrigue so shallow it could be a kiddie pool, and stakes so low they practically trip over themselves drag down what could’ve been a blockbuster narrative.

I mostly echo Bara-Lover's critiques (here is alink by the way: https://www.reddit.com/r/FurryVisualNovels/comments/n7ugna/adastra_was_a_letdown_for_me/ time sure flies), but there’s one particular sore spot that deserves a bit more spotlight: the ending. After a thorough examination, Adastra’s resolution is a hot mess, both thematically and structurally, robbing it of any emotional punch.

A Story Built on Grand Ideas...

At its heart, Adastra spins the tale of Marco -- a human yanked into an alien civilization where he forges a complicated bond with Amicus, a wolf-like prince. It explores lofty themes of destiny, power plays, and interspecies diplomacy.

The crux of the problem? Much of the conflict takes place off-screen or is resolved by unseen forces instead of character actions. The worldbuilding leans heavily on all-powerful beings—the Parents—who essentially write the script, making Marco’s choices feel about as impactful as a soap bubble. Instead of characters carving their own paths, it’s just a series of preordained events rolling out like clockwork.

This approach dilutes both the political intrigue and character depth. Take Marco, for instance. Marco gets picked to represent Earth. Why? No clue. He has no qualifications, no training, nothing. But the game just rolls with it because ‘fate.’ How are we supposed to believe this guy can unite civilizations, when he lacked foresight of predicting even the most basic events in the story? The game frames this as fate instead of merit, making it hard to swallow him as a unifying figure. Similarly, the supposed emotional climax of Marco and Amicus's separation feels as genuine as a scripted reality show—it’s dictated by the Parents, not a hard-fought decision by the characters themselves.

These are vital problems that bleed into every aspect a vn, so prepare to see these critisisms repeated a lot during this rant. Starting with:

A Lack of Agency 

A compelling narrative thrives on the tension between free will and fate, especially in speculative fiction. Many tales dive into breaking free from predestined paths—be it JRPGs battling gods or fantasy sagas of rebellion.

However, Adastra crafts a world where fate is enforced with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, leaving no wiggle room. Marco doesn't choose to leave—he's ordered to leave. Amicus doesn’t fight for Marco’s presence—he simply resigns because the Parents have deemed it necessary (well he does, kinda, but with the all "don't take away my toy!' energy). When the core conflict is dictated by an unseen force rather than arising organically from character struggles, it strips away much of the tension and emotional investment.

What’s particularly irritating is that Adastra could have explored this theme with some real depth. A conflict where Marco and Amicus actively rebel against the Parents’ decree, or grapple with the cost of their choices, would have delivered a much stronger ending. Instead, we get a story that follows a script tighter than a pair of skinny jeans, leaving little room for genuine agency.

And what’s more irritating it didn’t even had a balls to have fun with this concept. Like, Amicus already got seduced by Neferu into ntr. Why he couldn’t be united into a wholesome threesome with him and Marco? I mean, the more the merrier, right? But nope, no dice. He will be chilling out with Scipio for the nearest future, because “fate” I guess.

A Comparison

Do you guys remember times when MCU was still good? Same. Now, let’s pivot to Spider-Man: No Way Home -- a film that, while not without its flaws, nails a similar emotional setup with far more finesse. In No Way Home, Peter Parker faces a gut-wrenching choice: to protect his loved ones, he must let them forget him entirely. This heart-wrenching decision is purely *his* call—an ultimate act of self-sacrifice that solidifies his growth into a more mature hero.

In contrast, Adastra tries to pull a similar emotional stunt with Marco and Amicus being forcibly separated. Except this plot twist is handed down by an external force rather than arising from their personal struggles. As a result, it lacks any real weight. When a story shoves characters into predestined outcomes without letting them shape their own fates, it drains the journey of its emotional heft. And the lack of actually powerful romanitc chemistry between the two is just a cherry on top.

Furthermore, while No Way Home gives Peter a clear character arc—starting as a rookie with billionaire papa and evolving into a bona fide Spider-Man. Adastra doesn’t grant Marco the same luxury. The game even claims he "returns as a changed man" after eight years, as if writer subconsciously understands the lack of character development. So like, not only we didn’t have even an *off-screen* development in the process of this specific story — we will have a likely *off-screen* development that will happen somewhere in the nebulous future, that may also never happen to begin with! I mean… wow.

Red Flags of incompetance for Future Installments

Considering the direction of Adastra’s ending, future installments will need to grapple with the political fallout of interspecies relations. However, I’m left wondering if these topics will be treated with the necessary depth for what I have seen so far.

Speaking of—seriously, how does it make any sense that Marco and Amicus won’t be able to talk for years? Setting aside the emotional baggage, how is that even remotely good diplomacy?

I know it might be a bit of a revelation, but: governance, civilizational unification and cultural exchange are complex processes that require more a deep exploration and *more* than just a single emissary on each side *plus* the best communication possible. The notion that Marco and Amicus alone will unite two civilizations, with zero communication between them, is about as believable as a unicorn in a boardroom. From what I have seen so far, Adastra sets the stage for political intrigue, but often glosses over the nitty-gritty—major plot twists in a society to off-screen, and tough choices are resolved with all the tension of a cotton candy cloud.

If future chapters aim to tackle real-world political themes, they need to be handled with more nuance than Adastra has mustered so far. A surface-level approach like i have seen so far won’t do justice to the weighty premise of the story. 

Final Thoughts

Adastra presents a tantalizing premise, and many players were swept away by its romance and worldbuilding. However, its narrative stumbles under the weight of its own ambitions. The lack of meaningful character development, reliance on external forces to drive the plot, and avoidance of real consequences ultimately weaken what could have been an emotionally resonant story.

If Adastra had leaned harder into its themes—granting its characters more agency, deepening its political exploration, or committing to the emotional stakes of its ending—it could have been a far more captivating experience. As it stands, while the game has its moments, it remains a missed opportunity to deliver something truly exceptional.

For those enchanted by the story, I get why it resonates, but for those hunting for a more robust exploration of its themes, it leaves a lot to be desired.

That being said, if any of you think Interea or Khemia improved any of this -- please let me know in the comments.

Edit: in case this post resurges again, I think I will need to pre-emtively debunk certain defences.

1) “I enjoy the story for its simpler narrative.”

This doesn’t work because the narrative itself isn’t ‘simple’—it just refuses to engage with its own ideas. If you introduce cosmic-scale politics and eldritch gods, you’re committing to depth whether you like it or not. Otherwise, it’s just wasted potential.

2) “I like it because it features cosmic horror.”

This doesn’t hold up because Adastra isn’t horror in any meaningful way. Echo is full-on cosmic horror. Doki Doki Literature Club is horror disguised as a dating sim. Adastra plays with eldritch themes but never follows through—it’s window dressing, not horror.

3) “I like the theme of insignificance in the face of fate.”

This defense collapses under its own weight because a story where ‘your actions don’t matter’ is just narratively weak. Worse, it cancels out the purpose of any sequel—if everything is predetermined, then why even continue the story? The right way to handle fate is either:

Fighting fate at great cost (Steins;Gate) Being crushed by it due to your own flaws (Dune)

Adastra does neither—it just tells you to accept fate because ‘that’s how it is.

4) “But it has a hot wolf.”

You know what else has hot wolves? FurAffinity. DeviantArt. AI chatbots. You don’t need Adastra for that—go on CrushOn.AI and you can custom-build your own Amicus experience, no weak plot required.