News by Matt S. Visual novels and pretty girls go together… well, very often. Except in the otome games. Then it’s pretty boys. But either way, everyone is always pretty. You’d think we’d be bored of games with pretty people in them given how many there are but, nope. It’s…
Read MoreInterview by Matt S. Every so often a visual novel comes along that breaks away from the “hyper-niche” reputation that the genre has to pull in people that aren’t usually that interested in it. Root Letter was one such example. A detective mystery story set in regional Japan, it was…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Gangsters – be they yakuza, mafia, or otherwise, are aestheticised in Japanese culture in a way that lends itself very well to otome and a kind of violent, but ravishing romance story. Because of that, Piofiore: Fated Memories, which is a visual novel about three warring…
Read MoreReview by Matt S.Along with Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes belongs to what you could conceivably call the “AAA” of visual novels. Each of these titles is characterised by having an expansive, extensive vision, exceptionally high production values, and are lengthy, content-filled stories. Robotics;Notes Elite is an upgrade to the original…
Read MoreWe have a special guest on the podcast this week! Tina from Cotton Candy Cyanide, an Australian developer that has just released her first game under the brand – Quantum Suicide. It’s a very, very good game, full of Danganronpa-style drama and with a healthy dose of fan service, so…
Read MoreWhat a wonderful thing 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is. Developer, Vanillaware, is known for its quality 2D action games, from Dragon’s Crown through to Odin Sphere, but in general, those games are about the stunning visual engines and tight action. The developer has never been known as a storyteller in…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Earlier this year we reviewed Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York. It was a decent attempt to bring White Wolf’s modern gothic pen-and-paper vision to video game consoles via the visual novel medium. The developers are on to something with this license and property,…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Quantum Suicide has been a very long time coming. We first wrote about the game back in 2016, saw it in action in 2017 at TGS, and thought then that things were coming together nicely. As happens so often with video games, though, things didn’t come…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. So, I’ve got good news – I’m finally able to provide Patreon backers with a demo for Sade: A My Time With Dee Dee VN. This demo will give you the first (in-game) day of the five-day narrative, so you are getting a good chunk of…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Dear game developers and publishers: if you’ve got a visual novel that needs localisation, you really need to consider the process of finding a quality localiser to be an essential step in the publishing process. Your game exists exclusively for that story, and if you can’t…
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