It's a pretty great day today. I'm actually supposed to be working on some other projects, but I decided to play a little something just to get my mind off of things for an hour or two.
I've had this game in my backlog for quite some time now, and I actually tried to play it already once, but I never got around to finishing it. So I told myself that I'd definitely finish it today.
I did, finally. And man, I just wanna say, it was painful.
Not in the way you imagine, no.
Warning: there will be a lot of spoilers in this review. It's more of a reflection than a review, to be very honest. If that's fine with you, then go ahead!
Warning: there will be a lot of spoilers in this review. It's more of a reflection than a review, to be very honest. If that's fine with you, then go ahead!
A coming-of-age story
Emily is Away is a free-to-play game released in November 2015 by indie game developer Kyle Seeley. It's an interactive point-and-click about two people, the main character and Emily. The two went to the same high school and were the best of friends, until college started and they both had to go their separate ways. The game shows six years of their life, from their senior year in high school until their senior year in college.
From the get-go, it's already obvious what peg this game wants to achieve. It mimics the style of AOL Instant Messenger, hoping to bring some nostalgic feels to 90's kids. You get to choose your own name and screen-name, as well as your profile picture. The interface is a solid throwback to the old Windows XP and AIM client.
A lot of keyboard smashing involved
On the technical side, there is one thing I don't like about this game, and it's a pretty huge gripe. Namely, it's the way that the game progresses. You can choose your responses to what Emily is saying, and you have to type letter by letter, mimicking how it really works in real life. The big problem is that it's extremely annoying.
It's practically just plain keyboard smashing, and there's no other way to go about it.
Anyway, it's practically the only gripe I have with the game, because the writing was totally solid.
It's practically just plain keyboard smashing, and there's no other way to go about it.
Anyway, it's practically the only gripe I have with the game, because the writing was totally solid.
A little bit of truth
You know the thing that hits me the most with this game, is how real it is. People come, people go. Some people stay friends forever, some drift apart and never speak to each other again. It's sad, but that's the way it is.
There are six years in this game, and for the first five years, it was always Emily who logged off first. It was strange to me, because it always seemed like Emily was the more interested one. She was also the one who always reached out first. At some points, our character seemed to be just responding for the sake of responding. But she never stopped responding to Emily.
In the sixth year though, the tables turned. For the first time, it was our character who reached out to Emily. And this time, it was Emily who seemed to be just responding for the sake of responding. I admit, it was painful to see Emily answer my questions without asking anything back. Ever had that feeling when you know that someone doesn't want to talk to you anymore, but you still push the conversation because you desperately want to talk with them? That was exactly what I felt in this game. And that is why Emily is away was so painful for me to read.
I'm not the kind of person who "drifts apart". You can stop talking to me for months or years and if you talk to me again, nothing would have changed. The main character in this visual novel reminded me a lot of myself.
But Emily reminds me of someone, someone who used to be very close to me. We drifted apart recently, and it's so hard for me to accept it, because that person has already become my favorite human being-- the best in my world. Near the end of this game, Emily was acting a lot similar to how that person is now acting towards me, and it almost killed me to have to see that kind of situation from an outsider's perspective. I honestly almost didn't want to finish this game because it hit way too close to home.
I can understand the helplessness and desperation of the main character while chatting with Emily, because I know exactly how it feels. I've felt it before. I still feel it until now.
Emily is Away hurts. It hurts because it shows the story of two friends, or two almost lovers, drifting apart after literally years of trying so hard to hold everything together. It hurts because it shows a story that millions of us are experiencing every day, with our own friends and loved ones. It hurts because it's so raw, because it neither hides nor sugarcoats the feelings of losing a dear friend to distance and lack of communication.
Most of all, it hurts because it's real.
And that's why you should play it.
Most of all, it hurts because it's real.
And that's why you should play it.
There's no excuse not to play this free-to-play game
You can download the game for free on Steam or itch.io! A sequel was released earlier this year called "Emily is Away Too" -- great play on the name, by the way -- so you can also check it out if you wish. It's not free, but it only costs $5, so you might want to give it a try.
Have you played Emily is Away? Feel free to share your thoughts down below!
Have you played Emily is Away? Feel free to share your thoughts down below!
Since as long as she can remember, Shuna has borne an unrelenting crush on her childhood friend who lives across the street from her. There's only this one LITTLE problem: He sees her as a little sister... nothing more, nothing less...
Then again, she was turning 18 soon, so things were bound to change.
But her parents plan to announce her engagement on the very same day!!!
Play as Shuna, as she decides to actively pursue this fake older brother of hers.
Will she steal his heart away? Or will she stay the 'little sister' character and concede to fate?
You decide!~
Name: Straight Up: Sister-zoned!
Developer: Sayumi101
Date: April 2, 2017
Genre: Romance, Friendship
Hi there! So here's another NaNoRenO release.
It's one of the smaller NaNoRenO releases, so I was actually torn about giving strawberries to this one. I mean, some of the other games obviously have bigger teams to create custom art, music, GUI with, and I'm not sure if they should be rated the same way that I rate the ones made by one-man-teams. But I digress. That's a topic that should be talked about some other time, I suppose. For now, since this is a complete release anyway, I'll still give it some strawberries, for the love.
Five strawberries, mainly for the story, writing, and the nice little effects. The low resolution and the mismatched backgrounds take away the rest of the strawberries.
You can download the game here.
Then again, she was turning 18 soon, so things were bound to change.
But her parents plan to announce her engagement on the very same day!!!
Play as Shuna, as she decides to actively pursue this fake older brother of hers.
Will she steal his heart away? Or will she stay the 'little sister' character and concede to fate?
You decide!~
Name: Straight Up: Sister-zoned!
Developer: Sayumi101
Date: April 2, 2017
Genre: Romance, Friendship
Hi there! So here's another NaNoRenO release.
STORY
Shuna is a rich girl in love with her childhood best friend, Atsuya. They're as different as different can be. while Shuna is brash and noisy, Atsuya is a lot more soft-spoken and gentle. Also, as a "young mistress" of a mansion, Shuna is worlds away from Atsuya, who works as a bartender at a bar.
Just imagine Shuna's surprise when she overhears her parents talking about how she's going to be engaged in 17 days... which is the day of her 18th birthday. Of course, she imagines that it must be to Atsuya... until she finds out that her future groom isn't going to be him. This new realization throws her into a panic.
Sbe overhears Atsuya talking to a friend of his about how she's just a little sister to him. Ouch. The moment she gets home, she immediately surfs the net on how to know if somebody isn't interested in you. Oh, honestly Shuna dear, it's hard to know if someone is interested in you, but I think it's fairly easy to know if someone isn't, right? Trust that gut feel, girl!
But anyway! Unsatisfied with all the answers she's reading, she decides to post a question herself to get a definitive result.
Shuna goes back to the bar, still confused but pretty determined. There, she sees Atsuya with a pretty lady.
For the rest of the game, Shuna makes it her goal to win Atsuya over. That's basically the whole point of the whole visual novel.
At one point, another guy - the soon-to-be-fiance - actually makes an appearance, but he doesn't even have a real sprite, so I pretty much ignored him. Until I started thinking, wait, this guy is actually pretty decent for Shuna. Except, oh, right, he has no sprite, so they most likely wouldn't end up together in the 'true end' anyway, if ever there is one. As someone who likes having her choices, I totally thought, "what a bummer."
However, let me just tell you... you know that old adage, "don't judge a book by its cover"? Oh, that is definitely, definitely true. There are three or four endings to this game, and with the first one I got, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, pleasantly. The completionist in me wants to get all of the endings, but with what I got on my first try, I'm already a satisfied kid.
Just imagine Shuna's surprise when she overhears her parents talking about how she's going to be engaged in 17 days... which is the day of her 18th birthday. Of course, she imagines that it must be to Atsuya... until she finds out that her future groom isn't going to be him. This new realization throws her into a panic.
Sbe overhears Atsuya talking to a friend of his about how she's just a little sister to him. Ouch. The moment she gets home, she immediately surfs the net on how to know if somebody isn't interested in you. Oh, honestly Shuna dear, it's hard to know if someone is interested in you, but I think it's fairly easy to know if someone isn't, right? Trust that gut feel, girl!
But anyway! Unsatisfied with all the answers she's reading, she decides to post a question herself to get a definitive result.
Shuna goes back to the bar, still confused but pretty determined. There, she sees Atsuya with a pretty lady.
For the rest of the game, Shuna makes it her goal to win Atsuya over. That's basically the whole point of the whole visual novel.
At one point, another guy - the soon-to-be-fiance - actually makes an appearance, but he doesn't even have a real sprite, so I pretty much ignored him. Until I started thinking, wait, this guy is actually pretty decent for Shuna. Except, oh, right, he has no sprite, so they most likely wouldn't end up together in the 'true end' anyway, if ever there is one. As someone who likes having her choices, I totally thought, "what a bummer."
However, let me just tell you... you know that old adage, "don't judge a book by its cover"? Oh, that is definitely, definitely true. There are three or four endings to this game, and with the first one I got, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, pleasantly. The completionist in me wants to get all of the endings, but with what I got on my first try, I'm already a satisfied kid.
WRITING
The writing is pretty nice. I saw some typos, but nothing too major to distract me from the actual story. Strangely, while I usually don't like seeing stuff like "!!!!?!" or other things I consider 'informal' writing in visual novels, I was completely okay with seeing them here.
 |
| I wonder when I'll be able to say this? |
Other than those, actually, the dialogue here is better than some other visual novels I've read. The characters are both believable and lovable, and they all have endearing qualities to them.
ART
Backgrounds are from free resources. This causes them to be pretty mismatched, going from a Western-style living room to a Japanese style bedroom. One other obvious sign of the mismatch is the difference in the resolutions. Some backgrounds have managed to retain their sharpness, some are just alright, while some are just downright low-res.
It's pretty surprising, to be honest, considering that the game has a really small resolution in the first place. I'm wondering why some of the backgrounds look so pixelated, despite that fact. As for the sprites, they were alright. Nothing too outstanding and they can definitely be better, but... oh well.
It's pretty surprising, to be honest, considering that the game has a really small resolution in the first place. I'm wondering why some of the backgrounds look so pixelated, despite that fact. As for the sprites, they were alright. Nothing too outstanding and they can definitely be better, but... oh well.
GUI & TECHNICALS
Let me divide this section into two parts: the good and the bad.
There are actually a lot of things I loved about this game's technical aspect. First of all, I love how the main menu screen has a sparkly effect. So much love for that. I really disliked the font, as well as the color.
The inclusion of a calendar is something that surprised me though. It's a nice little feature; definitely a welcome addition to this otherwise lackluster game.
There are some nice little additions to the game. When the lady shows up at the bar, a dialogue bubble popped up beside her head to indicate her emotions.
Effects, effects, effects! Do you see those raindrops? They're actually moving in the game. Yes, I know it's something super minor, but I really appreciate those little things.
There were some other errors, though. I'm not sure they're all errors though, or if some are just oversights or perhaps they were just because of the limitations brought about by the At one point, Shuna said it was already night-time, but the background still showed that it was morning. Also, Atsuya's sprite remained even though she was supposed to be alone.
There are actually a lot of things I loved about this game's technical aspect. First of all, I love how the main menu screen has a sparkly effect. So much love for that. I really disliked the font, as well as the color.
The inclusion of a calendar is something that surprised me though. It's a nice little feature; definitely a welcome addition to this otherwise lackluster game.
There are some nice little additions to the game. When the lady shows up at the bar, a dialogue bubble popped up beside her head to indicate her emotions.
Effects, effects, effects! Do you see those raindrops? They're actually moving in the game. Yes, I know it's something super minor, but I really appreciate those little things.
There were some other errors, though. I'm not sure they're all errors though, or if some are just oversights or perhaps they were just because of the limitations brought about by the At one point, Shuna said it was already night-time, but the background still showed that it was morning. Also, Atsuya's sprite remained even though she was supposed to be alone.
MUSIC
Music was also from free resources, I believe. Considering that, I don't think I've heard most of the tracks in here. There were some Kevin Macleon tracks though, so keep that in mind, for you guys out there who have read a lot of OELVNs in the past.
WRAP-UP
Despite the use of mismatched backgrounds and the low resolution, I didn't really have much of a problem with this visual novel. The story was pretty cheesy and it was also pretty direct to the point, but it's a fun little read. For a small project by a newbie developer, it should be completely fine.It's one of the smaller NaNoRenO releases, so I was actually torn about giving strawberries to this one. I mean, some of the other games obviously have bigger teams to create custom art, music, GUI with, and I'm not sure if they should be rated the same way that I rate the ones made by one-man-teams. But I digress. That's a topic that should be talked about some other time, I suppose. For now, since this is a complete release anyway, I'll still give it some strawberries, for the love.
Five strawberries, mainly for the story, writing, and the nice little effects. The low resolution and the mismatched backgrounds take away the rest of the strawberries.
You can download the game here.
bookSLEEPer is the story of an undeclared college student who isn't doing so well in school. With finals coming up, she decides to spend her reading week studying. When she accidentally falls asleep on a textbook, she discovers that she can enter the world of a book when she sleeps on it.
Will our protagonist forge friendships, or even romances, as she explores these books? Will she pass her exams, or will she drop out of college and become a cat lady? The choice is yours!
Name: BookSLEEPer
Developer: Alcor etc.
Date: April 4, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
If you'd like to give this a try, you certainly can, but I would recommend waiting until the final game is out. You can download this demo here.
Will our protagonist forge friendships, or even romances, as she explores these books? Will she pass her exams, or will she drop out of college and become a cat lady? The choice is yours!
Name: BookSLEEPer
Developer: Alcor etc.
Date: April 4, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
STORY
BookSLEEPer, a visual novel demo released for NaNoRenO 2017, currently contains four routes: English, Photography, Microbiology, and Philosophy. However, the NaNo version isn't complete yet, so it should be considered a demo of sorts. For this review, I took the microbiology route, since it's the only complete route so far. However, I did dip into the other routes a bit, just to see how it's like.
Basically, the story goes like this: whatever book you last read before you sleep, you dream about it. So if the last book you choose to read was "The Taming of the Shrew", you'll find yourself dreaming about being in the book. If it was "Fundamentals of Microbiology", then you'll find yourself with Curie and Pasteur in the laboratory. Man, oh man. If only we could do this in real life, I'd probably be sleeping night after night right after reading manga or something.
The concept is actually rather simple, but I really enjoyed it for the 'time travel' feels that it gives. I've always loved time travel stories, actually. While BookSLEEPer isn't actually focused on time-traveling, it does become a part of the game as most of the things that happen in our character's sleep are things that have already happened in the past, fictional or otherwise.
In the English route, we see the story of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew unfold right before our very eyes. In the Microbiology route, we get thrown into the lives of Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur as they discover new medicine. In the Philosophy route, we meet the characters of Herman Hesse's famous novel Demian. In the Photography route, we get to see how the fictional photographer, Luca Hylton, captures each of his beautiful photos.
I have to admit that my favorite route is the English route. The interactions between my character and Bianca from The Taming of the Shrew were both amusing and touching. I also loved the dialogues in this route, more than any of the other routes. My second favorite is the Philosophy route. I love the dynamics between Demian and the MC! This route is still incomplete, but I'm looking forward to see how it'll turn out. Surprisingly, even though the Microbiology route is actually the only complete route, it's actually the one that I least liked. I'm quite excited for the final release, if only to see how the other routes will turn out.
Basically, the story goes like this: whatever book you last read before you sleep, you dream about it. So if the last book you choose to read was "The Taming of the Shrew", you'll find yourself dreaming about being in the book. If it was "Fundamentals of Microbiology", then you'll find yourself with Curie and Pasteur in the laboratory. Man, oh man. If only we could do this in real life, I'd probably be sleeping night after night right after reading manga or something.
The concept is actually rather simple, but I really enjoyed it for the 'time travel' feels that it gives. I've always loved time travel stories, actually. While BookSLEEPer isn't actually focused on time-traveling, it does become a part of the game as most of the things that happen in our character's sleep are things that have already happened in the past, fictional or otherwise.
In the English route, we see the story of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew unfold right before our very eyes. In the Microbiology route, we get thrown into the lives of Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur as they discover new medicine. In the Philosophy route, we meet the characters of Herman Hesse's famous novel Demian. In the Photography route, we get to see how the fictional photographer, Luca Hylton, captures each of his beautiful photos.
I have to admit that my favorite route is the English route. The interactions between my character and Bianca from The Taming of the Shrew were both amusing and touching. I also loved the dialogues in this route, more than any of the other routes. My second favorite is the Philosophy route. I love the dynamics between Demian and the MC! This route is still incomplete, but I'm looking forward to see how it'll turn out. Surprisingly, even though the Microbiology route is actually the only complete route, it's actually the one that I least liked. I'm quite excited for the final release, if only to see how the other routes will turn out.
WRITING
According to the itch.io page, BookSLEEPer actually has different writers per route. I guess that explains why the writing styles are all sort of different? Like I said, while I greatly enjoyed the humor in the English route, the scenes in the Microbiology route weren't nearly as interesting to me. As for the other routes, well, I'm also very interested in the Philosophy route, thanks to the dialogues between the characters. The Photography route was pretty nice, too, even though at times it felt more like I was just reading about photography lessons.
Regardless of my personal preferences, however, the writing quality is high in all of the routes, with minimal typos and errors. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I came across a single typo. Pretty good, considering its length.
Regardless of my personal preferences, however, the writing quality is high in all of the routes, with minimal typos and errors. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I came across a single typo. Pretty good, considering its length.
ART
I just have to say, the sudden change in art styles between the different scenes was pretty jarring. Since I first tried out the Microbiology route, this jump from one art style to another was even more pronounced for me. I mean, seriously. Look at it.
I was really surprised when the art styles of, well, practically everything, changed. Not that it's a bad thing, I guess. It was just too sudden for me, to think that the art styles were completely-- and I mean completely-- different.
I was really surprised when the art styles of, well, practically everything, changed. Not that it's a bad thing, I guess. It was just too sudden for me, to think that the art styles were completely-- and I mean completely-- different.
GUI
The GUI itself was pretty okay. It's custom, but basic. I guess so that it doesn't fit into any specific theme? Since the game does have four different stories, after all.
My only gripe in the technical aspect has something to do with the transitions-- or rather, the lack thereof. It was very disconcerting.
My only gripe in the technical aspect has something to do with the transitions-- or rather, the lack thereof. It was very disconcerting.
MUSIC
I believe the music used here isn't final yet, but that's understandable since it's still just a demo, after all. I did like the music in the MC's room, though, especially the night-time theme. Sound effects were pretty much limited to MC's alarm clock going off in the morning.WRAP-UP
Each route has its own story, and each one is pretty long, so I would say that there's a lot of replayability here. It almost feels like you have four different stories in one big story, which I really liked.If you'd like to give this a try, you certainly can, but I would recommend waiting until the final game is out. You can download this demo here.
When your ship and fellow crew members are destroyed during a routine mission by space debris, you are rescued by the one laborer-class android who happened to be nearby... Now the two of you must spend an entire three-month journey alone with each other aboard the small, maintenance ship that is taking you back to civilization.
Along the way, there is little on board to keep you occupied... save the android. He calls himself Silas. As the situation forces you to get to know one another, you quickly figure out that while he may not have emotions the way WE understand them, he IS a construct designed to learn, adapt, and serve...
Developer: Agashi
Date: April 2, 2017
Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance
I seem to be reviewing a lot of sci-fi visual novels lately. Either that or this year's NaNoRenO is just filled with sci-fi stories? Yeah, perhaps that's it.
I love LAS-51, also known as 'Silas'. He can seem a bit insensitive at times, but as an android without a social sensitivity chip, that's only natural, isn't it? At least, that's what I kept telling myself throughout the whole game, as he felt human enough to actually pass for an actual human being. The only difference was that he wasn't capable of human emotions... or was he?
I can't decide whether I like this one or the other sci-fi visual novel, Pairs, that I reviewed recently, better. They're both pretty good, for a NaNoRenO release. Heck, I wouldn't even have thought they were NaNo released if it wasn't mentioned on their pages.
Nevertheless, I'm giving this one eight strawberries, a berry higher than Pairs, for the excellent storywriting and relationship build-up. Visual novels are called 'novels' for a reason, after all. And even though the art of this game isn't as stellar as other titles out there, what's important is that it made me feel something while playing the game. Something good. Something warm. Something nice. Something that will stay in my memory for quite some time.
And what's life other than a series of emotions and memories, right?
You can try out this game here.
Along the way, there is little on board to keep you occupied... save the android. He calls himself Silas. As the situation forces you to get to know one another, you quickly figure out that while he may not have emotions the way WE understand them, he IS a construct designed to learn, adapt, and serve...
GAME INFO
Name: This, My SoulDeveloper: Agashi
Date: April 2, 2017
Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance
I seem to be reviewing a lot of sci-fi visual novels lately. Either that or this year's NaNoRenO is just filled with sci-fi stories? Yeah, perhaps that's it.
STORY
Let me start with the disclaimer that I love any and all topics regarding AI. I mentioned that before in my blog, actually, in my review of the visual novel AMI. My interest in AI started from my interest in computers, and that includes both fiction and non-fiction topics. As long as it contains AI, count me in, I'm interested!
Anyway, with that out of the way, let's begin with the review.
The story begins with a black screen... and the main character figuratively hanging on for dear life. As soon as she wakes up from her 'nightmare', she's informed by the Living Artificial Synthezoid that she has been sleeping for a month and sixteen days. They still have a little over two months before they arrive at their destination. Now it's up to her to make the most of out of her time in the ship! Problem is, her one and only companion is an android... who's becoming less and less of an android to her and more and more of a potential love interest. Yikes.
Anyway, with that out of the way, let's begin with the review.
The story begins with a black screen... and the main character figuratively hanging on for dear life. As soon as she wakes up from her 'nightmare', she's informed by the Living Artificial Synthezoid that she has been sleeping for a month and sixteen days. They still have a little over two months before they arrive at their destination. Now it's up to her to make the most of out of her time in the ship! Problem is, her one and only companion is an android... who's becoming less and less of an android to her and more and more of a potential love interest. Yikes.
Can I just say, I absolutely loved the interactions between the MC and the LAS! An LAS is basically a sub-category of android, built to look and feel as human as possible.
It was really frustrating at times to interact with Silas to be honest, because no matter how much I try to make things less awkward for him MC, we always seem to go back to square one, each and every time. Man, I can't even clean up the mess that is my lovelife in real life, and yet here I am, still unable to fix things with my in-game character and her love interest. I'm hopeless, aren't I?
But anyway, back to the game! Despite my frustrations, I absolutely loved every scene between the the two of them. Silas is such an interesting character and I found it very hard not to fall in love with him, even though he was a robot. And even though I wasn't entirely sure where the route was going (Yes, even though I tried to make the 'correct' choices that would lead to a romance ending, I still wasn't sure if I'd be able to get it. This game, or rather, Silas, is that unpredictable.) I simply let myself to be carried by the story.
It seems like a made the right choice, because I was already in near-tears by the end of the game. This is totally one of the most heart-warming (or heart-breaking depending on which ending we're talking about) NaNoRenO games I've played in a while! I don't want to give any spoilers, so I suggest you just try it out for yourself!
But anyway, back to the game! Despite my frustrations, I absolutely loved every scene between the the two of them. Silas is such an interesting character and I found it very hard not to fall in love with him, even though he was a robot. And even though I wasn't entirely sure where the route was going (Yes, even though I tried to make the 'correct' choices that would lead to a romance ending, I still wasn't sure if I'd be able to get it. This game, or rather, Silas, is that unpredictable.) I simply let myself to be carried by the story.
It seems like a made the right choice, because I was already in near-tears by the end of the game. This is totally one of the most heart-warming (or heart-breaking depending on which ending we're talking about) NaNoRenO games I've played in a while! I don't want to give any spoilers, so I suggest you just try it out for yourself!
WRITING
I greatly enjoyed the writing. It's descriptive in just the right amount, and the interactions between the MC and Silas felt neither forced nor contrived. I really hate stories where the MC is being pushed to fall in love with the love interest sooner than later. Like, come on, give them some time to breathe, okay? In This, My Soul, their relationship developed gradually, even painfully slowly at times. Which I like way better than whirlwind romances, as that kind of relationship development also usually shows character development as well.
Plus, I love how there were so many choices! I would've been fine even just as a passive reader, but I think the level of participation that was required from me only increased my liking for Silas. The only thing I didn't particularly like is that it's written in the 2nd-person-POV, as I usually avoid those.
Plus, I love how there were so many choices! I would've been fine even just as a passive reader, but I think the level of participation that was required from me only increased my liking for Silas. The only thing I didn't particularly like is that it's written in the 2nd-person-POV, as I usually avoid those.
ART
The art is pretty good, although it's not really my cup of tea. Or in other words, it's not the manga art that I've grown to know and love, haha. Nevertheless, both the backgrounds and the character sprites are not too shabby, especially for a NaNoRenO entry.
There are some CG scenes, but not fullscreen ones. They look like the kinds used in The Thing of Mistletoes, to be honest. They're a lot easier to make and implement than the traditional fullscreen CGs, to be very honest. Oh, but in this case, I did notice that the CG scenes seem to have a different - and nicer - art style than the sprites, so perhaps the artists are different as well? I'm not entirely sure.
There are some CG scenes, but not fullscreen ones. They look like the kinds used in The Thing of Mistletoes, to be honest. They're a lot easier to make and implement than the traditional fullscreen CGs, to be very honest. Oh, but in this case, I did notice that the CG scenes seem to have a different - and nicer - art style than the sprites, so perhaps the artists are different as well? I'm not entirely sure.
GUI
The GUI is actually my favorite part in this whole visual novel. It looks very clean and seamless, perfect for the sci-fi theme. The buttons all work perfectly too, so... yeah, that's pretty much it.
MUSIC
I find the music really soothing to hear. Unfortunately, I can't comment much on it, as I played majority of the game while I was outside the house, without earphones. Mostly while I was in school, in between my classes, heh. But what little music I heard was really good and seemed to match the scene it was in, so that's a plus I guess.WRAP-UP
This game was certainly a pleasure to play. I totally enjoyed it! I've always said that I'm not a fan of sci-fi, but as a fan of anything AI-related, this totally resonated with me.I can't decide whether I like this one or the other sci-fi visual novel, Pairs, that I reviewed recently, better. They're both pretty good, for a NaNoRenO release. Heck, I wouldn't even have thought they were NaNo released if it wasn't mentioned on their pages.
Nevertheless, I'm giving this one eight strawberries, a berry higher than Pairs, for the excellent storywriting and relationship build-up. Visual novels are called 'novels' for a reason, after all. And even though the art of this game isn't as stellar as other titles out there, what's important is that it made me feel something while playing the game. Something good. Something warm. Something nice. Something that will stay in my memory for quite some time.
And what's life other than a series of emotions and memories, right?
You can try out this game here.
An alien with sketchy morals craves a human's heart.
A young man schemes to get his parents back from death.
A mutant tries to figure out where her heart lies with her childhood friend.
An illusionist struggles with his motivations for becoming a hero.
Four stories. Four people. A chance to understand them all.
Developer: Full Credits
Date: Aug. 17, 2017
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama, Romance
I'm going to give this game seven strawberries. The art takes one away, and my other gripes, including my lack of interest for the other route, take away the other two. Nevertheless, if you can only play one game from the NaNoRenO 2017, this one's a pretty good choice.
You can download the game here.
A young man schemes to get his parents back from death.
A mutant tries to figure out where her heart lies with her childhood friend.
An illusionist struggles with his motivations for becoming a hero.
Four stories. Four people. A chance to understand them all.
GAME INFO
Name: PairsDeveloper: Full Credits
Date: Aug. 17, 2017
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama, Romance
STORY
I love how we can choose from the four characters which story we want to experience first. I really, really love stories like these, where I can view different perspectives to the same story. It's always interesting to see how other people view the same situation through a different set of lenses.
Pairs tell the story of two... well, pairs of lovers, both with one human and one non-human in the relationship. There are a total of four main characters, and the player has the ability to choose which character's perspective they want to see the story from.
I first played the game through Kitten Pink's eyes. She's a Naian, which makes her different from humans. She's hot-headed and can be quite crazy at times, but she's totally awesome. Oh, and she's not just any Naian. In fact, she's Princess Lek Noiya, daughter of King Khaos. Her other half is James, a human guy who works at a bakeshop. She's madly in lo-- oops, sorry, I mean she likes to think that she has 'claimed' him, even though she knows it's just a one-sided thing.
I like how she's aware of that, but at the same time, it kinda hurts me just how aware she is. Ever get that feeling with movie or video game characters? Like, damn, they know this other person doesn't like them back but they still love them anyway. That always hits way too close to home. *sighs sadly*
Anyway, kidding aside, I found her story really engrossing, even though it's your typical "upper girl falls in love with lower guy" kind of story. Her being a Naian Princess who's supposed to be at war with the humans gives their (supposedly one-sided) love story a twist.
This line stuck to me at the end of her route: "Funny how I wanted his loyalty and he ended up with mine." Awww, that's so sweet.
Naturally, I played James' story next. James, as Kitten puts it, is "beautiful, even by Naian standards". Well, I don't know about you, Kitten, but he looks absolutely average to me. I guess love does blind people at times? Anyway, this dude is totally preoccupied with taking care of his sister, Mei. He takes care of her so much that Kitten initially mistook Mei as his 'nyaling', or daughter. So cute! I actually love the big brother type of guy, so even though I can't see what Kitten sees in him literally, I can quite see what makes him lovable.
Of course, it depends on your choices, but since I'm a sucker for good endings I picked all the 'good' choices. I found it really cute how James started wanting to stay with Kitten, even though he was torn inside because when they started out, he had less than clean intentions. Somehow, I feel a bit sad at the good ending, and I don't know why. It's a bit bittersweet, I suppose.
Next, I tried out Carmelita's story. I wasn't as invested in her story with Ricardo as much as I was invested in the other pair's story, but theirs also seemed good nonetheless. In their story, the two are tasked to go on a joint-mission together. Except they seem quite averse to the idea. Now, the thing is, I don't understand why exactly they don't want that. If that was me, I'd be more motivated knowing that my special someone would be beside me on a difficult task. But meh, maybe that's just me.
The two stories sort of overlap, although Ricardo and Carmelita didn't really appear in the other couple's story. I'm not sure if Kitten will appear in R&C's story as I didn't finish Carmelita's route, but James did, at least. Maybe one of these days I can go back and finish both Carmelita's and Ricardo's routes, but for now I'll have to pass.
That said, the world-building is really, really good. I loved how the war between the Naians and the humans were explained. Plus, I found myself absolutely sucked into Kitten and James' story, even though it's not an entirely fresh idea.
WRITING
Obviously, I greatly enjoyed the writing. I swear, it's really good. Even though I'm not really a fan of sci-fi, I had a lot of fun in this game. I especially loved the dialogue between the characters! The pacing was just right, the timing was just right, and in my opinion, there was not a single boring scene in the whole game.
I even had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments too, especially in James' story. Simply put, I just loved how everything played out.
ART
I don't like the art style, but it's alright, I suppose. On one hand, I can say that it already works, for a NaNoRenO release at least, but there's still some room for improvement. I'm no artist, but I was thinking that maybe the sprites could benefit from more shading or something, just to add some depth to them, as they look a little flat.
One thing that I didn't like about the sprites is the fact that no transitions were used for the expressions. That has always been one of my gripes, since I really dislike abrupt changes. I wish there was some way to enable transitions here, but even the "enable transitions" button did nothing for the sprites. Oh well. I guess there really was no transition involved in the coding of the sprites, then.
GUI
I like how the GUI matches perfectly with the theme of this game. It looks very futuristic indeed, a perfect fit for a sci-fi visual novel. The buttons all work perfectly, too.
I'm still really bitter about that "enable transitions" button though, because, like I said, it does nothing for the sprites.
MUSIC
I didn't notice the music that much. It's okay, I guess, but nothing too outstanding.WRAP-UP
I can't even believe it's a NaNoRenO entry! I've played other NaNoRenO games before that are really high quality too, and they still never fail to make me so amazed. This one, however, was pretty good and kinda out of the ordinary too.I'm going to give this game seven strawberries. The art takes one away, and my other gripes, including my lack of interest for the other route, take away the other two. Nevertheless, if you can only play one game from the NaNoRenO 2017, this one's a pretty good choice.
You can download the game here.
Pleione is a Faerie that lives in the forest with her sisters, but she's always pined for the heavens and the stars above, and she's even managed to start trading letters with a Moon Faerie. When a human spaceship crashes in her forest, she starts wondering that if humans can get to the Moon, why can't she? And so she tries to fix the ship...
Name: Moonlight Crossing
Developer: Fairy Ring
Date: April 3, 2017
Genre: Friendship, Family
Hi everyone! Long time no see. I'm really sorry for the long absence! I've been quite busy lately, with real life and other stuff. Anyway, I've prepared some visual novel reviews for the next few weeks so... stay tuned, alright?
Here we go for the first one!
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to this team's future projects! Aside from the writing, the game is really quite well-made. I'm sure, if given more time than NaNoRenO's 1-month-deadline, they'd be able to create something ultimately better than this one.
But for this game of theirs, I'd have to give just four strawberries. Even the most amazing art can't salvage a not-so-good story/writing, after all.
You can download this game here.
Name: Moonlight Crossing
Developer: Fairy Ring
Date: April 3, 2017
Genre: Friendship, Family
Hi everyone! Long time no see. I'm really sorry for the long absence! I've been quite busy lately, with real life and other stuff. Anyway, I've prepared some visual novel reviews for the next few weeks so... stay tuned, alright?
Here we go for the first one!
STORY
So... I kinda went right into this game without knowing the plot beforehand.
The game starts with our main character, Pleione, waking up after a piece of metal struck her home while she was asleep. She goes outside to talk with her sister, Melia, who speculates that the piece of metal may have come from the Moon. Shocked at this new information, Pleione visits Kikkakaya, a lagomorph from Earth who resides with the faeries. Kikkakaya promises to help Pleione, but for a favor. Pleione then visits another sister, Aetna, who also agrees to help her on one condition. With all these in place, Pleione may finally have the chance to go visit the Moon for herself!
All I can say is, it's a cute little story, if a bit forgettable. And I don't mean that in a bad way; all I mean is that not a lot of memorable things happened in the game. There's a hint of GxG romance near the end of the game which made me pretty happy, but that's about it. I'm not gonna judge (harshly) though, since this game is an entry to the NaNoRenO 2017.
WRITING
Sadly, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. The dialogue felt both flat and yet too overly dramatic at times to me. Characterization was also pretty minimal, as there wasn't much difference between the various characters. You could change Pleione's name to Melia and Melia to Kikkakaya and I wouldn't even notice, I think. Aside from that, I also didn't like how the story is told from a third-person perspective, but this is more of a personal preference than anything.
ART
I have to say it, the art is absolutely phenomenal. I loved everything, from the backgrounds to the character sprites. The level of detail in the individual sprites is almost breathtaking, to be perfectly honest.
The backgrounds seem to be made by a different artist, judging by the difference in the art styles. Nevertheless, they are also just as good as the sprites. Also, despite the different art styles, the two blend into each other rather nicely. As for CGs, I didn't see any that look like your traditional visual novel CGs, but there were some that came pretty close. Overall, if I could give an individual strawberry rating for the art, I'd definitely give it nine out of ten.
My only gripe is the limited number of expressions per character. I'm not sure how many there are exactly, but they certainly aren't enough to convey the emotions of the characters during specific points in the scenes.
GUI
The GUI is really cute! I already loved the main menu right from the get-go. But that's mainly because of the GUI art. Isn't it just lovely?
As for the font, I think it goes without saying that there are a lot better options out there. I'm not sure, but it seems to be the default Ren'Py font? I don't know if it's just because I've seen it dozens of times before, but I really don't like seeing this font on newly-released visual novels.
MUSIC
I like the music tracks on their own, but there were times when I felt that they weren't exactly suitable for the scene.
WRAP-UP
Since the game is only around 5,500 words, I managed to finish it in under 20 minutes, even as I took notes for this review. Like I said, it's a cute little game, but that's about it. Sadly, despite the spectacular art, Moonlight Crossing is pretty forgettable. The writing is quite bland and the story itself doesn't have a lot of memorable scenes.Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to this team's future projects! Aside from the writing, the game is really quite well-made. I'm sure, if given more time than NaNoRenO's 1-month-deadline, they'd be able to create something ultimately better than this one.
But for this game of theirs, I'd have to give just four strawberries. Even the most amazing art can't salvage a not-so-good story/writing, after all.
You can download this game here.
Name: Round the Mulberry Bush
Developer: ebi-hime
Date: April 1, 2013
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Here I am again, trying out a game that I know nothing about. I think I must have downloaded it along with a couple of others last month, but I really don’t remember. Oh well, let’s see how this goes, shall we?
Name: The First Star
Developer: Sailorel
Date: August 19, 2016
Genre: Romance, Drama
Accompany Hoshiko, a 16 year old high school student as she struggles to take care of her sick mother, go to school, maintain a job and maybe even find true love, all while avoiding the shadow of her stalker.
GAME INFO
Name: Beauty & the War: X Playing Pieces [demo]
Developer: Poison Apple Tales
Release Date: Nov. 12, 2016
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Adventure
I’ve had this demo in my “to play” queue for quite some time now, but I never got around to playing it until this now. Man, I should’ve played it sooner!
Fun fact: Beauty & The War: X Playing Pieces, which we’ll call War X for the purposes of this review, is created by the same developer who made Death Room and Don’t Take This Risk. In fact, the main character here is also a character in Death Room! Isn’t that cool?
GAME INFO
Name: Christmas Sweaters
Release Date: Dec. 22, 2014
Developer/s: Shaples, Fungii
Genre: Romance
I have to admit, I did not have high hopes for this visual novel. I only saw it in my visual novels folders, with absolutely no idea how it got there, and the first thing I see when I load it is that lackluster opening screen. Uh… I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but...
STORY
You’re a café owner. It’s snowing hard on Christmas eve, and you decided to let your employees off early so that they can avoid getting stranded by the snowfall. Just as you were closing up shop, however, you hear someone trying to call your attention outside. It’s a young man, his car stuck in the snow with no way for him to go. There’s nothing else to do but to let him in, is there?
WRITING
The story is only around 12,000 words of writing, and there are only two characters in the whole visual novel. That said, their conversations were quite an enjoyable read, if not a little commonplace. If I didn't know what the game was all about (and I actually didn’t, when I first started playing), I’d say it’s a slice-of-life story depicting a completely normal getting-to-know-you scene between two individuals who just happened to meet in a pretty uncommon situation.Sam totally looks bad-ass, but she seems to be a pretty sweet girl. Ty looks hot and sexy, and well, he is hot and sexy. So even though the whole VN seemed to be a slice-of-life, their contrasting personalities and even appearances made for quite a unique experience.
The prose part of the story is written in NVL format, and it’s written really well. Quite descriptive, which is to be expected of prose.
Or maybe, it’s because I was fully unprepared when I decided to play this VN and… heck, you will NOT make out in front of me you guys, no no no. Not when you JUST MET, IF I MIGHT REMIND YOU AGAIN.
With the sexual tension running high in this VN, it was no surprise that the power got cut off just as they were about to get ready to sleep. Mother of all clichés. It seems like Fate itself is pushing them to just ‘get on with it’.
Spoiler: no, they didn't get it on. But if you were expecting something to come out of all that tension (and rightly so!) then I’d have to say, you won’t be disappointed. Then again… ugh, they sure employed a generous amount of self-control last night, huh.
Bonus: I find it funny that the guy’s name is Ty Ko, because in my local language, Ty Ko sounds like some sort of rice cake. Totally adorable.
ART
The sprite art is surprisingly good! Don’t judge a book by its cover, I guess. Or at least, in this case, don’t judge a game by its opening screen. Anyway, I’m pretty certain I’ve seen this art style before somewhere. It’s the kind of style that if you see it once, you’ll surely recognize it the next time you see it again.
I have to admit, I prefer Japanese anime style to this more Western style, but nevertheless, it’s very polished and pleasing to look at.
The backgrounds, on the other hand, are not as nicely done. It’s a bit bothersome, but at the same time, their low quality makes the sprites stand out even more, so… that makes up for it, I guess.
GUI
Your standard Ren’Py GUI. I really don’t like seeing the Ren’Py GUI on visual novels with larger resolutions, because it makes long texts look more so unappealing to read. At least make the padding or margin large so that the text will be more centered, huhu.
MUSIC
The first thing I hear upon opening up this visual novel is this freakin’ music, which I hear ALL THE TIME in YouTube videos. I actually enjoy watching random tutorials or study channels during my free time (in what little free time I have, huhu) and almost every YouTube channel I watch has probably used THIS song at least once. It’s already grating at this point, tbh. If you’ve been a regular to YouTube even just for a while, you’ll definitely understand what I mean.But anyway, in-game, the music is fine. I think there’s only two to three tracks, but I’ve got no complaints.
Other than the fact that the track used in the ending scene doesn’t match at all, in my personal opinion.
WRAP-UP
And I… still honestly don’t know what point this visual novel is trying to make. Just a sweet little slice-of-life genre fit for the holiday seasons, maybe? Which is fine, if it made itself clear. I did enjoy it at first, although I think the story was way too fast… not the pacing, but the story itself.Spoiler [maybe]: Guys and girls, please try to avoid awkwardly making out with people you just met, alright?! If you’re gonna make out, at least try to lessen the awkwardness. And suddenly going from cool to cringe-y sweet. No. Just… please, no.
Spoiler [again]: Okay, I just have to spit it out. Did they just kiss and make out like 6 times in a row that morning… as in the morning after they met?! Like… guys, come on, I know the sexual tension last night was high but… like what the heck? Especially considering the fact that Ty will be going somewhere far away and apparently can’t go back immediately… wow. The cynical part of me is screaming to Sam: noooo, he’ll never go back to you, girl, he’s just doing this as thanks for feeding him and letting him stay last night! He’s just telling you those things so he can make out with you like that! Don't be such a hopeless romantic!
Oh, I can be cynical alright.
You can download this game here for free.
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