Choose Wisely
Pretty boring game that fools You with the title and dialogues into thinking that Your choices matter. They don’t, big spoiler:
! at the end of the game only 1 character survives despite many choices that fool You into thinking if You could save other characters. Level design and story are boring after You know Your choices don’t matter that much. You have to backtrack through many areas which just makes the game longer. The description says the game has “great replayability” but after finishing it once You won’t touch it anyway because of how boring it is. The only people I believe replayed the game 2+ times are achievement junkies like me. I’m still trying to 100% this but it’ll take me a long time because I don’t feel like touching this game anymore right now. I completed 2 playthroughs that took me around 6-7h excluding some afk breaks I had even though I used previous save that was around 60% completion I believe. Basically game save to choose which character keeps the key item. I cannot believe how much developers tried to make the game longer. Even without backtracking the final 30minutes of the game are pure bs. You get to fight all the bosses that You fought already before You get to the final room and have to make final decision. The fact that road to the room was filled with many smaller mobs that would use up Your health, mana and useful items that would help You in these boss fights didn’t help at all. I completed the game at normal difficulty so I don’t even want to imagine how bad it is on hard or masochist. I don’t recommend this game even for its low price. “Choose wisely” is an illusion that gets repeated many times throught the game, there’s a lot of backtracking which doesn’t even help on normal difficulty, I had no fun playing this game. Save Your time and money unless You’re a real masochist though I think masochist difficulty might be too much even for real masochists.
– Real player with 27.7 hrs in game
This is probably the most artistic short RPG I’ve played. I’m a perv and I play the game because of… you know… those ‘melons’. I bought it using a coupon I got from crafting my nekonin game badge.
So, this is a short RPG about some characters with different personalities and backgrounds trapped out of nowhere in a mysterious dungeon. The choice you make along the game will decide which may live and die. For those who just want to enjoy the story, there’s the casual mode. If you seek more challenging adventure, you can choose between three levels of difficulties.
– Real player with 18.6 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
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
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
Sonata Theory
If you enjoy narrative experiences, you’ll enjoy this game. What I like best about it is how it expands on its visual novel core. There is some environment exploration, some light puzzle-solving, and branching endings based on how you play. Game scenarios tend to have multiple solutions, and it is fun to try to find them all. Visually it is bright and colorful with good audio. Plus, it is essentially a one-hour experience (and less with each subsequent play-through), so you don’t have to commit a lot of time to enjoy this (free) game. Note: I was the faculty advisor for this project.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
The music was great, the level was beautiful, the character design was unique, and the story was fairly good. Menus had a few issues, quest items didn’t disappear which made it a bit confusing, the relationship portion didn’t seem effect gameplay, and the dialog boxes could use a redesign. Overall I actually enjoyed the game music and level design were major Pluses.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Sword Daughter
I guess this is one where I wished steam had a number or star rating rather than a good/bad option. I bought it some time ago, didn’t particularly like it so put it down for a while and picked it up again recently but found more of the same. Overall I’m coming down on the negative side of neutral with regards to it being a game book written in the 80’s. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen but it has some significant problems with the story.
Firstly some of the graphics are nice. They’re in a consistant style that suits the game book. I didn’t find the music that intrusive (although I turned it right down after a while and it got repetative) and the sound effects are ok.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
The first line of this story really should have been: Once Upon a Time. Had it started this way I doubt there would have been so many comments/complaints about character development and short storylines. Truthfully what fairy tale really does have in-depth character development or that much of a plot?
Storyline: Tyrna, a young woman (a maiden) has been trained by her father all her life to be a warrior. On the way to the Warrior Games (a tournament to basically earn the right to be called a warrior) the caravan is attacked by orcs. She is knocked unconscious fighting orcs and because of this is the only remaining survivor of the massacre her father dies in. Gavin, a half-elf/half-human ranger (on patrol) comes upon the carnage and revives her before the orcs return or wild animals find her. Of course it is love at first sight, what fairy tale does not have love at first sight. The adventure and mild romance (mostly of the happily ever type) begins here.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
Your Story
Your Story is a Visual Novel that takes place in a fantasy world. You will become a guide to a young half-elf named Lia, who is a somewhat lost girl with an unclear future. She spends her entire life helping her parents run one of the most popular taverns in the kingdom. She will need your help to move her life forward. Your decisions will guide its narrative in various possible ways. The most crucial elements of the storyline are your own emotions - we want to bring forth even the most extreme and controversial ones. You’ll experience a mix of joy, sadness, love, regret, and even terror.
You will lead the plot to both the brightest and the darkest corners of your own mind by making decisions in accordance with your own conscience. That’s the idea behind Your Story.
Features:
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guide our protégé in multiple fashions,
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multiple storylines with unlockable, alternative paths,
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variable gameplay (each act has its own motive),
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over 10 reachable endings,
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over 20 interactive characters,
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over 30 CG’s,
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a unique mix of fantasy, mystery, conspiracy, suspense, romance.
1f y0u’re a gh0st ca11 me here! 幽铃热线
I think this game’s charming in its way. It has quite a unique gameplay that I think it’s worth a try.
Gameplay is somewhat demanding. It’s kinda like playing papers please, but have to check about 2-4 different documents all at once and it is up to the players to make a split judgement where to send where.
The game is quite difficult, but I think anyone can get used to the game over time.
Story is short? I think? I haven’t seen all the endings (cuz the game’s hard..), but in terms of building an overall environment and the characters were interesting enough for what this game is worth.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
i really wanted to like the game but the story sucks there is only one song that is kinda annoying the gameplay is innovating but at the end it breaks and looses meaning
at first i was like i need to get all A but in the end i said fuck it i don’t care
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
4 Alice Magical Autistic Girls
4 Alice Magical Autistic Girls is a visual novel that accomplishes what it sets out to do: tell an interesting, fantastical and magical story while allowing the player to see and understand the world through the eyes of a teenage girl with autism. By doing this game manages to create awareness of autism educating the player through the gameplay experience while still entertaining. The main character portrayal breaks the mold of the typical video game protagonist by giving us a representation of a functionally diverse individual.
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
I found this to be a very short but entertaining and memorable game.
If you like Sailor Moon, Madoka Magica, slice-of-life, horror and the supernatural, then this is the game for you.
What sold me on this game was the fact that it’s about autistic girls and was written by an autistic woman.
As a fellow autie, it was really nice to see some good autistic representation since it’s not something that I get to see very often because autistic people are so underrepresented in media overall.
Please support autistic creators and our works, whether it be through financial assistance, word-of-mouth or both!
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
A Wild Catgirl Appears!
To start out this review, I’m going to go ahead and say that I’m a dude who really appreciates kind of shoddy/nonsense VNs, so when I saw this game appear on the front page of Steam the day after the Holiday sale for about as much money as I had in my Steam Wallet, I was in. I went in with no expectations or desires, and that was definitely beneficial to the experience.
This game is just very innocent, like an 8 year old’s journal entry except with a little bit more cleavage. The writing looks like the authors used only the 100 most frequently used words in English, so it’s very easy and fast to read. This honestly would be a pretty good game for someone learning English as a second language. They go to a mall! A beach! A cafe! It reminds me of a Spanish 102 lesson, and it kept my attention more than a Spanish 102 lesson because it had anime cat girls with big boobs in it.
– Real player with 32.5 hrs in game
Alright, I’m trying to be real fair here on the game. This game is rough in so many ways. Just booting the game presented major challenges that do not lend to a sellable product:
No music on the title screen, bare bones UI of “Start” and “Load,” and the game crashes when you alt+enter to full screen. This is a major red flag and should have been polished considerably more.
As far as UI goes, the interface is buggy, skipping text is hard to stop when you want it to stop and going full screen makes the window spill out of your screen if you have a smaller monitor. Hitting the log button reveals a similar issue to the save and load screen of very hard to read text, but with the added issue of the background image failing to load due to a broken asset link. Slogging through the game becomes a severe pain with these issues, especially when replaying for the other endings.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Gods of the Twilight
Gods of the Twilight is a multi-season episodic visual novel that places you in a dystopian near-future where old magic is reemerging in a world on the brink of Norse mythology’s apocalypse. Play as two protagonists—one male, one female. Explore government conspiracies and attempt to navigate your social and romantic lives while a decaying future world faces Ragnarök, and ancient truths about you and your companions start to resurface.
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Your choices determine the protagonists' relationships with their companions, and with each other.
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A range of possible endings, for your characters and for the world.
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Choose which romance(s) each protagonist will pursue, or choose none at all!
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An episodic story released over time, where choices carry over between volumes.
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At least 3 volumes, with over 95,000 words (10-15 hours of gameplay) currently planned for the first volume alone.
Both player characters have romance options of multiple genders, including each other! But the romance arcs are completely optional, and you can enjoy the game’s core story and all endings even if you opt to romance no one.
Althea Mishra - A scholarly but sheltered daughter of two high-achieving parents, she’s an intellectual who nonetheless loves dirty jokes.
Farkas Heklason - Under the hardened exterior of a guy who survived rough streets growing up, he’s a scarred introvert whose emotions run very deep.
Sara Grímsdóttir - Sensitivity and strength combined, this mostly soft-spoken girl is just as full of bravery as she is compassion for anyone she encounters.
Hector Koskinen - A shameless dork, he’s involuntarily wealthy thanks to his CEO father, but nonetheless straightforward and honest to a fault.
Lieutenant Cebisa Komani - A duty-driven Icelandic special forces police officer, she’s now an operative for the highly classified international operation dealing with recent supernatural occurrences.
Mikael Pulkkinen - Hector’s valet, who has become more like an older brother to him through the years they’ve spent together. Easily sees through bullshit and has zero tolerance for it.
And more as the story unfolds!