It all just falls short of what could otherwise be a decent, engaging adventure. I just did not find myself having fun with the combative scenarios. That, coupled with the weak performance, brings the title down a good number of notches. The title is fairly short but is also priced rather modestly. If you are mildly curious, feel free to pick it up. If you can stomach some of this title’s frail aspects, you can find yourself enjoying a beautiful, hearty adventure.

In the end, Meteor World Actor offers a well-defined atmosphere with worldbuilding on a level that matches some of the best in the genre. Sadly, the character routes are underwhelming, but that doesn’t compromise everything it has to offer leading up to the conclusion. I’d love to see a proper continuation of the tale of these fascinating characters who live in a city eternally covered by the darkness of the night.

Pretty Princess Party is, at its core, an incredibly casual game. It’s a low-stakes and low-effort title that lets the player use their creative potential should they decide to get involved. If you’re a parent looking for a safe title for kids to play to explore their skills and reaction times, this is a solid pick. Otherwise, I don’t really know who’s going to play this game. On a more positive note, It’s got fewer bugs than Cyberpunk 2077.

Noel the Mortal Fate is all about impact. It’s a revenge melodrama that wants to keep the player on the edge of their seat, eating all the plot twists and caring about how the characters end up. This may not be the whole story, but it still manages to provide a wildly emotional ride even through limited visuals.

I Walk Among Zombies Vol. 0 is a short visual novel experience that explorers some of the smaller stories that didn’t make it into the full game. They are often fun and lighthearted, but I wish they carried more weight. As of now, Tokiko’s route might be the best reason to play through it. It’s a must if you want more stories from this series, but you won’t be missing out on much if you don’t play it.

Fxxx Me Royally!! is a fun read if you’re looking for a low-key romance with a protagonist who isn’t afraid to be horny on main. Considering the premise, some aspects feel a bit timid; but perhaps that makes the game approachable to a broader audience, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Amairo Chocolate doesn’t break the mold with daily life romance. It also doesn’t capitalize on its animal girl premise even after setting up a pretty good foundation for why they exist. It’s all just too surface level, and the slow pacing will turn anyone who is not completely in love with these characters. Still, they sure are cute, so that might be enough to ask them out for coffee.

Neoverse doesn’t have a reason why these women jump through portals to fight monsters, but who cares with a deckbuilding roguelike system this addictive. Its high difficulty will force you to stay on your toes, but there’s enough here to keep playing for hours. Still, if you can’t get past the lack of narrative, uninspired rewards, and design, then you might want to play something else.

I’d typically say this is a good title for a lonely night, but Riddle Joker’s sheer length, as well as the quality of (most of) the story routes, actually makes this a solid visual novel regardless of how lonely you are. The title excels through its visual style, cute sequences, and some precious heroines.

Abyss of the Sacrifice is a strange game because it’s got so many elements I absolutely adore. It’s a story-heavy experience with multiple protagonists and a unique setting but manages to constantly interrupt progression and not take advantage of its own systems. The puzzles are fun, but they were integrated only to hinder the overall pacing. You’ll probably have more fun if you want cute girls starring in a puzzle game instead of thinking about its other elements.

As a free-to-play mobile game, Illusion Connect checks all the right boxes for a quality gacha experience. There’s no pay-to-win systems that I can see and no shortage of content in sight for new scenarios and characters. If you’re trying to spend a lot of time in a mobile RPG, this is one game that you should check out.

Lily of the Hollow: Resurrection might be better experienced in its native language. The grammatical errors render it almost impossible to follow as you spend more time compensating for the errors than paying attention to the plot. It’s still visually a pleasing visual novel, but one that won’t leave any meaningful impact.

Fantasy Tavern Sextet Vol.2 continues that adventure and won’t leave any significant impact on you after the credits roll. The scenarios are becoming repetitive, but the character development and world-building make this one of the more palatable eroge available. If you aren’t reading for the story, though, I’d definitely wait for the PC version.

Marchen Forest does whatever it wants in terms of gameplay systems and storytelling. There are surprises around every corner along with consistently evolving systems to make the experience even zanier. Its haphazard design doesn’t always work, and repetitive battles do weigh on the enjoyment, but if you’re in the mood for an adventure that can’t be put in a box, then you’ll have fun playing this.

While the technical issues left me with a bad final impression, I’d still recommend Melancholy Love as a competent visual novel. The progression of Qianxun and Mianxue’s relationship from antagonism to affection is sweet and relatable, and the Chinese setting and voice acting are underrepresented in English translated visual novels. The all-girls private school setting might be overdone in the yuri genre, but sometimes tropes are classic because they just work.

As it stands, Guilty Parade is an auspicious beginning to a series with an engaging cast of characters to befriend, a mysterious and intriguing setting, and beautiful artwork that helps bring everything to life. Fans of stylized visual novels with a quirky cast and gameplay, such as 999 and Danganronpa, should definitely check it out.

Slobbish Dragon Princess’s narrative is all over the place and exceptionally hard to follow. The relationships are silly and meaningless, just like the main protagonist. Still, some quality CGs and character illustrations make up the visual novel’s finer points, and sometimes a cute dragon girl is all you need.

Gal Gun Returns is good for fans of the series to experience where it all began. The extra modes, refined gameplay elements, and voiced audio make it a welcomed remaster release. However, the dated design may have you more interested in playing the other entries or wishing for a completely new title in the series. Those who invest in unlocking everything across multiple playthroughs are in for a crazy experience but don’t expect to get into euphoria after just one round.

Eiyu*Senki Gold – A New Conquest is a charming eroge with an abundance of attractive women to keep players entertained for hours on end. The strategic elements of the title may be an initial turn off to those wanting a more traditional visual novel adventure, but its lite and approachable nature rarely made its inclusion feel bothersome; in fact, it allows it to stand out in the sea of eroge thanks to these more notably unique elements of progression, even if they do not require much mechanical introspection or forethought for necessary advancement.

HuniePop 2: Double Date isn’t meant to be a serious story, but it is a serious match-three puzzle game. The gameplay systems are strategic and punishing as they force players to play multiple rounds to gain currency for items that will make the girls strong enough to reach the ever-increasing goal. Evidently, threesomes are a marathon and not a sprint, but at least you’re trying to save the world, right? Wait, I might have forgotten why I was even on this island in the first place.

Princess Connect! Re: Dive is a fun and approachable gacha RPG that borderlines on idle gameplay mechanics. The stamina does tend to run dry quickly, but that’s just the result of playing for hours to unlock all the unit’s unique storylines. If you treat it like an anime and enjoy it in short bursts, you’ll be rewarded with a few significant narrative beats without hitting any paywalls.

I can see people who really dug quarter-munching arcade games enjoying Gravity Heroes. However, there are enough caveats here for even that crowd to limit their interests, including the fact that you just can’t play this game effectively by yourself. While the presentation was a nice touch, I was left disappointed that the gameplay doesn’t match the aesthetic.

Forward To The Sky on Nintendo Switch is not worth the price of admission. It’s almost comically bad and requires a lot more refinement than the Switch release provided. Everything is just dull, from the story to the platforming and combat; I don’t think I was ever really having fun. The moments of challenge in the platforming piqued my competitive nature, but it was only due to the game’s unresponsive controls and unpredictable camera angles...If you’re trying to play Forward To The Sky, just get the PC version.

Laid-Back Camp -Virtual- Lake Motosu is a cute, comfy, and wholesome experience. While fans of the anime and manga might enjoy it, those on the fence may want to wait for a sale due to the minimal and limited interactivity in the content department and not to mention, the strange control scheme.

The Sealed Ampoule presents itself as a “Dungeon agriculturalization Rogue-like” game. While the ideas necessary for a rogue-like are offered, some strange deviances from the norm make the gameplay feel less polished than the clean, simple genre usually provides. Some aspects, such as the UI confusion and distraction, nag at the otherwise tidy menu aesthetic. That being said, the “agriculturalization” resource management provides the most fun out of the gameplay loop, which is more in line with what Ampoule seems to aim for.

Legal Dungeon will be a standout in my mind for an unidentifiable but significant amount of time. I’d highly recommend it for fans of detective dramas, unorthodox adventure titles, and puzzle game players who like their stories with extra intrigue.

Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After is an example of Muv-Luv at its best, exploring a fascinating scenario while delving into the political philosophy of the results and repercussions of everything that happens. The narrative has some of the finest worldbuilding of the series while also being an epic character-driven story in a traditional sense. It does so much right that it’s hard to find any real flaws. If you are a fan of Muv-Luv or have just played the main trilogy – I would highly recommend picking up The Day After.

Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome is not a revolutionary Otome game but knows exactly where to aim to check the genre’s boxes. Its options to customize the experience show its understanding of the desire to self-insert in the dating game scene. Further, Saito and Miki are passable love interests, and if nothing else, serve as nice eye candy while sticking closely to established archetypes. If you can handle the fast-paced humor of three incredibly clashing personalities along with the signature heart-pounding, often aggressive romance of Otome, this will provide you an enjoyable romp.