Sunday, March 29, 2026
The
first buds of spring have arrived as the winter chill retreats and
visual novels also find themselves in a season of new and exciting
titles. This has been a month fuelled by stories of love from a
variety of perspectives and tones with a sprinkling of innovative
ideas to keep things fresh covering everything from Sengoku otome to
the philosophical consideration of robots. Let’s dive in and see
what games you should be playing from the most recent releases.
Official Releases
Eve of the 12 Months
MangaGamer(18+) VNDB Genre
– Drama, Romance Play Time – 10 hours
As
a minori game sharing the same setting with ef and Trinoline, Eve of
the 12 Months has some big shoes to fill while carving its own
identity. It continues the studio’s trademark mix of dynamic sprite
work and moving CGs and brings them to bare here in the creation of a
deeply personal story of a small group of people. This is a drama
front and centre with characters often making highly emotionally
charged decisions in order to create conflict and the story careful
walks the line between believable tension and the powerful moments of
exaggerated feelings. Being set during winter and the holiday season
is leveraged to underline the game’s themes as the happy time of
the year is connected to the events to form a strong aesthetic core
from which every element draws from. While it is not on the same level
as ef, this is still a good title from the developer and should
scratch the itch of anyone looking for some compelling drama to sink
their teeth into.
The Moon Looks Beautiful Tonight: Definitive Edition
This
definitive edition is an altered version of the original 2023 release
which updates the story and adds new graphics and music while maintaining its distinctive look and feel. It once
again tells the tale of two people trapped in orbit around the moon
after a disaster which caused them and the moon to knocked out of
Earth’s orbit. Initially it looks like they are going to be okay
since the Heart provides everything they need to survive, but then
one day it stops and now they must brave the unknown to figure out
what has gone wrong. The game utilises its sci-fi element effectively
to blend the exploration of the danger with the exploration of the
self and plays them off each other in a suitably entertaining way.
Overall this short and free title is an endearing story of a group of
very human characters.
Homura: The Crimson Warriors
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Otome, Sengoku, Politics Play Time – 40 hours
Set
at the tail end of the Sengoku period, this is a tale of a young
woman as her connection to the Sanada ninjas leads her into the final
conflict of the era in order to protect the people she loves. This is
a visual novel which is really trying to lay the tragedy on thick
since we know how this conflict will end and our protagonist is on
the losing side so a pervading sense of unavoidable doom hangs over
the story. It helps that the cast are such a likeable bunch and easy
to become invested in leading to their fates have a greater impact.
Not everything is doom and gloom since the heroine does have some
agency over how the personal stories will end even if she is at the
mercy of history when it comes to the grand scheme of things. All
this makes for an engaging otome even if it does expect you to have
some basic understanding of the time period since it does little to
explain why the big events are happening.
DoppelTest
When
you come to rely on a robot to live your life in place of you at what
point do they start to become you? Despite what his premise
might imply this is a fairly light hearted title which is interested
in the emotional relationships springing up around this question
rather than on some sort of darker idea about replacement. There is a
big focus on assigning tasks to one of the two girls you are
monitoring and seeing how they interact with the people they meet
along the way. Its mix of sci-fi philosophy and personal stories
create an impactful snapshot into a world not so different from our
own and complemented by its brief length ensuring it does not
overstay its welcome.
Volontés
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Otome, Dark Fantasy
Our
second otome of the month offers a good dose of dark fantasy set on a
magical island floating over the sea. After Fiena is brought here when her village is destroyed by an order of knights, she find
herself proclaimed the Moon Witch and becomes swept up in the
machinations of an increasingly unstable kingdom. Each of the suitors
plays nicely into the serious nature of the setting and it is through
them that Fiena and the player get to expand their understanding of
the inner works of court and culture. The dark part of the fantasy
makes itself felt throughout as the storm of events Fiena finds
herself caught up in spirals out of control and the romance is the
sole speck of hope amongst the seemingly inevitable disaster. If you
are looking for fantasy romance which commits to the ideas of its
premise then Volontés will be right up your alley.
Karigurashi Renai: Living on Borrowed Love
Once
again Asa Project is back with another romcom drenched in their
signature humour. This time we follow the story of Takuma as he
returns to his home-town only to find his house in a dilapidated state
so has to rely on his four childhood friends to put a roof over his
head. However, he has to stay at their homes in rotation leading to
the expected absurdity and fun situations as Karigurashi Renai pushes
all the levers up to max. Despite the comedy clearly being the focus,
this is a title that understands when to treat the romance separately
and give it the sincerity it needs for the player to become attached
to the pairings. For those who want a good mixture of silly comedy
and genuine emotion this is an easy home run.
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