

Using the "quantum gate" to transport between worlds, a military force-including our protagonist-travels to another universe. The short version is this:Įarth is dying, its ecosphere on the verge of collapse. So, in a sense, it might count as an entry into this thread: it may not call itself so, but "The Vortex: Quantum Gate II" seems to me to pretty much be a de facto Western visual novel.Īs to what the game's about. There's no real inventory, nor any puzzles, or anything like that. Perhaps as a result, I had thought of it primarily as a point-and-click adventure-which is fairly true.īut on re-playing it recently, I came to realise that in structure it really was effectively a visual novel: aside from some clicking around to move and some "click on the hot-spot" elements, it's essentially a linear game of talking to people and making occasional choices, with a few internal branches that return to the central plot-line, and multiple endings. (I think that it uses something akin to the term "interactive movie"-somewhat appropriate, given that it's an FMV game.) But then, I'm not sure that visual novels were well-known in the West when it was made.įurthermore, at the time of my childhood playthroughs I don't think that I was really aware of "visual novels" as a genre. Now, this game doesn't call itself a visual novel. So, I recently re-played an old game from my childhood: "The Vortex: Quantum Gate II". This is a little tenuous, so please bear with me: Should be easy enough to find that site though, if you want to.īoth of these titles are also on Steam, but I highly recommend buying them (and games/VNs in general) DRM-free, which GOG, itch.io, and JAST USA provide. It's also available at JAST USA, which sells a bunch of visual novels, though since most of their offerings are eroge, I won't be linking it due to the possibility of NSFW stuff being on the webpage. You can get Highway Blossoms on itch.io too, as well as on GOG. I'm partway into reading it, and I think it's really well-written - and well-acted, too, which isn't something I usually care much about, but the voice acting really brings the characters to life effectively. This one isn't free, but it's been pretty cheap in sales, and if you picked up the gigantic Racial Justice and Equality Bundle from itch.io last summer, you already have it. Incidentally, so is Dysfunctional Systems's dev.Īlso wanted to mention Highway Blossoms. If you like it, there's an OST you can buy.
#UNTERALTERBACH 4CHAN DOWNLOAD#
Episodes 2 and 3 seem to have been stuck in Development Hell for years now but I'm just going to hold onto faith that they eventually get done.Īlso want to mention Sepia Tears is freeware, and you can download it on itch.io. The main character Bernd was pretty much a stereotype of the average internet user (read:4chan) which sprinkled in some inside jokes throughout.I want to vouch for Dysfunctional Systems, even though there's currently only episodes 1 and 0 (the latter of which I haven't yet finished reading). I will not spoil the ending but I will say that it is one of my favourite games, both in regards to the artistic style which I enjoyed as well as the storyline and freedoms. So recently I played Bernd und das Ratsel um Unteralterbach (german for Bernd and the mystery of underage creek) in it you play an officer of the BKA (kinda like the FBI) and you get to investigate crimes against children, you are faced throughout the game with both moral and ethical choices with a wide range of endings based off the choices you make throughout. The first time on his own in life, he gets a job at the Federal Office for the Implementation of the Oktoberfest" "In the game the player slips into the role of Bernd, who relocates from the big city to the Bavarian backwoods.
