Ochitsubaki
A fallen camellia is a beheading, every time, every petal falling at once: a severing.
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TW: CSA, animal death, violence, suicidal ideation
OCHITSUBAKI || 落ち椿 is a visual novel about the impossibility of translating trauma. It is a bilingual JPN/ENG game about translation and how it can run as deeply as the way hypermarginalized people constantly “translate” their identities and trauma for the understanding of others, no matter how far it is from the source material. It’s about recovering from trauma through the genuine compassion and consideration of another person, who manages to See the aftereffects of trauma and are willing to meet that person’s unique needs, regardless of if they “understand” them or not.
Ochitsubaki is only loosely a visual novel, which is to say it is a story-based game with a strong aesthetic component. Ochitsubaki has a deep, rich tapestry of aesthetics in unifying modern elegance with unique retro anime-inspired character portraits. The original soundtrack derives inspiration from traditional Asian pentatonic scales, particularly but not limited to Japanese ones, that also derive a modern, Genshin’s Liyue-type twist that sets it firmly in contemporary times. It has three language options: JPN, ENG, and JPN translation. The ENG/JPN versions are two different renditions of the story, thus requiring a separate JPN translation, emulating what happens when you try to translate something as complex as identity. You can consider that the only real choice you make in the game is which language to play it in, and each language option provides a different “route,” a similar but very distinctly different iteration of the story. The language modes mimic the powerful loss that happens when stories–when trauma–is translated.
The demo only contains the first two ENG chapters, an estimated 30-45min of playtime.
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Hanashiro (he/she/they) and their few remaining kin all react differently to the trauma of being immortal and witnessing the apocalypse over and over again in different cycles of reincarnation. Shiragiku is unfazed and cheery and flippant and whimsical and capricious; Shirayuri is nowhere to be found; and Hanashiro? Hanashiro is planning on their death in 10 years, when the camellias fall, if they cannot find a reason to live by then.
Hanashiro and Shirayuri have witnessed THE END OF THE WORLD before. But no one believed them. Shiragiku has seen many, many apocalypses, but she has never been hurt by any one after the first. Shiragiku has remembered every single end; Shirayuri has remembered none; and Hanashiro only remembers some. Which? Even he doesn’t know.
Hanashiro misses speaking her fey mother tongue, but she can’t seem to find anyone willing to listen to her, not even her own kind. And then she makes an enemy who just might. Their name is Lun Kochouran.
And they might be the first one in a millennium to learn the Amayuri tongue.
They also might be the first to kill an immortal.
Read More: Best Romance Stylized Games.
Hikeshi-Fireman-
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“Yukinojo, who was said to be the best firefighter of all time, is gone.
In the Edo period, firemen, or firefighters, were superheroes.
However, Yukinojo, who was admired and trusted by the citizens, fell off the roof and lost his life.
Strangely enough, Yukinojo is vaguely watching himself lying on the floor.
As Yukinojo gazes at his grieving friends who surround him, he begins to wonder why he cannot become a Buddha.
With the help of Oryo, a woman he used to date, he decides to solve the mystery.
.
.
The story progresses by looking at other characters and touching them.
This is a simple one-way VR animation.
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Even if you don’t know the customs of firefighting in the Edo period in Japan, there is a light explanation part at the beginning.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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Flirt
My life changed approximately six hours ago.
I married my high school sweetheart three and a half years ago. I thought she was the one. I thought. Until she started throwing little quips at me just to get on my nerves. Stuff like, “You never do the laundry!” and “why do you smell so bad?” I hated it. I hated my life. How did I manage to get stuck with this woman? What did I do wrong?
Then it happened.
Flirt was released. My world was rocked.
I met the love of my life here, thirty-seven minutes and eighteen seconds ago. She never complains about me smelling bad. She never says my clothes are dirty.
– Real player with 11.0 hrs in game
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Flirt is a good of communication and making new friends to hang out with online or offline. Flirt was created to simulate a dating world that’s not Tinder or any other dating sites or services. I loved Comedy Night since the day I bought it in 2017 and this is now another one of my favourite games by Lighthouse Studios now too! Sure this game was not advertised nor released properly but it’s not the worse outcome. I played for a few hours of release and can say it was good outcome so far. The player base needs improvement and better stuff added such as emotes and perks for the hearts. Overall it has potential just needs some work. Good Job Lighthouse Studios!!
– Real player with 10.3 hrs in game
Typing Hearts
Typing Hearts is an original dating sim where you meet cute anime girls. Your objective? Typing your way into their hearts!
Combining visual novel mechanics with fast-paced typing gameplay, Typing Hearts will allow you to get to know different girls, each one with a story to tell.
Typing Hearts features a unique typing game and an immersive operating system to enrich the experience of meeting girls!
Your story begins when you receive an official invitation for the first beta of PulseOS, a revolutionary operating system dedicated to dating.
This OS comes with a customized assistant that will teach you the basics of dating girls, and then, it will guide you along your journey to find your perfect match.
Just like in real life, all decisions count. Depending on what you do or say, your story could completely change. Choices matter and your journey will depend on them.
The Space in Between
Full Play through with the two recommended plays if you’d rather listen than read here (once it uploads): https://youtu.be/h3W_O_Y5kJo
I really enjoyed the humor in this game some of it was really great. The music was really nice and relaxing and some of the picture frames were calming and romantical. I’m glad that there was a few differences in the second play through but I wish there was more there’s not a dynamic change in the story from choosing one thing from choosing another the main story stays the same even though you may get some more humorous responses depending on what you pick. Definitely worth at least one play through if you enjoy romantic visual novels and they do a good job at covering feelings/outlook that someone with mental health would experience.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
I honestly loved playing this game, I randomly decided to play it on my twitch stream because it was a new visual novel and it looked pretty (visual wise and interesting plot wise). It really touches on the realism of just self identity in the ethnicity and culture aspect (for June) and the hardships and challenges dealing with mental health (for Miles). It was honestly very cute and wholesome, I thought we’d be able to make our own constellations by scratch but I honestly didn’t mind the premade ones because it was very creative. We get to somewhat see the perspectives and imagination of the two characters as themselves and as a couple which was very cute. I don’t wanna spoil to much but the author put in a lot of thought for their back stories and the characters, I totally rate the game ♡♡♡
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Schastye
WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL OF A GAME. I can´t please my hands hurt. After a few pages I stopped reading and just wanted it to be over. The end was NOTHING it was suddenly just black wtf. I mean ok less than 1$ but PLEASE ITS JUST TERRIBLE. Maybe the story is good idk I couldn´t even payed attention to it. It was just a pain in the ass game. Play it if you want to but I regret paying for that shit.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
The game technically: As the anthropologist and spiritualist Carlos Castaneda said in one of his brilliant passages, “(…) the aim is to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive”. Mixing the exploration of the sensorial and the experimental, Schastye, aims at the balance between the terror of spiritual/existencial awareness with the wonder of spiritual/existencial awareness, using a pixelated and dithering aesthetic, something like a revival or “lost game” from the PSX era or early 2000s PC games. In Schastye you wake up in a small bedroom, with few elements beyond of a radio, a burning incense and an old computer with Word 97 opened. The only substantial progress action you can take is to sit in front of the computer and randomly press keys on keyboard to see the story being written automatically… Yes, all you can do is read an interactive story on a computer screen, a metalinguistic gameplay where the sounds around you alternate between children playing in the street, raindrops and noise from neighbors. During the reading we come across with quotes from Chapayev and Void by Victor Pelevin, Necronomicon by H. P. Lovecraft and the ambience of a journey through the studies of Marcel Griaule. Writing and narrative are close to the Lovecraftian epistle style with Carlos Castaneda’s oneirism, and his pioneering spiritualism full of hallucinogenic teas/drugs.
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game
Press Any Button
“Columns…a reference to a very old match 3 puzzle game that this game emulates in no way, shape, or form…”
This is much less a game, than it is, a way to unwind and chill, maybe needle out some emotions.
Well, I say that, but, it is only mostly so, because A-Eye, the main interactive persona, the one ‘controlling everything’, does make it harder at some point, and the chill factor drops until one can pass it, and get the apology waffle.
This is mostly a medium of popular references. Olympics, sports, video games, hobbies, academics&trivia, and even a nod or two towards the likes of authors that wrote about humanity’s downward spiral, though no names are directly mentioned, I definitely got some vibes of George Orwell, to name one.
– Real player with 2.7 hrs in game
This is a very simple, 2d game, that in terms of gameplay isn’t extremely exciting but it’s 100% worth just for the story itself. I randomly found this game yesterday and decided to install it, not really expecting much from it. But, the more you “press any button”, the more you get immersed in this story and relate to this cute little character called A-Eye, who, if you are anything like me, you will just want to hug and tell everything is going to be ok, by the time the game is over.
Don’t want to spoil the game too much, but if you have an hour to spare (probably less than that), you should give this game a go. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
Playing Pride & Prejudice 1: An Austen Armoire
As the title suggests, it is the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
It is strictly speaking a visual novel. I mean there is no game, it is the text of the full novel transcribed (Only the first 23 chapters, however) with an interactive part where you can dress the characters (Elisabeth, Jane …) With various clothes in a nice visual style and create postcards with quotes from the book.
Essentially, it’s an easy, fun, and enjoyable way to re-read this lovely novel at a pace to suit everyone’s taste and without affecting the reader’s imagination. Good work
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
Such a lovely game for Austen fans of all ages! Beautiful character art and a lovely soundtrack. Would love to see more illuminated novels like this!
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
From Head to Toe
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A fully voiced animation of two grown-up old friends walking home together having been separated for a number of years. Graphically simplistic, yet adequate and clear; albeit imperfect: the girl’s arms are about a hand’s length too short, and when the characters face forwards, we see they both have no septum, which looks odd. Animations could also be improved, the walking movements are rubber-legged and stiff-backed, which is slightly off-putting and compounded by the interactive nature of the action - you are expected to alternately click-and-hold the left and right mouse buttons to initiate the stroll along the street.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
“From Head to Toe” is a calming (until the end) walking simulator that talks about nostalgia of childhood & high school experiences. Although this is a little different from other walking simulator by making the walking a little harder (until they show you the option to auto-walk), I personally didn’t like the walking mechanics in this game until auto-walk was taught to the player. I had to play this game twice since I didn’t understand it especially when the walking mechanics was a little distracting & when they went onto the swings (until I realized you didn’t actually need to swing all the time on the swings to progress the story). The sounds in this game can be distracting if someone was focusing onto the dialogue, like when you are walking on the snow & for some reason it cuts off early which made it more distracting (to me). The music was good, it definitely fit the snowy town & the story / dialogue (I guess). The art / animation is decent, it good & bad in some ways but I ain’t one to judge art and stuff similar to that. I would usually rate games, but this is just a walking simulator there is just a story to rate so it a 8.5 / 10 for me.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Unmemory
Unusual game - reminiscent of the old text-based games we used to play. A little frustrating at times, trying to work out how to move forward. Worthwhile if you like adventure games and fancy something with a different interface.
– Real player with 10.2 hrs in game
Fun puzzle game with a nice multisensory story telling emphasis. I have to say though that the process of garnering the “materials” for the puzzle can be somewhat frustrating; for example the KLF puzzle requires something that is fairly obscure to find just to get started. The puzzles themselves, once you have all the materials needed, are alright at straightforward difficulty (hints are really optional), although I am particularly impressed by the last puzzle, the Dancers Numbers, the solution of which (the only I looked up online) really blew my mind for the cleverness. (as aside, I was too taken up with the thought that the dancers might be instructing a sequence about how the button ought to be pressed; which is quite tempting, but this is not nearly as clever as the official solution). Overall it is a great game
– Real player with 9.4 hrs in game