Archive for November 2024
Best Visual Novel Releases – November 2024
With
the holiday season fast approaching and joy beginning to spread, it is
time to look at the crop of visual novels you might want to consider
as presents. This has been a month with a large spread it the tones
and content of its titles from otome fandiscs to dark fantasy yuri to
a Key gacha game. Let’s dive in and find out what you should be
playing from all these new releases.
Official Releases
Steam Prison -Beyond the Steam-
As
the follow up and fandisc for Steam Prison it seeks to expand on the
steampunk setting of the original and deliver on the strengths of the
characters. It is split up into two main sections. The first is a
follow up to the Grand Ending with the cast being moved to a new
location called Cainabel where they have to navigate a conflict
surrounding two kings. This forms the meat of the content and should
be your primary reason for picking up Beyond The Steam as it where
all the old characters and plot elements are located. The other major
section of the game is ‘A New Theory’ which is a retelling of the
original story except it focus on the leader of the Hounds, Sachsen.
It explores his character in more depth through presenting his
actions from a personal angle the heroine forced to look
directly at the sort of person he is at his core. This is clearly
done in the hopes of creating a character who is more than the single
bad guy he was in the original. As always with a fandisc this is a
game for those already invested in the original and should only be
picked up if you enjoyed it.
Heaven Burns Red
Offical Client VNDB Genre
– Nakige, Sci-fi, Gacha Play Time – Every increasing with each
new patch
Gacha
games are not normally something covered here, but the pedigree of
the talent and the way the title leans heavily into its visual novel
roots mean it is worth addressing. It is helmed by Maeda Jun of Key fame who has previously
been behind classic games such as Clannad so you can easily guess the
type and quality of the story found in Heaven Burns Red. It follow
Kayamori Ruka as she fights against the mysterious entities who
threaten the Earth simply know as ‘The Cancer’ alongside her
squad of similarly superpowered allies. The majority of the playtime
is focused on those allies and their interpersonal relationships with
bonds slowly building between them. This is a story about people who
are trying to find themselves and it seeks to get your invested in
its cast so you will cry along with them. How effective this will be
highly depends on how familiar you are with other Maeda Jun works and
the techniques he likes to use on the player. Being too familiar with
them will undermine a lot of the powerful moments since they follow
his standard formula and are easy to predict from past experience
which dulls their impact. However, for those who have ever wondered
what makes his games so well received Heaven Burns Red makes for a
great entry point and being a free to play title makes it is a good way to
get your feet wet. For everyone else you will have to decide based on
how much you are willing to overlook the predictability of its story.
Scarlet Defiance: The Wall Between Us
In
a world divided between humans and vampire can a pair of lovers cross
this chasm to find happiness. Such is the intertwined fate of the
revolutionary leader Sofia and the vampire princess Vlatka and their
struggles with their duties and desires. This is short and
simple title focused completely around this budding romance and the
complications it brings to the character’s lives. It knows exactly
what it wants to be and creates an emotionally intense experience
designed to put the player firmly into the mental space of its leads.
If you are looking for a palate cleanser after all those long visual
novels or want something that respects your time then Scarlet
Defiance will make for a wonderful change of pace.
Virche Evermore -EpiC: Lycoris-
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Otome, Science Fantasy Play Time – 40 hours
Yet
another fandisc for an otome game, this time for the sci-fi Virche
Evermore which released earlier this year. EpiC: Lycoris is split up
into five sections presenting new stories involving the cast and
builds on the plot to deliver an expansion of this interest setting.
As expected of a fandisc it concentrates its time on the private life
of the characters and how they interact with the protagonist far more
than the original. The plot takes somewhat of a backseat here and
those who were drawn in through its intriguing world may be
disappointed with the more standard direction of the fandisc. Overall
it offers enough to keep existing player engaged for its playtime,
but you should set your expectations accordingly if you pick this
title up.
Homicipher
Now
here we have an odd title, a puzzle horror game based around figuring
out an unknown language from context clues while being surrounded by
handsome monsters who may or may not be out to kill you. Rather than
an intense style of horror, this is instead more of a spooky title
where the blood and death is cartoonish like a Halloween party. It
makes the experience a somewhat light affair where the high amount of
bad endings born from the trail and error nature of the translation
gameplay is a part of the fun. The vaguely romantic undertones with
the male monsters helps to reinforce this tone as their almost
flirtatious and playful interactions form an amusing back and forth
to keep the mysteries engaging. If you are looking for a distinctly
memorable light horror title with plenty of eye-candy then Homicipher
is a game you should pick up.
Fan Creations
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – Kuradashi-hen
A
fan creation which adapts the light novel of the same name into a
visual novel format. It contains collection of short scenes cut during
Higurashi’s development alongside author commentaries on each and
manga illustrations. This change in format does a good job of
capturing the material and communicating the ideas and intent of the
original. Expanding the available material in English for Higurashi
is always a good thing and this title opens up a greater
understanding of the development process of its creator along with
how the final form of the games came into being. For those interested
in the history of the series, this game will deliver yet another
wonderful insight into its myriad possibilities.
Adaptations – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Reinventing The Familiar
Ever
since the beginning of video games there have been adaptations taken from a
variety of other media such as movie tie-ins or those based on books.
Broadly this trends as died down due to the increasing cost and time
of development, yet it still clings on in visual novels. This is
helped by their relatively cheap and quick nature when compared to
more graphically intense games. Taking on the role of an adaptation
results in some interesting and fundamental changes how a visual
novel has to engage with its material. Having to transition a story
from a more free-form medium into a static one presents a challenge
and demands roundabout ways to replicate this motion. If it is a
tie-in produced to cash in on the popularity of a recent IP then the
game has to tread the line matching the player’s recent memories of
the IP while still being its own self contained entity. Beyond the
concrete changes to the visual novel format there is the idea of
translating the essence of a title into a new space in a way that
feels natural for both. Let’s embrace the spin off and find out how
adaptation influence visual novels.
From Dynamic To Static
Reshaping
an existing series from another medium into a visual novel often
presents a sizeable shift in how motion is shown and scenes composed.
This creates an issue of meeting these expectations inherited from
the original work which might be difficult to achieve in this
restrictive format. Every adaptation tries to tackle it in their own
way, yet there are several recurring tricks they all use to smooth
over this transition. The first being the way they try to keep the
same ratios when it comes to the over all balance of action and downtime
found in the original. In creating a similar structure the title
hopes to invoke the player’s memories of the series in order to
bring the perception of the two closer even if it might not be able to
exactly match it. As such titles focused on drama and mystery are
favoured by visual novels since they are often fairly static in
nature even before their transition to their new format. Looking at
Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness showcases how this refection of the
original work is often handled. Psycho-Pass as a series is inherently
a thriller at its core so thrives of long periods of tension
punctuated with intense bouts of violence and it is this pattern
Mandatory Happiness makes its core method for adapting the feel of the
series. It presents this through the sci-fi police investigations,
which are the main feature of the original, while slowly ramping up
into the use of the dominators and the extreme gore that follows.
This structure allows the game to overlap with the elements player’s
has come to expect from the series and place itself firmly within the
domain of the familiar.
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| All the important elements of the original have to be here for an adaptation |
Another
trick often employed relates to original works containing a large
amount of action or frequent dynamic movement. Due to the static
nature of a visual novel it cannot match the flexibility and range of
other mediums so it instead uses the motions it has available
in intense bursts. Surrounding these action scenes with the normal
ones allows for them to be framed by that contrast and remind the
player of the dynamic range of the original work even if these moments are not
able to match it. This is important for keeping the player firmly
immersed in this new lens on familiar material without expecting
unreasonable feats beyond what a visual novel could possibly offer.
Angel Beats is a series brimming with expression and motion in its
every moment so its visual novel adaptation, 1st Beat, had
to translate this into something decidedly more static. This
expressiveness is mimicked through a targeted use of larger than life
CGs and creative use of character portrait movement. In addition when
the dramatic action scenes come around the game pulls out all the
tricks to create a sharp increase in the dynamic feelings for each
character. Both of these are used to contrast with the more
static moments and with each other since they tend to focus on
different types of motion. What this achieves is the creation of
moments that strongly invoke the motion filled nature of the
original work without needed to bend over backwards to try and change
the game’s nature as a visual novel.
The Tie-In
Often
a visual novel adaptation is released in or around the same time as
the work it is basing itself off in order to capitalise on interest
generated by the original. This need to get the title out as soon
as possible coupled with the original still being fresh in people’s
minds results in these games having their own identity. Perhaps the
biggest aspect which influences these ‘tie-ins’ is the way they
cannot commit to anything of substance when it comes to narrative
progression or character growth. While this is common in most
adaptations, it is far more restrictive here due to the need to
emulate the specifics of the recent material the tie-in is based off
and the way it acts as a sort of heavily disposable media. An extremely
fine line has to be walked with these titles where they cannot just
repeat the original work verbatim yet must hit all of the same notes
in a new story. Lacking the ability to offer meaningful consequences
to the narrative, the tie-in instead pushes a constant stream of
references to immerse the player in their memories in order to
distract from the shortcoming it possesses. They also tend to reuse
character arcs from the original work and reframe them within the new
story so it can give them an injection of life and support the
overall familiar nature of the game. Attempting to be both new and
old while adhering to a fast development cycle produces a mixed
quality for these tie-ins and they tend to have a rather negative
reputation among consumers.
 |
| When the new is old |
Let’s look at one example of this type
of adaptation in the tie-in game for My Next Life as a Villainess:
All Routes Lead to Doom! callled Pirates of the Disturbance. This title is
not a recreation of the original plot and is instead its own story
which follows the original’s ideas closely in a slightly altered
setting. Throughout there is a definite sense that it is trying its
best to not step beyond the player’s expectations coming in and it
only leans into its own narrative beats as a means of emphasising
those familiar elements. Even its own original characters are more
reflections of existing personalities than they are their own people
and it is clear the old characters are the ones the game has focused
on to carry the experience. Their appearances and actions all
follow what they have previously done and this often involves
repeating some, if not all, of their character arcs or remaining
static. By doing this Pirates of the Disturbance can offer a game
which preserves the original within a new setting and yet never
committing to the changes for fear of alienating its audience.
Translating Its Essence
Sometimes
an adaptation wants to play around with the concepts of the original
in a way favourable to the nature of visual novels and this means
moving further away from the original’s form. This makes it
important for the game to be able to translate the essence of what
made the work so special into its new ideas. To accomplish this
nebulous feat these titles pick out a recurring theme or motif which
can be effectively integrated into the new narrative and place the
player in the same mindset without spelling it out for them. A common
form this takes is the invoking of specific character or story
moments that hold a lot of weight in order to play off them as a
source of tension for the new content. Sometimes structural elements
are also used such as multiple perspectives or styles of scene
framing and they operate on a more understated level while being
easier for a visual novel to utilise. Another even more abstract
feature brought into the adaptation is a simulation of the tone found
in the original. This hopes to capture the fundamentals of the title
through the game in its totality and create something memorable over
the long term.
 |
| Some worls lend themselves better to visual novels than others |
The Date A Live games can showcase these elements of
translating the essence. Its original material places repeated
importance on the idea of dating spirits through the framing of a
dating simulation so the adaptations bring this into their structure
through similar elements like the map selection screen to create
a nod to the title’s origins. Alongside this there is a lot of
effort put into presenting the new material with the same tone as the
original work which means emphasising comedy in the slice of life
sections and smoothly transitioning into superpowered drama when the
spirit of the day starts to use their magic. Major events that
occurred recently in the cannon timeline are also brought up in where they can sell the current state of a relationship matching the
original work without needing to spend too much time retreading
ground. In combination these create an experience that bring in the
key features of Date A Live into a visual novel format and not
getting in the way of the new story the games want to tell.
Conclusion
Creating
a convincing adaptation is not an easy task especially due to the
nature of transitioning from one medium to another and for visual
novels this creates some interesting challenges and benefits. The
move from a dynamic to a static medium requires some clever tricks to
invoke the same sense of motion which includes matching the
original’s pacing and creating contrast between action and
downtime. With this out of the way the game can focus on translating
the essence of the work into its new form through tone, structure and
important existing narrative moments. A tie-in release has to adhere
to an even stricter set of guidelines due to its reliance on a
recently released work and this being fresh in their memory it has to
repeat much of that work in a slightly altered form. The creation of
an adaptation is an odd process at the best of times and will always
struggle to copy the defining elements which are specific to its
original medium, but as shown the visual novel has developed way to
move around these issues as best it can manage.
Cyberpunk – Genre Deep Dive
Neon Drenched Streets
Nothing
quite speaks to the human condition in the way the Cyberpunk genre
does with its dynamic mix of cybernetics, AI, corporations and the
breakdown of society. Yet it never focuses on those things in isolation and ensures they are always placed on the personal level of the
characters. It is this choice of perspective which makes it a prime
candidate for a visual novel. Taking an intimate look a people’s
lives is something both do exceptionally well and together they are
able to capture a more even impression of the far future cities in
their good moments and when things go wrong. Leaning into the common
first person perspective of visual novels gives the genre an ability
to build atmosphere through an intense exposure to life and soul of
the setting to give it a sense of place. Beyond this core parts of
the genre’s identity, a visual novel can use the more exaggerated
nature of its anime styling to play up certain over the top elements
in order to push into territory not normally covered by the genre.
Let’s jack into cyberspace and find out how these all work in
practice.
In Light and Darkness
One
of the features of visual novel Cyberpunk which makes it distinct
from many other stories in this genre is the way it presented a more
balanced look at its world. There is a greater willingness to show the
good that can be found alongside the various issues faced by the
characters and generally paints the positives in brighter colours
than would normally be expected for the genre. Darker aspects still
maintain a strong presence and often act as the core thematic or plot
driving forces in the way one would traditionally expect. The two
halves often intertwine with each other to create a patchwork of
interactions that speak to the complex nature of humanity and how
people cannot be classified as a blanket good or evil. Such a
perspective has long been the strength of the Cyberpunk genre and
visual novels take this further through having their characters act
out their daily lives right next to danger. It pushes the
perseverance of humanity into focus and show the existence and
happiness people can create even in the face of a tide that threatens
to wash it away at any point. The intimacy with the characters common
to the medium does a lot to make sure the player gets to experience
first hand the emotions and conditions involved in living in this
world. So when the plot does come to tear it down there is a sense
not only of danger to the people, but also what they have built and
the lives which sit on a knifes edge.
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| There is a sense of the lives found among this jungle of technology |
This playing with duality and
divides can be seen in a variety of titles such a I/O with its real
and cyberspace worlds. It establishes early on a clear distinction
between the two spaces with the real world being a relatively normal
sci-fi setting where the characters are seemly safe and live as best
they can in face of the looming presence of the other world. By
contrast cyberspace is a fantastical domain filled with strange
events and all the hidden problems of the world and is where the
majority of the danger originates from making it manifest in a way
that challenges the player’s understand of it. Over time the
boundary between the two is shown to not be a clear cut as it
initially seems and I/O uses this to draw the characters into the
mire of intertwining motivations as roles get shifted around to
reveal truths about all involved. Not all uses of this type of
contrast are quite as direct with games like Read Only Memories
positioning the two halves within touching distance of each other.
This is helped by the distinctly grounded nature of how the title
addresses its setting as everything is framed through the everyday
lives of its inhabitants. While their appearance and jobs might be
alien to the player, their struggles are all relatable and personal
to them in a way helps make them believable and this contrast well
against the danger and mystery being uncovered. It also allows for
the set up of what needs to be protected and valued in the face of
what is going on in the shadows which communicates the themes of the
game in a clear manner with the contrast.
Building Atmosphere
Immersing
the player in the mood of a game is something visual novels do well
and leaning into the quality had produced some of its most popular
titles. For Cyberpunk stories this is especially important due to the
way they tend to lean into atmosphere in order to communicate
emotions and the overall message of the work without having to be
direct. Since the terms ‘mood’ and ‘atmosphere’ are nebulous
at best, let us look at a few examples to analyse what this
actually means. Synergia opens focused squarely on the brooding
thoughts of its protagonist and the equally broody city with its
sharp use of black and red contrast to highlight the dim streets
making for a striking image. It furthers this mood with its ambient
soundscape and synth music as it drags the player deeper into the
claustrophobic mental space brought about by a nation of restrictions
and isolation. The narrow perspective works to create singular and
intense emotional moments that speak to key parts of the overall mood
while reinforcing its all consuming nature to keep the player in
suspense about how the characters will interact and move beyond the
seemly bleak set up.
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| What you do not see is just as important as what you do |
Another example is The Silver Case which leans
even deeper into the mood building qualities through its use of
framing. Given the relatively static nature of visual novels, it is
easy to control the specific framing of any single moment without it
feeling unnatural. This is something The Silver Case understands as
it conceal or reveals parts of a scene in order to shape the player’s
engagement with what is on screen and create a curated mood for them
to experience. It likes to show only a section of a CG at a time and
build anticipation for the full image with these small fragments
forming a vague emotional state and preventing the player from
latching onto anything concrete. Presenting the narrative in this way
serves the purpose of underlining its mystery centric nature as the
drip feeding of information mirrors that of the characters’ own
journeys.
Pushing Beyond Reality
Unlike
in other mediums, a Cyberpunk story in a visual novel is not bound to any
sense of grounded reality due to the often exaggerated forms of its
artwork and content. This freedom to be more outlandish is granted
through the player’s expectations for a visual novel being vastly
different from those from more reserved types of games. Various forms
have emerged from this availability of exaggeration as it has no
singular interpretation and offers a blank slate onto which the
developer can create whatever tale they see fit. As such the main
features they have in common are related to their overall use of the
ideas of Cyberpunk. They tend to push the Cyberpunk stories further
into the distinctive elements of the genre so as to allow them to be
the focus even through all the other elements surrounding them. Take
ALPHA-NIGHTHAWK as an example, this title pushes the technology angle
of the Cyberpunk genre as its core exaggerated element. It host of
over the top mecha and mechanical forms which constantly introduce
new types to draw the player’s attention back to this core idea.
From this focus, the game is able to angle itself to have the
technology reflect its core thematic goals while also acting as a
source of entertainment via its elaborate designs being a feast for
the eyes. It load nature ensures there is no possibility of the
player missing it or any of the ideas it is presenting since it is
constantly and vibrantly pushed in front of them.
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| Dark colours define the metal and tech around the characters |
On the flip side
there is Kikokugai – The Cyber Slayer and its leanings into the
grimy and violent undertones of the Cyberpunk genre. Throughout the
game there is constant sense that the world is an unclean place that
the brilliant technology cannot conceal and the contrast use of dark
colours for the metallic aspects of the world is beyond absurd, but
it effectually communicates this message constantly. When the action
begins it is direct and violent which compliments the grimy world
they battle in and their common over the top nature. This is all
right next door the neon lights normally associated with Cyberpunk
and it contrast with them to create an extremes of perception through
which the game can work its plot and themes through so they are
clearly visible.
Conclusion
The
interactions between the Cyberpunk genre and visual novels are
distinctive from those of other mediums due to its unique features
and player expectations. It creates a balanced picture of the world
it visits and points out the light and dark to the high-tech cities
and the people in them to create contrast alongside the
value to be found in the lives there. Pushing into the absurd is
something the medium can easily do and when Cyberpunk runs with it
the result is a narrative where its distinctive features are made
more intense. The intimate nature of a visual novel works to help the
genre build the mood which is so key to the effectiveness of its
themes and it is flexible in how this is executed to accommodate a
variety of the genre’s styles. Together these elements ensure
Cyberpunk has a special place in the medium’s repertoire as a genre
able to fully take advantage of its unique qualities.
The Shadows of Pygmalion Review – Puppets On Strings
Genre - Action, Mystery, Supernatural Play Time - 20 hours Developer - propeller Steam VNDB
In A Not So Normal World
The
idea of supernatural battles happening behind the everyday world just
out of view is one which has an enduring popularity in the urban
fantasy genre. It is this sentiment The Shadows of Pygmalion taps
into with its normal school setting giving way to its true supernatural face. The
main element which distinguishes this game from others in its genre
is the Puppets, beings who have been quietly manipulating the course
of history, and how their hidden nature keeps a balance between the
normal world and the hidden one as the cast try to track them down.
Throughout its opening hours it establishes a series of strong
mysteries and a likeable cast carefully crafted to invest the player
in the action and put them on the edge of their seats when danger
strikes. Everything is geared towards helping the combat and drama
standout in a way that expresses the line each character trends
between these clashing realities. Things become messier as the game
moves into its later half as the big reveals are somewhat weak and
the vaguely romantic interactions do not lead to meaning growth in
the cast’s bonds. Let’s assemble a doll and find out if this
visual novel can stick the landing.
Doll Obsession – Narrative and Themes
Putting
the best foot forward early is key for a game’s ability to produce
long term engagement and the best way to do so it through a strong
opening act. The Shadows of Pygmalion leans heavily into this idea as
it keeps up a good pace throughout its beginning. The contrast
between the normal world and the supernatural one beneath is quickly
established. It does not dwell too long on the standard school life
setting the player is familiar with before the big turn
point event ups the stakes. Instead the normality is weaved into the
escalating drama to act as a break from the action in order to
prevent it from becoming overwhelming while also being a form of
contrast with violence the cast experiences. The primary antagonist
force, the Puppets, are made appropriately threatening from their
first appearance due to the destruction they can cause and the way
they blend into the normal world, a space the player assumed to be
safe. Soon after additional layers of characterisation are added for
the Puppets as the ambiguity of their intent and even willingness to
participate in the danger they bring are called into question. They
are lent a humanity which stands out against their artificial
appearance and helps muddy the cast’s emotions by making them
question the mysterious origins of the Puppets. All of this is backed
up with action and combat scenes that finds a balance between tension
and excitement. With swords clashing and magic flying the battles
gain a lot from the way each blow is framed within the back and forth
flow between combatants where the cast are always on the back foot so
their eventually victory seems well earned. Variety is also a major
part of the appeal of the action scenes since a lot of effort has
been put into making each one distinct from previous ones and making
the most out of the limited pool of abilities the cast has with them
being forced to use the creatively. In combination these elements
craft a story filled with mystery, emotion and battles which do a
good job of hooking the player into this world and setting up what
they can expect from the rest of the game.
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| Everything comes back to dolls |
When
it comes to building on that strong opening, The Shadows of Pygmalion
struggles to make the most of the opportunity it has set up. Rather
than one large and glaring problem this weakness stems from a series
of smaller choices which in their totality undermine the game. First
among these are the answers to the various mysteries established
throughout the game. These revelations are not bad per se, but rather
they are too predictable and safe in terms of their content. Having
this repeated pattern undermines the player interest in how the
events will play out as they will feel able to easily foresee the
outcome of each twist and turn. Compounding this issue is the weaker
later sections of the narrative where the game meanders towards its
conclusion with a lack of the earlier strong pacing. Once again this
is not a deal breaker itself since everything does wrap up in a
suitable manner but it lacks the impact needed to truly make those
moments stick in the memory and contains a lot of bloat that could
have been cut for a more focused experience. Part of this odd pacing
stems from the vaguely romantic elements which occupy the later half of the
title. They feel strangely vacuous due to the way the game does not
seem to want to commit to them in a way that is emotionally
meaningful to either party in the relationship. It is almost as if
the developers added this element in as a form of yuri baiting to appeal
to the audience without any consideration for the actual impact or
value this dynamic it could have for the plot and characters. Since
it is so empty it is easy to ignore, yet it adds to the already large
pile of small issues which bring weaken the player’s enjoyment.
Unfortunate Heroes – Characters
For
the cast there is a tight focus on the key characters immediately
surrounding Hajiro Mina, our protagonist, and the ways they deal with
the duality of their lives. They are introduced on the opposite side
of the world to Mina’s everyday life and serve to underline how she
has now strayed from that path. Over time it becomes clear that these
heroines are not quite as detached from the everyday spaces Mina
occupies and they are shown in a more vulnerable state where their
humanity can be on full display. This is a line all the main cast
members tread where they know the truth about the existence of
Puppets and yet have to live among people who do not recognise this
truth. Some have taken to this balance better than others and it
through their interactions with the more innocent Mina that the game
explores what led each of them down this path. Here is where a lot of
the drama comes from as the heroines insincerely reveal what drives
them while the stakes of the conflict with the Puppets rise and the
revelations undermine their place in this world. Putting their
interactions front and centre of the narrative helps The Shadows of
Pygmalion to ensure the player gets to spend the most time with the
characters it needs them to like in order for the later story moments
to work properly. Even more than many other visual novels, this is a
game incredibly reliant on this liability that the entire experience
is twisted around it and so the intense focus it places on them works
wonders to enable this method of presentation.
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| The vaguely romantic moments feel so strange |
The
secondary characters do not fair quite as well with a mixed bag of
presentation and arcs which muddies the water and leaves the greater
world feeling flat. Many of the minor cast members exist for a
specific plot or narrative purpose and do not demonstrate anything
beyond that one purpose. This leads to them appearing somewhat
mechanical in nature as if they are props on the stage rather than
actual people with their own lives outside of this one moment. It also
creates an unflattering contrast with the well rounded main
characters who highlight the weak characterisation of these extra
cast members. It is difficult to stay invested when the game decides
it wants to make one of its weaker characters take the spotlight as
the focus on them reveals their shallow nature. Not all secondary
characters are like this with a few standout ones that gives some
much needed substance to the world. For example Aizawa Makoto has one
of the strongest arcs and narrative involvement in the game and her
resolution is the high point in the game’s story. This difference
in quality from a lot of the other cast members is due to a
combination of a closer personal connection to a main character
leading to a greater screen presence and showcasing of their personality
and a direction to their arc which reflects well into the overall
theming of the game. Each of these gives her a flexibility of
expression lacking in much of the secondary characters due to their
rigid and functional nature and it allows for her humanity to be
self-evident without having to be spelt out.
Illuminating Magic – Visuals, Audio and Technical
There
is nothing particularly special about any aspect of The Shadows of
Pygmalion’s presentation on any front, but it does have a firm
grasp on how to use what it does have to get invoke the right
emotions. From a visual standpoint it is a slightly different take on
the expected anime art style common to most visual novels with all
the common trappings of the medium. Its liberal use of cut-ins is
where the game can effectually use its visuals to convey its
identity. This often manifests as either slow reveals of a scene by
cut-ins which showcase parts of the scene to build up the tension and
drama of events or rapid cut-ins to sell the motion and violence of
an action scene. Through the teasing of visuals the title can make
them have more impact than they would otherwise have while helping
them leave an impact in the player’s mind. The audio is similarly
standard, but does not have anything like the cut-ins to spice it up
so it ends up being a forgettable affair. In the moment it does its
job of creating the right mood and yet when thinking back on the
tracks it is difficult to remember a single on of them with any
clarity.
 |
| Action scenes have a good impact to them through the use of cut-ins |
Conclusion
There
is a lot of like in The Shadows of Pygmalion as the game knows its
genre well and provides a memorable combination of supernatural
action and drama. It opens incredibly strongly with an excellent hook
and engaging world hiding mysteries which are just waiting to be
uncovered. The main cast reinforce the strengths of this narrative
through the way they play into the dual nature of the setting as the
character’s grapple with their everyday lives and their battle
against the Puppets. From a presentational standpoint the game is
nothing special yet makes the most out what it has available. It is
only in the second half where the cracks begin to show as the
revelations are dry, the romantic elements feel weak and out of place
and a lot of its secondary cast appear shallow. Despite this the
title is still an enjoyable experience which taps into what makes
action visual novels so distinctive.
Verdict –
An urban fantasy action title which leans into the dual nature of
its setting to provide strong character moments and flashy drama. Yet
it is a flawed package that cannot quite stick the landing.
Pros -
+
A strong opening with well presented mysteries and an engaging world
which hook you in.
+
The dual nature of the setting is played on through the main cast who
have to grapple with what each half means to them.
+
Effective use of its visuals to sell the drama or action of a scene.
Cons -
-
After the opening the game never manages to reach the same highs with
weak reveals and hollow romantic elements.
-
Secondary cast is a mixed bag as many of them feel like props for the
plot rather than actual people.
