Alaris

I don’t often write reviews, but when a game is this good, I have to. First off, the art in this game, both the characters and the backgrounds, is absolutely gorgeous. I really love how much individuality/personality shine through in every character. The changing expressions and visuals during conversations keep things fresh and engaging, plus the extra focus on art during important moments adds a lot of weight. But the story, man, the story is fantastic. It weaves romance into the plot beautifully without letting it overshadow everything else. I’ve got to applaud the developers for making each route feel truly unique. It would have been so easy to just copy and paste the same structure, but they didn’t. Each route brings new locations, new information, and different perspectives. You can play multiple routes to piece together the bigger picture, but even if you only play one, it still gives you a satisfying conclusion. I also love how distinct each love interest feels. They’re all so different, yet they click together so naturally. Their individual struggles, with self doubt, overprotection, fear etc, feels realistic and are handled with care and respect. It really makes you wish you could help everyone. Another thing I want to highlight, which actually drew me into the game in the first place, is the amazing community. There’s no judgment over favorites, everyone’s respectful, and people are always happy to help if you have questions. Being able to gush about the story with others who are just as passionate is such a heartwarming experience. Thank you Crescence Studio, you’ve created a phenomenal game that I’d highly recommend to anyone who loves romance visual novels.

I don't normally leave reviews, but this is an incredibly sweet visual novel with a lot of heart put into it. The fantasy worldbuilding is intricate enough to be interesting, but straightforward enough to be easy to follow, the characters are written in distinct and charming ways, and I like the way each progressive conflict ties together into a larger story. There are quite a large number of character routes to choose from, so I think most people will be able to find a character that interests them. I also think the personality mechanic is very fun; it might help you learn a little something about how others see you... or just serve as a nifty game mechanic that doesn't overload the player with choices! If you play one of the less lore-heavy routes first, you'll definitely want to play again to learn the full story. If you play a lore-heavy route, you'll probably want to replay anyways because the world of Alaris is just that charming! As for things to be aware of: the voicelines sometimes become quiet without a corresponding in tone, and the art style is certainly different from the one typically seen in trending visual novels - the character sprites are rendered in a different style from the cover art, for instance - but the characters themselves are written with so much sincerity that this did not affect my playthrough. I think the cute, shiny art style actually suits the relatively gentle world of Alaris well. It is hard not to love a world that wants to love you back. Overall, if you enjoy story-focused visual novels with a romantic slant like A Date With Death, Our Life: Beginnings and Always, or Blooming Panic, and you're a fan of fantasy settings and indie games, I'd highly recommend giving Alaris a shot! One playthrough takes about 2-3 hours, so a completionist might expect to spend 24-36 hours on this game.

my favorite part is when the avengers assemble.

This is the first otome game I've played in awhile that I really enjoyed. MC is smart, capable, interesting and provides the same amount of help and support that they receive. They have a backstory that makes you feel empathy, without being full of over-the-top "woe is me" "this is my whole personality" type of trauma you see in a lot of otome games. The LIs are extremely well written! Their character flaws are aligned with their backstories and they do a good job of addressing them throughout their routes. They follow typical otome archetypes without being trope-y. Each route does a great job of following the overarching plot without being repetitive. I also love all of the subtle references to other awesome indie otomes/VNs.

alaris is just so wonderfully made, with characters being so welly portrayed, and the storyline being distinct and interesting all the way. Each route gives you a different experience with different lore drops that it feels like you’re on a never ending treasure hunt, and I think that is so cool! I overall has always been a fan of customisable characteristics for players, and the ability to change endings and have different consequences based on your own choices in visual novel games, and Alaris provides that. Not only do you feel like you’re genuinely building a connection with the specific character you chose, you also build a connection with the characters around you that it feels like you’re building a friend group. And most importantly, you get to connect with the character you’re playing as you learn more and more about yourself. I also love the concept of different POVs here and there, as it makes the story flow really well, and you get to understand different thought processes and analyse the different behaviours and thought process of each characters. However, I would like to say that, I do wish that the ending was slightly more longer and you get to understand the story more. But overall, this game is incredible!!

This game exceeded my expectations in numerous ways. I have never played a game with such wonderful pronoun options. The fact that I could use all pronouns, have them switch each sentence, and could choose what gendered language was used is absolutely phenomenal. And the LI's having multiple pronouns was well done; however, I would've loved to see a she/her or she/they LI. I've played 2 routes so far and plan to play more after a break. I will say I'm of two minds with the plot. One is that it's incredibly impressive that each route is so uniquely different and feels like playing multiple story lines. The other is a little upset how much lore is hidden or revealed depending on the love interest you choose. (Like trust me what you find out in a fae route is significantly deeper than the human routes, at least from what I've played so far) Fenir's routes was hella anticlimatic compared to Kuna'a's. I'm excited to play the other routes to get all of mc's backstory but on the other hand it does feel like a chore a bit to do so much for the "complete" story. I will say I liked the personality system but the stats were a little weird. In one of my routes I had a 110% with Etza but I hadn't done literally anything with them at all. (I will soon tho because they are the prettiest character) Regardless, the art is stunning, the voice acting is realistic, and it's truly a wonderful experience. Please do give it a playthrough.

não tenho o hábito de escrever análises aqui na steam, mas quis compartilhar porque esse jogo merece ser descoberto por mais pessoas. comprei alaris recentemente, finalizei minha primeira rota, a do druk, e preciso dizer: a experiência foi maravilhosa! minha relação com o estúdio começou há pouco tempo, quando joguei intertwine e fiquei completamente encantada. a sensibilidade da narrativa, a trilha sonora marcante e o cuidado com os detalhes me fizeram procurar outros trabalhos da desenvolvedora. foi então que encontrei a demo de alaris. quando soube que a versão em acesso antecipado seria lançada em breve, decidi esperar. agora, jogando a versão completa, posso afirmar sem dúvidas: a espera valeu cada segundo. a primeira coisa que chama atenção é a arte. cada personagem, cada cenário e até os mínimos detalhes foram feitos com um cuidado impressionante, resultando em um visual de tirar o fôlego. a trilha sonora não apenas acompanha a jornada, mas a enriquece, trazendo emoção e atmosfera em cada cena. a dublagem também merece destaque, dá vida e profundidade aos personagens de uma forma que me surpreendeu muito (e me deixou boba). a narrativa é outro ponto forte. a imersão é imediata: o universo criado é mágico, envolvente e cheio de nuances que vão surgindo a cada escolha. gostei especialmente da mecânica que molda a personalidade do protagonista de acordo com as decisões do jogador, além da forma como podemos escolher os encontros com os interesses românticos. isso deixa a experiência ainda mais personalizada. o tempo de rota também me pareceu bem equilibrado, mantendo o interesse sem se tornar cansativo (releve meu tempo de jogo, costumo deixar aberto). e claro, não dá para deixar de falar dos personagens. cada um tem seu próprio carisma (ainda com respeito à diversidade de gênero), o que os torna não só cativantes, mas também instigantes. essa variedade desperta a vontade de explorar todas as rotas, conhecer cada detalhe de suas histórias e ver como tudo se conecta. no fim das contas, alaris é um jogo encantador, que une arte, música, narrativa e mecânicas de um jeito harmonioso e apaixonante. fiquei muito feliz por ter jogado e com certeza vou acompanhar de perto tanto as futuras atualizações quanto os próximos projetos da crescence studio. se intertwine já tinha me conquistado, alaris só confirmou que esse estúdio tem um talento incrível!

Fun story, beautiful art, and a UI better than those ASMR meditation channels on YT. It is 100% a vibe. Can't wait to see the finished product.