Get One Final Sleepover on Earth in Post-Apocalyptic Cosmic Horror Title

May 14, 2026. Auckland, New Zealand. | Independent developer ChimpWampus and publisher Neverland Entertainment, are proud to reveal Sleepover a post-apocalyptic cosmic-horror visual novel about the last two humans alive. The game is slated for a Q3 2027 release on Steam, and the store page is now live.

After the entire Earth population mysteriously vanishes, a sole survivor, Yuna, struggles to find meaning in an empty world. Until she mysteriously meets a girl at her front door. Both will spend their final night together.

"There is no point in living past tonight, so let's make some good memories before we leave together."

 

The Protagonists

Yuna: Terrified, anxious, and burdened with guilt. Yuna harbors a mountain of regret about her life back when things were normal, and there is no hope in making things right anymore.

Fermi: The girl at your door with a soft smile, and strangely composed demeanor. Thank God she found you in time.

The final “Sleepover” before the end of humanity?

Yuna, humanity's last survivor, struggles to find meaning in life—until the arrival of a mysterious young girl adds a layer of both uncertainty and familiarity. Amidst a web of enigmas, will Yuna uncover the truth behind the end of the world?

Explore the apartment freely and uncover the truth

Interact with a variety of objects throughout each room. Observe and learn more about Yuna's life, her family, and her declining mental state as she grieves the world around her.

"It's the last night for both of you, possibly the last sentient life in the universe. You should at least try to make it a happy one."

And remember... don't go inside that room.

Can two girls overcome their fear of the unknown?

• When encountering things that are difficult to understand...
• When realizing that one cannot control everything...
• When realizing how insignificant one is...

Would you choose to escape? Or would you confront the fear within yourself?

As a post-apocalyptic cosmic horror visual novel, Sleepover offers players a profound and psychologically impactful horror experience, leading them into a deep exploration of its themes while highlighting the transformative power of human connection.

Even at the end of the world, when all else feels meaningless, having just one person by your side can make all the difference. Together, the two girls will struggle to find hope in an empty world, and peace with regrets that can never be truly resolved.

About ChimpWampus

ChimpWampus is a collaborative studio dedicated to bringing the horror game Sleepover to life. Founded on values of artistic expression, the team aims to tell a story that is deeply personal to them. Skyler, the Game Director, conceived the idea in 2023 and leads the narrative vision. Kent serves as the programmer, bringing three years of experience to his first horror project. Yolanda handles 3D artistry, focusing on character models like Yuna and Fermi. Ashley contributes from Los Angeles as a 2D artist, concept designer, and co-writer. Jenny, based in Europe, rounds out the visual team as a 2D and motion designer. The group emphasizes a unique balance of professional talent and close-knit friendship. Together, they have elevated the original material through open creative collaboration. Fans can expect a high-quality experience born from a passionate, global team.

Article by: Susan N.

Read More

Not A Cat Studios Announces New Visual Novel 'Starcult Night: Twisted Age'

Aarhus, Denmark – 16 of April, 2026  | Indie developer Not A Cat Studios has announced STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age, a dark fantasy visual novel with romance set in a mysterious world on the brink of catastrophe. Players use the emotion palette to read the true emotions and intentions of others, influence relationships, and uncover the truth behind the brutal murder of the protagonist’s husband.

The story is told by Silviya, a lady from the noble House Nebula who married its young head, Hans, as part of a deal. The game begins with his murder by an unknown monster shortly after the wedding party. She calls for a detective to investigate the crime. But one question remains: who is the real monster?

"The central theme of STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age is how human emotions influence relationships—how people express them, how they interpret them, and how they use them (whether accidentally or intentionally).

We decided to present this in an interactive way by adding an Emotion Palette, which players will use as a unique tool for interacting with the game world," says Liliia Sitailo, the artist and CEO of Not A Cat Studios.

At the center of the experience is the Emotion Palette, a gameplay system that allows players to read the true emotions and intentions of others and shape how interactions unfold. The system offers a wide range of choices that influence relationships, outcomes, and the direction of the story. The game also features an Emotion Frenzy system, where choosing not to spend emotion leads to Silviya going insane, unlocking an alternative story route.

Key Features

• Make meaningful choices that lead to a variety of unique endings, including Detective, Hedonist, Mystic, Nihilist, Ascended, and secret paths
• Choose a character to form a relationship with: spicy, romantic, toxic, sadistic, codependent, casual, open, or platonic
• Read the true emotions and intentions of your friends and enemies using the emotion palette, and influence how they respond
• Create your own cult and choose its purpose

STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age is planned for release on Steam for PC, with additional platforms to be announced. 

Join STARCULT on Discord and follow the studio on X and TikTok.

About NOT A CAT STUDIOS

NOT A CAT STUDIOS is an indie developer driven by a love for things that have a double meaning. As the team puts it, “we love cats, but we also love horror.” This contrast is reflected in their mascot, the tentacle cat, capturing their approach to creating experiences that reveal a deeper, darker meaning the closer you look.

The team creates games they would want to play themselves, combining elements of eldritch horror with vivid, realistic characters and richly developed worlds. Stories unfold gradually with the horror emerging as the full picture becomes clear. With STARCULT, they explore emotions through an artist’s palette and the challenges of empathy in an inherently unequal society.

Article by: Susan N.

Read More

Decollate Decoration - PS5 Review

Decollate Decoration by developer KANEKODO and publisher KEMCO—PS5 review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

---

Hello everyone and welcome to a new KEMCO title! But wait a moment, this one is different to the retro JRPGs that you’re probably expecting when you hear KEMCO from me by this point. Instead what we have is a sort of point-and-click style visual novel! Something a little new and fresh coming out here!

Decollate Decoration is the story about a girl (you) and her love, life, and trying to kill the guy she likes. Yeah, I know that last one is a little weird, but hear me out. Basically, this girl died and is stuck as a ghost. She can’t bear to be parted with the guy she loves, so she wants his soul to come with her to the afterlife. Obviously that means she needs him dead so they can be together forever! Or does it? You’ll need to find that out.

The short premise here is that you only have so many days to fulfill your task before your spirit can’t stick around any longer. Your hubby can’t see or hear you, so you need to get him to notice you if you want to affect him in any meaningful way. You can take actions such as talking to him, entering his dreams, causing a poltergeist phenomenon, or cursing him. Each of these actions drains your power and you need to wait for it to recharge. You can also check items around his house at no energy charge. All this is done via a point-and-click style interaction.

There are six different endings you can get, each ending not taking too long to reach, and a prologue and epilogue that are unlockable. It’s a short and “bitter”sweet sort of story that is kinda depressing and heartwarming at the same time, depending on the ending you reach.

The story is told mostly through endings and the little tidbits you can glean between each time you have to act told through a sort of bit-like style with a sort of up-beat but creepy ish soundtrack playing in the background. It doesn’t take more than maybe a few hours to get through the entire thing, all endings and prologue and epilogue included, so make sure you’re aware of what you’re getting. Thankfully the price is pretty low, so you may want to either grab it on sale or pick it up as part of a package deal if you’re unsure if you want to play it.

As a handy note, there are a bunch of save locations if you want to try different combinations of actions, and there is a “hint” system built in to tell you what you need to do in order to get each ending, just in case you’re struggling on some. Definitely helpful on a second or third go around to make sure you’re on route for a new ending. It even tells you if you’ve seen the different endings before! The only real issue I can bring up is occasionally some words in the textboxes aren't separated properly, but that's small potatoes really. 

Overall Decollate Decoration is a pretty interesting but short title that uses a point-and-choose type of interaction to tell a narrative about life, death, and what feelings mean to different people. It’s a weirdly introspective story told in a cute art style about a not-so-cute topic. Definitely worth a go if you have the chance I’d say.

Score: 9 / 10

Read More

Volontes - Nintendo Switch Review

Volontes by developer and publisher LocaGames—Nintendo Switch review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

---

Long long ago, high in the clouds, there existed a kingdom where no one ever seemed to get sick. The sun always shined and people lived surrounded by magic. They had the freedom to create and explore the many facets that this kingdom had to offer, without fear.

However... there was one thing they could never do...

They could never save their progress---!!!!!!

*Wakes up in a cool sweat, clutching my Switch* 

“Oh, thank heavens! It was all a dream.” I tell myself as I gently cradle my console. “I thought I was reliving my 3DS days. I'll never forgot the time where you couldn't save before a decision. So many handsome lives could've been saved with such a simple solution. So so many...”

~

From Farmer to Mage

Have you ever grown up feeling like you don't belong? For our Heroine, that's the feeling she lives with everyday in her small farming village. But it's not her only secret: she can see the dead, or silhouettes of those who once walked the earth. She has kept this secret even from her family, but her brothers and sisters adore her and the village people have shown her great kindness. Why scare anyone with something as silly as seeing the dead? Everything seems to be going great, until the knights of the kingdom run through your home, bringing the Shadowblight (a plague) with them. Killing everyone in the village, they continue to scream one thing “Find her!” Not wanting to get caught our heroine runs into the forest.

After nearly escaping death, our heroine finds herself being rescued by a mysterious man who came from a floating kingdom in the sky. Dazed and confused, she finds herself being healed by sorcerers who have started to claim her as the legendary Moon Witch. How does one wake up with magic running through their veins, without ever knowing...until now.

Now sporting her new life and status, it's up to her to prophesize the future of everyone around her. Will she be able to educate herself quickly or fall victim to a possible scheme?

A Magical Distillery of Men

A Mysterious Kingdom in the clouds must have some breathtaking bachelors in this newfound land. What's that? The Moon Witch is not allowed to love? Even with these tall glasses of MMmmmMmm? Superstitious traditions will not stop me! Bring on the LIs (Love Interests):

Oliver Paquet (VA: Kazuyuki Okitsu {Olympia Soiree, Piofiore, Jack Jeanne})

• Fate Handler

• Conniving Bastard

The mage who saved you from death. This long dark haired magician may seem like a hero, but he also seems to be hiding a lot of secrets. Perhaps he'll soften up with your daring personality? Besides, what could be more daring than spending time with someone you are forbidden to love?

Ismail (VA: Souma Yamato {First Otome Roll})

• Doctor, Please! Kiss it Better?

• Chick Magne

The practitioner to the royal family itself, this soft-spoken dark skinned dreamboat may just take you out for a lovely stroll around the kingdom. Since you are an outsider with the ability to see into the possible future, nothing screams “You can look, but don't touch” more than you. As a healer he has many patients, but it's not everyday he gets to study a Witch up close. You might be TOO tempting.

Emmanuel de Beaumont (VA: Yuichiro Umehara {Birushana, Jack Jeanne, Radiant Tale})

• Alpha Vibes Galore

• Loyal to a Fault

A noble man, with no magical properties, he makes up for his lack of magic by dedicating his time to domestic affairs within the kingdom. However he does not believe you are who people say you are. Trust is earned, not given and he wastes no time in making sure you know he's all business. A soft approach may not be the best tactic. Maybe he likes someone who can give him a challenge? Don't be afraid to stand your ground!

Melodie (VA: Tatsuhisa Suzuki {Uta no Prince, Diabolok Lovers, Lover Pretend})

• Plays with your Heart Strings

• a 'Sharp' Tongue... get it?

The palace bard, this minstrel also doubles as a knight. Hard to get along with he keeps everyone at a distance, yet his music alone draws you in. If he plays such beautiful pieces, maybe there is something beautiful inside? Considering you are the inspiration for the kingdoms current tale, you are the centre of most of his musical numbers. If that doesn't scream ROMANCE then what does?

Feels Like a Classic

Funny enough, the feeling I get when I play Volontes reminds me of my days playing Hakuoki and Even if Tempest. The deep story telling, the simple backgrounds and soundtrack, and very little notification on whether or not you're romancing your LI. This makes the game more challenging for those who don't like to feel like the game is holding your hands and saying “Go this way, it's much more rewarding!”

Speaking of similarities to other games, the soundtrack strangely reminded me of a Fire Emblem game. Not sure if it's just me, but I get strong medieval kingdom vibes. Volontes also puts the pressure on since one wrong move will give you a game over. Being a very squishy heroine means you get killed easily, so saving multiple times is highly recommended.

In a Kingdom Far Far Away in the Sky

To conclude, Volontes is an Otome game that sticks to old play styles and gives the player a rich and vibrant story about kingdoms, magic, witches and forbidden romance. Volontes makes sure to keep you on your toes in choosing the right decision or else you may be greeted by death's sweet embrace. Preferably I'd like a man, but to each their own. The headmistress of the college of magic would like to grade you on your performance. A solid 7.5 out of 10. Study harder and you may reach top scores one day. Maybe being a Witch isn't so bad after all.

~

“Alright, seems like the story is about to take a turn for the worse. Better make sure I save---”

[Error] Cartridge is not sitting properly in the system. Please, reconnect.

[Error] Progress lost.

“No...”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Score: 7.5 / 10

Read More

Otome Daoshi: Fighting for Love - Nintendo Switch Review

Otome Daoshi: Fighting for Love by developer Idea Factory and publisher Aksys Games—Nintendo Switch review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher. 

 
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

---

*Someone barges into the room* 

“Nyx, we have a situation!” 

*I turn wearily towards my boss as my hands stop clacking against the keys of my keyboard*

“Are they releasing another wave of angsty Otomes again? I don't think I can take another moment of Carol mumbling about ''bittersweet endings'' for another year. The memory alone has my migraine itching to return."

“Negative, it's actually a Rom-Com!” 

That news alone had me jumping from my chair. It's been ages since I last wrote about a Romantic Comedy. My body buzzed with excitement.

“Don't worry boss, I'm on the case!” With a pep in my step, I hurried to grab my Switch, and I flew out the door in a hurry.

~

Duty Before Beauty

This paranormal adventure will have you play as Shunlin, a Daoshi-in-training, spitfire of a gal. For those who don't know, Daoshi are skilled fighters that practice the art of taming and passing-on of the spirits of the departed, who have been manipulated by the dark arts into reanimation. With her grandfather as her trainer, Shunlin dreams of being as good as him one day. However, during an annual fighting competition set up by the royal family, many Jiangshi (reanimated dead bodies) storm the event. It's up to her family and newfound, drop-dead gorgeous competitors to track down who is commanding the undead and killing off other fighters.

Only The Best Candidates

During your playthrough the story starts at the beginning of a festival. There are many vendors selling food and trinkets for the local people of the Kingdom, but that's not what everyone is in a buzz about. It's also the annual Fighting Festival and the game does a great job at introducing our competitors and future bachelors. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce today's line-up:

Haoran {VA: Sakata Shougo}

• Non Sibling Onii-Chan

• Overly Protective

First up is our (not related) Big Brother. If you're looking for someone who's been training by your side, a full-fledged Daoshi, and a constant worry-wart you may just find yourself falling in love with your short blue haired and tall long-time friend. Sure, you may have seen him as a relative for some time, but maybe it's time to push past that and see him for what he truly is: a man.

Longli {VA: Shimazaki Nobonaga (Olympia Soiree)}

• Otherworldly Beauty

• Break His Points (It's Worth It)

Second is not really a fighter, but don't let his frail looks deceive you. Working as an advisor to the king, this golden-haired, beautiful official is organized and prepared to fight for his kingdom. Anyone deemed a threat will be cut down by his hands. Maybe it's necessary to get his hands dirty? He might be hiding more than just good looks under that uniform.

Yuhuang {Ura Kazuki (Cupid Parasite, Olympia Soiree)}

• Genki Got It Bad

• Childhood Friend

Third in our line-up is someone from the heroine's past. A boy, with brown hair and eyes, who SHE used to protect, moved away, and has now returned to prove his worth. No longer the crybaby he used to be, he's there to show off just how hard he's been training to finally get the girl he used to crush on realize just how strong he is. But first, maybe he should brush up on how to talk to her, instead of screaming.

Shaowu {VA: Matsuoka Yushitsugu (Charade Maniac, Olympia Soiree)

• Food First, Talk Later

• Big Heart, Dark Past

Our final contestant is this broad shouldered, violet eyed, short red haired, hunk of a man who screams, "stay away". Not much for small talk, he prefers to communicate with his fists and ask questions later. Strangely enough, he's very polite and is willing to slow his pace to make sure you two are on equal grounds. If you're looking to dig deeper into this one's past, it may not be all sunshine and rainbows.

????? {Kobayashi Chiaki (Cupid Parasite, Olympia Soiree)

• Man of Mystery

• Hidden Past

What's that? A secret entry? Not much is known about our mystery man, but maybe with a bit of sleuthing we might discover an even BIGGER secret.

Forever Compelling and Light

Otome Daoshi to me was a breath of fresh air. It's been some time since I played a fast pace and shortened visual novel. Most are usually very lengthy with heavy plot and dialogue, but Fighting for Love guides you through the main story line quickly AND even gives you the opportunity to choose your LI (Love Interest). It's attractive in a quick and easy way.

Other things that I loved during my playthrough was how the main character was pretty girly, in the sense that if she saw a hot character she'd straight out call him out on it. My girl knows what she wants.

And to round off intense or important moments, the game would flip over to manga panels to really flesh out the scenes, which brought a smile to my fujoshi heart.

Leaving is such Sweet Sorrow

Overall, Otome Daoshi: Fighting for Love was a real good time. If you're looking for a quick and quirky romantic fix, this is the game I recommend playing. Comedic banter for days and silly scenarios to keep those cravings at bay. Don't worry, there is still enough angst to keep you on the edge of your seat. I'm happy to give this game a fighting score of 8.5 out of 10.

~

*Dark clouds can be seen from a distance*

“Seems those dark romance storms can't stay away forever, better get back to the office and gear myself up for the next wave of plot heavy story telling” I say as I pack my Switch up, sip the rest of my tea, and get ready to brave the storm.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Read More

Award Winning Vampire Therapist is Available on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch!

Starting February 17, the award-winning Vampire Therapist will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. This BAFTA-nominated title blends a narrative visual novel with a therapy simulation. Players encounter vampires from different historical eras and hear voice acting by actors from Hades, Hades II, and Baldur’s Gate 3. Vampire Therapist previously launched on PC and will arrive on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on March 5.

Vampire Therapist was created by the independent German studio Little Bat Games, founded by Cyrus Nemati, who is also a voice actor known from Pyre and Hades. The game debuted on PC in 2024 and is now expanding to consoles. The console versions were prepared and published by Ultimate Games S.A.

Award-Winning Vampire Therapist Arrives on Consoles

Vampire Therapist has received numerous awards, including the Games for Change Awards, German Computer Game Awards, and Indie X Awards, as well as nominations at the BAFTA Games Awards and the New York Game Awards.

On Steam, Vampire Therapist holds a 95% positive user rating based on about 800 reviews, and the game’s Metascore is 81/100.

The title also features a star-studded English voice cast. The characters are voiced by Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Baldur’s Gate 3), Francesca Meaux (Hades), Sarah Grayson (Gone Home, Hades II), Kylie Clark, and Cyrus Nemati (Pyre, Hades).

The console versions include all free updates and the Couples Therapy DLC in the base edition. Controller support has been enhanced for consoles, and thanks to backward compatibility, the game also runs on Nintendo Switch 2. 

Vampires in Therapy

Vampire Therapist is a unique mix of visual novel adventure and therapy simulator. Players take on the role of a Wild West gunslinger turned vampire therapist, helping other vampires confront their traumas and navigate the complexities of immortal existence.

The game stands out with its gothic atmosphere, and its lively, memorable story blends dark comedy and introspection, reminiscent of What We Do in the Shadows and Young Frankenstein.

Players meet vampires from different historical eras, including ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and Tudor England. Each vampire patient has a unique backstory and personal traumas that require an individualized approach.

Gameplay includes accessible elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) presented in an engaging way. Mini-games, including mindfulness meditation, add variety to the experience.

Vampire Therapist – Key Features:

• Visual novel with therapy simulation elements
• A mix of dark comedy and serious themes
• Vampires from different historical eras
• Simple mechanics and engaging narrative
• Star-studded voice cast

The release date for Vampire Therapist on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch is set for February 17, 2026. The Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions are scheduled for March 5, 2026.

Article by: Susan N.

Read More

No Sleep for Kaname Date-From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - PS5 Review

No Sleep for Kaname Date-From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES by developer and publisher Spike Chunsoft Co. Ltd.—PS5 review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

---

Hello everyone and welcome back to another Somnium Files title! Today we’ll be taking a look at No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES! A sort of filler game in the series set between the first and second games chronologically. In this instalment Date gets to experience the wonders of escape games in addition to his detective and mental deep dive work!

If you’ve read the review for No Sleep on the Switch, the takeaway from the PS5 version is basically just a smoother running experience, and that’s about it. Less lag or slowdown in some scenes, and faster loading times. For those who haven’t read the Switch review, come join me as we take a look at this nifty spin-off type game that’s broaching into escape game!

It's important to note right off the bat that if you don’t know what happened in the first game in the series, you’re probably going to be pretty confused. You can get away without having played Nirvana Initiative, although some things may still confuse you. That being the case, I’m going to assume you have a bit of knowledge about the series, but may be a little rusty.

No Sleep for Kaname Date starts out with Iris, the local internet idol extraordinaire, being kidnapped and waking up in a spaceship! She is told by an alien that she must use her “third eye” to escape the confines of the ship. She’s allowed one helper she can call, so who else but Date and his sentient AI fake eyeball companion Aiba! Basically this means Iris will need to “play an escape game” to get out while Date can give running commentary or suggestions. The viewpoint will rotate between Date’s investigation and Iris’s escape attempts, having a mix of investigations, escape rooms, and mental diving into the Somnium.

Let’s take things one at a time. Since this game starts in an escape room, we’ll begin there. If you’ve played any of the Zero Escape games, you’ll have a decent idea how this works, but basically the escape sequences work in the same way that real life escape rooms do. You have a bunch of puzzles and objects and your goal is to use what you have available to escape the room you’re stuck in. You can interact with points of interest, pick up and use or combine items, and rotate and examine items to figure out what to do.

Good news for those that are having a tough time, if you set the game to anything other than hard for the escape sequences you will get plenty of hints. Unfortunately this also means that if you don’t need those hints but are checking something or seeing if there are other places to inspect, it feels like you’re being treated like you have no idea what you’re doing. It isn’t too bad for the most part, but can get pretty annoying. Thankfully there’s not usually a time limit in the escape games, so most of the time you’re free to think or reexamine at your leisure.

Good news for you puzzle fans, pretty much all of the answers to the puzzles or riddles are quite reasonable. There were only two I recall being a bit troubling, one was because I discovered an alternate way to solve the puzzle that didn’t give the actual answer but still was AN answer, and the other was a bit of suspect wording, but I managed to get through them, so it isn’t unsolvable. Each escape segment is themed, and as you progress through the game you will actually get multiple characters to swap between during the escape segments. You need to find ways to pass items back and forth, or solve puzzles to make something another character can interact with work. It’s actually pretty neat.

While outside the escape game, you will be either investigating the disappearance of Iris, or the appearance of a mysterious pod that may have been related to the incident or it could be completely unrelated. Either way, it’s up to you to investigate! Go places, talk to people, examine things, and sometimes get into a quick-time event. It’s detective Date’s time to shine! An interesting thing about No Sleep for Kaname Date is that there are a ton of hidden alternate endings. Like, there are at least three in the first investigation sequence you do alone, and most of them are pretty funny.

Once you’ve completed your prodding at possible leads, you can head back to ABYSS, where Kaname Date can delve into the subconscious mind of a suspect, and hope to gain insight from their dream realm, or somnium as it were. In the somnium you control Aiba as she investigates the mental world. Things are usually weird here, and you basically play a guessing or association game where you can interact or examine items, and sometimes do weird things with them. Sometimes those weird things are actually what you’re supposed to do too. In the somnium you have a time limit, and actions and walking decrease your time. After 6 minutes are up, you’re forcibly ejected and have to restart either from a checkpoint or from the beginning.

A neat thing about the somniums is that they have a lot of really funny and weird interactions. Also, there are giant eyeballs you can collect that give points towards bonus content you can unlock in-game. If you collect them all you also get some concept art. Once you’ve completed a somnium once you can return to it with infinite time so you can explore at your leisure. The giant eyeballs are still here and can be collected, but the clear bonus for more than a second remaining won’t be available if you go infinite time. There are multiple difficulties for the somniums, mostly adjusting how much time gets used on actions.

I have to say I was rather a fan of No Sleep for Kaname Date. It’s certainly shorter than other titles, and the plot is very “filler episode” like, but I thought it was pretty interesting, and I found the escape additions a fun time. The graphics and soundtrack should be just what you expect from previous games, with decent 3D models for characters and interesting environments coupled with a suitable soundtrack and solid voice acting. I also like how each game has it’s own dance number.

While No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI the Somnium Files probably isn’t winning too many awards, it’s definitely a nice filler between main title entries. The puzzles are good, the escape rooms are well put together, and the somniums are pretty entertaining. The story is also really interesting once you really get into it, but might take awhile to really take hold for some people. It is a little on the shorter side, but I certainly enjoyed my time with it. The PS5 port does wonders for some choppy load times and lag I experienced on the switch, so if you’re considering playing this title after one of the previous two, you won’t go wrong with the PS5 port here.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Read More

Shuten Order - Switch 2 Review

Shuten Order by developers Neilo Inc. & Too Kyo Games in collaboration with DMM GAMES and publisher Spike Chunsoft—Switch 2 review written by Jim with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated Reading Time:  4 minutes.  

---

Shuten Order is a challenging game for me to review for multiple reasons. First is some of the subject matter. The game focuses a lot on a God, and I was raised and still am a Christian, so some of the talk might be sensitive for some players. When you use "God's power" to accidentally blow up someone's head at the beginning of the game, I didn't like it. Now, I'm usually okay with most things in games, even if they talk about God or gods, because games are fiction, but I really didn't like how it was used in this game, like praying for the end of humanity. Anything that makes this game hard for me to review is that, every time I play it, something bad happens in real life. I'm not superstitious at all, but when something awful happens every time I play the game, it just gets to me. This also brings me to my apologies to the devs, the publisher, and everyone here at CGR. I'm sorry for taking so long in this review, and thanks for being so understanding about the circumstances.

Mainly, Shuten Order is a visual novel game with multiple paths you have to take to solve the murder of the cult leader of Shuten, who also happens to be the character you are playing as. What makes this visual novel so different is that each path or route you take is a different genre. The genres are murder mystery/investigation, much like the Ace Attorney games; an extreme escape game like the Nonary Games series; a dating sim; and a survival-horror escape game where you mostly just run away from a killer. If you enjoy genre-blending games or murder mysteries, this game offers a variety of experiences, though some may find the religious themes less appealing.

I played through three of these, but as I stated above, each time something happened for real that took me away from the game. I played the murder mystery route, and as a fan of Ace Attorney, I enjoyed this path until the end, that is. After you complete a route, you will be taken back to pick another one, so it doesn't matter what order you pick them in; you will always have a chance to come back and play the others. The second route I took was the horror escape route. It was a decent route, but lacking a little, as the killer is easy to get away from just by hiding. Lastly was the dating sim. I liked this one the least out of the three routes I played. It's less serious than the others, but it's basically like all the other dating-sim VNs out there.

I did run into a few issues with the game. The translation is hit-or-miss, with some sentences making no sense, and I had to reread a few times to understand what it was saying. Another issue was that the text sometimes appears off-screen, and there's no way to see it. In some scenes, the text becomes blurry as a way to make the game scarier or something, but it was annoying to read like that. The game is voiced in Japanese. It wasn't an issue for players in Japan, but with no English dub, this effect should have been changed or removed from the text. Lastly, I ran into a problem a few times when the sound, music, and voices all stopped working, and I had to reset the game to get them working again.

The Japanese voices are good. I wish they would get an English dub for these types of games, but most don't. I liked that the main character is a female who everyone thinks is male, and the Japanese voice actor does a good job of sounding like either a male or a female. All the other voices in the game seem to fit their characters very well. The music is decent for the type of game, too. Graphically, the game is decent for a VN. I like the twists and turns in the game, but the overall religious themes are a huge turnoff for me. A few religious things here and there in a game are fine with me, but when the game seems to be mainly about a cult and religion and God, I just couldn't get into that.

Overall, the game is very unique, and I like that, but it doesn't excel in any of the genres it offers beyond being a VN. The story is okay, but I didn't like the game's theme much. If there were less religion and more about solving a murder, I probably would have enjoyed it more. I won't take points away for it because these are just personal opinions. So, the game is decent but not my cup of tea.

Score: 7 / 10

Read More

Mistonia's Hope: The Lost Delight - Nintendo Switch Review

Mystonia's Hope: The Lost Delight by developer Idea Factory and publisher Aksys Games—Nintendo Switch review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

---

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

We welcome you tonight to the Fairy Queen's debutante ball. Dress to impress, you may just catch the eyes of one of our top bachelors. Not only do they carry the tittle of “Heir” to their family name, you might just snag yourself a demi-fae. Wealth, good-looks and magic? What more could you ask for?

Yours Truly, Miss Nyx

~~~

A Fairytale Come True

Mistonia's Hope: The Lost Delight is a fantasy based Otome visual novel that dives you into a world of Humans, Fairies and Revenge! This story follows our beautiful protagonist Rose, a young blue-eyed, brown haired maiden who has infiltrated one of the top 5 families of the Queen's Guard. As a maid, she has her work cut out for her; it's not easy to approach the Queen of Fairies. But why would one so young and vibrant be secretly hiding herself amongst the common staff? Why to kill the person responsible for killing her entire family and destroying her home town of course. The Queen may have ordered the attack, but someone inside the Queen's 5 loyal families gave the killing blow. Carefully she goes about her chores while gathering information secretly about the 5 heirs who frequent the manor. Will she sink her knife into her enemies or will love sweep her off her feet?

A Magical Gathering of Gentle-fae

Can't enjoy an Otome without a couple of heartthrobs and these men are many and magically inclined to make you swoon over them. Allow me to introduce our bachelors...

Alfred Creswell {VA: Umehara Yuuichirou} {Played in: Birushana, Radiant Tale, SympathyKiss}

• Silent but Lovely

• Cuddle Bug

• Prioritize Your Safety

Alfred is the kind of gentleman that was born with a hard face; his every interaction comes off as intimidating. However, under that hard exterior is an even softer heart. He makes it his goal to help those in need, but must hide his status so people don't think he is doing everything as a charity case. But if you gain his trust, you may just gain his heart.

Ascot Lindel {VA: Fukuyama Jun} {Played in: Bustafellows, Dairoku, Birushana}

• Can't Shake Bad Habits

• Beautiful but Deadly

• Hot Trash

Ascot is your typical play boy. Flirts with anything that wears a skirt and tends to seduce you with sweet saccharine words coated with poison. He's a one and done kind of guy. Playing hard to get seems to draw his attention towards you and if you can keep pace with his strong advance, maybe you can tame this wild stallion of affection.

Edward Bernstein {VA: Tamaru Atsushi} {Played In: Varriable Barracade, Dairoku}

• Princely Type

• Daddy Issues

• Moment Maker

Edward is part of the main house you start in. He makes sure to take the time to know his staff and their likes and dislikes. He is a strong believer in equality, but still maintains a strong front in times of need. When his father isn't belittling him, you might discover a more playful side to him. Will you risk Papa Bernstein's stern dislike for a little more time with Prince Charming?

Linus Ward {VA: Umeda Shuuichirou} {Played In: 9R.I.P}

• Queen's Guard Dog

• Two Faced

• Mister Handsy

Linus comes off as the smallest and cutest boy of the bunch, but that's all a front. His secret may get you in trouble and he tends to punish people without mercy. So if you're looking for a puppy dog personality, you may bite off more then you can chew. However, if you can convince him you're not the enemy his loyalty is yours forevermore.

Lucas Sullivan {VA: Suzuki Ryouta} {Played In: Jack Jeanne, Tengoku Struggle, 9R.I.P}

• Best Boy

• Shadow Daddy

• His Precious Maid

Lucas tends to do very little when it comes to the Queen's Demands. He prefers to spend his time alone and research Purefea's. He lives with only one servant and likes to keep people out. Maybe if you could wiggle your way past his defenses you might find a broken, yet sweet individual that treats beautiful things with extra love and care. Hope you like moonlit strolls in a cemetery!

John {VA: Shirai Yuusuke} {Played In: Steam Prison, Bustafellows, 9R.I.P}

• Childhood Friend

• Forget-Me-Not

• Puppet

Johnny boy is the only other survivor of your village and has been a big supporter of your revenge. As you gather internal information, he walks the streets of the kingdom and digs up external evidence. Together you two fight through your traumatic past, but why is it he can't seem to remember crucial points from your past?

One Cannot Just Say “Revenge”

Like most Otome Games the formula is usually the same. Start off with the common route to get the basis of the story started and be introduced to the main love interests. However, Mistonia goes a little bit deeper in the lore of its story by giving you a moment during the common route to explore the manor and possibly come across memory fragments. You see, Rose has a special ability that allows her to connect to peoples memories by either coming into contact with the recipient or finding these shards that are created and left behind during strong impactful moments that may have occurred during another time in a specific area. Only Rose can see these shards and once she collects enough of them she can piece back together a moment in time, giving her a glimpse of a private memory. A nifty trick for a spy indeed. These shards can only be obtained during the common route only.

Forever Young

To Conclude, Mistonia's Hope: The Lost Delight was in fact, a delight. It has a nice selection of men with traits from all aspects of interest. The story and world really immerses you into the shoes of the protagonist, and the art style is both to die for and admire by the talented Karin Suzushiro, who also worked on other otome games, such as Norn9 and Charade Maniac. I am pleased to bestow this wonderful title a solid 8.5 out of 10. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go spy at that handsome devil over yonder until he does something nefarious. 

Score: 8.5 / 10

Read More

Shuten Order - Nintendo Switch Review

Shuten Order by developer DMM Games and publisher Spike Chunsoft—Nintendo Switch review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

---

Do you believe in God? Or do you pray for the end of humanity? Are you part of the Shuten Order, or one of those violent heretics? Well, those aren’t important right now. What is important is finding the murderer of the Founder of the Order and saving humanity!

Shuten Order is an interesting game that slaps five different genres together and actually does it pretty decently. The main premise of Shuten Order is that you awaken in a strange hotel room and are told by two self professed angels you must investigate the death of the founder of the local cult: Shuten. Well, more of a sort of city-state really, and as far as cults go they aren’t that bad. The religious doctrines include no violence and no murder, so crime is surprisingly low. Unfortunately, the founder of Shuten has been brutally dismembered. It is up to you to discover who the murderer is!

Shuten Order is a bit of a quirky game, but not necessarily in a bad way. You get told at the beginning of the game by two characters calling themselves angels that you, despite your recent memory loss, are in fact the dismembered founder. Not only that, but God has issued you a trial to find your own murderer. Luckily for you, you can use the power of God to help. Despite Shuten being an anti-religious religious cult. Hmmm, well, hopefully you can figure out what’s up with that as things progress. You will be given a directive to use the power of God to determine who the murderer is, and then investigate them and force them to confess to their crimes.

It is at this point that the genre of Shuten Order is tossed in a salad spinner. Whoever you select as the culprit will determine what the gameplay style is like. So, when investigating the five ministers who are the most likely culprits behind your death, you must also think of what kind of gameplay you prefer. You do go through all five routes for the full experience, so don’t worry about restarting to choose another route. They do all interrelate to varying degrees as well.

The different gameplay types, from left to right in the options, are: murder mystery/investigation, “extreme escape game”, multi-perspective, romantic (?), and survival escape. Let’s break each of these down a little so you have an idea what’s what with each genre type. In the murder mystery option you will be following the Minister of Justice to a rich family’s private island in order to read a will. Once there, you discover a murder has taken place. You are tasked with investigating the murder. Gameplay is a lot of interacting with objects and asking people questions. You can do a fancy finger snap to try and draw connections to important topics, but too much snapping makes you look dumb and you’ll lose trust. There are also debate segments where you must prove your suspicions. Kind of similar to Phoenix Wright in style, just less courthouse.

Next up we have the “extreme escape game”. Notice the quotation marks. While this is generally marketed as an escape game style route while investigating the Minister of Health, it’s largely walking around an empty area doing the occasional puzzle minigame until the end when you get an actual escape room. Just wanted to let you know so you aren’t as disappointed as I was in the gameplay. The story and world building reveals were outstanding, but the gameplay was a bit of a slog.

Multi-perspective is pretty much traditional visual novel fare. You make choices which will change outcomes, which will then open up new paths for different characters. The game doesn’t really tell you this, but after your first dead end you can open the flowchart for the routes yourself instead of at the end of a route to go back and make other choices. Honestly I thought this was going to be the most boring route when I started, but I was pleasantly mistaken.

For the investigation into the ministry of Education you have a romantic (?) adventure. Basically think traditional dating sim, where you need to raise affection with different characters to unlock their ending route. Yes that question mark is there for a reason, no I won’t say why, yes it’s actually in the game itself too. Once again I thought this route would be sort of boring, and if you rush through it it kind of is, but there is SO MUCH in this route that isn’t laid out for you that makes it really great. Over the course of this route, you can learn a bunch of interesting facts about the other routes and characters as they’re progressing. There are allusions to a lot of other interesting details that were really neat to learn. A plus for the subtle world building.

The final entry is survival escape with the Minister of Security. Short story is it’s very much like Corpse Party. Long story, you have to escape from a serial killer by dropping shutters to slow them down, hiding in safety lockers, and solving puzzles while you’re getting chased in a 3D isometric perspective. It isn’t super complicated, but it was a lot more active than any of the other routes.

At the end you can put your knowledge of all the routes together for one final shot at salvation. All routes feature a checkpoint system where you can retry if you get a game over from the nearest “checkpoint”, so you don’t really need to worry about making twenty seven different save files, unless you want to see the differences between different options. Each route has it’s own focus for delving into the world. One route may explain what the power of God actually is, another gives insight into the relationship between God, the heretics, and Shuten, and another sets up some important background about the murder of the Founder as well as how Shuten functions as a whole. Also, at least three of the routes will drop a tactical nuke equivalent of a reveal on you by the end that may have you sitting there gaping for at least five minutes if you haven’t played other routes that hint towards it.

As a whole I’d say Shuten Order is a pretty artistic game in a lot of ways. It divests from the standard genre typing, has a weird introspective on society and religion while lamp-shading a lot of common tropes, and flips a few overused concepts. The art style used is a bit of a mash-up as well, with both 3D and 2D segments, standard visual novel style talking and scenes, but with interactable characters showing as sort of paper cut-outs to interact with before dialogue starts. The music is also kind of all over the place, from tense tones in the extreme escape game and survival segments, to more laidback in the multi-perspective and romantic (?) routes. Really, Shuten Order is a wonky stained-glass style of everything that it does. Gotta give them props for sticking to an overarching theme.

Shuten Order certainly isn’t without it’s faults. There are some text wrapping issues, one soft-lock I found in the Minister of Justice route, and some misplaced text options, but nothing wildly egregious, most of which I’m sure will be patched out on release. Shuten Order also suffers from the same thing most multi-genre style games do: the gameplay isn’t really fully fleshed out. It feels like Shuten Order tried to do too many things at once and couldn’t adequately make all of them feel “full”, for lack of a better word. Does the gameplay work fine? Well, yeah, but it doesn’t feel complete either. Like it could be better but it wasn’t fully fleshed out, or the route ended before it could really take off. Nothing is “incomplete”, but it does all mostly feel like if there was the leeway to afford more effort in certain gameplay areas it would be appreciated.

Shuten Order is a really interesting title. It blends a variety of different genres with some really interesting world building in a high stakes murder mystery. While the individual genre routes may have benefitted from a more single genre focused approach, it is a very unique way of bridging together the overarching storyline. Shuten Order is definitely a title I’d suggest taking an interest in, although it is a very niche title. 

Score: 8 / 10 

Read More