Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Voltage Announces 3 New Otome Games With a Worldwide Release

 Video games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Nov 032023
 

Last night, Voltage announced 3 new otome games for the Nintendo Switch.

Voltage is a company that primarily makes mobile games, but they ventured into console otome games last year with Even if Tempest, and then its fandisc this year.

I haven’t gotten around to playing Even if Tempest yet, but it’s on my list to try eventually. Every time it goes on sale, I feel tempted…

Anyway, Even if Tempest must have done well for them, because they announced three more console otome games all at once. Not only that, but English releases have already been confirmed for them.

The first was announced as Project Code Neon Mafia, set for a 2024 release. It’s bright and colorful, and from the way the trailer introduces its characters, it’s probably the one that’s furthest along in development.

The second is Project Code Kaleido Tower. Also planned for a 2024 release, this one is the vaguest to me from its trailer. My initial impression of it was that it will only have one love interest, the “poisoned youth” referenced in the trailer, but that could just be because it’s an early trailer. Whatever the case may be, the trailer is certainly haunting.

Finally, the one that interests me the most is the third one, Project Code Vampire Hunter. It won’t be out until 2025, but the premise of playing a vampire hunter had me intrigued. It looks beautiful and gothic, and although only a single male character is shown fully, two more characters have bodies briefly appear, so I suspect those will be other love interests.

It’s exciting to see all of these new otome games announced. When I first started playing otome games, it felt like new releases were few and far between. Now it’s better than ever, and my backlog can’t keep up! I can’t even feel disappointed in the 2025 release window for the one I’m most interested in, because I have plenty of games to occupy me in the meantime. (And who knows what Aksys might have in store, since so far they only have a single 2024 otome game localization revealed.)

I’ll probably try to play Even if Tempest before these come out, but either way, I’m excited to learn more about them. Are you looking forward to the three newly-announced otome games from Voltage?

NaNoWriMo 2023 Begins!

 Writing  5 Responses »  Tagged with:
Nov 012023
 

November is here, which means our 2023 Celebrating All Things Spooky event is at an end and the contest winners are in the process of being notified. Thank you all for your participation.

It also means that NaNoWriMo has begun!

Yes, this is one of those rare posts where instead of covering video games, I talk about writing.

I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo, or the National Novel Writing Month, for years now. It’s a challenge in which writers try to finish a 50,000 word novel in November.

This year, my project is a fantasy romance novel I’ve had on my mind for quite a while. I got an early start at midnight to write the first 2,000 words, then followed up with another 3,000 words when I woke up. Off to a good start!

Since I’ve spent the past few years hitting the 50,000-word goal without it being in too much doubt (although the quality of the writing is another question, as sometimes I run out of ideas before I hit the mark and spend the rest of the words on scenes that will absolutely need to be cut from the finished story), I’m tempted to add an additional goal to work on short stories this November as well. But let’s see how the novel progresses, first.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year?

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Project Kat

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games  7 Responses »  Tagged with:
Oct 302023
 

Project Kat, which now has the full title of Project Kat – Paper Lily Prologue, is a short game about a girl preparing to perform a ritual in the school at night.

There are puzzles to solve along the way, as well as various options for how to interact with your classmates.

Puzzles have multiple solutions, so going with a method that feels less obvious could lead to a different outcome. Even something as simple as how much you talk to the other characters can have an effect.

Because of this, even though Project Kat seems simple on the surface, it’s more complex than you might think. I played through it assuming there might be 1 or 2 alternate endings based on choices I’d noticed along the way, only to look online and learn there are ten possible endings.

(I didn’t go back through to try to get them all, however.)

Project Kat is also surprisingly creepy. Despite the simple graphics and presentation, it uses what it has to great effect, with several unsettling moments.

As the full title suggests, it is a standalone prologue to an upcoming game called Paper Lily. Paper Lily – Chapter 1 is currently available in an early state, with additions to come in an update, and the game will potentially have 5 total chapters. After playing Project Kat, I’m interested in seeing what they can do in a longer game, although I’ll probably wait for the full release before playing.

Project Kat – Paper Lily Prologue is a short, spooky game worth checking out – especially for Halloween!

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