The Fall in Love Visual Novel festival is under way on Steam! Organised by Studio Élan, it’s a celebration of romance-themed visual novels—in the many, many forms that that can take—with discounts, demos, and streams aplenty. It’s worth taking the time to browse the festival page, because there are lots of great games in the mix and something for everyone.
I could never cover everything that’s included in the festival (who could?), but here are a few highlights from what I’ve played so far.
The Doll Shop (Atelier Sentô)
Japanese dolls are a perfect blend of beautiful and creepy. It follows, then, that horror/romance narrative adventure The Doll Shop should strike a similar balance: a gorgeous hand-drawn art style channelling French comics and Japanese aesthetics and a serene yet unsettling atmosphere lend themselves to a story that’s heartfelt and bittersweet, but also ready to crawl under your skin.
You play as a young dollmaker in a snow-blanketed village in the Japanese countryside. It’s quaint and the people are friendly, but it’s also a place that’s struggling with a dwindling population—a once bustling ramen shop now hardly sees any customers, and the local bathhouse is largely kept afloat by frequent visits from one eccentric local. For someone who makes his living crafting and repairing dolls in such a place, it’s hard to make ends meet … but then, this dollmaker has some secrets of his own.
The half-hour (give or take) demo for The Doll Shop is just enough to set the scene, give you a taste of its blend of visual novel and point-and-click adventure, and tease the haunting tale to come. There’s a small slice of this town to explore, a couple of the locals to meet, and a hint of some of the dark secrets hiding beneath the snow. The demo doesn’t give away much storywise, but hints at something that’ll tug at the heartstrings and creep you out in equal measure.
The Doll Shop is the first commercial game from comic book artist duo Atelier Sentô, inspired by their time living in a small town in northern Japan. There’s a demo available now, and they’re aiming to release the full game later this year.
Re.dive Wonderland (Piacere)
A young woman, Carol, wakes up in a prison cell with no memories of who she is or how she got there. After escaping (with the help of a talking biscuit, no less), she finds a few others like her and learns that they’re trapped inside an Alice in Wonderland-themed game—and the only way out is to find a way to stop the Red Queen. Of course, all the other strangers are handsome men—it’s an otome game, after all.
Even with this admittedly familiar setup, the demo for Re.dive Wonderland leaves a strong first impression. It covers the prologue, chapter 1, and the start of chapter 2—enough to meet all the main characters, get a feel for the world, and a taste of how the game folds a light dose of side-scrolling adventure into a visual novel.
The love interests are all handsome and likeable, and while they fit neatly into otome archetypes at first glance, the demo teases there being more to each of them than meets the eye. Carol is equally interesting: strong-willed and determined, despite her confusion about the whole situation. But the most striking thing about Re.dive Wonderland’s demo is the world itself: a strange adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s Wonderland filled with some bizarre monsters—the rendition of card soldiers and the White Rabbit you’ll find here are unique, to say the least.
Re.dive Wonderland is the debut title from Piacere, a Korean indie studio. The Korean version launched in March, and an English version is due out later this year. The Steam demo includes English, Japanese, and Chinese languages.
Please Be Happy (Studio Élan)
It’s not every day you see Wellington in a game, especially one that’s not from a local studio. But an urban fantasy rendition of Whanganui-a-Tara is a perfect backdrop for Please Be Happy, a comfy slice-of-life story about a fox spirit learning to trust humans—and maybe even love them.
At the centre of Please Be Happy is Miho, a fox born in Korea who’s spent her whole life searching for a kind stranger she met a long time ago. That one traveler aside, her experiences with humans have been rough, and despite being in a mostly human form now, she avoids people and makes a living as a thief. But when her travels lead her to Wellington and a chance encounter with a kindly librarian and an aspiring writer, her world starts to change.
It’s a beautiful game in every sense: art style, story, atmosphere, and writing style are all delightful. Miho is a charming protagonist, cheerful and playful but also cautious and reserved, at least until she starts warming up to the two love interests. For their part, Juliet and Aspen are an endearing pair, very different from one another both warm and full of love. The story that unfolds between the three of them is sweet, uplifting, and most of all, human. The urban fantasy rendition of Wellington is a lovely touch, too—especially for someone who lives in its real-world inspiration.
Please Be Happy is available now. It’s 50% off during the Fall in Love Festival, bringing it down to NZ$14.49, and there’s a free demo, too.
Imperial Grace (Synstoria / Abiding Bridge)
A dose of Civilization-esque diplomacy and resource management isn’t what I typically expect from a visual novel, but then again, Imperial Grace isn’t your typical game. Billed as a “a visual novel about romance, medieval intrigue, and political strategy”, this is an ambitious blend of genres—and it’s a mix that hits all the right notes.
You’re cast as the newly-crowned Empress of Calydia, a fictional medieval kingdom with its share of troubles and opportunities. On top of the usual dialogue choices that influence relationships with love interests, Imperial Grace sees you responding to petitions from citizens and balancing your kingdom’s various resources—money, military, influence, popularity with the people and with nobles, etc—by way of policies. Those resources, in turn, are needed for most narrative choices, adding an intriguing layer of strategy on top of just following your heart.
Of course, it’s still an otome game, with several very attractive love interests: your kind-hearted, loyal general (and childhood friend), a friendly ambassador from a neighbouring kingdom, and the standoffish heir to a rival family. They each bring something entirely different to the table, in terms of both personality and the way the story unfolds, and it’ll be interesting to see how the different routes play out in the full game. As for the main character, she’s fantastic: strong-willed almost to a fault, determined to show that she has what it takes to rule, but with a soft side and plenty of internal conflict that keeps her from being one-note.
The demo for Imperial Grace is a good 2-3 hours, offering a decent chance to see how the different systems fit together and to get a taste of what ruling Calidya is like. The resource management stuff is optional, but I highly recommend playing with it on—the extra layer it adds to dialogue choices is a fascinating touch.
Imperial Grace is being developed by Synstoria, a studio with a focus on interactive fiction that turns a critical eye to society. It’s due out in November this year, and there’s a lengthy demo on Steam.
The Fall in Love Festival runs until 9 September, and I’ll have some more highlights to share in the coming days. I’m also sharing thoughts and screenshots on Bluesky, if you want to take a look!
