Memories on the Shoreline

I've played this studio's previous game, 'That Which Binds Us' and I enjoyed it, so I was eager to try out their newest game 'Memories on the Shoreline'. The fantasy element was definitely appealing especially since it's not often you see a supernatural romance VN that focuses on mermen/sirens (most stick with the big three: Vampires, Werewolves, and Witches), so I was excited to see a game tried something different. Unfortunately, this game just didn't live up to my expectations. The writing was very messy and the story was all over the place, one minute it's trying to be a slice of life romance the next a supernatural fantasy. The writers introduces plot points that don't go anywhere and even worse never get a proper resolution. It's a shame because there is a lot of potential for the concept and the artwork is actually quite appealing, it's just really unpolished. Maybe if the devs reworked the story and took more time to flesh things out 'Memories on the Shoreline' would be a really great game... but, as it stands... eh, this is not the best game.

I can't believe I paid money for this.... Seeing the first photo in three different art styles, I had to give this game a try to see if it was as bad as it looked. It was worse...It was a waste of my time and the developer's time to even release this to steam. The writing is all over the place, and the guys come across as way too creepy at times. The dialogue drags, and it was hard to sit through the conversations. I had to end up skipping scenes to see the cgs at least because I couldn't get through it...There were also formatting and programming issues littered throughout the game which were highly noticeable and quite frankly, very embarrassing for a game that costs actual money to have within. This game seems like it was translated from another language despite the writer being British. I hope to never encounter another game written in this atrocious way by her. She has a lot to learn. I have never written a steam review before, but I had to for this game due to how bad it was. I hope everyone can heed my warning and don't play even if you think it's funny. It is not worth your time and hard earned money, so please skip and don't make the same mistakes I did. Sincerely, A scarred player

This was pretty bad. And not just the translation. The story was stupid. And if you're asking what I was expecting from a mermaid love story? Well, fair enough. In my defense I've played a ton of visual novels that have potentially cringey storylines that were extremely well written.

[i]Memories on the Shoreline[/i] supplies us with the player character Melody, a late/post-teen impulsive, adventurous girl who takes her more serious and reluctant friend Shion on a study-break getaway to the Florida coast. Whilst there, she meets Brennan, a local fisherman whom she befriends; the result of this friendship leading to an encounter with the merman Crylis. The four then become an uneasy social group, as backstories and potential romances with either boy develop according to the player's choices. There are enough positives in this game to provide a couple of evenings' amusement; though approaching it with the right expectation level is going to make a difference to your opinion. What we have here is a light-hearted bit of fluff which will last between 2-5 hours dependent upon how quickly you read, how much you skip, and whether you choose to immerse yourself as the MC. With this in mind, do not enter if you want something deep and challenging. [h1]Positives[/h1] - The front end presentation is, for want of a better description, “cute”. The character sprites are sweet and appealing, and the same can be said for the redesigned seafront-style text box. In the Gallery/Extras area, there is a simple mini-game where you can dress Melody in different costumes. This may give only a minute or two extra interest, but it still made me smile. I felt thoroughly charmed by the visuals when I first opened the game. - For the market positioning of the game, some background graphics are above and beyond expectation. Obvious examples are the wicker chair in the girls' holiday residence, and the detail of the outer wall of Brennan's house. I don't expect to see that amount of attention to detail for this price. - Differences in routes. There is [i]some[/i] shared storyline in both boys' routes, but we get – relative to the overall size of the story – a good amount of unique content dependent upon our choices. - Effect of choices. What you decide Melody should do will impact the story from that point on, and if you are trying to get all of the achievements, your selections will be logical in reaching them. Saving at each choice will also make this easy. There is no frustration to be endured in trying to reach your desired ending. - Characterisations. All four characters in the game have very clearly individual personalities. Brennan, as the cocky, confident, cheeky-chappie; rings [i]so true[/i] to the reality of so many man-boys of that age. Girls, you [i]will[/i] identify someone you know (or knew) with him. [h1]Negatives[/h1] - There are a few more language errors than I would have liked. I was left with the feeling that this has been released before a thorough check has been undertaken. It's not enough to spoil the story, but it does leave an “unpolished” impression. - There is [b]no “back” button[/b] in the options, which is a really bad miss. This is compounded by the amount of times a character's comment is cut short within the story, as it gets replaced by the interruption... before you have had chance to read it. There is a history log (which I had to refer to far too frequently) which will enable you to catch up again, but this also has its issue in that it always starts with the oldest entry and not the last one. This annoyance is minimised somewhat in that you can simply click the bottom of the text scrollbar to jump directly to the last comment – you do not need to grab the positional indicator and drag it to the bottom. Musically, the game passes muster but does not excite. It's [i]OK[/i]. I did not feel compelled to turn it off, but neither did the earphones come out so I could focus upon it. If anything, it's about the equivalent of elevator-muzak, at first you notice it as unintrusive background accompaniment, before subconsciously tuning it out when it becomes repetitive. [h1]Summary[/h1] I found more positives than negatives in the game which offers a “nice” story that should keep you entertained for a short time and give you endings which provide a combination of some satisfaction and a desire for [i]just a little bit more[/i] which isn't there. For the price, and with an understanding of the type of game you would be getting, I believe this is worth a recommendation for otome lovers, albeit not a resounding one. [quote] Please follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/4680120/]Otome Lovers[/url], if you'd like to see more reviews like this one! [/quote]

Okay...like just no! Im sorry but what were you guys even thinking. The story feels soooooo undone, like there was sooo much you guys could have done with this story yet i only get this? Wtf. A big no from me, run away and dont even think about buying this game.

It’s a cute game, but I fully admit that I don’t have any strong feelings about it one way or the other. Again, it’s sweet, but nothing to write home about, and I don’t know if I will be replaying any time soon. Quality wise, the art is nice, and the music can be a bit overbearing at times, but it did match the theme well enough. There were a few snippets of text here and there that confused me a bit, some were small spelling errors and there were a few that I’m not quite sure if they were typos or just figures of speech that I had never heard before, but it was nothing major and I wouldn’t say that they detracted from my overall enjoyment of the game. Really my biggest issue with the game was the progression of the story, which went WAAYY to fast for my liking. These two dudes have just met this girl and suddenly it’s all “Hey let’s date!” I mean, it even sorta gets acknowledged in game how quickly things are progressing. But again, for a $5 otome game, I wasn’t expecting an Idea Factory narrative. In conclusion: It’s a short game you can finish in less than a day, it has it’s cute moments, and the art is pretty, so go ahead and buy it if you like the beach and shirtless mermen. It's only $5 after all. On a side note: there was a scene near the beginning of the game that was unintentionally funny? [spoiler]It was a pan up of Crylis (The merman’s) sprite, and for some reason this merman sprite descending from the heavens was just the funniest thing to me.[/spoiler] Don’t ask me why; it was late, I was kinda tired, and I have a terrible sense of humor.

If this is a first time project for someone or they tried to create a story that was once told to them... but they didn't have all the details? This is alright. Not bad for a first try. If you just want a story full of lusty teenagers... Sorry 20+ year olds, who just need to do it and get it over with = You got yourself a story! I am not saying there is mature content, I am saying that that's how they all seem to act... Maybe not the merman so much, but more on that later. I like the dress-up game you can play in the menu options! The cheerful music is a nice touch and everything is really bright and colorful! I had actual fun reading this story... whether it was intentional or not... Someone wrote in a review that they liked how the characters "entered" from the sky. LOVED IT! I clapped for them. I haven't seen anyone else do that yet!!! Oh oh and um... I like that CGs came from different people too! Nice artwork style! Apart from that........... The game uses some weird words... You will know when you see them... And okay, you can try and understand what they mean, you can understand the entirety of the conversation, but yep. The characters (minus the other girl) constantly have their hands up! I told them a few times to put them down, but they don't listen. Sigh... No wonder the merman has a burden in his shoulder... "Brennan's" smile makes him look like a serial killer... Well he is, but then he wasn't killing humans per se. "Shion's" (the other girl) personality jumps around... I can't tell you what kind of person she is! She... Well the MC (main character) says that she cares about her and protects her, but "Shion" happily left the MC with two strangers. And then the MC wanted to help the merman and BAM! "Shion" is like YEAH! Let's get them both to stay! The continuation is off too... MC went to "Brennan's house" where he... Okay, no spoilers... Then you have an option to go there again and she has a "goldfish memory" and is excited about everything again in that house! Also, if someone is a germaphobe... It depends on what kind you meant, but merman would REALLY care about the other clothing articles, as much as shoes, unless he was just hatin' on "Brennan" and made that up. The merman/"Crylis" took her out to show her something fun... I hope they weren't that deep, as the pressure would've killed her, before anything else. Drunk people should NOT go near water. The character I felt bad for is "Crylis"... Even though his story jumped around, but he is always the victim and bullied, so sigh... But he also has the least romantic connection to the MC... "Brennan's" intentions were clear, but the poor merman... AND he can do so much cool stuff?! He can be like: GUYS, I have POWERS... I can GO UNDERWATER... I WILL PAY YOU! Like pay you in treasure... Using my abilities... There are many more plot holes, but I wont write them all out. I am not here to fix the story, I just wanted to write about it, so my only friend enjoys what I had written. That and it might help someone too. Thank you... I had my fun. Appreciate the goodness! :) :> : )

Attention: - this review may contain spoilers, if you don´t mind go ahead. - early review - Neutral Summary: A short-length vn with romance/ fantasy elements made in Renpy. Play as Melody who went to the beach in her holiday, there she will meet new friends, a fisherman and a merman. Features multiple endings. About: - Game: A short-length vn romance/ fantasy elements made in Renpy - Story: Play as Melody, a med student who went to the beach with her friend during their spring break. There Melody will meet a local fisherman and a merman; girls on vacation, beach, and love happens. - Gameplay: choice matters. - VA: N/A - Artwork: the girls side is not bad; but the boys... - Text/translation: no problem so far - Performance: no problem so far Conclusion: Memories on the Shoreline is a short-length vn romance/ fantasy elements made in Renpy about Melody's spring trip to the beach, as she met the love of her life (fisherman or merman). Recommended? Neutral. Story cliché, fast-paced, my feelings for the game is weak.

I want to go into detail on this game, because Steam's "pass or fail" system of recommendation sucks, but considering it's a $5 game with 5 hours of gameplay potential, I don't see the point. The plot's a little sparse and disjointed, and there are some glaring spelling and grammar errors, but the romance in at least one of the routes, was fun. Look, it's not my favorite otome, but it was good enough to play through twice. Will I finish unlocking the rest of the achievements? Probably not. But for five bucks, eh, it's probably worth it.