by Patricia Baxter, Guest Reviewer
Our Home, My Keeper is a new linear visual novel co-developed by ebi-hime and Studio Élan, two of the biggest developers in the niche of English language yuri games, and the first collaboration between the two developers.
The game follows Paige Crowley, a writer who recently finished a successful children’s book trilogy and is hoping to work on her next book. The game begins after she’s moved from London to the British countryside for a change of pace and, hopefully, some new inspiration as she currently has a severe case of writer’s block. As a housewarming gift, her best friend gives her a handmade porcelain doll to keep her company. As time progresses, Paige discovers that her abode has many secrets hiding in its shadows, and that her doll will soon house a new friend and confidant: Faye, the brownie.
In many respects this game is a delightful union between the two teams, combining ebi-hime’s character-focused drama and prose to create a charming world filled with likable characters, and Studio Élan’s high production values in terms of visual and audio design, giving it an extremely impressive presentation. ebi-hime was clearly pulling out all the stops here, as she crafted some downright delightful turns of phrase throughout the game, and Paige’s character arc of gradually getting back into her groove as a writer feels both realistic and thematically well-earned. Meanwhile, Studio Élan shows that they have also put in some of their best work; the game’s text is implemented in a creative fashion, as is their standard, and small, welcome touches like the skyline gradually changing to indicate the passage of time.
Overall, this should be a surefire success, and for three quarters of the game it is, but sadly the game stumbles when it reaches the final act. The underlying conflict comes to a head in this part of the game, and it results in some elements that feel like abuse apologia, with magic being blamed for a spouse’s behaviour towards their partner and children. On the one hand, I’m glad that none of the parties involved in the incident got out of this scot-free, as they all paid for their mistakes in one way or another, but on the other hand I feel like this was a devastating event to put into what was an otherwise fluff-focused romance. To be fair, this plot element does not come out of nowhere, as the undercurrent of tragedy was present since Paige’s first night in her new house, but it still feels like everything in the present day was resolved too quickly and too neatly. Perhaps a more satisfying conclusion could have been achieved with a bit more time dedicated to this plot thread, but that may have resulted in a weaker narrative flow, which was otherwise stellar up to the final act.
Overall, Our Home, My Keeper excels for the majority of its play time. Paige’s personal journey feels believable, the characters are charming, and before the end of the game you can really feel like her house is becoming a home. It’s just a shame that the final act soured what is, fundamentally, a very great visual novel. I sincerely hope that ebi-hime and Studio Élan collaborate on another game in the future, because they truly made something special here, and hopefully they can work together to make something even better next time.
Our Home, My Keeper is available on Steam and itch.io for all PC operating systems for around $20 CAD or $15 USD.
Ratings:
Art: 7.5 for character sprites and CGs, 10 for the game’s UI
Story: 8.5
Characters: 7.5
Service: 0
Yuri: 6
Overall: 8
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