Visual Novels have been around for some time, and it’s strange hearing some gamers claiming that it is not a video game because of their lack of gameplay, but in defense, I would say the games I’ve played so far, revolve around a game. Instead of pressing buttons, you have to use your brain.

These past few months, I have been playing story-driven games. Being locked away from society is fine with me. I don’t feel as guilty about it. Although I play at my own pace without feeling pressured to finish a game and move on to the next. I am a bit burnt out so I am taking a break from gaming in general to write. So here I am.

The House in Fata Morgana

I bought this game on Steam for around $10.00. This was a very emotional game. It made me cry. I believe it took me about 50 hours to complete the entire game. My only gripe about this game is that the writing is a bit amateur. Certain parts seem to drag, but the overall story is good. There was a lot of violence and gore. It’s beyond my grasp that there are people out there who enjoy tormenting people. It’s rather sickening. The whole time I was rooting for the protagonist. He is the only character that seems real.

I bought this game on Steam for around $10.00. This was actually a very emotional game. It made me cry. I believe it took me about 50 hours to complete the entire game. My only gripe about this game is that the writing is a bit amateur. There were certain parts that seem to drag, but overall story is good. There were a lot of violence and gore. It’s beyond my grasp that there are people out there who enjoy tormenting people. It’s rather sickening. The whole time I was rooting for the protagonist. He is the only the character that seems real.

Raging Loop

I bought this game at a local game store back in March before the lockdown. The one I have come with a picture book, day one edition (PS4). I am not much of a physical game collector, but I do appreciate it when games come in a pretty package. I paid $29.99 which is still a bit high for a visual novel game. Visual novel games should not be that expensive in my opinion. Anyway, pardon me for going on a tangent.

What I think about the game: some grammar mistakes are hard not to notice, which I can understand especially if you are switching from two languages. I am bilingual myself. But then again, the game is supposed to be professional. It’s rather embarrassing to have so many mistakes. I have to read and reread how the game works to fully understand the story. The game took a bit to pick up, but once it picks up, there is plenty of suspense and mystery.

In summary the game, what stood out to me most is the main male character. He is an odd one as he tends to like dangerous women. Then again, the story takes place in a misfit society, which makes perfect sense. After all, it’s only in rural areas, where horror story comes alive. Think Japanese version of the Chainsaw Texas Massacre. Overall, the game has a strong opinion about faith, religion, and existence. Do I agree with it? Not necessarily, but I enjoy looking from a different perspective and learning a bit more about my male counterpart: boys are just as weird as girls.

These two games left me feeling strange. The world is a political game, a fucked-up place. People are not to be trusted and everyone is out there for their gain. Real friends are hard to come by. What a miserable world. I’ll go play Code Vein now because at least there is some warmth in that game.