"Girls x Lust", or GxL for short, is yet another free non-VN western eroge that accidentally attracted my attention. And when I say "accidentally" I mean it, as I haven't heard of this game's development before suddenly encountering it on the internet and choosing to download it.
I have thought long and hard what to say about "No One But You". NOBY was a high profile visual novel project which ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign. After asking for only 1300 dollars, the developers received more than 18000 green. The subsequent release of the game proved that more money is not always better, as the final product is hardly worth all the dough invested into it.
Title: Kedamono (Kazoku) tachi no Sumu Ie de ~Daikirai na Saitei Kazoku to Kanojo to no Netorare Doukyo Seikatsu~ Original title: ケダモノ（家族）たちの住む家で～大嫌いな最低家族と彼女との寝取られ同居生活～ Alias: In the House of Despicable Family Release date: 2014-05-02 English release date: 2016-06-01 Developer: Pin-Point English publisher: NTRanon (as a fan-patch)
"Kedamono (Kazoku) tachi no Sumu Ie de" is probably the first purely netorare focused visual novel translated into English language. Of course, there have been a few netorare focused non-VNs translated recently (Minako and Netorare Imouto Misaki come to mind), and some VNs have NTR elements, but "Kedamono" is the first title available in the West to devote itself purely to this fetish.
"Dark Illusions" is a western remake of Japanese visual novel "Nocturnal Illusion". The game introduces adventure game elements, some of whom can be quite tricky to solve. For this end I'll give hints and answers to some of the more difficult puzzles.
Title: Dark Illusions Release date: 2002-12-16 Developer & publisher: Vonwert
Even after many many years, "Nocturnal Illusion", released in English back in the Stone Age of 1998, still remains one of my favourite visual novels. Imagine my surprise and astonishment upon learning that there actually exists a Western remake of "Nocturnal Illusion" called "Dark Illusions". I have never heard about such a thing before and I'm actually supremely baffled how such a thing could have escaped my notice. Sure, I am aware of a failed project to create a fan sequel to NI, but "Dark Illusions" is a beast on a completely different level.
Title: fault milestone 2 Jou Original title: fault milestone 2 上 Alias: fault milestone 2 side:above Release date: 2015-08-16 English release date: 2015-09-08 Developer: ALICE IN DISSONANCE Publisher: Sekai Project
I really like what ALICE IN DISSONANCE is doing with their "fault" series. The second entry "milestone 2 side:above" (or "fault 2a") in this science fantasy saga is more ambitious and a marked improvement over "milestone one" and I'm eagerly awaiting for the subsequent installment.
Title: Sunrider: Liberation Day Release date: 2016-03-04 (initial release)
2016-05-24 (Captain's Edition; includes a [Re]turn DLC)
Developer: Love in Space Publisher: Sekai Project (censored)
Denpasoft (uncensored)
Just a few months ago I finished playing "Sunrider", the original free game from the Western developer "Love in Space" (a very descriptive name). Shortly after that, the sequel titled "Liberation Day" was released commercially on Steam... to overwhelmingly negative reviews. It seems the developers tried so hard to emulate the "Mass Effect" trilogy, that they also copied the main flaws from the series, too.
Usually I'm not a big fan of simulation games, be they dating sims or raising sims. I simply don't find much pleasure in juggling various stats, while the story in those games tends to be very sub-par. "Princess Trainer" is a game that is a notable exception to the rule, as it is shaped more like a bona fide adventure game, rather than just a bland raising sim. Its creator Akabur (who usually pens his nod de guerre in all capital letters) created a very compelling package of great artwork, erotic content, likeable characters and engaging quests, and it pulled me in and didn't let go, until I completed it 100 %.
Title: Ouroboros Release date: 2016-05-20 (2016-05-02 for Patreon backers) Developer & publisher: Sierra Lee
Have you ever played "The Path" - a game by "Tale of Tales"? In that game you were one of Little Red Riding Hoods, whose objective was to always stay on the path and go to the grandmother's house. However, that was not a proper way to play the game - in order to get most of it, you had to enter the forest and there be met with delightful surreal imagery and hidden encounters. Actually, "The Path" was not much of a game, but rather an exploratory experience, released way before anyone even heard of "Dear Esther" of "Gone Home". If you have ever had a pleasure of playing "The Path", you'll be right at home with "Ouroboros"... not because it's an exploration game, but rather because the game is a lie.
"Ouroboros" is a short ero adventure game made in RPG Maker MV by Sierra Lee. This is a spoiler-free walkthrough I wrote for the game after playing through it. It's also important to mention that some posts on ULMF forum were very helpful to me when I got stuck and serve as the basis for this guide.
Note: the walkthrough is only supposed to be used with the free version of the game. The commercial v2.0 version changed too much for this walkthrough to be accurate anymore.
Title: Dangan Ronpa Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei Original title: ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生 Aliases: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa: Hope’s Academy and Despair’s Students
Release date: 2010-11-25 English release date: 2013-06-23 (PSP)
2014-02-11 (PSV)
2016-02-18 (PC)
Developer: Spike Chunsoft English publisher: Project Zetsubou (PSP, as a fan-patch)
NIS America (PSV)
Spike Chunsoft (PC)
From a studio that gave us the Hitler's least favourite game, comes another fascinating tale - Danganronpa - a study in murder, despair and beary ridiculous hairdos.
I have been aware of Danganronpa for a long time now, but never got around to playing it. I would have eventually used a fan-translation to play the PSP edition, but the recent release of the game for Windows on Steam finally kicked me into action, as I ran out of excuses for not playing it.
Title: Otomaid @ Cafe Original title: おとメイド＠cafe Alias: Otomeido @ Cafe Release date: 2013-10-04 English release date: 2014-07-11 Developer: Otoko no Ko Club Publisher: Lv1 Translations
My blog has long since suffered from an overabundance of straight sex, which puts minorities at a serious disadvantage. In order to celebrate the beginning of Spring Season I'll go totally gay for you, my dear readers (yes, all three of you), and will review a little gem (opinion is subjective on that term) called "Otomaid @ Cafe".
After I finished playing the second release in Shibusawa Kou's "English Dream" series, titled "Dark Hunter", it's time to take an extended look at it's predecessor - a three part game "Emit". While "Dark Hunter" was "only" released on Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Windows and Mac, "Emit" was published on Mac, Fm-Towns, PC-9821, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Super Famicom, 3DO (has anyone even ever owned that console?) and even two different Windows OSs: 3.1 and '95. At times it looks that the only home console that didn't get an "Emit" release was ColecoVision, or something.
Titles: Dark Hunter: (Jou) Ijigen Gakuen & Dark Hunter: (Ge) Youma no Mori Original titles: ダークハンター ㊤ 異次元学園 & ダークハンター ㊦ 妖魔の森 Aliases: Dark Hunter: Strange Dimension School & Dark Hunter: Demon Forest Release date: 1997-04-04 Developer & Publisher: Koei
When it comes to "unique", "Dark Hunter" might not take the first place, but it is surely one of the most unusual examples of a visual novel you might find. Developed and published by Koei, it was the second part in Shibusawa Kou's "English Dream" series - a franchise of educational interactive movies developed to teach Japanese students English language. Rather than creating some boring dry educational disc, Shibusawa envisioned to use engaging storyline and visuals to wrap the teaching aid. "English Dream" might not have become a series he desired, but two games, "Emit" and "Dark Hunter", saw the light of the day.
Title: Sunrider Release date: 2014-10-02 Developer & Publisher: Love in Space
"Sunrider" is probably the best known western made visual novel / SRPG hybrid. In production since 2010, it was finally released in two parts in 2014 after a very successful Kickstarter campaign. The game was supposed to be a free trilogy, but producers decided to release the third part commercially after giving it a visual upgrade and full voice acting. So, with the release date for the third part ticking closer and all the bugs squashed in the first two parts, it's time to play the game and see if its critical acclaim is worth anything.
"Aurora Memoria" has one of the most interesting origins out of all English language visual novels. It was started as a musical project by a composer DV-i (formerly of the synth pop band "Konnichiwa") and was intended to showcase his 5 track EP. The actual VN was just a side project to package the music, which is such an insane idea that I still cannot wrap my head around it. After all, it probably took so much more time and effort to create the visual novel presentation than just to release a music album. So, there is something very ironic about the fact that I find DV-i's music totally unimpressive and the least noteworthy aspect of the game.
Title: Shounen to Chijo Oneesan-tachi no Shiawase H na Apaato Kurashi Original title: 少年と痴女おねえさん達の幸せHなアパート暮らし Aliases: A Boy and his Perverted Oneesans' Happy H Apartment Life
The Happy Ecchi Roommate Life of a Shonen and Pervy Onesans
Release date: 2014-07-27 English release date: 2015-09-06 Developer: aomizuan English publisher: m1zuki (as a fan-patch)
I have previously played and well liked a NTR-centric adventure game translated by m1zuki. This time I will continue the exploration of the fetish zone with a femdom visual novel also translated by him. The VN is named "Shounen to Chijo Oneesan-tachi no Shiawase H na Apaato Kurashi", which is a handful, so for the purpose of this review I will shorten the title to "Oneesans".
Title: Dahlia Original title: Dahlia-ダーリア- Release date: 2014-08-17 English/French release date: 2015-07-02 Developer: Cosmillica English publisher: Kinkan édition
"Dahlia" is a strange beast all around. First of all, it was released by an indie Japanese company, then it was localised into English by an obscure French company and lastly it was released only in the physical form and sold only in conventions. It's no surprise that the game is impossible to come across in a legal manner, and the only way I could experience it was the same way as the rest of the Internet.
