REVIEW : Aquadine (XBOX Series X)
If you want to explore the beautiful town of Aquadine, there’s a famous gondolier named Ciel who shows guests the most intriguing sites the area has to offer.
A lot of females have their eyes on Ciel since he is a cheery and hardworking kid, but little do they realise that Ciel has an essential reason to keep his reputation while suffering to pay hospital costs for his ailing mother…
Game’s premise:
You play as Robin Liyun, a high school student who lives with his joyful grandfather due to family circumstances.
His routine is disrupted one day when his instructor asks him to tour the school with their new pupil, Elisabeth, who happens to be a famous singer from the neighbouring town of Sulphur.
While Robin’s classmates are still in a stupor from the unexpected recognition, he has never shown an interest in celebrities and hence is uninterested in her visit and treats her like a regular classmate.
With a little push from Diana’s side, Robin gets closer to his group of pals and begins to comprehend the essence of friendship while never actually relying on anybody but himself or his family.
Diana, her cousin Cameron, Anya, and now Elisabeth make up the circle of pals.
While no one at his school suspects him, Robin is hiding a major secret… Will his pals be trustworthy enough for the order to fully disclose his problems to them?
Characters:
Ciel
An attractive and diligent young man working as a gondolier. Never displays his flaws in front of others; a role model to look up to. Everyone enjoys hearing him sing, which happens only occasionally… Is everything, however, as brilliant and shiny as it appears?
He meets a mermaid one day after being drawn in by hearing someone else sing the song he learned from his mother.
Robin
A shy youngster who does his best in school while ignoring his noisy surroundings. His friendships become stronger with time, yet something keeps him from fully opening out…
Diana
Robin’s upbeat pal has a strong crush on Ciel… like the majority of the girls in her town She and her mother both work at a well-known cafe. Cameron’s uncle.
Cameron
Robin’s best friend is really interested in martial arts and wants to achieve great things in his life. He is eager to make a difference in people’s lives, just as someone did for him as a child. She adores pandas.
Anya is One of Robin’s network of buddies. Tries to appear distant and icy, but is dragged into amusing situations by Diana, her childhood friend. She’s a talented artist.
Elisabeth
A famous singer from a nearby town who recently relocated to Aquadine causes some uproar. She went on hiatus for a few months for personal reasons and feels nervous as others keep asking her when she will return to the stage. A very sweet and compassionate young lady appears to have some problem understanding jokes.
The town of Aquadine:
According to an ancient legend, merfolk formerly lived among humans in the town of Aquadine. However, as expected, merfolk faced persecution from the human side of civilisation, forcing the species to disintegrate.
The majority of the town is located on the water, and with the assistance of our industrious gondolier, we will visit every part of this town, from the regular everyday routes to the town’s specialities and classic ancient regions.
The village is very nicely depicted, offering an entirely new universe to explore via the game. Not only is the design eye-catching, but it also tells an intriguing story in each region.
Featuring:
Aquadine is a Kinetic Novel provided by SoftColors with four character paths and one unlockable ending after the routes are completed.
One of the most interesting aspects of this game is the entire set, which manages to vary from casual everyday moments to a strange and nostalgic ambience, offering us distinct stories about each character, such as mysteries to uncover and challenges to accomplish.
The game has several slice-of-life moments between amicable classmates, as well as relevant situations they keep to themselves that we’ll eventually learn about.
The dialogues are partially voiced with sentences that may get monotone after a while, but they are appropriate for the scenarios, therefore I would not consider this a problem.
What I managed to detest little in this game is the shaking effect given to the sprites amid uneasiness, tension, and so on, due to being very monotonous during gaming. Aside from that, there are a few elements left unexplained in the novel that piqued my interest more than anything else. This game, on the other hand, has a lot to offer, including an introductory video with original music, an immersive environment with dreamy-like background music, amusing dialogue lines with lively moments, emotional parts, and a deep message at the end.
The character development is excellent, and the characters inspire kindness as well as the desire to change and grow while reminding us that it is natural to seek assistance and, most importantly, that we are loved.
REVIEW : The Ascent – Cyber Heist (PC)
