Siren's Call: Escape Velocity

[h1]Can you reach escape velocity? :o[/h1] [h2]Introduction[/h2] [i]Siren's Call: Escape Velocity[/i] is a mystery, psychological horror visual novel developed and published by ThePenSword. You're Oliver, a young adult who's spending the last day of summer before going off to university hanging out with long-time friends and his girlfriend and reminiscing about their summer together, having defeated some supernatural creatures called "Sirens" that were invading their hometown, Siren's Call. Oliver knows that he has to become an adult and set off into the unknown. However, here's one of many twists. For some reason, Oliver is unable to leave Siren's Call, so he has to find a way to do so. With Violet's help, he may just be able to reach escape velocity. With the gameplay, numerous choices are presented throughout the story. As Oliver converses with his friends and such, lucidity points can be earned after important information is brought up. It is a factor that can determine whether Oliver reaches the normal or true ending. After completing the game once, you have access to bonus content as well as be able to replay scenes rather than start a new game. Lots of CGs are shown as well as a varied soundtrack although no voice acting. Steam achievements and trading cards are available, and the game counts towards a user's global total. [h2]Review[/h2] I remember that [i]Siren's Call: Escape Velocity[/i] got on my radar when I first learned about the game, so I reached out to the developer about it and kindly received a review key for it. Gosh, before I go any further, I just want to say that I really should have gotten around to this visual novel sooner, but I'm glad that I finally had the chance to play it, especially with the developer's second VN, [i]Siren's Call: Second Wind[/i], coming out in some months from the time of this review. ^^ [h3]Story and Gameplay[/h3] Initially, the story comes across as a coming-of-age, slice-of-life visual novel, albeit with a bit of weirdness. It's Oliver's last day in Siren's Call before he heads off to university. The story feels like a bit of a slowburn, with the only weird parts being when Oliver and his friends talk about their supernatural adventures in the Underworld and dealing with Sirens. However, they play it off like it's normal. When it comes down to Oliver meeting up with his girlfriend, Violet, that's when things start taking a downward spiral, and it's amazing. That's when the actual exciting story parts begin, and I just love how it takes on this horror vibe. Oliver has to find a way to reach out to his friends and truly say goodbye to them even though they clearly won't make things easy for him. For example, [spoiler]Ashton likes it when he and his dad finally get along, and he doesn't want to let that go[/spoiler]. Once you reach the end of the story and Oliver frees all of his friends, there's a major twist that was absolutely heartbreaking. It's even more so when you learn about Oliver's condition and his mental state, and I'll just say that it's something with which I can relate to, as I have a very close family member who has it but in a more severe form. In a way, with going into slightly spoiler territory, I can relate to Judith, Oliver's childhood friend and crush, a bit. Even though the store page does give warnings about this, I feel like I should emphasize this as well. The story touches upon topics like depression, mental health, etc., which I feel like must always be taken seriously and not be dismissed lightly. However, I can understand that such topics may be very sensitive to some people, so it's best to have knowledge about it. As for the gameplay, some choices have no impact on the story's direction, but others do. Certain decisions can determine whether Oliver can move on to the next phase of the story or if he'll fail to say goodbye to his friends and be forced to redo that phase. I like that you may have to think outside the box in order to get Oliver's friends to come to some sort of understanding. Getting the true ending can be a bit tricky, but once you figure out how to get it, it's actually quite doable. It's just getting enough lucidity points to reach a crucial point in the game that may be the determining factor. As for achievements, they're all obtainable even though some can be very difficult to get. However, the developer is very active on the forum, so there's plenty of help if you're struggling to get certain achievements or obtain those elusive CGs. [h3]Art and Music[/h3] The art is beautiful. I like how well drawn and colored the sprites and backgrounds are, and of course, the CGs are especially lovely. Major kudos to the artist(s) for illustrating crucial story events at the perfect time. There's the right combination of colors, and the art is a wonderful companion to the brilliant story narration. ^^ https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3748862767 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3748862894 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3748863045 With the music, there's a great variety of tracks, all instrumental. While some are more light-hearted, giving off that day-to-day vibe, others evoke that horror, creepy feeling, perfect for those scary moments. The tracks are placed in the right moments, helping to set the tone for the story. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Would I recommend [i]Siren's Call: Escape Velocity[/i]? Personally, I enjoyed the story very much. Even though it comes off as a horror story (and there are definitely some horror moments), it ended up being a more emotional story for me, especially towards the very end of the story. I like how the story was narrated and touched on sensitive topics although it might not resonate with everyone. Still, I highly recommend this game, and it's totally worth it to explore the world of Siren's Call and its characters. For the asking price, it's definitely worth it, but of course, you can wait for a sale. Finally, I'd like to thank ThePenSword for the review key. It has been such an incredible journey to experience this story, and I'm very excited for [i]Siren's Call: Second Wind[/i]. With all the heart and passion put into [i]Escape Velocity[/i], it deserves a lot of attention. ^^ [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]

First review I've ever done on Steam but I felt it was necessary for this one. I got Siren's Call: Escape Velocity on sale and, after reading it, I wish I had paid full price. So I bought the fan pack (which I also loved going through), but even that was discounted because I already had the game. So, I feel obliged to also recommend it via review. This was an amazing read, not only did it connect with me on a personal level but the more I read, the better it got. And the more I re-read for 100%, the more I realised how intricately everything connected together for an incredibly satisfying reading experience. Also scared the hell out of me, so... thanks for that. I refrain from mentioning much more as I genuinely think its worth just experiencing yourself. But it's safe to say, this one of my favourites now. It's a shame to me that there arent more people reading and discussing Siren's Call because I do think it deserves it. It's the type of thing where you can just tell that everyone involved with this project gave their absolute all to create something special here, and I couldn't be more appreciative. Should another project from ThePenSword be released in the future, I will be there. My only minor gripe is the 100% experience isn't as smooth as I'd like. Obtaining all the gallery images, achievements, and some of the missable scenes took quite a while and I was resorting to the discussions tab on more than a couple of occasions. I'd love if there was a hint system for the stuff you haven't unlocked, perhaps after you reach the end for the first time. This is completely unfounded, but I cant help but feel like people will miss a lot of the things I really love about Siren's Call just because they don't know how to see them or that they're even there in the first place. However, that didn't sour my experience at all. I still loved the time I spent here and I can see myself coming back in the future.

If you want the short of it, yes. Hard recommend. It's messy, but it's worth it. I was introduced to this by Strain's video on Personalikes, and VNs are my thing, so I gave the demo a shot. I...kinda hated it, haha. You can really feel the DDLC inspirations at the start, and my sole positive feeling on that game is that it's historically important. But, after a while, I decided to give it another shot, and...hot ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ damn is this good. It's still a bit of a mess, mind. It was trying too hard in a lot of places at the start, in a lot fewer but some particularly notable places after that, and Category 5 was...a bit of a disaster. It felt like it was too obsessed with everything saying something, when everything that came before it was bold enough to say what nobody else is. That's...more than enough, honestly. There's also the matter of every female character having the same body type - Miss Lawrence's is just an exaggerated version of the one, at that - whereas even similar-looking Emil and Oliver are a little different. The gals' bodies are barely distinguishable, by contrast. But, the good. It's got some really fun stuff in the more technical aspects. Diary entries being 4:3 and looking like they're from an old VN, good camera work, how Oliver and Violet look like they're holding hands when their portraits are next to one another. I really liked the backgrounds, too. The paint look was very nice. But this is a VN, right? How's the story? Well...I'm not a fan of the intro, nor Category 5 or the twist (not the truth of what happened, the other thing), the rest was GREAT. It took me out, emotionally, for a few days, which is something that hasn't happened for a long time. I tend to keep notes on my thoughts while playing games, and SC made me feel heavily enough that I took breaks from playing to write to make sure I didn't lose track. It was also...uncomfortable, in a sense. It gradually becomes a very...disability-centric story. Therapy talk as horror, the horror of being disabled, precautions making you less human, and thus more able to see your own life as irrelevant, and that one large rant in Category 3. It was draining, it was cathartic, and most weirdly of all, rather than being sanded away, left in drain cleaner for a few days, and made palatable, it was REAL. It was such an incredibly good feeling. Violet's rules consisting of "I know I'm disabled, but let me please be a real person around you for once" was also felt. Two last things: firstly, the game was very well foreshadowed. I know that's something a lot of people don't like allowing, so I want to say thanks for letting me figure out what was going to happen before it did, and then letting it happen exactly as I thought it would. Second...the scene in Category 1 where Judith creeps up on Oliver made me viscerally uncomfortable. Please try for that feeling in the sequel; I want more of it.

You can't talk about this game in any capacity without majorly spoiling it in some way but. Good god. Please play Siren's Call, I cannot stress how much you owe that to yourself

Liked the free version so much I bought the full game. Atmosphere and mood is awesome. Story is awesome. Imaculate soundtrack... like seriously I copied the music files to my phone just so I could listen to it. Awesome, awesome.

I wish this game back when I was still in Highschool. I feel there's a lot to be taken from this game. Whether it be interesting perspectives on the mundane parts of life, seeing the chemistry of a friend group, and plenty of other cool things I won't spoil. For the low price, I feel I got far more than I paid for. I've seen the comparison of Siren's Call being compared to DDLC, and I can see some resemblance. Personally, Siren's Call does it's own thing very damn well. I'll admit, it does get a bit "soap box-y" at times but there's plenty of good dialogue that makes the characters organic. Good stuff.

Geniuenly fantastic, had me incredibly enthralled throughout the entire runtime and constantly kept throwing curveballs my way. Please play it its more than worth the price.

jesus christ

[h1] I was gifted this game as the friend who reads the most visual novels. Now that i have finished this game, I have been trying to get everyone I know to play and experience this game. [/h1] I did not read anything or watch the trailers for the game and I was hook from the first minute and I wish I had been writing my thoughts and feelings throughout my experience. Sadly I can't go back in the past and do it over but I can safely say that I have played this game start to finish 3 or 4 times now. Each read with new context and a new perspective. [hr][/hr] [h2] No game is perfect and I'll start with those few nit picks [/h2] 1: The game will often use Bright white text on a pure black background that triggered my Astigmatism and was a bit painful to read. (These scenes are not long and are spaced far enough a part to be a very minor issue ) 2: Due to the nature of the story a character I really liked did not get as much screen time as I would have liked. [spoiler] Hopefully Ashton stocks will be higher in the sequel [/spoiler] 3: The main track used for the main and settings menu starts only in one ear and be quite jarring when needing to get the settings perfect 4: Some scenes that progress automatically can not be skipped or sped up on repeat playthroughs 5: When the game says [u] "Press X to do Y" [/u] Pressing x on my keyboard cause the game to do y. Which is an amazing innovative concept that I feel ashamed took me 3 days to figure out. [spoiler] Most other decisions are made via clickable buttons. So I made an assumption and was humbled [/spoiler] [hr][/hr] [h2] As For the positives [/h2] [b] Negativity can be defined by It's protrusions and absence in an experience but positivity is found in every experience i didn't find to be a fault [/b] I love the fact that character sprites move and pause to convey an action!! There were quite a few scene to fill me with so much dread to cause my heart to pound and give me shortness of breath. Which for something I had full control over is impressive. I now have quite a few new quotes I will now be annoying my friends with in daily speech. The decision to remove previous saves at major checkpoints helped immensely against decision paralysis. An amazing script of real teenage quips, comebacks, vulnerabilities, and irrationalities. I haven't spoken the exact same words but I have had these exact conversations with people. Situations I could never hope to be in feel real when read on the screen. The following is a spoiler for about 2/3rd way through the game [spoiler] During the After story i was Genuinely unsure if this was a dream or if was a time skip past the problems to a magical "After the story" where things are simply better. [/spoiler] I loved every ending [hr][/hr] Now should I recommend everyone play this game? No But i would recommend everyone play this game to its completion and experience all that there is, But with all that said i have one last negative to share [h1] 6: I have experienced all that there currently is and have been charged to pick up the pen or brush and make more of the Siren's call [/h1]

When I first played the beta version of this game back during my freshman year of high school, the story deeply impacted me and I fell in love with all of the characters. The way the characters interacted with each other and Oliver throughout the game and all had unique traits and development made me care for each one of them, and by the end of the game I felt like I knew all of them well [spoiler]despite the fact that everything I saw them say and do was part of Oliver's dream. This game was written in such a way that you can tell that so much of who these characters really are was present in that dream despite the creepy, out-of-character moments, and you can discern pretty well what parts of them were "real" and which parts were exaggerated due to various emotions Oliver was processing during the whole dream sequence, such as his feelings of inadequacy as a friend, guilt, and suicidal ideation (idk if I explained that well but I tried.) [/spoiler] The ending was also greatly satisfying, wrapping up Oliver's story and the overall mystery of the game in such a perfect way that I genuinely cried due to how emotionally satisfying it was. And I'm happy to say that the full release of the game not only allows the player to a reach an even better, more satisfying ending, but it also expands on that ending with an entire epilogue that's worth the price tag on its own. I'm glad I waited a while to play this as sometimes it felt like I was re-experiencing the story I loved so much all over again, but if I knew how amazing that damn epilogue was gonna be I would've played this way sooner. I'm not too good at reviews, so I tried to just summarize how I felt about this game while trying to get a bit specific as to why I enjoyed it so much, but yeah, hopefully this'll convince someone to pick it up.