[b]Note:[/b] A very awesome friend gifted me a copy of this game. ^^
[h1]When you find yourself in an antique store that hides a dark secret... :o[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Letter from Heart Antique Shop[/i] is an emotionally dark visual novel developed by ふたつき and published by VNka. You take on the role of Makoto, a teenage girl who lives a seemingly ordinary life. As she's walking home from school after leaving her friend Hachisu, whom she had to refuse her invitation to hang out, Makoto runs into her uncle Akitsu, who's a wanted serial murderer. He shows into an antique shop that he's recently acquired, but it's no ordinary shop. The bottles in the shop contain people's wishes of death, and it turns out that Akitsu is fulfilling them. When Hachisu ends up becoming involved, what can Makoto do to save her friend? Can her friend be saved? :o
With the gameplay, choices are presented throughout the story. Depending on the decisions made, it can lead to one of four endings: Rescue Hand, Dead End, Together even to hell, or True End. There are a few CGs shown as well as a varied soundtrack but no voice acting is available. At the time of this review, no Steam achievements are present, and the game won't count towards a user's global total until it's out of "Steam is learning about this game".
[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
[h3]Story and Writing[/h3]
Ever since I played the publisher's first VN on Steam, [i]Melty Amethyst[/i] (please check out my review of it [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/skyeraye/recommended/3086760?snr=1_5_9__402]here[/url]), and then played their other VNs, I've gotten to enjoy them. So I definitely wanted to try out [i]Letter from Heart Antique Shop[/i], especially since it has a darker theme, and thanks to a friend, I had a chance to check it out. ^^
The story starts off a bit slow, with Makoto leading an ordinary life. It can take a little time to warm up, but after the uncle and the antique shop come into play, the story becomes interesting. When Makoto sees all those bottles that contain human hearts, she knows that she's walked into something very unusual, to understate things. On the surface, the characters seem easy to read or assume, but it turns out that they all have a side that doesn't get revealed unless events present themselves in a certain fashion. In a way, it's like how people actually are. There's way more than appears on the surface. Getting back to the main story, I like the major twist that happens with Hachisu that ends up being the pivotal point. As for the endings, while most of them are bad, the true one is the good one, and also, there's an epilogue in which Makoto comes to understand her uncle. Even though the store page states as much, there are mentions of death and suicide, so for those who are considering this game, it's a point worth noting.
As for the writing, it's paced fairly well. As the story is originally in Japanese, I played the English version. Even though it's fairly understandable, I observed some sentences which sounded awkward and a bit unnatural. However, there weren't any typos.
[h3]Art and Music[/h3]
In regards to the art, it has a simplistic yet vividly drawn style. The sprites and backgrounds are drawn and colored well, and the backgrounds are detailed enough to let you know where Makoto and other notable characters are. Especially, the CGs are lovely, but I wish that I could have been able to take screenshots. Like VNka's other VNs, this one was made with TyranoBuilder, so I believe this makes it difficult (albeit not impossible) to enable screenshots on Steam. At any rate, the screenshots on the store page will suffice.
With the music, the tracks have a good variety, with the majority of them being on the darker, slightly horror side. This isn't a surprise since the story explores these themes. Of course, it would have been great if there had been voice acting, but considering how short the story is and the asking price, I think it's fine that it's absent.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Letter from Heart Antique Shop[/i]? If you're a visual novel enthusiast looking for a short story and/or not afraid to explore darker themes, then I think it's worth taking a look. At the asking price, it's quite cheap and all the endings can be obtained in a fairly short time. There is a free demo that you can download and try out. I'll say that I like the message that the story tries to convey, which is [spoiler]reaching out to others who are emotionally in pain, no matter what their reasons. I only wish more people in the real world would do so[/spoiler].
[quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]
