Without Within 2

Before we get into the details I'd like to point out that this isn't really a game. It's a visual novel in the purest of senses. The experience is all reading with cute artwork to go with it, there are no choices to be made. If this idea turns you off then move along, however you'd be missing a great story. Without Within 2 follows the story of Vinty, a struggling calligrapher. We met her in the first installment, which isn't required to understand this game but it's free and short so go enjoy that one as well, but this game continues her story as she follows her dreams. This time she has a grant to go to Melbourne Australia for a calligraphy event so we follow her adventure there. The story also involves Excelia, her idol, who Vinty gets to meet and actually get to know. The story is well written and interesting, however, it reads more like a love letter to Melbourne than a story about Vinty. The most interesting moments are when things happen to Vinty or she interacts with someone. Like when she eats sausage and likens it to dog poo. There is still pop culture humor but it pops less frequently than the first game. Also, the ending was a nice twist. Vinty is a fun character and though I don't know much about the world of calligraphy it's nice to learn about it through her. The artwork is good as well as the soundtrack, it all lends to a relaxing experience. You can put the text on auto then sit back and read everything as you nibble on a snack or eat dinner like I did. The game also offers trading cards and very easy to obtain achievements which are always positives. There were points that I wish the story was interactive but the story was good the way it was so I didn't mind. For the price of a paperback book you could do a lot worse, though grabbing it on sale would be best. This would also be a great title to share with younger gamers. [url=http://lunarproductions.tumblr.com/]Lunar Productions[/url]

TL;DR: As a pleasant and casual visual novel, it's the cheapest trip to Melbourne you can get. I rarely review visual novels ([i]abbr.[/i] VN) so bear with me. I liked [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/345650/]the first game[/url] (free-to-play at that) so I wanted to see what direction the second one would take. I'll be spoiler-free about this as far as possible. Let's start with the obvious, the visuals. The art style and music is clear and pleasant for both eyes and ears. Many scenes are animated to show off the life of the city. The English language (as I can't read Chinese) is excellent with virtually no mistakes or any reason for pet peeve. [h1]Story time![/h1] Continuing the story from the first game, Vinty the protagonist is a wannabe calligraphist. She's poor and absent-minded and gets into trouble because of that. Nice for her, she gets the fortune of visiting a fair of calligraphists in Melbourne. Funny enough, about half of the VN is about describing the trip, from plane rides to some small-time tourism. As a nice touch these are coupled (but not embedded) with YouTube videos (over 20 of them), specifically made for the game. This makes [i]Without Within 2[/i] effectively the cheapest trip to Melbourne one could buy up here in the northern hemisphere, or perhaps more fittingly a travel journal of more effort than usual. Consequently, it's also presented with a plot. [h1]Story time! ...part 2[/h1] In addition to praising Melbourne there's Vinty awkwardly trying to appeal to her idol Excelia, the famous calligrapher. This time around the novel is totally linear with no choices for alternate story lines given: you can just relax and follow the story to its end. It's a simple and perhaps familiar storyline but it works. While awkward in action, Vinty stays a thoughtful personality throughout the game, shamelessly grumping about her problems and celebrating her little victories at everyday life to the reader. It's a neat way to bring her to life as a vibrant, living person and immerse yourself into the story. That's where this VN shines - it really feels like you were on the trip as well. [h1]Conclusions[/h1] I usually want to find something bad to say about everything for completeness, but there's little to complain about [i]Without Within 2[/i]. Perhaps it's a bit short with just some 2.5 hours of reading and video watching, give or take. The videos are not embedded so you got to have a browser and your connection ready for that additional immersion. Also, those 2.5 hours were not quite enough to get all the card drops. If I were mean I would remark there was quite a lot of filler with all travel and praise about how great Melbourne is (like I ever had the money to go there). However, it does serve as a pleasing way in building the atmosphere so I'll let it slide. Having liked Vinty's story in [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/345650/]part 1[/url] I would wager you liked this one as well, sale (like me) or even without.

I've missed Vinty a lot, she's not your normal "pure" protagonist: she actually has feelings, and she's not an overly happy silly puppet like we see in some other VNs around there. I find this character amazing and I enjoyed her 2nd game a lot! I hope there will be Without Within 3! 10/10 (cute art, nice background music, and adding the videos made the experience even better)!

Okay, I bought the Without Within 1, 2 and all the DLC. And I can't help feeling a bit... weird. 1 was too short, it but made me to enjoy those bad endings. But this one, hmm, it seemed like more of a Melbourne city tour guide, without really fun moments. The only two moment I could think this game is for entertainment was when the kiwi-eating guy showed up and when the caligraphy event screwed up. I didn't laugh, but I thought it was fun a little bit. Beside those, there was no interesting writing I found. I don't know this game is designed whether to provide good readings or a virtual city tour. Approximatly 3/4 of 20,000 words are used just to explain how Vinty moved from this place to that place. Just not interesting. About DLC: OST was reasonably priced. More tracks included than the WOWI 1. That was good. But I disappointed about the digital artbook, again. If it claims itself to be a digital artbook, it should show some of the original pictures, other than showing the same thing from the game. I can go take a screenshots on the game gallery for the exact same thing. Author's commentaries were the only thing orignal, and I don't think that worth whole three dollars. Well, the vids of city IRL was good. Really good for the price. I can't imagine how much effort the author made to take those. But... this is a visual novel above all those things. The story told through the text should be the first thing considered in a these kind of thing. Really. I hope the sequal would be better than this one, if it will be made.

*squee* There is another part to this story and that makes me very happy. To see this wonderful little visual novel continued from where it left off. [b]Story Breakdown[/b]: We return to pick up where we left Vinty, our protagonist and set out on a journey to Melbourne, Australia, (Close to home, yay!), thanks to a grant, she's able to travel and afford a two night stay in the big city to show off her calligraphy among a whole heap of other aspiring artists and her idol, Elxcelia. When on her flight, a bathroom break makes her scuttle through first class and note a whole heap of people trying to fit under a seat to retrieve someone’s glasses.. Conveniently, Vinty is small enough to upstage all the bodyguards there, only to have the glasses snatched from her hand with no praise and given to what seems to be a pop-star and she realises just who it is. It is of course, Elxcelia. Vinty goes for her bathroom break with a huff and comes back out to her idol summoning her over to accompany her for a while, and shouts her a meal in thanks/apology for how her bodyguards treated her. They exchange a few words before, after and during there meal and our protagonist goes back to her seat, preparing herself for the rest of the trip, still rather gobsmacked about having met the famed individual. After all, she is only human, too. [b]Graphics[/b]: Just like the first Without Within, the art holds the adorable quaintness of it. Introducing a few more moving images, and bishy sparkles everywhere. I'm already rather fond of art styles like this, so it's an extra little reward for me for this keeping it. [b]Soundtrack[/b]: As with the first, it fits into the quaint feel of the novel and really ties it together nicely. It's worth getting to have it playing in the background as you work on something. [b]Menu[/b]: Blocky and chunky but in a really nice and satisfying way. It's simple and quaint like the novel itself making it a pleasure to use. [b]Final Conclusion[/b]: It's wonderful, it's adorable and much longer than the first Without Within which was free. The content you pay for in this one is by far worth it and following the story is also worth it. It's brought together really nicely, shows a lot of work and effort and just has really relatable or lovable characters. While Elxcelia's fall felt a tiny bit rushed, it honestly makes up for it with the development of our characters coming up to speed at a really nice pace.

[h1][i]Vinty is back with another adventure and this time is willing to take off on a trip to Australia![/i][/h1] [h1]Game's premise:[/h1] [b][i]The heroine is still living at her cramped apartment while working part-time at a restaurant. Thus far aspiring to become a famous calligrapher, she decides to set off on a journey to Melbourne to follow a famous calligrapher called Excelia, who’s going to perform at a special event.[/i][/b] [h1]The trip:[/h1] [b][i]Vinty’s voyage is – to say the least – eventful, as it happens to be the first time she embarks the plane! While having her head in the clouds (in both senses) and heading to the toilet room, Vinty encounters no one else but Excelia who is crunched down in the upper class trying to pick up her glasses… After lending a hand to the idol she wholeheartedly admires, Vinty gets invited to take a sit next to her. Reluctantly Vinty manages to accept and notices straight away the differences between herself and an iconic public figure – to begin with the comfy seats offered in the first class flight. However, this does not withhold the small artist from asking Excelia for a shout-out on Reddit regarding her artworks. After having Excelia to agree it is time to go back to her own much uncomfortable lower class sit.[/i][/b] [h1]An immersive travel:[/h1] [i][b]While in Australia, every single detail captures Vinty’s attention, whom moved by curiosity is eager to experience the ridings on trams, observing the colours presented by taxis stuffing the roads and enjoying the place she had the opportunity to visit for two days straight after receiving a grant. While following a funny-looking map resembling a little kid’s doodle, that she drew by hand, she keeps exploring the city.[/b][/i] [h1]Featurings:[/h1] This game portrays well the points inspected by our heroine. In fact, the player not only will be given the names of visited places that are neatly portrayed with moving backgrounds, there is also a button linked to a video, which gets displayed while Vinty happens to be exploring the worthwhile area’s of the city. It will offer a possibility of viewing moments of real life city in action with scenes taking place in game. This is a 2h long Kinetic Novel (therefore no choices involed) which offers again simple yet well made artstyle accompanied by entertaining bgm matching the story’s atmosphere. The music comes along properly with relaxing, as well as emotional and funny moments of the adventure. The flow of narration is smooth and casual recounting Vinty’s 2 day long adventures using a playful approach, hence the experience is portrayed from Vinty’s perspective. And as you may already know from the first game, the heroine got a certain type of personality of her own. The game does add occasional sound effects to the story and presents no voice acting, nonetheless, the playthrough results really entertaining as a result of the narrative’s jocosity. At the game’s ending you will get a music video displaying real life places Vinty came to visit during her trip. [h1]Overall:[/h1] Strongly recommended to public looking for a comical Visual Novel that does not treat any heavy topic, making sure that the reading experience will result laid back and will give you a chance to have a laugh or two. [h1]Follow my [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38439090-Peachy-Reviews/]Steam Curator page[/url] for more reviews about Visual Novels, indie games and more.[/h1]

大概一个小时的流程，整体质量相对于价格而言还是建议等打折购买。