WHAT VIDEOGAMES ARE YOU PLAYING RIGHT NOW?

I'm not one of those people who enjoy Visual Novels that much, In fact, initially I wasn't aware the game was a VN - I stumbled onto it by accident, liked the look and thought it was a bar simulator (which I guess it kinda is, too). So I was surprised to find that I actually fell into the world of VA11 Hall-A and stayed there until the end - an accomplishment for me.

The sound design, the graphics, the writing... all of these things were highly polished and highly enjoyable. The gameplay was simplistic but refreshing (though I would have preferred a click-based interface for the ingredient-adding instead of drag-and-drop. Those big drinks were killing me!)

The graphics really helped sell the feel of the setting of the bar of VA-11 Hall-A. They were chill and classy and the small details like clicking through the TV channels or how the character sprites animated subtly (in some ways, not-so in others) really made the place feel -real-. The characters were the main selling point of the game, their designs interesting and lovely, really helping to give them the feel of 'this is not your usual VN character'.

Indeed, the writing was what really shone when it came to setting up the characters and the world they lived in. There were very few spelling/grammar mistakes through-out it, and the characters were very well written and interesting. They touched on many different facets of living in a society that is corrupt, futuristic, fatalic, open- and close-minded. The character interactions, the way they talked and expressed themselves really helped sell the game as a fresh experience.

You won't find your typical Japanese Harem-type characters in the game, though you will find such charmers as a large-breasted (and hearted) hacker, a sex-bot with the appearance of a child (who is extremely sweet and lovable), a cinnabun with more than enough muscles to bench-press yo ♥♥♥ and many, many more.

The best character, by far, is Jill, the main character herself. Through her observations and interactions the other characters come to life. She is flawed but pithy, silly but serious, intelligent but self-effacing and all manner of awesome. She has faults, she has issues and she is one of the more interesting characters in a game filled with very interesting ones.

The sound design is the last thing I'll touch on and mainly because this game is the only one whose soundtrack I would purchase in a heartbeat. I don't buy soundtracks (in fact, the last one I got was Suikoden II's vocal soundtrack and that was a Christmas present from about... 2000?) so for me to say such a thing is quite an endorsement. The music is so on-point and fun - there's a huge selection and it all fits the atmosphere of the game very well. There are mellow tunes and swinging tunes and more than a few tunes that will be stuck in your head for days.

Lastly I want to reiterate that I am not a fan of Visual Novels by any stretch of the imagination. There are some that I have played and enjoyed (Black Closet/A Little Lily Princess/This is the Police) but usually they have some sort of extra gameplay attached to spice them up and make them more interesting (in my book). In fact, I'm one of those people who are not likely to play a game like this one more than once, so I highly appreciate the New Game + mode that it offers, as well as the fast-forward text skipping. Kudos for that!

Anyway, what I'm saying is, if you like Visual Novels and good writing and great visuals and awesome sound in any way, shape or form, getting this game is far from the worst thing you could do. Even if you, like me, don't enjoy Visual Novels all that much.