The Warmth Between Us

I don't really know what should I think about this game.. it has no choices, no routes, no voice acting, decent artworks / renders, you can't even change your name.. It has 3 chapters and every chapter has their own short story + the main story content. I, personally, love the different routes, i would like to see many choices, I mean, I can understand the point behind a single ending/single route/etc. as I have read many books, and most regular books are, for the most part, built on the 'single ending' premise, they are just read from a different type of perspective, so, in my own opinion, while I understand that others enjoy it otherwise, for me, a VN not having choices / routes or being single ending can turn me off of it. "1280 x 720" is the biggest downside here. It's been a while since I saw the game with this "locked" resolution and the quality isn't nice. Atleast this game has the great music choices and some beautiful backgrounds. It would be nice to see the soundtrack as a DLC on Steam. I would definitely buy it! CG Gallery is also a plus here.

[h1]Why are you doing this to me, game?[/h1] I have already stated many times that I adore small indie games made with love. The Warmth Between Us is no exception. It was on my wishlist for some time because of the lack of English translation, but now, finally, I was able to read it. What can I say…Guys, get yourself a box of tissues – you will need it. Preferably even two, one for each main chapter. Two people who are neither lovers not friends or relatives. There is also no physical connection between them, but they feel surprisingly close. Could they be soulmates, perhaps? Or just complete strangers who are trying to find some warmth during the cold December evening? Was it fate that brought them together or something even bigger? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2140478579 This visual novel starts with a lot of questions and it masterfully answers them through three chapters. The first one is the longest and tells us about ten days Nine, the protagonist, spends with a mysterious woman called Tina. He does not know much about her, but he is already mesmerized by this mysterious sadness in her eyes. She does not tell him why she really came to this city, but seems to be really interested in the story he is writing. Just two people who met by accident and yet stayed together for ten meaningful days, which felt almost like a full life. The emotions they shared, the usual daily activities in the zoo and the arcade, the food they ate and the jokes they made – all of these came together to change two people and give them reasons to move forward, to the better or worse. No matter how this story ends, it was worth it. [u][b]The Warmth Between Us is a great story and a very inspirational one.[/b][/u] It tells us to move forward, to chase our dreams, to feel sad and learn from this experience, not to give up. Yes, you have heard all these messages before – saw them in movies, read in books, discussed with friends, - but this visual novel manages to present them in just the right way to touch your heart and not to feel cheesy at all. Even better, it is not a fairy tale; just our daily life with all its work routine, doubts, fears and problems. What really matters is how we see the obstacles standing in our way and whether we are ready to work to overcome them. But I am not your counsellor, just a random game reviewer, so let us move forward to other important parts. [u][b]In particular, the writing.[/b][/u] I enjoyed my time immensely while reading all three chapters. The pacing was really pleasant – it covered both basic slice-of-life events and very important psychological topics while giving characters enough time to open up to each other. Some days in the first chapter were shorter than others, but each of them was meaningful in its own way. The second chapter was a rollercoaster of emotions and made me cry more than once. I even could not but ask myself: is it really a fictional story? Could it be that the writer is so talented that they were able to describe all of these emotions so vividly without actually experiencing the same situation? How did they manage to make me, a person who has never had such an experience in her whole life, connect to both characters completely and seamlessly?! This is the level of writing I, no, WE need on a daily basis - emotional, engaging, smart. The third chapter is…special. I do not want to spoil it for you, so will just say: it was short but delightful. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2139394049 [u][b]Speaking of the English translation, it is really good. [/b][/u] I did notice some small typos in the pre-release version of translation; however, I think they have already been fixed. Overall, there is hardly anything to complain about. English is not my native language, so maybe I missed some finer details, but I never had any problem with the text. [u][b]What can I say about characters? [/b][/u] Even though side ones did not have any names at all, all of them were important for the story. I might have met people like this in your own life. Heck, I even bet you did it more than once. And this is what makes them so believable and endearing. You do not need to know their names to understand their motives and ideas. And Nine and Tina…I have already said above that I felt deep connection to these characters. I stepped in their shoes, lived through their emotions: whether it was happiness, annoyance, sadness or desperation, everything touched my heart. They were really relatable at each and every point. [u][b]And the last point: artwork and music.[/b][/u] Both are splendid. There are a lot of beautiful CGs and backgrounds (I am still not quite sure if the latter were all hand-drawn or not, though); the soundtracks mostly focus on piano tunes and actually work really well with the overall atmosphere. There are not many of them, but each takes just the right place and hits just the right emotion. Also, the second chapter has an amazing closing song. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2140475105 [h1]Well, and now we have come the end of my review[/h1] Would I recommend The Warmth Between Us? Oh yes, yes and yes once again! This visual novel is just amazing, so sweet and sad at the same time. It really touched my heart - I have never been in the same situation as Nine and Tina, but I can literally feel their emotions; from delight of the first love to the sadness of the last goodbye. The writer was able to describe everything perfectly; just ten days that have changed two lives through seemingly small events and interactions. All three chapters will take you about 7-8 hours to complete and there is no replayability because it is a kinetic visual novel, but I guarantee that you will enjoy even this short time to the fullest. [i]P.S. Huge thanks to KnightAvenger and the developer for providing me with the game key. And even bigger thanks for doing it a week before the official English release.[/i] [h1][url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32296668-Casual-Game-Reviews/] More reviews on our Curator Page[/url][/h1]

Note: I edited the English translation of this visual novel, so I won't comment on that aspect. However, all other aspects are fair game. XD [i]The Warmth Between Us[/i] is a kinetic visual novel developed by Connection and published by Connection and Kikai Digital. It narrates the story of Nine and Tina, two strangers who meet by chance in Taipei as Nine searches for inspiration to write his story. This story describes the ten days that they're together, from the first time they meet to their last time. When Tina discovers that Nine is writing a story, her interest is piqued and she wants to read his story, which means spending time with Nine. Although Tina comes off as the cheerful, teasing type, there is more to her. Nine discovers this as he spends time with her and observes her. Although he doesn't know her circumstances (he barely even knows her, seeing that they're strangers), he wants to help. I'd go into more details but I don't want to give away spoilers, so I'll end my summary here. As this is a kinetic visual novel, there are no choices, so you simply play through the story from beginning to end. There are a total of 3 chapters and each successive chapter is unlocked after you complete the previous one. There are plenty of CGs as well as a varied soundtrack. Oh, and there are Steam achievements, for those who are looking for that element when deciding on a game. (However, as this game is currently in "learning about this game" status, it'll need more purchases and reviews before the achievements will count towards a user's global total.) Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. First off, I loved the story. It's rare to encounter such a story in visual novels. It's a very touching, emotional story. Although there are light-hearted moments, it is mostly a story about love (not the typical romantic type of love) and the warmth and support among people. That isn't to say that there isn't any romance whatsoever, but I will not give away any spoilers. XD Now, as to the main two characters, Nine and Tina, this is a totally subjective opinion on my part, so giving a heads up. I liked Nine as a main character. He's an introvert and on the quiet side although Tina seems to get him to talk more. In some ways, I can personally identify with his personality. Now, onto Tina, I'll admit that I wasn't fond of her personality at first. Typically, I'm not a fan of the teasing type character (unless there's something else in that character that makes them redeemable to me). Part of it has to do with personal reasons, but I've found that teasing type characters tend to not know when to stop and Tina generally isn't an exception. However, as I played through and got to know her more (again, not revealing spoilers), I found myself getting to accept and like her. Especially after reading chapter two, which narrates Tina's life some years before she met Nine, I ended up liking her. Onto the other aspects of this visual novel, I liked the writing. It felt well paced. Each day was narrated and some days felt shorter than others although the pacing was still good. It was especially well done in evoking emotions. Even having had a part in working on this visual novel, I couldn't help shedding some tears at a couple of parts. That's just how good the writing is. The art style is beautiful as well. It's not in the typical anime style but I really liked the style and especially the use of color. The night scenes actually looked like they happened at night and so forth. The soundtrack was lovely to listen to. The tracks captured the scenes they were placed in perfectly and didn't feel inappropriate. The tracks are all instrumental except for the ending one, which occurs once you finish chapter two. Overall, [i]The Warmth Between Us[/i] is a visual novel that I truly enjoyed having the opportunity to work on and to play through. Very few visual novels touch my heart and this one succeeded. I hope we can get more VNs like this on Steam, and for the asking price, it's worth getting. Typically, it'll take about 6 to 8 hours to complete all the chapters and get all of the achievements, so it's on the short side. However, it's a bargain to get it, especially when it goes on sale. ^^

Melancholy story that ends on a high note, bitter sweet in places but overall a nice story. Art is incredible and music is very fitting.

overall a good Visual Novel. can recommend it. cute girls. the price of this game is alright.

ok let's see after I finished this VN I can tell you about it there is three chapters in this game the first one is the longest one and you'll live with the characters and touch their feelings and you'll have a lot of questions and you'll be more curious to know more about the story after that when you play the chapter two maybe just maybe you'll cry some moments but believe me you'll find a lot of answers there after that chapter three is the shortest one and it'll feeding all curiosity. after all I recommended it and any one have enjoying with emotional game will like it just give it try

This visual novel is short and sweet, written with warmth and coming from the heart. I highly recommend it to those that enjoy very humane stories based on both small slice-of-life scenes and deeper/personal backgrounds. It's nothing exceptional or overambitious compared to the rest out there, but it's still a meaningful tale with its own little big impact and story behind it.

Made me sob like a ***** did feel so close to heart the story

Tina对病房昏迷的奶奶说了那么多话，远不及最后一句我爱你。奶奶生命最后一刻回答了她:我也爱你。

如果你喜欢轻小说，十分推荐，剧情情节情感各各方面都很不错，今天直接玩了7个小时也是感动到了，一定要向前走啊，tina！！！