Sunday, September 27, 2026
Now
we have entered autumn and harvests are the theme of the day, it is
only natural the world of visual novels would spread out a wonderful
buffet of new titles. It has been a great month for releases with a
selection of engaging and thought provoking games which highlight all
amazing stories the medium is capable of making, from crime thrillers
to two varieties of philosophical romance to a musical dystopia.
Let’s dive in and see what titles are worth your time and which
will make you stop and think.
Official Releases
HimaNatsu: Of Churches, Sunflowers, and Long Summers
During
a long summer Yosuke Ashitaba returns to his seaside home town of
Oboshiro where he meets familiar girls from his past, sees a new face and
confront the crisis of the Oboshiro Church’s impeding demolition. A
slow burn narrative leaning heavily on the character interactions and
their thoughtful consideration of their lives which nicely
compliments its aesthetic and thematic focus on the slow pace of
summer time. The romance has a similarly lethargic
pacing with the cute and soft nature of the pair’s love gently
embracing the experience in a quiet warmth to contrast the blazing heat of
summer. It is a title which wants the player to sit next to it and
contemplate the character’s struggles and the mundanity of life as it all plays out. If you are willing to met it on its level then you are
in for a fun cruise down an emotional river.
even if TEMPEST
This
PC release of a previously Switch only otome title presents a
chance for new players to experience an excellent dark fantasy visual
novel. After having been burned to death, Anastasia Lynzel suddenly finds
herself alive and well long before the events which lead to her
demise. Given this second chance by a strange witch she must walk a
new path in order to avoid meet the same end and becomes intertwined
with fates of the game’s suitors. The story really pushes the dark
fantasy undertones of even if TEMPEST and makes them work as a major
source of unsettling tension where the fate of its protagonist seems
continually on a knife’s edge. Each suitor represents a constant danger Lynzel faces as they are both her greatest allies
while also having the potential to do the most harm. Overall, it is a
strong otome for those looking for a level of danger to their
romantic narratives.
In Falsus
Mixing
rhythm games with visual novels presents a series of challenges and
opportunities which In Falsus navigates to some interesting results.
Having five different perspectives to its narrative allows a broader
exploration of the world so it can fully express itself without being
bound to the bias of one set protagonist. The idea of Binds as this
public display which shows your emotions and enforces honesty is a
strong concept with an easy to see visual element which the game
makes the most of at every opportunity. This dystopia presents the
characters in a series of engaging conflicts where the newly formed
group of friends must withstand those plotting against them. Combine
this with an excellent musical score for the rhythm game sections and
it makes for an exciting twist on the genre for those looking to see
what it can achieve when it pushes itself.
Operation Eventide
Releasing
on Steam for the first time a year after its debut on itch.io, this
version contains new story arcs and other bonus content and brings
the twisted yuri title to a new audience. Definitely not a game for
the faint of heart with some very messed up things happening across
its play time. It is an utterly fascinating descent into madness where
the foundation of what seems obvious are undermined in spectacular
ways. Unfortunately this makes if difficult to properly express its positive qualities without going into spoilers so you will just have
to take it on faith and try the game for yourself.
Fuyukuru. - Winter winds, adieu?
Sit
down all for another of Watanabe Ryouichi’s weirdly horny
philosophy lessons this time featuring a plethora of very aggressive
lesbians. It is a strange fever dream of a game which wildly jumps
around in tone from whimsical to deadly serious sometime within the
same scene in a clear effort to throw the player off balance. Over the
course of its play time there are a number of engaging and thoughtful
issues dissected, these reflect onto the player’s own life in
a way which makes them reconsider the bigger picture. However,
Fuyukuru can be a bit clumsy in its execution with multiple instances of
major plot information being thrown out with no fanfare in a blink
and you miss it manner. Yet there is no denying this is a unique
visual novel pushing for an angle which will make it
stick in your head and for those up to the challenge it is something
worth experiencing.
Phantom PHANTOM OF INFERNO NITRO ARCHIVE
Talking
about this version of PHANTOM OF INFERNO is a bit odd since it is the
second English release of the game (the other being an ancient and
weird bastardisation) while also being a port of the Japanese only
Xbox 360 version. Rather than the older sprite work it chooses to
take visual elements from the anime and make these the baseline for
it overall aesthetic which is probably for the best given how time
has not been kind the original’s character portraits. It also adds
scenes and narrative beats from the anime into the visual novel’s
story leading to becoming a chimera of the two versions. Despite all
these changes the core identity of the game still remains and given
this is the only easily available release in English, this is the
best way to experience this classic visual novel and one of Nitro
Plus’ earliest works.
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