Sunday, May 26, 2024
As
the summer heat begins to penetrate the cool spring air so too do
this month’s excellent crop of visual novels. Among these titles
there has been an odd bias towards the mystery and thriller genres
with everything from a cyberpunk metropolis to post pandemic streets.
On the other side some memorable slice of life romance games have
found translations with tales of everyday love and loss. Let’s dive
in and find out what visual novels you should be playing from this
month.
Official Releases
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER
As
the sequel to the well regarded 2064: Read Only Memories, there were
a lot of expectations for the quality of NEURODIVER and you can
definitely feel it buckle under this weight. Returning to Neo-San
Francisco, the player assumes the role of ES88, an esper, who must
hunt down the elusive Golden Butterfly, a telepath who has concealed
themselves in the memories of the city’s people. Aided by the
titular Neurodiver, a psychic creature which amplifies ES88’s
power, they must comb the cyberpunk streets in order to piece
together the truth about this case and free the infected people.
Despite being a little on the short side and not having the focus of
the original, it maintains the charm of this sci-fi world and its
quirky inhabitance which have always been the main appeal of this
series. As such this a title fans will definitely get a kick out of,
but it still has enough of its own merits to be worth looking into
for new players.
Amanatsu
Of
all the escapist fantasies common to fiction, one of the most quietly
popular is the fleeing from the pressures of the city to a simpler
life in the countryside. It is this wish that Amanatsu leans heavily
into it as a core part of its setting and identity. This is a title
which does not aim to challenge the player and instead wants to
envelop them in a comfortable blanket of a place where the worries of
the real world can be put to one side. With only three heroines, it is a
focused around keeping an intimate feeling of romance with
each one fitting into a distinctly different archetype making them
instantly recognisable within the game. Together with the rest of the
cast they form an idyllic representation of a rural community and
welcome the fleeing protagonist into their way of life. While nothing
in Amanatsu is going to shake up visual novels this is a game which
knows what it and leans into the familiar to engage its audience
while keeping the tone light and freeing.
Mashiroiro Symphony HD -Love is Pure White
Duality
underlies almost everything in Mashiroiro Symphony. The cold of its
winter setting and the warmth of people’s hearts, the new and old
towns and opening of an all girls school to boys. These act as the
game’s main sources of tension between the protagonist and heroines
while reconciling them provides the catharsis needed for a finale.
Watching the gradual change of the characters is Mashiroiro
Symphony’s largest selling point with their immensely human
weaknesses being played up in an interesting and endearing manner.
The plots of each route and the setting of a former all girls school
are not particularly original concepts but are carried by the
sincerity the game puts into committing to them without coming across
as too cliché. For those looking to enjoy some sweet slice of life
and romance there is much to love in Mashiroiro Symphony.
Tokyo Psychodemic
In
a post pandemic world there has been a rise in stories dealing with
the fallout of a fictional disease outbreak and how it effected that
world. Tokyo Psychodemic firmly falls into this genre and follows the
characters as they uncover the truth behind a series of bizarre
murders which the government seem to want swept under the rug. The
focus is firmly on the detective work involved in putting together
the truth behind the various mysteries with the mechanical elements
demanding the player pick out the useful evidence from the items they
have been shown. It also has a distinctive visual design through this
merger of anime aesthetics alongside real life people and places which
helps make it stand out from the crowd of other mystery visual
novels. This is a game firmly aimed at those who enjoy detective
stories and if that is you then this is definitely something you will
enjoy.
Clear Skye Thinking
The
latest title from Ebi-hime takes yuri to a new frontier, Scotland.
Our protagonist has come to the Isle of Skye on holiday with her
parents where she expects to find nothing but sheep and bleak
weather, and instead finds another young girl who she really
resonates with. This is very much a cute and light hearted
exploration of the pair’s relationship and how their romance grows
while still holding the spectre of the inevitable end of the holiday
over their heads. It strikes a good balance between selling the
characters and pushing drama without either upsetting the slice of
life feeling. Having the references to real elements of Skye is a
nice touch bring a sense of place to the events of the these
fictional people in a way that grounds them in our world. As with all
of Ebi-hime’s work, Clear Skye Thinking is well worth your time and
is an excellent yuri title.
