Update Two Hundred and Sixty-Seven: 6 January 2019
CrossRoad
67 hours playtime, ~5 hr actual, 34 of 34 achievements
7/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
CrossRoad is a goofy VN with tons of endings (most of them bad) that reminds me of something like sound of drop but fantasy instead of horror. It’s a Russian remix with Japanese aesthetics of the story of Little Red Riding Hood AND EVEN MORE, with a ton of wildly branching routes and like five guys to get close to. There’s a loose kind of ‘order’ to the routes, though it’s obscure, and some routes are literally just completely off on their own with little to do with anything else.
It’s light and fun and some of the emotional beats land way more heavily than I thought they would - surprising the hell out of me. The translation is simple but effective and it balances goofy with serious decently well for what it is. The art is also pretty cute!
I’m really on the fence with putting it on my VN Masterlist - beyond the fact that I don’t have a TON to say about it other than ‘it was pretty fun reading all the goofy bad endings!’ and ‘better than expected!’, it’s just riiiiight on that edge of goodness. I gotta keep the list’s standards up, even if it means not updating it for a while!
… buuuut I also have things like BAD END and Everlasting Summer on there. Is this game as good as BAD END?
… Actually, fuck it, yes it is. It’s a beach romance novel goofy fun silly time that’s pretty well done, and in the absolute deluge of VNs out there, picking out one good one certainly fills a niche that’s worth filling. It’s goin on the list!
Since it’s the new year, and it’s been a while since I talked about it, and there’s been some new blood:
the Visual Novel Masterlist
is a list I’ve compiled of worthwhile VNs to check out for people who are interested in the genre but don’t quite know where to start. Each entry has tags to give you a sense of what each particular visual novel is about, to see if any pique your fancy. CrossRoad is the newest entry on the list.
Oh! And! If you have written a review on a game on that list, and you’d like for it to be included, please drop me a line! I may have missed your review.
Next up: Now that those two SG wins are taken care of, it’s back to RNGesus! Time for -
See you soon!
Its been 3 days was almost forgetting you ever existed. Ive checked out the masterlist a few times then when It loads I dont bother actually looking but the fact you got bad end there is surprising so now I kinda want to see what else you have
Ha! I know, right? Just wait until I play a JRPG and you don’t see me for (hold for gasps) three weeks.
I like the list to be well-rounded - not just big literary motherfuckers like Umineko or Fata Morgana. Some people want some nice, light, fun shit to read, and I think those kinds of games deserves their place in the spotlight, too. If it charms me, it charms me - and goes on the list. CrossRoad is like that, too.