Recent reviews by ✣✢ spinny ✢✣

writing this literally just for the steam awards badge

idk what problems other people are having. it works absolutely fine for me and im literally on windows 7 lmao
for once a steam game works on day one without me having to download dlls and ♥♥♥♥
buy fatal frame maiden of black water with money

updated review for the steam award nominations thing

its, as the kids call it, "pog"

penis

Let's put this straight. I'm a sucker for cyberpunk stuff. The neon colors, the general aesthetic of a futuristic city is literal scenery porn at its finest.

VA-11 Hall-A is a visual novel that mixes that psychedelic dream world with everyone's favourite waifu trends, mixing drinks, kickass music and what ends up being a much deeper story than what it looks like on the tin. A story about life, taking opportunities at the right time, and everlasting friendships.

The cast is made out at first glance to just be 'waifu filler', but they all manage to stand out and be special characters. The main protagonist, Jill, is a 'snarky ♥♥♥♥♥' type but with a very warm and also lighthearted side, even being as immature sometimes as to always laugh at the name of the drink 'Bad Touch'. The bar also begins with two other workers. Gillian is a fellow bartender with a mysterious past and a very 'loner' aura, but still comes off as a real chill dude. The other is Dana, the boss of the establishment and one of Jill's best friends, if not her absolute best.

Common visitors to the bar are not limited to but include Stella and Sei, a very close and sister-like pair of 'White Knights', authorities that instill order around Glitch City, the game's setting; Dorothy Haze, a 'Lilim' (robotic) sex worker and fetish actress; Virgilio, a pompous buffoon who is constantly cryptic and unclear with his orders, making them into riddles for Jill to work out; Alma, a professional hacker and very close friend of Jill; and Betty and Deal, two best friends who are hardly ever seen apart, with the latter fearing for how the former would cope if he were to leave her to her own devices.

Being a visual novel, VA-11 Hall-A's gameplay is very streamlined and admittedly repetitive most of the time: talk and mix drinks. There are 28 drinks available to make (24 in the recipe book, 3 bottled, and 1 hidden via the first 5 integers in the Fibonacci sequence) and how you respond to your clients' orders affects the paths you take throughout the game, not unlike dialogue options in other visual novels, which VA-11 Hall-A lacks in favour of its bartending mechanic.
Other gameplay shake-ups also include one-on-one conversations with clients, Dana or Gil, often during breaks; a Truth or Dare game that is played on MEGAChristmas Day, the game's interpretation of Christmas Day; and a Model Warrior Julliane bullet hell game that can be played once Jill buys a video game console and cartridges for her apartment.

Similiar to some games, "Papers, Please" first coming to my mind, VA-11 Hall-A also features Jill being paid for her work and having to issue out money to either make purchases to prevent herself from being distracted, or pay bills, online subscriptions and rent. Subscriptions and bills cause distractions if not paid, with rent being the top priority; if Jill fails to pay her rent on December 30, she will be evicted, resulting in the bad ending.

Last but most certainly not least, VA-11 Hall-A has a soundtrack that mixes together funky drum beats, eerie atmospheric synth pads and electronic chiptune to create a great range of music that puts the cherry on the top of this 'kick back, grab some soda and crisps and get ready to mix drinks and change lives' attitude the game proposes.
The game's main portion; serving drinks in the bar; has a jukebox of songs that can be changed at the start of a day and after Jill's mid-shift break. There is many songs to choose from to begin with, with even more being available to unlock, some being received through secret dialogues and many other being purchasable from a shop in New Game Plus for a total of forty-four tracks. The soundtrack is composed by Garoad and can be purchased on Bandcamp for a minimum of $7.

All in all, I definitely recommend VA-11 Hall-A. It's a great visual novel with a story that pulls you in and ends up being way more than you'd expect, alongside music, visuals and overall tone perfectly mixed together to create a relaxing and comfortable attitude.

NOVEMBER UPDATE: Nominated for the 'The World is Grim Enough Let's All Just Get Along" award!

NOVEMBER 2018 UPDATE: this is another lazy update so i can fill in everything for the awards badge kappa

sanic hegehogggg gata go fessssst

it's better than boom but thats not saying much

real talk generations is ok play it if you want