Archive for the Yuri Game Category


Perfect Gold Visual Novel, Guest Review by Eleanor W.

June 9th, 2021

Welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! Today we welcome back Eleanor, who has graciously offered to cover a new Yuri Visual Novel. You all know the rules – please give her a warm welcome and take it away, Eleanor, you have the mic. ^_^

It’s nice to be back. This time I’m reviewing Perfect Gold, a Yuri visual novel from Filipino developers Yangyang Mobile. Quite the contrast from my last Okazu review, which took me all the way to London to review the British Museum manga exhibition. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @st_owly. I mostly post about anime and manga, but also some silly stuff too, especially on Twitter.

“In this short, coming-of-age yuri visual novel, play as Marion LaRue and Audrey Clary as they explore the magical city of Castlecoast and get a second chance at love and friendship.” – Description of the game on Steam.

I don’t remember exactly how I ended up backing the Perfect Gold Kickstarter, I probably saw it, thought “that looks cute” and backed it. It’s also really nice to have a visual novel that isn’t 18+, and is instead just completely adorable. Now that it’s been released, I’m very glad I did support it, and I’m going to keep an eye on the developer to see what they do next.

The gameplay alternates between the points of view of the two main characters, Audrey LaRue, an enthusiastic country girl who’s come to the big city of Castlecoast to study at the prestigious LeFay Academy, a school of magic and alchemy. Marion’s rival/love interest is Audrey Clary, aka “Princess”, a girl from a noble family who’s expected to be top of the class, follow her parents into the alchemy business, and to marry a suitable boy her parents have picked out once she’s graduated from the Academy. That is, until Marion comes along and changes all of that.

The game is set in a medieval Europe-ish inspired world with alchemy and magic, but also has some modern concepts like magazines and photography. Background art of the various areas is neatly done, the music is Celtic folk inspired and perfectly pleasant to listen to. The characters are very nicely designed and their facial expressions are lively and interesting, particularly Marion’s. I especially enjoyed her surprised/embarrassed face. The voice acting is polished and each character is distinct. My only (very minor) gripe, being British myself, is Audrey’s posh British accent isn’t quite right, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the game too much.

Playing through the game, I found the story in the first half a bit slow, but towards the end I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The story utilises a lot of flashbacks to show how the relationship between Audrey and Marion evolved to what it is in the present, and the way the characters react to certain situations certainly seems believable for teenagers who aren’t quite sure how love works yet. Audrey’s inner conflict between what’s expected of her by her family and what she wants to do is especially well done and the highlight of the game for me.

The other thing I really liked about the game is that LGBT+ people and same sex relationships seem completely normal to most people (apart from the rich alchemist families). One of the professors at the academy uses they/them pronouns, and it isn’t commented on at all by anyone, other people just use “them” perfectly naturally to talk about the character. Another minor character calls Marion and Audrey a cute couple with no judgement attached.

For an evening’s escapism and something cute to make you squee, it’s worth getting. It’s currently £5.79 on Steam ($7.19 through June 14th, $7.99 normally) for just the game, or you can get a deluxe bundle pack with the soundtrack and a digital art book for £14.79. ($19.69 on sale, $23.99 normally.)

Ratings:

Art – 8. Nothing revolutionary but perfectly pleasant and well put together with nicely styled character designs.
Story – 7. Took a while to get going, but a very cute first love story once it did.
Characters – 9. The characters were my favourite part of this game. Marion and Audrey were realistic awkward teenagers, and having been an awkward closeted teenager myself once upon a time I found them very relatable. The other minor/side characters were well written and helped the story flow along nicely too.
Service (level of salaciousness) 2. Marion’s big sister Simone makes an appearance towards the end, and she gave me a lot of “oooh tall pretty goddess lady” vibes, but there’s not even any cleavage anywhere and the most you see on screen is a kiss between Marion and Audrey. I would have no problems whatsoever letting a young teenager play this.
Yuri/LGBT+ – 9. Major points for casual non binary inclusion and homophobia not really being a thing in this world.

Overall – 8. A cute way to spend an evening.

Erica here: Thank you very much Eleanor, for the lovely review. How excellent that the game is on sale right, so people can  enjoy it even more. Happy Yuri VNing  for Pride month.^_^





Mizuchi ç™œè›‡ćżƒć‚ł Visual Novel from Aikasa Collective, Guest Review by Louise P

June 17th, 2020

It’s my favorite day of the week today, Guest Review Wednesday! And today we have our Senior VN reviewer Louise P to tell you about a lovely new VN by the folks at Aikasa Collective. So, welcome back and  take it away Louise!

If you watched anime in the early 00s you probably were sick of sitcom shows set in some remote home, often Japanese style, filled with a bunch of young people who will not communicate properly, that we were supposed to find cute. Something that was very hard to do when characters were constantly in conflict due to either ignorance or malice. 

It’s wonderful then that we have Mizuchi, which follows Linh after she is rescued from being executed by Ai, a mysterious snake woman that Linh sees as a goddess. Linh ends up living with Ai and the two are later joined by Jinhai, a traveling former monk who has a lot of history with Ai.

Mizuchi‘s setup might sound familiar to you but that is where the similarities end. For starters while Linh may be the main character Ai and Jinhai are not jealously competing to seduce her. Instead we are given time for everyone to get to know each other in the usual manner for a visual novel, by talking about the food they are going to eat and the little quirks in the languages they speak.

But this is a yuri visual novel, we’re here for romance. Mizuchi does well by clearing the low bar of ensuring that the characters fall in love as they learn about and help each other. We fall in love with Ai along with Linh as she walks us through ‘baby’s beginners book of feminism’. Jinhai has plenty of opportunities to be dashing and kind so that by the time the game contrived a reason for Linh to fall out of a tree into Jinhai’s arms I was ecstatic rather than bored. 

It was really nice that so much of Linh’s time with Ai and Jinhai is learning skills and knowledge from them that were denied to her by her family or by wider society. Linh doesn’t just fall in love with Ai and Jinhai but also improves herself by learning from them and being mentored. Linh’s grows from someone who just goes along with what people set for her into a person committed to deciding their own fate. 

The story doesn’t ignore Ai and Jinhai’s relationship either. They are charmingly written like they are a pair of on again off again ex-girlfriends. It is delightfully clear in the way that the two both snipe at each other but also have nothing but good things to say about each other when they are alone. Ai will openly admit to how noble and kind Jinhai is but then at the same time she will wave a freshly butchered pig’s head in front of the very vegetarian ex-monk.

Mizuchi capitalizes on this charm with some of the best sprite animation since Heart of the Woods. I’m not a fan of sprites taking center stage, however the sprites in Mizuchi are endlessly endearing. Characters settle behind tables, slide smoothly in and out of frame and all three main characters have expressions that match them well. Particularly with Ai and Jinhai who have exppresions that play to their strengths to get the reader to fall for them in the same moments Linh does.

Sadly this wonderful found family situation is often hijacked by the wider framing. Whenever we are reminded of the village Linh has escaped from, the story develops a mean streak that does not gel with the scenes of day to day life.

At the beginning of the story, Linh is saved from execution in her hometown by Ai. This was brought about by a wrongful and sexist accusation of adultery. However Linh regularly desires to return to her family who we had last seen giving her over to a bloodthirsty mob. How she expects this to work out on her return is not something the reader ever learns it just becomes irrelevant way too late in the story. So at several points in the story we have Linh, our main character, pining to return to a town that we the reader have only come to hate. It is a real mood whiplash.

This is further compounded when Ai, the person who overtly points out the cruelty in patriarchy, constantly has her power demonised both in the story and by Jinhai. Whenever Ai gains or exercises power within the story she is criticized so much more than any of the men who willfully harm others for their own gain.

Jinhai openly says that if Ai were to rise to her true potential Jinhai would seal her. When this inevitably happens in the climax of a few routes Jinah jumps to seal Ai away even though the only reason Ai is transforming is to deal with a far more malevolent threat. A threat that is overtly male coded compared to whatever threat Ai poses. 

For a story about three women living together, where the main character is saved from being executed by a society that has deemed her worthless, having the final conflict being: “Oh no our powerful friend is now too powerful.” seems like entirely the wrong tone to take. 

Which is a shame because as I said earlier for most of the game these are charming characters who play off each other well and respect each other. Perhaps the best part of the game as a whole was that all three never stopped being friends in any of the routes. No matter who Linh ends up with the other never becomes jealous just to throw some additional conflict into the situation. Mizuchi does know that it is possible to be happy for others.

The story of Mizuchi is, at its core, one of three women supporting and nurturing each other, that eventually blossoms into a love that helps all of them become better people. A good relaxing summer romance read.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – Well there are sex scenes and bathing scenes 10?

Overall – 7

Erica here: Thank you so much for the review. This sounds like it really hits all the marks on narrative, and style. Thanks for walking us through it. ^_^ Thanks very much to Aikasa Collective for the review copy!





Okazu Top Yuri of 2019

December 31st, 2019

As we wrap up this year, the 100th anniversary of the Yuri genre, I like to imagine what Yoshiya Nobuko might think, if she were to spring to life and see Yuri anime, manga, novels, games…stories of women in love with women, in both fantasy and “real world” settings and bookstores around the world with Yuri titles and manga stores with dedicated Yuribu.  I’d like to think that once she got past the confusion of it all, she’d be pretty pleased about it. ^_^

For the 15th year in a row, I’m wrapping all the best Yuri people, companies, trends and titles up in one big old package and presenting it to you as the Okazu Top Yuri of 2019. ^_^ Please note there are no numbers, as this is not a countdown. Everything here is equally notable.

We’ll start with some well-deserved kudos to the pieces of the industry that set the places at which we sit and lay the feasts we enjoy.

 

Yuri Publishers & Yuribu
In this 100th anniversary of the genre, something almost miraculous occurred. Manga, anime and light novel publishers in the US and many of the major Japanese publishers are now investing in Yuri as Yuri.

My sincere thanks to everyone at Yen Press, VIZ Media, Seven Seas Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, J-Novel Club, UDON Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Denpa, Lilyka Manga and in Japan, Ichijinsha, Futabasha, Shueisha, East Press, Seidosha, Hayakawa Shobo, Kadokawa Shoten, Akita Shoten and, at long last, Shogakukan.

Additionally, Japanese manga and bookstores have finally recognized that Yuri is a genre that does bring in business and have developed Yuri Clubs to help funnel money their way. ^_^ So thanks to Animate, Shosen, Gamers and Futabasha (again.) Toranoana has no Yuribu, but their Yuri Corner in the flagship store in Akihabara is worth noting, as well.

All these companies have recognized the potential of the growing LGBTQ and Yuri markets and responded to it with money and promotion (and in the case of US companies, care and attention,) which gives us hope for even more and even better Yuri in the year to come!

 

Yuri Webcomics
Webcomics have been an important arm of indie comics since the early 2000s and the last few years has really seen the growth in online platforms for comic artists.

Pixiv has quite literally changed the game for indie artists in Japan like Nagata Kabi, and Webtoons and Lezhin have been among newer platforms that opened up a whole new audience to the joy of Yuri manga and comics.

Artists like Ratiana Satis (Pulse) and Kuru of Color_LES (Mage and Demon Queen) have changed the landscape for how – and where and by whom – people are able to find Yuri.

I think this kind of work is very exciting and very entertaining and always look forward to more new independent artists breaking out!

 

Yuri Visual Novels/Games
I’m not going to lie, the visual novel landscape has a lot of problems, Steam’s inconsistent and obscure rule changes looming large among them.  But the industry is full of energy and creativity that is worth talking about.

In 2019, Studio Élan created a whole new game engine for putting out innovative, unique, and original work. What I have seen has impressed me so very deeply. Indie creators gather annually for the Yuri Game Jam which gives space for smaller creative teams and individual devs to work on their idea and for you to try them out. Itch.io has quietly become a significant independent resource for game and VN developers and players.

Even if I will never be the audience for them, there are some really excellent VNs and games being made and I think they absolutely deserve a place on this list this year.

 

Yuri Creators
There are so many creators of Yuri these days that it almost seems insulting to highlight a few names, but this year there has been some outstanding work by a few individuals, that I really believe it’s worth highlighting and celebrating them.

These are creators whose work has created change in the Yuri landscape: Yoshiya Nobuko (Yaneura no Nishojo) for setting in motion the creation of an entire genre by living her life and writing the stories she wrote;  Riyoko Ikeda (Rose of Versailles), for having conversation about gender presentation and sexuality 40 years before anyone else had words for them;  Takeuchi Naoko (Sailor Moon) who twenty-five years ago created characters so timeless, that we’re only now realizing just how important they are; Kabi Nagata (My Solo Exchange Diary), for her heart-breaking honesty – I know many of us want her to be healthy and happy; Takashima Hiromi (Kase-san and Yamada) for breaking Yuri romance out of high school where it had been locked for so long; Go Nagai (Devil Lady), for being a pioneer of queer women in his Devilman sagas;  Takemiya Jin (Itoshi Koishi) for walking us along the path with a young woman who wants to be out and open with her friends; Ameco Kaeruda (Sexiled), for writing a feminist power fantasy that is empowering, delightful and funny; Morishima Akiko (Conditions of Paradise) who at long last in 2020 will get the English-language recognition as a Yuri manga artist that she deserves.

Breakthroughs often pass unnoticed until long afterwards. I will note that 2020 will mark the end of one the most important decades in history for our genre, as well as the end of the first century for the genre. Some of these names created a solid foundation for us to build upon and some are among the leading lights as we head into a new decade. They most assuredly deserve our thanks and a place on this list.

 

Okazu Readers and Patrons
You, my Okazu readers, are critically important to our mission here. It is a testament to your engagement that so many of you have become writers for Okazu and a testament to your personalities that so many of you have become my friends. ^_^ My very sincere thanks to every one of you who reads and comments on and shares our content.

My very special thanks to Okazu Patrons for making it possible for me to celebrate this year with reviews and lectures and panels and events. Your financial and social support helps us pay for guest writers and reviewers. Every year you make this list, and once again this year I can say with all honesty, I could not have done it without you.

 

Light Novels & Novels
This year saw a veritable explosion of Light Novels and Novels in both digital and print. While as a genre LNs can be inconsistent, Yuri fans have been horribly spoiled by the high quality Light Novels we’ve seen.

J-Novel Club opened up their Yuri line with a salvo of truly excellent Yuri titles, including Last and First Idol,and Side-by-Side Dreamers. Seven Seas picked up what are extraordinarily good series-extension Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka. But the Light Novel that really blew my hair back was the totally-on-point brilliantly topical and deeply satisfying Sexiled series by Kaeruda Ameco. Those books scratched itches I didn’t know I had. If you haven’t read these, you should. Just go read them.

Will Yuri fans continue to be spoiled with top quality fantasy and science fiction Light Novels while everyone else has to deal with “the protagonist has no pants, hurh hurh” as a main plot point? I sure hope so.  ^_^

 

Now as we enter the final few of of our end-of-year roundup, I want to take a moment to note a few series that just deserve a moment of reverence and thanks for all they’ve done and all they will continue to do.

 

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
As I have repeatedly noted, this series is not Yuri. Instead, there is very real-world queer identity here; real problems faced by real people in the real world, which makes this series, if not unique, then at least extraordinary.

This story about self and community and creating a space in a world that isn’t welcoming…and then taking up that space and owning it, is a lot to ask of a work of fiction. Heck, it’s a lot to ask of life! Not only does Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare succeed at that, it does it beautifully.

This is the kind of LGBTQ work I hope we’ll see more and more of from increasingly open queer manga artists.

 

 

Sailor Moon Stars
Every year I joke that if there is a Sailor Moon out that year, it will find a way on to this list.  ^_^ Well this year a Sailor Moon that has never had an official English-language release is out and it so very, deeply, queer that it seems almost fantastic. Sailor Moon Stars is the final piece of the original series, and we’re looking forward to the Sailor Moon Crystal 4th season movies in the years to come.

Let me offer a toast to Sailor Moon Stars and to the permanent – and official –  partnership of Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru – and welcome to the the next iteration of Sailor Moon fandom. Here’s to cafes and night drive parfaits and anniversary albums. May we all be together once again for the 50th anniversary.

 

 

Rose of Versailles
The wait has not been in vain. It *just* squeaked onto this year’s list by having a limited release in December. Don’t be surprised to see it back again in 2020. It’s almost 50 years old but we have an official English language release of The Rose of Versailles at last and it is a truly magnificent thing. UDON has really gone above and beyond for this release.

Oscar’s struggle with gender and class expectations, with the pressures of a society in which she may not be the person she wants to be, takes us through love and loss and the overturning of an ancien regime in a story that is terrifyingly timely.

This story of the French Revolution seen through the eyes of Oscar François de Jarjayes is so very, very extra.

A classic manga just in time for our 100th anniversary. What a year we’ve had. Our Yuri shelves are already full to bursting, with even more amazing stuff to come in 2020!

 

 

Kase-san and Bloom Into You
Both the Kase-san series and Yagate Kimi ni Naru/Bloom Into You were relatively typical high school Yuri series. Both series managed to take the typical tropes of their origins and turn them into something interesting, unusual and ultimately,  original. Both had animation that went above and beyond the manga and both had a global impact.

Once upon a time, all we wanted was a genuinely happy ending for a Yuri love story, an ending that showed our characters moving into the future together. This year, we got two. Moreover, neither series is riding its fame into the sunset, yet. Takashima-sensei’s Kase-san is ongoing and we’re getting some post-series work from Nakatani-sensei in anthologies and artbooks and I desperately hope to see signs of a third Sayaka novel soon.

These series have made it onto both of the other lists and it seems only reasonable to just say this plainly – both these series were tops for 2019.

 

I’ve mentioned this repeatedly during these lists (and have to tell you, we’re not done yet…) but this year was an amazing one, for me, for the Yuri genre, for all of us. Which brings me to the very best Yuri thing this year.

 

100 Years of Yuri

Yuri Events were through the roof this year. It began with the an amazing time at TCAF and took me along, one fun Yuri-filled event to another. We did Yuri-focused Yurithon. We held the 100th Anniversary of Yuri Tour with a few like-minded friends, during which we spent time with the Sailor Senshi, and ate lunch with Fumi, flipped 500 yen coins at a shrine with Kuraku Asuka, bought Yuri goods and Yuri doujinshi and Yuri manga and glutted ourselves on food and threw money at Yuri artists at Girls Love Fest.

This celebration of Yuri’s 100th anniversary has been exhausting and amazing. I’ve met so many folks, got to meet new Yuri manga artists and see old friends and done so many presentations and had so very much fun.

The number one top Yuri thing of the year was…the year.

It’s been 100 Years since Yaneura no Nishojo (汋æ čèŁăźäșŒ) codified how we think and talk about Yuri. Thanks to Yoshiya Nobuko and thanks to all the people and companies on these lists. Thanks to all of you, my readers and commenters and my patrons.

Here’s looking forward to 2CYE (Common Yuri Era) in which the the fun is not over, as we extend the celebration into 2020 for the final 100th anniversary project here on Okazu. ^_^ Tune in tomorrow! And here’s to the next 100 Years!

 





Revue Starlight RE Live Game

April 24th, 2019

Super quick review today as I’m on the road. And because I am on the road, I am amusing myself with listening to Drama CDs and playing games, because I left my library book on the plane. ^_^;;

So, while I was in transit, the Revue Starlight RE Live game dropped in English. And here I am, pushing buttons almost completely randomly and have gotten all the characters I want, killed a lot of faceless baddies, watched the new characters interact, increased their skills and bonded with the characters, gotten a bunch of original characters, increased skills, developed bonds, bought items, decorated my theater (by adding a tea service), collected Memories,  and a host of other shit I that I’m doing because the game tells me to. ^_^

I only recently attempted to play a game similar to the level of complexity to all the stuff here and gave up as I do when it added one too many thing to do, so I got bored doing the same thing repatedly for very little dopamine. As you know, I’m not the audience for this kind of thing. But…I was trying to give this game a fair chance. After three days, I’m still pushing buttons mostly randomly, but since one of the things you can collect is music, I’m still playing.

Visually, this game is very appealing. I was able to draw most of the characters I care about almost immediately from the gatcha. The fight scenes, which can be played automatically, aren’t engaging – but as I don’t care about the fighting and only do it progress in the main game, that’s fine with me. I enjoy watching the characters fighting techniques and the “revue climax” attacks.  I also like the moments spent with the characters in the “school” tab. I’m less interested in the three new schools that have been added, but as the story develops we find that the Seisho girls have ties to the other schools, which makes the inter-school battles more fraught.

You know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t bother with reviewing this if there was no Yuri and there actually kinda is. Tucked here and there in the conversations, there are tidbits. Because the game allows you to focus on various characters of your choosing, I’ve happily prioritized Junna and Banana and Claudine and Maya over Karen and Hikari, which has lead me to see some interesting conversations, including one where Mahiru tells Maya that she feels about Hikari the same way Maya feels about Claudine, at which point, I shouted “Gotcha!” And while I don’t care about the game, particularly, I know in my heart – and in the doujinshi I bought in February at Melonbooks – that Junna and Banana are a couple. A bunch of us also noted that Junna also has tendency to quote Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman in the middle of her dialogue. If she adds a Sappho quote, I will be so happy. ^_^

There are a few other one-sided romances at the other schools too, Mei Fan is in love with Akira, at Siegfeld, and Rui has a crush on Tamao at Rinmeikan.

The game being fully voiced – including the new characters – is a big draw for me. The attacks are awesome and I’m holding out for the final theme. But I don’t know how long I’ll last. I’ve manged level 5 in 3 days, but as soon as I start losing, I’ll give up. I know me. If I do, I’ll just go back to the other book I brought – Yoshiya Nobuko’s Ban-sensei (äŒŽć…ˆç”Ÿ).

In the meantime here’s the official game trailer. If you decide to play, look me up at ID: 6783247580, I can use the Friend Points…I think.

Ratings:

Visuals – 9
Characters – 9
Gameplay – 5 It doesn’t need us
Raddom buton-clicking – 10 The menu helpfully tells you to click things, so you don’t miss something important, like getting a gift of Umeboshi that has no purpose. Oh, look at that, it has a purpose. Who knew the girls liked Umeboshi so much.

Overall – 8

Revue Starlight RE Live has held my attention for 3 days! That may be a record.

I loathe Kaoruko even more now. Ugggghhh.

 





Yuri Visual Novel: Heart of the Woods, Guest Review by Yurimother

February 20th, 2019

As you know, I have had some very positive things to say about Heart of the Woods, and I am looking forward to working my way through it eventually, but I thought you all might be interested to hear from someone else. Today we have returning Guest Reviewer Yurimother, with her take on Studio Élan’s first effort. Please welcome her back! Yurimother, the floor is yours!

There are some spoilers in this review, so be warned.

 

 

When I first heard about Studio Élan’s debut visual novel, Heart of the Woods, I was very excited and eagerly anticipated its arrival. When it was finally released I immediately purchased it and quickly finished two full playthroughs for the game. I can happily report that it did not disappoint!

Heart of the Woods is a fantasy-mystery Yuri visual novel revolving around four characters, who include paranormal vloggers Maddie and Tara who travel to the isolated village of Eysenfeld at the behest of their perpetually tired and slightly creepy guide Morgan. They quickly become entangled in a centuries-old curse and the wondrous magic of the neighboring forest. Along the way, they meet the cheery and energetic ghost Abigail who helps them on their journey.

The visual novel is highly polished in almost every aspect. The astounding art immediately captivated my attention. Everything from the beautiful CGs to the detailed backgrounds is enthralling. The backgrounds often include slight animations, such as the rumbling of a train or the falling of snow, which helps to bring them to life. However, the most astounding achievement here is in the character models (with one minor exception). They look natural against the backgrounds thanks to being drawn with soft lines. This helps them feel like part of a cohesive experience rather than just cutouts, something rarely seen in visual novels. Each of the models for the four main characters contains numerous alterations to facial expression and body position which change naturally throughout every scene giving them a life-like quality.

The story was also extremely compelling. The central plot unravels naturally and contains some excellently built tensions, and satisfying payoffs, something every good mystery story requires. There are plenty of emotional and pulse-pounding moments to be found here. The game contains several logical but still exciting twists to the story that often had me gasping and on the edge of my seat. I found only one of them to be obvious (painfully so), although the revelation did make sense and served its purpose in the narrative.

While mostly kinetic (linear) there are three choices throughout Heart of the Woods which have very minor changes on a few scenes and result in one of three endings, two bad one good. These choices share one of my most common complaints with other visual novel choices in that there is no real logic to them, and one has no idea if their choice will lead to the good or bad results. However, the impact of the choices is mostly insignificant here so I cannot fault their presence too much.

The narrative switches between the perspective of the four main characters, each of whom has a distinct tone of narration. This really helps to establish each of them with their own voice and creates some excellent dramatic irony. The dialogue feels realistic and serves to further both the plot and the characters. One of the key strengths of the writing lies in the humor. The jokes, often told by the headstrong Tara, land particularly well. Dialogue and narrations work together to organically construct the relationships between the characters.

On the note of the characters, I found each of the characters extremely well written and the relationships between them (romantic or otherwise) dynamic and well-constructed. Maddie is an intelligent yet somewhat distant skeptic which contrasts nicely with Tara’s brashness and lighthearted behavior. Tara’s love interest, Morgan is mysterious yet oddly calming. Much of the truth of Eysenfeld is revealed gradually through Morgan’s interactions and narration. Finally, there is Abigail, Maddie’s love interest and easily my favorite character. While I initially feared that she would be the typical naïve-childlike character archetype I was pleasantly surprised to find her to be a gentle and beautiful spirit (pun intended). This is especially true as she exposes Maddie to the mystical beauty of the woods.

My only real complaint here is that Tara, while hilarious, was somewhat of a stereotypical jokester used to provide comic relief, even in moments where it may not have been appropriate. However, this is eclipsed by the way in which her identity as a transgender woman is handled. This is only revealed as she discusses her past with Morgan, and it is said in a very natural way. It is not mentioned again in the visual novel in a choice I think was appropriate. Tara transitioned years ago and now her being trans is just a piece of her person, it is not her only or even most significant trait.  I found her portrayal to be refreshing and thoughtfully written.

Some particularly strong scenes include when Maddie and Abigail first meet and begin to become close. They cannot verbally communicate at first (wonky magical ghost reasons). However, they are able to bond through gestures and Maddie reading aloud in a tender and loving moment. Another exceptional scene comes later in the story as all the main characters discuss their future together once they deal with the crisis at hand. It is a simple but touching moment of levity and joy between the four. It is in moments like these where the superb writing truly shines.

There is optional adult content found in a separate patch containing two scenes for Maddie and Abigail, which feels like a missed opportunity to have one with Tara and Morgan. The models and CGs are again well done here and the sex scenes are competently written if slightly over the top in the way that most smut is. Overall, they add little to the characters or overall story, so much so that I skipped them on my second playthrough. However, they are sexy and written in a genuine way, so I found them to be an enjoyable and welcome addition.

Even without these adult scenes, there is plenty of flirting, kissing, and expressions of fondness between the characters. Yuri fans will not be disappointed here. The relationships of the couples, while oddly paced at times, feel natural and are well developed. At the end of the game, I wanted to see more of these characters just living their daily lives together as partners and that is always a good sign for me.

While I loved this visual novel, it would be remiss of me if I did not point out some of its shortcomings. While most of the game is highly polished, a few spelling errors did slip through and at one point the animation that normally accompanies a shift in narrator did not play despite the story clearly shifting perspectives. Lastly, there was one odd moment in my first playthrough where two characters decided to advance their relationship and become girlfriends. However, in a later conversation, they act as if this did not occur and essentially repeat the interaction and agree to become girlfriends
 again. This issue did not appear on my second playthrough because of the choices I made, and they only became girlfriends once. Fortunately, Studio Élan does seem dedicated to fixing at least some of these issues and is active in receiving bug reports. Ultimately these issues were minor and did not negatively impact my time or enjoyment of the game.

Finally, the game contains an excellent original soundtrack that is varied and suits every scene well. It has some memorable tracks along with some more standard ones. Additionally, there are multiple accessibility options for people with dyslexia and auditory or visual impairments, something which is always appreciated.

Heart of the Woods is one of the best visual novels, Yuri or otherwise, I have ever had the pleasure of playing. I cannot wait to see more from Studio Élan. The game and soundtrack are available for purchase now on Steam and itch.io for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 8 (9 if you just look up the options for the good ending so you can ignore the choices)
Characters – 8
Service – 6 (7 with adult scenes)
Yuri – 9
Music – 8

Overall – 9

Erica here: Thank you, again, Yurimother for this review and now I’m looking forward to reading this even more. Send me a link for the “good end” choices, please.