Highschool Possession Review
Possess ‘Em, Fap ‘Em, Save ‘Em, and Fuggedaboutit!
(more…)
Super Army of Tentacles 3: The Search for Army of Tentacles 2 Review
Eternal Madness VIII: Sanity’s Boogaloo.
(more…)
Higurashi: When They Cry Hou Chapter 6 – Tsumihoroboshi Review
After waiting a year of “TLC and editing” and a month for the mod to be updated, it’s finally here!
(more…)
Four Horsemen Review
The righteous die fighting, while the cool kids throw dance parties and give away banana cake.
Glory of the Self-Styled Diehard Girl Review
Inglorious self-destructive pseudo-erotic trite.
(more…)
Crystal City Review
Stop the Earth, go back, and start over again.
(more…)
WORLD END ECONOMiCA episode.02 Review
Four years later and profits are up 100%!
(more…)
Crimson Gray Review
A captivating crimson obscured by a dull gray.
(more…)
Dysfunctional Systems: Orientation Review
The episode that should’ve come first!
(more…)
Muv-Luv Unlimited Review
Unlimited Dreams; Limited Execution
(more…)
Sweetest Monster Review
Even the sweetest of monsters ought not to be trusted, especially if they make you aroused.
(more…)
Stay! Stay! Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Review
Stay! Stay! As in stay where you are and stay away from North Korea, because if you go there, bad things will probably happen.
(more…)
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ 2016 Version Review
‘Cos you gotta Go! Go! ‘fore you can Stay! Stay!
(more…)
Saya No Uta ~ The Song of Saya Review
Listen up, here’s a story. About a little guy that lives in a flesh world. And all day and all night and everything he sees is just flesh like him— except they are pulsating and screeching inside out abominations and he wants nothing more than to destroy the horrific and disgusting creatures all around him. And also have sex with his loli waifu.
Disclaimer: The following review contains screenshots depicting blood, viscera, and sexualized children. Reader discretion is advised. This post is Not Safe For Work.
Doki Doki Literature Club Review
Doki Doki Literature Club is one of the many titles I inadvertently stumbled across while perusing the cluttered Steam marketplace in search for interesting sounding titles that I might not have heard about otherwise. At first, the game seemed to be a rather typical dating sim, but one with the very curious disclaimer that the game is not suitable for children or the easily disturbed. Combine this with a strong recommendation for the game from my significant other and my realization that the game was actually free, I decided to give Doki Doki a shot. In doing so I found one of the most interesting games I have played all year. (more…)
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Review
Following the Danganronpa series over the past few years has been a turbulent ride, spanning over two excellent visual novels, a decent third person shooter that I should really revisit, an anime series that I railed on for 7 pages and still feel as if I was being a bit too generous towards, and various fan translated spin-off media that I never really checked out. However, all of that seemingly comes to a close with Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
(more…)Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos Review
Sometimes I really should do more research into the games I review before selecting them, because oh boy is this one a doozy. Originally released in 2013, Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos is the first episode as part of a visual novel series envisioned by its developers, Dischan. Following the success of the first installment, the company held a Kickstarter for three additional episodes of Dysfunctional Systems, including a prequel episode, a far longer second episode, and a climactic third episode to wrap everything up. Unfortunately, things went wrong, and the series went dark in 2015, and it was not until 2017 that episode 0, Dysfunctional Systems: Orientation was released, with development on the second episode restarting afterwards. That should have dissuaded me from reviewing this game, but it didn’t! (more…)
Panzermadels: Tank Dating Simulator Review
By now, it should be pretty evident that I really enjoy visual novels, and I think I can boil down the reason why to a single point. Visual novels allow for a level of versatility in storytelling greater than any genre of game and have the ability to explore more bizarre or outlandish premises. Partially due to how they do not need to be built around any specific gameplay style, but also because they are an accessible medium for developers without much programming skills. A point that Panzermadels encapsulates quite well. (more…)
Lily’s Day Off Review
Anybody who looks at the games I review can parse that I tend to gravitate towards shorter games as, quite simply, it is far easier to get through one game a week if it is 10 hours long or less, and I try to parse out games that take 20+ hours with games that take only a fraction as much time. So without further ado, Lily’s Day Off, one of the briefest games I’ve covered on this site, and actually a pretty nifty visual novel. (more…)
Remember, Remember Review
While I am the sort of person who does not shy away from reviewing obscure titles, I think I hit a new extreme here, as Remember, Remember, a visual novel that was released on Steam and Itch.io back in May of this year, has not been given a formal review of any kind beyond Steam reviews. I genuinely do not think this has ever happened to me before, but after playing through the game, I cannot say I am surprised by the lack of attention it has garnered.
(more…)Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 Review
I have brought this up before, but now would be a good time to restate my mission statement when it comes to reviewing games. Whenever I play a game, it is because something about it is interesting, appealing, or promising to me, and after going through it to completion, I enjoy the act of analyzing the components of each game. The process of assessing its strengths and weaknesses from my own subjective perspective. I do this in order to practice my critical thinking skills, increase my game literacy, and justify how I spend approximately 1,000 hours a year playing games. It is an enjoyable experience for me, at least assuming the game is at least average in its quality, and Memory’s Dogma is not even close.
(more…)Higurashi: When They Cry Hou Chapter 5 – Meakashi Review
Another few months have passed, and another chapter of Higurashi has been released. I have been reviewing this series as the new translated versions have been coming out from MangaGamer, and after reviewing the four part Question Arc, it is finally time to dive into the Answer Arc, Higurashi: When They Cry Kai. (more…)
Angels With Scaly Wings Review
So, I’ve been reviewing games for about five years now, and never did I expect that I would start being given review codes from game developers without asking for them. This recently happened with a dragon dating sim called Angels With Scaly Wings. A curious little title that piqued my interest when the developers compared it to the Zero Escape series, so I began going through it after making room in my schedule. Which means this review is going live over a month after I received my review code. Whoops.
(more…)Higurashi: When They Cry Chapter 4 – Himatsubushi Review
Seeing as how I reviewed chapter 3 of Higurashi a mere 2 weeks ago, I don’t really have much of an introduction for this review. I said a large number of great things about it, and was excited to see how the fourth chapter in this series played out. So I’m going to cut all pretenses and jump right in. (more…)
Higurashi: When They Cry Chapter 3 – Tatarigoroshi Review
So, it’s been about a year since I last touched the Higurashi series with chapter 2, even longer since I reviewed chapter 1, and I really don’t have much of an excuse for that. While the second installment did not captivate me like the first, it was never my intention to give up on the series after I more or less stated that I intended on exploring this series of visual novels in its entirety. The series simply slipped my mind for several months, and only recently did I so much as purchase the currently released chapters. So without further ado, Higurashi: When They Cry Chapter 3 – Tatarigoroshi. (more…)
Student Transfer Version 2.0 Review
About one year ago, I reviewed Student Transfer version 1.4. It quickly became one of my my popular posts of all time, seeing as how the post talked about a very obscure and niche game that was pretty much only talked about in its own forums and online message boards. When combined with the fact that I really enjoyed my time with the game, it’s only natural that I would revisit this visual novel centering around transformations, body swapping, mind control, possession, and more. But first, a bit of backstory. (more…)
Love At First Sight Review
I should probably explain that my goal for this blog for the past six months has been to get one review posted every week, and I’ve been doing my best to curate my game playing schedule to accommodate that. Unfortunately, sometimes I run into a game that I struggle to say much of anything about, and I spend very little time with before reaching the conclusion, as there just isn’t much to it. That’s unfortunately the case with Love At First Sight, and I feel sorry for the game because of it, as it really is quite nice.
(more…)Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma Review
Well, it’s finally here. After 3.5 years of anticipation, and a second playthrough for both 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward, the conclusionary chapter of the Zero Escape series Zero Time Dilemma is finally here. I already spoke of my love for this series, so without further ado, let’s jump right in. (more…)
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action Review
I originally wanted to begin with a preamble about berating this game for having an insufficient amount of its advertised waifu abuse, as both the quantity of true waifus and their abuse leaves much to be desired. But that really isn’t what VA-11 Hall-A is about, despite what 18 month old marketing materials led me to believe, and instead it is a visual novel about cyberpunk bartending, and a pretty wonderful one at that. (more…)
Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward Review
Following the initial release of 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, the game failed to capture a sizable market in Japan, with sales failing to surpass 50,000, while in the west it sold enough to justify a second printing. Because of this the game was viewed as a success, and a sequel was put forward, one that would release on two platforms in order to maximize the audience, feature a far larger and more ambitious story, and be rebranded under the moniker of Zero Escape. However, the game failed to perform adequately in Japan, and there was a brief period where it was believed the series would end forever on the cliffhanger of the series. Which would have been a colossal shame, but that isn’t the case as the final chapter is due out in a week. But before that, let’s dig into the middle chapter of this trilogy with Virtue’s Last Reward.
(more…)Zero Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors Review
So, it’s been about four years since I originally reviewed Zero Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, and with the third installment in the series, Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma only a month away, I decided I should refresh myself on a series whose intricacies and strong narratives that acted as a key source of inspiration for me as a writer. …And of course I’m going to review them. I mean, the very idea of investing a lengthy amount of time into a game and not reviewing it would be positively preposterous after doing this for four years. (more…)
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Review
Coming off the heels of the overall well received port of the first Danganronpa game on PC, Spike Chunsoft and Abstraction games released Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. I originally reviewed the Vita version in 2014, but I like to think that I’ve grown substantially as a writer since then, and I am always willing to support companies, especially Japanese companies, when they support the PC marketplace with niche titles.
(more…)Cho Dengeki Stryker Review
Considering how this is my third review of one in the past three months, I shouldn’t need to preface how I enjoy visual novels, specifically of the Japanese variety. When done right, they are able to tell captivating stories with an enjoyable cast of characters, often interspersed with a lot of things that would be difficult to do in another medium. But that’s not to say that the medium is free of its own share of trash. So without further ado, time to talk about Cho Dengeki Stryker! (more…)
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Review
After many requests from people who don’t own PlayStation Vitas, and an announcement that there were no plans to port the Danganronpa series to a new platform, Spike Chunsoft decided to bring this beloved little visual novel franchise to the PC market. I originally reviewed the Vita version in 2014, but I like to think that I’ve grown substantially as a writer since then, and I am always willing to support companies, especially Japanese companies, when they support the PC marketplace with niche titles. So on with the review!
(more…)Higurashi: When They Cry Chapter 2 – Watanagashi Review
A few months ago, I reviewed the first chapter of MangaGamer’s retranslation of the decade-old Doujin darling that is the Higurashi series, liking it quite a lot, and choosing to dedicate myself to see this series through as it gradually releases over the next few years. Once again, I played the game using a fan created mod that adds in new visuals, changes the aspect ratio, and gives the game voice acting, all of which were from a PS3 compilation of these games, but not the PC version. You can find the mod here. (more…)
Cherry Tree High I! My! Girls! Review
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club has sat in the pile of games I was not sure about for roughly 1.5 years. Not because of anything having to do with its quality, I enjoyed the characters and writing a good amount, but I could not stand to go through its stat driven gameplay, as I quickly become obsessive about that sort of thing. As such, I chose to look at its sequel, a kinetic visual novel, and an experience I would describe as little more than flaccid. (more…)
Student Transfer Version 1.4 Review
Okay, there is a lot to unpack here. One, Student Transfer is a collaborative visual novel made by the some people over at tfgamessite.com. Two, the game uses assets ripped from ‘adult’ Japanese visual novels, though it censors the naughtier bits. Three, this is simply a review of the first publicly released build, after the implementation of a couple patches. Four, this was made in about three and a half months, which includes pre-production. Also, I’ve been following this game’s production since its inception, and since it was an idea introduced in the Press-Switch thread. (more…)