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About this blog

This is a series of condensed articles from my main Blog.

Reviews, News and Analysis are my specialty and will be updated weekly on the main site followed by here.

Entries in this blog

Analysis

Multiple Route Mystery – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.     Puzzle Pieces Scattered To The Wind   Putting together a mystery in order to find the truth is one of the most rewarding narrative and mechanical feelings it is possible to give the player. The route based structure of visual novels places them in a unique position to take advantage of this niche. They can spread their mystery over the course of their story in a non-linear manner
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Mini Games – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Small But Mighty   When it comes to additional styles of gameplay within visual novels, they do not need to be as grand or demanding as a JRPG or SRPG component and the smallest of gameplay cycles can have a far greater effect in the right situation. Enter the Mini-Game, short and simple mechanical simulants that aim to prove value in being concise. Including these lends a form of textu
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Meaningless Choices – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Empty and Pointless?   The illusion of choice is one of a video game’s most fragile tools, a single contradiction or misstep in presentation and the whole thing shatters and the player feels cheated. As such the idea of a Meaningless Choice is one which is viewed in a negative light as something to avoid alongside the idea that all choices must offer some form of consequence, no matter
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Review

Majikoi! Love Me Seriously! A – The Afterlife Of A Game Series

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – School Life, Comedy, Romance    Play Time – 10-15 per game    Developer – Minato Soft    VNDB   When Only Characters Remain   Once a game series has given all the stories it can, what remains to be extracted from it? Perhaps you expand the world by adding a new setting or maybe you introduce an exciting new threat. The answer the Majikoi A games have settled on is to f
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Lamunation! Review - It's A Mad And Brilliantly Shining World

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre - Comedy.   Play Time - 15 hours.   Developer - WhitePowder   Steam   VNDB   Always Be Happy!   Most visual novels use comedy in some form, be it a joke to break tension or a scene to make the player empathise with the characters, but few commit to it as the single focus of their identity. This is for a good reason, humour is subjective and as such making a comedy game with a wi
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Review

Kunado Chronicles Review – A Beautiful Post-Apocalypse With A Side Of Mechanic Menace

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Action, Post-Apocalypse, Supernatural    Play Time – 35 hours    Developer – Purple Software    Steam    VNDB   Beneath the Sakura   Once the apocalypse is over and all the damage is done, will the world be a peaceful place? And what of those who come after, how will they adapt? These are the questions Kunado Chronicles opens with and it uses them as the foundations up
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Kiss the Demiurge Review – Flowers in a Garden of Demons

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Yuri, Modern Fantasy    Play Time – 6 hours    Developer – YuriEureka    Steam    VNDB Note – I did receive a review copy from the developer. A heads up if that fact might bother you.   Something Wicked This Way Comes   In most settling magic is normally a force for good and even when it is not, the protagonist is special enough to make the most of it regardless. T
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Irotoridori No Sekai – The Colorful World Review – Beyond The Other Rainbow

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Romance, Fantasy, Mystery    Play Time – 35 hours     Developer – FAVORITE    Steam     VNDB   Coming To Know Love   Everyone has a wish they want fulfilled before they die, this can be anything from unrequited love to becoming rich to seeing the world. However, the world is a harsh place and many of these wishes go unanswered as people pass from the moral coil. It is t
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In-Game Encyclopedia – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Knowledge Is Power   When exploring complicated ideas it can difficult to make sure the player understands what is going on while still making the dialogue and events believable and not an exposition dump, even more so if it uses a lot of in universe concepts. The answer which visual novels have come to is the inclusion of an in-game encyclopedia that unlocks new entries as the player e
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Hybrid Visual Novels – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   The Best Of Both Worlds?   When talking about visual novels there is a tendency to present the medium as pure and distinct from all other types of games. Of course the reality is that other games influence visual novels and visual novels influence other games in a cycle of mutual adaptation and growth. The most noticeable manifestation of this union is the hybrid visual novel. This bein
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Review

Hoshizora no Memoria Review – Shining Amongst The Sea Of Stars

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Slice of Life, Romance    Play Time – 50 hours    Developer – FAVORITE    Steam    VNDB   A Boy And His Shinigami   If the plot of Hoshizora no Memoria were described to you in its most abstract and literal form then you might be forgiven for thinking of it as another run of the mill slice of life/ romance visual novel. In many ways that opinion is not entirely wrong, b
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Horror VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   There Is Something Behind You   Genres define the games they inhabit and how the game uses its unique features to achieve or subvert the expectations of the audience. This is especially true for horror which aims to invoke feelings in the player that many other genres deliberately steer clear of. As such it is an excellent candidate to begin to observe how visual novels adapt themselves
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Review

Hello Lady! Review – Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Hot

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Superpowers, Action, Multiple Route Mystery.   Play Time – 50 hours.   Developer - Akatsuki WORKS.   Steam   VNDB   It Started With Fire   The quest for revenge is a time worn tale which has assumed many forms and is notoriously difficult to get right. It can be a struggle to get the audience to empathise with a character who is seeking revenge, especially when
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Hello Lady! Analysis (Spoilers) – Pieces of Potential

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Academic Subterfuge   The English release of Hello Lady is a game in a strange situation. Being a translation of the Complete Edition, it is effectively three games tied into one which leads to some interest quirks. I knew that I would have to play the game since I enjoyed one of the developers previous works, Coμ. Coμ was a flawed but entertaining game and it is with these expectations I when
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Heaven Will Be Mine – Review - Clashing Steel And Warming Hearts

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Sci-fi, Mecha, LGBTQ+.    Play Time – 8 hours.   Developer - Pillow Fight Games.   Steam   VNDB   Finding Heaven   There is a certain beauty to the simple impulse to say, “Wow that is so cool”. It is a short phrase filled with an innocent emotion many of us lose as we get older and the realities of life turn everything into a grey soup. An adult is meant to be mature and sensi
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Gnosia Review – In Space No One Can Hear You Scheme

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Mystery, Social Deduction, Thriller    Play Time – 20 hours    Developer - Petit Depotto    Steam    VNDB   With Knives Out and Masks On   Trapping a group of people in a remote location and forcing them to into a game of social deduction is a premise with a surprising among of interesting scenarios to give despite how simple it is at its core. We have death games like
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Gacha Mechanics – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   What Is In The Box?   One of the latest and perhaps most contentious recent development in the sphere of visual novels is the rise of gatcha mechanics as one of the prominent elements in the design space. Leaning heavily into the mobile market, they involve spending currency for acquisition of a selection of random characters and items from a set pool with rarities attached to them. For
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Fighting Games – Uncovering The VN Hybrid

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Fight Start!   As a style of gameplay Fighting Games are at once wonderfully expressive and yet incredibly restrictive and so combining them with visual novels make for an interesting hybrid. The primary feature which binds the two together is their heavy focus on characters and invoking strong emotions through their expressiveness. Visual novels offer the chance for fighting games to e
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fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE Review - Capturing A Moment Of Beauty

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Science Fantasy. Playtime – 6 Hours. Developer – ALICE IN DISSONANCE. Publisher – Phoenixx. VNDB Before The Storm LIGHTKRAVETE marks ALICE IN DISSONANCE’S first new fault title in seven years and this gap has lead to a substantial change in their overall style. Gone are the static character portraits, now each character has their own live 2d style model which moves as they spea
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Episodic Stories – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Tales From A Distant Land   How a visual novel is structured is perhaps one of the most important, but also the least immediately obvious, element for the player. The way in which the pieces of the narrative fit together often determines the kind of story you are going to tell and tools available to impart emotions and ideas. As such the choice to assume a structure based around Episodi
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Enforced Play Order – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Directions From On High   The player is a wild and chaotic beast prone to doing what you least expect and are both the joy and bane of developers. This is especially true for any game which focuses on narrative as its core element since there is no guarantee the player will experience the story in the way the designers intended and even more so if there is any form of freedom offered.
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Digimon Survive Review – Friends of Tooth and Claw

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – SRPG, Adventure, Sci-Fi     Play Time – 23 hours    Developer - HYDE, Inc. and Witchcraft     Steam    VNDB   Of Harmony, Morality And Wrath   As a long standing franchise Digimon is no stranger to having games in all genres imaginable made for it and so the choice of a hybrid visual novel and SRPG should come as no surprise. For Digimon Survive the most important part
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Death End Request 2 Review – Glitching Our Way Into True Fear

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – JRPG, Horror, Mystery     Play Time – 16 hours     Developer – Compile Heart/Idea Factory    Steam     VNDB   Hack The World   There are two ways to make a squeal, either you stick close to what was established in the first game and provide more of the same or you take the basic ideas of that original title and reinvent them in a new form. Death End Request 2 takes the
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Dating Sims – Uncovering The VN Hybrid

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Making Yourself Desirable   Many outside the visual novel space often make the mistake of referring to romance visual novels as Dating Sims and at a glance it is easy to see why given their shared focus on pursuing a chosen heroine or hero. The two types of game have had a long and connected history with Dating Sims utilising visual novel elements to sell their story sections and buildi
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Dark Fantasy – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.     The Dark Night Of The Soul   Dealing with the parts of human nature we would rather not look at can be difficult to fit into many genres due to audience expectations for heroic tales. As such if a story wants to tackle these subjects it needs to build its entire world and tone around them, thus was born the Dark Fantasy. This genre takes its fantastical elements and uses them to c
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