I believe everybody knows a story about Gregor Samsa who one day woke up in a body of an insect. Even though I read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" back in school which was kinda long ago, I remember it quite well and while being kinda a depressive read, it's very thought-provoking and unique. Unique, just like this game. Metamorphosis is strange and bizarre, its visuals intrigued me and the game turned out to be nice. While being named after original novel "Metamorphosis", I feel it's more influenced by other works of Kafka like "The Castle" and "The Trial", so it's more of a blend of all Kafka's "favorite" themes and narratives. Existential dread, powerlessness, anxiety and fear being so little in the face of those who are more influential and more powerful. Covering all of these topics, Metamorphosis surprises with great storytelling, characters, world design that all together craft a very special experience. Poor fella transformed to a bug, and must find out what the hell happened and why. To answer all the questions, go back to the usual human form and help a friend in need, we crawl up walls, slip through narrow spaces and parkour while doing puzzles here and there, trying our best to avoid drowning, falling down, getting crushed or poisoned, even though there is an achievement for dying every single possible way in the game lol. Controls might seem weird at first and it's hard to move around without struggling, but it's exactly done on purpose to make us feel as we are in not our own body.

While being not that graphically impressive, marvelous visuals are truly the best part of the game. Not just because of the looks but making you feel that fear of being so little in a horrendously big world. Disgusting giant humans with their huge awkwardly moving hands, legs and mouths, and huge object around us sometimes were making me feel uneasy. I remember getting to The Furnace level and it was stressful for some reason. Anyways, to progress the story we complete level's objective and move forward to another location. You can't really get lost, just stuck a bit due to encountering some bugs here and there. Well, bugs and way too easy puzzles are the only turn offs in Metamorphosis, but overall it's a great experience worth the time.

I... don't know. I went through all circles of hell playing Lemon Cake and I am just glad I won't get back to it. I was clueless when I first saw it. It seemed so cute to me, I'm a big sucker for cooking games and I knew I'm gonna love it. Well, I did not love it, unfortunately. Why? Because it's boring. And what can be worse than playing a boring repetitive game to get all achievements? I was very close to just abandoning it but I got tips from kind users on here this winter and thanks to them I managed to finish it and uninstall it forever. I kinda feel bad hating on it so much but it was just not my thing at all.

We own an abandoned bakery that needs our time and attention to get to its glory! Everything is broken, old, there are ghosts flying around but thanks goodness they are friendly and can help us. Everything is on us, repairs, growing ingredients for our pastries, serving customers and cleaning after them. There is no story basically. You just do your thing, that's all. I actually really loved the artstyle, loved the variety of pastries you can cook. I also liked that it's not just a cafe, but a cat cafe where customers can adopt kitties and take them home. I loved the cooking gameplay where you basically have a cooking station in the middle of your kitchen and you run around to get certain ingredients, you throw them on that station and mix them then put an almost cooked pastry into the stove. Croissants, cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, bread, chocolate strawberries, cheesecakes, sweet rolls... There is a lot to choose from to create your daily menu. The problem is... it's gonna take you ages to earn money for all the upgrades and achievements. It took me 25 hours to complete the game and that's with using the strategy of cooking the same pastry every single day. Sadly, yes. It's just boring. You see everything the game has to offer after... I do not know, maybe 5 hours? It gets repetitive to the point it drives you crazy. You work hard every single shift running around 3 rooms all by yourself, cooking, cleaning tables, serving your customers coffee so they do not leave angry and disappointed, watering your plants, taking care of cows and chickens, throwing more wood into stoves so you can bake your pastries, clean up spills of dough on your kitchen cause it slows you down... Shifts go by, you buy an upgrade, few more shifts go by, you buy another one and again and again and again. I should have dropped it after it started to feel stressful so my experience is not ruined, but it is what it is.

Maybe it's a good game if you don't stress yourself out with progression and achieving something. I do not know. It had so much potential. It makes me wonder if all games of this developer are this way? I have Capybara Spa in my wishlist and I wish I had more motivation to try it but after Lemon Cake I doubt it, even if it's good...

The Letter - Horror Visual Novel visual novel horror choices matter finished in 2024

Till this day I wonder, how the devs managed to create such a big and complicated game with an interesting writing, great story that keeps you on pins and needles, cool characters with their own charm, insanely good sound design, and an endless amount of possibilities and endings. Now this is what you call "choices matter". Never in my life I saw a game in which every single breath you take can change the outcome so drastically. Just wow. The Letter found its place among my favorite visual novels hands down. You play through each chapter from every character's perspective, slowly learning more about each of them, and unraveling mysteries that happen in the story. The Letter is inspired by classic Asian horror movies, however, nothing here feels cliché. There is a haunted mansion, a terrible curse and the truth that must be discovered. Our choices carry over from one chapter to another and indeed we can heavily feel the butterfly effect. There is a relationship system here too and via dialogue choices you can make characters fall in love, be just friends, or hate each other. I wish you could play this game comfortably on Steam Deck and you CAN, I started it on it, but as soon as I faced the first QTE I realized I must move to the computer because I cannot pass it on the console. But that's okay.

Seven characters, seven lives. Seriously, I really loved how developers put so much thoughts into their work. It's clear this project was made with passion and enthusiasm. I loved how characters that at first glance I hated, completely opened up from another side when I played their own story from their own point of view which made me love them. Shows you that you should never judge someone by only seeing one side of the coin. The writing is voiced over, sprites are moving, backgrounds feel alive too. Maybe to some the visuals of the game might seem a bit old-fashioned, not sure, however, it's very stylish and looks incredibly good. The game is not too scary, but it's creepy, it makes you feel uncomfortable from time to time, the atmosphere that music creates makes you shiver. It has jumpscares that you do not expect, and they don't make the game cheap, they fit really well. I think what matters the most in this game is it's branching paths and there are a lot of them. Literally, never in my life I saw so many ways the story can go. Loved it.

Maybe I will get back to it to complete it, it's worth exploring every branch of the story anyways. As we are getting closer to winter now my desire for reading some VNs is growing and I am soon about to dive into The House in Fata Morgana and I believe it's gonna be something interesting and impressive too.

march completed

• Redout: Enhanced Edition
  

  13.1 hours playtime

  29 of 34 achievements

• Minami Lane
  

  5.9 hours playtime

  20 of 20 achievements

• Say No! More
  

  6.8 hours playtime

  22 of 22 achievements

• Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
  

  14.7 hours playtime

  37 of 38 achievements

• Tinykin
  

  9.8 hours playtime

  43 of 43 achievements

• Candle
  

  9.9 hours playtime

  23 of 23 achievements

• Still There
  

  9 hours playtime

  23 of 23 achievements

• Children of Silentown
  

  11.1 hours playtime

  26 of 26 achievements

• Genesis Noir
  

  5 hours playtime

  17 of 17 achievements

• The Letter - Horror Visual Novel
  

  52 hours playtime

  168 of 172 achievements

• Mail Time
  

  2.6 hours playtime

  23 of 23 achievements

• Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?
  

  2.4 hours playtime

  17 of 17 achievements

• Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure
  

  9.5 hours playtime

  25 of 25 achievements

• The Ramp
  

  2.5 hours playtime

  12 of 12 achievements

• Chasing Tails ~A Promise in the Snow~
  

  1.8 hours playtime

  30 of 30 achievements

• Lemon Cake
  

  24.8 hours playtime

  17 of 17 achievements

Strange things are happening in Beacon Pines and it's hard not to notice them! Something is going on at the old abandoned warehouse, because why would there be any lights and weird people walking around? As we go somewhere we are not supposed to, it gives a start to a crazy adventure that is going to change the world. I absolutely love mystery, I love cute animals and games about them, I love time travel, and Beacon Pines has it all, so it was love from the first click. We play as little Luka, who is curious, adventurous and smart. His loving granny begs him never get into trouble... Of course she's worried, because she's the only parent our Luka has, since he tragically lost his father years ago, and his mother disappeared under mysterious circumstances. But Luka is just a little kid, so no, granny, it's our job to FIND TROUBLE!

Beacon Pines feels like childhood. Like those days at the end of May when school is almost over and summer is just around the corner, you're ready to throw away all the books and play at the lake with your friends until the evening. It also reminded me of those fantastic tales I was reading at school's library where my granny was working. However while the game might seem really easy going, bright and cute, its story is much deeper than you think. Everything in it works so well together, the plot, the characters, the world, the TWISTS! On our journey we discover our town's most horrible secrets, find new friends and risk our lives to save them. My jaw literally dropped a few times for sure, and a few times I was crying.

Luka is literally the main character of a tale, and the story is told by the narrator who is reading the book. And we have a power to change everything. Through the story we can collect little "charms", and using them gonna help us choose a different route for our tale. Instead of "running away" we can use the word "fight", doesn't it change the whole situation to our benefit, huh? I loved that we can see many timelines, even though there is only one "true" way.

I really don't want to talk much about Beacon Pines, I just wanna say that it is such a masterpiece, such a little gem that is definitely worth checking, after all it's only 5 hours of gameplay, but each hour is gonna be unforgettable. I WANT MORE!

Back in time I've played VA-11 Hall-A and till this day it remains one of my favorite games, so when I heard about another bartender barista visual novel I knew I'm gonna like it. I got my hands on Coffee Talk in 2020 and was not disappointed, great story, fantastic artstyle and unique characters that feel real, the brewing mechanic and the fact you can change the story depending on what you make for visitors of your little cozy cafe instantly melted my heart. Well, I have the same impression after playing Coffee Talk 2.

This game made me feel like I returned home after wandering around the world for a long long time. I was happy to open the door to my cozy coffee shop again and see my old friends I got attached to in Episode 1, and to fall in love with new people. They all come to your cafe to relax after a tough day, to have a heart-to-heart talk and get something off their chests, ask for an advice and just enjoy a damn good drink from their favorite barista. I believe lots of people can find themselves in some characters since they struggle with problems we all go through. Good writing made characters feel genuine. In addition it's exciting to follow how they open up more and more with each day and open the corners of their heart to you, because you are a good listener and never judge them.

You cannot choose what to say to your guests but the drinks you serve really matter. So, it's no different from Episode 1. Sometimes your visitor expresses what they want directly, and sometimes they just hope for your insight, not telling their preferences. If you get it wrong, you'll lose a dialogue, and in the worst case it can ruin someone's life. Your drinks can make characters upset, disappointed or the opposite, give them hope, confidence or inspiration. And I almost forgot about the new feature – items. Guests sometimes forget or give you certain things and you decide what to do with them. Mr Policeman forgets his favorite lighter or you get a business card with personal number on it, maybe someone needs it and it can change their life? Who knows. It's also worth mentioning in Episode 2 we have not only coffee but also blue tea and hibiscus, which means more recipes and ingredients. The drinks are pleasant to look at, and we can do latte art as always.

The game perfectly works on Steam Deck, I was playing it in bed after celebrating New Year lol. So for a few days I was fully immersed in the story making tea and coffee and listening to life stories. What a good way to relax and start a gaming year.

The last but definitely not least liked I'd love to mention is Cat Cafe Manager.

Cat Cafe Manager management cooking cats finished in 2024

In Cat Cafe Manager we are responsible for our own small cafe and gonna work hard to gain customers and satisfy their needs, adopt cats and give them home they deserve. As a cat person I really wanted to try this out, and it turned out to be quite a nice adventure. I cannot say I was impressed by the story but I pretty much enjoyed the gameplay. Yes, we have a cafe, we cook, we have stations we use for different food and there are different types of customers that have their own expectations for our cozy place. The more points of satisfaction they have, the more profit we get when our guest leaves. Go buy more magic decorations and witches gonna absolutely love it, unlock recipes for meals they are most likely to order, so they don't end up disappointed getting a glass of water, and yeah, that's it! So basically it's all about gaining resourses and buying more and more stuff to progress in the story and turn your little cafe into lovely place people adore and want to visit.

I liked the fact that we run around getting orders and serving customers. You can hire AI chefs and waiters but honestly, they are kinda slow and sometimes simply do nothing, maybe they get tired or something, so I was always taking responsibility for doing.. everything. Chopping salad, brewing coffee, cleaning tables, cleaning after cats, feeding cats, while my AI companions were somewhere doing... something. I wasn't even hiring more than two after some point cause I had no need for help from them. Not complaining honestly.

During the day you can lure stray cats and they are gonna live in your cafe. Cats have stats and certain useful skills, for example, witches give 20% more currency, something like that. Each type of customers gives their own currency and you can use it to buy new recipes and decorations. So the game is all about working day by day and being patient. It gets repetitive with time but that's okay. After a few hours you gonna see pretty much all gameplay and the only thing that gonna keep you playing is achievements. I stayed for them and it was entertaining to do the hunt.

This game got a lot of negative reviews due to being buggy. I honestly was lucky enough to experience no bugs at all, probably because the devs polished the game, and if that's true, it's nice to know all the flaws were fixed. By the way, as I said, you can give cats from your cafe forever home, but honestly... I got so attached to my kitties that it was impossible for me to say bye to them. They are so lovely and cute! I believe the devs should have added some kind of perks or bonuses for giving a cat forever home, because you 1) lose a cat you love 2) lose stats cat gives. And oh, you can adopt a racoon. I think it's cute and silly!

Night Call visual novel investigation noir finished in 2024

Night Call is honestly so underrated it breaks my heart, even though I understand why people dislike it but still I'm gonna defend it for life. In this game we play as a parisian taxi driver who works at night. He was attacked by a serial killer, and now he's engaged in murder mystery, trying to get and put pieces of information together to find out who is that bloody murderer. As Houssine, our main character, is on his night shifts, he meets different people that are willing to talk and share what's on their mind. I believe it's easy to vent to a taxi driver, cause you meet him once and never again, and he won't judge since he heard so many stories that are much crazier than yours. I was all in for the stories of people you meet. Every single person has their own life story and shares it with you, I enjoyed the writing and personalities, and could empathize with strangers. Unlike Coffee Talk I mentioned today, we can speak to people in our cab, and our choices really matter. Whatever we say helps to find a common language with strangers, or, make them shut down completely, or make a bad decision in their life. We must ask the right people right questions to get the information for the investigation. And the clock is ticking. We are given a few days to make our guess.

It would be too easy if we could just drive around and talk. We have limited finances we must manage carefully, or we're gonna end up fired. Houssine must have money for rent and fuel, and if we have negative balance at the end of the day or have nothing after paying our rent, it's game over. Well, not really, as you can still continue through the menu and start that night over, but better be careful with choosing the rides and money. There are a few murder mysteries we can investigate. Each has different endings that depend on our choices. By the way, Night Call doesn't end after the main story, it has a "free roaming" mode where it's much easier to meet people you had no chance to see in main game.

As you play and speak to strangers, you fill entries in "Passidex", it's some kind of an encyclopedia about people we meet during the night. And that's where I wanna complain. A lot of entries are bugged and you cannot complete Passidex for 100%, even for 90%, because even if you did everything right for the entry to be there, it just won't count at all. Also, I found a game crushing bug where I cannot give a ride to a tarot lady, as she speaks, the game crashes, and I can do nothing to fix this. Another problem I encountered is that I cannot have certain dialogues with certain people, so it's impossible to get some achievements. Sometimes you just pick up a person and game skips the whole ride and just pays you money for the ride, and you end up reading no dialogue. I can keep going, but I don't want to. By the way, it doesn't work at Deck, but that's fine.

Honestly, this game is awesome if you close your eyes on its imperfections. If you only rate stories and characters, the whole setting, the atmosphere, the writing, it's an absolute win, but all the bugs make people disappointed with Night Call. Still... no matter what, this game has my heart.

january completed

• Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly
  

  12.3 hours playtime

  53 of 53 achievements

• My Big Sister
  

  8.2 hours playtime

  28 of 28 achievements

• Tails Noir
  

  15.3 hours playtime

  26 of 26 achievements

• A Juggler's Tale
  

  3.1 hours playtime

  18 of 18 achievements

• Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe
  

  16.3 hours playtime

  21 of 25 achievements

• Cat Cafe Manager
  

  13.6 hours playtime

  62 of 62 achievements

• Night Call
  

  15.1 hours playtime

  42 of 45 achievements