Invisible Apartment 2
As someone who relly liked the first one I also really liked this one. I think more people whould know about these games.
– Real player with 2.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Anime Indie Games.
Invisible Apartment 2 is a step up from its prequel. Fans of Visual Novels will be familiar with the way the game plays; largely static character graphics played over background art, click to go through dialogue, and make some story altering choices here and there.
My main criticism of Invisible Apartment 1 was how transitions were very abrupt and lacked visual cues to show change in time or setting, in addition to very few player choices (most of which had only one correct answer with the rest various flavors of fail state). There was also some graphical laziness in recycling a HUD visual for a scene that had text elements referencing a previous scene.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
Invisible Apartment
EDIT (PLEASE READ): The developer responded to a thread about my complaints: http://steamcommunity.com/app/351790/discussions/0/617329505862063026/
Indeed, this is just a taste of what is to come, a small piece of a larger arc. He had a little mistake of not specifying this, so hopefully he’ll change the store description and maybe fix it up a bit. Click the thread link for a more in-depth explanation from the Developer. Hope you all enjoy this game, but realize there is more to come! This is merely a demo of sorts to keep you interested. I still highly reccomend this title!
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Anime Female Protagonist Games.
I was interested to play this game after noticing the newest game to the series just came out. So i thought before i spend money on it, i’ll play the first game so i know what is going on and with all the positive reviews, i thought this was going to be a good series i could fall inlove with. And it just so happens to be free. But even if its a free game to play, it doesn’t make it a good game. As you can see, this is a visual novel which has choices you can make. But the choices in this game are dead end choices where you must pick the right one to continue onward. That was a huge disappointment to me because i kept picking the ones that got me caught. Linear novels with no tweaks for pick your own path really bother me because i felt duped in a way. And for whatever reason the “quicksave” button would not let me save at my current point. So i had to start from the very beginning which was frustrating till i found out if you go into the menu and hit “Save” it will work. When you make a visual novel, you want the reader to fall inlove with the plot, the characters and to pull them in. But i was somewhat lost by this novel. When you first start, the game puts you right in the middle of something that you won’t understand and does not explain very well later on. And right off the bat you can tell this game felt rushed a bit or was mainly just a project to see if someone could actually make a visual novel. However, even if the art style and charming music were a nice touch which are positive things to note, the scene’s did not flow well at all and made you felt like the developers didn’t care if the dialog flew from one end of the town to a apartment or a rooftop without warning. I just couldn’t understand it. The writing isn’t good either but i kept playing it because i really want in my heart to like this so i can try out the 2nd game. So i pushed on, in hopes it would get better. But after reading more of the story, the main character Bunny started to make me mad. It was hard to tell that she was talking to the AI “Mask” and not at the other character she was interacting with in the physical world. But it wasn’t just that, it was her personality as well. She seemed to act like a child, not a skilled hacker. I just resented the character even further than i did in the beginning. And also what i noticed is how this novel lacks any descriptive details about the places bunny travels too. Shes in a park Well what did the park look like? shes in a hospital Well, can we get some more details please instead of bunny constantly talking? I love visual novels so much when the story comes to life, but i cannot recommend this to any of my friends and advise you to look elsewhere. But hey at least this game was free so no one had to waste anything but their time.
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
Analogue: A Hate Story
As VNs go I feel really conflicted about Analogue. There were a handful of elements I was really impressed by, but ultimately I don’t recommend it. It’s frustration incarnate; more time invested in it brings the opposite of a sense of reward.
Analogue is a VN showcase of interesting ideas that are never seen through to their full potential. The setting is barebones, any mystery of the events on the lost colony ship doesn’t have any real contrast with the experience of the player’s blank slate agent; indeed throughout the game I felt the real mystery was finding out what was normality outside of the ship.
– Real player with 17.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Anime Indie Games.
There’s no doubt that Steam has been flooded, for better or worse, by visual novels as of late.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Indie titles are great, but amidst the endless stream of “waifu”-bait visual novels (VNs) you’ll see here on Steam, I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find many decent stories with an intriguing plot that aren’t about getting in a girl’s pants for an affordable price. That’s par for the course when discussing visual novels, but that’s also why I tend to trust VNs from well-known studios/devs, because at least you know you’ll get plot while playing VNs of acclaim like Clannad, the Grisaia Trilogy, or The Devil on G-String in exchange for their premium price.
– Real player with 12.7 hrs in game
Code.Breaker()
Code.Breaker() is a cyberpunk visual novel about technology, crime, and trying to survive in a world ruled by corporations.
Setting
2083, Free City-State of Seattle. Augmentations are commonplace, most people at least having a brain-computer interface chipped in. Sentient Androids live amongst the population, together with genetically modified humans and cybernetically enhanced people.
The corporations fight with other corporations over their bottom line, both figuratively and literally, making it a hotspot for so-called “Ronin”. These “Ronin” are modern-day mercenaries doing the dirty work for anyone who can pay them, most of the time corporations.
Story
You take the role of a hacker working for Akiyama CyberTech as a “Network Security Expert”. Your job is to keep the Seattle branch office safe from outside intrusion and the network security of the building in shape. It’s a mostly ceremonial position to fulfill legally required human quotas, which you only got through nepotism.
In truth you were born without citizenship in the slums of Redmond and honed your skills in the underground hacking scene.
One day, you get an email from an anonymous sender who knows your secret, threatening the life you’ve built up.
Now it’s up to you to take back control!
Gameplay
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Talk to colleagues and make decisions that matter
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Point and click on background items to get more information about your environment
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Hack into systems by quickly solving puzzles
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Play through a thrilling office story where you defend yourself from the shadows of your past
Invisible Apartment Zero
Like I said on my review of the first chapter, the interface of this VN doesn’t match its atmosphere. It’s too simple, and to be really honest, kinda annoying (the text box is basically transparent, and the letters are plain white. It’s hard to read stuff sometimes)… But anyway, leaving that technical detail aside.
The writing doesn’t make much sense in a few scenes; like on the beginning, with Joel
! being taken away. It felt too rushed, I barely had time to fully understand what was happening. It’s a short VN, and like other people said here, the choices are basically just “right” and “wrong”. The ending was pretty dull too. The art style was ok, BG was good, and BGM was pretty nice. Characters are quite plain tho, I couldn’t feel sympathy for any of them (not even Kacey).
– Real player with 2.5 hrs in game
This is an okay visual novel. The story and artstyle are rather unique, wasn’t too fond of the music though, and nothing about it was really outstanding to me, it also didn’t feel like choices really mattered other than immediately leading to a death end at times, there’s no arcs/butterfly effect, just right or wrong (game over) choice basically. Eventhough this isn’t really a bad visual novel, for the price it’s being sold for, I can’t really recommend it.
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
CyberRebeat -The Fifth Domain of Warfare-
I’m a huge enthusiast for the cyperpunk genre, and a premise this unique at $5 was hard to pass up. I definitely enjoyed my time with CyberRebeat and would recommend it to anyone who find its premise or subject matter interesting, especially if you find it on sale like I did. However, it’s also important to note that, as a VN itself, its production quality is considerably underwhelming (though it thankfully did not deter my enjoyment as much as it may others).
Let’s start with the good though: The story is lengthy and very engaging. I found myself hooked from beginning to end and wanting more after the credits rolled. The characters and their designs are also a plus: I felt the characters were very well-rounded, not pulling too much (or too little) from their personality traits or backstories to leave a lasting impression on the reader. Background art doesn’t wow much but gets the job done and, similarly, the BGM is also enjoyable despite a relatively short track list (an OST release would be a nice bonus).
– Real player with 24.3 hrs in game
Video review (including score):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezTIrfJlKSQ
The rundown:
Pros:
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Good character designs
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Language-switching feature
Cons:
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Barebones settings menu
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Lack of keyboard controls
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Text issues
This visual novel is a rather odd release. On one hand, it is a VN about hackers and the world they live in, a concept rarely touched on in VNs. On the other, it is a freeware title that is still available to download on the developer’s website, although without the English translation. The game may have some good art, but it definitely shows signs of being a freeware title, and not in a good way.
– Real player with 17.1 hrs in game
Quantum Protocol
PROS
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Game is incredibly cheap for the sheer amount of entertainment it offers.
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The gameplay is completely unique and will feel both fresh and familiar if you’ve played YGO or other TCGs.
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Everything from visuals to music to UI hit a very good standard that lets it blend in the background as you play.
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The game still receives frequent update with a developer very receptive to feedback.
CONS
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Learning an entirely new set of skills can feel a little arduous at the start.
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The ‘fail until you succeed’ logic surrounding the game can make things feel a tad hopeless.
– Real player with 76.0 hrs in game
Full Disclosure: I received a copy of the game to playtest during development. You can even fine me in the credits as “SaruRoku”!
Quantum Protocol is first and foremost, a Cardgame, with a story that’s presented in a visual novel style.
The visual novel elements do string along a fun, but mostly lighthearted story, without any of the “choices” that would make a visual novel game, but they do provide levity and a change of pace after most stages, as well as giving you some insight to the various characters who’s decks each follow their own themes.
– Real player with 71.2 hrs in game
Samurai Slaughter House
Samurai Slaughter House is a physics based combat game with a metroidvania-style open world, a full length story, NPC interactions, and lite RPG features.
Use stealth, creativity, or brute force to take down your enemies.
Explore a large open world inspired by anime, manga, and the brutal Sengoku period in history.
Fight humans, demons, and creatures taken from folk-lore in intense open world combat.
Explore towns to interact with NPCs, purchase and sell items, pick up new primary and side quests, rest at an inn to heal or wait for the day to change, and craft items.
Befriend and recruit interesting and powerful allies.
Use a variety of weapons, including swords, pole weapons, throwing weapons, chain weapons, and bows.
Hacker Evolution
Simply surprising, great music… I may not become an hacker but I can play as one without special stuff.
You’re a renowned IT specialist that retired as an ermit on an isolated island following your family’s death. However, you’re asked to investigate on 4 different problems, that seemed tied. What will you discover?
Hacker Evolution is perhaps a writing simulator, as you need to type the command but you need your brains to avoid to be traced and to have a game over. Sometimes, you’ll need to begin a new campaign because you can’t do anything but try a different manner to avoid spending too much money you’ve “stolen” or to add to your trace level. That’s perhaps the most frustrating thing in HE.
– Real player with 70.0 hrs in game
My playtime: 18.6h (based on steam, main story + all extra levels are completed).
Developer Response: ~1 month.
Intro
Hacker Evolution is a hacking simulation game which is played in terminal. You’ll use several commands to do the “hacking” and some of them are real terminal commands.This game might look similar to Uplink in the shell, although the execution is quite different.
Music
There are some soothing musics played in the background. You can also change the music selection by pressing F4.
– Real player with 18.7 hrs in game
Quadrilateral Cowboy
Quadrilateral Cowboy is a story about having those youthful, exciting, and often dangerous experiences with a really tight-knit group of friends as you journey through life together, and then growing old to reflect fondly on those memories.
It is all very beautiful to experience.
Half the game is a story that unfolds, and the other half is puzzle solving. The tale is quite moving, and the puzzles are very reasonably difficult, and quite rewarding. If you know Chung’s work, you know what to expect as far as the ‘experience’ or flavor. Otherwise, here is a test to gauge if you will like this game. If two of the three apply to you, then I highly recommend you buy it:
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
The game has some great ideas and nice attention to detail, but I felt like it never came together.
A lot of mechanics get introduced and then forgotten. New mechanics replace the old ones instead of building on them. There’s hardly any increase in complexity as you go along.
All the levels are simple and focused on 1 to 2 of the avialable mechanics. The rest is either not used at all or simply taken away from the player, sometimes for 1 mission and other times forever.
Because of all this, the game became way too easy later on. Instead of having puzzles to solve, you just go through the motions. Click this, click that, go here, go there. Some timer here and there. No challenge whatsoever. Not to mention you can ‘cheat’ your way though a lot of the levels.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game