The Fall In Love Visual Novel Festival, hosted by Studio Élan, brings fans a worldwide collection of over 250 visual novels across countless genres—all without the use of generative AI.
The second annual Fall In Love Visual Novel Festival runs September 1st through 9th at 1pm EDT. Though the Steam festival page may disappear in a couple of days, these games, and their coverage will persist. Below is a brief overview of the games I played during the festival. You can find more coverage from streamers, reviewers, etc. by using the #FallInLoveFestival tag on Twitch, YouTube, and social media platforms.
Devil’s Liminal
DEVIL’S LIMINAL (full game) is one that I’ve been working my way through since before the festival began, but I wanted to shout it out since it is in the festival. DEVIL’S LIMINAL is a slow-burn Faustian yuri horror that places you in the role of a young woman trapped in an abusive household. It really nails the dread of desperately not wanting to be somewhere. Rising and falling horror where the situation cools but never quite gets back to where it was is common, but this reminded me very specifically of Paranormal Activity. Going out in the daylight to maybe hang out with a friend, maybe do something spooky, but then being forced home into a really dark place every night.
I have played beyond what is covered in the demo, but I have also played the demo. I think it’s definitely worth checking out. It really captures the awkwardness of being a teenager and some of those relationships. The voice acting is raw and real. The demo gets you into the mystery, but also kind of teases you out of it sometimes. It’s kind of funny to find out some of the dark things that happen and just think “ok but I really just want to go to the movies and have a normal night.” There’s a realism to that. When they say it is a slow burn though – they mean it.
A full review is coming, but I definitely recommend checking out the demo in the meantime.
The Doll Shop
The Doll Shop (demo) is a beautifully hand-drawn horror mystery set in a snowy Japanese village. The setting is inspired by a real northern Japanese village the development team lived in for a year. It was the only one of the games I played for the festival where you actually walk around an environment. Navigating the player character through the village really gives you a sense of how lonely it is. Walking around instead of just clicking items on a map really enhanced the atmosphere. Your neighbors are represented as jittery shadowy outlines, though I think it is more a reflection of your own poor mental state.
The demo may only be 30 minutes, but it gets a lot across in that time and really got me interested in playing more. Though simple, the act of stepping into the main character’s shoes by repairing a doll in the opening scene was very effective. There is something really wrong with this guy, and the demo only begins to tease at it. The soundtrack is pretty relaxing and fun to listen to.
I Write Games Not Tragedies
I Write Games Not Tragedies (full game) is a call back to our high school years by an elder emo development team. The game has a really fun art style that includes notebook squigglevision doodles juxtaposed with more realistic depictions at certain times. The soundtrack is amazing. It includes a number of full songs that you tap and sing along to. Just like in real life – it’s just for fun and points don’t matter (though you do get extra points for screaming). If you are Of A Certain Age you will also recognize specific logos, posters, etc.
The story tackles a lot of issues. The value of music, art, and expression. The danger of getting too wrapped up in appearances. How easy it is to mess things up and how long the road back can be. Sexuality and self-esteem.
I really loved the presentation here. The art and music are amazing and the story is compelling. There are times where you don’t want to choose any of the replies available in conversation but you just can’t stop it. And I really love that the player character acknowledges that himself.
I’ll be writing a full review of this one down the road, but I definitely recommend checking out the demo.
Mermaids Are Seafood
Mermaids Are Seafood (demo) is a weird one. It’s part Gossip Girl, part Glengarry Glen Ross. I think the biggest weakness of the demo is that it sort of drip feeds you a lot of information that you already have if you glance at the Steam page for 45 seconds. You work for an organization that pretends to be interested in conservation. Maybe it is. It also uses that as a cover to hunt and harvest mermaids to sell to the highest bidder.
You’re forced to try and figure out which, if any, of your coworkers you can trust. You have to balance your performance metrics, source your own ingredients, and figure out if you can (or want to) try and whistleblow the whole operation.
I saw from the Steam reviews that many people found the food preparation mini-game tedious. I thought it was important for the story that you are having to get your hands dirty no matter what you believe. I could see it becoming annoying, but it hadn’t gotten there yet.
I think this is maybe THE demo to play out of the list here. The others I think I could recommend purchasing outright. This one has just enough rough bits around the edges that I think you need to try it out for yourself first. But I do think you should try it out. I could be working myself, but every single conversation felt dangerous. There are some weaknesses, but the tension was top notch.
Nightshift: 1999
Nightshift: 1999 (demo) is a really cool 1-bit style game where you play as a vampire waking up just before Y2K. You have to deal with cheeky problems like buying a ghost a soda or figuring out how to cover your one hundred year experience gap on your resume. But you also have to deal with melancholy, ennui, and the decision of whether or not you are a monster.
The NPCs I met were charming and the game has a sense of humor that is fun, but not over the top. Choices you make during the day will influence the dreams you see at night, which act as your backstory. So you’re not quite a cypher, but you do have some input (vibes-wise) on why your character is the way she is.
Each game day ends with you thinking about what happened while walking back to your apartment as dawn approaches. I actually found it really nerve-wracking that the player character really doesn’t seem to have a great sense of urgency, even as you’re hearing birdsong and commuters. I think it is setting up for a time further in the game where you might really be in trouble, but I could be over thinking it.
I definitely wanted more after playing the relatively quick demo. Strongly recommend checking it out.
And there you have them. Give the Fall In Love Visual Novel Festival a look, and wishlist the games that pique your interest.
