On 14/11/2023, Nintendo launched their Indie World Showcase 2023 with some nice games like a new Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution or A Highland Song for example, but next to the indie gems, they also showed three visual novel titles.
We will now introduce them to you and perhaps this will help you discover some new indie stuff that you can play in the future.
Death Trick: Double Blind
Genre: Detective Mystery, Adventure
Publisher/Creator: Neon Doctrine/Misty Mountain Studio
Release: 2024
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam
Official Website
Story
The star magician of Morgan’s Traveling Circus is missing, but the show must go on!
Come one, come all to Morgan’s Traveling Circus, the greatest show in America! Or it was, until its star, Hattie, disappeared.
Take a step back in time to the middle of the mid 20th century, as a magician and a private eye tackle the case of the missing magician. Marvel at lush pulp art visuals and an atmospheric soundtrack that harkens back to the golden days of the traveling circus! But never forget, there’s a murderous mystery afoot.
Take control of two protagonists tackling the case from different perspectives: one a fellow magician and colleague of the victim, and the other a private eye grappling with a bout of amnesia. Use their unique skills and expertise to befriend and interrogate a huge cast of characters, investigate various locations, and hunt down contradictions in a winding narrative filled with twists, turns, and treachery sure to shock and delight would-be detectives and circus fans alike.
Personal Opinion
There’s always time for a classical and good Detective/Crime investigation mystery visual novel.
The circus settomg gives the game a nice touch and with the mechanic to control two
protagonists it brings about a new twist and potentially a nice progression towards the finale of the story.
The Demo is now available in the Nintendo eShop and on Steam, so you can get a first glimpse of what this title has to offer.
Enjoy the Diner
Genre: Adventure
Publisher/Creator: Waku Waku Games/Studio Dragonet
Release: 31.July 2023 (now out for Nintendo Switch) : $10.99
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam
Official Website
Summary
Why not enjoy the diner? The moon is as full as it’ll ever be, And there’s even a drink fountain.
Enjoy the Diner is an adventure game where you’ll wander into the eternal diner Moon Palace. Complete with a drink fountain!
About this Game:
Enjoy the Diner follows a multiple-choice format with point-and-click elements and is a relatively short adventure game. It typically takes 2-2.5 hours to complete (according to Waku Waku Games research). There are two different endings, and you will likely know when the story diverges. Be sure to save your progress before you make your fateful decision.
Personal Opinion
Reduced and minimalistic look in this title but it does look intriguing.
Melancholic time in a diner with the topic of the fundamentals of life–it looks like it could steer this way.
So place your order and discover the Diner.
Urban Myth Dissolution Center
Genre: Point-&-Click, Adventure, Psycho-Horror, Mystery
Publisher/Creator: SHUEISHA GAMES/Hakababunko
Release: 2024
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam
Official Website
Story
The Urban Myth Dissolution Center – your one-stop solution for researching and (dis)solving monstrous oddities, cursed relics and dimensional anomalies!
Take on urban myth cases as heroine Azami Fukurai, under the hypervision of Ayumu Meguriya, Level S psyhic and Center Director…
The game takes you through an episodical digital mystery adventure, themed on multiple urban myths that roam the internet, and presented in stunning psychedelic pixel art.
The player takes control of Azami and for the detective legwork, collecting circumstantial evidence and social network posts to unravel the truth behind each urban myth, as well as the hidden pasts of each client, and why they came to encounter each oddity. Dis(solve) each myth and case to discover the resolution, and unexpected consequences, of each episode.
Personal Opinion
The artstyle is great and catchy and somehow it reminds me of Danganronpa – maybe the eyes? A mystery packed in episodes that as it continues gradually unfolds itself offers a great way to tell a deeper story, mixed with a amazing pixel style.
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