Sunday, January 26, 2025


Now the haze of new year has passed, we can look forward to another great year for visual novels and January is keen to start us off with a strong selection of them. We have some really special titles this month from an intense mystery thriller to supernatural slice of life with everything in-between. Let’s dive in and find out what new releases are worth your time.
 

Official Releases

 

The Shell Part III: Paradiso

Steam    VNDB    Genre – Murder Mystery, Detective, 1950s    Play Time – 30 hours

As the third entry in the bleak mystery series, formally known as Kara No Shoujo and now called The Shell, Paradiso has some big shoes to fill and a ten year wait since the original release of second game in English compounds these expectations. This series was developed over a long period of time with many other unrelated projects between releases and each entry reflects changes in the studio’s creative direction. In many ways Paradiso more closely resembles the style developed for the Flowers games than the tone found in either of the other The Shell games. Your enjoyment of Paradiso is going to hinge on your willingness to accept this change and embrace what it is now rather than what it was before. With all this said, it is still more directly darker than the Flowers games and grapples with some of the topic The Shell series is known for. The Flowers influence is in the how the scenes are presented rather than their content. Overall this is another memorable title from Innocent Grey and should be a must play for fans of their previous work.
 

Gensou Manège

Steam    VNDB    Genre – Otome, Fantasy, Amusement Park    Play Time – 35 hours

Ever wanted to be at amusement park in France surrounded by handsome men? Well if you have this oddly specific desire then Gensou Manege has you covered with its magically infused take on this concept. The story follows Emma a young witch who has lost her powers as she interacts with the employees of a travelling amusement park and must find a way to free them from their magical incarceration within it. To do so she must reawaken the magic within herself and confront the suppressed memories which hold her back from her full potential. Such is the set up for a journey of self discovery and romance with a good helping of character drama to keep the player on the edge of their seats. Its magical elements are well integrated into the plot where they work to heighten the emotional stakes and put just the right amount of emphasis where it is needed. If you are looking for a solidly built otome title to play then Gensou Manege will scratch that itch and lead you on a colourful and intimate romance.
 

Angelic☆Chaos RE-BOOT!

JAST USA [18+]    VNDB    Genre – Fantasy, Slice of Life, Romance    Play Time – 50 hours

Here we have another well put together slice of life and romance visual novel with a splash for fantasy from Yuzusoft. This style is their bread and butter and Angelic Chaos does exactly what it needs to feel slightly different from their previous work and nothing more. Based on these statements alone you should probably know if this title is for you since Yuzusoft understand their audience and caters to these expectations. Its unique twist on the formula is the protagonist being the reincarnation of the demon lord from another world and he now finds himself surrounded by various demons and angels from that world who have all taken an interest in him. Having a hidden side from the process of reincarnation is played with quite extensively and the game gets a lot of narrative value out of using this as a source of drama and comedy. This is the high quality and polished title that you would expect from Yuzusoft and is something you will want to pick up if you are its target audience.
 

Nagi no Koi

Steam     VNDB     Genre – Romance, Historical    Play Time – 4 hours

Weaving two separate narratives into one another to create a powerful love story set in historical Japan is the core ambition of Nagi no Koi. Yet its undeniable low budget nature of does somewhat hamper the execution. This manifest as a level of jank which sits behind every moment of the playtime through a general lack of polish to transitions or animations and only the female characters being voiced. If you can manage to push past the flawed presentation then there is genuine passion for the period setting and an intimate human tale of love. The Japanese setting and the ground level view from the lives of people from a variety of social strata gives the game feeling of life lacking in many other stories set in this time period. Nagi no Koi is something a little out of the ordinary for the romance genre and for that alone it is worth trying out if you can look passed the obvious constraints of its development.
 

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH 

Steam    VNDB    Genre – Adventure Game, Atmosphere    Play Time – 5 hours

S4U is the strangest title on this list as it merges visual novel and adventure game elements through a mock operating system which leans heavily into the use of the keyboard. It is focused around the interactions the protagonist, Miki, makes through online chats in Cyber-Life and it is here where the game’s choices can all be found. There is something immensely humanising while at the same time distant about text conversations over the internet and S4U does a wonderful job of capturing how people deal with the restrictions of this form of communication. What comes from this tight set of presentational ideas is an experience where the core themes are clearly framed and the narrative structure is open enough for a feeling of player expression. Those looking for something a bit different from their visual novels will not be disappointed with S4U.
 
 

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