Plot Twist, a Melbourne-based games studio, has announced that the visual novel Ashes will launch in Early Access this May, with a full launch planned for December. This period of time will be used to finish the story, refine the existing minigames/add new ones, and provide new narrative content. The game blends graphic novel panels with interactive puzzles.…
Not A Cat Studios has announced STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age. The dark fantasy romantic visual novel is set in a world on the brink of disaster, and players must use an Emotion Palette to read others’ true emotions and intentions, influence relationships, and uncover the truth behind a brutal murder.…
Publisher Idea Factory International has announced a preorder date of April 22…
The first otome visual novel that I played – in fact, the…
The creative team at Acquire has always had a knack for blending traditional Japanese storytelling with experimental gameplay structures and, in recent years, a particular flair for 2D art. Its upcoming title, Monster Eater, being published by Red Dunes Games, continues that tradition. At its heart is a striking idea:…
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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, otome visual novel Hakuoki SSL ~Sweet School Life~ will be released in English this February, both digitally and physically. It centres around heroine Chizuru Yukimura and the handsome legendary warriors of the Shinsengumi. Most of the series is set in Edo Japan, but this…
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Japanese otome visual novel Kurenai no Homura: Sanada Ninpouchou launched for PS Vita in Japan in 2018, and for Nintendo Switch last year. Today, Idea Factory International announced that an English release, titled Homura: The Crimson Warriors, will be coming West next year, exclusively for Nintendo Switch. It will be…
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Forsaker: DingDing & Blade follows Papeti. She is a Forsaker: someone who looks human but has the instinct to devour their own kind. Her nature clashes with her need for love and freedom. Battles involve deckbuilding and roguelike elements, though there is an option to play the game as only…
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Last year, a humble Ukranian developer released Light de Deux, a sweet little romance visual novel about ballet dancers that I absolutely loved. The dance theme got to me, of course, but it was also well-written, well-drawn, and the characters inspired me so much I arranged with the developer to…
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Iwakura Aria caught my attention for several reasons: It’s a MAGES visual novel, and as a big-time fan of Steins;Gate and the rest of that series, I’ll play anything MAGES attaches its name to. Secondly, the project was being compared to The House in Fata Morgana, Raging Loop and Umineko,…
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I’m sorry if my title is a little odd — it’s hard to work a title like “and Roger” into a sentence that makes sense! and Roger is a mysterious point-and-click slice-of-life visual novel about a girl whose world changes as she comes downstairs on what seems like a typical…
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The third in the now-trilogy that started with AI: The Somnium Files is the first that Kotaro Uchikoshi took a back seat to. He still had a supervisory role, but it’s one of Uchikoshi’s mentees, Kazuya Yamada, who gets the creative credit for this one. The good news is that…
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Before I played Bustafellows, if you had told me that you could take the narrative qualities of noir fiction and pair it with the otome genre, I wouldn’t have believed you. As a genre, otome isn’t quite the “doe-eyed romance and frivolity for girls” genre that those who haven’t played…
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Eastasiasoft has announced that it will be publishing an officially licensed revival of The Bonfire of Taiwan, titled Re:Burn The Bonfire of Taiwan, for PC and consoles. The anime-style visual novel is a classic Asian soap opera that follows the rivalry between two families. The animosity is fuelled by business…
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