Sunday, June 28, 2026
As
we sit here melting under the summer sun why not look at what the
visual novel space has released before you turn into a human shaped
puddle on the floor. This has been a relatively quiet month but what
has come out showcases the dramatic breadth the medium can
offer from violent murder mystery to cute comedy. Let’s dive in and
discover which of these new releases are worth your time.
Official Releases
Cartagra
This
marks the second PC release of Cartagra, with the first being all the
way back in 2014, and it sits in a strange place when compared to its
previous iteration. On a technical level this is based on the
Japanese 2023 HD version and comes with extra layers of polish to
make the game shine on modern hardware. The majority of these changes
are tweets to the visuals to give them a face lift and shift them
from 800x600 to 1920x1080 with the audio on the soundtrack also being
improved. There are also content additions such as character endings
and the inclusion of a scenario from one of the studio's fandiscs
which give those who have already played Cartagra a motive to come back.
The issue with this release comes from the choice to alter or remove
scenes for cultural sensitivity reasons. Cartagra is an inherently
violent game which deals with sensitive topics regularly so these
changes weaken its narrative impact and they seem to have made to
appease Steam. Yet, this is still at its core the same memorable and
sometimes disturbing title and if this Steam release is your only
option then it is definitely worth your time to experience it.
Neko-Mimi Sweet Housemates 2
If
you are looking for something on the cute and wholesome end of the
spectrum then this second outing in the Neko-Mimi series might be
just what you are looking for. It picks up as the season changing
into summer with Mint and our protagonist living together surrounded
by their chaotic friends. This begins to shift when the
mysterious Kuro enters their lives and Mint is insistent on helping
her despite Kuro’s wariness of them. What follows is a
heart-warming and hilarious journey as Mint gets caught up in another
over the top mess. A short and amusing experience which plays off the
strengths of the original while not venturing too far from what made
people like it. Since it is such a simple story even those who have
not played the first game can still have a good time here.
Tavern Talk Stories: Dreamwalker
As
the successor to the D&D inspired bartending game Tavern Talk,
Dreamwalker leverages its strong foundations to create a prequel
focused on tightening up the overall experience. There is a
noticeable jump in the quality of presentation and narrative with the awkward moments which held back the original being almost
entirely absent this time round. Dreamwalker makes full use of its
fantasy setting and D&D inspirations in everything from the
absurd drinks to the quest system to the very wacky customers
themselves. This provides it with strong sense of identity which help
it stand out from the increasingly large number of bartending titles.
Its status as a prequel allows it to work both as perfect entry point
for new players and a treat for existing fans with its constant
subtle nods to the first game. Looking for a suitably cosy fantasy
adventure then Dreamwalker is guaranteed to be a good time.
Template!! An Angel's Gift
Openly
admitting your game is a collection of cliches announces proudly what kind of
experience the player is in for. Obviously this use of cliches leans
into the inherent absurdity of having so many of them back to back
and Template takes full advantage of it to go all in on being over the
top. Rather than mocking the silly nature of the cliches it uses, the
game instead reveals in them and the expectations surrounding them to
create a celebration of visual novel Rom-Com genre. This being said,
it has very few ideas to call its own and if you are not up for its
brand of comedy then there is little else to engage with. Template is
a title for those invested in this end of medium and its assumes a
knowledge of its genre while not offering anything for the
uninitiated.
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