All in all, Go! Go! Nippon! 2015 does a lot to revitalize Overdrive's aging visual novel.
Thanks to the unique perspective and concept of the tale itself, the setup of Strawberry Vinegar leaves room for all sorts of potential.
There's something to No One But You once you make it through the average slog that is the first half of the game. Had there been more time put into fleshing out the characters and ensuring that the complete game was as exciting as the latter portions, it's possible this could have become a great visual novel to suggest to newcomers. As is, No One But You is a game with some intriguing moments and great artwork but overall feels too disjointed.
At this point, Megadimension Neptunia VII just feels like yet another Neptunia game.
The game used in this review was a digital copy supplied by Square Enix.
Sickness is not a visual novel for the faint of heart or those looking for a good, comedic romp with adorable anime characters.
This may be the first substantial DLC for Rise of the Tomb Raider but it also sets a high standard. The incredibly cool hallucenogenic sequences that occur within are very much worth experiencing, even if Lara has no real part in the story. Nabbing a few extra items after completing it is pretty neat too, given their usefulness.
Kindred Spirits on the Roof is an excellent visual novel, yuri romance focused or otherwise.
Nekopara Vol. 2 continues down the fluffy, cutesy and sometimes sexy path that its predecessors started down and does nothing to shake things up. Of course, fans of the series should be well aware of what they’re getting now and embrace it with open arms.
The question at the end of the day is whether or not this series was worth the time.
Many believed Hitman would fail as an episodic release. As it turns out, a single massive map full of opportunity more than makes up for the staggered release schedule. Still, it stumbles with unexpected online requirements for a single player game and other technical issues.
ATOM GRRRL!! doesn’t sit right with me.
SUPERHOT provides a tremendously innovative deconstruction of the FPS genre. It's easy to be seduced by the simplistic gameplay only to find your hours sucked away by continued play.
There’s so much that Magical Eyes – Red is for Anguish gets right that it can be easy to overlook its shortcomings.
Ashes of the Singularity captures the massive scale of war with its impressive mix of gameplay systems, not to mention the tremendous replay value. The downside is that, despite graduating from Early Access, it's obvious that there is much more tweaking and updating to go.
With some editing to cut down on the padding, Tokyo Babel could have easily been an even better experience. Luckily, the unique premise and religious backdrop ensure that this visual novel stands out from the pack.
Starlight Vega may not be the best yuri-centric tale, but it is still an enjoyable romp through a world where demons exist, are downright beautiful and want to romance you. What this title lacks in polish it (mostly) makes up for in amusing moments and endearing characters.
All in all, the Sega 3D Classics Collection offers a great mix of titles to suit the tastes of many.
As intriguing as the world building is, it does not feel fully fleshed out yet. This is likely due in part to the episodic nature of this series. Selenon Rising Episode 1 is but the first of a four episode set, after all. Even so, aspects such as a budding romance between two characters seems to come much too quickly and feels forced rather than a natural progression. In other aspects, the ratcheting up of drama gets incredibly intense all of a sudden in a way that feels a bit annoying.
Anyone looking for an action-packed visual novel should look into Gahkthun of the Golden Lighting.