Writing teenagers can be hard without being inauthentic one way or another, and while We Know the Devil often falls into sounding more like a chatroom transcript than anything else, the cast feels real and genuine. You've known kids like this, or been them yourself even if it was a long time ago. The themes of struggling with identity and what you want when everyone else around you is pushing back and telling you it's wrong, to the point where you're keeping it all inside and hating yourself for it, are relatable no matter what your gender or sexual identity. The setting is both like and unlike our own world, which only serves to drive home how hard it can be when you're growing up with the terrifying suspicion that you're not like everyone else, or what everyone else considers "good" or "right". The classic "Magical Girl" trope is strained through modern religion, with the literal Devil in place of The Dark Kingdom's minions, and more personal, painful struggles manifested as what society views as monsters to be guarded against and stamped out. The old-school, discordant horror movie soundtrack serves to create an atmosphere of dread, and while it would have been nice to have some scenes depicted as something other than the characters standing around with their arms at their sides no matter what the action is, they look and feel realistic and expressive.

To dismiss We Know the Devil because it occasionally feels a little too glib or twee is to dismiss the very real feelings of fear and isolation the game taps into. Who hasn't ever covered up how they felt with humour or sarcasm, or buried their emotions out of fear that that they're wrong? People who have gone through, to a certain extent, what Jupiter, Neptune, and Venus have, may of course find it hits closer to home. The narrative more alludes to the fantastical elements of the story than anything else, slipping in bits and pieces of the supernatural and leaving you to form the world in your own mind. Instead, the focus is simply on the relationships between the kids, and the kids themselves. They joke, they occasionally touch a nerve with one another, they tease and they bicker. Most of all, they deal with things in very different ways. Jupiter is considered the most reliable and trustworthy of everyone, but she struggles to really take the lead and stand up when it counts, while Neptune's brashy "mean girl" behaviour speaks of a deeper frustration and resentment with the expectation to follow along and just put up with the things they're "supposed" to do and feel. The end result is a very character driven story that, despite dialogue that can be a little erratic, weaves together classic pop culture tropes with real life for something that feels very raw and honest. Some may find it cathartic, while others may find it upsetting, but We Know the Devil is a visual novel pulled from a place of genuine feeling like few others.

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