Hello again everyone! Today, I'll be reviewing the Free-to-Play GxB Visual Novel from Circle Pegasi, "Days of the Divine," also known as "Divine." Divine is a stunning visual novel that was created in just one month for the 2013 NaNoRenO event. I'll fill you in on the story, characters, art, sound, and gameplay- spoiler alert- it's all great!
Story: Here's the synopsis Circle Pegasi provides:
"Long ago, in a valley where a small village lay, two deities fought each other. One was imprisoned, the other vanished. Yet some time ago, an unnatural mist began lingering in the village, dissolving people's memories.
Biyu, a young shrine maiden, is now working her hardest in the shrine of one of these deities in the faint hope the mist will one day dissolve. Even though her good friend also lost his memory, not all hope is lost; she meets a stranger who seems to be recovering from his memory loss, and rather quickly as well..."
Alright, so here are my thoughts...the story in Divine is just that. While not really based on Chinese history, or any history for that matter, I was still transported to a lovely Asian-esque realm and really felt strong cultural ties to the world within Divine. The story was smooth and polished, and differs greatly on each of the three routes. Thus, I felt much more motivation than normal to replay the game and get every ending (normally, my love for bishounen men is the only thing that drives me). This game has quite a serious tone, but it is never over-the-top melodramatic. In fact, it has just the right amounts of lighthearted moments.
Indeed, this game has genuine depth and is therefore both enjoyable and believable. This game may have been created entirely in one month, but the story, as well as every other aspect thereof, is solid.
Characters: Divine has a small but enjoyable cast including the main character, three love interests, and another guy. Haha, I hope you can discern which is which
in the above screenshot. Divine's protagonist, Biyu, doesn't stand out much, but personally, that's great news. She was created with the intent of being someone to relate to, but not as oblivious, whiny, or naive as your average otome heroine- mission achieved Circle Pegasi, and job well done.
The other characters are just as deep, each with their own distinct personalities. While one can instantly pinpoint, "Oh he's the angsty one, that's the happy guy," etc., each character is so much more than that. Each route pained me greatly because I couldn't bring myself to hate anyone!
Art: The art of this game is radiant! Every eloquent background and character art greatly supports the story. Here is another example as to why visual novels are superior! I'm speechless, really! Just give it a go yourselves- trust me!
Sound: Once again, beautiful! Emotional traditional Asian compositions bring life to this game. During my first playthrough, I was crying a gentle river, kind of like that double-rainbow guy (Though I'd like to think I was more graceful, haha). Let's just say I'm glad I was playing in solitude at four am.
Finally, gameplay!
Gameplay: I really must commend Circle Pegasi, because Divine runs so smooth. I really never fathomed just how great a game made in four weeks could be! I know they was a lot of sacrifices to the game and team, but I can honestly say I never would've known! The length seems just right, and each true ending was simple as well. I loved the game so much that I still have many questions though! It's really hard for me to close this one up. plus, there are lots of unlockable goodies that provide insight to the creative process that ultimately resulted in Divine.
To everyone reading this out there, I couldn't give this game higher marks! Again, Divine is free-to-play, and runs on windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. To see the official thread and download Divine, click here:
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=20147&hilit=divine
Tell me what you think guys! I must part from now, but I shall return!
With love,
YourGeekGoddess
Story: Here's the synopsis Circle Pegasi provides:
"Long ago, in a valley where a small village lay, two deities fought each other. One was imprisoned, the other vanished. Yet some time ago, an unnatural mist began lingering in the village, dissolving people's memories.
Biyu, a young shrine maiden, is now working her hardest in the shrine of one of these deities in the faint hope the mist will one day dissolve. Even though her good friend also lost his memory, not all hope is lost; she meets a stranger who seems to be recovering from his memory loss, and rather quickly as well..."
Alright, so here are my thoughts...the story in Divine is just that. While not really based on Chinese history, or any history for that matter, I was still transported to a lovely Asian-esque realm and really felt strong cultural ties to the world within Divine. The story was smooth and polished, and differs greatly on each of the three routes. Thus, I felt much more motivation than normal to replay the game and get every ending (normally, my love for bishounen men is the only thing that drives me). This game has quite a serious tone, but it is never over-the-top melodramatic. In fact, it has just the right amounts of lighthearted moments.
Indeed, this game has genuine depth and is therefore both enjoyable and believable. This game may have been created entirely in one month, but the story, as well as every other aspect thereof, is solid.
Characters: Divine has a small but enjoyable cast including the main character, three love interests, and another guy. Haha, I hope you can discern which is which
in the above screenshot. Divine's protagonist, Biyu, doesn't stand out much, but personally, that's great news. She was created with the intent of being someone to relate to, but not as oblivious, whiny, or naive as your average otome heroine- mission achieved Circle Pegasi, and job well done.
The other characters are just as deep, each with their own distinct personalities. While one can instantly pinpoint, "Oh he's the angsty one, that's the happy guy," etc., each character is so much more than that. Each route pained me greatly because I couldn't bring myself to hate anyone!
Art: The art of this game is radiant! Every eloquent background and character art greatly supports the story. Here is another example as to why visual novels are superior! I'm speechless, really! Just give it a go yourselves- trust me!
Sound: Once again, beautiful! Emotional traditional Asian compositions bring life to this game. During my first playthrough, I was crying a gentle river, kind of like that double-rainbow guy (Though I'd like to think I was more graceful, haha). Let's just say I'm glad I was playing in solitude at four am.
Finally, gameplay!
Gameplay: I really must commend Circle Pegasi, because Divine runs so smooth. I really never fathomed just how great a game made in four weeks could be! I know they was a lot of sacrifices to the game and team, but I can honestly say I never would've known! The length seems just right, and each true ending was simple as well. I loved the game so much that I still have many questions though! It's really hard for me to close this one up. plus, there are lots of unlockable goodies that provide insight to the creative process that ultimately resulted in Divine.
To everyone reading this out there, I couldn't give this game higher marks! Again, Divine is free-to-play, and runs on windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. To see the official thread and download Divine, click here:
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=20147&hilit=divine
Tell me what you think guys! I must part from now, but I shall return!
With love,
YourGeekGoddess
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