Sym.BIOS: Torn Asunder

Cool and nicely drawn VN where you make decisions for several protagonist in a story everyone can follow. It's tough for a decent and original visual novel to stand out among a sea of cheap anime and adult games that appear to have been created using increasingly common AI tools. Other VNs just have their own narrative to rely on, such as this one, rather than unrealistic characters wearing skimpy clothing. This story is terrific. Since it avoids overly mature or complex topics, practically everyone may enjoy it. After the surface was ravaged by the war and left part of the world under a cloud of radiation, a wealthy man decides to construct an underground city where everyone would have everything they need for free. People would merely have to perform tasks. Sadly, some people revolted, believing this to be a new type of enslavement. You follow a team that’s trying to protect this city. The wealthy man, a number of security personnel with varied specialties, an AI that assists the squad, and the AI's developer make up the team. There is also a supporting cast, but some only appear in a few scenes. The characters all have distinct personalities and desires despite not having voices. You discover a lot about their past and how they came to be in their current position. Although the team has already established relationships and functions well as a unit, the most recent attack has begun to cast doubt on the entire situation. Options and controls are standard. The story advances as you click the mouse button, and choices are presented to you along the way. Because the story will end in either case, there are no right or wrong decisions. It just might not have a happy ending. The game has three acts and three endings. Several playthroughs are encouraged, especially because it’s possible to fast forward the parts you’ve already seen. It's unfortunate that the only way to see alternate routes is to start the game over from scratch. It might be a restriction of the engine, but it would have been much simpler to pick a chapter or certain part of the story and carry on from there. There are many achievements that may be unlocked for each choice, which is an additional argument for multiple playthroughs. The fact that the game was created using a well-known VN engine casts a tiny shadow over the experience. Although it seems like everything was created from scratch, the user interface has components that knowledgeable players of the genre would recognize. Thankfully, that is the only shortcut the game utilizes.

The beginning is quietly interesting, but this visual novel soon became an engrossing space opera. There is a firm emphasis on character development and world-building. The central cast is vividly realized through childhood flashbacks and extensive interactions. I liked most of the characters. They are intelligent, down-to-earth, and pretty easy to relate to considering the futuristic setting. The story jumps between the goings-on of the cast, fragmented into duos or groups on missions. I really enjoyed the insight into the characters and their back stories. There is minimal action, and the plot is kind of light on impact in the earlier hours. This VN is more focused on gradual development of a large and varied ensemble cast and understanding their unique world. The mood shifts smoothly from dramatic to comedic and there is an air of mystery that kept me questioning some of the characters and their motivations. The visuals and audio are pleasing. It's quite noticeable how numerous the backgrounds are. For many of the starting hours it seemed like every few minutes there was a new backdrop and a scene change. The OST ranges from good to great though I think it's missing a few lighthearted ambient tracks that would enrich certain sections of the story. Basically, funny or relaxed moments are often accompanied by silence. A couple lighthearted tracks would have been a welcome addition to round out the musical side of things. Final nitpick, I wish there were more choices to make. There are some big choices to be made here but also long draughts of inaction, choice-wise. Lots of great VNs can be described that way but I always give an extra bit of my thumbs up to those choice-heavy VNs, even if they just provide an illusion of choice. However, upon replaying the game and choosing different options I noticed some large changes after major plot points. Enough to make the replay value considerable. Also of note is a fantastic skip functionality that will speed through previously read text and works universally across all saves. Overall, I enjoyed my time spent with this VN and it is easily recommendable to anyone who takes interest in the style and concept.

私はノベルゲームが好きで、新しいゲームを探してる時に英語ヴァージョンのこのゲームに出会いました。 人物もよく設定されていてシナリオもとても良いです。音楽のとてもいいと思います。かなりお勧めのゲームです。

No exotic gameplay here, but the setting and characters have been written with care, making the story an interresting one to follow. It's also nice to see that the artistic direction did not default to (try to) replicate an "anime" style and went instead in its own direction

J'aime ce jeu !

Alors que je suis toujours en cours de jeu, les qualités de ce VN "made in france" sont frappantes et je trouve essentiel d'en écrire ici quelques mots pour prêcher la bonne parole et lui donner la visibilité qu'il mérite. Que ce soit d'un point de vue purement scénaristique, nous sommes transportés dans notre bonne vieille earth dans un futur post-apo - pas si lointain et pas si farfelu - que nous découvrons à travers des personnages profonds et bien écrits. La direction artistique voulue est redoutable de cohérence et casse complètement avec le style animé typique du genre: ici, il s'agit semble-t-il d'art nouveau peint dans un style à l'aquarelle sur fond abstrait, et ça fonctionne. Que dire de la musique électronique qui est absolument incroyable... elle vient bien évidemment accompagner une histoire à rebonds avec ses dialogues d'une grande qualité. Je suis un gros client de ce genre d'OST et celle-ci souffle un bon air frais. Etant un gros lecteur, il est facile d'énumérer ici toutes les qualités de ce jeu qui bien que reprenant certains des codes du genre, va réussir à s'exprimer pour ce qu'il est. Je le recommande vivement et je pense revenir sur ce commentaire une fois le jeu complètement bouclé.

Petite découverte de ce jeu avec un humour plein de bonnes références. L'histoire est très bien construite, le contexte qui se met en place petit à petit et les informations qui nous sont distillées petit à petit.. Petit bémol sur les choix, je trouve qu'il y'en a peu. 4-5 situations de choix environ pour 1h30 de jeu (peut être que la fréquence va augmenter après). En tout cas belle découverte que je vais continuer !

Une histoire écrite avec brio, des personnages complexes et des dialogues avec parfois beaucoup d'humour qui viennent alléger les tensions, ce visual novel est plein de surprises et nous emmène là où on ne s'attend pas ! Et que dire de l'OST ! Synthwave à souhaits, on adore ! Pour les amoureux·ses de SF, de blagues à la con, de choix moraux épineux, Sym.BIOS est pour vous !

A visual novel with mechas! And neat graphics! And a great soundtrack... I enjoyed the story, the characters (some are very special), the hard decisions to make... The game is super polished, I do recommend if you like sci-fi like me :)

I spent 9 hours on my first run through, absolutely loved it and was so gutted when it ended - Please tell me there is going to be a follow up to this! The music, story and artwork in this is top tier. Such a wonderful adventure.