However, the more fundamental issue most have with Boyfriend Dungeon, including me, is mechanical. Still, it does not entirely solve the common VN pitfall of some characters being more exciting or well-written than others and players feeling burned after exploring a route for hours and being met with disappointment. Boyfriend Dungeon solves some of the quibbles people have with the lack of player interactivity with visual novels. Despite its best efforts to convey a sweeping relationship-based journey, not all romanceable options are created equal. However, this controversy is not the only stumbling point worth mentioning. Since the controversy first exploded, I have come to sympathize with the developer, especially given how small their team is and their desire to move on from Boyfriend Dungeon and tackle other games and subjects. There was no trigger warning at the time of the game's release, and people felt that there should have been one with such a character playing a prominent role in the game's story. As a result, a character in the game is purposefully toxic and parasocial. For those unaware, Boyfriend Dungeon seeks to represent the positive and negative aspects of dating. I'm starting things off with probably one of the more controversial selections on my list. I just wish I enjoyed the dungeon combat in this more than I actually did. Boyfriend Dungeon Took Some Big Swings God. Finally, I want to admit that most of the games I'm going to look at are not for everyone, and none of them are necessarily going to sell you on visual novels if you already have a deep-seated hatred for the genre and its core mechanics. Still, it's a worthy pick even if the much-ballyhooed " Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp" mode isn't as big a deal as initially promised. However, I suspect everyone knows where they stand on the Danganronpa franchise at this point. I'll also give an "honorable mention" to Danganronpa: Decadence for being one of the best deals you will find on the Switch. And as someone who played The House in Fata Morgana on the Vita, I'm happy a new wave of people are coming around to the game, but it wasn't a unique experience for me last year. I understand many people enjoyed Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, but I think everything you need to know about that game is already readily available on the internet. I will emphasize I tried to limit this to new experiences or games that got their first "official" western release in 2021. With this blog, I hope to highlight some of the visual novel bright spots from 2021. Slight tangent aside, let's return to the issue at hand. As a friend of mine once said, it would be like seeing a black standup comedian and having your only takeaway be that the show was funny because the comedian was black. I feel distinctly grossed out whenever I see YET ANOTHER example of a western company doing a " quirky Japanese thing," and all they have to add is that said quirky Japanese thing is weird or crazy or doesn't make sense. As a part-Japanese person, I honestly feel like the gaming press generally doesn't understand the slightly yellow-faced undercurrent inherent to games like these. I'm sorry that I don't derive any joy from a shameless corporate cash-grab and could not relate to it when it was presented during " Best Comedy" or " Best Writing" talks, even in jest. I will tell you it was downright PAINFUL to see respected gaming press members talk about I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator positively during 2019 GOTY conversations. With all of this, I'm happy we are moving on from ironic western indie joke visual novels that grapple on to one or two VN tropes and repeat them verbatim for comedic effect. So, TL DR, 2021 was a "good year" for visual novel fans. ![]() After years of petitioning from fans, a handful of non-Western games finally got official localizations.Though, I admit this is not an entirely "new" trend. The indie scene saw a growing proliferation of visual novels representing LGBTQIA issues and topics.Tabletop IP holders, in particular, Paradox, used visual novels as on-ramps and tutorials for traditional tabletop roleplaying games.This move was embodied in three particular ways: One of the lesser reported trends I saw was the growing body of quality indie and higher-budgeted visual novels. Well, with the site gearing itself for " GOTY MODE," I thought I would do something "different." I have already made a "traditional" 2021 GOTY list and published my yearly "Multimedia Extravaganza," so there's not much else for me to do other than cover industry-wide trends I noticed with my preferred gaming genres. ![]() Preamble Good visual novel-based adventures were to be had in 2021!
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