Winter Heat

A story of hope about fighting through everything for love. Amazing story with so many twists and turns, really loved the unique art style and it's just an all around feel good experience. Pricing is a little bit steep because the main story is only around 2 hours long but it is a very dense 2 hour experience that has no padding and really shines the further you go along. 100% Worth the purchase if it's on sale, also looks as if the devs are going to add more content in the future so that's cool!

This is a very charming visual novel game you can get invested in, with an easy replay and save feature no details can be missed. The additional minigames and facts about Japanese culture were fun to play through and read. It's a really cute game with beautiful backgrounds, a compelling story and well made music. I am looking forward to future updates 9.5/10

[h1]TIME SKIP - THE GAME[/h1] Winter Heat is a yuri slice-of-life Visual Novel and the second game by Yuri Kissaten. Having played their first title, I can definitely see some progress - they’re clearly trying to learn from their past mistakes. Unfortunately, they still struggle with the most important element of the Visual Novel genre: the story. [b]It’s not terrible, and it can be cute at times, but I doubt I’ll remember much of it after a couple of days.[/b] This review might sound a bit harsh, but I genuinely want Yuri Kissaten to succeed. That’s why I’m pointing out these issues - so they can improve in future releases. [b]I can’t recommend Winter Heat as it is[/b], but their future games? We’ll see. [b]Story[/b] The story is fairly simple. Two online friends - Javi from Chile and Shio from Japan - chat about their daily lives. They’re both lesbians and comfortable enough with each other to flirt for fun (not-so-subtle foreshadowing). [spoiler]After years of online friendship, they finally meet in real life when Javi makes a surprise visit. And then... they kiss? It feels way too sudden. The transition from best friends to girlfriends happens at lightning speed. From that point on, the story returns to a slice-of-life format, with a bit of light drama involving legal issues (which, to be fair, adds some realism).[/spoiler] Overall, it’s a cute and decent story, but the pacing is far too fast. Cutting down on the number of time skips in key moments would have helped a lot, while still conveying the writer’s intent. As it stands, it feels like the story lacks a clear sense of direction leading up to its conclusion. As for the writing itself, I found it a bit hard to judge. It’s not particularly strong, but it makes some sense in context since both characters aren’t fluent in English. Even so, there are moments where the dialogue comes across as unintentionally awkward or cringey, without a clear reason. [b]Gameplay[/b] The main game is a Visual Novel, and most of my opinion on Winter Heat comes from that. However, there are also a few mini-games (or whatever you’d like to call them) that you can unlock while progressing through the story and access later from the main menu. It’s a neat idea, but I’m not sure it was really necessary. Is it cool that they’re included? Sure. Do they add anything meaningful to the story? Not really. [b]Visuals[/b] The graphics are very simple, but they’re designed well enough to still look appealing. From time to time, there are even some small animated elements, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately, the "Froguelike" sections look pretty bad. The difference in quality compared to the rest of the game is really noticeable. The main menu UI is also quite poor. I understand what they were going for, but it ends up feeling both unattractive and a bit overwhelming, especially when launching the game for the first time. [b]Audio[/b] There’s not much to say here. The music is so bland that it’s easy to forget - at least until the Froguelike sections kick in and suddenly blast your ears. The sound effects are decent, but used sparingly, and there’s no voice acting. [b]Technicalities[/b] I didn’t run into any bugs, which is nice. The bigger issue, though, is the price. This is a short game for a very niche audience, and the current price feels way too high. If you want people to actually buy it, the cost needs to match the scope. I get that developers need to make a living, but this approach might just push away most of your potential players.

Linear wlw lovers that are just friends (until they aren't) extravaganza ! A little clumsy at times, but still holds up. it's so sweet. I love them. I think you are allowed to make poor life decisions for love. It's the opposite type of visual novel than airship, but both have their place. "Stop it Javi; You are so weird." "In a good way?" "Yeah."

Enjoyed playing the demo but the full version is a bit lower than my expectation. The best part of the story was at the beginning when they were testing each other. It has been a little tiring watching them struggling for living together. Anyway it's a sweet story. BTW What will happen if I clear the built-in RPG game? I died while fighting against the chili pepper.

[h1]Winter Heat[/h1] Winter Heat is a visual novel told with text messages, and traditional VN scenes. This VN is a kinetic visual novel meaning you do not have dialogue choices or different endings. You follow the long distance relationship of Javi, from Chile, and Shio from Japan. I would give this game a neutral review if I could but since I can’t I will give it a negative review. [b]Side note:[/b]I thought this game at most cost 4.99 I didn’t realize it was 20 USD!! [b]Pros:[/b] [list] [*]Realistic text messages and dialogue between online friends and portraying the online ecosystem [*]Extensive side content [*]Scene Selection [*]Cute art [/list] [b]Cons:[/b] [list] [*]Confusing romantic relationship [*]Characters act unrealistic [*]Time skips [*]Too expensive [/list] The friendship between two long distance internet friends seemed relatable and realistic as it was portrayed in this visual novel. I like how Shio’s English still sounded a little off. The messaging dialogue was natural and I really love when visual novels include text messages/simulate what it is like being online. The art was simplified chibi style and very cute. I also liked as you play the story different “apps” unlock in the main menu. It unlocks as per the steam page describes as [b]“ educational Maps app, the parody microblog Wittier, and the deckbuilder-flavored mini-RPG Oomfie RPG!”[/b] I think visual novels should have content like this. Not only does it set you apart from books, utilizing the interactive nature of the medium but expands world building in not traditional ways. If I see a game developed by a company called Yuri Kissaten, I want to root for it after all I am yurifan (massively). I was disappointed with this as a [i]yuri[/i] visual novel. I said there was realistic dialogue between online friends but there was not any sort of realistic online romantic dialogue portrayed through these messages. Absence was the romantic build-up or hints of a romantic relationship in these text before they met in real life that I was shocked of the “oh ♥♥♥♥ they are kissing???” scene in the game that I thought it was a dream because it happened so out of the blue. The characters were going through the motions of a romantic relationship without the actual feeling or development that they are in one. And since this story is about long distance lovers it is pretty bad when the romance is lacking when they are apart physically. I was hopeful that the flashbacks would expand on where this romantic attraction came from but sadly while it was fun to see realistic dialogue in the video game they were playing, it did not give any hint that they had romantic feelings or were in a romantic relationship. The time skips hinder the plot. So much of what would build the relationship or create interesting drama was glossed over. And many of that was when the two characters met in person. If the LDR is not portrayed well I expected the in person romance to make up for it. As an example, the scene where Javi's and Shio's families all met together in Chile, the story had only one super short scene then Shio and her family flew back. I was left wondering how much more they could have written here. There were unrealistic situations. Characters who are adults making really illogical decisions. (There was one really illogical scene to me exacerbated because the lack of romantic portrayal beforehand. Why would you do this just for an online friend?). Javi is suppose to be a good artist but none of art is very impressive. She made something for Shio as a birthday present which look like it would take 5 mins to make. [b]Conclusion[/b] 1. For $19.99 and 3-4 hours of content, if I was not given this game for free, I would not buy. I love yuri but I need the emotional resonance between two women. Yuri is about emotion and this game failed to capture the essence of yuri. I was waiting for either a flashback that would make me get that they were in a romantic relationship before they met in real life or some sort of emotional connection that would make me understand how, why and that, these two characters had feelings for each other. I was left waiting.