Quick summary: an Intro to Economics class coupled with a rollercoaster of emotions. If you liked Spice & Wolf or even have a passing interest in the world of finance, get the three-part bundle and don't look back.

(No spoilers review)

So, World End Economica; a VN that showed up on my "Recommended" feed so often I felt I just had to try it, but never did for some reason. Until I finally did, and boy I'm glad.

Graphics: 6/10

Let's start with the basics: graphics ain't a strong point of this VN. Character illustrations are good, but reused too often; meanwhile backgrounds are simple but *also* overused. CGs are pretty nice and fit well with the artistic style of the VN, but the fact you unlock the CG gallery only after finishing the game is a minus overall. Still, it does its work and it's never distracting.

Sound: 3/10

No voice acting whatsoever, and the music ranges from decent to downright irritating. You don't lose much by playing the game on Mute, to be honest.

Story: 10/10

And here we finally get to the chewy center of this VN. So, how is it? in a word, delightful. It's sci-fi, but hard sci-fi; no green-skinned aliens, no space battles, nothing but a space elevator between Earth and its new colony on the moon and the hopes of someday, maybe reaching Mars.

To avoid spoilers I won't go into much detail, but I'll say this: the game is an emotional rollercoaster, which will have you on the edge of your seat multiple times throughout the entire volume, with characters that are all flawed, act on realistic motivations, and come into conflict for believable reasons; definitely one of the best reads I've had in years. Contrary to other reviewers, I found the economics jargon simple to follow, and the game offers definitions and examples through the plot itself on the most important terms, like short-selling and margin-buying.

Within the series itself, I think this chapter is somewhat self-contained; the plot does have a clear beginning, a climax and a conclusion, so you could buy it and skip the rest if you didn't like it, or found the jargon confusing. It does leave a few plot points hanging for its sequels, obviously, but it's not a complete cliffhanger either.

Longevity: 6/10

It's a kinetic novel, so there are no branches whatsoever; it's a linear story from start to end. I finished it in around 4.5 hours, but I'm a fast reader so it'd probably take most people around 6 hours of reading; not too long, but a decent length for its price.

Still, replay value is high, both to catch foreshadowing of later events, as well as re-reading complex points after you understand the jargon better. Or hell, just for the pleasure of it.

Conclusion

As I already said, this is the best VN I've read in years; if you're undecided I'd recommend you to buy this volume and give it a try, but most people should really go for the bundle, install it ASAP, and enjoy the best economics class in existence.