Recent reviews by Aura

It's different... That's why I like it!
I absolutely loved this game. One of my all time favorite games for sure. I'm by no means a huge horror person but was hyped to play this game since 2022 due to it being a Japanese horror game. As such- it shouldn't be treated with the same expectations as the other Silent Hill games- to an extent. It's very much it's own standalone thing and I think most would agree with me there. But if you're like me who knows what they're signing up for and likes this sort of thing (as in, Asian/Japanese culture)- I think you won't be disappointed. Asian/Japanese horror is more dark and psychological compared to the Western side being more of jumpscares, overly gory, and more. So bare that in mind going in. "Mind the gap" really.

Theme/Story: The theme is of woman during the 1960s Japan where they had very traditional "rights". Lots of trauma from parents, gender role expectations, school life/relationship stuff, and more. Yeah, so if you're one of those whiners about women/woke - turn away *sighs* But it's truly very cultural/historical to it's core where the horror is in the dark side of that reality in Japan. Story was also written by Ryukishi07. Who wrote the Umineko series.

Graphics: The graphics, environment, the map layouts/UI and more are amazing. Small village Japan with the old school cars, post boxes, shrines, and more. I really loved the atmosphere. More so in the other realm where you have lanterns in pitch black darkness. The only colors to pop would be the red in reality and blue in the other world.

Music/Sound: Man oh man. What is a game without good music? Especially horror. You have more Japanese style elements standing strong here. If you've watched black and white old school Japanese films - same vibe. Like, Meiko Kaji type of style with Enka. A good example of this would be the song "Mayoi Uta" that plays in the opening/ending of the game. I will be listening to the OST a lot for sure. Soundwise -I played with headphones and it really helped bring in the vibes from hearing noises from the enemies.

Voice Acting: I played in Japanese natrually and the voice acting was peak. I'm sure the English cast did great but top tier performances in Japanese I can attest to.

Puzzles: Puzzles are in between "Trial 'n error" and "EZ" Not hard at all though. The harder difficulty settings for puzzles are just different wording or a bit extra work to do. That's it.

Combat/Gameplay: Combat isn't over the top. Simple and a bit clunky, but I think that fits the character here. Weapon durability is annoying though but it makes you more mindful on the survival. Just like your items. The items you get are for character only or offerings to get upgrades. Which takes a lot of offerings that you need to save big time for.

Difficulty: In the harder difficulty you will have to prioritize timed dodges/counterattacks. So a "souls-ish" vibe to it. I found it rewarding when I would get achievements for not getting hit by certain boss attacks for example. Learn the patterns and its a breeze.

Enemies: The monsters aren't overly scary or anything design wise but fit into Japanese culture and the historical aspect very well. They also align to Hinako's friends in reflecting trauma, disease blobs, trypophobia is in there a bit, shrine priests, and more. I do wish they had more cool fox or folklore designs but it's no strong here outside getting special treatment to more bosses with the other endings. The enemies outside the bosses are repetitive even if the design of one is a tad different in looks it's a minor adjustment in it's attack style. While that's okay- you know what to expect and isn't overly extensive.

Replayability/Endings: Let me say that the game requires you to play beyond the first play-through for more endings and such. If you go in expecting a "one-and-done," you're missing out on a lot. There's literally 5 endings total with 1 being the true ending that unlocks after doing 2 of the others. If you want context to things lore wise- you'll have to read my friend. Your journal, documents you pick up, and more. You don't get anything but surface otherwise. There's a bit of reading in between the lines.

All in all, I think the game is worth the time if you want a horror from your usual Resident Evils and such. I think that difference is where the game shines. I enjoyed my time with the game and plan to 100% everything. Wish me luck! You'll see a higher playtime from this review as proof ;)

Hope this review helps and that if you do buy the game that you enjoyed it for what it is like I did. Or if you've already played it - maybe you agree with me?

Coming from someone who's an avid Yuri/VN enjoyer- I will say I really did enjoy Scarlet Defiance: The Wall Between Us. Keep in mind that it is only a prologue and is very short. But I personally feel like it laid out a lot of the groundwork and you get just what you need for a prologue.

I feel like for this debut work the importance laid more into having voices, nice art, and more. While that is there, and I really do appreciate it - it's for sure not needed! I know with my favorite Yuri VN first released it didn't have voices and more. But later got added as a free update. Bringing this up because I think dropping the prologue at an $5-$10 range with no voices at least would've been good! To then later add on to it. Especially with just a prologue - I think this would've been the way to go. Get the story itself out and then go from there. I by no means mind paying the $15 for this but, I know it is steep for what you get vs a full length visual novel alternative. Thus, some reviewers have commented on. It's just, if the price is the issue - please just keep in mind the work put into this that makes that price. On top of this being a first work.

Story wise... I've never been one to be huge into the vampire Yuri/vampire genre. But I really did like the story line for this and the characters alike! In this prologue you get both Sofia and Vlatka's pov. It's very fast paced and there's bit of bounce in timelines. But I get the direction and intent of this. It's pretty straightforward and simple. But I like that. I think this work has an overall charm to it.

Voice acting is amazing. Lord Stanislav stands out to me in that department, haha. Love the banter with Sofia and Karine especially. Karine being my personal favorite. I really *really* love the opening animation as well. Very fancy with the animated CG's too. Art style is for sure pretty. What i'm trying to say here is that the visuals are fantastic if that wasn't clear, haha.

I'm just chanting my praises now but I do think it's very solid for what it is and I loved it. I am very hopeful and eager for a full release novel. Going forward this VN has my full support along with Vmmersion Studios overall!

(TDLR: The visual novel is short, but to me delivers exactly what it sets out to in a condensed way being a prologue. Price is understandable for the visuals + voice acting output. The vn itself has a nice charm to it and I will support it going forward!)

The Kingdom Hearts series is finally on Steam. With the ability to play them on the Steam Deck. You can't go wrong! After Epic Games, and the dumb and bad idea of Switch Cloud - this is the reward to fans. Ever since these HD Remixes dropped no one has any excuse not to playthrough this amazing series.

I bought a Steam Deck because I could finally play these handheld and let me say they run beautifully. Flawless even. So if you want handheld or screen using a dock for your Deck you have the best of both. Or mouse & keyboard of course.

This set of games is the best bang for your buck too.

HD Remixes themselves for the new people - you're getting the exclusive versions of the original games. Remix is basically as it says. Featuring many new or revamped things across the games. From the OST, recolored enemies and more. Then the DS games 358/2 & ReCoded are HD cutscenes. As it would take a complete remake for those being at the DS graphical standpoint. Unlike Final Fantasy, all the KH games matter for the overall story. Which is why these bundles and especially this one are important and convenient.

So compared to the option of getting these games across consoles or elsewhere I would say Steam is the best way to go for new and old alike!

"May Your Heart Be You Guiding Key" (and that you buy these games).

I gotta say I was disappointed. The art, voices and everything is really nice but that's the only thing going for it. There's many way better Yuri vn's. Don't waste your time or money on this one. The issue is the writing. It's supposed to be a Yuri VN however, one of the MC's is very clear about not being into girls but somehow (and I say somehow as there's not enough development to indicate why exactly she likes Ren) likes Ren. However, continually goes on about her husbando's and BL. Ren being a lesbian is made clear though. As for Akuru we get no clear indication of her being bi or lesbian at all. She looks at Yuri but is embarrassed by it and doesn't like closeness with Ren but also does. Akuru is very back and forth. She "loves" Ren but ignores her constantly going about her being straight - not into girls and again, her husbando. While I get that's the concept/gimmick of this VN - its SO annoying. Ren gets sided a lot. Both characters basically use the other since the start and admit that toward the end of the VN. Where Ren wants to win a bet with her mother and Akuru using Ren's luck for her gacha pulls. When you DO get SOME Yuri in there - you aren't satisfied. Because when Akuru hugs her or kisses her later - its redundant by her going off about her "dear husbando" not too long after. As for Ren, she just tries to win this "bi?" straight girl over when she later says she didn't even like her but thought she was cute upon the accidental marriage confession. But came to love her. How? You don't get any substance as they learn little about each other until wayyyy later.

There is a 18+ patch but its not even on Steam. You have to buy it elsewhere and i'm sure its lackluster too/pointless. Because remember - Akuru isn't a lesbian everyone *sighs*


Don't get me started on the sequel... Akuru doesn't want to marry Ren because - you guessed it - her husbando. But then wants to because she's jealous of Ren's friend. But THEN says she's against the marriage again. I kid you not. I haven't finished it but its so painful for me to keep playing and I just want to finish it to see where the heck it'll go if anywhere.

It's a one step forward - two steps back with these VN's. Make this one as your last resort for Yuri VN's.

Hope this helped as its my first review i've done. I guess the developers have a goal of bringing great Yuri. I hope future projects fit that because this one ain't it. I'd get a refund if I didn't already invest too much time into it.