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
Read More: Best LGBTQ Female Protagonist Games.
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
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 LGBTQ Visual Novel 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
Purrfect Apawcalypse: Purrgatory Furever
This game is amazing. I dont know if this is a step up from Love at First Bite but it is extremely good. figuring out the solution while getting brutally murdered by best boy is fun. You really get a feel for characters and there personality. If your on the fence for this game. PLEASE DO, its cheap and amazing. ALSO BUY THE FIRST GAME
patches best boy 3
– Real player with 15.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best LGBTQ Visual Novel Games.
Hello I’m still stuck in this basement the dev has trapped under. I haven’t seen the light of day since the year 2008. This is a cry for help. Will anybody see this ? Time is a lost concept to me and the only drive that keeps me alive here is the possible hope I have for a chance at freedom
The basement door is heavy but someone please come help me
(P.S Sparky still p cool)
– Real player with 11.0 hrs in game
Purrfect Apawcalypse: Patches' Infurno
I would honestly recommend this game so much. It’s so well made along with having a 3-Part Game Series already (this being the 3rd). I’d recommend playing if you like Visual novels in general. I’d also recommend you’d play the last 2 games first before this one since they deserve some love and also add up to the story into this one so everything makes sense. It’s kinda sad for how underrated this game series is and yet it’s made and done so well. Hopefully this gains more attention!
– Real player with 43.9 hrs in game
Patches' Infurno, oh boy, oh boy is it a long one, 2 hours with breaks and a fail to complete with the first try, half an hour later with skipping, but the thing is, it’s the most linear. After getting the worst and best endings you are left with nothing much left to explore besides maybe a mixed path. You can also see in this one the bias towards the best endings in the series, with them getting extra scenes and text if followed even though the game is literally called Patches' Infurno, with the name visibly meant to mimic Dante’s Inferno from where you only go deeper so a little more content for the worst path would be nice if ever planning to actually pick the game up again or make a similar game in the same universe but with different characters or in a different genre.
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
Facettes
The game
Sitting at her messy desk. The objects that dress it evoke chimeras, stories and fantasy characters for our protagonist, the Author. Dreamy and immersed in her imagination, she brings this decor to life.
Through this introspective adventure, explore the identity questions of the Author, this faceless protagonist. Let yourself be guided by this inner journey to the rhythm of her personal wanderings.
The Author is the character that you will play and follow through her inner journey.
The gameplay
Dice in hand and perched on this desk, the Author of Facettes invites you on a journey of identity initiation. At your fingertips is a dreamlike world, populated by heroines, Potentials and life paths to discover.
The Author keeps creating more Potentials using tabletop RPG mechanics: roll a dice and assign values to various characteristics in the process of character creation.
There is a set of Potentials to collect, alongside the objects which inspired them and the voice recordings of the Author’s thoughts.
The Potentials
Her experiences give life to fantastic creatures and worlds yet imbued with reality that nourish the personal construction of this mysterious Author.
These creatures are the “Potentials”, enigmatic women whose stories represent many possible lives for this mysterious protagonist. They each have a past, a purpose, and ties with other Potentials in this introspective journey.
The world
The stories of these chimerical women gradually come to life through the dreams of the Author in the phantasmagorical world they inhabit.
Mirror Island is the main place of this fantasy universe. There is where most of the Potentials live, but some of them are not terrestrial beings.
The island is torn apart by a conflict involving many of the Potentials rivaling to rule this land.
Features
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An inclusive and LGBTQIA2+ game celebrating the queer identity, which is also an accessible and nice-looking game introducing an issue by experiencing it
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A metaphorical and poetic experience sharing the process of self-discovery and accepting one’s identity
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A relatable story that contributes to build empathy with the Author, the characters and LGBTQIA2+ community, providing more content to understanding the issue and self-questioning
Nuances
Facettes is the third game from the Nuances series which holds a strong message about feminism, LGBT+ themes or inclusiveness.
It follows Sweet Love, a game about moral harassment within a couple, marital rape and femicides and A Comfortable Burden, a game tackling mental load with an otter couple.
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
Choice of the Deathless
Oh this takes me back to the bygone days of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) choose your path adventure books without the ability to look ahead or flip back in the book and make a different choice. Engaging story where what you choose makes a difference and has definite repercussions. Excellent character development of every character throughout. If this were just a novel it would be worth the read.
Story: Play as a new hire lawyer in the prestigious demonic law firm of Varkath, Nebuchadnezzar and Stone. Old friend, new colleagues, magic wards, demonic litigation, depose a goddess, punch a dark god in the face, have a girlfriend or boyfriend or no one at all what ever you prefer, you might even manage to pay off that student loan. Play nice, play nasty, be good, be bad, it is all up to you in the quest to make partner in your law firm hopefully without becoming a living skeleton, literally.
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
I know that I’ve chosen that I don’t recommend this game, but it’s not terrible; in fact, I enjoyed parts of it. But this game isn’t as good as others in the genre. Choice of Robots, for example, is a much better game.
This game lacks a few things:
- consequences for actions- many of the “paths” lead to the same destination. There are plenty of fake choices in this game, and the stats have seemingly no bearing on your character’s ability to succeed in this game. In fact, as I write this review, I’m realizing that the stats are virtually meaningless in this game. The author doesn’t seem to know how to integrate the “Choice of” mechanics very well.
– Real player with 13.0 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
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
Heroes Rise: The Hero Project
I recommend this adventure right off the back because if you played Prodigy, then you will want to continue “your” story. It took me awhile to get used to the writing style in these stories, as it doesn’t feel exactly like a “choose your own” kind of story. Some of the reactions from “My” character feels closer to watching a character, instead of controlling myself. This adventure takes you into a reality TV show for superheroes, though I’m not sure I would want any of these heroes saving me.
One of the biggest issues I have with “my” adventures up to now are the romantic options. Maybe spoilers, but the romantic choices suck. At least, during my adventure they have. I think the writing overall was better then the first story, I wasn’t pulled out of my adventures as much as I was in Prodigy. After seeing where Prodigy took the storyline, I was extremely curious to see where the next adventure took me. I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed with a reality show setting, but after finishing the adventure I can at least see why it was chosen.
– Real player with 46.3 hrs in game
Here are my thoughts and feelings about Heroes Rise: The Hero Project. (Spoilers ahoy)
The Good
The story is even better than the last one, with twists and turns that will keep you guessing on your first time playthrough. It has a feeling to it that really gets you tense and pumped up for what happens in the story.
The characters have varying types of personalities and most have semi-realistic personalities.
The Bad
Even though the story is better this time round it has even more problems than the last one. While the first one felt linear it wasn’t glaringly obvious, unlike in this one. Never before have I felt that the choices I made had no impact to the game. Everything I did just felt like poking a wall, it changed nothing. No matter what you do you will ALWAYS get as far as the final eliminations and all that changes is how the ending starts off.
– Real player with 21.9 hrs in game