I went into this game really wanting to like it. I read reviews and it seemed cute and the reviews were positive so I gave it a chance. I thought it started off kind of boring but I hoped it would get better considering plenty of otome/visual novel games can start that way. Needless to say it didn't get better, I was so bored that I stopped playing halfway through the asa route. I eventually came back to the game months later and tried again and am still bored out of my mind. The art is cute and it does have some cute and funny dialoge at times but most of it was extremely dull and bland. I have played plenty of visual novels that are very long with a lot of reading involved but none have bored me this badly. The story felt simple and dull with no real interesting or creative plot. It has potential but it was definitely not capitalized on. The characters while somewhat likable still managed to be very close minded or shallow which while may be realistic wasn't something that was built upon so it felt very two dimensional. The so called romance was basically non exsitent throughout the game. The female protaganist gave no indication what so ever that she liked anyone as more than a friend throughout the majority of the game. Heck there was more romance between some side chracters than the main. It was somewhat of a let down that I had to sit and force myself through this game. It isn't horrible but for me personally I found it quite dull and tedious to get through.

Overall It isn't even close to being the worst otome/visual novel I have played and it didn't make me angry. I got it on sale and I am not mad at paying a couple of bucks, I do think I wouldn't buy a game like it again. Unless your prepared to sit through quite a bit of dull and dry dialogue that feels completely unnecessary than I wouldn't recommend it. It does have some good points in it and can be funny at times, Also the art is cute but the story was to bland and lacking in places for me. Obviously this is just my personal opinion but the reviews were so positive and I was thrown when playing the game and wondering why the reviews were so positive and didn't really point out how tedious reading through it felt and there was very little pay off after going through the routes.

𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙~

The art is different, for once the characters are not exaggerated in style.

It is a slow steady pace so far.

A nice break from my more violent games.

I have spent far more money on far less interesting things.

This game should be supported (so that he/she/they will make more.

No Hentai in this but I still am enjoying it.

So at first this game seemed promising:

-Good characters
-Good storyline
-Great art

But there is at least 1 hour to 2 hours of completely usless dialogue that has absolutely no relevance to the story. You could skip everything in the beginning except for character introductions and would miss nothing. Then skip almost everything except for interactions with your chosen love interest and miss nothing. This would be tolerable if the dialogue to do with the actual story plot was just as long, but its not. I would say dialogue to do with the plot was about 20-30 minutes in total. Character banter is nice, but in small spurts, not almost the entire game. I will rate this 2/10 just because the art was good. Honestly, I wish I could have a refund.

Another “disguised as cute but actually kinda sad” visual novel by Ebi-Hime. I liked the art style quite a lot, it’s pretty cute and different, and the story is also good. I loved all the characters, but Valerian is my favorite. It’s not like his background story made me cry or anything.

I swear, every time I see that little winged shrimp icon on a VN page, I know the game is going to make me sad and happy at the same time. Or just really sad. Beware that shrimp, it’s a mean one.

8/10, worth paying the full price since it’s a pretty long VN!

Despite its lighthearted appearance, This World Unknown addresses many mature subjects and themes, such as: sex work, human trafficking, classism, racism, bullying, physical abuse, the meaning of "family," criticism of organized religion, the horrors of war, genocide, heterosexual privilege, and other general social societal problems.

Pros:
- cute art
- great storytelling and writing
- well-developed characters
- well-written romances (eliciting emotion)
- every character route was very different from each other
- quite long for a VN
- queer characters (including an asexual)
- people of color representation

Cons:
- queer characters were not included in the romance options
- sometimes awkward art in the CGs
- minimal use of background art (almost always blurry)
- a few typos in every route

I was pleasantly surprised by this VN. I thought it was going to be a lot more slice-of-life, but it ended up being a fantasy-themed romance VN with a lot of depth. The common route kind of "tricks" the player into thinking it is a lot more lighthearted, but once the character path develops, heavier topics are discussed/shown. Oddly enough, this is a ebi-hime game, and it is fairly different from their other work. Regardless, I highly recommend it.

As a visual novel, it sticks more closely to being a novel than a game, but in what it does, it succeeds mostly well in! It is a pretty fun read with choose-your-ending(romantic partner) based replayability; the subject matter being the fun and sometimes not so fun but always incredibly warm and intimate relations between the colorful characters of a rural town, told in third person from the perspective of Rhea, the female lead character. All of this, set on the backdrop of a well-enough detailed fantasy world(it doesn't explain /everything/, but it follows the perspective of a less literate/educated main character).

Out of personal opinion, I will say that it's incredibly cute! I love it. The story is making me laugh and smile, and has pulled me along by the heartstrings across every emotional and dramatic turn thus far! As long as you expect the experience of it being more a book than a game(although one tailored by reader/player choice), I think it's a nice purchase for the price.

Doesn't have any dirty bits, could be a plus or minus depending on how you like your story toned.

7 or 8 out of 10, depending on how you handle the slower parts of the story, and how much you like romance.

If I had to describe this visual novel in two words, I'd be 'absolutely lovely'. Ebi-hime has quickly become one of my favorite EVN devs - all the works I have read from her have been top notch quality. I didn't really like the art of this VN at first, as I was used to the artist's usual cutesy style, but it has very much grown on me. The BGM is really nice, would love to have a dlc specifically for it or perhaps a music mode in the menu. :3 This is truly worth every penny, if not more. It almost feels as if I'm ripping the dev off, but I'm happy the pricing is affordable so even those who are not well off have a chance to support and enjoy this. Recommended - get it if you like the genre, you won't regret it!

It looked like a very cute and interesting game and I did fall in love with it's characters and the world they live in, but..
this game goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on without getting anywhere!!
This. Game. Is. Boring. As. Heck.
I can't say that I hate it, because I don't, but I also know that I probably should. I REALLY hope that I get to force myself to get through it one day, because the characters really warm my heart and I WANT to, but.. I can't. I just can't. Not now, at least.
An hour of this game feels like you've spent years in a dungeon cell somewhere and it's really frustrating..
I really can't recommend, though I still hope that there are people out there who come to actually love it..
So, maybe, give it a try during a sale or something?

Thought the game to be lighthearted due to the look of it.
The art is really colourful, therefore also quite deciving how serious this game is. A nice contrast to be fair, the cute art can amplify the heavy tone. How can something so harmless looking, be so dark, to the point that the chest feel heavy with torment? A rather pleasant suprise.
The art strongest point, is the colouring and the characters designs, despite them being chibis. But they had odd porportions in the CG:s most of the time ..
The background are just blurried photos, not super distracting and they had a one to match each enviroment.
Same with the music, the game had a beffiting tune every moment! They were catchy, sad, spooky and one in paticular that I found so cosy <3. It's enough to make them stuck in my head, and make me want to start the game, just to listen to the music, due to the comfortable feeling it had at times.
The writing was simple, easy to follow. And times it was really engaging! But also what the game need to improve the most ..It could be more variaton in wording things. Don't know how many times they said ''He seems to have a headache'' or ''Running his hand through his hair''.( Which is divided between the love interests. two with headache, and two hair runners.) The most annoying part with the writting was .. that the characters themselves had to say every aspect of their personality, especially the bad parts, and so does the MC, then they counter it .. As if you never will get to know the characters unless they tell you their characteristic descriptions .. which also got boring to read at times, making all the romance scenes super forced.
There were also some typos, not many to be much of a distraction.
The story itself had .. a lot of sidetracking, to a point I was ''Wait .. which route am I on?'' Since the love interest seems to be hidden away a little with a lot of other things. Which could add a flavour to some routes, but also just be .. confusing.
Although, they did tie everything nicely together, and nothing leaves hanging, making it feel fullfilling to know all the routes.
All routes have a heavy topic, that involves the love interests, which was interesting. The love interests have a good dynamic between them, and rememberable personalites... till they butcher it with the writing, when they just say everything about themselves..Other than that, you can still get to know them. They could also angle one topic differenlty, which felt really refreshing, two different routes, two perspective.

And something else important .. it's .. the game have a trustworthy skip-button <3

In the end, despite the writing of the characters, did I like this game. Espacially how heavy it could be, and dark, which what made this game good.
My favorit routes were Vally and Luca's. <3
And last, I bought this game .. since I liked Vally's design .. And I did indeed get what I wanted and more of this game. :D