Archive for August 2025
Best Visual Novel Releases – August 2025
With
summer winding down and autumn beginning to show its hand, now is the
perfect moment to see what the world of visual novels has produced
while you were relaxing in the heat. It has been a strong month from
both official and fan sources as they output some stunning titles and
translations from much loved classics to memorable new ones in a good
variety of genres. Let’s dive in and see exactly what visual novels
you should be playing.
Official Releases
Fate/hollow ataraxia Remastered
After
the success of Fate/Stay Night’s official release last year, it
seems that Type-Moon are continuing the process of localising all
their big hits and next on the list is Fate/hollow ataraxia. Just
like Stay Night, hollow ataraxia has received the remaster treatment
to update it to modern screen resolutions rather than the 4:3 of the
original with the art assets being adapted for the new dimensions.
While this game is technically a sequel to Stay Night it is not a
direct continuation of any specific ending and combined with its
assortment of side content place it firmly into the camp of fandisc.
There has been a definite increase in the character focused slice of
life scenes and the player is given a chance to get to know the cast
members who were previously just antagonist’s in a personable
manner rather than in combat. In terms of world building and new
conflicts hollow ataraxia adds enough of its own flare to meet the
expectations set by Stay Night, but it is clear this is a secondary
concern to just creating a lighter tone. Another strong title from
Type-Moon which will appeal to those drawn into their stories.
Okayunyumu
Basing
a visual novel around a popular vtuber has been a recurring trend in
recent times, especially with Hololive talents. The vtubers who are
the focus of this title are Nekomata Okayu and to a lesser extent
Inugami Korone and they are presented as characters within this
setting rather than avatars for streams. Here Okayu is mysterious cat
girl who suddenly appears in the protagonist’s life turning it
upside down and the pair’s interactions form the backbone of the
game’s appeal. The bright colours and simple premise should be a
dead giveaway to this being in the slice of life genre and throughout
its playtime it more or less sticks to this definition.
Capturing the essence of the vtuber’s personalities and replicating
them was the developer’s main aim and in that they were broadly
successful. They behave more or less as you would expect if you are
familiar with their output and it does genuinely feel like getting to
spend time with them on a more personal level. However, your interest
in Okayunyumu is wholly dependant on how much you like the vtubers in
question and offers nothing to anyone who does not know them.
Sunrider Legends Tactics
Trading
space ships for those of a more traditional kind, Sunrider moves into
the fantasy genre with the spin off Legends Tactics. This tale of
sail and sorcery is a reimagining of the main series story line with
many opportunities for the player to deviate from that original
narrative and a few fun twists unique to Legends Tactics. In terms of
gameplay mechanics it is an evolution of Sunrider 4’s battles
where the ryders are replaced with various sizes of ships. However,
it does inherit some of that game’s jank and regular loading
screens so expect some mild inconvenience at times. The lack of
reliance on the original games inherent in a complete retelling does
make this one of the more accessible titles for player new to the
franchise and its fantasy setting might appeal to people who were
turned off by its sci-fi version. Another solid title from Love In
Space and one which is worth picking up if it strikes your fancy.
The Aquarium does not dance
While
this is more of an RPG Maker horror game than a visual novel, it is a
high quality example of its genre and if you squint during the
dialogue scenes it does sort of look like a visual novel. Trapped
inside a strange Bianca Aquarium after visiting it with her friend,
Suze must navigate its dangerous halls in order to escape and
discover the identity of the mysterious traitor. It is a very
character centric title and talking with the various girls Suze meets
along the way provides much of the intrigue and tension for the
moment to moment gameplay. There is a good understanding throughout
of build up and pay off in terms of level design and story beats as
they merge seemlessly into the natural curves of gameplay. It is a
strong reminder of what an RPG Maker horror game can achieve and what
this genre is still capable of producing.
Iwakura Aria
As
a work of historical fiction, Iwakura Aria sells its 60s setting
during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth and the changes its
characters are experiencing. It forms the backdrop to a suspense
filled tale of lies and contradictory emotions which stir up dire
consequences. The story follows Ichiko a young maid who joins the
Iwakura mansion and soon finds herself intertwined with the Iwakura’s
daughter. She must uncover the secrets hidden within the mansion as
she gets ensnared in a web of lies and conflicting aims. There is
something striking about the way it blends watercolour art with
gentle music which gives the mansion a sense of place and identity
just as strong as the people who inhabit it. Overall, this is perfect
for someone looking for a period thriller coated in powerful imagery.
Fan Translations
Senmomo: A Billowing Bladestorm, A Persica Princess
Fan Translation VNDB Genre
– Politics, Action Play Time – 30 hours
The
first of the translated August titles this month, Senmomo is a game
focused around the struggles of its cast after their nation is invaded
and they are swept in the chaos it causes. It is a story about a
young warrior, Tokita Soujin, and the final heir to the imperial
throne, Miyaguni Akari, and how they navigate the political situation
in an attempt to reclaim the empire they lost. Over the course of
their journey they will meet people from both side of the conflict as
they fight and cooperate with them in equal measure. It is very much
a tale of rebellion in the hope of a better tomorrow but frames that
quest through how its cast deal with the realities of a complex and
interconnected battle in which there is no clear or easy resolution.
A fun ride where the tension of the political machinations and the
characters own flaws make for an entertaining spectacle.
Aiyoku no Eustia
Fan Translation VNDB Genre
– Medieval Fantasy, Mystery Play Time – 40 hours
Our
second August title this month leans into a far more fantastical
setting with city of Novus Aether floating in the sky above an
inhospitable surface held up by the daily prays of its saint. Despite
this grand sense of place, the majority of the game focuses around the
lowest districts of the city and the lives of the people residing
there. The story itself is driven by the outbreak of a strange
disease which makes those who are afflicted with it grow wings and
the changes it has brought in its wake. Its cast cover the whole
spectrum of this world from the saint herself to the those who have
to scrape in the dirt to survive and it helps make the city a more
nuanced place. A well regarded visual for a reason and one you should
pick up if you are looking for something particularly memorable.
Voice Acting – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Giving Words Life
How
a character is presented is key to a player’s impression of them
and what they sound like is a major component of it. Voice Acting is an
important element in most styles of games and visual novels are no
exception. Just like background music and sound effects, it plays
into the texture of each scene and helps add some much needed life to
the walls of text. It gives the characters a way to appear more
personable to the player and so help bridge the divide between their
worlds. Beyond simple character voices, Voice Acting has other facets
from spoken narration to voicing protagonists and they provide a
wide range of avenues through which visual novels can adapt to the
needs of developers. The elephant in the room is that not every title
can afford to hire voice actors or even wants voices in the first
place. Smaller indie visual novels are the main proponents of this
choice/limitation and the results are creative ways around the issue
or deliberately leaning into it for a distinctive effect. Let’s
listen to some talking and uncover the power of Voice Acting.
Speaking To The Player
Hearing
a character talking is a powerful tool in shaping how they are
perceived and their place within a title’s overall presentational
space. It moves characters out from just being purely visual entities of
portraits and text and gives them an auditory angle through which
they can communicate their identity to the player. We naturally have
a natural predisposition as humans to pay attention to the voices of
others when we can clearly make them out, hence why you can sometimes
find yourself accidentally eavesdropping on a conversation happening
nearby. So when we hear a fictional character speak there is an
immediate connection made in our mind to this instinct that makes
them appear more human. There is also a spatial element to the
audible voices since they sound close to the player and so the game
gains the sense of the events on screen happening right in front of
the player rather than in some fantastical distant world. As such
when a visual novel is utilising Voice Acting, these changes in
perception have to be kept in mind when constructing the other
presentational elements. Other audio needs to mixed to not overpower
the voices while key sound effects or changes in music which the game
wants attention drawn to need to not be drowned out by characters
talking over them. The Voice Acting can pull some of the narrative
weight since the way something is said can convey the emotions and
intent of a character and this frees the story from the need to
explain details that could bog down the pace of a scene.
 |
| Given how much of Clannad is just talking, its Voice Acting gains additional importance |
Given the
sheer number of visual novels with Voice Acting among the mid to high
budget titles, any of which could demonstrate the effect of voices,
it is best to look at a few key examples to best capture the broader
picture. Fate Stay Night heavily leans into the immediacy offered by
Voice Acting as a means to sell the danger and violence of its
actions scenes. It not only has its characters shouting at each other
with emotion deeply ingrained in every line, but also has a lot of
grunts of exertion and howls of pain to craft the feeling of the harm
which is befalling them. Those noises are ones we make
subconsciously and work as a means of grounded the heightened
emotions of the conflicts. On the opposite end of the spectrum sit
titles like Clannad where the Voice Acting is a means to sell
character banter and interactions. This is especially important for
Clannad since it is these engagements between characters which form
the majority of its content so the extra layer provided by voices
helps add variety to their conversation while keeping player engaged.
Visual novels with a greater focus on character interactions
naturally have more dialogue to voice than those focused other on
aspects like action, mystery or horror and as such Voice Acting is
most impactful on them than on those interested in other aspects.
Differing Styles
Not
every visual novels implements Voice Acting in the same way and the
choices in what to include and exclude from it offers a lot of
flexibility for a developer. The most common of these is the choice
to not give the protagonist a voice despite the rest of the cast
being given one. At first glance this might seem like a decision
which would be distracting from the player’s immersion in the story
since the silence will stand out. However, for titles in genres like
romance or slice of life, the game wants the player to insert
themselves into the role of the protagonist and this void allows them
to do so they can create their own internal voice for the character
rather than having it dictated to them. Take Minazuki Kashou from
NekoPara, everything about his personality is set up in a way for a player self-insert so giving him Voice Acting would harm this
direction by providing mixed signals and so his silence is the space
needed to experience his intended purpose. Another implementation of
voices is the use of binaural audio. The goal of this feature is
to create a sense of 3D space where the speaker sounds close to the
player’s ear and it allows for a feeling of intimacy with them. How
this intimacy is used can be split into two camps, affection and
fear. Affection is straight forward, it aims to utilise the intimacy
of binaural audio to reinforce the romance element of the speakers
relationship with the protagonist. A Sky Full of Stars makes full use
of it to set the mood with the heroines and sell the fantasy of the
relationship in a very direct manner. Fear is the domain of horror
and intimacy here is used to establish the close proximity of the
threat and make the player directly feel the danger. Perhaps the most
notable example of this style of binaural audio is in Corpse Party:
Book of Shadows which makes use of it sparingly for moments so it
never becomes familiar and to ensure it always coincides with
something dangerous being uncomfortable close.
 |
| Sharnoth's narration is made clear through a picture of the speaker's face in the text box |
Voice Acting can
expand beyond the words of the characters and bleed into the
narration as part of its implementation. This generally takes the
form of one of the existing cast extending their role and giving
their thoughts on events on a higher narrative level then their
immediate actions. While this can involve breaking the fourth wall,
it is most often just the character reflecting on what is happening
in a more detached manner so as to give the player a greater insight
into their choices and provide information which would not otherwise
make sense for them to give. Voicing these sections is key to helping them be
presented as the character’s raw thoughts rather than the filtered
and controlled words they use when speaking out load. Sharnoth of the
Deepest Black makes liberal use of voiced narration from its POV
characters and they all talk in a calm manner as they narrate what is
going on even if they are currently in danger. It lends this
narration a sense of bluntness as if this is the characters being
honest with the player and is used to explore their personal thoughts
as they struggle with the emotions and events happening around them.
The Power Of Silence
It
is expensive to have every character voiced and many games can
function fine without it, as such many lower budget titles use
minimal voices or none at all. This design choice has a profound
effect on how the rest of the visual novel deals with presenting
character emotion and intent since it cannot rely on the way words
are spoken. Partial Voice Acting involves a series of repeated basic
words, phrases or emotive noises being played when a character’s
dialogue appears on screen and serves as a way to add some extra flare
to the text at a lower cost. The Danganronpa games make use of this
technique outside of their big story moments in various places from
the character bond events to the investigation sections. Having over
the top character portraits which clearly express emotion in the most
in your face way possible helps smooth over the transition between
full and partial voicing by connecting the characters emotion and
intent to their appearance rather than simply their voice.
 |
| Having a strong asthetic and wild plot can allow a game to get away with a lot |
Going
beyond the use of voices and removing them entirely requires the
visual novel to step in and state clearly what would be conveyed through
speech. This means being more explicit about how a character is
feeling or their actions in text while weaving them into each scene in order for them
not to feel distracting or unnatural. One way many titles choose to
adopt these elements is through merging it into a broader expansion
of the character’s inner thoughts. Take Higurashi and Umineko,
which were released without Voice Acting, they lean heavily into the
internal space of the cast and each one is direct in their
presentation of the way they say things, even if they might be
engaging in deception or pushed through the lens of an unreliable
narrator. Given the limited ability of their portraits to pick up the
slack, the text does most of heavy lifting and there are many cleaver
ways used to underscore certain words and phrases such as the red truths from Umineko. The lack of voices makes these sudden changes
in the text stand out clearly and adding Voice Acting after the fact
muddled the messaging of these important moments.
Conclusion
As
with all audio in visual novels, Voice Acting holds a powerful role
in immersing the player and selling the story and its characters. It
plays off the innate human instinct to pay attention to voices and
speech to hold the player’s attention and add a layer of humanity
to the speaker. There are various ways to play around with Voice
Acting from binaural audio to voiced narration and these expand and
reshape how it can be engaged with resulting in vastly different
effects. Not having voiced characters is a valid option and requires
the title to adopt a more intimate approach while offering new ways
to create emphasis. Choosing whether or not to have Voice Acting in
your visual novel has such a wide reaching impact it should be
carefully considered in order to best utilise its many facets.
The Otaku – Character And Cliche In Visual Novels
Knowing Your Audience
The
relationship between visual novels and their Otaku characters is an
interesting one due to fact much of their audience are themselves
Otaku. As such these players will identify more with characters from
this archetype. For this article the definition of Otaku will be
limited to those with a strong interest in anime, video games and
associated activities rather than other types like the tech Otaku.
You would expect then that visual novels would lean into giving them
an enlarged importance to try and reel them in, but the reality is
quite a mixed picture. A surprising trend is how common it is to have
Otaku characters push their negative traits in a self-deprecating
manner at their own expense. Of course some titles do present the
Otaku as a whole positive being in order to appeal to their audience
and these hand wave the negative elements away so they can completely
lean into the fantasy. Beyond the extremes of positive and negative
traits, there are various Otaku characters for whom this trait is a
part of their human experience rather than its sole defining element.
It might be an important trait to them yet it never overpowers who
they are as a person and it is explored in an even fashion. Let’s
obsess over our waifu and uncover how this character archetype manifests
in its various forms.
Self-Deprecation
A
fairly common outline for depictions of Otaku characters in visual
novels is to have them embody some of the negative associations with
this type of person. These come in a variety of forms from
immediately obvious physical traits to flaws in their personality and
all are unappealing in their presentation. However, they are not
mutually exclusive with positive traits but rather overwhelm them
when brought forward by the characters’ own inability to control
themselves and their Otaku interests. The most striking and obvious
unflattering trait of Otaku is the correlation between being an Otaku
and being overweight. Outside of villain characters, there is a high
chance for an overweight character to fall into the Otaku camp, drawing a clear line of causality. Take Hashida Itaru from Steins
Gate or Akao Mitsuru from Amanatsu, each one is visibly overweight
and it is the first thing the player is going to notice about them
before they even open their mouths. It is no coincidence they then
quickly establish their Otaku tendencies which naturally leads the
player to connect the two. Of course this pair of characters are not
bad people but there layer of self-deprecation to their initial
depictions. As for the idea of it being an undesirable trait we can
look to Cara Olivia’s transformation in Sankaku Ren'ai: Love
Triangle Trouble! where she starts out overweight and slims herself
down during the story and this is treated as positive
transformation and is the version of her the player can romance. This further reinforcing the idea of it being the desirable weight and the
previous one as not attractive.
 |
| Media in general is not kind to overweight characters |
Not all Otaku characters are
overweight and many just look like the rest of the cast, but even
here there is often a layer of negative traits originating from their
personalities. The idea of an obsession taken to an unhealthy degree
is a commonly used element in such characters. Manifestations of this
aspect can be unsolicited outburst about their specific interest which made
them an Otaku like Matsushita Outa from AI: Somnium Files who often
talks at unnecessary length about things like his obsession with
A-set. The other characters often react by giving him awkward looks
as if not sure how to deal with him or just telling him to shut up
which highlights this tendency as a negative breaking of social
etiquette. Then there is the largest and most personality distorting
trait, anti-social behaviour. From avoiding contact with people to
being actively unpleasant to those who attempt to interact with them,
the Otaku character can fall anywhere within this spectrum. A
particularly extreme example of this is Nishijou Takumi from Chaos
Head who has so completely retreated into his Otaku interests as a
form of coping mechanism that even well meaning trespassers are met
with either hostility or a stone wall. So the question now becomes,
why is the Otaku such a negatively presented type of character in
visual novel when so much of its audience fall into this
group? To find the answer we must look beyond visual novels and
realise this depiction is found in many other mediums related to
anime. The common line
through them is one of self-deprecation for humorous effect where the
negative aspects of the audience can be drawn out for a moment of
common levity between creator and player. Every negative element from
their appearance to their unsolicited outburst is designed to offer a
feeling of empathy with the characters even if it is one born of a
shared awareness of how society views them and the player’s own
experiences of similar things. It is just another path the developers can use to
get the player to care about the cast. The elephant in the room here is Nishijou Takumi who is
most definitely not meant to be funny and his actions do not invite
sympathy. Here Chaos Head uses the negative traits of the Otaku as
means of distancing the player from Takumi so they might watch his
decent into madness fully aware of the foundations of this decision
making. In many ways it is the horror of our own weaknesses writ
large and how such things can twist a person.
Self-Importance
Trying
to appeal to an audience can be done through stroking their ego by
proxy through the overly positive depiction of certain characters.
This enlarged focus on the Otaku character is an interesting contrast
with the self-deprecation found elsewhere since it tends to plaster
over or downplay any flaws. Yet the two are not mutually
exclusive given the humour of the later can be used to distract from
the aggressively nature of this wish-fulfilment. One manifestation of
this attempt to appeal to its audience is to have the Otaku
characters form the majority of the cast and for the events and story
to focus around their Otaku activities. For example, Sankaku Ren'ai:
Love Triangle Trouble! is formulated in such a way to allow the Otaku
characters to shine brighter then any other members of the cast and
their interests are demonstrated by proxy to be important and
enjoyable as they are at the centre of the cast’s world. Adopting an
all-consuming approach favouring the Otaku does come at the cost of
limiting the title’s appeal to that specific group given the way it
unlikely to resonate with a wider demographic.
 |
| Hard to believe she is important in saving the world |
So a less
pronounced version of this focus on the Otaku members of the cast can
be in the visual novel’s best when not creating sure a narrowly
directed title. The result are games like Steins;Gate where the Otaku
characters, like Faris Nyannyan and Hashida Itaru, openly display
their interests while occupying key roles within the narrative. They
are never depicted without some negative traits but the positive ones
coupled with their irreplaceable actions in the ultimate resolution
of the conflict present an overwhelmingly positive impression. Overall the reasons a
developer might choose to pander to a major section of their audience
is pretty self explanatory since the Otaku is hardly the only example
of this attempt focus a title’s appeal with different mediums and
genre’s choosing different character archetypes. What
differentiates the Otaku character is way it often sits right next to
the self-deprecation as with Hashida Itaru who at once has jabs at
his expense while also being an irreplaceable member of the team.
Tightrope walking like this is not something other styles of
wish-fulfilment tend to engage in.
Just Another Part of Humanity
Making
a character an Otaku does not mean it needs to be their only defining
trait and they can have other elements while still being clearly identified with that group. This
is an attempt to stop the accidental pigeonholing of these characters
by the player who expects a simple cliché so might not properly
engage in the subtleties of the character’s emotions. In order to
create this diversion of focus, the other aspects of the Otaku cast
are established first to frame these as the pillars of their
development over the course of the story before moving on to their
Otaku elements. Inaba Meguru from Sabbat of the Witch is an encapsulation this approach. She is a gaming Otaku but does not
initially present herself as one and instead has a fashion sense and
bubbly personality which set the player’s expectations for her
and it is only later that the true extent of her Otaku nature becomes
obvious. Even then the game is careful to make sure that initial
impression is not completely overwritten through making this
transition be connected to the protagonist, and by extension the
player, becoming more intimate with her. As such it is their romance which
becomes the focal point of the player’s perception of her while
allowing the Otaku aspect to be part of a textured and well rounded
person.
 |
| The way she looks and acts is not what you would expect of an Otaku |
Another option is to place the Otaku character in a situation
where they interests play second fiddle to the dangers they face and
overall story progression. Death end;Request is not a narrative where
the characters can indulge their interests and they have to put them to
one side in order to face up to life and death situations. Lydia
Nolan is pretty open Otaku and has many of the traits associated with
the archetype, such as her obsessive level of interest in otome, but
outside of a few jokes about it there is little focus given to it.
Instead it is a part of her interactions with the rest of the cast
and a way to create an endearing impression on the player in a short
amount of time so when bad things start happening to her the player
has a reason to care. This is a very blunt instrument to gain the
player’s sympathy but the tension and relentless march forwards of
the plot do a lot to obscure the blatant nature of this manipulation.
What links these two approaches is their attempts to push the Otaku
as an aspect of what it means to be human rather than a caricature to
be mocked or elevated. This is mainly done in titles where the Otaku
element might be invasive, such as with genres like horror, action or
focused romance, and works to de-emphasize the treatment of a person
as a single characteristic in order to make their journey more
compelling.
Conclusion
When
characterising a group of people who make up a large section of your
audience the general wisdom is to appeal direct to them, but Otaku
characters in visual novels lean into far more varied styles of
presentation. There is a tendency towards the use of deprecation as
means to create empathy with the negative traits of the Otaku from
the similarity of their resulting actions and the player’s own
experiences through a layer of humour. Forming a textured character
in some titles means using the Otaku aspects as a part of a whole
picture and the person is not defined only via their Otaku nature but
rather showing it to be an element of the human experience. Then
there are the games which just follow the common wisdom and make the
Otaku the centre of the universe either through focusing on their
activities or by having them save the world. It is interesting to see
how the knowledge of one’s audience has such a profound effect on
the group's depiction within the narrative and how various visual novels
have sought to address it.
Escape Game – Uncovering The Hybrid
Puzzling Your Way Out
Locking
people up and forcing them to solve various puzzles in order to
escape is such a strangely specific scenario that at first glance it
might seem to be one with a limited design space. However, the enduring
popularity of this subgenre of puzzle game and its ability to
reinvent itself have demonstrated the potential it offers developers.
Often found alongside the Escape Game is the visual novel as a means
of presenting its story since the pairing complement the strengths
and weaknesses of each other. There is a large element of spatial
awareness inherent to Escape Games due to the small confines they
occur in and the need to solve puzzles in this area to progress so
these spaces have a strong personality to them. It is also in these
places that a lot of people cramped in close proximity and they are
all in danger, so paranoia is abound which both sides of the hybrid
take full advantage of to push events and mechanics forwards.
Helping all this along is the slow boil nature of the threat faced by
the characters who are trapped as it is this escalation of narrative
and puzzle complexity which blends them together seamlessly. Lets
solve some convoluted puzzle rooms and find out how this hybrid keeps
the player under lock and key.
Spatial Awareness
Providing
a physicality to its locations through mechanical interactions is
the greatest strength of Escape Games. This is achieved by requiring the player to pay attention to the environmental layout and
the position of objects within it for clues about how to solve the
puzzles. Each space offers various nooks and crannies to investigate
and uncover new items, be they those needed for progression or
optional collectables. As a result the player will end up possessing
an internal map of the rooms in a way which allows them to form
attachments to them when they become associated with the fun
mysteries and the player’s achievements in overcoming them. This is
a beneficial quality in the context of its use of visual novel
elements since it is something the internal focused visual novels can
struggle with and vice versa. By placing the intimate visual novel
narrative within a framework focused on the spaces its characters
occupy, the Escape Game can offer a grounded sense of place to what
might otherwise be an over the top or character centric story. The
main advantage of this merger of external and internal spaces is the
way it can balance out the contrivances inherent in both sides of
this style of game. On the one side the need for the Escape Game to
have restricted spaces to make its gameplay digestible to the player
makes for somewhat absurd locations which the visual novel mitigates
through its protagonist’s fixation on escape and using it to provide the momentum to move from puzzle to another without delay. In order
to justify the situation required for an Escape Game to exist, the
visual novel element has to jump through hoops to construct its
narrative which is not ideal since it pulls it away from being
believable and it is here the physicality of the Escape Games helps
ground the story within objects and functions the player sees in
their everyday lives.
 |
| Each room will become familiar as it is deeply explored |
Perhaps the single most prominent and
influential titles using the Escape Game mechanics are the Zero
Escape games, so let’s look there for some examples of this
relationship in practice. 999 choses to begin with a relatively normal
setting of a large ship which offers an easy to understand reference
point for the spaces where gameplay will take place and makes them
easier to parse when looking at. This helps cushion the more out
there aspects of the story as they are placed in a location which
keeps them within a real world context so they never stray too far
from the believable. In the second entry, Virtues’ Last Reward, the
location is now a series of sci-fi rooms and corridors and these lack
any features the player will be familiar with so they have to lean more on
their physicality to sell themselves. Here the visual novel narrative
has to pick up some of the slack with the character’s personalities
and internal drama in order to add some relatability to the
experience. Of course it still has the same complex and over the top
story as 999 but the change in emphasis helps cover it up as the
burden of convincing the player of the settings legitimacy is more
evenly spread and this makes the issue less pronounced.
Hotbed Of Emotion
Being
confined is not a pleasant experience especially when forced to solve
puzzles with your life on the line. As such it is believable that
emotions would run high in this situation and cause people to act in an impulsive manner and lash out or grow suspicious of those around
them. This broader expectation of what is reasonable for the
characters to do in an Escape Game is perfect for the sort of
intimate stories visual novels thrive on. It allows for the thoughts
of its cast to be presented in a more direct manner where what makes
them tick is laid bare to not only the player but also those around
them. Leaning into these traits does run the risk of become a bit too
on the nose so this is where the pacing of the puzzles and mysteries
of the Escape Game is key since they offer a unique means of blending
in lighter character moments and banter in off hand comments or
instructive clues. Each one is a small window into the less serious
side of the cast which adds some much needed levity to take the edge
of the relentless drama and reminds the player that they are dealing
with normal people in an extraordinary situation. Managing the flow
between the highs and lows of emotion while making them varied is the
ultimate effect of this splitting of the narrative load. The two
sides have the room to do what they do best without having to overly
compromise their strengths.
 |
| When things go wrong people tend to not think clearly |
ABYSS OF THE SACRIFICE makes for a good
presentation of what this emphasis on emotion can result in. The
disaster which is occurring around the cast places them in direct
danger from the collapse of their underground home and the rapid
depletion of their remaining food and water so they are all
understandably stressed. This makes them lash out at the other girls
or slip up and says something revealing about themselves or the
mysteries of the setting. The tone of the overall game is pretty
gloomy as the cast struggles to find a way out while solving the
puzzles around them. Rather than directly adding levity in the form
of commentary, like Virtues Last Reward, the Escape Game mechanical
sections instead act as direct breaks for the player to cool down in
so the drama does not become overwhelming. There is an awareness of
how inherently absurd the whole situation is and the title is more
than willing to make jokes at its own expense to break this tension
in both gameplay and story through character quirks and out of place
items. However, these are used sparingly so as to not break the
overall tone so the dire nature of events still remains front and
centre.
Nowhere To Run
Restricting
where the characters and player can go and what they can interact with changes how they perceive events and mechanics. It is a form of
segregation which lends itself to an experience where a fine degree
of control can be exercised without it coming across as the game
being invasive about what the player can and cannot do. This
restraint is both a blessing and curse in terms of the type of
gameplay and stories it can offer. There is a reason many Escape
Games lean into elaborate narratives and it is due to the repetitive
nature of the situation weakening interest over the long term so a
slowly unveiling complex plot works wonders to counter that drain. On
the mechanical end there is the need to make each new puzzle area
have its own exclusive gimmick and visual style in order to provide a
feeling of progress and avoid the pitfall of familiarity. These
design limitations are responsible for much of the memorable favour
of Escape Games and their combination with visual novel elements
allows for the swapping of emphasis where characters and mechanics share in the player's feelings of uncovering a complex series of truths. A more
integrated method of narrative presentation would struggle to create
the necessary divide to avoid the sense of repetition since they
occupy the same spaces in a direct manner which can unflatteringly
highlight this issue.
 |
| Ships, why is it always a ship? |
This format is not exclusive to the long-form
titles like those of Zero Escape and it can be seen is
smaller examples like the 3DS exclusive Parascientific Escape series.
These games were short experience with playtimes between five and
nine hours so cannot afford to spend the same time on building up
plot elements as its longer cousins. Despite this limitation it still
captures much of the same style of elaborate narrative beats in miniature forms as it also gives an overview of its fantastical setting.
The fact the first game revolves around the protagonist being trapped
on a cruise ship makes the influence 999 has had on it clear and it
plays out like a more direct take on 999’s story. Its much smaller
cast results in its twists being more immediately obvious since there
is only so much misdirection it can do so instead the title
leans into the drama leading up the reveal to ensure engagement.
Escaping the ship is the context provided to the mechanics of puzzle
solving and so each new area offers a different part of the vessel to
help add new layers to it as the cast struggle against the obstacles
in their path. The overarching psychic powers of the protagonist
support the variety of the gimmicks since they are decidedly distinct
from the standard gameplay of the Escape Game.
Conclusion
The
scenarios baked into the identity of the Escape Game merge well with
the presentation and restrictions of visual novels to create a
complementary hybrid. By placing emphasis on the spaces the
characters occupy, the Escape Game can provide a sense of grounded
reality to a narrative while being given the emotional resonance it
lacks in return. The inherent restrictions on events and locations
necessitated by being confined to a location lead to the hybrid
compensating with elaborate stories and a conveyor belt of gimmicks
weaving in and out of each other to keep the player engaged. People
do not like the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped so feelings
naturally run high in an Escape Game and the internal focus of a
visual novel can present this tension in an intimate way. This is a
hybrid which makes very specific demands of its two parts, but should
this meet a developer’s needs then there is no better combination
to explore these ideas.
Sona-Nyl of the Violet Shadows Review – What Was Above Is Now Bellow
Genre – Steampunk, Fantasy, Odyssey Play Time – 25 hours Developer – Liar-Soft Steam VNDB
A Stroll Through New York
New
York is in ruins and all its inhabitants mysteriously disappeared
overnight. The U.S. government claims they all died in
a tragic engine accident and sealed the city off, but one young woman,
Elysia Wentworth, is not convinced so sneaks in to uncover
the truth by journeying to the centre of catastrophe, Manhattan.
Bellow the city a girl named Lily wakes up and begins her own quest
to reach the violet horizon and exploring the strange people and
places of the underground. Sona-Nyl is the intertwining tales of
these two women as they confront their emotions and memories through
the colourful cast they meet and the locations within the city.
Elysia and Lily are good pair of protagonist due to how well their
respective personalities contrast and reflect each other and how they
engage with their surroundings. The rest of the cast is similarly
memorable as they struggle against the dangers of the underground and
yet still manage to maintain their sense of cheer. From a visual
stand point the distinctive grays of the surface ruins and the deep
purples of the underground make it immediately clear where a scene is
taking place and provide it with an identity. Throughout the narrative
there is an extensive use of repetition and slow pacing which coupled
with the frustration of the newspaper system make for a level of
friction against the player. Is Liar-Soft’s high standard of
writing and engagement enough to overcome these issues? Let’s set
off for the horizon and find out.
Odyssey To The Edge Of The World – Narrative and Themes
Due
to being an odyssey of two women through their respective versions of
New York, the player gets to witness the various sights of this
fantastical steam punk vision of the city and its people. This
constant movement through what ends up being a large cast of
characters and varied environments forms a core part of the lens
through which it explores the lives of its two protagonists. Lily’s
journey is all about her discovering her own emotions in order to
decide her future while Elysia’s is about accepting what happened
to her in the past. It is fitting then that each of them is assigned
a version of New York which reflects them, Lily is given the bright
and lively underground and Elysia wanders through the ruins on the
surface. Despite the underground being a dangerous place where its
inhabitants live in constant fear of turning into metal, it is a
place filled with life and all the emotions of humanity as its people
strive to make the most out of their remain time. Each area Lily
visits generally focuses on one new emotion which Lily has to grapple
with in order to become a complete person. This is everything from
love to sadness to anger and seeing it acted out by those she meets
and becomes involved with is how she is forced to admit to these
aspects of herself. Watching her growth from an innocent girl who
does not understand what is going on in and around her into a
developed person who strikes out to make her own future is one of the
most satisfying parts of the game. Up on the surface, Elysia only
meets the remnants left behind by New York’s people and these are the
only proof left they existed, placing them firmly as part of the past.
So as the accidentally stumbles on them she is forced to think about
her own past and the trauma responsible for the journey into this
ruined city. Her developed is not as dramatic as Lily’s but is no
less moving to see her wrestle with her demons. Sona-Nyl is a
character centric story where these two women unknowingly intertwine
with each other’s paths towards their respective towers and it is
one where the journey and the memories are far more important than
the destination.
 |
| Even in ruins New York is quite a spectacle |
Liar-Soft’s
narrative style has never had the broad appeal of other studio’s
due to their extensive use of various flowery language and playing
with the story structure. Sona-Nyl makes no attempt to change this
limited appeal with its use of repetition and an overall slow pacing
to progression. This use of repetition manifests of multiple levels,
there is the basic repeating of similar phrasing throughout the
story, the inherent repetition of the odyssey style and the overall structure of each new area’s story being nearly
identical to one another. All these aspects are cleverly used to
misdirect the player and subvert proceedings in a way which makes
clear what themes and ideas are important. However, there is denying
the risk such repetition brings since not all players are going to
appreciate the stylistic choice and may instead find it boring and
lose interest in continuing to play. Not helping this issue is the
slow pacing of the overall narrative since neither protagonist is in any particular hurry to get to their destination. The thoughtful and
internal nature of its narrative make a slower pace the natural
choice to give the player a chance to get inside the heads of its
characters, but alongside the repetition it can come across as the
game dragging its feet. If either of these two things sound like
deal-breakers for you then Sona-Nyl may struggle to grab you.
Turing Into Metal – Characters
Aside
from the excellent pairing of protagonists, the wider cast is an
eclectic mix of personalities from all levels and aspects of New
York. Each area has its own mini cast with their own stories and
problems and a few overlapping characters who repeated appear. This
gives these characters the freedom to focus on their respective
themes and ideas rather than having to worry about how they fit into
broader relationship dynamics beyond their area. Having each group be
visually distinct from one another, such as one made up of various
styles of catgirls or the lavish costumes of the broadway performers,
allows for them to be immediately memorable and communicate the
outline of their personalities which is critical due to their limited
screen time. It is through their interactions with Lily that they act
as a means to explore a specific element of their humanity and reach
a resolution. Their relationship with Elysia is a little different
since they never actually meet her and instead she get to know them
through what they left behind. This approach offers a new angle on
their lives and a space where things which they would want hidden or
cannot properly expressed can be explored. Despite their dire
circumstances, each and every one of them still holds on to who they
were before the disaster and tries to make the most out of their new
lives. This commonality between everyone of them is something Lily
struggles to understand at the beginning and how it reflects upon her
brings out the hope each of them hold.
 |
| The inhabitants of the underground all have wonderfully over the top clothes |
Mushrooms and Ruins – Visual, Audio and Technical
Contrasting
visuals is Sona-Nyl’s favourite tool and results in an experience
with clear dividing lines and an immediately recognisable aesthetic
identity. The steampunk ruins of surface New York are a landscape
characterised by a wide use of greys and other dull colours with the
occasional splattering of dark rain. Each new image of the city
presents the desolation it has undergone and the fate of the many
people who disappeared here in the disaster. Despite the dour mood
there is an element of resilience and hope in the objects people have
left behind and they have a slightly brighter colour palette. The
result is a space which feels like the inhabitants
just left for a while and will be back at any moment. In contrast to
this ghost town, the underground is covered in a constant purple haze
and around every corner are giant brightly coloured mushrooms. Its
use of vivid yellows and reds gives the bustling locations an
otherworldly personality as if its people do not belong. This oddness
is extended to how people look from their metallic body parts to
their larger than life clothing and each place has their own
variation of this artistic direction in order to make the player
understand immediately what to expect from it. These clashing visuals
help push along the narrative as it bounces back and forth between
the two as the looming Manhattan tower gets ever closer.
 |
| Which of these is incorrect? |
For
whatever reason Liar-Soft seems to have an obsession with introducing
strange gimmick sections into their game to varying degrees success.
Unfortunately Sona-Nyl’s version of this tendency, in the newspaper
system, falls on the weaker end. In this system the player is given a
series of newspaper cuttings and must identify which part of the text
is incorrect. This might sound simple enough but there are several
layers of frustration which make these sections less than pleasant.
First of these being the absence of any instructions about what you
are expected to do. The game just puts them in-front of the player
and they have to figure out the system on their own. Of course the
player will almost certainly fail which results in a bad end a lot later on to the point the player may not link the two together and
understand what they did wrong. Secondly, if the player fails any of
the newspaper sections they fail them all so the most effective way
to deal with this issue is to save scum. Obviously save scumming is
nothing new for visual novels, but here it is so focused into such a
small space it becomes very noticeable especially since the rest of
the game does not demand it. To cap all of these issues off is the
fact that the correct answer to these newspaper sections is often
obtuse meaning the player will fail regularly even when they do
understand what they have to do. This attempt at a gimmick creates a
series of frustrating moments in what is otherwise a smooth
experience.
Conclusion
Navigating
the strange dual worlds of New York is Sona-Nyl greatest achievement
as it constantly pushes its vivid visuals and characters through an
engaging framework of ideas. The odysseys of Lily and Elysia
perfectly reflects their different personal journeys as they grapple
with their past and future. A contrast of colours and visuals helps
this along as the greys of the surface and the deep purples of the
underground make it clear where the characters are and how they
relate to their environments. Living under the purple sky are
the various inhabitants of New York who showcase the identity of each
area of the city and demonstrate to the Lily and Elysia what being human means
to them. All this is only held back by the frustrating Newspaper
sections and the acquired taste of Liar-Soft’s use of repetition
and extensive internal dialogue. These failings are not enough to
eclipse this brilliant story of two young women in the ruins of a
once lively city.
Verdict –
An odyssey filled with colourful characters and memorable
representations of steampunk New York which form a deeply personal look at fundamental aspects of the human condition. Weakened somewhat by
an irritating gimmick and its unwillingness to compromise on its
artistic vision.
Pros -
+
Lily and Elysia’s journeys delightfully engage with what it means
to be human both in terms of what we leave behind and where we will
go in the future.
+
The colourful cast perfectly reflect the core themes of each area of
New York and their own tales of their ordinary lives.
+
Contrast between the unforgettable visuals of the surface and
underground versions of New York are a constant feast for the eyes.
Cons -
-
Artist use of extensive internal dialogue and flowery language
alongside its liberal use of structural repetition will not appeal to
everyone.
-
Newspaper system is obtuse and unforgiving which results in
frustration and save scumming.
