visual novel log | ongoing
this will be an ongoing log of indie + classic vns i play and notes on what makes them stand out or fall flat. if you have any personal faves - shoot me an e-mail at [xeno pet at proton mail dot com]
DDLC | β β β β β
08-25-23 | 3+ hrs
you join a new club at school... and its full of cute girls?!
characters: i feel like they're intentionally written to be tropey in order to make each girls 'twist' doubly shocking. this coupldve easily fallen flat but man they pulled it off perfectly.
gameplay: super interactive and offers enough alternate branches that replayability is high! i might go back in n play again here shortly _
writing: it definitley subverts expectations by offering that classic japanese vn approach we're all used to... and then throwing in little seeds of doubt along the way. amazing. 10/10
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has your dream of dating a cute bunny girl finally come true? - milkkylemon | βββββ
08-25-23 | 5 min
you're a salary man who's just woken up after being hit by a car... to a bunny girl standing over you?
characters: there was one character - a very cute bunny girl - and she sadly lacked some wanted depth... i can tell that this project was a quickie, but i wish she was fleshed out a bit more! i love bunny girls ;w;...
gameplay: very short, simple dialog trees. you're presented two choices and one advances the game, one results in the ending. endings are a bit repetitive as well!
writing: simple...!
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spooky soiree - nomnomnami | β β β ββ
08-25-23 | 35 min
you're in your 20's and still havent had your first kiss... but tonight at this halloween party, you're determined to change that!
characters: alright now this one is a dating sim... and this one taught me how important a faceless mc is. i found it hard to self insert into the mc provided, so i lacked that feeling of "closeness" w the characters i was trying to romance. that degree of separation may work for some readers and some stories, but personally i love imagining myself in the game!! anyways. all of the characters were suuuper cute (were talking monster girls, demons, zombies, awawawaaa)... some of these characters were soooo adorable!!
gameplay: somewhat interactive! each of the 8 routes were a satisfying length.
writing: maybe a little ...tumblr? does that mean anything? i dont think i was the target audience, but i didnt enjoy it any less bc of that! i think i wouldve loved this sim when i was like. 10 years younger hehe.
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doomsday dreamgirl - nadia nova | β β β β β
08-25-23 | 1 hr
i just learned the world is about to end... and now this girl that tried to bum a cig is cooped up in my house with me. what now?
characters: oh man. toxic trans yuri. ohhhhh boy. yes.
gameplay: straight up n down visual novel. no plot trees, just a straightforward story w visual elements.
writing: oh i love it so much. this was my first vn by nadia nova and something in her writing just speaks straight to my soul. the way she writes you right into the room w her characters... im obsessed. this vn goes beyond being just enjoyable, its strangely immersive and left me with the weirdest sense of longing? ha
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hopeless junction - nadia nova | β β β β β
08-26-23 | 1 hr
4 friends are on a week long train commute for a school trip, when a sudden encounter with the mc shakes things up bigtime!
characters: another nadia nova instant classic. (more toxic trans yuri) all of her characters feel so instantly familiar somehow... im convinced she's a genius. or maybe she just knows a lot of people and bases her characters on them? there has to be a secret here somewhere...
gameplay: none! just another lil story :3
writing: her timing is perfect. the suspense and surprise is just. perfect. it all feels so real. wahhhhhh
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08-26-23 thats all for now. tired of writing n_n c u latr.