A slice-of-life boys love romance about a group of TV actors going through their mid-20s together.
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
Media
About
Niko is a lifelong actor who’s been bouncing from audition to audition, unable to score more than a few commercials, until he gets the lead role in a major teen drama. There he meets a variety of other actors from all walks of life and starts to fall for his costar Ren, one of the biggest movie celebrities right now, who happens to play his rival in the show.
Canvas Menagerie is a wholesome slice of life visual novel that follows Niko and his fellow castmates—and crush, celebrity costar Ren—going through their 20s together in the Hollywood of the South—Atlanta, Georgia.
A variety of scenes sampling Act 1, showcasing several of the characters and their relationships
Around an hour and a half of playtime
135k+ words of a wholesome queer boys love game, with the first main part being a standalone romance visual novel
Slow burn wholesome queer romance with a cast of various sexualities and genders
10+ characters to grow to love and grow alongside
Genres
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English
Reviews
omg it's so goooooooooood! I loved playing the game! It's really well written, it's fun and sweet and the story's really interesting. It's a great romance, I loved all the character arcs and see them change and evolve.
[H1]Canvas Menagerie[/h1][hr][/hr] Notice: This game was given to me for free to curate, which does not guarantee a positive review, and reflects my sincere opinion. Niko has been a small-time actor since childhood, mostly landing small roles in commercials and other short projects; so, when he auditions for a supporting character in a brand-new long-running series, he’s stunned to be cast as the main lead instead. The pressure is immense – especially with a famous actor as the second lead. Fortunately, the rest of the cast is warm and supportive, because Niko is gonna need all the help he can get! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3473273111 15-20+ hours to complete, Canvas Menagerie is a LGBTQ+ slice-of-life visual novel with realistic romance, authentic friendships, and the challenges of Niko – a commercial actor who unexpectedly landed a lead role in a major teen drama series. This game is extremely polished with high-quality writing, expressive character sprites, multiple CGs, and its completely hand-drawn art style. Overall, it’s pretty impressive for an Indie game; not only was the writer in particular very skilled at their work, the storyline kept me engaged with it’s realistic portrayal of people; meaning there was no dramatic misunderstanding pushing the plot forward, no instant friendship connections, the main couple did not trip head over heels the second they saw each other; which was an extremely refreshing experience that makes this easy to recommend. Opendyslexic font available in settings! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3466304357
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Trends
Modeled estimate over time, reconstructed from Steam's monthly review histogram.
Honestly a lot better than I thought. Not much of a game to be sure, but a really good visual novel. Loved reading it. I'm so happy queer people exist. And that this game handled it well. The characters are great, and the game even has a blåhaj in it's natural habitat! Not sure if I would have played this if I didn't get it from my curator page, but I definitely would have missed out if I didn't. There is only so much a traditional linear visual novel can do, but this is doing it all so well. From the artbook: "There’s already a lot of pain in the world, especially regarding queer identities, so I wanted this to feel like a breath of fresh air." I think that was a good decision.
Beautiful writing and characters, but I wish there were more interactive elements or branching choices. It feels more like watching a heartfelt series than actively shaping the story, which might not be for everyone. Still, it’s a cozy and inclusive experience with a lot of charm and it’s so nice to see more queer games shining bright for visibility.
My son egg (Niko) and his boyfriend cheese (Ren).
Fun BL visual novel with a trans masc main character which is rare to see. I felt it was pretty fun, there are no romance options which made it actually easier on me because I don't like men and was reading this for Niko. Ren is a bit hard to like at first but as expected he warms up as it goes on. I was hoping the story would go into Niko's family issues some more like what we got with Ren but sadly that didn't happen. All in all it was a good read that was worth the price so if you're into BL then you'll probably enjoy your time with it.
Momentum
Pace estimated from the game's recent review growth (our daily snapshots) at its own sales-per-review ratio — a momentum signal, not booked sales.
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