Carnival of Sin: Queen Beast Review

Title: Queen Beast

Release date: 2022-12-06

Developer & publisher: envelope

I don't think there are any questions why anyone would want to try this recently released Western VN called "Queen Beast" - it's the art. It took me one glance at the sample screenshots to know I'll be playing this game sooner rather than later, and now that I have done it, I have to say it was all worth it.

Just look at this game! The developers obviously had a clear intention to bring us back to the past, and it wasn't with a goal to make us play the shitty games that suck ass. "Queen Beast" is clearly inspired by the anime and visual novels of the early 90's: colourful characters with hair with the colours that are not found in nature and the volume that seems to have the weight of their own body mass, female armor that seems to be designed more to protect their breasts from sagging rather than from any sharp implements, vibrant world that is full of colours, rather than being bleak and sepia-toned, despite being pretty grim... The game is just glorious to look at!

That hair has a life of its own.

There is also some erotic content in the game, which includes tasteful nudity, but no sex scenes. In fact these scenes are few enough that they never overshadow other aspects of the VN, and just help to supplement the 90's aesthetic, harking back to the works like "Heavy Metal" or "Druuna".

From the very first moments of the game it's clear the devs put a lot of care and effort into creating a more than ordinary VN. It's not unusual to find an OELVN with lovely CGs these days, but QB goes beyond that, and has not only the character sprites and portraits that fully align with the whole visual aesthetic, but the backgrounds, too. The developers didn't skimp on their time by using filtered photographs or 3D renders for the backgrounds like many creators do, and while that is a legitimate way that lets you focus more on crafting the other assets, many artists contributed so that QB would feel like an entirely cohesive world. It is no wonder it took 3 years to produce a VN that is not that long, truth to be told.

That's one easy-going bandit.

However, the art was not the only aspect that is worth mentioning, as there was something else very rarely seen in any visual novels that made me sit up and pay attention from the very first lines of the story. Yes, dear readers, you might not believe it, but the story is written employing plenty of purple prose, and I'm not using this as a criticism, but as the highest praise. At first I thought this might be just the prologue, but to my absolute delight, the VN consistently uses ornate, flowery language throughout the whole of its length. It is a talent of a great writer to use it sparingly enough not to oversaturate the text, but to beatify it, and the devs of the game fully succeeded, in my opinion.

The game is set in a high fantasy world in the country of Byron, as we follow our protagonist Otto, who is just a simple village miller, questioning his own existence. It's not sure how his life would have proceeded, if not for an unlucky event where a knight in a black armour arrives on the back of the dragon, swoops down, and kidnaps Otto's adopted sister Bronwyn. Now we get to engage in an epic fantasy quest, where Otto must leave his rustic village, and travel to the capital city in order to rescue Bronwyn. On the journey he teams up with a sassy and aloof adventurer Switch and has to overcome certain obstacles, before he even comes close to the capital.

Perfect garb for an adventurer.

The game immediately subverts some expectations by plunging us into the body horror just 40 minutes into the game, which is not something one expects, taking the on the surface vibrant and cheerful world. That cheerfulness hides dark secrets though, and the game doesn't shy away from violence, bloodshed and horror. I didn't anticipate some of the things that happens along the way, but I wholly embraced them, because the writing is so good, as are the characters.

I didn't expect to like Otto as much as I did, because I thought he will be just a simple naive boy, and a plot device to move the story along. Surprisingly, he is a very deep and insightful person, who is ready to do what is needed at the right moment and doesn't give up in the face of adversity. Moreover, while he is not that knowledgeable about the world, due to being coped up in a small village, he is pretty much the opposite of being naive. He is also not a perfect person, both due to his hotheadedness in certain situations, and his abandonment issues that stem both due to his brother's disappearance when he was a child, and the current kidnapping of Bronwyn. Those issues also get directly tied to the plot and play a big role in the last act of the VN.

Don't fall for her charms, Otto!

Adventurer Switch is very cheerful and seemingly easy-going, but she is also aloof, rude and judgmental. Despite this she is a good person, and mellows while interacting with Otto. In fact, these two draw on each other's strengths and weaknesses, and I felt that the relationship between them was very well realized and portrayed.

Otto quickly learns that the previous ruler of the country King Darius has been recently deposed by an invader, who just calls herself Beast, and she might be behind the recent spate of kidnappings. When Otto finally arrives at the capital, the game doesn't suddenly turn into some grand rescue affair, while fighting hordes of nameless mooks, with Beast herself as the final boss. And while there is definitely fighting and bloodshed before the end, at its core the story is that of a family drama, with the main message of making peace with the past and accepting responsibility for your actions and for yourself. The game doesn't end where you expect it to, but enters a quiet melancholic phase where the characters have to deal with what happened before and make the best of the future they wrought.

Interesting drinking habits...

I have to say that I love what the game did, and the art, the atmosphere, the writing and the characterization all fully complement each other. The ending is also very brave by

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If I had to make a few small complaints, I felt that some of the plot threads were either not properly explored or properly closed. While the game is fully contained as a standalone story, there is a feeling of non-closure in at least few aspects.

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Beware of perverts, ladies.

Additionally, Switch herself is not characterized that well.

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We didn't see that much of a change in her character, or her struggle with what she wanted to initially accomplish, so I felt that the writing failed her in that aspect.

All in all, there is plenty of room left for a sequel, possibly staring Switch as the protagonist, though I wonder if there is a chance we will ever get one. Anyway, "Queen Beast" works perfectly well as a standalone in a modestly sized package, and was beaten by me in just over 4 hours. It's actually amazing that a game of such quality is completely free, but I would gladly pay for a sequel if it ever comes out.