Love's Crescendo

[h1]TL;DR – One, Valerie is my spirit animal down to the banana milk obsession. Two, find yourself a girl like Cadence and stay happy for life – 10 out of 10, will cuddle again. Three, [b]𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚[/b], period.[/h1] Love's Crescendo is one of those little gems that you can miss on completely, but if you do come across it even once, it will stay in your heart forever. I was very lucky to get a copy of the key from one of my Steam friends – KnightAvenger (if you’re looking for really, really good reviews about visual novels and other casual games, check out her group - [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/theintrovertedgamer]The Introverted Gamer[/url]). https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3260540164 [h1]Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent[/h1] I’d start by saying that this is a kinetic novel that doesn’t offer any meaningful choices – do keep this in mind if you’re looking for a story with more than one ending. The game is quite short and takes just about 3 hours to complete; or more if you’re going for all the perfect scores in the rhythm part. However, the story flow is smooth, each interaction between the characters feeling natural, so the short playtime doesn’t come across as lacking. Oh, and speaking of the characters, you’ll absolutely fall in love with each of them! From confident and enthusiastic Valerie, reserved and cheeky Cadence, open and friendly Opal, her complete opposite Xavier, and mature Quinley – each personality stands out to create a unique mix of people, so different yet so similar at heart. I wish so badly that I could see another game with this delightful cast in the future! ([i]Perhaps an after-story exploring Cadence and Valerie’s lives as adults?[/i]) The most important part, however, is that how many emotions the game evokes in the short time it is given. I genuinely laughed at the cheesy jokes, cried a bit at the last scenes, the ever hopeless romantic I am, and enjoyed the boding the main couple shared. Also, I [b]really[/b] want to eat those delicious potato dishes now… Guess it’s time to move to Canada! I also learned some new things; in particular, about Australia and its slang. For example, I thought "slip a shrimp on the barbie" was just a catchphrase of the Australian YouTuber I watched (Markee), but it's actually a normal daily expression there. I love it so much!!! Oh, and before I forget: the artwork in Love's Crescendo is adorable - it was what drew me to the game initially. Overall, I don’t think there is anything to complain about – just don’t come to this game expecting a dramatical saga of a million words. You won’t find that here. Just daily lives of two goofballs who grow closer and closer, one note at a time. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3260603207 [h1]But somewhere along the way, that pride turned into expectations, and my happiness turned into feelings of obligations[/h1] The gameplay consists of two parts: visual novel, which involves a lot of reading, and rhythm segments where you, well, play the actual music yourself. Both are equally interesting and synergize perfectly – the person who decided to mix these two features made the right choice as the rhythm parts not only add some spice to the reading, but can also lead to different reactions depending on how well (or badly) you perform. You can’t fail the story or the game, though, even if you hit exactly zero notes. By the way, you’ll probably laugh, but I had to take breaks from time to time and practice in DJMAX RESPECT to keep those fingers hitting the notes perfectly – Love's Crescendo certainly offers enough challenge to keep you on your toes through each track. Speaking of which, each of those tracks is original and was made specifically for this game – how cool is that?! But where are positives, there are also negatives. My primary complaint is that you can’t save the game once you enter the rhythm mode. Additionally, there’s no restart button there, too – if you make a mistake, you have to either live with it or load an older save, which, hopefully, won’t be too far back from the music-playing segment. While this might be an intentional design choice to encourage players to learn, I view it more as a drawback than a creative feature ([i]yes, I’m a perfectionist, sue me[/i]). Regarding the visual novel aspects, they are quite traditional for the genre, featuring multiple save slots, a CG gallery, a jukebox where you can play all available tracks even before unlocking them, and everyone’s all-time favorite Skip button. The settings are basic but provide enough options to meet various needs – extra kudos for offering a selection of font sizes! By the way, you can also change the pre-set key bindings (which I personally did as soon as the first track came). The user interface is lovely! It complements the overall aesthetics of the game and brings those whimsical music tunes to the text. I particularly like the color palette; it just hits all the right spots for me, hehe. One last tiny thing before we move one to the final verdict: one of the achievements seems to be bugged. I played the tune perfectly, with S result and 100% correct notes, and suddenly got Tone Deaf. At the same time, it also caused a glitch in the text as I got two version of Cadence’s thoughts one after another. It’ likely a coding issue, but not a game-breaking one at that, thanks God. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3123559619 [h1]Do you even like the piano?[/h1] The game turned out to be pleasantly therapeutic for me. As a person who also struggles immensely with bringing my creative thoughts to the paper, I could easily sympathize with Valerie at all levels; and the same goes for Cadence who can’t find her real place in the world and feels pressured to be better, more talented, while also feeling empty inside. I think Love's Crescendo has a strong message in its story, which can be understood by any reader with even a semblance of empathy. The obstacles, nay, challenges girls face are something that we all have experienced at least once in life – and the way we overcome them is what shapes our future. If you’re looking for a short, sweet story about self-discovery and finding your people, I highly recommend this visual novel. Its bite-sized length makes it perfect for a light read after work, and its emotional moments will make you both laugh and shed tears while enjoying every second of it. [h1][i][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/LucyCorner]You can find more reviews at my personal Curator Page. Please, give it a read ❤ [/url][/i][/h1]

Fun, cute and casual game. I'm from Canada and the Quebec backgrounds are pretty accurate! The mini-game is fun, but pretty forgiving and don't affect the endings (from what I understand). Recommend for a chill holiday playthrough! Candene's theme (sountrack) is really good.

[b]Note:[/b] An awesome friend gifted me a copy of this game. ^^ [i]Love's Crescendo[/i] is a yuri visual novel with rhythm mini-games developed and published by Snowhaven Studios. You take on the roles of Valerie and Cadence. Valerie is a third year music student at a university in Quebec, Canada, and for her senior project, she has to make a composition for a school performance, although she doesn't necessarily have to be the one to perform it. Then, there's Cadence, a teenage pianist who has recently lost a music competition to the disappointment of her parents, both of whom are famous musicians. After a bit of scolding from Cadence's parents, Cadence starts to question whether she truly loves music. So how do Valerie and Cadence end up meeting? Well, shortly after that music competition, Cadence moves to Valerie's university for a year-long study abroad program and after finding Valerie's composition in the music room, she performs it on the piano. Nearby, Valerie hears Cadence playing her music, and immediately impressed, Valerie knows that Cadence has to be the one to perform her piece, doing her best to persuade her. On that note (no pun intended lol), I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers, especially since this is a linear story. As for the gameplay, there aren't any of the usual choices. Instead, rhythm mini-games take their place. There's a brief tutorial on them, but basically, you follow the button prompts (with ASDF being the default keys although I believe that these keys can be changed in the options area). Depending on how successful you are at these games (making a "B" grade is considered passing), you'll get varying lines. However, the ending itself is the same. Passing or failing these games just trigger certain Steam achievements. Also, there are several CGs presented as well as a varied soundtrack, and the latter totally makes sense since this is a music-based visual novel. As I mentioned earlier, there are Steam achievements although 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. I enjoy a sweet romance, and yuri visual novels (at least, the ones I've encountered) tend to provide that. Also, the addition of rhythm mini-games intrigued me, so I was totally excited to have a chance to try out this game. With that said, I'll discuss my thoughts on the story. I played the prologue first to get an idea about Valerie's and Cadence's backstories, and I like how I got to understand each as her own person, especially on how they view music. While Valerie wants music to be fun and a way to touch people's hearts, Cadence (in the beginning, at least) sees music more as a professional career. Of course, the story really starts to move along after Valerie and Cadence meet, and it was great to see how their friendship develops, with Valerie helping Cadence to come out of her shell and to get the chance to experience Canada (as Cadence is originally from Australia). As for the ending, I love how the story all comes together, what with Valerie's senior project being performed on stage and the epilogue. Also, I have to say that I love how cute and sweet Valerie and Cadence are, just what I enjoy from yuri stories. ^^ As for the gameplay, the rhythm mini-games are the main component. I found them to be somewhat challenging, especially in the beginning since I was trying to figure out what to do. lol However, I was able to eventually get the hang of the mini-games, and successfully passing them isn't necessary to get a good ending. However, you may miss out on one or two Steam achievements if they end up proving to be too difficult. Nevertheless, I personally enjoyed them, as they provided a bit of a fun challenge, and I like that the tracks are available in Jukebox section on the Main Menu (along with a few other tracks that aren't playable in the story), so that you can play them at your own leisure. I was able to obtain all of the Steam achievements without any problems. The one technical issue I noticed, though, is that when I loaded my save file, the corresponding background wouldn't load correctly at times. For example, when Valerie and Cadence are supposed to be at a restaurant, the background changes to the music room. Fortunately, this issue isn't game breaking, but I thought I should mention it. With the writing, I found it to be well-paced, and as I mentioned earlier, I just really enjoyed the story. It flies by pretty quickly, but that isn't a bad thing, especially if you're looking to play a story that's more on the short side. There were a couple of typos, but they don't break the reader's immersion. In regards to the art, the sprites and backgrounds are beautifully done. The art gives off that cutesy style, which is appropriate for this story. The colors are added perfectly, and of course, I especially enjoyed viewing the lovely CGs of Valerie and Cadence. With the music, I like how there's such a variety of tracks, ranging from a slower, emotional tone to a faster, everyday one. Music is a very essential part of this story, and the tracks are perfect, so major kudos to the composer. XD Overall, would I recommend [i]Love's Crescendo[/i]? If you're looking for a short, sweet yuri visual novel and don't mind rhythm mini-games, then this is worth checking out. A demo is available, so you can try it out and see if this is a game you might like. For the asking price, I think it's worth getting, but you can wait for a sale. One playthrough took me a little over 3 hours although it may depend on a person's reading speed. ^^ [quote]Flying free and writing reviews solely for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url].[/quote]

Very cute game, story and characters were very interesting. Loved the music game element, and the rhythm game being available after the main game with extra songs to play is such a great touch. Valerie and Cadence have such a fun chemistry and enjoyed their story!

Love Crescendo is a short cute visual novel with added rhythm games. Its a very cozy story. There's almost no drama at all, so if you want a feel good story, this is it. The rhythm games are fun for me being a rhythm game player, but I think the games might be a little hard for someone who doesn't play rhythm games. You cant turn down the difficulty but the story continues the same whether you are good or bad at those levels.

Another lovely story, 10/10 ♥

The game is really cute and I love that drawing style! I had a hunch the game would be about new age music (which I dislike), but that art really tempted me; I bought the game on a whim, but I don't regret it. There were two details that annoyed me however. The main menu makes piano sounds (when you move the mouse) that are not in key with the song that plays in the background... For a game about music, this seems a weird detail to overlook. Also, Arvo Pärt, Yiruma, and Nyman are cited as composers that are normal to be listened in a household of classical musicians. I can guarantee you this is not the case X) Those two details aside, I found the characters relatable and the VN was a nice read through. I recommend it to anyone who wants to read something pleasant with cute characters.

This game had me rooting for our main characters to get together since first interaction. A must play visual novel with more than just words behind its message.

Super underappreciated, I wish more played it!

I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH!!! They are soo cute and the art is awesome! <333 The minigames are pretty fun and have a nice balance in difficulty!