VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

When she pours, she reigns. The Venezuelan bartender visual novel stands amongst the best modern anime styled story games, even compared to the Japanese contemporaries. [Sept 2016]

VA-11 HALL-A is a damn fine video game, and that’s the bottom line.

Nothing here frustrates. [Sept 2016, p.75]

Listening to well written dialogue and mixing drinks while meeting interesting characters - this is a little storytelling gem.

Imagine a visual novel where instead of dialogue lines you choose liquid content of the glass. Despite a tad too simple gameplay the VA-11 Hall-A sucks you in with amazing atmosphere and a moving, relatable story. [10/2016, p.48]

Interactive novel and bartender simulator-in-one that attracts players and doesn´t let them leave until they are full of the existential doubts.

Valhalla is a dark and moody dystopic game with an infectious underlying optimism. It’s comfort food, a relaxed experience welcoming you with soothing music, cooly-colored visuals, casual conversation, and a calm sensation. This, mixed with its brilliant approach of telling a story through the experiences of its characters, makes it a smart and inventive new take on the science fiction visual novel.

A warm visual novel about the small but important things of life, full of humanity and great characters. Original, well written and highly enjoyable.

VA-11 Hall-A isn’t a game for everyone, and that’s fine. The simple mechanics, pixel-heavy look, and not-so-interactive story aren’t supposed to cater to every audience. If you’re a fan of story-first games with a minimal challenge and simple gameplay, it’s a great experience.

It's a really highly polished experience with a lot of secrets to be found, coupled with a story that pulls you along with strong characters.

Even though you may have to wince through a few conversations, VA-11 HALL-A sells its cyberpunk atmosphere with great presentation, including an exceptional soundtrack and cool character art.

VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action excels through relatable characters and stories that are worth listening to, even if its gameplay aspects can appear to be non-existent or tedious.

At its core, VA-11 Hall-A is the rare cyberpunk story that has heart, and even goes so far as to give its female characters agency in their own lives. It’s a story where we, the player, take the backseat, and soak it all in. Just like a good book.

VA-11 HALL-A is inherently flawed yet it's still a wonderful personal cyberpunk tale. Even with the writing being lackluster at times, I find its cast to be pleasantly unforgettable. I often think about them, Glitch City, and my dreams of the future living through its soundtrack as I listen to it outside of the game. It was worth diving in and have a fascinating peek into that view. And I'd love to return to it anytime.

To prepare an excellent Visual Novel cocktail, we particularly need a very good writing quality, varied narrative paths and the ability to transport ourselves to a world with a unique atmosphere. On these points VA-11 Hall-A is very convincing. But where the recipe turns sour, it is in the inability of the game to renew its gameplay and its sequences.

Story-rich interactive book, reading which you could feel the irresistible taste of “not play, just watch” Is it good or is it bad? It is up to each of you to decide. [Issue#266]

In any case, VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is still worth a look for the colorful characters it brings to the table and that’s something it gets just right.

What Valhalla is trying to do is interesting, but playing it is boring. The dialogue drags, the main bartending mechanic is tedious and the day-in, day-out repetition becomes frustrating quite early on.