Kodansha Creators’ Lab has announced that it will publish the Bon-developed visual novel Buzz or Die. In it, you compete in a new gruesome game show for viewer votes to avoid being sent to death row. Buzz or Die is in development for PC and is expected to launch this year.…
There was a time when visual novels were a rare thing in the West, particularly on consoles. Steins;Gate, from 2009, was one of the pioneers in changing that. Brought to the West on PS3 and Vita, it turned heads by proving to a wide and mainstream audience that it was…
Six years after its original Japanese launch, Cupid Parasite is now coming…
Idea Factory and its otome factory, Otomate, is at its best when…
It’s amazing to think that this is the first time there has been an official release of Fate Stay/Night outside of Japan. This visual novel kicked off one of the biggest anime properties of all time, turned into one of the biggest free-to-play mobile games, and made the companies producing…
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Hakuoki was my first otome game, right back when it was released on the PlayStation 3. Actually, I think it might have been my very first visual novel. It seems hard to imagine now, but a decade ago, digital distribution wasn’t in the same place, and visual novels being released…
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It’s taken years of waiting but it is nearly time for the first localization of Date A Live: Ren Dystopia to be released for PC worldwide as a launch window of September has been announced. The visual novel has only been available for PlayStation 4 in Japan since its original…
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With its series of Pixel Pulps games, LCB Game Studio is bringing something fresh to the visual novel genre. The games look retro (and the stories are retro-pulpy), but they don’t quite play like a retro title might because different minigames are incorporated into each game. For example, you can…
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It’s hard for us in the West to fully appreciate just how core idol companies and groups are in Japan. It’s not just about the music and performance, though that is certainly a big part of it. Idol groups act as talent feeder pools for just about every other part…
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That’s what I get for taking my time with The Last Waltz. Another indie developer is going to waltz in (hah) and have the first dance-themed visual novel. I’m not jealous though, because Light de Deux looks lovely and I hope it’s a big success. Related reading: It’s not specifically…
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Canadian developer BancyCo (formerly Benjamin Rivers Inc.) has made three adventure games to date: two in the horror genre with Home and Worse Than Death, and (releasing between the others) sci-fi title Alone With You. Home has mixed reviews, while thoughts on the other two games are mostly positive. The…
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There are conventional visual novels, and then there are the kinds of visual novels that Type-Moon produces. Tsukihime is a game that has a fearsome reputation, being one of the very first works of the company (it came before Fate/Stay Night, which has become the Type-Moon behemoth), and was essentially…
Read MorePaper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open is the second in an anthology series of spooky (sometimes downright scary) games that are presented in a living “paper theatre” style. The first, Paper Ghost Stories: 7PM, is a relatively short game about three children wanting a mysterious new neighbour to play with…
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Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly catch-up news feature, the catch-up coffee. With each issue I will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!…
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