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About this blog

This is a series of condensed articles from my main Blog.

Reviews, News and Analysis are my specialty and will be updated weekly on the main site followed by here.

Entries in this blog

Analysis

NVL VS. ADV – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   For visual novels, the written word is their backbone and how it is presented to the player is key to controlling their tone and pacing. Over the years the methods of presentation have been standardised into two types, ADV (ADVenture) and NVL (NoVeL). These two have become the dominate styles and are often positioned as diametric opposites in what they set out to achieve. When a developer creates
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Analysis

The Common Route – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   In The Beginning    If there is one structural element which is used by most visual novels it is the Common Route. This linear opening section contains the choices which decide the route you will be sent on as well as providing world and character building setup so that the routes can focus on their specific hero/heroine. They are so ubiquitous with visual novels that even those who are
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Review

Heaven Will Be Mine – Review - Clashing Steel And Warming Hearts

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Sci-fi, Mecha, LGBTQ+.    Play Time – 8 hours.   Developer - Pillow Fight Games.   Steam   VNDB   Finding Heaven   There is a certain beauty to the simple impulse to say, “Wow that is so cool”. It is a short phrase filled with an innocent emotion many of us lose as we get older and the realities of life turn everything into a grey soup. An adult is meant to be mature and sensi
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Analysis

The Bad Ending – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   When Everything Goes Wrong   A good story is often defined by its ending and a bad one can be redeemed by it. Visual novels are no exception to this rule and must contend with this opportunity multiple times over the course of the game. The most common form of endings used in visual novels are the Good and True Endings, but there are also some games which use Bad Endings. This kind of e
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Cafe Stella Analysis (Spoilers) – There Is Only One Yuzusoft Game

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog HERE. Secrets Of The Dead   My relationship with Yuzusoft’s work has been a mixed one. The quality of the artwork and the likeable characters draw me to their games, but I often find myself burned out on them due their often unnecessary length and inability to handle their core premises with any depth or consideration. Despite these feelings, I continue to come back to their games so I can only assu
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Review

Lamunation! Review - It's A Mad And Brilliantly Shining World

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre - Comedy.   Play Time - 15 hours.   Developer - WhitePowder   Steam   VNDB   Always Be Happy!   Most visual novels use comedy in some form, be it a joke to break tension or a scene to make the player empathise with the characters, but few commit to it as the single focus of their identity. This is for a good reason, humour is subjective and as such making a comedy game with a wi
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Analysis

Hello Lady! Analysis (Spoilers) – Pieces of Potential

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Academic Subterfuge   The English release of Hello Lady is a game in a strange situation. Being a translation of the Complete Edition, it is effectively three games tied into one which leads to some interest quirks. I knew that I would have to play the game since I enjoyed one of the developers previous works, Coμ. Coμ was a flawed but entertaining game and it is with these expectations I when
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Café Stella and the Reapers' Butterflies Review - A Cup of Coffee And The Souls of The Dead

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog HERE. Genre – Slice of Life, Romance. Playtime – 40 hours. Developer – Yuzusoft. Publisher – NekoNyan and Hikari Field. VNDB A Second Chance   Dying is never pleasant, especially when you have lingering regrets. Takamine Kousei’s death is as sudden as his life was unremarkable and in his final moment he wishes his life could have been more. However, this is not the end for Kousei as he finds hims
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Sunrider 4: The Captain’s Return Review – A Glorious Return?

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Sci-fi, Action, Mecha    Play Time - 22 hours    Developer – Love In Space   Steam   Return From Exile   A fall from grace changes a man and exile from all he has ever known can break him. Such is the state of Kayto Shields as the curtain rises on the fourth game in the Sunrider series. This is the tale of how he pulls himself up from the pit he has fallen into, but thi
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A Clockwork Ley-Line Trilogy Review – A Mistifying Mystery

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre - Mystery, Fantasy.   Playtime - Roughly 20 Hours Each, 60 In Total    Developer -  Unison Shift: Blossom    Steam    VNDB   Three Ley-Lines Shall Reveal The Truth   Creating a trilogy of games is an ambitious undertaking and one where so many tiny things can go wrong and ruin the whole package. It needs a glue to hold it together and keep the player invested in the long term, s
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Built-in Flowcharts – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Divergent Paths To The Future   For the longest time when you wanted to know how to get to a specific route in a visual novel the only options open to you where trial and error or looking up a walkthrough. However, in more recent years there has been a trend to include built-in flowcharts that fill out as the player progresses through the game. These help the player understand the struc
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Review

Amnesia: Memories Review - A Wonderland Of Love And Paranoia

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Otome, Mystery, Drama.   Play Time – 35 hours.   Developer – Otomate and Design Factory.    Steam     VNDB   Reinvigorating The Cliché   Using amnesia as plot device is a common tactic by many creators who want to put the protagonist on the same level as the player, but its use rarely goes beyond being an excuse for exposition. Enter Amnesia: Memories, as you might have been a
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The Sub-Heroine Route – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   She Was Always Right Beside Me   A story always has its heroes and heroines, defining characters who shapes the narrative and break out of the normal to change the world around them. These are the people who the player remembers long after they have put the game down and are the focus of a developer's time and effort. But what about the supporting cast? The men and women who stand bello
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Review

fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE Review - Capturing A Moment Of Beauty

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Science Fantasy. Playtime – 6 Hours. Developer – ALICE IN DISSONANCE. Publisher – Phoenixx. VNDB Before The Storm LIGHTKRAVETE marks ALICE IN DISSONANCE’S first new fault title in seven years and this gap has lead to a substantial change in their overall style. Gone are the static character portraits, now each character has their own live 2d style model which moves as they spea
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Horror VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   There Is Something Behind You   Genres define the games they inhabit and how the game uses its unique features to achieve or subvert the expectations of the audience. This is especially true for horror which aims to invoke feelings in the player that many other genres deliberately steer clear of. As such it is an excellent candidate to begin to observe how visual novels adapt themselves
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The True Ending – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Final Destination   Controlling how your game ends is crucial to the impression of it the player walks away with. This is an especially pressing issue for games with any kind of choice system which provides the option of alternative endings. If not handled correctly this can cause the narrative to come across as inconclusive and lacking a coherent identity. Something to tie the events
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Review

Hello Lady! Review – Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Hot

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Superpowers, Action, Multiple Route Mystery.   Play Time – 50 hours.   Developer - Akatsuki WORKS.   Steam   VNDB   It Started With Fire   The quest for revenge is a time worn tale which has assumed many forms and is notoriously difficult to get right. It can be a struggle to get the audience to empathise with a character who is seeking revenge, especially when
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Meaningless Choices – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Empty and Pointless?   The illusion of choice is one of a video game’s most fragile tools, a single contradiction or misstep in presentation and the whole thing shatters and the player feels cheated. As such the idea of a Meaningless Choice is one which is viewed in a negative light as something to avoid alongside the idea that all choices must offer some form of consequence, no matter
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Kiss the Demiurge Review – Flowers in a Garden of Demons

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Yuri, Modern Fantasy    Play Time – 6 hours    Developer – YuriEureka    Steam    VNDB Note – I did receive a review copy from the developer. A heads up if that fact might bother you.   Something Wicked This Way Comes   In most settling magic is normally a force for good and even when it is not, the protagonist is special enough to make the most of it regardless. T
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Hybrid Visual Novels – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   The Best Of Both Worlds?   When talking about visual novels there is a tendency to present the medium as pure and distinct from all other types of games. Of course the reality is that other games influence visual novels and visual novels influence other games in a cycle of mutual adaptation and growth. The most noticeable manifestation of this union is the hybrid visual novel. This bein
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Episodic Stories – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Tales From A Distant Land   How a visual novel is structured is perhaps one of the most important, but also the least immediately obvious, element for the player. The way in which the pieces of the narrative fit together often determines the kind of story you are going to tell and tools available to impart emotions and ideas. As such the choice to assume a structure based around Episodi
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Enforced Play Order – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Directions From On High   The player is a wild and chaotic beast prone to doing what you least expect and are both the joy and bane of developers. This is especially true for any game which focuses on narrative as its core element since there is no guarantee the player will experience the story in the way the designers intended and even more so if there is any form of freedom offered.
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Polyamorous Endings – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   A Relationship With Many Sides   When it comes to relationships most forms of media present monogamous pairings as the normal and rarely explore beyond this line of thinking and when they do the presentation of the opposite extreme is generally negative. Enter the visual novel, here is a space where polyamorous relationships are given an equal examination to their more traditional peers
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Yandere Horror VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Obsessive Love   The Yandere is perhaps the most iconic ‘Dere’, not just within visual novels but within the more general anime fandom, with their distinctive mix of love and violence, they have found their way into everything from Comedy to Slice of Life. It is the particular combination of Yandere and Horror that is the focus today and the way this niche aspect of visual novels has ca
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Gnosia Review – In Space No One Can Hear You Scheme

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Mystery, Social Deduction, Thriller    Play Time – 20 hours    Developer - Petit Depotto    Steam    VNDB   With Knives Out and Masks On   Trapping a group of people in a remote location and forcing them to into a game of social deduction is a premise with a surprising among of interesting scenarios to give despite how simple it is at its core. We have death games like
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