One – also known as Kagayaku Kisetsu e – is one of the legends of the visual novel genre. Originally released way back in 1998, it was one of the early projects by a developer called Tactics, which is notable because many of the creative team moved on from that studio to found Key. Yes, the studio behind Little Busters!,…
One – also known as Kagayaku Kisetsu e – is one of the legends of the visual novel genre. Originally released way back in 1998, it was one of the early projects by a developer called Tactics, which is notable because many of the creative team moved on from that…
Read MoreCupid Parasite is one of the stronger visual novels launched this decade. In Matt’s review for DDNet, he writes, “Comedy’s always hard to get right, especially when there’s an underlying subversive quality to it, but Cupid Parasite never falters… This is one of Otomate’s finest.” That was two years ago,…
Read MoreThe remake of celebrated visual novel Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon launched for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan during August 2021. It will take nearly three years, but the game is now set to launch in the West during “summer” 2024 (think Q3, or approximately June-September).…
Read MoreCASCHA Games’ Concealed caught my attention for several reasons. The game has gorgeous art direction for one thing, and the promise of a horror visual novel set in a school is always a good way to catch my attention. Those two things go together beautifully. Unfortunately, this is going to…
Read MoreI’ll just get this warning out of the way up-front: There’s an explicit depiction of an apparent suicide in the first ten minutes of Virche Evermore -ErroR: Salvation-. It’s by no means the only content warning found in this incredibly dark visual novel. I overview some of the (many) other…
Read MoreI’ve been quite excited for office romance otome visual novel Sympathy Kiss to launch in the West; it first launched in Japan in 2022, and in July of this year it was announced to be coming West in 2024. The game follows a woman at her job for a mobile…
Read MoreArchetype Arcadia has an awful lot of content. The PR material claims 50 hours, and while I have a gut feeling that that’s assuming a fairly slow reading speed, I read quickly and I wouldn’t be surprised if I did actually spend that long getting to the end. It’s generally…
Read MoreGames described as visual novels are rarely straight-up visual novels anymore. Instead, they mix in other elements of gameplay, like puzzles. House of Chavez is, at its heart, a visual novel – but it does incorporate elements from puzzle and point-and-click adventure games. Its narrative is intertwined with mini-games, romance,…
Read MoreInescapable: No Rules, No Rescue is not the Danganronpa clone it seems to be. It looks the part, but rather than being a “death game,” it’s closer to the first 90% of Lord of the Flies (the part where there’s tension but no murder) than Saw. Or Blue Lagoon were…
Read MoreWelcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly catch-up news feature, the catch-up coffee. With each issue I will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!…
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