Eternal Destinies ~The World of Possibilities~

Eternal Destinies ~The World of Possibilities~

In an age of barbarian invasions and bad harvests, with the gods and demons too entangled in their own conflicts to pay much heed to humanity…

A girl was born to an elderly childless couple in a small village far from the capital.

The signs were vague and sometimes contradictory.

The village priestess and a travelling fortune-teller could not agree on what her future holds.

In the end, a Sage from a nearby mountain suggested:

“Let the girl seek and fulfill her own destiny.”

The village elders agreed.

As soon as she reached the age of maturity, she was sent to the capital to seek her fortune… whatever it might be.

Form friendships and rivalries with the town’s inhabitants, or face the many enemies outside.

Conversation

It is possible to talk to almost anybody or anything with the right skill(s).

Schedule

Choose the right activities to reach one of the numerous possible destinies.

Town

Town Square

The townspeople gather here to gossip and share information.

You might hear some interesting rumors!

Marketplace

In addition to the armorer and the tailor, several small stalls offer their wares on the town market. Their contents change seasonally.

Temple

Are the gods actually listening? In any case, you can pray for luck.

Bookstore

The biggest bookstore in town. It carries many unusual titles and the selection keeps changing. The owner likes to participate in the writing contest during festivals….

Castle

Rumor has it that some unspoken misfortune has befallen the royal family.

Magic shop

Buy potions or chat with the owner’s apprentice.

The Big House on the Hill

What secrets does it hide?

Adventure Mode

Explore the areas around the capital and beyond!

Luck

An invisible force that influences everything from the outcome of battles to how likely one is to stumble upon useful items.

Luck can be improved (or ruined) in many different ways.

Special Events

Festivals are held twice per year. Observe the competitions or participate in them… or even rent a stall and try to sell the festival goers some snacks!

Barbarian invasions might occur during the raiding season.

It’s best to pay attention to the Town News!

Destiny

Many different outcomes are possible depending on your choices.


Read More: Best Multiple Endings Simulation Games.


Eternal Destinies ~The World of Possibilities~ on Steam

Hero must die. again

Hero must die. again

At the time of writing I have 16 hours of playtime and played through most of the game with 36/57 achievements. I will generally outline the game but wont mention anything specific regarding its content in case you are concerned about spoilers.

As the store page says the game is set in a stereotypical JRPG-setting with a hero going up against a demon lord, except in this case they both took each other out and now the hero, our protagonist, has been brought back to life for five days only and has an opportunity to “put his affairs in order”, bringing us to the actual game.

Real player with 75.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best Multiple Endings Singleplayer Games.


Achieved the true ending to this game earlier and I gotta say… I’m pretty damn sad there’s nothing left do in this masterpiece FeelsBadMan (I mean yeah, I have 2 achievements left, but they’re the worst ones…). Wish I could go back and play it for the first time again. This is genuinely one of the best games I’ve ever played (and quite likely it’ll be my GOTY, we’ll see). The concept is just too genius to sneeze on, honestly. Gameplay is damn fun too, tbh (and dare I say pretty relaxing); I never really found myself getting bored with every playthrough I did. And the fact that you’re pretty much guaranteed to discover something new on pretty much every playthrough you do makes it all the better tbh (so yes, it’s not always the same)…well, unless you just want to zoom ahead to the true ending, which you’ll most likely need a guide for (here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2011817995) .

Real player with 28.8 hrs in game

Hero must die. again on Steam

Princess Maker 2 Refine

Princess Maker 2 Refine

I’ve played the original DOS version and this new version - Refine.

What I liked about Refine:

  • New Japanese voiceovers.

  • The music sounds much better.

  • New text makes it easier to understand some of the courses/work easier. I first played this game as a child and had a difficult time understanding the terminology in the DOS version. As a result, a child may have an easier time understanding this.

  • The Art is less grainy and more refined; somewhat brighter. The flowers in the vase change by the season – which I thought was a nice touch.

Real player with 133.8 hrs in game


Read More: Best Multiple Endings Simulation Games.


Princess Maker 2 Refine can make a lot of princesses but not much of a game.

Story

The story of PM2R is near non-existent, but on purpose. You are a wandering swordsman who saves a kingdom from a demonic siege by defeating the demon lord. Ever thankful for your rescue, the king gives you a home, a butler, and a yearly stipend. The heavens bestow a child of their own upon you. Already age ten, you are tasked with raising her for the next eight years of her life. The story is wildly open-ended from here, as there are dozens upon dozens of endings, but none are particularly impressive; amounting to nothing more than a few short blurbs about the kind of person your adopted daughter became when she left your home. The sheer number of possible endings and permutations of those endings are far more impressive than the quality of them.

Real player with 123.2 hrs in game

Princess Maker 2 Refine on Steam

Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition

Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition

Short review:

Having played Root Double, I’d easily recommend this to any visual novel fan, especially those looking for a story filled with mystery, suspense and a strong cast of characters. Not only is the story filled with many heart-pounding and emotional moments from start to finish, but the world, story and characters are all extremely fleshed out and detailed while remaining coherent, and are all tied together by the end to make for one of the most satisfying and ‘complete’ stories I’ve experienced. It’s easily one of my favorite visual novels, and my current favorite game on Steam.

Real player with 107.7 hrs in game

Root Double: Before Crime * After Days -Xtend Edition (ROOT√DOUBLE) is a mystery/sci-fi visual novel video game developed by Regista and Yeti collaboration. It was first released on 2012. An updated version called Xtend Edition was later released in 2013 and finally 2016 for PC.

ROOT√DOUBLE is a beautiful game. 60-70 hours long of story. Nice visualization and bgm. Fully japanese voiced dialogues with mostly famous voice actors. All-round interesting/likeable casts. Several mysteries and plot twists will thirst a player with curiosity as they want to find out more and more. The great thing about this game is that every single phenomenon that represented here are explained by sciences which are all existed in real life topics. And most of time, plot twists and explanations are worth the wait. It’s well-educated writing that even rare to find in most sci-fi of a same genre or what not.

Real player with 90.7 hrs in game

Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition on Steam

Ark Mobius: Censored Edition

Ark Mobius: Censored Edition

8/10 audio, 10/10 animation, 9/10 gameplay, 9/10 plot. Good game 3

Real player with 8.2 hrs in game

First off, the game play directly borrows from Muse Dash but that game itself borrowed from many flash games.

This game is wonderful. The scenes are great quality animations and there is a nice cast of 5 different girls. The plot isn’t too deep but it’s corny and I’m here for it. You can choose good or band endings. There are hidden achievements that encourage a few replays. The OST sounds nice but I believe some are simply covers of other songs rather than completely original. I know I’ve heard similar songs elsewhere. The voice acting is fantastic with Japanese and Chinese VA.

Real player with 5.4 hrs in game

Ark Mobius: Censored Edition on Steam

BISQUE DOLL

BISQUE DOLL

This horror game was developed by one person, so there is no point in expecting something cool from it. Simple graphics and sound / music, but not disgusting. It takes about thirty or forty minutes, has two endings. The plot is simple and not complicated. An uncomplicated plot about the Hongkong legend busque doll.

Real player with 7.6 hrs in game

This indie game was created by one developer. Simple graphics and soundtrack, sounds so atmospheric. This game can be finished in thirty or forty minutes and has two endings. This project really matches the horror genre with its atmosphere and musical accompaniment. I am very glad that I played it

Real player with 6.5 hrs in game

BISQUE DOLL on Steam

Confess My Love

Confess My Love

There are awesome games, maybe published years ago, with two reviews on Steam.

And then there are games like this one that have 3.000 reviews.

I think that everything revolves around some kind of Japanese fanboyism.. like, similarity with manga and anime.. fandoms.. forums.. I don’t know xD

This game though is definitely good, I’m replaying it for another time these days and I thought it was worthy of a nice review.

(It happens that the 95% of the reviews are actually written in Chinese XD)

Even though it isn’t the usual visual novel.

Real player with 8.1 hrs in game

I highly recommend this game! It’s free to play, with multiple endings; you will get the most out of this experience if you play it all in one sitting. Although the concept is really nothing new (a tale of unrequited love and the anguish it can cause), the game presents this concept in a unique way. I would love to see this game expanded upon because it really leaves you wanting more.

The sprites are adorable and the sound/music really helps set the tone. The writing, despite a few grammar errors here and there, is simple but adds realism in the dialogue between characters (and the inner thoughts of the main character). The humor is a nice touch, which juxtaposes very well with more disturbing elements later on. This game doesn’t rely on blood or jumpscares to frighten you. The sense of fear is cumulative; like a chill slowly running up your spine which gradually increases as the game progresses. If I had to compare it to another game, I would say it reminded me of “Hello?…Hell…o?”

Real player with 4.2 hrs in game

Confess My Love on Steam

Courage for a Kiss

Courage for a Kiss

I’ve been given a pre-release copy of this game by the developer (I’ve experienced his previous two VNs, Jake’s Love Story and Nekokoro in similar circumstances) and I have to say, its definitely their best work yet. Like the previous ones, it’s a very simple high school romance story, spiced up by a few unusual gimmicks, but at its core very tame and by-the-numbers. What definitely improved, however, is the execution – the pacing of the story is very consistent and it doesn’t feel rushed despite frequent time skips. The heroines are likeable, even if their routes are too similar to each other and the setting feels alive thanks to the author’s usual attention to detail – many details you learn along the way and minor desitions you make gets referenced later down the line. The aforementioned gimmick, this time taking the form of a school play that evolves according to your choices – it’s very fun to observe both subtle and very-not-subtle differences in how it plays out for each path you take.

Real player with 14.5 hrs in game

A nice little VN. Contains a couple of gimmicks, such as the play, which admittedly does change depending on your choices, but it’s not that interesting IMO.

The other gimmick is the trademark telltale popup stating someone will remember that. It doesn’t really do anything, since you can tell what 80% of choices will lead to without it.

It has plenty of typos, but they won’t bother you unless you’re a grammar nazi. Characters in the game are nice and flushed out in their own routes. There’s plenty of jokes, some good some not so good, but none of them terrible. The writing overall is pretty good with some cheesy lines here and there.

Real player with 8.9 hrs in game

Courage for a Kiss on Steam

Doki Doki First Love Club!

Doki Doki First Love Club!

Story

Yourself and Miku Nakamura are the President and Vice President of the renowned Tokyo Academy’s Student Council are considered top elite students: You are respected by your peers for his brilliant mind, and Miku, the eldest daughter of the wealthy Nakamura family, excels in everything.

Everyone thinks that they would make the perfect couple and even though both have feelings for each other - they are too proud to admit it.

Believing that the one who confesses first; will be looked down upon and humiliated.

A game of love begins between the two. Both are equally determined to get out of it as the winner of the battlefield.

#### Features:

  • Non-Linear Visual Novel - Discover multiple different endings depending on your choices in-game.

  • Time Travel.

  • Choose your own name, and become the President of the Student Council.

Doki Doki First Love Club is not associated with Doki Doki Literature Club

Doki Doki First Love Club! on Steam

Elisa: the Innkeeper

Elisa: the Innkeeper

This has been a bag of mixed feelings. I appreciate the art and music. CGs are plentiful enough & no critical moment looks ignored. But the characters, the effing characters man, nearly everyone is a stiff stereotype too absorbed in their own way to ever break out of their molds. Moreover, the ‘good endings’ aren’t satisfying at all. Just one last decision at the end completely flips these characters who rigth up until then will have been acting like their way is unconditionally the right way, just to bring about that ‘good’ conclusion. I don’t know, maybe this is how the devs intended the plot and characters to be, but it soured my overalll experience somewhat :(

Real player with 6.9 hrs in game

As far as Visual Novels go, this one has to be the most feature packed. The replayability is boosted by the ability to control the behaviors of not just the “main character” but all the supporting characters as well. Making one character a pervert, and making that same character smart and good natured in another playthrough.

There is one thing that bothers me though, and that is the Knight.

Possible Spoiler Warning

! The Prince is short tempered and stubborn, and the Merchant is level-headed but flaunts his wealth. Supposedly, the Knight was meant to be something in between these two extremes. Elisa even comments that the fact that he refuses to flirt with her makes her wants to try even harder… then within the next 10 minutes of game, he is already falling over himself to keep her around. He knows nothing about her, and she knows nothing about him. There was no character development, and yet he has become a totally different person just in the time it took her to change his bed sheets.

Real player with 6.6 hrs in game

Elisa: the Innkeeper on Steam