Narcosis

Saya no Uta differs in a way, reader is clearly given an explanation, why Fuminori sees the world like that. In denpa-type stories, that does not happen and when it does, it doesn't until the story develops or even ends. Nothing is ever explained in a concise manner and you're only given vague hints, which are often misleading and tend to carry readers astray. Points of view shift, world becomes distorted - you never know exactly when and how. It is up to you to piece everything together and find a solid ground to thread upon... that is, if you can; the very best works in that genre won't allow you that, forever toying with your perception.

It belongs to the genre, although isn't directly a denpa game. Saya no Uta is a lovecraftian thriller/horror.

NSFW Yep, it's a thing. Actually, the latest update brought quite a widespread attention within the japanese community. I'm glad this translation has resurfaced, since the game really deserves it. And how! It's actually something, that could be best described along the lines of "seemingly normal characters getting wrapped up in completely unusual occurences". Denpa is where the line between what's real and what's not draws thin and crossing it often means no point of return. Shizuku started it all and along with Sayonara o Oshiete, Kizuato is another vn worth mentioning.

Hm, interesting picks for the first group. I only wonder whether Chusingura really fits with the rest, somewhat

No offense, but calling this a spiritual successor to KS would be an insult. I also find it weak people can't come up with their own stuff and instead copy from others. This isn't even "borrowing" or "being inspired by a particular work"; it's blatant copypasting.

The sole point of someone becoming offended over a word is wrong enough to start with. Blessed are those, who don't give a damn.

It's worthy to note, at that point it makes it obvious what points Natsu no Kusari makes; that we're all slaves. There is no escape - we can't live outside society and Shinichi is completely aware of that. In fact - he's aware of that to such an extent, it literally hurts his very own existence.

I'd say it's a sort of catharsis on an entirely different level. It makes you aware of certain things. It also reminds you that kidnapping and rape are - indeed, obviously - horrible and not really a subject matter for silly joking (sorry, AliceSoft). I guess it's the reason why majority of people I knew actually dropped it - they couldn't get past the point, where it becomes apparent the "rape" part is not a joke. It reminds you, it is not something you should be enjoying, as opposed to majority of darker/edgier eroge. That aside, even on a sliding sociopathic scale, Shinichi (Shinji?) makes for an incredibly interesting character, you're actually - somehow - able to relate with, if the topics mentioned within the story aren't completely oblivious to you. Feeling of social isolation, sense of loss, lack of drive towards your very own life and future, complete rejection that leads to non-existence... yet, those things are something we're not able - as human beings - to fight against. We want to love and be loved by others. It's what makes our lives fulfilling and worth living for. Everyday, we strive to build our perfect utopias, mostly unaware of the fact our freedom ends where it starts for someone else and only end up hurting them in the process. Even though, it is something we cannot influence; it's an integral part of us being a part of this society, whether we like it or not. Doesn't make a difference Mitsuki isn't any less interesting, nor important; albeit her role is designated more to one, who makes the protagonist "whole". It's an apparent theme throughout the whole game, whilst the different endings cope with different outcomes of our couple (no pun intended) coming to terms with their own existence and place in this peculiar relationship. I daresay, this is actually their best game so far, mostly because of the themes they chose; it's propably even better than Maggot Baits and Euphoria, considering how disconnected they feel in regards to our world and reality. This is, mostly because of it's presentation - which not only plays a tremendous role, but remains perfectly executed. I have yet to see a visual novel, that is *so close* to being the defining factor of it's own genre and remaining - even despite it's gritty, twisted premise - so artistically pleasant.

SOMA Subnautica I missed the Nitroplus Blasterz deal. So much for punching Sonico. Woe me.

Weakling It's kind of amusing, since we're so used to rape no one gives a damn when it's used as a lousy plot device; everyone just rolls their eyes, when it happens. But give them a well thought-out vn, which actually portrays rape as-it-is and people suddenly get offended. Actually, maybe for the better. After all, if you got offended, it must had mean the story left you with a desirable impact, regardless whether you liked it, or not. I don't think I actually read that many vn's this past year, to actually have any sort of solid candidates. I'd say VA-11 HALL-A might prolly be the best game I had the chance to interact with (even though it's not a 100% vn, YMMV); the biggest (positive) surprise goes exactly to Natsu no Kusari, while the weakest link would be Inochi no Spare; I had a better initial view of that visual novel in the beginning, but once I got into it, I couldn't believe how absurd it actually is; we're literally talking about legally consented medical homicide; what sane parents would actually do that to any of their children? Sacrifice one, so another may live? Or better, perhaps - give birth to one to save another? It not only doesn't make sense; there's literally no actual ground for the events portrayed in the story to be based upon. That said, art was gorgeous, but that alone can't save the writing. I have a feeling AkabeiSoft3 is starting to get overboard with their latest projects; I still have Gusha no Kyouben to read, but regardless of it - almost all of their games have been more or less a huge disappointment to me. I actually feel offended, because there's no way any self-respecting writer would drop down that kind of shit and expect to be treated seriously by their readers. I - for one - couldn't. The more astonishing it was considered one of the very best japanese releases of 2016. It seems like there's really not much to chose from nowadays - you either get all the garbage tier charage/moege with no actual plot, or pseudo-intellectual stories that try to sound better than they really are, with end results being no less than insulting to any person with a slightest bit of intelligence.

2017 can't get any worse

I still love you kinda

You're better off with actual fiction. You can start with "Instrumentality of Mankind" series by Cordwainer smith. The particular story I have in mind is called "Norstrilia". Japanese didn't invent cat girls; they (and more or less, any animal-people) are a theme as old as the world itself. I can't expect fetish-pandering moefests that are vn's to likely introduce cat girls, to actually take them more seriously. Or at least - as they say - make their writers do their homework, instead relying on extensive ammounts of applied phlebotinum. That aside, nice shitpost @Nosebleed

It definitely is. Also Sekai Project's fault work. For once, they understand really well how to KS this kind of stuff.

They don't want to risk. Also, the possibility to fund a full fledged anime solely through KS funding is a bit of a stretch. OVA seems more reasonable. If it DOES get popular, we might see a full anime series in the near future. That said, everything here rests on the premise of "cute cat girls doing cute things" and cute, somewhat memorable character designs. Pure moe fuel, I've yet to bring myself to truly like it. It's that kind of thing I'm often very conflicted about, because it could be so much more, if they'd only want it to be... but they don't. No matter how cute it is, I'm kind of tired seeing the exact same thing over and over again; even cat girls won't help. Gist of the story.

I am a nice and lovable guy, just not to you

I thought about this many times - removal of actual leveling and level-based progress ingame. The negative factors associated with leveled progress are especially prevalent in mmorpg's since the dawn of era and it didn't really change. Even Witcher 3 has it and it kind of takes away from the experience, to be honest; quite a lot, I'd say. Imagine a game, where more difficult opponents pose a much greater threat and take more time to bring down, but give away better rewards when defeated. A purely skill-based game. Both TERA and BDO were somewhat close to the concept, but didn't really manage to grasp that, as both of them ultimately fell into the pitfalls of level-based character progression. To sum it up - my thoughts on that are simple; level-based character and game progression is bad and stiffling, but it's the only thing we have for now and the only one that actually somewhat works. I have yet to see a game with a different approach, that actually manages to pull it off well enough and work at the same time.

Not wanting to burst your bubble, but don't you have the feeling people are... how to put it - slightly bored with the common high school setting? You said you're afraid things are going to be stolen from your team, but the sort of premise you gave is literally what makes 90% of japanese vn's, so where's the "originality" you're afraid of being taken from you so much? @Darklord Rooke posted a really good excerpt from Holly Lisle's tutorial section on writing. I'd highly recommend reading it to get more insight into your work. It will help you start. That aside, I have no idea what were you all doing up to this time, but lack of any sort of even a conspect, not to mention a draft of the manuscript so far is slightly worrying, if there's really none (otherwise, you wouldn't propably ask for help here). This is not how you create a vn, unless you're still far from the pre-dev, focused on brainstorming ideas. That said, without any sort of leading traces to stick with, which are usually provided in a story outline, there's no real posibillity to move anything forward. Personally, I'd advise to either rework your idea into something else, or at least introduce some major plot-changing devices, which will make the mundane in the story (the high school setting) only a short starting point, not the entirety of a vn. Don't fall into the same pitfall many aspiring vn creators go into. You can do better than the japanese devs, trust me.

We should increase funding for genetic engineering.

Once again, you couldn't be any more wrong. That aside - they're in space, on a corporation's private station. Earth's laws don't apply there. There's no stockholm syndrome, either. Do you even know what a stockholm syndrome is? Aqua could have shot him. She actually almost did it once. Their relationship grows on their mutual dependence. You see, Aqua needs him and Daigo wouldn't simply get through it, if not for her. There's a lot more to it than just a young girl falling head over heels for a much older, rowdy guy. You won't understand it, till majority of the game, though. Aqua's route will reveal most of it. Personally, I found their relationship entertaining and kind of fulfilling, while the ending was heartwrenching. Not because I was expecting Aqua to get down and dirty with Daigo, sharing their last moments while running out of air on a Moon, but because it was genuine and I was actually able to relate with Aqua, because I already knew, what's cooking. 2048 gives you enough hints to somewhat grasp that bigger picture in front of you, even if certain things won't become clear until the end. If you were unable to sense it, I am truly sorry you couldn't enjoy it the way I did, because Himawari's foreshadowing is mostly impressive - the way all the events finally meld in the end is something worth waiting for. That said, Himawari is more about the road and struggles of it's characters, rather than the ending , which is open up to personal interpretations. If you jumped into it without any sort of expectations, or actually didn't really knew what you're getting into, it's obvious you'll be disappointed.

It's not exactly the way you might think. My, my... You're quite shrewd on getting a lot of things right on the spot (but not all, and clearly not the most important stuff but it's a given, considering the way scenario works). A lot of things aren't actually explained until later on and you're left with only vague hints, but that's exactly where Himawari shines - it slowly builds tension over the course of episodes, while the story finally starts coming together to form a coherent plot. A lot of people are used to being handed things on a plate and that makes it a lot harder for them to enjoy Himawari, as it never explains everything to the end, nor in one go; the revelant information is often handed to readers partially over the course of the whole story; it's like digging on the field to find a piece of treasure, only to discover there's actually more of it still hidden in the ground below you. Hope you'll continue to enjoy the ride and I'm looking forward to your review, possibly. The story in Himawari is actually very complex, with many different characters' lives and events, both from past and present intertwined over the course of plot. It takes more than just a single read and few wild guesses to get things right on your first playthrough and even then, it'll be mostly up to your own interpretation.

The pacing isn't off. I have a feeling you're simply not enjoying the story due to too much nitpicking on minor things and it constantly detracts from your own enjoyment and understanding. Tl&dr stop occupying yourself with meaningless things. As for Aries, Aqua and Daigo... you still know nothing, lol. If you think you already found conclusions to everything, you're for a major surprise, that's all I can say. Keep on reading. I, for one have never felt the story dragged or was inconsistent, that's how engrossed with it I was. It's such an interesting read, honestly. Himawari leaves no lose ends. By the end, everything will beautifully come together to form meaningful answers to most of the questions.

You people and your silly problems

You're quite the impatient one, aren't you? I'll try to clear some of your doubts. There be slight spoilers, of course: It's up to you, whether to dislike Daigo, or not. I found him at least commendable, especially in the english version; doesn't matter he played an idiot from time to time - all people with a similiar spirit are more or less the same.

Lunar Virus literally overwrites the host's memory, imprinting the collective consciousness stored within itself. Even though it is spread by females through their female children, both men and women are affected by it's influence.