this game is awesome

I wish Bartenders are real

Edit: So I finally completed the game to 100%, got ALL achievements including the infamously hard Model Warrior Julianne, and I figured, fück it, time to actually make a proper review.


Well, to put it simply, it's a Cyberpunk themed game where you play as Jill Stingray, a bartender in the BTC Certified bar coded VA-11 in the Alpha hall. Or simply, VA-11 Hall-A. You serve drinks to newcomers and regulars alike and chat with them, trade stories and perhaps discover some secrets spreading throughout the corrupt place named Glitch City.

You have 5 ingredients to make drinks out of, and you can make it aged or "on the rocks" (aka iced). Optionally, some drinks may say "Optional Kamotrine" (AKA the ingredient for alcohol) and you may choose to either keep it alcohol free or to spike it up REAL HARD to the point where certain customers may get drunk. There are also bottled booze that you can serve if you feel like it fits the order of some customers, and even a certain secret drink that could summon secret clients if you serve them to the right people.

So, this game being a visual novel, where is the "visual novel" part of this? Well, apart from obviously listening to customers tell their stories, serving drinks that either isn't their order or one that fits into someone's "get me a whatever drink" could lead to different conversations happening. And believe me, replaying this game and finding different convos is a treat. Why? Because you LOVE to hear from these characters.

Which brings me to the next part of the review. The characters. The bar may not be a massively popular place for people to be in, but the ones who do come in will be one of the most unique, fun and exciting people to see. People of varying age and personality will come and make sure that you remember them. Hell, some of them will regularly come back to the bar to the point where they'll have their own "the usual" type of drink.

Don't worry; there is an actual story to the game and it's not just a couple hours of serving people drinks and listening to them. While I won't discuss what happens in the story, I'll say one thing for sure: You'll get sad. But in the end, you'll smile.

Another thing to note: the soundtrack is a BANGER. Garoad, the composer of the music made one hell of an OST that WILL stay iconic for decades. Synthwave, City Pop, and house/trap combined into one ass kicking album. Garoad, if you're seeing this - I LOVE YOUR SONGS!!!

The aesthetics are great as well. It feels like you're playing an old 80s/90s PC game, with how sometimes the game goes on slideshow mode and purposefully slows down some animations for a bit of nostalgia feeling. Oh and pixel graphics. I love em as well and it adds to the experience.

The only downsides in the game? Probably only two major things and one minor nitpick;

Major problems:

1. In my experience, it took me around 12 hours to finish the game once. Sure, it might seem quite a while for a story, but believe me, once you interacted with the characters, you NEVER want it to end. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that wishes we got more time with the patrons in the bar. But then again, there is a story to be told, and in the end, a story's gotta end in the right pace. I guess this doesn't count as actual criticism, but man...

2. Model Warrior Julianne. Don't worry; this is not a spoiler by any means, but GÒDDAMN. It's a minigame that Jill can buy for her apartment, it's a bullet hell shoot-em-up with the simple objective of surviving waves of enemies and destroying the final boss, and you have 3 lives. What's the problem?

THE DEVS DEFINITELY DID NOT PLAYTEST THE MINIGAME.

Bullet Hell? MORE LIKE COMPLETIONIST HELL. Anyone who's going for a full 100% run WILL tell you that this minigame is the last achievement anyone goes for and is the hardest. I don't even know how to describe it. It's the Dark Souls of Bullet Hells, there's no I-frames and if you die there's no checkpoint. Goodbye bìtches, go back to the starting point!

Is it impossible? Nope. Is it gonna make you want to blow your brains out? Yep.

Minor nitpicks:

You can't play this game in full windowed mode. Sure, technically NO ONE does that, but I do it so I can stream the game to my friends with audio, and you could only stream a small window if you wanna do that. Oh well, whatever.

TLDR:


- Simple yet fun gameplay
- Great story and characters
- Awesome UI/aesthetic
- Banger soundtrack
- Best Boss (aka Dana) :D


- You'd wish the story is longer, kinda
- Model Warrior Julianne could go suck a dìck

What rating do I give this game?


As the game itself says in the beginning, get some food or drinks before playing. It's a hella chill experience.

Sukeban Games and Garoad - Love yall, and hope that your future projects goes hella well - including N1RV Ann-A! (I know the development for it is kinda rocky but please - we're still waiting...)

Edit: It's almost a year since I made this review - it's December of 2023. December's the month of sales and the month where VA-11 Hall A starts. It's time you bless someone for a couple days and send em a copy of the game. :D

Edit 2: It's now December 2024, and I'm doing Daily VA-11 Hall-A again. I still recommend this game for literally anyone who has a Steam account.

this game is awesome I wish Bartenders are real Edit: So I finally completed the game to 100%, got ALL achievements including the infamously hard Model Warrior Julianne, and I figured, fück it, time to actually make a proper review. [h1]So... what is VA-11 Hall-A?[/h1] Well, to put it simply, it's a Cyberpunk themed game where you play as Jill Stingray, a bartender in the BTC Certified bar coded VA-11 in the Alpha hall. Or simply, VA-11 Hall-A. You serve drinks to newcomers and regulars alike and chat with them, trade stories and perhaps discover some secrets spreading throughout the corrupt place named Glitch City. You have 5 ingredients to make drinks out of, and you can make it aged or "on the rocks" (aka iced). Optionally, some drinks may say "Optional Kamotrine" (AKA the ingredient for alcohol) and you may choose to either keep it alcohol free or to spike it up REAL HARD to the point where certain customers may get drunk. There are also bottled booze that you can serve if you feel like it fits the order of some customers, and even a certain secret drink that could summon secret clients if you serve them to the right people. So, this game being a visual novel, where is the "visual novel" part of this? Well, apart from obviously listening to customers tell their stories, serving drinks that either isn't their order or one that fits into someone's "get me a whatever drink" could lead to different conversations happening. And believe me, replaying this game and finding different convos is a treat. Why? Because you LOVE to hear from these characters. Which brings me to the next part of the review. The characters. The bar may not be a massively popular place for people to be in, but the ones who do come in will be one of the most unique, fun and exciting people to see. People of varying age and personality will come and make sure that you remember them. Hell, some of them will regularly come back to the bar to the point where they'll have their own "the usual" type of drink. Don't worry; there is an actual story to the game and it's not just a couple hours of serving people drinks and listening to them. While I won't discuss what happens in the story, I'll say one thing for sure: You'll get sad. But in the end, you'll smile. Another thing to note: the soundtrack is a BANGER. Garoad, the composer of the music made one hell of an OST that WILL stay iconic for decades. Synthwave, City Pop, and house/trap combined into one ass kicking album. Garoad, if you're seeing this - I LOVE YOUR SONGS!!! The aesthetics are great as well. It feels like you're playing an old 80s/90s PC game, with how sometimes the game goes on slideshow mode and purposefully slows down some animations for a bit of nostalgia feeling. Oh and pixel graphics. I love em as well and it adds to the experience. The only downsides in the game? Probably only two major things and one minor nitpick; [b]Major problems:[/b] 1. In my experience, it took me around 12 hours to finish the game once. Sure, it might seem quite a while for a story, but believe me, once you interacted with the characters, you NEVER want it to end. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that wishes we got more time with the patrons in the bar. But then again, there is a story to be told, and in the end, a story's gotta end in the right pace. I guess this doesn't count as actual criticism, but man... 2. Model Warrior Julianne. Don't worry; this is not a spoiler by any means, but GÒDDAMN. It's a minigame that Jill can buy for her apartment, it's a bullet hell shoot-em-up with the simple objective of surviving waves of enemies and destroying the final boss, and you have 3 lives. What's the problem? THE DEVS DEFINITELY DID NOT PLAYTEST THE MINIGAME. Bullet Hell? MORE LIKE COMPLETIONIST HELL. Anyone who's going for a full 100% run WILL tell you that this minigame is the last achievement anyone goes for and is the hardest. I don't even know how to describe it. It's the Dark Souls of Bullet Hells, there's no I-frames and if you die there's no checkpoint. Goodbye bìtches, go back to the starting point! Is it impossible? Nope. Is it gonna make you want to blow your brains out? Yep. [b]Minor nitpicks:[/b] You can't play this game in full windowed mode. Sure, technically NO ONE does that, but I do it so I can stream the game to my friends with audio, and you could only stream a small window if you wanna do that. Oh well, whatever. [b]TLDR:[/b] [h1]Pros:[/h1] - Simple yet fun gameplay - Great story and characters - Awesome UI/aesthetic - Banger soundtrack - Best Boss (aka Dana) :D [h1]Cons: (not including the nitpick):[/h1] - You'd wish the story is longer, kinda - Model Warrior Julianne could go suck a dìck What rating do I give this game? [h1]9/10.[/h1] As the game itself says in the beginning, get some food or drinks before playing. It's a hella chill experience. Sukeban Games and Garoad - Love yall, and hope that your future projects goes hella well - including N1RV Ann-A! (I know the development for it is kinda rocky but please - we're still waiting...) Edit: It's almost a year since I made this review - it's December of 2023. December's the month of sales and the month where VA-11 Hall A starts. It's time you bless someone for a couple days and send em a copy of the game. :D Edit 2: It's now December 2024, and I'm doing Daily VA-11 Hall-A again. I still recommend this game for literally anyone who has a Steam account.