Cafe Crush

Cafe Crush

The protagonist of Cafe Crush, up until the point of the game, had apparently been spending far too much time indoors. It’s a good thing he opted for a bit of a stroll, else he might never have encountered the bevy of beauties working at the Kitty Cafe.

I quite enjoyed this. It’s probably a bit on the short side, but a fair bit of love went into this. The writing isn’t exactly what I might call inspired but then again I don’t believe that there was any such intention. A sense of humour is certainly evident. The mini-games are varied and fun without being fussy, the soundtrack is enjoyable (there’s even some honky-tonk), it’s nicely voice-acted, and I cannot fault the artwork - kawaii desu yo!

Real player with 7.8 hrs in game


Read More: Best Casual Visual Novel Games.


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Café Crush

Developer: Michael Emerson

Publisher: Drunk Bunny Games

Pros:

Straightforward Story (Easy to pick up)

Unique Characters (Enthusiastic waitress, hard to approach boss, ditsy baker)

Cute Character Art

Multiple Endings (1 Special Ending)

Minigames

Neutral:

4:3 Aspect Ratio

Cons:

Straightforward Story (Simple pick a girl and go, nothing too notable)

Real player with 4.2 hrs in game

Cafe Crush on Steam

Playing Pride & Prejudice 1: An Austen Armoire

Playing Pride & Prejudice 1: An Austen Armoire

As the title suggests, it is the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

It is strictly speaking a visual novel. I mean there is no game, it is the text of the full novel transcribed (Only the first 23 chapters, however) with an interactive part where you can dress the characters (Elisabeth, Jane …) With various clothes in a nice visual style and create postcards with quotes from the book.

Essentially, it’s an easy, fun, and enjoyable way to re-read this lovely novel at a pace to suit everyone’s taste and without affecting the reader’s imagination. Good work

Real player with 5.5 hrs in game


Read More: Best Casual Historical Games.


Such a lovely game for Austen fans of all ages! Beautiful character art and a lovely soundtrack. Would love to see more illuminated novels like this!

Real player with 2.1 hrs in game

Playing Pride & Prejudice 1: An Austen Armoire on Steam

Slide Stories: Bonds & Memories

Slide Stories: Bonds & Memories

a really enjoyable slide puzzle game with a nice story to accompany it. i really loved the addition of the secret puzzle. like their other puzzle game, it has a soothing soundtrack with some really charming artwork.

Real player with 9.2 hrs in game


Read More: Best Casual Puzzle Games.


A Fun, Moving Collection

Slide Stories: Bonds & Memories is a collection of eight slider puzzles that tell a story and reflect on memories. There are seven standard puzzles and an eighth bonus puzzle that you can find (which was a pretty cool feature). The puzzles are available in different sizes: 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, and 9x9.

I really enjoy the hand-drawn images and the story they tell. The pictures are animated rather than still. Though I like the idea of animation (and really enjoyed it in the first collection of slide puzzles, Slide Stories: Neko’s Journey) I did find the animation to be a bit too much: it felt like each image was persistently shaking and I often found myself feeling rather nauseated. That was really unfortunate. I would suggest, in this case, to have an option to freeze the animation. Maybe in future collections revert back to the fewer animations from the other collection.

Real player with 8.1 hrs in game

Slide Stories: Bonds & Memories on Steam

Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing

Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing

Got this game with a small rebate (about 4$ US) ,i loved the subject,with everything going on right now,i decide to give it a shot.I find in easy to relate to Stephen(one of the caracter),also the SNES feel is great,music is nice…remind me of sone NES and SNES music,that bring’s a lot of memories.It’s not a dating sim per say,it’s more like a story driven game.

This game definitly deserve more attention.If you love story driven games,this is a nice 4 bucks who make you forget your miserable empty life like mine…The only downside,it’s pretty short(just over 90 minutes) and there’s not much of a replay value

Real player with 2.0 hrs in game

Played this after the first Half Past Fate game and caught me off guard how short it is compared the first one. That aside, this spin-off features the same gorgeous art style, good writing, and down to earth and relatable characters. I recommend it if you’ve finished HPF and want to explore some other aspects of the world and get to know more characters.

Also, we never learned what our resident himbo’s occupation is :( ..

Real player with 1.6 hrs in game

Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing on Steam

The Sound of Fireworks: The Haiku

The Sound of Fireworks: The Haiku

_Hey new journal,

My old journal ran out of pages, so you’re holding the fort now. Let me introduce myself! My name is Amimi Imai, I’m 18, and most of my friends call me “Hanabi”. Why? Well, I’m a big fan of fireworks! My mom loved them, and the way she always talked about them made me want to see them for myself. But you know, life happens, and I haven’t had the chance to see them in person. Well…not yet at least, but we’ll get to that. This year has been a doozy: I had to move to a new city for family reasons, had to leave my friends behind, and we could only communicate through our phones. Major bummer. But I had a new school and new experiences to look forward to! I had big plans to do my best and get into the best university so I could follow my dreams of being a writer. But school can be like life sometimes: hard, cruel, and unwelcoming. I knew if I just put my head down, I would get through it somehow.

But that all changed, when a certain dumb, uncoordinated, but amazing guy found his way to me.

Him and his haikus. You’ll get what I mean.

Well, I gotta run, but I’ll talk to you soon!

Bye-bye!

-Amimi~_

The Sound of Fireworks: The Haiku is the first part of a (hopeful) trilogy following the friendships, hardships, and path of Amimi, an 18 year old student who’s recent move from home has left her succumbed to a new high school and new life without the friends she’s had by her side. But as a few weeks pass by, Amimi gets to know Uta, another student recently transferred living the same issues that Amimi is going through. While the chemistry is, well, off to say the least, a budding friendship is soon to be made, and Amimi’s high school life will change: like the night sky from the bang of a Firework.

Part 1 of The Sound of Fireworks Trilogy, TSOF: The Haiku is a single path/ending visual novel about love, acceptance, and a good ol' awkward budding teenage friendship.

Length: ~40,000 words

The Sound of Fireworks: The Haiku on Steam

9-nine-:Episode 3

9-nine-:Episode 3

The game is much more developed with the plot and the romance is build to parallel episode 1’s version. Though, episode 3 is a mix of a visual and kinetic novel. It’s much more straight forward than the last two games of the 9-nine series. Although I wish I had waited for episode 3 to be on sale, I was disappointed the there was no spring break sale for 2021.

Anyhow, it’s certainly easier to interact with Haruka because you can barely hear anything she says in the last two games. This game is (obviously) much more concentrated on letting her interact with Kakeru and co., so at least even on listening at full volume you can finally her hear more clearly.

Real player with 18.5 hrs in game

9-Nine Episode 3 is the penultimate volume of the series with the establishment of the main villain.

Here we focus on Haruka, an older senpai with split personalities. Her personalities are a side effect of her unique superpower and her insecurities, and while a classic case of self-development, her earnest efforts rings true. Haruka’s drastic change between her two personalites increases her appeal, and along with her unique reactions, makes her an expressive and animated heroine.

The series is noticeably weaker when it’s not emphasizing its comedic bits, romantic heart-to-hearts and action heavy scenes, but in the grand scheme of the story, it’s only going to get better from here.

Real player with 17.0 hrs in game

9-nine-:Episode 3 on Steam

Ballavita

Ballavita

Its nice to see VR films like this on Steam. I would reocmmend showing this to people that are new to VR or prefer casual vr movies with filmed actors. Especially if they appreciate experimental dream-like visuals and elegant dance choreography. Its nice that there is a director’s commentary in the menu, I always wondered how they shoot movies like this.

Real player with 0.8 hrs in game

A very interesting fillm experience with fantastic colors! Thank you for making a German version available. To me hearing it in German with English subtitles made it more authentic.

Real player with 0.6 hrs in game

Ballavita on Steam

Battle Royale: For Your Heart!

Battle Royale: For Your Heart!

Battle Royale: For Your Heart! (BRFYH) is a battle royale themed romance parody game in development. This game is a critique on common visual novel and anime tropes, online gaming communities, and, of course, the ever-growing popularity of battle royale games.

After watching SamuraiStriker, world famous streamer and competitive battle royale player, invite gamers of all skill levels to join him in LegendEx Games' Fighter’s Cup, you decide to enter the tournament to try and win the highly sought after mystery prize.

The only problem? You are a complete noob, mistakenly entered the duos tournament as a solo player, have to scramble to find a partner, and attempt to win the competition!

Select your avatar, player voice, gamertag, and possible duo partner, as you venture into an expansive virtual world alongside a colorful cast of characters.

It is up to you to decide how the game unfolds. Unlock hidden scenes, build a bond with your partner (or enemies!) and try to win the competition!

Features:

  • 6 romance routes with an option to remain solo.

  • Choose your avatar, their voice, and their gamertag.

  • Partial voice acting.

  • Interactive Map and Mini-Map

  • Battle Minigames

  • A story that changes based on your decisions!

Date a diverse cast of characters with interesting backstories and attractive designs.

Player Characters: Choose your player’s appearance, voice, and gamertag. You’re a new player on the battle royale scene and don’t know much about the game or virtual world. Navigate the routes in order to learn about the game mechanics, your partner, and the world around you.

Parker: A possible partner and romance option if you choose to be the female main character. Parker considers himself an inexperienced player despite having played in a few unranked battle royale matches before. Parker is more concerned with creating a fun experience for himself and his partner than winning the tournament.

Female Noob (???): The player is able to name this character. She becomes a romance option if you choose to be the male main character. She is very standoffish and defensive about her play style. The female noob is determined to prove her skills and that she shouldn’t be judged by her basic avatar.

Midnight: For the most part, Midnight takes a relaxed approach to life… though this doesn’t apply to certain things which he feels very strongly about. Sometimes he’ll slip up and remind you that he is indeed not “one of the young ones” but tries to hide this because he doesn’t want people to think that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

TwinTails: TwinTails is a peppy, vibrant girl who lights up the room… until you do something she doesn’t like. Her happy-go-lucky persona drops and is replaced with a scary woman. Still, one can’t help but be enchanted by her…

SamuraiStriker: Striker is a famous streamer. He started as a competitive player in esports but has long since watered down his content for his younger audience. Striker has a dual persona. On stream, he plays the part of a hero, trying to garner more attention and views. Off camera, he’s a little bit different. Which side will he show you?

HollyDay: Holly is a no-nonsense kind of woman. She’s focused on winning the battle royale and won’t let anything stop her. Being hyperfocused on the win leaves others thinking she has a chilly personality, but in reality, Holly is a caring and compassionate person. She just funnels that energy into being the best at what she does: winning battle royale games.


The Team:

LegendEx [Writer, Project Lead]

Yoru Uta[Programmer]

DahliaWilder [Sprite Artist]

Fuyunokawa [background Artist]

Saibreaus [GUI Artist]

Monish Corona [Composer]

Nola Klop, Elsie Lovelock [Female MC VA]

Kieran Flitton, Lane Rush [Male MC VA]

Sarah Ruth [TwinTails VA]

Reed Kriner [Parker VA]

Anairis Q [Female Noob VA]

Tom Schalk [Midnight VA]

John Patneaude [SamuraiStriker VA]

Sheila Morris: [HollyDay VA]

PixelsandPins [Voice Director]

Sabrina Marie @k0torisan [Editor]

Battle Royale: For Your Heart! on Steam

Cinderella Phenomenon: Evermore

Cinderella Phenomenon: Evermore

Just complete fairy-tale ending Chevaliers, best ending got to say loving this game so far give developers my money for this game thank you Dicesukidev

Yes recommend this game.

Cinderella Phenomenon Evermore and first also

Amazing two new Cast.

2 reviews of this game.

Cinderella Phenomenon Evermore Visual novel game.

Absolutely my expectations were very high love this game everything about being totally amazing cast, crew were amazing the soundtrack and graphics are awesome the story behind each character amazing.

Real player with 180.8 hrs in game

Cinderella Phenomenon (the First) was absolutely amazing with its mystery and creativity in things magic, character design and curse-setting. It ended pretty well too - well, most of the endings were satisfactory. So… a sequel? About their “Happily ever After"s? I dont know… I didn’t care much for Evermore’s storylines, honestly really disliked the character design changes (so many god forsaken details, my eyes hurt from not knowing where to rest - and those boy shorts on Rod? How am i expected to date marry(!) a man who still looks like a toddler?) and some of the choices/dialogue didn’t really “speak” to me?

Real player with 24.6 hrs in game

Cinderella Phenomenon: Evermore on Steam

Cookie Store

This game was a lot of fun, the way the characters play off of one another. Only issue I saw was that the character arcs were too short, ending just when things got interesting. I wanted more; lots more.

Real player with 5.7 hrs in game

Cookie Store on Steam