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.
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Oedipus Dating Sim
Tried LARPing this.
It’s all fun and games until daddy gets home
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Romance Typing Games.
A really funny game! It doesn’t take too much time to finish all the routes and it’s certainly recommended, if you search for a not too difficult game to spend some free time and relax. And if you love Greek myths, well, you will find this even funnier!
– Real player with 4.4 hrs in game
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 Romance 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
Four Rendezvous
Correct Visual Novel. A good work with the Russian dubbing voices. A bit short though.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
Kombi Travels - Jigsaw Landscapes
I really enjoyed playing this game. Since jigsaw games is something I like playing that helps me feel relaxed. And very helpful when my mental health isn’t feeling good.
– Real player with 9.2 hrs in game
The art of this game is very beautiful, the relaxing atmosphere is very pleasant.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered
Pre-Order Life is Strange Remastered Collection and receive the ‘Zombie Crypt’ Outfit for Chloe. ‘Zombie Crypt’ Outfit is only available for use in Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered. The Life is Strange Remastered Collection includes ‘Life is Strange Remastered’ and ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered’.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm returns with remastered visuals across characters & environments.
Set three years before ‘Life is Strange’, you play as sixteen-year old Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber, a beautiful and popular girl destined for success.
When Rachel learns a secret about her family that threatens to destroy her world, it is her newfound friendship with Chloe that gives her the strength to carry on.
No longer alone the girls must confront each other’s demons and together, find a way to overcome them.
Cupid’s Palace
Cupid(You) are in the chaotic depths of Hades. You seek help from the GODS of Olympus, to help unite with your beloved Psyche at the fantastical Cupid’s Palace. You must tactfully leap and jump, to avoid falling into the depths of Hades. On Your journey, You can choose to smell the roses, activating the singing of The Love Faeries. You can also play music by strumming the guitar to entertain yourself. You can and will unite with your beloved Psyche.
Cupid’s Palace has 7 elegantly designed levels for viewing and listening pleasure. The Game has 7 unique music tracks. This RPG is styled beautifully with magical Greco-Roman art influence. It’s a joyful, weird, fantasy experience. It’s an excellent game for game players to enjoy.
Furries & Scalies & Bears OH MY! 2: Return to Kale Bay
So this game is a ride! One that you realize is going to go crazy about 15 mins. into it. I’ll not spoiler anything, other than to say Its definetly different. I’ve no idea why the author took the story in the direction they did. And it left ALOT of unanswered questions about what happened to everyone from the original game! Questions I was not expecting a sequel to bring up, and all the usual questions you would expect some answers from in a sequel. No Answers given, just unexplained mysteries. This one created alot of loose ends, which i absolutely cant get into cause spoilers! but grrrrrrrrr I so wana ask why what and how now!
– Real player with 4.2 hrs in game
Dementia the game! (A Friend bought me this game)
The plot is super confusing and all over the place but none the less sort of all makes sense at the end,.its 4 am so i mean i’m tired as heck but yea it was an overall weird? decent experience or something. Breaks the 4th wall a couple of times and has some humor in their like dragons going to space even though they have wings and can fly.
P.S
Wyatt is a sweet heart best character in the game.
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
Florence
- Act I - Crush
What to do on your sad Valentine’s day, when you’ve canceled your own pity party and felt betrayed by your own feelings? Simple. To play the mobile game you’ve been hearing some good stuff about, which has been given a surprising Steam release. That’s how I was introduced to Florence, anyway. I will skip that part of the game winning every possible award and beating all the best mobile games back when it was originally released. You most likely know that already. Besides, it’s not that important. The feelings and experience are all that matters. As Maya Angelou famously said: I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. The same is fair for video games - you may forget many details about them, but you will always remember how some of them made you feel. And Florence? Quality emotions delivery service at the click of your mouse!
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Another truly mesmerizing and enchanting story experience published by Annapurna. Like I said in other reviews before, don’t expect complex gameplay, just enjoy the emotional ride, and oh boy, does this game deliver in that regard. If you’ve ever been in a relationship or else before, this really presses the one or other button. Could even hurt, too, to watch this, so take this as a word of warning. But if you can make yourself free of that, Florence is an exceptional tale through the mindscape of a young woman and her partner, falling in and out of love. There are no real puzzles (the few that are actually there serve as a brilliantly executed metaphor as well), nor are there any difficulties. Really, it’s just pure storytelling in its highest degree. I guess you either love or hate it, but honestly, I just adore those games, true art in my opinion, with all the little attention to the tiniest details. By the way, music is fantastic as well, extremely emotional piano & strings numbers you would even buy extra (but luckily it’s already included for free, so check out the soundtrack), sometimes tragic, yet inspiring, and all original compositions. I just can’t praise this game enough, and if you’re a bit into emotional and artsy titles, and like French movies (though the game is Australian ;)), please, please give it a try. Yeah, I don’t say this often, for me it’s a must-buy (even though it’s very short), but that’s how good it is. That saying, the ending surely is too optimistic (being an artist myself), but what the heck, why not just be positive for a change :).
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Life is Strange Remastered
Pre-Order Life is Strange Remastered Collection and receive the ‘Zombie Crypt’ Outfit for Chloe. ‘Zombie Crypt’ Outfit is only available for use in Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered. The Life is Strange Remastered Collection includes ‘Life is Strange Remastered’ and ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered’.
Experience the BAFTA award-winning story of Life is Strange now beautifully remastered with enhanced visuals and vastly improved animation using mocap technology.
Play as Max Caulfield, a photography senior who discovers she can rewind time while saving her best friend Chloe Price from a violent altercation.
The pair soon find themselves investigating the mysterious disappearance of fellow student Rachel Amber, uncovering a dark side to life in Arcadia Bay. Meanwhile, Max must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.