Sunday, February 26, 2023
Even
with Valentine’s day now behind us there is still love in the air
in the world of visual novels as new releases line up to try and
grab your attention. February is a busy month for big game releases
and visual novels are not going to be left behind with a suit of
excellent titles, the best of which I have lined up for you bellow.
We have several Sci-fi stories each with their own unique twist,
romances from vastly different historical settings and a new death
game on the block. So let’s dive into the month of love and find
our perfect match.
Official Releases
The Future Radio And The Artificial Pigeons
You
know you are in for some good sci-fi when the core concepts of the
story are artificial pigeons that eat radio waves and a radio
broadcast from the future foretelling the protagonist’s death. This
post-apocalypse setting has a strange serenity to its world and those
who live within it, as if the disaster washed away the larger issues
of the world and reduced it to only local conflicts. The idea of
connections and how difficult communication between people can be
stands at the centre of this game’s narrative and is implement in
each route in inventive ways for each heroine making sure to capture
what defines them. It is rare to have such an impressive merger of
the best qualities of the romance genre with compelling sci-fi ideas that
contain themes which tie the whole experience together and help
hold the player’s interest. The Future Radio
and the Artificial Pigeons is a visual novel people will remember for
years to come and is definitely worth your time.
The Crimson Flower That Divides: Lunar Coupling
Given
how distinctive Arabian style aesthetics are for establishing mood
and expectation, it is surprising how few visual novels actually
utilise them. The Crimson Flower That Divides is one of those rare
games which understands the value it can get out of this
underappreciated genre and puts it to use in creating otome romances.
It presents the beauty of the Middle Eastern style setting as a veil behind which the darker elements of human nature manifest and this allows the
bright colours and striking shapes to take on a more sinister
meaning. This world of royalty and barbarity leaves a memorable
impression and helps sell the value of each romance as well as the
challenges the characters have to overcome. If you are looking for an otome with a
sense of place and life beyond just the love interests then this is
the game for you.
Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority-
The
fact that Death Games have become their own distinct sub-genre is a
testament to how versatile this formula is for creating engaging
stories. Your Turn To Die is its the latest incarnation and it is
clear that the game takes a lot of influence from Danganronpa. In
particular its focus on smaller tense situations with the greater
plot developing in the background owes a lot to its parent. Despite
the game’s similarities to Danganronpa it distinguishes itself
through a darker art style which emphases contrasting colours with
areas of black to invoke emotions and an overall more serious tone
while still having a self awareness of just how silly the whole concept
is. This visual novel’s status as an early access title might put
some people, but what is here is a strong showing and holds promise
for the final product, so if you are willing to put up with the
gradually addition of content then it is well worth your time.
Qualia ~The Path of Promise~
Sometimes
you just need something simple and sweet and Qualia is exactly what
the doctor ordered with a side of artificial intelligence. This is a
fairly straight romance with a single heroine around a single theme
and this tight focus combined with its short run time make for an
experience which does not outlive its welcome. Having a robot
character as a main player in the narrative is nice touch to spice
things up and while it does follow the cliché of the machine learning to be
human plot line it is done with such sincerity it cannot help but
feel charming. A recommendation for those who want something to relax
with that is not challenging but has heart to it.
BETA-SIXDOUZE
Once
again Liar-Soft returns to their strange mix of sci-fi, mecha and
furries for a sequel to ALPHA-NIGHTHAWK and it is just as much of an
enigma as that game was when it released. There are few developers
who can merge these styles into a complete package while still having a
comprehensive and engaging narrative, and the fact that Liar-Soft has
now done it twice makes the feat even more impressive. This time
round the story focueses on the mysterious Hanako who has a childish personality and is
deeply tied to the events transpiring in ways which tie perfectly
into the game’s themes while making her an excellent foil to the
morally fixated protagonist Yousuke. Their dynamic is a delightful
one as each learns what it means to live for themselves through their
relationship with each other and the reactions of those around them.
BETA-SIXDOUZE is a truly unique game and is something you should
definitely play if you are up for a strongly Liar-Soft experience.
Fan Translations
WHITE ALBUM 2 - Mini-After Story
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Romance, Slice of Life Play Time – 3 hours
It
has been a long journey through the two chapters of White Album 2 but
there are still a few loose ends to tie up and this is what
Mini-After Story aims to resolve. This fandisc consists of two after
stories for Kazusa and Setsuna set follow their true endings and
these form the entirety of the game’s content. As such this visual
novel is aim squarely at people who are already invested in the
previous two games and want more time with these specific characters.
For them Mini-After Story provides the same level of quality as the
original games both in terms of visual presentation and writing which
results in on of the strongest targeted fandiscs ever made.
