Dark Illusions Review

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.

fault milestone 2 side:above Review

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.

Sunrider: Liberation Day Review

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.

Princess Trainer Gold Edition Review

Title: Princess Trainer Gold Edition
Release date: 2014-06-21 (original version)

2016-03-20 (Gold Edition)

Developer & publisher: AKABUR

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 %.

Ouroboros v1.0 (by Sierra Lee) Review

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 (by Sierra Lee) walkthrough

"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.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Review

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.