Jump to content
  • entries
    71
  • comments
    71
  • views
    8140

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

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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

0
Review

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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
Analysis

School Slice Of Life – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   The Brilliant Days Of Youth?   Of all the genres that dominate the visual novel space there are none which can compete with the behemoth of school slice of life. Beyond the many games utilising it as their core narrative element, many others use it as a secondary pillar to ground their more fantastical or emotional genres and give them an easily recognisable touch point with the player.
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

1
Analysis

Character Customisation – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   What Shall I Be Today   There is a tendency in visual novels to have some degree of self insert aspect in their protagonists due to the prevalence and intensity of first person narratives. Some of them take this to its natural conclusion by giving the player a means of deciding parts of the character they are going to inhabit and these manifest as customisation options. They range from
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

1
Analysis

Yandere Horror VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Obsessive Love   The Yandere is perhaps the most iconic ‘Dere’, not just within visual novels but within the more general anime fandom, with their distinctive mix of love and violence, they have found their way into everything from Comedy to Slice of Life. It is the particular combination of Yandere and Horror that is the focus today and the way this niche aspect of visual novels has ca
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

0
Analysis

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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

0
Analysis

Comedy VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   I Laugh, You Laugh, We All Laugh   Making people laugh is a particular talent and more than any other it is dramatically effected by the medium it is presented through. Stand up comedy and visual novel humour might share a similar desire to entertain but they could not be further apart in terms of how they reach that goal. The unique set of tools available to visual novels has led to a
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

2
Review

Steins Gate 0 Review – In The Shadow Of A Giant

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Sci-fi, Thriller, Action    Play Time – 30 hours    Developer – Mages    VNDB    Steam   A Future That Could Not Be Saved   Struggling long and hard against fate only to find out you are the person who killed the one you love is enough to break a man and break Okabe Rintarou it did. Now he drifts through life in a world he knows is doomed to a hellish end. However, fate
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

1
Review

Amnesia: Memories Review - A Wonderland Of Love And Paranoia

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Otome, Mystery, Drama.   Play Time – 35 hours.   Developer – Otomate and Design Factory.    Steam     VNDB   Reinvigorating The Cliché   Using amnesia as plot device is a common tactic by many creators who want to put the protagonist on the same level as the player, but its use rarely goes beyond being an excuse for exposition. Enter Amnesia: Memories, as you might have been a
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
Analysis

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.
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

2
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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
Review

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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
Analysis

Yuri VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Forbidden Love?   If there is one genre which thrives in the visual novel space it is Yuri. While other mediums and types of games touch on Yuri, there are none that put their entire focus on it in quite the all consuming way present in visual novels. Rather than being a sideshow for another genre to use as romantic fluff, it is front and centre in many of the best and defining titles y
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

0
Analysis

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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

0
Analysis

Thriller – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   The Enemy Within   Sometimes we just need a little danger to add some excitement to our lives, but do not want to actually put ourselves in harms way so we turn to the Thriller. This genre has had a long history of fiction covering everything from spies to crime in order to keep the reader on their toes. In many ways it is similar to another genre visual novels thrive in, Horror, since
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

1
Analysis

April Fools – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   That Time of The Year   Once a year people come together to pull pranks or other humorous activities on each other in an effort to lighten up their lives and visual novels have become a vessel for this practice resulting the birth of a genre. The games which spawn from it are parodies of established titles or series where their essence is exaggerated for comic effect while keeping the q
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

1
Analysis

The Skip Button – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Pressing Fast Forward   A simple feature like a Skip Button might seem too minor to be worth covering in any detail, after all most visual novels have one so they must be a normal part of them, right? It is only when it is taken away that its impact, both on how the player interacts with the game and their perception of it, becomes clear. Presenting the option to skip content is always
Analysis

Achievements – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   The Completionist Drive   It is human nature to want to be rewarded for our accomplishments hence why people are so happy to get a bit of paper at the end of a university course. Games love to tap into this emotional response through Achievements and visual novels are no exception. Achievements are generally used as both a system of rewarding the player and a means of encouraging them t
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

2
Review

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
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
Review

9 -nine- Series Review – Fragmented Artefacts From The Beyond

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Supernatural, Action, Mystery    Play Time – 9 hours per game   Developer – Palette    Steam    VNDB   No Power Without Consequence   Everyone wants superpowers and think themselves far more capable of using them than the fictional heroes from comics or movies, but what they rarely consider is that for every hero there must be a monster and this monster will be destructive to
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
Analysis

Mystery VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Through The Lies And Deception   Of all the genres Mystery is perhaps the one visual novels have the most tools of engage with. The levels of subtly and the precise execution needed to ensure a balance between the known and unknown so that the player is never lost is no easy task and demands a degree of control many games lack. At the same time they have to be able to spin other delica
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

1
Analysis

An Anatomy Of Visual Novels – Unlockable Extra Content

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Shiny New Things   Everyone likes to be rewarded for their effort and video games are happy to oblige with a variety of Extra Unlockable Content. These bonuses are often treated as a side show disconnected from the important main sections of the game and relegated to a sub menu where it has little impact on the greater structure. For visual novels this unlockable content has a much more
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Analysis

1
Review

AI: The Somnium Files Review – The Mysteries Of The Mind

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Mystery, Detective, Sci-fi    Play Time – 30 hours    Developer – Spike Chunsoft     Steam    One Eye Lost And Another Gained   Found wandering in the street with a missing eye and no memories, Date is taken in by a woman calling herself Boss, given a new eye/partner Aibo and takes up the role of detective. Now years later he finds himself investigating the murder of a
Pallas_Raven

Pallas_Raven in Review

0
×
×
  • Create New...