Kaori After Story
It has been eluded to in other reviews, but let me preface my review by saying that it’s almost impossible for you to get the whole effect of this VN if you don’t read Ace Academy first. There’s a lot of references that you can’t just get from context clues or brief discussions. In fact, since I completed Kaori’s route months ago, even I had to really think back to all that happened in that arc to make sure I understood everything the MC was talking about.
I must admit, when I played Ace Academy, I felt rather unsatisfied by how it ends, at least as it relates to the main plot of the story. I’m not sure if PixelFade is planning on making an AA2, but it was left sort of open-ended, and I’m not the biggest fan of those kinds endings. With that said…Kaori After Story was AWESOME! It bookends the Kaori route amazingly, and it really helps sell the permanency of their relationship. The dialogue and the conversation trees are vastly improved from AA, and feel much more natural. Hell, I’m secure enough in my masculinity to admit that towards the end, I had some serious feels. The artwork here has also improved drastically. I must be part psychic, because I had pictured what an Ace character would look in the engine PixelFade used for Crystaline. Not only did the devs actually give me such a scenario in real life, but it looks almost exactly how I pictured it in my head, and it looks great. Kaori’s redesign for the new game engine is adorable, mainly because they’ve made her features much softer in this iteration. Given that she’s a Tsundere, having softer features makes it easier to believe that she has the capacity to be gentle and kind. Although there were some custom screenshots in AA that showed her appearing tender/lighthearted, and they looked fine, but not as good as she looks here overall.
– Real player with 24.3 hrs in game
PixelFade did it again. I absolutely loved Ace Academy it is one of my top visual novels. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they made an after story for the ace academy story and super excited when I saw that it was of my favourite route as well. Instantly bought the game (had to replay ace but didn’t mind that) and I am so pleased with it
The story is sweet and romantic. The characters are likeable and fun, And Ofcourse Kaori is the same firey red head she always is, I am very glad to see that PixelFade is still working on ace stories. This visual novel was very well written and of course the character is awesome I mean who doesn’t love a tsundere?
– Real player with 13.1 hrs in game
Loren The Amazon Princess
This game quickly became one of my Top 5 Favorite Games on Steam. It’s a JRPG-style game from an non-Japanese indie game company named Winter Wolves. This company is mostly known for dating sims and visual novels, but honestly, I think this game is their best yet. (Although, to be fair, I haven’t played all their games yet.)
Important note: The DLC is a MUST HAVE. Honestly, the story would seem very incomplete without it, so if you get this game, get the DLC. This review is also based on having it.
– Real player with 111.5 hrs in game
Ok, so the game is not a total fail. It does several things well, but the negative review is due to several factors that I cannot overlook, which I will explain here.
It starts off promising, with customization of stats, distinct NPCs and a nicely stylized art. The story starts off a bit cheesy and cliche, but it does several things well - you are not the main hero but their sidekick, which is immediately nicely refreshing; it boldly tackles the topics of misandry and racism; choices alter the story you experience. Soon after, however these lose their novelty and you begin to realize that while you are the sidekick you still play like the hero - you are their equal in strength and you can easily make everyone like you; the topics I mention could be explored more in-depth but instead the game does not go beyond “everyone is prejudiced, for no good reason, except you, so tell them how wrong they are, without a particularly good reason; and the different paths are for the most part inconsequential.
– Real player with 66.3 hrs in game
Planet Stronghold 2
Yall just had to make this game huh. Well i am happy you did but mad because now i have to choose. I hate Choosing there is so many Romance Options i want to do and i dont exactly feel like playing through the entire game. 12 times or more… Not including playing through the first one…. I will probably do these things i am just saying that it makes me upset…. I am Indecisive as all heck how dare you give me choices…
All in all the game is awesome the only complain i have is well how the MC personality is… It is honestly just two ways and that is kinda well boring. THough with all the choices you get the make it makes this less of a big deal by quite a bit. The only other complaint i have is well why cant i be with Cliff as a female. All in all this is such a great game the story and everything is awesome. So yea i recommend this game.
– Real player with 126.8 hrs in game
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Ratings : 9/10
Planet Stronghold 2 is another excellent game that I enjoyed tremendously. Although it is a bit expensive, I felt that it is worth it, because it give me 100+ hours of fun and enjoyment. This game also have great replayability as I played it more than 10 times to get the 75 achievements.
This game is a wonderful blend of both RPG and VN; both genre that I loved very much. As for RPG, you have the option of choosing 4 different starting classes (soldier, guardian, scout, psionics), and 2 different factions (empire, rebels). You can also choose either male or fema You even have the option to toggle nudity and erotic text too, without the need to download any special patches, as in most other games.
– Real player with 101.2 hrs in game
ACE Academy
Wow. So, this one came in as a complete surprise. I didnt expect much when i bought it, but boy was I wrong.
TL;DR:
Pros:
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Intriguing Story
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Good, genuinly funny writing
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Tons of choices, that also have an impact
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Unique and likeable characters
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Fully voice-acted
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Decent length
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Nice Artstyle & Soundtrack
Cons:
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Abrupt, unsatisfying ending
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Minor: Artwork occasionally gets re-used
In Detail:
Pixelfade. Never heard of that Developer before, nor about the game itself. So I expected a pretty run-of-the-mill Visual Novel…This was not what I got.
– Real player with 61.1 hrs in game
Do I recommend it, even though this is only the first episode? Yes I do.
The scores below are from 1 to 10, 1 being terrible, 5 being average and 10 being excellent. I am confident in this Visual Novel and I think it can be one of the best Western Visual Novels. Keep in mind that the scale I am using is the same that I use to evaluate japanese visual novels (like Grisaia no Kajitsu):
Story: Not rated at the moment (episode 1)
Since this is only the first episode and was pretty much about introductions (and there’s still another girl to be introduced in the next episode), I can’t rate the story. My personal thoughts are that this is going to be a straightforward comedy slice of life romantic visual novel, so I don’t expect any serious developments or mind blows.
– Real player with 28.4 hrs in game
Crystalline
Most of you reading this have probably never heard of PixelFade. They’re a small company, who have only produced two visual novels so far. ACE Academy, and now Crystalline. I have read through many VN’s from many developers, yet PixelFade has shown themselves to be the best. Both games are extraordinary, but Crystalline in particular is an experience. It’s currently taken the position of my favourite Visual Novel ever, and I seriously doubt it will be topped (until hopefully, PixelFade’s next game).
– Real player with 45.0 hrs in game
Well, I’m glad I took the time to read this after I finished Kaori’s After Story. This visual novel has been quite a journey… Quite literally, I suppose.
MC finds himself nodding off in the middle of studying. When he wakes up, he finds himself on a grassfield of an entirely different world called Terra. There he comes across Leanna, a Mage-Knight investigating a strange energy activity that’s happened recently, which she then links to the MC. Leanna offers to help the MC to fit in Terra and also takes him to the Mage Academy to check in on this energy phenomenon. Eventually it becomes a story to try and get our beloved MC back home. Along the way, the rather mysterious mercenary Zack, the studious Mage-Caster Amelia, and the charming treasure hunter Kara all join the party to help out in this process.
– Real player with 38.8 hrs in game
Shivering Hearts
🎤Introduction
Shivering Hearts is a story-based role-playing game that’s based around the choices you make and what you say to people. The story is short and sweet, with humorous dialogue, a simple story concept to keep you hooked till the end along with some interesting characters all with their own situations and backstories. The problems occur when you try to get the different endings, despite some dialogue being different when you say something different, it almost always felt like I’d get the same ending.
– Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
The Green Green Grass of Home.
Too Long; Didn’t Read: Shivering Hearts has created a visually beautiful world, with charming characters who’s designs help make them distinct and distinguishable. Its humour is well written, if a little too intrusive sometimes, and the stories, history that make up the town are fun to discover and learn.
But the game’s stiff art style, combined with the rather robotic movements and animations of the townsfolk, make the town feel quite empty and lifeless despite the creators' best efforts.
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
An Adventurer’s Tale
I tend to like games where there is no clear direction what to do or how to succeed. Not sure if this was intentional or not by the dev(s) but that is how it be. So I tinkered for about 25 hours going through it twice until I figured most things out. Some bugs are present as well as mysteries if the game is 100 percent achievable. The main thing to succeed is recruit two party members ASAP from the Tavern menu, then do all quests that are not minor from the quest board and from the ladies you court. Shoot for the good ending, get strong enough to defeat the final boss at the end of 30 days, and then go for all the extras in Free mode without the time limit. In terms of lewd, there is not much content but I was playing for the game anyways, the mechanics feel like a true successor to old school games which I liked. The character models were nicely drawn though. In terms of value, around a dollar would be good value since the game is not polished enough, two dollars is fair value.
– Real player with 26.7 hrs in game
Adventurer’s Tale is a mix between Visual Novel and RPG, unlike RPG Maker Games or similar, you decide on where to go by pressing Buttons and the World Map. I like the Fighting and there is quite a big Variety of Skills and Party Members. There is also a decent Amount of Quests and Things to discover. The Art is also really good and the Translation is nearly flawless. If you are interested in this Game just for its 18+ Content then I feel like you should probably get a different Game since the few Scenes that it has are good, but not enough, for it to make sense to buy it just for those. I just finished the normal StoryMode in around 6 hours and had Fun with it and just started the Grisette Mode, where you join her Army. That should be a big enough difference to the Main Story that it will be fun for another 6 Hours for sure. Edit: the Grisette Mode is around 2 hours long
– Real player with 10.2 hrs in game
Way of the Samurai 4
Mmmm… good
– Real player with 164.3 hrs in game
Makes prison seem enticing
– Real player with 95.5 hrs in game
Ethereal Enigma
PixelFade’s VNs for a while now achieve absolute hights when it goes to production quality while struggling a bit when it goes to writing. Ethereal Enigma is basically a culmination of that trend, which means you’ll likely either love it or hate it, depending on how much substance you want from your story and how much whimsical slice-of-life content can you stomach.
For me, EE was ultimately more enjoyable than this studio’s previous game, Crystalline, as it didn’t try to be anything more than a straightforward waifu game, but it also has its share of issues. Erilynn, the princess from another world, is not a bad character, but her route is very hit-and-miss and lacks a strong theme. The whole story is theoretically about her being stranded in our world and trying to find her way back, but it’s a really thin layer on top of fully-generic slice-of-life fluff – and some scenes with her are just awkward and fail to properly build up the romantic tension. The protagonist is the blankest of blank slates, which theoretically gives the player a lot of space to self-insert, but I wished he had something that made him stand out – Ace Academy, studio’s debut title, reached a really good balance in this regard, as the lead there had a tragic backstory and a few quirks that defined him to a decent degree, while also leaving a lot of space for player agency. Here, there’s simply nothing that makes the protagonist feel like an actual person. Also, there’s barely any justification for the story being set in a Japanese high-school – it feels like if the developers were actively trying to make their game look generic and uninspired. And, as the last complaint, the sexual humour in this game is nearly universally awful and I died inside a little during each of the few scenes completely based around crude innuendos.
– Real player with 49.8 hrs in game
So I’ve completed all of PixelFade’s games so far. And as always, I wanted to share my thoughts on the game I’ve just finished.
Pros:
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Great visuals, both BGs and CGs are meticulously designed, polished and beautiful. Live2D technology makes the game more vivid.
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The characters are elaborately built, from appearance to personality. Each one of the characters is unique and interesting. This proves that the important thing is not how many characters you throw into your game, but that each character has to be well designed. Quality over quantity.
– Real player with 35.5 hrs in game
Quiver Dick’s Terrible Tale For Terrible Parents To Read To Their Equally Terrible Children
When I first saw the preview for Quiver Dick’s (hehehehh well played steam…) Terrible Tale For Terrible Parents to Read To Their Equally Terrible Children, I knew I needed to play it. This game has dark humour, hilarity, a thirsty fairy, awesome music and is dripping in both in-your-face smut and innuendos.
This game is so well put together with incredible art throughout and has the capability of three different possible endings. There are easter eggs as well as nods to music, film and video games throughout with the game clearly being self aware.
– Real player with 2.7 hrs in game
First off, if you read the title you already know what kind of game this going to be, and if you already know what kind of game this is going to be your expectations will be high…this game does not disappoint. Off the rip in the opening credits I was enjoying a Monty Python feel (which for me is always a belly laugh kinda experience). The names in the game, the dialogue, the situations encountered..everything about this game felt like it was directly tailored to my idea of humor. The game in and of itself is well made, crisp, and nostalgic in its craft. The laughs will come a plenty and it actually has replay value (which for me as a completionist is awesome). Highly recommend this game for streamers who want to have a good time with their chat and go on a comedy filled journey that will have a lot of “lol’s” “wtf’s” and “LMFAO’S”. Well done Crankagegames…well done.
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game