March 2025 Progress Report
Failed my New year’s resolution to play 4 games every month! Yay!
I ended up getting the time wrong for a lot of things, and then I got super into HZD: Forbidden West and miscalculated. The VN I was supposed to finish as my 4th game, which was supposed to be about 10 hours, is turning out to be more like 20! The original VN I intended to play had a bad English translation so, I failed twice lol. I’ll do 5 games this April to make up for it and get back on track! I liked the games I played this month, Spilled was a last-second addition as it was brand new and Immediately gained my interest, Togainu no chi was shockingly good, and Jusant was a nice lil’ post-apocalyptic game I may end up playing again, despite not having a high replay value.
Next month, I’m planning on finishing Forbidden west and Canvas Menagerie, not sure about the other games but possibly Copycat? And something else? I’ll figure it out.
Dog update: Everyone is suspiciously ok. Cautiously optimistic.
Total games added to backlog: 2
Total completed: 3
Arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, Akira is the prime suspect of a murder in a corrupt country that doesn’t need justification to put someone away for the rest of their life. The only way to avoid his unjust sentencing is to accept the request of two suspicious individuals – Go to the lawless city of Toshima, participate in a life-or-death game, and try to kill the mysterious man behind it. II Re.
15 – 30 hours to complete, Togainu no Chi is a fully-voiced LGBTQ+ set in a dystopian world about child soldiers abandoned in orphanages after the abrupt end of WW3, rending Japan into three segmented areas. The military government of the East, the CFC; the government political union of the West, Nikkouren; and Toshima, a lawless abandoned city between the two rivals, where most of the story takes place. Overall, it’s a fairly dark novel that I highly recommend. Created in 2005, there was no English translation until JAST Blue developed one in 2020, finally bringing this (now updated!) popular dark fantasy to Western audiences. If you’re still not sold on Togainu no Chi, I seriously suggest you try their most popular translation, DRAMAtical Murder. An uncensored patch for both games on Steam is also available on their website, and it’s pretty simple to apply.
Jusant
Jusant is a 5 – 10+ hour rock-climbing fantasy game about scaling an absolutely massive tower that used to hold a large civilization in a post-apocalyptic world. Explore empty cities and find out why everyone either died off or left as you follow the anchors of a previous climbing group, trying desperately to scale to the top of the spire even as the population fled on foot across the desert. With only a baby Ballast as a companion, take your time, plan your paths, and make it to the top to hopefully find whatever it is, you’ve been searching for.
I just want to start by saying it’s impossible to fall to your death. You cannot die in this game, and it’s not difficult to learn despite the semi-manual climbing experience. While the game offers alternative pathing and some hidden locations, it was more linear than I anticipated. Overall, I had a very positive experience; your companion is adorable, the story is interesting, the game mechanics are fun and there is no rush. Jusant a beautiful and unique experience with various landscapes, and even with the dizzying heights I had a fun time exploring and looking at the ecology, which was different at each level of the tower. There are some minimal gripes, such as the game being auto-save only and only having to start at the beginning of each chapter if you missed a collectible; and despite unlocking short-cuts, those get reset if you re-play a chapter which defeats the purpose of having them in the first place. Regardless, Jusant is an easy recommendation and I highly suggest not missing out on this experience. There are color-blind modes available as well as an anti-dyslexia font in the settings!
1-2 hours to complete, Spilled! Is a short and casual ocean cleanup game about a little boat doing its best to keep the environment clean, and a larger boat causing all the trouble! Collect and recycle plastic waste, contain and clean oil spills from the water’s surface, extinguish fires, rescue animals, and collect points to purchase upgrades. It’s a pretty satisfying game with pleasant before and after screenshots, nice to check out in an lazy afternoon, with easy to manage controls.
Overall, Spilled is a very simple game with a very special message about ocean conservation efforts and keeping an environment clean and beautiful. There are several areas to explore, each unlocking a new skill or tool, and you really get a positive feeling that even small actions can have a big impact! The only real con I can think of is that it’s so short to complete! While you can re-do any chapter and area you want, there isn’t much in terms of replayability though the graphics are adorable and gave me warm fuzzy feelings. Highly recommended!
Created in 2005, there was no English translation until JAST Blue developed one in 2020
Congratz i noticed you almost finished your backlog already since a long time !
It was a pleasure to see images of Jusant, the drawing lines are beautiful and very soft.
And to learn Spilled is just 1,5h would you say it was the right amount of time or too short ?
Too short, honestly.
It’s a really enjoyable experience and learning about the developer made me happy to outright buy the game, especially since a tiny portion goes to a good charity, but I definitely understand waiting for a sale. It’s $6 for not even two hours of gameplay, so I hope there will be updates in the future.
There is probably a lot of people who play and refund then if <2h
Very cool. I quite liked Jusant. It’s an evocative experience.
And I definitely enjoyed Forbidden West as well. I’ll probably play it again at some point.
Nice month of gaming for you overall, I’d say.
Yeah! I’ll be finishing Forbidden West Soon-ish and I’m looking forward to NG+…. as soon as I figure out my weapon situation!
Poor zelly, visual novels have been cruel to you this month
Good luck finishing the horizon game
Thank you! Will do!
Ah that’s why we got the GA, definitely on my list to enter once I have beaten a game.
Jusant was on my radar since I have enjoyed games like Journey and Rime. Nice with a color-blindness mode. [Sideeying you, Cyan]
Did you know the dev for Spilled! lives on a boat? That’s kind of his thing. Haha I don’t know why I love this little fact :)
I did!!! I was so surprised when I saw it, they bought it late 2022 I think and worked on Spilled! in it. I brought it up to SGM (Steam gifts magazine) in hopes they can get in contact and maybe do an interview. I highly suggest picking up the game if you haven’t already, A portion also gets donated to an environmental charity, and I hope they can afford to pick up their schooling again - then again they don’t live in the USA, so college should be much more affordable lol.
Oh damn you’re the one that shared in the SGM Discord, that means I heard it from you actually hahahahah well look at the bright side, I’m helping to spread the gospel! :)
Both are on my WL but honestly, backlog right 😂
If you’re in the PAGYWOSG group I’ve made a giveaway for it there, best of luck!
Gah I am! Gotta see if my games got approved, great reminder. Thank you!