Blake: The Visual Novel

[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #134 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Weekend[/i][/code] [h1]"Will It be A Bright Future Or A Blake One?"[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2605056239 [u] Here's The Thing:[/u] You are Blake, run-of-the-mill office worker at ICC, a company specializing in software and geeks. It’s just another ordinary day of not trying to tear your coworkers to shreds with all their videogame babble. That is until, suddenly it becomes a very eventful day- both good and bad. Before it even registers; a film noir filter, jazzy blues had already taken over and a thriller is afoot~ [h1][+] PROS;[/h1] [b]:) LEE-VING IT TO YOU~[/b] Straight of the bat, this visual novel stands out because it came with several minigames which really hold your attention; for example, [b]BLAK3 (BK3)[/b] telling you to crack an actual binary code with a converter online! That was totally unexpectedly fresh!! And not spoiling the rest, but there was quite a few more!! Although you could refuse to be a slave like the above case, in fact many things such as outings with colleagues, additional prodding are optional which leads me to my second point of how the choices actually seem to matter! At first, I was finessed into thinking what a very linear experience it was beginning to end. But I was dead wrong; making a few “rude” or “bad” decisions drastically alter fates, the available dialogue options and how the scenes go down… Which is super impressive given its length and price, which go gravy with each other like tomatoes in a burger. For about 2 bucks worth, it nabs you two- close to three hours of sleuthing and masterful entertainment! It is also equipped with every feature possible that makes VNs a delight to play; easy to rewind and fast-forward lines, plentiful saves. [b]TIPS:[/b] 1) Save scum before every choice ;) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2605057100 [b]:) I HARI KNEW YOU, BUT…[/b] I was a little anxious with the number of characters being inserted into the script “clown car” style in the relaxed-pace of the intro. But that almost effortlessly filtered itself and I cannot get enough of the sleekness, nerdiness to the writing. The fictional tech-savvy world is remarkably suitable for a classic whodunnit! The cast’s personalities were crafted with love and they’re just your normal working folks slacking off. Given how the time you spend with them is so precious, you just want to sit and chat longer! Johnathan is easily my fave for being the stuffy sage who’s a relic of the past with his big outdated words. There’s the bickering duo of Orlo and Max, who’s totally not a couple. Then Lee, the introvert who evades detection. Let’s not forget, the perpetually upbeat, gorgeous and not your usual mean girl, Hari. Even protagonist Blake is distinct, though his attitude in responding ranges from neutral to extremely hot-cold~ [b]:) CREATIVITY TO THE MAX~[/b] The visuals are equal slices of film noir aesthetics with its stylish black-and-white CG art during pivotal moments and colored doses of advanced machinery for stills accompanying the everyday office drudgery turned outings! The constant downpour makes it feel right at home in the 60s with the number of furrowed brows and racking your brains you’ll do! There is no voice-acting per se but to fit the whole being encroached by technology period, you can opt for a robotic reader! But I mostly stuck to doing my own voices in as “Humphrey Bogart-esque” as I possibly could. And the score of smooth jazz, with modern infusions and tones really had me into the owl-and-mouse plot! Not to mention the suspense that was rife in the air~ [b]:) DRAWING UP A BLA-[/b] Its biggest achievement is baiting your focus with however little runtime it had and still managing to strike a homerun! With the story being much cleverer than it’s made out to be- everything quite literally from the way establishing shots are presented, dialogue lifted from your pockets, bite-sized reveals and the logo itself fed the answer straight to your babbling self, helicopter style! Despite having guessed the answer fairly early on, it was still validating to have it actually be confirmed before your very eyes! It was one of the few, if not only VN thus far where I simply couldn’t resist replaying to capture the subtle hints and then gasp because I couldn’t believe I was being toyed with. To which, I stress again is owed in huge part to its condensed length~ [h1][-] CONS;[/h1] [b]:( WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT BLAKE-OUT…[/b] Please take note, the following two cons are more quibbles than full on sins! Firstly, I thought the pacing was a little hilly with the beginning like having a stroll, absorbing the moody scenery and the people. But then the halfway point arrives without it being that evident. Before you know it, the end also snakes it way in and sweeping the rug of intrigue from under you for a quick wrap up. And I get that calling something a cliché is in itself a cliché nowadays, but there were way too many coincidences for my liking and it sort of softens the astute observations, development of the case. Though I guess that is life for you~ [b]:( WHAT A HACK![/b] It’s true, the characters stole the limelight except for two that I was fooled into thinking were part of the gang! They were certainly made out to be that way, but really they’re just potential suspects or for adding diversity. I could understand the need for a red herring, but to have them disappear altogether past a certain point is highly dubious! As a result, they didn’t quite gel with the rest of the team. Lastly, the ending was a tad anticlimactic because it hints of a [spoiler]sequel?[/spoiler] But at the same time, the story up to that point didn’t feel done and over with enough yet. Like it was literally hanging~ [h1]BUGS:[/h1] x None to report to date. [h1]NITPICKS:[/h1] ~ Rare minor typos! ~ The title menu design; why not just have “options” laid out straightaway instead of a separate “menu”? ~ Maybe make it more obvious in-game that decisions play a latent role in the final outcome. ~ For new players of VN. As opposed to just hinting on the store page, which I tend to skim through as well. [h1]"Blink, Think, Click And You’ll Miss It!!"[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2605057475 [u]Last Words?[/u] A tad foreseeable and on the shorter side of VNs. But neither dock the thrill you’ll pick up! Script? Razor! Characters- magnets! Narrative, all of it really, reek of cautious, high-tech plotting~ If you love visual novels but you’re like me and have a short attention span or your butt aches easily. BK3 is exactly what you want in a VN, it’s similar to[url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/1156990/] Return to Shironagasu Island[/url] in the riveting who’s behind it all formula but half the cost and duration! The gameplay varies enough in the span of two hours, the presentation is classy and the cast is superb to boot~ [h1]4.2 / 5[/h1] [code]I tip my hat to give a knowing, indebted look to [b]Ori Mees[/b] for providing me a key![/code] [code]Don't forget to follow my curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD[/url] for more games!![/code]

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DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS TRAVESTY OF A GAME/VISUAL NOVEL. I don't know who these critics on Metacritic, and who these users are on Steam who gave this such a high review rating, but if they are sincere in their reviews that would mean that they either have NEVER picked up and read a halfway decent book, or played a halfway decent Visual Novel, or played a halfway decent Story rich game before in their life so they had nothing else to compare it to. Ergo, Visa Vi, the high scores that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Stay away from this game like the plague, as it will kill your time. One concept or idea does not a Visual Novel make. You actually have to develop that idea or concept and write a STORY to convey it. All this VN has is one concept, and the rest is trite dialogue. And poorly written dialogue to boot. AND it's very very predictable, and you will probably guess what's going to happen within 10-15 minutes maximum. Horribly written story, and dialogue. It's so bad I didn't even want to post a review. The only reason I am doing that is so some other unfortunate soul doesn't waste 2.5 hours on this .... .

I was looking for a shorter, easy to play game for a gloomy autumn evening and Blake: The Visual Novel pulled me in with it's stunning art and appealing setting! And long(er) story short, now afterwards, I have 0% regrets! You play as your everyday office-worker guy, Blake, who’s life suddenly gets turned upside down in a series of escalating events. And your job is to figure out what the h**l is going on. Setting: futuristic but relatable. Office colleagues: I could only wish for. Technology: almost always keeping tabs. Dog: absolutely adorable and so freaking smart! (My review skills: questionable.) Apart from this being my very first review, I'm not the most well-versed when it comes to visual novels either, so I haven't got much to compare Blake: The Visual Novel with. What I can say though, is that this game brought me some really good laughs but also managed to deliver more touching moments - both of the cute kind and the sadder sort! All of the characters were memorable and distinguished themselves well even in such a short time (playtime around 2h, give or take). The story also had some pleasantly unexpected turns and twists and I can much recommend going in for a second playthrough too, or just going back to change up some of the decisions, and see how that affects everything! (Since choices really do matter!!) So, if you're looking for a short and intriguing VN or just a stress-free and enjoyable way to spend a rainy evening (or a beautiful and sunny day, why not?!) - look no further! ✨

As far as visual novels go, the choices you make ultimately don't amount to much in the moment, with them barely being acknowledged until the tail end of the experience. While it's not the worst narrative- It's not particularily compelling as far as visual novels go.

It was a $7.99 game that went Free. A lot of bad things stacked up real quick with this game. Bad fonts and text boxes that were hard to skim read. Also would constantly switch between high-contrast text boxes which were very distracting when, well you know... want to read. The character artwork was uncanny at a disturbing level, especially with the combination of stillness and blinking. The start of the actual read felt like it was 75% just reading the main character's thoughts. Except they weren't a character's thoughts it was just explaining everything about the world and situation in an unnatural way. It really should have taken the lesson "show don't tell" (especially at the start of a read) to heart!

The intricate writing and inclusive dialogue made the natural flow of each scene truly effortless. Each character has such a distinctive personality and unique friendship with one another which really helped bring this dynamic story to life. This narrative psychological thriller discusses mental health and violence by using choice-based decisions which can lead to dire consequences. The bright colors and detailed graphics blends a cyber-punk vibe with a classic noir aesthetic. There's also optional mini-games that truly makes more than just a visual novel, but an interactive experience.

Lien de la vidéo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uADddDl9zug Page du jeu Steam : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1538680/Blake_The_Visual_Novel/ Page Twitter des devs : https://twitter.com/Legend_Ori Ma page Twitter : https://twitter.com/Okamiette_ Mon groupe de curation : https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ookareview Mon Ko-fi si tu veux me souvenir : https://ko-fi.com/ookamiette Ma page Humble Bundle : https://www.humblebundle.com/?partner=ookamiette Salut mes petits agneaux ! Les Visual Novel sont des mélanges entre histoires écrite, et jeux vidéo. Ils permettent de délivrer des messages, ou simplement vous faire vivre un instant la vie de quelqu’un. Pour l’histoire de Blake, cela va mélanger paranoïa, méfiance, et intrigue policière dans un monde de science fiction, qui aura des relents de Minority Report, blade runner ou encore les différents cycles des androïdes d’Isaac Asimov. Autant vous dire que vous avez du lourd entre les pattounes ! La patte graphique du jeu est magnifique, et bien que les musiques soient un peu en deça de ce que je pensais pour un tel jeu, toute la narration est bien fichue, des mini-jeux également, et comme toujours vos choix influent sur la suite des événements. Plusieurs fins s’offrent à vous, alors, allez vous plonger, ou résister aux sirènes de la méfiance ? Ce jeu est lent à démarrer, mais n’a que du bon à vous offrir ! Les énigmes ne sont pas là pour vous bloquer, mais juste vous donner autre chose à faire que juste lire. Vous ne lisez pas l’histoire de Blake, vous êtes Blake ! Et dieu seul sait ce qui vous attend ! C’était Ookamiette, qui adore la science fiction ! (mais se méfie des appels en masqués!)

This is fantastic and although I haven't finished the story yet, it has pulled me in and even inspired me to work on my own visual novels. I simply can't give a better compliment than that!! It's well written with fantastic characters and I can't wait to spend more time with Blake : The Visual Novel. Excellent work here and a quality product. I'm definitely recommending it!!