Lair Land Story Reviews
But those are all very minor gripes and given the extremely niche nature of Lair Land Story it’s not something the people that would be drawn to play the game will hold against it. The main thing is that Lair Land Story gets the most important element of the genre right. Chilia is adorable and you will be invested in her story, and builds around it a fun set of characters, some nice aesthetics, and a good sense of humour. This is a simple and modest kind of game, but it is very warm and warming, and sometimes, those are enough in games.
It’s a pity that no physical releases of Lair Land Story seem to be planned right now, but Circle Entertainment has been known to partner with some of the limited-press houses for some of their other titles in the past, so never say never. For now, though, rest assured that Lair Land Story is a game that will put a smile on your face from the moment you start playing — just do your best to make sure you keep a smile on Chilia’s face also. You never know when you might need a magical girl.
I felt uncertain about how to feel in many situations. Just when I thought that I had picked up a game that was going to make me emotionally invested, it ended up confusing me most of the time. Another aspect that influenced my view of Lair Land Story was the sound. The voice acting had volume and tone issues. That alone would have been forgiven, if not for the combination of an overwhelming amount of stories, interruptions within Chilia’s schedule and various text lines. During each turn, it isn’t often clear what to do or where to go to continue the stories you want to follow. It is about guessing which places to visit to hopefully find the character you are hoping to find. Maybe some players of this audience will enjoy it as it does feel somewhat like a classic in its genre, but my experience with it was more confusing and upsetting rather than enjoyable.
While there is a simple and undeniable pleasure in the simple act of raising parameters and figuring out the best way to schedule Chilia’s time, Lair Land Story hasn’t aged gracefully. Its combination of raising sim and visual novel works in theory, but not in practice due to the overwhelming and frankly shoddy story, and lack of emotional beats to keep the player hooked. Individually there are two good tastes to be found in this game, but their combination ends up lesser than their sum.
Lair Land Story is a competent raising sim that offers charisma, immersion and a high replay value, especially due to the New Game+. The illustrations are dazzling and I always consider including voices, even if partial, a positive. On the other hand, there are mistakes that harm the gameplay, like the game's irregular audio and the text issues. Overall, people who like simulators and visual novels will enjoy the game, especially thanks to its compatibility with the Switch's touchscreen.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Standing proudly as a title with amazing blends of gaming components and ferocious variety, this is one of the few sims that I not only really enjoyed, but it convinced me to keep coming back again and again. I have two save files going right now, and I’m determined to see if Buff Chilia will have a better life than Nun Chilia.