[i]Impasse Journey ~ Kaohsiung Chapter ~[/i] is a post-apocalyptic visual novel developed and published by Erotes Studio. You take on the role of Qiongqi Yang, who is making a journey from her hometown across Taiwan, which was devastated after a nuclear war. Qiongqi wants to make her way up north in order to fulfill a promise that she made with her father. Along the way, she makes a stop in Kaohsiung, and after an incident with a man who attempts to rob her, she finds herself in the building of the militia headquarters. Not only that, Qiongqi quickly leans that there is an ongoing conflict between the militia (an independent force that wants to fight for the people's rights) and the government military. That's the basic story synopsis, so I'll stop here to avoid spoilers and all that. ^^
As for the gameplay, several choices are presented during the story. Depending on the choices you make, especially towards a certain pivotal point, you can either obtain one of two bad endings or the true ending. Also, there are plenty of CGs as well as a varied soundtrack and Chinese voice acting. In addition, lots of Steam achievements are present, but 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 thoughts. After having read a friend's glowing review of this visual novel, I knew that I wanted to read this story for myself. Thankfully, the developer was very kind to send over a review key. First, I'll go over the story and characters. I liked the story setting, getting to learn about the condition of Taiwan after the whole nuclear fallout. I got a good idea how the people have survived, using items and resources that remained before the disaster and relying heavily on trade (although in Kaohsiung, there is also an electronic card system that was recently implemented). Also, I liked following Qiongqi as she makes her journey. The story starts off with her in the countryside, eventually making her way to Kaohsiung, and it ends with her back in the countryside, [spoiler]albeit with a couple of companions[/spoiler]. The majority of the story feels like a slice-of-life as Qiongqi goes through her daily life while she's in the city. However, there's definitely something unsavory brewing in the background, which results in a major battle, with Qiongqi in the middle of it. As with all (or I should probably say, most) conflicts, it gets resolved. (I should note something, though, and this is more of a personal feeling. For all the animal supporters out there, it may be best to skip to the next paragraph. :o [spoiler]That said, my heart broke when the dog who accompanied Qiongqi in the beginning of the story was shot dead by a horrible, evil man, and worse off, that man had no remorse, even when Qiongqi threatened to shoot him. Even worse than that, he got away with it, most likely. I'm sorry, but people like that, who have no qualms about animal cruelty (whether it be killing, torturing, enslaving, etc.), deserve no such mercy. T_T[/spoiler])
As for the characters, I'll go over them briefly. I liked Qiongqi as the main character. She comes off as cold and aloof, which can be misunderstood as her not caring. However, it turns out that she does have feelings, especially when certain events trigger something deep inside her. This is something that I can certainly relate to, as I've had some people misunderstand me because of how I first appear. However, when you really get to know someone like that, you'll very likely discover a person who is warm, kind, genuine, and true to themselves. As for the other characters, I liked Shihan, one of the reserve militia members. She's talkative, awkward, and a bit clumsy, but you know that she's a good person and generally, she wants to see the good in people. Of course, there are plenty of other characters as well, some of them being girls around Qiongqi's age while others are older, middle-aged men. There's a nice variety of characters along with different personalities and motivations.
In regards to the writing and English translation, I think the pacing seems a bit off. A lot of the story feels pretty slow, so it can take a while to get immersed. However, I could tell that there was always something sinister going on behind the scenes, and I really loved when [spoiler]the unexpected bombing at the government office occurred since everything (for the most part) was going smoothly, with peaceful negotiations happening between the government military and militia[/spoiler]. As for the English translation, I thought it was very well done. Although there were occasionally some parts which felt like the English sentences didn't sound totally natural, the story itself is understandable. To be specific, it was some verb tenses which felt a bit off to me. Also, I noticed that when there was mention of "hospital", the word "the" was missing before that word, which made it sound weird. Still, the translation was well done and the reader can understand very well what's going on.
Regarding the art, the sprites are drawn and colored in an anime style, which is aesthetically pleasing. The backgrounds are done well, too, giving plenty of minute detail, so you can tell where the characters are. Of course, the CGs are especially done well, and I enjoyed viewing them. They depict pivotal moments/events in the story. As for the music, there is a variety of tracks, ranging from the everyday theme to the more battle ready, guns-come-out-blazing. XD The tracks fit well with the scenes they're placed in and give off just the right mood. Also, it was very refreshing to hear Chinese voice acting although it's the main characters who are voice acted, while the minor ones don't have any voiced lines. Still, there are several characters whose lines are voiced, and it was great to listen to them as they expressed their feelings and such through their lines.
Overall, would I recommend [i]Impasse Journey ~ Kaohsiung Chapter ~[/i]? If you enjoy reading visual novels, are looking for one that explores a post-apocalyptic world (or at least, part of it), and like a female main character who can totally fight, then this is worth taking a look. The work put into producing this visual novel totally paid off, and I can't wait to see where Qiongqi and her companions end up next. (Also, on a side note, I should point out that there is actually no romance or such, so a certain Steam tag is a bit misleading. :o) For the asking price, I think it's just about worth it due to the quality of the writing, art, music, and voice acting. It took me over 10 hours to complete the story and obtain all of the achievements. However, you can wait to get it on a sale, and it's worth getting then.
Finally, I want to give a major thank you to Erotes Studio for the review key. This was a wonderful read, and I can't wait for the next chapter (even though I just said that lol). ^^
[quote]For more detailed, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]
