Sunday, November 26, 2023
With
winter at our doorstep and the end of the year coming into view, now
is the time many start to wind down and prepare for Christmas. Visual
novels are undergoing a similar quiet spell this month with a
noticeably smaller pool becoming available. However, there have still
been a few gems hidden in the November rain that are more than worth
your time. These include games about theatre, a world where people
come back to life with grave consequences and mechas fighting off an
alien invasion. Short titles are in style this month, perfect for you
to fit into your tight schedules. Let’s dive in a find out what
releases are worth your time this month.
Official Release
Virche Evermore: ErroR:salvation
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Sci-fi, Dark Fantasy, Mystery Play Time – 60 hours
In
a small European country, all its inhabitants are doom to die when
they hit their twenty-third year and in order to circumvent this fate
they undergo a process of Memory Download where their memories are
transferred into a new body to avoid hitting that cursed age. This is
an already intriguing setup before the game even introduces our
protagonist Ceres, her apparent bewitchment by death and the man who
swoops in to save her calling himself the sentinel of death. Each
element of Virche Evermore is designed to layer on mystery and it
does an excellent job of getting you hooked on that addictive high so
it can tease the answers out over its play time. The overall setting
is a delicious mixture of dark fantasy, through ideas of curses and
death, and sci-fi, through the cloning and memory transfers, and what
results in a textured sense of place and time for the player to get
immersed in. This might well end up being one of the best Otome’s
of the year and is definitely worth your time even if you are not
normally a fan of the genre.
Hira Hira Hihiru
Here
we have another visual novel dealing with the subject of death, but
this time through the lens of people coming back from the dead.
However, rather than something to be celebrated it is instead a
horrible mess as the revived person has reduced mental functions and
slowly rots away. Set in the Taishou Era, the game uses its historial
setting to focus around the birth of modern medical thought and how
it would grapple with this strange phenomenon. Mixing this flavour
into the narrative helps lend it a distinctive period feel in a way
not often covered in stories since medical practice is not considered
to be the most exciting historial field, but here there is an
understanding of the ideas which would go on to form the
profession we see today.
Uncovering the true nature of these revived individuals provides the
game’s stakes and motives which are echoed in how it touches the
character’s lives in profound ways. For
those seeking something different from their visual novels, this is
very much for you and it leans into its identity in a way many will
enjoy.
The Imperial Capital Burns - Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse
At
this point there is a conclusive sense that Muv-Luv is spinning its
wheels without any purpose in mind for the series. There is no better
sign than when we get a prequel to a prequel. Was this a tale in this
universe that needed to be told, probably not, but here it is anyway
for you to consume. The Imperial Capital Burns, ladies and gentlemen,
yet another Alternative game and as much as it would be easy to
dismiss it entirely, the end result is still a respectable game which
continues to leverage the franchise’s character conflicts and
interesting world to good effect. It follows the early life of
Takamura Yui, a major character from Total Eclipse, and the BETA’s
initial arrival in Japan in order to fill out a blank in the
timeline. Since this was such a turbulent time for those who lived
through it there is a good well of interacts for the game to build
on, helped by the relative inexperience of the main cast. Despite
feeling like it is a series on the decline, there is a good dose of
entertainment to be found here for those already invested in Muv-Luv
and want more of this setting and characters.
Fan Translation
Lupercalia of the Silent Accord
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Drama, Theatre Play Time – 25 hours
Making
theatre the core idea around which your thematic element and
character arcs rotate is an interesting and often double layered
approach since the blending of fiction and reality plays into both
the narrative and the player’s experience of it. Lupercalia know
how to utilise this to great effect with its student theatre club
cast of friends who find there inner conflicts reflected in the
activity they love. It is also not afraid of tackling darker subjects
such a death and suicide and does so with a deft touch that
integrates these ideas into the routes in a way befitting the
seriousness of their nature. In combination these elements create a
memorable ride through the cast’s emotions and helps build a strong
connection between them and the player as the revelations come thick
and fast. A visual novel to consider if you are looking for something
extremely focused of invoking feelings in the player while using all
the varied tools at its disposal.
Azrael on the Boundary of Life and Death
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Drama, Horror Play Time – 7 hours
Interesting
and unique visual novels often stem from the amateur and indie scene since
they are not bound by the creative expectations of a pre-existing
audience. Such is the case with Azrael which follows the life of
Rihito Souda as he starts his new job, adjusts to this new
environment and meets the love of his life. Of course something has
to go wrong for him or this would not be much of a story and the
threat takes the form of recurring nightmares which start innocently
enough but soon come to consume his waking hours as well. It leans
into a light horror element in order to sell its more emotive themes
and ideas and blends this in without excluding those who may
not have the stomach for it. Overall this is a short and well
constructed game whose only major flaw is the clear financial
limitations of the title resulting in a mixed visual quality, but it
is still definitely worth your time if you can look beyond this
issue.
