Big Dipper
Big Dipper is a short, romantic kinetic visual novel full of fairy-tale ambiance. It’s a sweet story about two people drawn together by fate, by quite magical circumstances. I must admit sometimes, especially at first, I thought that the plot was a tad unrealistic and unbelievable, but you know what, you should just let yourself relax and dive into that fantastic atmosphere. I even recollected those childish years when dad used to read me fairy-tales before I fell asleep. And sometimes I wondered how those things could even happen and the answer was always–‘It’s a fairy-tale. Everything is possible there’. Thank you so much for making me remember that wonderful feeling!
– Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fantasy Visual Novel Games.
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Big Dipper is a short romantic visual novel, the artwork is pretty and the characters look nice. It has a little bit of mystery and it’s a cute fantasy fairytale story. It could have been a great story if the developers would have taken their time to write more about it and give the story the room to breath that it deserves.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Asterism
Asterism is a visual novel about a young Aligner, a high school student who, along with his friends, has the supernatural ability to detect specters and banish them using weapons made of constellations. And by ‘constellation’, I mean a physical manifestation of the mythological concept. Constellations appear in both a weapon and human form, the former the means to banish scepters and the latter being characters within the story. Once you accept the premise; it makes sense, I guess?
The plot can be summed up rather succinctly; it is about the protagonist Aligner and his friends rescuing constellations of the Zodiac from being consumed by specters.
– Real player with 9.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fantasy Visual Novel Games.
Bleeding Moons
A unique and entertaining point and click adventure game in the vein of Space Pilgrim about war, politics, love and everything in between. The game is more of an interactive novel, the puzzle part is very easy, too easy I would say, so if you are expecting to get creative about picking things and combining them in the inventory, this is not the game for you.
The game tackles adult issues such as rape and abuse, but very tastefully, which is testament to the overall excellent writing. The world is rich with characters and they all have a story, even the many NPCs will tell you their tale. The creators really took their time with every detail, including some humorous: in a city with many stray dogs, of course you will find poop on the street :) … which should have been an achievement itself.
– Real player with 35.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Fantasy Political Games.
First of all, I’m writing this review as a huge THANK YOU to the creator. I just finished the game and I’m absolutely in love with it! I spent about a good 10 hours playing through the story and because I’m that kind of guy that wants to know everything, I logged over 200 saves. I’ll be going back to my final save later this week to try something a little different. After that I’m likely to try again from the beginning to see what I might be able to change.
! I was surprised to find out I was locked out of Luna’s ending but the rest were available to me
– Real player with 13.8 hrs in game
Forgotten Sound 1: Revelation
Forgotten Sound 1: Revelation is a point&click adventure about a prince going on the dangerous journey to save his father. I know very little about One Thousand and One Nights other than few mainstream adaptations.The game is fully voice acted but I only speak English so I had to read the subtitles. Unfortunately, Forgotten Sound is not a very good adventure game due to numerous mechanical and visual issues. Unless you are a diehard fan of the genre I would not recommend it without some significant updates.
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game
Forgotten Sound 2: Destiny
bad, not interesting, lame gameplay and puzzles. Weak interface.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
Last Dance
Last Dance, a full-fledged VR short animation that has been highly evaluated by many international film festivals and famous artists for its epic scale and unique VR presentation, is finally available worldwide!
Synopsis:
The human race has devoured itself in war, resulting in the destruction of our home, the Earth.
Only an AI created by human wisdom was able to survive.
The AI escaped into space and was given a single mission: the Regeneration of Mankind.
It kept recreating the Earth and humanity over and over, hundreds of times.
However, the cycle of human extinction did not stop – it only repeated itself every single time.
Just when it seemed history would only repeat forever, a woman danced alone right before the end of her life.
The AI, interested in this woman, could not help but to land on Earth to ask her the reason for her Last Dance.
The encounter between the AI and her would change the fate of the Earth.
Director’s Comment:
This story is a “myth” in the distant future, in which a god-like omnipotent AI falls in love with a human woman.
But what is so attractive about a human to an AI whose existence is beyond human knowledge?
Perhaps, for an AI that can live forever, the short life of a human is like a trotting horse lamp, with their inconvenient body bound by gravity.
Maybe under these limitations, their glittering dance may look peculiarly attractive.
I hope it can become the VR experience that allows us to rediscover the fleeting existence of human beings and the joy of love through the eyes of AI.
Toshiaki Hanzaki
Producer’s Comment:
This is my first time making a feature-length VR animation.
I worked together with Director Hanzaki to create the original story, with our staff gathering the creativity and techniques from all over the world.
Together, we have successfully created a wonderful work that made full use of the goodness of VR media.
I would like to thank everyone for their hard work.
For the time being, we will mainly be exhibiting the film at different festivals.
However, we are planning to broadcast it and release it through events next year.
Please look forward to it.
Kodansha VR Lab
Representative Director and President
Kenji Ishimaru
Starlight of Aeons
Negatives:
Main program is flagged as a malware by Windows Defender so you have to get around that to install this.
No full screen support
No text speed option
No framerate lock
4 hr kinetic novel with full Chinese VA (none on 3rd story, “1/30000 Days to Love” though). There are 3 stories, but the first 2 just make one story together. Good writing/narrative, characters, and art. Great soundtrack. Philosophical.
– Real player with 7.4 hrs in game
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– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
Lighthouse of guiding flames
A surprisingly interesting little VN that offered something I don’t typically get from VNs this size. A good, unique story that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Only downside is this VN could REALLY use a copyeditor - the writing overall is good and competent, but there are tons of syntax errors (‘and’ is ‘abd’, ‘a lot’ becomes ‘al ot’, etc) that a copyeditor would catch. Doesn’t hinder the story, but does take a layer of polish away from an otherwise hidden gem!
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
Among the Visual Novels produced by indie creators, this one is definitely a gem. And a decently polished one at that.
Apart from a huge budget (and voice acting, which would be a tall order), this VN has everything you would expect from a big name studio: Plenty of beautiful graphics both big and small, a relatable protagonist, interesting characters, a myriad of choices leading to diverse scenes - both serious and funny, music that sets the mood just right, short extra stories, and of course, a story with several routes and endings that will give you something to think about upon completion. You can tell that a lot of thought has been put into every aspect of the game. When needed, the text box changes styles and locations to be more fitting for certain scenes. The narration and pacing are balanced - the scenes seem to have just the right length depending on what they are supposed to convey to the reader. Every ending adds something new to the overall reading experience, providing more interesting details about the story and the setting. Yes, those are not just “stupid choice - bad ending in 4 lines” endings that are common in these kinds of games.
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
Shargad: First Blood
“Find Khalid, the Healer of Nekkisari. He will tell you the truth, the truth about you!”
These were the last words spilled out of his father’s mouth. Abbas had an urge to follow the old man’s request and decided to leave his village to find the Healer. What he could not realize though, was that the blood he bore is indeed a legacy, sourcing from the ancient corners of the history of Shargad.
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Story driven 2D Turn Based RPG.
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Sidescroller quest scenes where you can find loot and encounter various enemies.
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3 Cities/Towns where you can meet companions, interact with NPCs, buy and sell items.
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Daily Professions where you can get bonus rewards by playing mini games.
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20+ unique classes to play as, including 3 classes - Skirmisher, Warden, Herbalist - of main hero Abbas in the party of max 4.
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Bunch of unique skills for each class and perks to modify the skills for customization. Synergetic party compositions.
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Permadeath for companions. Mortal Blood mode where permadeath is applicable even for Abbas.
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Permanent (Racial, Cultural, Class) and Temporary (Mental, Physical, Sicknesses) Traits to effect attributes and playstyles of heroes.
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More than 50 enemies to face with, each with unique skills and traits.
Bosses: Deadly but not unbeatable.
Animals: Hunt in the wilderness to gain loot and exp.
Undead: Well, undead!
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40+ character states (bleeding, callous, feebleminded etc.) which are all unique on their own.
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Various dmg types: Physical, Magical, Pure.
6 Magical dmg types (fire, earth, water, air, dark, light) which can be mitigated by resistances but can not be dodged unlike Physical dmg.
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Fame system which changes the behavior of NPCs and companions towards Abbas.
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Set in the fantasy world of Shargad, a home to various races, cultures, cities, heroes, magic disciplines and more.
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Inspired by Mesopotamian Mythology for the gods pantheon, various mythologies and cultures which is the basis of this organic fantasy world.
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Strong narrative connections to Shargad Saga Book 1: The Thunderbringer, written by Semih Erdogan and first published in 2017 of which you can find the first 5 episodes in a pdf given as a free dlc along with the game.
Little Witch in the Woods
A little witch’s daily life as apprentice
In the ‘LUCEREIN ORTU’, witches live together. They built ‘Witch House’ in various areas and have been sending their apprentice witches there. The apprentice witches must go to the one of the ‘Witch’s Houses’ and help the nearby village and villagers. If you complete your apprenticeship successfully, you can become a formal witch. Become Ellie the Apprentice Witch and experience her daily life!
Various Stories
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Become the main character, Ellie, and proceed with the story so that you can complete your apprenticeship successfully..
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Practice the teachings you learned at the Witch School, help people and make the world a better place.
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Make friends with the charming characters in village, and listen to the inner story they bear. If you can be their best friend, you maybe hear their secret.
Activities & Explore
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Gather and Process materials to create potions! The potions are useful in solving problems.
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Explore a mysterious fantasy world. You can find unique areas, and you can meet cute creatures there. Interact with various creatures and fill in the information in the witch’s book!
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Find a hidden place! You can get special items or find shortcuts there.
Leisurely daily life
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Chat with new friends and find out their tastes. If you give them a gift that suits their taste, you will be able to get closer to your friends more quickly.
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The witch and the cat are inseparable partnerships historically. Communicate with cats living in various places. Their each personality will be as different as appearances. If you have a fateful encounter with a cat, the cat may want to spend every day with you.
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Sometimes you can fish and enjoy the peace. A relaxing rest will give you the energy to go on a vigorous adventure the next day.
