[i]Academy Carols[/i] is a visual novel developed and published by Galen Games. You take on the role of a student (whose name and gender can be customized) at a magic academy, and you're spending the winter break at school. Unlike a lot of the other students (who are nobles), you come from a family of commoners, and because it's pricey to make the trip to visit your family and back, you opt to stay at the academy. To your surprise, you find out that Prince Keldrannon, second prince of the royal family, has opted to stay at the academy, too, and the two of you (along with a couple of upperclassmen) end up spending time together during the holidays. I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid going into spoiler territory.
As for the gameplay, [i]Academy Carols[/i] consists of several choices that are presented. Depending on the choices made, you'll obtain one of three endings: perfect, good, or bad. As the MC's main possible love interest is Keldrannon (Keldran, for short), it's pretty obvious as to what the various endings entail. There are a few CGs shown although no CG gallery from which to view them after they're unlocked. Also, there are Steam achievements although at the time of this review, they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game".
Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. [i]Academy Carols[/i] caught my attention since according to the Steam store page, it has a sweet, heartwarming visual novel. (Also, this is the first visual novel from Galen Games that I got to play, so I was curious.) First, I like that you can customize the MC to role play as the gender of your choosing (he/him, she/her, or they/them) and to have a customizable name. I like when visual novels allow this option, so that the player can choose to fully immerse themselves into the story, if they so wish. (Also, it helps that there's no sprite for the MC, so it makes it easier to get into the story.) Also, you can choose the patron that the MC chooses to follow/study under. The patrons are basically magical gods. However, regardless of which god you choose, it doesn't affect the endings. Only a bit of text changes. In regards to the story, I enjoyed the premise. It starts off on a sweet note as the MC meets Keldran and gets to know him and his friends. Although Keldran is a prince, he just wants to be treated as a normal person. As one can imagine, though, that can be quite difficult for someone in Keldran's position. Even the MC feels awkward about it initially. However, Keldran comes off as being warm and friendly, so the MC warms up to him, especially if they end up making the best choices in which Keldran reacts favorably. Keldran's friends, Keeva and Midan, are quite friendly as well. Keeva is very friendly and social, while Midan is a bit sterner but really only towards Keldran. Midan likes spending most of his time with Keeva. XD As to how the story progresses, there's a bit of drama that happens to the MC, and although it eventually gets resolved, I like how there's a [spoiler]cliffhanger at the end in regards to Keldran and whether the MC can end up pursuing a potential romance with him on the perfect and good ends[/spoiler].
As for the writing, I found it paced well, and I didn't notice any typos or grammatical errors. The story itself is pretty short. I finished one playthrough in less than an hour. However, since this is a free game, I am ok with this. There were no technical issues with the game, and I was able to unlock all of the achievements easily, especially since there is a great user walkthrough. In regards to the art, it's hard to describe the exact style. It's a departure from the usual anime style, which is a refreshing change. I like how the colors feel muted, so they're never overly bright. The sprites and backgrounds are done well, and of course, the CGs are beautiful. I only wish that there had been a CG gallery, so I could have taken a few screenshots. Regarding the music, there are only a few tracks present, but they depict that warm, holiday feeling well. As you may have guessed based on the store page screenshots, the story takes place during the equivalent of Christmas. Also, I like how there's partial voice acting, and I especially liked listening to Keldran's voice. It gives off that royal aura, but at the same time, it feels warm and friendly.
Overall, would I recommend [i]Academy Carols[/i]? If you enjoy visual novels, are looking for a short, heartwarming story, and don't mind the cliffhanger at the end, then this is worth giving a try. It is free, so there's no reason not to give it a go. Having finished this story, I am curious to try out Galen Games' other visual novels at some point. ^^
[quote]Flying free and writing reviews solely for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url].[/quote]
