Gamezebo
Open main menu
Search

Tag: Visual Novel

  • Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf Review
    Reviews
    • Android
    • iOS
    Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf Review

    By

    Joe Dever's Lone Wolf comes so terribly close to getting it right. And not just right, but perfect. When I first started playing I thought I'd discovered a new pinnacle in beautiful, exciting and interactive gamebooks. And then it all fell apart, and by the time it was over I was glad to see it done.If you like gamebooks (and probably even if you don't), the opening of Joe Dever's Lone Wolf will blow you away. It hits you right from the get-go with a gorgeous, subtly animated pen-and-ink style of illustration and a rich, urgent orchestral soundtrack. And choice! Lone Wolf is a well-established character with 28 gamebooks to his credit (the analog, dead-tree kind of gamebook, of course) but before the action begins you can customize your version of him to a surprising degree. Are you the stealthy type, or do you prefer a stand-up fight? Do you pay close attention to you surroundings with every step you take, or do you prefer to rely on intuition to see you through? You can build Lone Wolf into just about any kind of character you want, from a brain-smashing tank to a quiet, thoughtful diplomat.The game shows off a remarkable degree of interactivity once the action starts. Multiple choices need to be made (as with any gamebook), but skill in the form of manual dexterity is also vital. Picking locks, for instance, isn't simply a matter of looking at a stat and rolling some virtual dice; you'll have to use a lockpicking tool and a small dagger to work the lock open, and if you break all your tools, it's tough luck for you. 
  • Blue Rose Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Blue Rose Review

    By

    Visual novels are fairly new in this country, but thanks to the popularity of the iPad and other tablets, they're quickly gaining ground. A crossover between graphic novels and games, they emphasize story and give players the power to alter it to varying degrees. Blue Rose, the new visual novel from White Cat, has everything an A-list visual novel needs: nice graphics, pleasant music, and player choice—but it also boasts a collection of bothersome flaws that prevent it from rising to that same level of greatness.Blue Rose makes a good first impression with 2D graphics that are clearly indebted to Japanese anime. Men and women are attractively androgynous and have the typical anime googly-eyed, tiny-nosed, heart-shaped faces. Blue Rose is indebted to anime in other ways as well, such as in its melodramatic approach to storytelling. Anime stories are characterized by save-the-world plot lines filled with noblemen, magic, reluctant heroes, love triangles, and corny humor. Blue Rose has it all."In this scenario, you're Lena, a young Templar. Your story kicks off with an action-filled scene on the edge of a cliff. You and a cohort of Templar veterans are battling a dragon, desperately trying to protect a noblewoman called Lady Adale. Two kingdoms are at war, and it's hoped that the Lady can perform some critical fence-mending. During the battle, however, you're knocked unconscious and awake in a strange room. The owner of it is a handsome but defensive young hunter who seems to want to get rid of you. To his chagrin, you discover his village which is hidden in a mountain area believed to be inhabitable. Who is this surly young man? How has a village full of people kept itself a secret? After battling a dragon, why are you even alive?Blue Rose sets us up to solve these and many other interesting mysteries. It also serves up the promise of romance. Despite his hostility, the young hunter's obviously your first suitor. The antagonism between the two of you goes into typical Taming of the Shrew territory as it's clear the guy's being a jerk because he likes you. If he isn't to your taste though, you've got other hunky options. If you're not into the hunter, then why not the sly, wise-cracking rogue, or the stern-but-sexy Templar officer?
  • Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! Part 2 Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! Part 2 Review

    By

    I'm going to save you minutes of precious time by cutting right to the chase: Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Part 2 is fantastic and you should buy it. There, that's it, this review is over. Go get your iThing, hit the App Store and grab it. That's S-O-R-C-E-R-Y, and you can probably find it alright without the exclamation point. Post your kudos in the comments when you're done.Seriously, people, I'm not kidding here. I suppose I can't stop you if you insist on reading this instead of playing the game, which is what you should be doing, but hey, it's your nickel.On the surface, Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Part 2 is almost indistinguishable from the opening chapter, but there are actually a few tweaks and improvements. The first thing you'll notice is that you may now play with a female avatar instead of a male, and the magic system has been upgraded as well, making it easier to use and to discover new spells. Part 2 will also import your saved games from Part 1, allowing for a direct continuation of that adventure for those who had the foresight to keep their saves around."The story picks up just outside the south gate of Kharé, a great, walled cityport and veritable hive of scum and villainy that you must traverse in order to continue on your journey. Getting in is tricky, as the looming gates of the city are guarded against outsiders, but it's a snap compared to getting out. As one character in the early part of the game explains, the walls weren't built to keep people out, but to keep them in. In fact, in order to make your escape through the North Gate and continue on your quest to recover the Crown of Kings, you'll need to collect the parts of a secret enchantment held by the city's nobles: no small task by any measure.
  • Device 6 Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Device 6 Review

    By

    It's rare to be able to point to a mobile game and say, "This title fits this platform as snugly as a wax cylinder fits a phonograph," but that's where we are with Simogo's Device 6. This interactive novel works beautifully with the touchscreen rather than in spite of it. More importantly, it delivers a remarkably unique and engaging experience that carries on Year Walk's spirit, but is considerably more polished than its predecessor.Device 6 gradually tells the story of Anna, a girl who wakes up alone in an opulent, seemingly abandoned setting. There are two things on her mind: escape, and figuring out where the heck she is. All she's carrying is a massive headache and a vague memory of a creepy doll.Device 6 is told across six chapters, which double as interactive escape situations. Reading through these chapters isn't as straightforward as beginning at "Once Upon a Time" and concluding at "The End," however. The narrative twists and turns - figuratively and literally. When Anna turns right down a corridor, the on-screen text may take a sharp right, forcing you to turn your device accordingly. If she descends down a staircase, the text does as well. It's easy to get lost in Device 6's words during these moments (again, literally), which can be frustrating - until you begin to notice that there are arrows beside the text that quietly herd you in the correct direction.
  • Everlove: Rose Review
    Reviews
    • Android
    • iOS
    Everlove: Rose Review

    By

    Across the bumpy stretch of human history, from the dawn of sentient thought, to the ravaging years of the Plague, right up to our current era of smartphones and Wi-Fi, there has been only one constant truth: love is a kick in the teeth. However well we handle our day-to-day crises with money, work, and family drama, scoring a loyal, dependable mate is an intensive years-long project. Silicon Sisters' interactive novel Everlove: Rose lets you dive backwards into your distant past where it turns out your romantic prospects are still sources of major drama. Who knew?
  • Device 6 Preview
    Upcoming
    • iOS
    Device 6 Preview

    By

    Developer Simogo has officially unveiled their next mobile project this week, and it's being made by the same key people who had a hand in crafting this year's haunting and atmospheric masterpiece Year Walk. The new game is called Device 6, and is described as "a surreal thriller in which the written word is your map, as well as your narrator." And if those early screenshots and descriptions are anything to go by, I fully believe this one could very well reinvent the way we experience visual novels or text-based adventures completely.
  • Everlove: Rose Preview
    Upcoming
    • Android
    • iOS
    Everlove: Rose Preview

    By

    Romance novels mainly cater to women, but regardless of your gender, everyone deserves to occasionally spoil themselves with a story about love. Especially the super-fun romance novels that compare certain parts of the anatomy to "rearing stallions." Everlove, an interactive romance novel by Vancouver-based Silicon Sisters probably won't get that saucy, but you can still count on lots of snuggling, cuddling, and touchy good times with handsome Lords and their baby-smooth chests.
  • Alone in the Park Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Alone in the Park Review

    By

    If you had a stalker, and if one day this stalker told you he had hidden nine pieces of a treasure map in various places around the local National Park, then you'd probably want to find out just what the hell his deal was, right? Well so does the narrator and "misanthropic gamer" in Alone in the Park, a very low-key adventure game that functions more like a riveting visual novel than anything else. With sharp, succinct writing and lighthearted adventuring puzzles, this is one interactive experience that will weave its winding footsteps into your mind and stay there until every last inch of that park is explored.