Games reviewed… eventually
The last few weeks on this blog have felt pretty hectic and heavy. I obviously play quite a lot of stuff for this blog - I kind of have to, in order to keep up my self-imposed weekly schedule - and I quite happily dive into stuff that can be either (or both) lengthy and … Continue reading a new life.
I’m starting to feel like I’m finding my niche - or at least my blog’s niche - when it comes to exploring visual novels. While I know there are plenty of VNs out there that are lengthy and, presumably, many that are exceptionally well-revered, I have to admit to a genuine sense of satisfaction over … Continue reading Serre
On paper, there’s no real reason I would be interested in Wheels of Aurelia. If there’s three things I know very little about, it’s visual novels, racing, and the rise of neo-fascism in 1970s Italy. And yet, it’s this wild trio of things that I find myself having to understand amidst the rush and hubbub … Continue reading Wheels of Aurelia
If you grew up on the Internet during the early-to-mid aughts, you almost certainly remember escape-the-room games. These were an absolute staple of early Flash gaming, with titles like The Mystery of Time and Space, Don’t Escape, and (perhaps the one most deeply resonant for me, with its screens well and truly burned into my … Continue reading Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Building mystery and tension is a key component of any story. Without it, it’s all too easy for us, as readers, to give up; after all, if there’s nothing to solve, or to puzzle over, or simply to ponder, why bother reading on? It’s the mark of a great writer to craft that sense of … Continue reading One Night Stand
When it comes to genres that I confess to not knowing much about, visual novels are quite high on my list. There are all sorts of good, legitimate reasons to not play a genre - I don’t touch horrors as a rule because I don’t enjoy the sensation of being scared, and I avoid grand … Continue reading Dungeons & Lesbians
The word iconic is thrown about a lot when it comes to video games. Indeed, every game or franchise has something iconic about it, whether it really is or isn’t, but I think it would be fair to label Phoenix Wright in the camp of genuinely iconic video game characters. He might not have the … Continue reading Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
If the second Ace Attorney taught me anything, it was as a stark reminder of the perils of over-excitement. It was certainly a good reminder that visual novels live or die on their writing, and Justice for All definitely floundered. Still, there was of course a lingering hope that, on going into this third entry … Continue reading Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations
It’s safe to say I went into the second Ace Attorney with high expectations from the first game. However, I’m not entirely sure what I wanted from it though. The strengths of the first game were I suppose partly in the surprise of it being a visual novel I genuinely enjoyed, and partly because the … Continue reading Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All
I feel like you can’t play the Professor Layton games and not also stop to take a look in at Ace Attorney. The two franchises feel so intrinsically linked now to me as the premier puzzle-solving visual novel-style games. I appreciate that’s quite a niche subgenre, but Ace Attorney and Professor Layton definitely made it … Continue reading Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
The Almighty Backlog 