Iwakura Aria

100/10 Omg, what more could I ask for? It’s got everything I want. Yuri? Absolutely yes! elopement? of course slow burn? yeahhh, i love girls teasing each other....

Some reviews are coy about this to avoid spoilers, but there's one VERY big content warning that will likely ruin the game for many people: [spoiler]after the game ends, it's revealed that the main character is the love interest's daughter, even though they aren't aware of this. So the entire "romance" of the game is parent/child incest.[/spoiler] I dropped the game upon finding this out. Even if you're spoiler averse, I'd recommend clicking into the tag. I'm fine with sad endings, unhealthy relationship dynamics, etc., but that twist absolutely killed my interest in continuing the game and I wouldn't have spent $40 if I had known ahead of time.

i've been waiting for this vn, so excited to finally play it after trying the demo. reminds me of house in fata morgana, love the style and concept

Played it on the switch in my free time over a week, but I liked it enough to buy it here to support it. Definitely enjoyed reading this one and letting its ideas and themes (specifically of sisterhood, female solidarity and autonomy) stay with me long after I hit the credits. Highlights: The art being superb goes without saying, especially with the setting and tone they were aiming for, but what I found especially striking was the way the writer conveyed the emotions of the characters. There were certain scenes where they were able to convincingly depict these raw, roiling, emotions that the characters themselves don't fully understand or have come to terms with, but feel natural with their development, characterization, or the situation they are in. I also like Ichiko's characterization in particular. She has this layered personality that is clearly shaped by her previous life experiences, and it shifts around based on what situation she finds herself in. It doesn't conform to an...

A badly-written, cheap romance novel that likes to pretend to be a mystery game. The "main mystery" and basically all the answers are given away not even halfway through the story. The narrative is full of holes, contradictions, rushed explanations, and dark moments or "plot twists" that come out of nowhere just so the story can pretend to be edgier than it actually is. Don't expect any meaningful action or development from characters that aren't the two leads, they're basically just there as ornaments. The side stories are just there to try to cram in last minute revelations that the writers couldn't fit in the main story because it would get in the way of the two lead's relationship. If ALL you want is romance (and not even a good one at that), then this game is for you. Otherwise, there are plenty of much, much better VNs out there, whether you want mystery or a love story.

I'm so glad this game exists and got released in English. Such a touching and emotional sapphic story

After reading Fata Morgana some years ago, I naturally had to support this new game. It's not the epic that Fata Mrogana was, but it's a moving story nonetheless. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the writing enchanting. The moodiness and music were a perfect pairing. This is also the first yuri visual novel I've read, and it was simply beautiful. I highly recommend getting this one. If you're hesitant, know this review is your sign to buy it.

I like the main story a lot, the romance played a much bigger role in the story than I expected which is a huge plus for me, but the epilogue and the final twist have put a bad taste in my mouth. I really don't like how they put such a big reveal in side stories you unlock at the end of the VN and take like 5-10 minutes to read. There were a few moments in the main part that were hinting towards the twist, but I don't think there were enough to justify it, It feels like the writers didn't like the true ending and wanted to make it darker than it needed to be. I still liked all the other parts of the VN so I'm giving it a positive review, but the more radical yurifriends should probably avoid it.

The art and music have been top class, and the production values, and the sense of atmosphere in this VN is pretty off the charts in the first half hour alone. I'll update this review if things end up going wildly off course somehow, but I'm pretty convinced I'm going to love the rest from what I've seen so far. I'm going to mark this down as a "definitely recommend if this is on your radar."

Such a huge disappointment. I'm not into drama so I already knew this visual novel wouldn't hit the mark, but I naively thought the yuri romance could make up for it. And it honestly starts off interesting, but the VN quickly becomes a mess: if you're looking forward to the mystery, it ends up a bluff. If you are playing for the romance, it's simply not worth it and some of the implications simply make the yuri part... weird to say the least. So what's left? Just the art I guess, but even in that regard I've seen indie visual novels featuring more CGIs, character portraits or more variety in the backgrounds than in this one. At least I enjoyed the black and white scenes and the translation is pretty good with few typos, but of course that is far from being enough to justify the purchase. In the end, it's a budget and edgy visual novel with nice art. Not worth it unless you are into that and even then, I'd recommend to wait for a steam sale.