March Updates:

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I think I did quite well this month, especially with finally 100%ing one of my fav games with some tough final achievements. There were some hit and miss titles but overall I’m pleased with my progress since I didn’t have much time in the last week of the month.

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• Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook
  

  8 hours playtime

  9 of 9 achievements

• Creature Romances: Kokonoe Kokoro
  

  7 hours playtime

  6 of 6 achievements

• Analogue: A Hate Story
  

  8 hours playtime

  14 of 14 achievements

• The Grand Ball
  

  4 hours playtime

  11 of 11 achievements

• SoulCraft
  

  12 hours playtime

  41 of 41 achievements

• Legend of Grimrock
  

  66 hours playtime

  40 of 40 achievements

• Age of Enigma: The Secret of the Sixth Ghost
  

  15 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Leaving Lyndow
  

  4 hours playtime

  7 of 7 achievements

• Red Embrace
  

  5 hours playtime

  9 of 9 achievements

• Arvale
  

  38 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Voodoo Garden
  

  24 hours playtime

  33 of 33 achievements

• Her Story
  

  8 hours playtime

  13 of 13 achievements

• Gazing from beyond
  

  14 hours playtime

  13 of 15 achievements

• Highway Blossoms
  

  11 hours playtime

  17 of 17 achievements

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Flower Shop: Winter in Fairbrook [03/01]: ★★★★★★★✰✰✰
An improvement over the first game in the initial delivery of “unlikable main character grows as a person” themes. Also the farming sim portion makes a bit more sense as the money threshold determines regular/special ending for each character rather than locking you out of romance if you do a good job raising plants.

Every character was likeable this time around too, and something about the game in general just came across to me as very kind hearted and pure spirited. I really enjoyed it.

I’m not sure about any of these Winter Wolves games at full price as they can be rather short (though I never buy anything at full price honestly) but I’m quickly learning I enjoy their work a lot as a general rule.

Creature Romances: Kokonoe Kokoro [03/06]: ★★★★★✰✰✰✰✰
An all around “meh”. Its short which is okay, its meant to be, but even so, it could have been written in a lot more interesting way. The basic writing is competent, but it feels like the dialog is off. In a lot of places I felt like people talking were a lot more immature than they should have been, seeming more like middle schoolers than high school seniors.

If the voices had been remotely creature like, it would have made the experience better, but the buggy love interest sounding like a 4 year old girl huffing helium made me turn the voice acting off . I got it on sale but I’d honestly recommend waiting until its 90% off or in a bundle lol.

Analogue: A Hate Story [03/07]: ★★★★★★★★✰✰
A unique VN with a fresh and interesting style and premise. But it also made me feel sick on more than one occasion and I don’t think any VN has affected me the way this one has. The story is something else. I don’t think any game has ever provoked angry crying out of me before, lol.

Maybe it’s because I have more than a passing interest in the historical inspiration for this game (hell, the name I’m known by is a reference to an ancient Korean dynasty name — but was in use about 1500 years before the one reflected in the game). To get back on topic and also summarize, A: AHS is basically an old, specific Korean dynasty reimagined in a future setting, and I suppose it got a lot of the things that might not have been apparent to someone who doesn’t study ancient East Asian history, correct. The Joseon revival period is one of my least favorite eras and I guess this game really hammered in why that’s the case.

The anger this game made me feel has nothing to do with any lacking on its part though, rather -the story provoked anger as opposed to my being mad due to shortcomings. It’s incredibly well done. Its almost all reading however, in a way even most other VNs don’t quite embody, as 95% of the game is reading logs and letters left behind by long gone inhabitants of an ancient spaceship that’s spent centuries floating through the void, unmanned.

The Grand Ball [03/09]: ★★★★★★✰✰✰✰
A short VN of a few hours that can be completed in a single session. This one is set during a ball in victorian era England and is full of the classism, political intrigue and snark one would expect in such a setting. Its well researched and a lot of fun — though obviously not as deep or developed as a longer story would be. I enjoyed it.

Soulcraft [03/10]: ★★★★★✰✰✰✰✰
Grindy basic of the basic mobile hack and slash. It works, missions are quick, it has a functional story, customisable upgrades, and all of this combines into something that’s probably of better quality than most mobile ports. Achievements work but seem a little buggy, most pop after doing a mission post-accomplishment or quitting and returning.

I’d have given it a higher score if the last achievements hadn’t been so far from what is needed to complete the game. I grinded most of those 1 million souls after there was absolutely nothing else to do. The game isn’t terrible but 100%ing it really makes it overstay its welcome, and it’s ultimately a pretty forgettable experience.

I fully admit the only reason I selected this game for my play queue was because I accidentally unlocked one “starter” achievement when I checked out the game months ago and wanted to at least even out a lot of my 1% games in my average.

Snow White Solitaire: Charmed Kingdom [03/10]: ★★★★★★★✰✰✰
This game isn’t going to win any awards for innovation, but if you like solitaire and jigsaw puzzles you could do a lot worse. Its bright, colorful and pretty, the setting, art and music is really nice and it’s one of those games that’s great to play while winding down for bed. I played this here and there each night for quite a while until I completed it, and I enjoyed doing so.

I didn’t run across any bugs, issues or problems at all, and it was an overall pleasant frustration free experience. I think there’s a sequel coming that’s essentially more of the same with a focus on the dwarven kingdom. I’ll probably pick it up on sale or bundled since I liked this one.

Legend of Grimrock [03/11]: ★★★★★★★★★★
Okay so I know I played, beat and reviewed this last year and gave it a lower score (8 maybe?) but I have been working on replaying this off and on since January 1st in order to 100% it, (Including hard mode with my best friend watching me when he came to visit), knowing that Old School especially would be a huge challenge. But I knew I could do it and I did. And now that it’s over I feel much like I did when I got that last achievement in Desktop Dungeons. Bittersweet. I really do have a sense of accomplishment but I also feel like I’m saying farewell to an old friend.
I guess sharing the game with my best friend increased the nostalgia of finally finishing even more, but as I played and replayed LoG with different builds and different goals in mind, I really began to appreciate more and more how well made and designed this game really is.

And the story too, despite being so minimal, is great. I love the last boss. Who I have nicknamed Cube Zero, lol.

Though the old school no map achievement was a beast, even when using online maps to try to orient myself, since it’s so easy to get turned around… I didn’t feel frustrated even once, just challenged. Really, a positive experience and a great game. My one complaint would be the lack of skill points preventing you from playing around with builds too much but even that shortcoming is a manageable one.

A Hand in the Darkness [03/13]: ★★★★★★✰✰✰✰
Wow this VN was a bit uh, racier than any I’ve played. And yet, and well integrated into the story which was interesting. Any risque contents were text only and the VN isn’t voiced, which I honestly prefer in all ways (and I usually mute voices when given the option anyway so, no points deducted there).

While I did enjoy the story though, I still have reasons to deduct some points for a few reasons. There aren’t any changing of expressions, the CGs don’t match the other versions of the characters well, the music is rather uninspired and doesn’t match the setting, and there are quite a few errors. Oddly, 90% of them in one character’s route. That same character has a lot of problems in general (and I thought he’d be the sweet/regular one and saved it for last, hoo boy).

But I did like it, honestly. A little more polish before final release would have done some good though. It’s a early 1900s mystery set in a British boys only boarding school, and tells the tale of 4 young men and their interactions with each other as they prepare for college. With a dash of murder.

Age of Enigma: The Secret of the Sixth Ghost [03/14]: ★★★★★★★✰✰✰
I really wanted this game because its a HOG with a really different sort of painted art style and I loved how colorful it was. And I did actually really enjoy it. Though it does end on a sort of cliffhanger note. The ending gives closure but also makes it clear not everything is over, setting things up for a possible sequel I guess. The puzzles are definitely not standard HOG type fair and ranged from fun to outright challenging, which I appreciated. Though the spatial reasoning type ones drove me mad, lol. Not sure how long this took but I’m guessing 4-5 hours? I forgot to close it out on the night I completed it, alt tabbing and discovering it was still running the next morning.

Leaving Lyndow [03/14]: ★★★★★★✰✰✰✰
A short and sweet little walking sim that can be done in one session about a young woman who’s about to leave her sleepy village and head out into the world as an explorer. You take control of her last day as she says goodbyes and prepares to leave.

The farm was beautiful and I took a lot of screenshots of the area. Music is nice enough, graphics are nice (the people are very strange looking, but in an intentional way, and I liked it). I wish there had been a little more world building because I liked what I saw. Even just more reading material or dialog would have boosted the experience without a great deal of extra work.

Red Embrace [03/18]: ★★★★★★★★✰✰
Exceeded my expectation in all ways. It’s great, from the writing, to the music, to the art. Its polished and high quality, with all individual elements being top notch without taking away from the whole or being distracting. I usually don’t care about adult content at all (or deliberately avoid it unless its meaningful/tasteful/part of the story — nothing turns me away faster than just-because “”””fanservice”””” games ugh), but I would have actually enjoyed this title being a little more risque content than the pg13 it is. Taking part in a world filled with vampires and shady businessmen (that you can date), the characters are suitably sensual and its written with a perfect balance of dark and sultry, and elegantly delivered.

If there are any cons, it would be that it’s all over too soon and more worldbuilding, development, plot etc., would have been nice. But as it’s in the 3-5 hour category with a price of about 5 bucks, it succeeds at all it sets out to do. I’d throw money at a long version without hesitation.

Arvale: Treasure of Memories [03/21]: ★★★★★★✰✰✰✰
I’m torn on even trying to rate this one. There’s a lot going on here with a lot of good and bad. I actually enjoyed the last ¼ of the game a great deal more than the rest. It took that long for the story to really interest me at all. Most of the humor falls flat though there were some really good laughs, just few and far between. And the whole “memory flashback” thing, which is supposed to carry you through all the other games and be a fun story for people who have played them -and- those that haven’t, doesn’t really work. I spent a good portion of this game feeling like I was a 3rd party witnessing an inside joke I was never let in on. And those past games aren’t on steam, I think they were mobile games or something.

My next complaint is combat. I got the deluxe edition when I bought this, and it came with a super savefile which I had no intention of using, but I said to “hell with this” about 2 hours in, and restarted with the save. Even with an abundance of items and the final sets of every one’s equipment, it was still a grindfest. And I never felt a bit overpowered. The grind is weird too, I believe the real reason it felt so drawn out is that even with this equipment, every encounter still took several rounds and the entire game is slow. Slow combat, slow movement speed. It works well and is incompetent, but it felt like every single step was through a foot of snow. And even master gear didn’t include snowshoes.

However I really did enjoy chapter 4, a lot. Chapter 3 was an improvement over the first two. Even so, it was a slog. I am glad I stuck with it in the end but I would never ever suggest someone play this without the super save file. I play a lot of turn based rpgs, including the antiquated ones that inspired this and a lot of other RPGMaker games that claim the same influences, and I don’t think I have ever seen cannon fodder basic leveling fights take this long in any of them. It saps the fun out. It only became bearable when I found a great grinding spot with really inflated exp gains and dedicated an entire day to straight leveling and even then the result after I moved on was still “kinda slow”. Improved, but still a drag to get through.

With some speed changes, a little more polish and balance this could be a fun game. It’s well made and competently written. But as it is, its more frustration that it’s worth and artificially long — even though I did enjoy the later bits and am glad I made it to its conclusion, I’d have to say pass on Arvale.

Voodoo Garden [03/21]: ★★★★★★★✰✰✰
This game probably isn’t much to write home about as far as innovation goes but its colorful, cute and fun. A friend of mine gifted me this on my birthday as we were both playing Plantera at the time, and its very similar. An idle/clicker game about growing a garden but there are a few twists. Your garden is a bayou, your helpers are ghosts, and your crafts are voodoo supplies lol.

Its fun, its functional, sounds and music are okay, its pretty and I enjoyed it. No bugs/issues or problems with achievements.

Her Story [03/22]: ★★★★★★★★✰✰
…Wow. What a narrative, presented with a lot of twists and turns, and a couple of really different ways of interpreting what it all means. There’s only one answer as far as I’m concerned hehe.

(Anything I say other than talking about the quality of this game would be a spoiler lol).

Gazing from Beyond [03/26]: ★★★✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Wow, um okay. When I bought this during the Sakura Games Lootbox Extravaganza expecting garbage.

Maybe it is a dumpster fire in the way it was released, but you can tell this game was made with a lot of heart by someone before being put through a paper shredder, even if the current state is an absolute mess. There are quite a few things in raw Chinese, progress breaking bugs in the English version you have to temporarily swap into Chinese to pass through, and the most piss poor translation ever. If this was given the beauty of well translated localized prose, it would probably be very good. And even though its butchered to the point of it being a total disservice to the original work, the story was still somehow interesting, and quite sad (when it made sense). I disapproved of Eureka and her ways, and as a character so much (along with her incestuous desperation and the theme in general of cousins in love) that I didn’t care if there was any decent end or not, but by the game ended I actually wished there was an outcome that wasn’t as tragic once things are revealed. I can’t say I recommend this hot mess to anyone in good conscience because of all the quality issues but I really did not expect this to be as enjoyable as it was.

Note: Not sure if the last achievements are unlockable or not.

Highway Blossoms [03/27]: ★★✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
After giving the above game a higher rating and how well praised HB is, my giving it a 2 might look like a typo. Its not. Its a 2, and 1 of that is for the amazing music and 1 for well done art.

I stuck with it but I really wish I’d just pressed auto and went to the grocery store. I thought I was getting a heartwarming lesbian romance story that was memorable and touching. But it’s all contrived, suspension of disbelief type stuff, with conflicts appearing and resolved by full on deus ex machina every s i n g l e time, plot holes big enough to drive an RV through and a full on arsenal of Chekov’s guns. No plot device is ever logical progression or buildup. The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. Also every single character is either so highly unlikeable or unrealistic it sapped any joy out of the story. This might be the most poorly constructed thing I’ve ever read. Highly disappointing. I have no idea how this hot mess is so loved. The command of English is competent, but the actual plot and story is so bad it seems like a first time writer’s project that was never critiqued before release. This is the writer’s version of embarrassing deviantart drawings.

Also applying the adult patch made the achievement pop but no scenes of any sort appeared at all. Something must have gone wrong — but I don’t care about sexual content that doesn’t add meaning to a narrative, and since I didn’t enjoy the story I won’t bother trying to tinker with it.