For the last several years, I've made a gimmick month for myself of November. As can be guessed from the name, I spend the month focusing on visual novels of varying types. I am a big fan of the genre and some of the experiences one can find in it. Setting up the limitation of a specific genre can additionally force you into playing games that might have been overlooked in favor of flashier or newer titles and, thereby, find some hidden treasures in your game list.

As usual, I didn't reach all that I would have liked, but my results for this year are in play order:

Blood Code -

Holy crap. This one was a whiff. I found out early that it was an otome game (girl targeting, one girl many guy romance game) which isn't my genre. But! I also think that it is important to go outside of your comfort zone at times. Plus, while I haven't played them myself, I know that there are a number of high quality otome games that I could likely enjoy.

Sadly, this was not one of those. I started to write out all of my feelings about this but the page started to stretch out toward infinity. The el, dee are: poor translation, broken time management mechanics, a flawed money system, and a clumsy writing style made this a pass from me. Maybe it's better if you can play it in its native Chinese?

But hey, you can date Christ!

Grade D

Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk ... -

So I had played the first of these and was ultimately unimpressed. I appreciated how different it was in its story... narrative? in what it was and its presentation, but ultimately it felt a bit too art house for me.

This one is also very art house, however it landed better. Maybe it was just the production value, which is dramatically higher, or that it's a bit more obviously introspective and my dumb self could latch on better. Either way, I enjoyed this quite a bit.

It doesn't really go anywhere, acting more of a snapshot of the protagonist's mental state. A weird, weird snapshot. While the fan named milk-chan rambles, can contradict herself, and really needs a therapist, her stream of consciousness remains tight enough to remain interesting and engaging. The harsh monochrome of everything outside of the main character creates a really striking environment that I enjoyed the limited window into.

Grade B

Just Deserts-

Despite having never played one previously, random selection handed me two stat managers in quick succession. I enjoyed this one more than the other and not because it was more catering to my preferences. The game is longer and allows for better pacing in presenting information as a result. The characters themselves are much more cartoony and by no means deep, but interact with each other in endearing ways and are shown more respect by the writers than I was expecting than I was expecting.

The story is... there, and the prose did its job. I may have stuck around and explored more if it weren't for the holy shit painful battle system. The game uses a turn based battle system as the method of gathering money and it works about as well as you might guess a turn based battle system in a visual novel engine runs. The original Final Fantasy would be considered a bastion of quality of life features in comparison.

Overall, an alright time if you don't mind its fatal flaw or just really like stat managing dating sims.

Grade C

World End Economica chapter 1 -

So this was actually a continuation of last year. I had started it, made it about half way, but lost interest and got distracted with other things. Felt bad about it so went back to finish it.

The game is from the writer of Spice and Wolf and is another venture into economics parallel to mystery girl genre. The writing of this one is quite good, though very, very bogged down with details and narrative regarding day-trading. I just... couldn't get excited by it. I can see people really digging it, but it wasn't for me.

Some points of interest are that the characters, while still not the deepest in the world, don't fit quite as neatly into trope silhouettes as those in other works, particularly this year. I enjoyed that the main character actually has a personality, flaws, and a gradual arc through the story rather than being an empty vessel for the player.

The world that the work inhabits obviously had a lot of thought put into it and is quite interesting as a result. While it doesn't lean much on scientific explanation, the game is far more grounded than your typical sci-fi story and builds a very believable picture for its setting. The hardships presented are those of real people and while the abilities of certain characters are high, they aren't so infallible to stretch credulity.

Outside of struggling personally with the story, my biggest complaint is the ending. To maintain a hands off approach to the plot, it is very much a part one of three rather than something that can comfortably stand on its own. Given my struggle with the plot, I doubt I'll visit the other chapters

Grade B

Utawarerumono (Prelude to the Fallen)-

So I wasn't having the best of months this year. I was getting most of my true enjoyment from sharing Little Busters with my wife through the month, which I will not be talking about here as it's something I've played in the past. This turned things around, though.

I originally debated if I should play this as it started early with a difficulty select. A very odd thing to lead a visual novel. Steam has a habit of labeling anything that has dialog heavy scenes with the visual novel tag so I was afraid I had been had once again. However, a bit of research showed that it was most commonly listed as a visual novel with srpg elements rather than the other way around. So I gave it a shot.

I loved this game. It definitely has flaws, most notably with the above mentioned rpg elements, but the novel itself was very solid. It was very refreshing to see a fantasy setting from a Japanese writer that takes place in a Japanese themed world. The writing, especially in the quiet moments, had the comfy character interaction that I crave. Despite its length, it was constantly moving and didn't ever spend so long on a single plot point that I felt it drag. This was my first game from Aquaplus, or Leaf, and I knew very quickly that I would be looking further into their games.

Now for the bad part. This was not a fatal flaw for me, however I could -easily- see it being so for others. The combat. It has a number of tactical rpg fights throughout the game and the whole system feels half baked. There are a number of good ideas there, but none of them are expounded on enough to really shine or tie everything together. While your choices do matter and total victory isn't guaranteed, they are absolutely balanced in the players favor and winning will not be a problem to most.

Given that I was here for the story and characters, I could just power through these to continue. I can not ignore it however, though, given that the game would be better if they just weren't present. Anyone approaching this game looking for a proper tactical RPG should hard pass, though.

Grade B (Would have been an A if not for the battle system)

Elisa the Innkeeper -

I made it one scene and hard pass. Either the translation is terrible or the writing is. Either way, no.

Grade F

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Tatarigoroshi-hen-

I've been moving through these one a year for the past few years now, this being the third. I had watched the original Higurashi anime when it aired in the late aughties and had been a fan. Visiting the VNs years later has been a very fun experience as a result.

While I know most of the mysteries being presented, the presentation and characters are written in a way where I can still get quite a bit of enjoyment. Sometimes the experience is elevated from knowing what's going on in the background and thereby the tragedy of some of the actions taken.

These games are updated versions of the originals, but the original assets are all present. It's easy to see that these were extremely indie when originally made. The sound effects and filtered photos used as background come together for a very ambient experience. Despite being one of the weaker chapters in the series, still ended up a very enjoyable time and something that I would recommend to anyone who likes the anime.

Grade A

Cat Hustle -

Very light visual novel with some fantasy elements. Went in not expecting much and came out feeling pretty good with the experience. It doesn't try to be anything more than a short, fun time and succeeds in that regard. I've gone back off and on since completing it to go through different routes but it lacks a proper skip feature which is grating

Grade C

Coffee Talk -

Unfortunately it is hard to play this without comparing it to the far superior VA11-HALL A. It is quite good fun for what it is and the light fantasy theming is fun to explore. Had the legs to hold a lot more substance than it had, but too short is always better than too long.

Grade B

It's a bitter sweet feeling afterward, but I love it when a game has characters where, after the game is over, I miss seeing a part of their lives. Be it due to the characters themselves or the interaction they have with one another, exiting their world feels more like a loss than when normally putting a story away.

Are there any games where you experienced similar? While it can be a bitter sweet feeling, I know that it is a sign that I really enjoyed what I was playing and love to find these experiences.