alias_sqbr

Something I've been poking at lately is the fact I genuinely don't seem to enjoy writing original prose fiction, even though I enjoy creating fanfic, original visual novels, visual novel adaptations, and original art (and fanart). I definitely don't think it's lacking as an artform! It just doesn't fit my brain so well to make it. And I guess to some extent I also am less drawn to it as a consumer of fiction? That's harder to untangle and not so much the point of this post but I'm going to ponder it later.
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Normally I wouldn't link to games I haven't played but I know I'll forget otherwise.

Eclipse: Special Forces is butch/butch military scifi, just a demo so far but worth checking out for the trailer alone if that premise appeals.

Velvet Bite: Softly, with Teeth m/m and m/f contemporary romance with vampires, was much anticipated and just came out. But tragically the reviews look pretty bad. OH WELL at least it looks pretty and we can imagine the game it could have been.

Masterlist

So after my brain insisting I watch Vampire Dormitory but not write reaction posts, it has now insisted I not keep playing this game until I write up my feelings so far?? I guess I have thoughts I want to work through??

SO HERE WE GO.

First, some non-spoilery information/initial review.

JackJeanne is a thus far quite enjoyable and VERY GENDER otome game about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to attend an all-boys acting school with a tradition of dividing roles into 'Jacks' (male roles) and 'Jeannes' (female roles) She then gets to know and in some cases romance various male classmates, who are a mix of Jack and Jeanne (and in some cases both). Afaict the English version is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.

CW: Transphobia (it's better than the average otome/shoujo, but the bar is low) Also I don't go into it in the review but there's a minor character who's just a walking fat joke :/

( No major spoilers )

Ukrainian Bundle: Metamorphabet, Windosill, Resynth, Changeling, Landlord of the Woods

Other: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Doreamon: Story of Seasons, Deltarune Chapter 2, Magical Otoge Iris

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I really enjoyed the Chinese fantasy m/f romance visual novel My Vow To My Liege, historical RPF set in the 5th Century BC Kingdom of Ng/Wu about various real and mythical people. The protagonist is King Fuchai, a woman cross-dressing for Reasons (to do with Evil Dragons)

It's well made, with good art, UI, music, and (Mandarin) voice acting. The writing is pretty good, too, a little repetitive in parts and with some pacing issues but made with a lot of heart. The English translation was done by one of the writers and is a little clunky and in need of proof-reading but has some moments of real poetry. And the game is LONG, you get a ridiculous amount of story for the low price.

Content notes for the game: suicide, violence, incest (not a love interest), rape (not from a love interest), age gap ships, slavery, fatphobia, hurtful gender reveal, master-slave relationship, major character death, violence between love interests

Here's the masterlist of my reaction posts and a character guide.

More thoughts, no spoilers:
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The Chinese fantasy m/f romance visual novel My Vow To My Liege is historical RPF set in the 5th Century BC Kingdom of Ng/Wu about various real and mythical people. The protagonist is King Fuchai, now a woman cross-dressing for Reasons (to do with Evil Dragons)
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An Otomate dating sim about a Japanese policewoman who gets tangled up in a Strange Mystery about a Weird Terrorist Group.
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Someone on a discord I'm on found out I'd backed the kickstarter for this game then never gotten around to actually playing the almost finished version currently available. She successfully encouraged me to do so, asking to hear my reactions, and I though some of the rest of you might be interested too.

So! Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem is a fantasy visual novel with stats building and romance. You play a customisable noblewoman sent to an international conference to form a political marriage.

The demo came out in 2015 and I had a lot of fun with it, the full game has been in development hell since then but apparently what exists is pretty satisfying.

Here's my non-spoilery review of the demo with more info about the game.

And here's a spoilery post I made as I aimed for various goals, much of which is entirely incomprehensible to me now haha.

I'm going to write up my reactions as I go, so expect spoilers! I'm going to assume you've read my non-spoilery review, but will try and explain everything else. Especially since I might need some notes, I vaguely recall failing at a bunch of things my first few times through >.>

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Another game from the Palestinian Aid bundle, this time only for Windows.

A short and simply made but very enjoyable time-loop point and click adventure game about a girl who gets trapped in a strange place with her friends. After seeing one of them die she realises she has the ability to loop back to earlier in the timeline, and so becomes determined to find a way to save them all.

I was recced this by some friends super into this sort of narrative driven RPG Maker game, apparently it both plays with and subverts a number of tropes of the genre. But I enjoyed it a lot even without that context, the characters are likeable and well drawn even though the game is short. Also, the romance aspects are understated but it's very definitely queer, and has a lot of compassion for it's characters. My one complaint on finishing was that the ending left me with some questions, but those got answered by the short sequel "Retrace: A Heartfelt Confession".

One part requires some timing but not fast reflexes. There are horror elements but you can turn off gore and it's not super disturbing. A trans character gets misgendered (sort of, it's complicated) but the narrative respects them. There's the ability to fast forward and change text speed but no other accessibility stuff as I recall.

Download on Itchio

It's not too frustrating or difficult as point and click games go but I did sometimes miss something and need a walkthrough, this one is pretty good at avoiding spoilers.

No Content Notes for this section.

m/f: Horimiya, 7'Scarlet, Hibi Chouchou

f/f: Sayonara Rose Garden, Adachi and Shimamura

m/m: My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting

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Given: the Movie
** Content note: sexual assault **
( Content note: sexual assault )