Purrfect Apawcalypse: Love at Furst Bite
Purrfect Apawcalypse Love at Furst Bite (palfb) is a short visual novel which focuses mostly on the interactions between the characters.
The game isn’t very long but worth the five bucks or the equivalent amount of other currency.
While the writing isn’t the strongest its fairly decent and kept me entertained during my playthrough.
The interactions between the characters are both cute and sometimes horrifying and at times made me cringe because of what was happening on the screen.
The cute artstyle is one of the games strongest points and while it may not be to everyones tastes it fits the game well, making the games deathscenes (and there’s a lot of them) more shocking.
– Real player with 1361.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choose Your Own Adventure Cats Games.
Going to go right out of the gate and say that this is definitely not your standard kind of game, and if you can’t handle gore - even if it’s cartoonish - then you shouldn’t play the game out of respect for your eyes. However, if you can handle that…
Welcome to Purrfect Apawcalypse! We have:
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clifford the nonbinary dog
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suicidal maniac who’s also funny as shit
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TAKE OFF THE SHIRT
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bitch who died on a fucking toilet seat (very important, not ironic)
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witch who will probably step on you (and not apologize (trust me it’s cool ok))
– Real player with 19.7 hrs in game
one night, hot springs
Mostly spoiler-free summary: one night, hot springs is a short and cute visual novel about a girl named Haru, her friend Manami, and Manami’s friend Erika. Manami invites the girls to the hot springs for her birthday, but Haru is worried that she might make others uncomfortable since she’s transgender.
Characters
Haru is a kind girl who doesn’t want to trouble anyone. Because of this, she tends to keep her emotions to herself and avoid potentially meeting strangers. The game offers various choices and has a hidden “energy” meter (referred to as “hint hearts” in the options, and can be made visible), which will decide what Haru does in difficult decisions.
– Real player with 64.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choose Your Own Adventure 2D Games.
This is the most heartwarming game I’ve played to this date. The story is about a trans girl who is invited by her best friend to a hot spring. This visual novel tells about the topic of identity, and who you truly believe you are inside. Haruto is legally a male (Haru being her nickname from childhood), but never felt as if she was one. She was forced by her elementary and junior high schools to identify and dress as a male. Going to the hot springs is completely different than her previous experiences with going out. The staff are very nice and understand her situation, and her best friend along with another friend are supportive of her. The game in total only has 7 endings; one being bad. For a free game, it offers a lot. The story is relatable to many people, and the endings are one-to-one with how many people react to similar situations. Not only that, the drawing style and colors are a really nice aesthetic. If I could showcase this as my favorite game on my steam profile, I would. I highly suggest giving this game a shot.
– Real player with 16.0 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
A Sky Full of Stars 仰望夜空的星辰
Good visual novel.
If you interested in astronomy you should try this one.
Heroines list:
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Korona: Sister-like heroine.
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Orihime: Rich innocent senior.
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Hikari: Tomboyish childhood friend, has same vibe as Ageha (IMHHW)
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Saya: Cute, innocent but also stubborn childhood friend
My fav girl is Orimihe, but my fav route goes to Hikari’s route.
Short review:
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Long VN, around 50h~ (im slow reader).
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Has 4 routes, after first choice the common route divided into two.
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Less words censorship rather than previous coming of age title.
– Real player with 738.1 hrs in game
Overall I quite liked it. You can tell at least some of the same writers of If My Heart Had Wings were on here. Had lots of feel good slice of life romance but the main 2 childhood friend routes had some love triangle melodrama.
Honestly I think the common route was one of my favorite parts.
The childhood flashbacks were some of my favorites in VNs because of how fleshed out they were and had really good buildup and feel good friendship scenes. Akito having more character than Aoi due to common route beginning alone (though he kinda become generic after the second common route starts). And everyone got to shine in some regard. And the first common route was really nice and a good way to show how the 4 routes would ultimately end.
– Real player with 72.1 hrs in game
10mg: Locked In
So it doesn’t have a pause menu. So the only way to exit the game is to complete it or force close it. Which is weird. I enjoy the 2 player nature of it. However it is only a 20 minute game. I noticed a couple spelling mistakes in the text. Nothing that makes it unreadable but the occasional missing “the”
The plot I won’t spoil but I find it kinda meh. One of the characters solutions is wildly irresponsible finance wise and money is a plot point though. There are better visual novels out there. Overall I can’t recommend this game. It is part of a 10mg bundle so don’t let it dissuade you.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Played with my wife and we both don’t like Jerome, but we both did have fun.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
A YEAR OF SPRINGS
there was a part on how manami was saying how girls shouldn’t get horny or talk about sex because it’s unfeminine like erika said…
as a pre-everything (even clothes) trans girl with a pretty above-average sex drive, sometimes i wonder if i’m supposed to…feel like that all the time v.v
maybe it’s just the…male hormone in me? my instinct as a biological man?
would i be like this if i were a cis girl? would i be happier if i could just accept my agab?
cause for all intent and purpose i’m really just a guy who told themselves they were a girl one day…
– Real player with 4.2 hrs in game
I kinda walked into A Year of Springs expecting just a good nice time involving some much desired representation.
What I actually got was a beautifully subtle story that delves into trans issues few other games do, while sparing some time to
! give some wonderful representation to the ace/aro community as a character realises they are ace/aro. I cried a good few times, seeing Haru’s situations, her reactions and general personality in myself as someone who identifies as a trans woman. There were so many heart-breaking moments for me that I don’t want to spoil, yet it was warming to see a game address issues that either I currently go through or see myself experiencing in the years to come.
– Real player with 3.5 hrs in game
After School Murder Club!!
it may look a bit different but let me tell you: this was the most exciting and fun visual novel game I’ve played in a while and it’s 100% worth trying!
and yes, with 9 hours I’ve only got one ending so far (still gotta get the other one’s!) so.. if you take your time with reading the dialogues, you get a lot for a free (!!) game.
ps. Pain(t)-kun still haunts me in my dreams (and I ain’t complaining)
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
I wasn’t sure about this title at first, but I ended up enjoying it in the end.
Apparently this started out as a practice/joke visual novel, and it definitely shows, but it knows what it is: a satirical jab at anime tropes with an overall silly plotline. There are references to popculture and memes throughout. Heck, one of the first things the main character says is “Gotta go fast!”
The artstyle isn’t really anything to write home about. The characters seem to have been made with some kind of anime dress up doll programs, which causes a bit of whiplash when the actually drawn scenes show up thanks to how different they look.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Bard Harder!
We played this through on stream and had an excellent time - the first achievement was a struggle for us though since we won first time! :P
This game is absolutely wonderfully made and definitely deserves to cost more than it does. The art is beautiful, the music funky and the writing is great. Absolutely recommend for a couple of hours of fun!
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
pros:
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funny
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unexpected choices and lines sometimes
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cool characters (especially the villain which has a great background)
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easy to understand (I’m french and got everything)
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not expensive
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Queer vibes (ace, trans and bisexual representation, and for once people getting that ace =/= aro, that’s nice)
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Plain flirt, so it’s not oversexualizing, it’s more romantic than sexual really
cns:
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really short game
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not a lot of choices, like you really can’t do much
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if you wanna win, you basically just have to read all the villain’s story and have a good memory
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
Choice of Life: Middle Ages 2
How to rule wisely and prevent rebellion?
Where to find faithful companions?
How to survive in a fabulous kingdom full of dangers? In the card game Choice of Life: Middle Ages 2, you have to weigh every decision not to die ahead of time! Explore the kingdom from the snowy forests of the north to the endless fields of the south and meet its inhabitants. Rule graciously but firmly, deal with traitors, and do not confuse friends with enemies. Become a great ruler or perish in the annals of history!
Key features:
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Colorful 2D graphics, hundreds of different cards
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Non-linear storyline where each choice has unique consequences
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Over a thousand events and 99 ways to die
Choice of Life: New Centurion
Choice of life: New Centurion is a neo-noir detective card game.
The city is bogged down in the dope of azure. The authorities and the defenders of order cannot cope with the flow of a new psychotropic substance pouring into the streets of St. Petersburg.
Who will you become in this troubled time? A champion of the law, restoring justice, or a ruthless avenger who stained his hands with blood?
Decide the fate of the characters on the streets of St. Petersburg. Take a walk along the world-famous avenues, plunge into the luxury of the imperial capital, or descend into the gray outskirts, communal apartments, and gateways.
Investigate, take revenge on your enemies, carry out special operations, weave intrigues, fall in love, have fun … and stop Azure!
Features:
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Stylish graphics, a huge set of cards
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Mysterious atmosphere of St. Petersburg of the future
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Various gameplay mechanics: from detective investigation to action
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Non-linear storyline and multiple endings
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Unique characters with their gameplay
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The story is based on the graphic novel New Centurion: Azure