What if Harry Potter was something that you could enjoy without the knowledge that every word you read came from someone who is deeply, aggressively hateful? What if you could jump into the body of a student of magic and fall in love with all the characters? That’s essentially where we’re at with Celestia: Chain of Fate. At the start…
Four years after its Japanese PlayStation 4 launch, Date A Live: Ren Dystopia is set to launch worldwide via Steam soon. (Japan will also be getting the Steam version.) Last month a September release window was confirmed, and today’s news pins down one early September day for its launch. The…
The first trilogy of Pixel Pulps from LCB Game Studio had phenomenally…
It’s amazing to think that this is the first time there has…
After playing Read Only Memories: Neurodiver, I am absolutely up for another visual novel that explores the idea of memory. Chromatic Memories is a bit different, though: instead of chasing a villain erasing the memories of others, it’s you that is accidentally erasing your own. The game is set in…
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Spike Chunsoft knows its way to my heart. Put pretty anime girls in swimwear and, well, I can’t help but buy the thing now, can I? It’s actually a requirement that I do so. So that’s what the Spike Chunsoft team is doing to me in collaboration with MAGES with…
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My impatience for, well, anything is well-documented at this point. Waiting five years for a game seemed completely unfeasible but I have done it! I have waited half a decade for Read Only Memories: Neurodiver (ROM: Neurodiver), the sequel to 2015’s 2064: Read Only Memories. When I was offered a…
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One of the things I’ve learned in making my own visual novel is that scope can very easily blow out. Every new scene, character, idea, and story beat that you add in means more backgrounds, CGs, character costumes and music. Then it all becomes very expensive. And so, in most…
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Nearly a year after Agate launched Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 to mixed reviews, the developer is trying its hand at bringing otome visual novel Celestia: Chain of Fate from story app Memories: My Story, My Choice to PC and Nintendo Switch. This isn’t something I’ve seen done a…
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During the past two years, a trilogy of titles have been released as part of the Pixel Pulps series developed by LCB Game Studio: Mothmen 1966, Varney Lake, and Bahnsen Knights. These games don’t fall into the common trap of “more content!” – instead, each is a perfectly reasonable length…
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There is massive money on the table for the first localisation outfit that can produce high-quality translations of Chinese-developed games for their Western release. Unfortunately, we don’t have that localisation infrastructure yet. It has only been in the last decade or so that games from Taiwan and/or China have started…
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When I think of Idea Factory otome games, much of what comes to mind is as cute and colourful as the upcoming Cupid Paradise: Sweet and Spicy Darling. Don’t get me wrong, those are wonderful and creative games – but what if an otome visual novel decides to go dark…
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I would describe Read Only Memories: Neurodiver as a cyberpunk psychic mystery visual novel with point-and-click adventure elements. Or is it the other way around? Either way, use the word psychic in any capacity describing a game and I’ll instantly be interested. (Or the word cryptid, kind of funny because…
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Those who have been reading DDNet for some time know that for a few years now I’ve been working on a visual novel that’s on a subject close to my heart: Ballroom dancing! Why has it taken so long? Because the scope of this project is just that significant, and…
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