Recent reviews by TheSpecter95

The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass is a sci-fi mystery visual novel programmed in Ren'Py developed by studio Trinitite Team that features animated backgrounds with multiple choices and endings. Currently, there is no voice acting. The game provides a medium gameplay length of 40 hours but can be stretched to more if you are willing to use all the tools the game provides to uncover the mystery embodied in the story.


Story

Today is the day when the Ashiya family, one of the wealthiest families in Yushibana, will finally reveal to the public one of the most precious and rarest jewels in their collection.
Atsuki Hakutoki and Shiroya Mirana are waiting patiently at the entrance with neither of them knowing, what to expect from this experience, although they would never imagine that a simple exposition will turn into a very dangerous and unique life-changing experience.
The story develops around a group of characters, which are Atsuki, Shiroya, Sai, Akaro, Katei, Erina and Isla, as they try to escape what seems to be a trap of destiny and uncover the mystery behind the unique artifact Sekimeiya.
This is a very complex story full of questions without an apparent answer. As mentioned in the introduction, the game provides you with many tools to help you understand and make your deductions about what's happening in each situation that will be covered later.


Characters

All the characters have well-developed personalities. During the game, you'll be able to play from different character perspectives, which will help you fill the missing pieces of the "puzzle".
On a side note, I love how the developers worked to ensure that you would understand their complex feelings and their decisions and reasoning while progressing in the game without feeling too boring. Sadly, not all of them have had the same treatment. I would have loved to understand every character's backstory, not just some of them.
I can say that you can easily relate to them since they are more complex than they look as they play with your mind in inducing you to think if you can trust a certain character or not.
If I have to choose my favorite character, my choice will surely fall on Shiroya. Despite the heavy situation she finds herself in, she never loses hope and shares a deep bond of friendship with Atsuki, which I find heartwarming.


Soundtrack

The Soundtrack is composed of 63 tracks, all of which are EDM based which are all very pleasant and awesome to listen to! I really hope the developers will release a Soundtrack DLC, which I would buy in a heartbeat.
Every track fits well within each situation. The developers really nailed this!
Here's one of my favorites!


Graphic Style & Animations

The sprites of the characters are well-made, and they also change based on the situation, which allows a very dynamic feel to each scene.
What captivated me the most is the style they used for specific scenes, reminding me faintly of watercolors, which I love so much, and you can see real hard work and high quality on them!


Bonus Content

The game presents a gallery section, a music room with all the soundtracks to listen to, and you can buy the development book at a low price. This is pretty interesting and is filled with all kinds of information, from the developer thoughts to the ideas that brought this project to life! I would recommend checking the development book after completing the game since it has some spoilers.
Now, I would like to talk about the in-game tools.
All of them are pretty important and will help you understand and enjoy the game.
You have a search section, which will refer you to the specific word you searched for.
The flow chart will help you understand what happened during specific situations and chapters.
The map provides you with a complete view of the rooms in each floor. If a specific character is present in any of the locations, it will also be shown accordingly.
The note section will actually allow you to write down your own notes, which will greatly help you in your reasoning.
The tips section will collect every tip in the game you can refer to if you need a certain piece of information to help you.
I had to use most of the tools and also re-read parts of the story because it's pretty easy to lose track and ruin the rest of the gameplay experience if you don't pay attention to the characters and all the other information that may come your way.


Final Thoughts

The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass sure has been a very complex and interesting experience. If you love mysteries and sci-fi, I highly recommend this visual novel, although you should also be prepared to exercise your brain and use all the tools at your disposal since the truth won't be so easy to reach!


Complete Review With Images[www.sinicalanimenetwork.com]

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The VII Enigma is a sci-fi mystery visual novel developed by studio Spire Games that features English text with animated backgrounds and multiple choices and endings. Currently, there is no voice acting. The game provides a medium gameplay length of around 20 hours but can be stretched to more if you want to read carefully and check all the files, which are very interesting and detailed.


Story:

The game is set in a future in which the company is victim of the BOSC (Bureau of Safety Control), a ghost government that has acquired absolute control through a series of devices that can be summarized as the Tempus System. There is, however, a group of people who intend to overthrow the aforementioned government with the help of a mysterious entity called The Founder.
The themes within this visual novel are very dark. Even in moments of tranquility and joy, the melancholy and feeling that everything could go for the worst never leave you. I really enjoyed this style as it makes the story very captivating and ensures that there are never any dull moments.


Characters:

Every character is well-developed in terms of personality and backstory, you will be able to understand them better the further you progress through the game. They are very complex and listening to their stories and thoughts will have you sympathizing with them.
We will see the points of view from both the sides of the game, The BOSC and the Anti-BOSC, respectively from two characters in particular: Agent Beckett, a cynical and ambitious man who will do everything in the name of power, and Elijah Shawn, a man who lost his memory and was saved by the activists to free the society from control for a better future.


Original Soundtrack:

This visual novel has a very interesting OST, very pleasant to listen to since it manages to give you exactly the vibe that suits each moment perfectly, from relaxed situations to thrilling.
A persistent theme present in the OST is a certain cyberpunk element, accentuated from the usage of an electronic music base combined with other kinds of music. Personally, my favorite one is the Main Menu Theme, it has such an epic sound that I fell in love with this track the moment I first heard it. I would be really happy to buy a DLC with the full OST, if it were to be released in future.


Graphic Style & Animations:

One aspect that immediately drew my attention is the graphical style the studio decided to use.
It is a very pleasant hand-drawn style, which reminds me of Tex comics books. The colors used play an important role in it, neither too bright nor too dull.
This particular style works well with this game, it’s a rare combination that gives it an old-fashioned feeling. It furthermore combines pretty well with the backgrounds, which are also animated on some occasions, such as rain fall. Every character’s sprite also reflects their feelings, so we can have a dynamic effect during the dialogues.
On a side note, animations work pretty well, because they can make a static background or scene “dynamic”, and together with some spectacular shots, like the snow part, they truly are breath taking for how evocative they are.


Bonus:

The menu has a section with every file you have unlocked in the game, which consists in summaries of the chapters played, endings unlocked, and lastly all the characters and special terms with detailed explanations for each.


Final Thoughts:

The VII Enigma truly impressed me, and I honestly can’t wait for the sequel, which I hope I’ll be lucky enough to be able to play! Definitely a visual novel to try if you are looking for something different, gloomier, and together with the OST and the thrilling plot it can truly give you a great experience full of tension and have you feeling always on the edge!

Complete Review With Images[www.sinicalanimenetwork.com]

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Casina: A Visual Novel set in Ancient Greece is the latest visual novel developed by studio Neoclassic Games that features full voice acting, character animation, different languages, different fonts, multiple choices and multiple endings.

Story

The plot follows three male characters, Lisidamus, Chalinus and Olympio, who all wish to obtain the love of a beautiful slave called Casina. Meanwhile the wife of Lisidamus, Cleoostrata, and the gossipy maid, Pardalisca, are plotting against the faithless husband Lisidamus.
The game's story is a digital transcript of a comedy written by Pluto in the year 184 BC which has a great sense of humor and is full of comedic moments that frequently put a smile on my face.
The main characters have an important role in the story and their actions help drive the plot. However, even though there are multiple choices that the player can make in this game, sadly they only have a minor impact on the story itself apart from the ending. Most likely this is to allow the events to follow closely to the original script that the story has been built upon.
This is a fairly short visual novel that only took a little under two hours to fully complete both endings. I enjoyed my time with this title, but would have liked to see more content.


Characters:

All of the characters are interesting and have their part to play in this story, but Cleostrata really stands out for me as she is both smart and beautiful.
It was very fun to watch her plot against her faithless husband, rightfully so.


Audio

Every character in game is fully voiced in English and the voice acting appropriately suits each situation in the story. The OST of the game is pleasant to hear and it matches the look and feel of the novel.
In the main menu you’ll have the possibility to hear the full OST in a separate section. This is a nice extra to include.


Backgrounds

The graphical quality of the backgrounds and main character sprites are great and meet the expectations of a modern visual novel.
Every character has facial animations and lip sync with the speech, which is very pleasant to see in a visual novel since there aren’t many with this feature.
During the static scenes the character sprites will change depending on what’s happening or the topic of the conversation in the game. All of them are pretty funny and light-hearted.


Localization:

The game has a total of eleven languages available and it’s fully voiced in English. I tried the English and Italian version and I can say it was pretty good in both versions.

An interesting feature is that you can actually change the font of the text in the game via the settings in the main menu. It is nice to see additional customization options that aren't typically available.


Bonus:

The menu has the gallery that includes every scene unlocked in the game, a section for the OST, and also a codex with a detailed explanation of every particular word or figure of speech you’ll find throughout the story.


Final Thoughts:

Casina: A Visual Novel set in Ancient Greece is pretty fun experience. Although the length is rather short, the price is not too expensive so catching the game on a sale would provide a good value.

I enjoyed my time with this title and would recommend for others to give it a shot.

This is the first game that I have played by this developer and I look forward to seeing new projects from them in the future!

Complete Review With Images[www.sinicalanimenetwork.com]

Visual novel, JRPG, Anime Steam group - Join the group and consider following the group's curator list for more reviews or comedy dramas

Dopo aver giocato a Summer Trouble e Tropical Cruise non potevo non giocare anche a Desert Island!
Vi troverete davanti ad una esperienza simile ai primi due ma ad un livello nettamente superiore! (già i primi due erano ottimi)
Situazioni comiche, scelte multiple, Soundtrack di fattura eccellente, Artwork magistrali, un divertentissimo Mini-Game e scene H per tutti i gusti sono ciò che vi aspetterà quando lo giocherete!
Sono fiero di essere stato un Backer e non vedo l'ora di scoprire quali altri capolavori ci riserverà la SbargiSoft!
C'è sempre bisogno di una buona risata e qui ne troverete a profusione, inoltre, chi non vorrebbe Super J come supereroe?
Godetevi questo piccolo enorme capolavoro!

9999/10

PS : AFFONDATE IN FONDO!

Dopo aver giocato ad Oppaidius Tropical Cruise non potevo non provare il progetto che aveva dato inizio a tutto!
La storia è molto divertente e romantica allo stesso tempo e di certo non mancano i momenti piccanti caratteristici della saga e la presenza di minigiochi e finali multipli.
A livello di colonna sonora e grafica ho trovato uno stile anni '90 sempre apprezzato e dei fondali in pixel-art uniti ai bellissimi Artwork dei personaggi!
Molti si chiederanno "Ma se hai giocato al seguito, che è migliorato, perchè disturbarsi a giocare il primo?"
Proprio perchè il seguito è migliorato voglio scoprire l'origine di tutto e sono certo che non deluderà nemmeno voi!

PS: La Carbonara è un tocco di classe!
PS2: Siano benedetti i gabbiani!

Voto: More Boobs/10 ;)

Grobda Remix is a Romantic/Comedy Visual Novel developed by C.U.M.原创游戏, 幽兰工坊 and SakuraGame.The plot is focused on the research of a wandering musician, Kotogo Takazawa, who is searching for the most beautiful melody and how this research will lead him to an experience that will change his life.
The game has a length of around 10 hours for the common route and 4-5 hours for the two specific routes, with a total of three different endings.

Plot & Characters

The plot is pretty good, with a mixture of comedy and romance and a bit of tragedy ensuring you see a variety of emotions/events throughout.
The story manages to keep your attention and doesn't let it go during the many plot twists.
Not only will you discover the background stories of each main character piece by piece, but you’ll also be able to see the main character's feelings and thoughts develop as the story goes on.
As for the characters themselves, every main character has an interesting back story which is well developed, though sadly some minor characters seem to be rushed as they don’t have any important impact on the main plot.
Personally, I enjoyed the story since it manages to balance the funny moments with the romantic moments without getting boring. I would have preferred some parts of the story to be explained better, but overall I really loved this novel and would happily replay it again.
One last note about the characters, as I said before, the main characters are well developed but I noticed some of them did not appear as many times as the others which is a shame as they were interesting enough that I was left wanted to know more about them.

Audio & OST

The game is fully voiced in Japanese with every character being voiced, even the minor ones! The quality is on the higher end with different situations being expressed with a suitable tone of voice.
The OST is a pure masterpiece with every track being capable of touching your heart.
The back ground music (BGM) is also well-made. It is very pleasant to listen to and combined with the sound effects it manages to fit to every situation appropriately.
Vocal Tracks are also present, and I must admit that I would never get tired of them since they are a joy for your ears (My Favorite is Shining Journey).

Backgrounds and Graphic

The graphical quality of the backgrounds and main character sprites are at a high level.
This is nice to see in comparison to the quality from other visual novels in this price range.
One of the features that I enjoy is that the character’s faces change depending on the situation they are involved in so you could say that in a way they are dynamic.
For every chapter you clear you’ll have a background image that can also switch following the time of the game (an example is that one of these images is set first at afternoon and few second after it evolves in evening).
On a sad note, the minor characters do not have sprites so you can only imagine how they look like from the descriptions.
This is disappointing, but the side characters do not have enough impact on the main story to really affect your experience in a negative manner.

Localization

Regarding localization, the languages available are Chinese and Japanese for the Interface with Japanese for Voice, and Subtitles. With that said, I have great news!
Thanks to the great amount of effort from Woosk with the support of other members of our Steam group and the Sinical Network, (links below) we finally have a High Quality fan made translation in English for the subtitles and main menu.
Now everyone will be able to enjoy this little pearl of a game!

Bonus

Woosk has also made a guide for the game which gives a detailed explanation of every main character in the game and a summary of the plot. A download link for the fan made translation is included in this guide.

Score:
Story: 9/10
Music:10/10
Graphic: 9/10
Final Score: 9

Guide With Translation Link

Complete Review With Images and Videos[www.sinicalanimenetwork.com]

Visual novel, JRPG, Anime Steam group - Join the group and consider following the group's curator list for more reviews, comedy dramas, recommended games with great/cute artwork or games with J-pop

Mi sono imbattuto in questo gioco casualmente e devo dire, fosse successo prima sarebbe stato meglio!
Una Visual Novel che mischia la comicità con l'erotismo in maniera sublime, un'ottima storia per ridere di gusto con degli Artworks fatti a mano di eccellente qualità miste a pixel art sempre apprezzate e una bellissima OST stile anni 90.
Presenta scelte multiple che influenzeranno l'opinione che i personaggi hanno di te, Artworks con animazioni integrate, Minigiochi e 16 divertenti Achievements da sbloccare!
Oltretutto il fatto che sia stato fatto in Italia da italiani per me è una vera gioia!
Appena avrò la possibilità comprerò pure il primo e non vedo l'ora che venga rilasciato un nuovo progetto!

PS: Ricordatevi di AFFONDARE IN FONDO!
PS2: Concordo sul fatto che 5 minuti non siano abbastanza!

Voto: Even More Boobs/10 ;)

To The Moon is a little pearl in this big sea of Indie games.
The games has been developed by Freebird Games using RPG maker.
The basic idea is simple: tell a good story.
Lots of people would think something like “then It's like every game”; well..they are completely wrong!
The plot is based on two scientists that, via an extraordinary machine, can see the memories of the person who is testing it and making his/her least dream come true through an illusion.
One day they recieve the request from an old man who lives in a manor near a lighthouse.
His last dream consists of going to the moon; a simple request but that It will revealed to be more complicated than the usual.
By viewing the memories of the old man You will discover an important truth that will change the story deeply.
The story of To The Moon is not an ordinary one, this game manages to touch the deepest part of your heart.
You will laugh and cry with the characters because it's nearly impossible to resist to the magic of this game.
The mechanics of the game are simple: find objects, solve little enigmas and go through the story.
Also I would like to mention the extraordinary work that has been done with the soundtrack of the game.
Every track is perfect for every scene is set and It's just pure poetry; orchestral music at its highest quality.
In my opinion buying the Soundtrack DLC is really worth it because We are talking about an excellent work.
The conclusion is that To The Moon is a true masterpiece that deserves an important place in your library of games and that everyone can appreciate.

My vote: 10/10