Recent reviews by Vario

Short but mostly fun and free. It also works nicely on the Steam Deck, even though I'd still appreciate a native controller support and bigger in-game text. As for the gameplay itself, would be good to have an option to make your character stronger instantly in addition to unlocking new upgrades since I imagine the game is going to become even harder, and it's already a bit annoying to get the first few level ups at the current last stage. Like, it's possible, but I can't say that it's entertaining. Aside from this, it's addictive like it should be

Also, support Kagura Games and play Demons Roots and Yoru ga Kuru, so we can get more Alice Soft or Alice Soft-inspired VN/RPGs on Steam. I'm going to pretend that this part is relevant since Alice Soft also has its own Vampire Survivors clone now

Happy 35th anniversary to Alice Soft! This is obviously a simple minigame for fans, but it's free and it's still nice seeing more releases appearing on Steam. I can forgive some of its flaws simply for the chance to hear this BGM again and smash some hannies (again as well).

I still hope that the team will return with a bigger RPG project in future. If not, I’d also welcome more rereleases of classic titles as well. It would be nice to see the Toushin Toshi series, Galzoo Island, and Atlach=Nacha on modern platforms.

And if you're a fan of Alice Soft, don't miss Yoru ga Kuru Remaster, which is actually coming out in English in the near future: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2901150/Yoru_ga_Kuru_Square_of_the_Moon_Remastered/

Pretty cool game from the creator of 9-nine- and Liminal Border. It might appear light-hearted at first glance, but it actually has pretty much everything possible, because Kazuki Fumi writes thrilling mystery, funny comedy, and touching drama. It's not perfect, and I'd wish for better side routes (go straight for Kotori during your first playthrough and think about the rest later) and better foreshadowing for the culprit, but overall it's still a strong emotional story

Kind of a shame this game isn't a bit more popular. I'm somewhat biased since it's the one that made me follow ebi-hime years ago, but it really is a strong story with a powerful climax, and Mireille & Lyon is simply an entertaining couple of characters to follow their interactions through the journey.

Also, make sure to begin the story again after finishing it once

You might expect something since the game shares a lot of staff with light (artist, director, composers, producer) and is partly written by Hino Wataru of Hello Lady fame but... eh. The game has like 7 stages, very simple story progression and barely existent character development. Every part of the VN segments screams "low budget" from how short everything is and how limited the game assets are. The BGM was fine, the artwork is decent, and the gameplay was more interesting than the text at least. Except, once again, everything is so short and straightforward that you can't care about the climax or anything else

But I'm a masochist, so it still would be nice to see the second game in the series or Izumo 4 (a bigger collab RPG with light staff)

It's time to escape from a bunch of perfectly sane kidnappers once again in a spiritual successor to Boyfriend to Death.

If you aren't familiar with these games, it's still a VN but with lots of choices that allow you to move across a certain location while trying to find a way to escape and survive. The games don't really focus on story, the main fun is in trying to discover and see a dozen of different outcomes for each route. Most of them are obviously quite gruesome.

The Price Of Flesh introduces even more mechanics to this. For the first time, we get routes set under the open sky. One is in cold mountains and another is in a desert. Because of this, you also need to consider your temperature, wild animals, etc. The system is easy to understand but complex enough to be challenging. Though some paths are still very difficult to find blindly in my opinion.

This is also the first time when one of the routes has a female main character.

The most disappointing part is probably the DLC route. It's mostly linear and consists of a few long torture porn scenes with little freedom. It's okay for a free addition, I guess, but not really something I expect from these games. Especially, when the main character is he.

But the main routes were mostly fun to explore. I can nitpick some things here and there, but I feel that the creator is getting better with each game and am waiting for her future projects.

From my Twitter. I'll be happy to see you there.

First of all, I'm pleasantly surprised with such a close connection to Cartagra. I expected to see a simple cameo or something, but the characters appear constantly and even have a few emotional scenes on their own.

And knowledge of Cartagra helps to notice how much Innocent Grey improved. Kara no Shoujo (the original title of The Shell) feels stronger as both murder mystery and convincing story in general. And increased interactivity helps immersing into it and not losing focus (pixel hunting issues aside).

The biggest question here lies in the amount of similarities between Kara no Shoujo and Mouryou no Hako. The second arc borrows so much from the book, it's becoming hard to not notice. People say that the first arc also relies on Jorougumo no Kotowari, but I've yet to read this one.

But it's still a good VN if you're willing to consider all of this an homage. It's consistently fun and thrilling to read despite some flaws, so I'm definitely going to return to the series later.

From my Twitter. Take a look at it if you're interested in VN news, opinions, and more. I'll be happy to see you.

This review is about the whole series (vol. 1-3 + 0).

First of all, this is a rare chance to see a zombie apocalypse in a VN. The twist is the MC is the only one who can walk among zombies without any risk. And he actively uses this for his needs.

At first, you expect some nukige since the MC uses his ability to satisfy his libido among other things. But the story quickly moves forward, and the h-scenes become pretty rare. This allows you to notice how interesting the MC is. He despises humans, lies, and has his wishes above everything else. But he also constantly helps others, so you can't call him bad, even though he is clearly not a good one too.

The story itself is also more engrossing than I expected. Sometimes it was hard to stop reading because I wanted to see more.

The main problem is that the VN is based on a web novel... that hasn't got any updates since 2017. But the third game gives a satisfying conclusion, so it's not that bad, even though you still don't get all the answers.

From my Twitter. Take a look at it if you're interested in VN news, opinions, and more. I'll be happy to see you.

Christmas Tina is a Chinese VN developed in collaboration with creators from Japan, including Kataoka Tomo, the author of narcissu. It seems like it was successful in China, but I barely see people discussing the game in English despite it having an official translation. And this is sad because Christmas Tina looks like a perfect choice for everyone who wishes something fresh in a VN.

The story takes place in 1988 during an economic bubble in Japan with its abnormal rise in prices and opportunities to earn money. And both main characters arrive in Tokyo to find those opportunities. They are poor and by coincidence ended up living together. But there is a problem. The guy is Chinese and doesn't speak Japanese. There is no romantic plot, you find out about shady businesses involving poor and/or foreign people and see what they are ready to do to achieve their goals or simply survive.

Also, the presentation is good. Lots of movement and clever direction choices. The team put a lot of work into this game.

I enjoyed Christmas Tina more than I expected and hope it'll find more English-speaking fans. It deserves more attention.

From my Twitter. Take a look at it if you're interested in VN news, opinions, and more. I'll be happy to see you.

Aokana is an interesting mixture of moe and fictional sport. In this world, people can fly using special shoes, and this allows the creation of new types of sports activities. I appreciate that the authors managed to create rules and make everything look believable. You feel actual tension looking at the matches.

I'm glad that I started with Asuka's route because it probably does the best work at showing the VN's potential. It doesn't even feel like a moege route and more like a sports manga or anime.

Other routes were fine, too, even though they didn't reach the same height for me. People were scaring me, saying that Rika's route was bad, but it was good enough. I'd even say that Aokana doesn't have weak parts. I was a bit bored at times, but every route had its chance to shine.

Anyway, it was a good game. I'll probably read Extra2 at some point and join people hoping that Aokana Zwei isn't completely dead.

From my Twitter. Take a look at it if you're interested in VN news, opinions, and more. I'll be happy to see you.