Skip to main content

VGWriteReview: VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (Spoiler-Free)

VGWriteReview: VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

I recently finished VA-11 HALL-A and I have a lot to say about it. As a perfect, comfy world filled with mystery and a sense that everything is a little familiar, VA-11 HALL-A's cyberpunk future gives me the sense that the game had a lot of love poured into it, and in this article, I intend to go over what exactly makes it so special to me.

The Writing

Let's start off strong: since VA-11 HALL-A is a technically a visual novel, the writing is very important. VA-11 HALL-A is written better than your average visual novel, and much MUCH better than your worst visual novel. With Fernando Damas (@IronicLark on Twitter) behind the wheel as the writer/programmer, the game benefits from a perspective set deep in real internet culture and a strong relationship with the game's aesthetics.

Writing: 9/10

The Art

VA-11 HALL-A is pixel art, technically. That aside, it has a lot of care and love put into each and every frame. Each character has talk-sprites with many more frames than your average visual novel. On top of that, the cutscenes and in-between scenes are spot-on in the way that they use their art and aesthetic to express emotion. That being said, this is a writing blog and not an art blog so I will reserve the right to claim this section as being opinionated.

Art: 7.8/10

The Gameplay

It's a visual novel, so the gameplay isn't exactly Dark Souls. It consists of searching for recipes (which is very easy once you get used to it and you begin to memorize recipes) and mixing 5 different ingredients before serving them to guests. Pretty simple, no? Like I said, you're not going to get a whole lot of high-level gameplay out of a visual novel, but VA-11 HALL-A has more than your average VN.

Gameplay: 7/10 (Not enough data to determine a conclusive score)

Conclusion

VA-11 HALL-A strikes through the boring stagnation of typical visual novels to create a new, however experimental and short, experience that knocks it out of the park. It's a cheap, fun, easy experience that, while lacking gameplay like a lot of visual novels do, makes you feel good.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Half-Life Creates a Hidden Multiverse [SPOILERS]

If you played Half-Life and Half-Life 2 without fully grasping the entire plot, I don't blame you. There's a lot to take in. Not the least of which is the massive multiverse in which the games take place. It's very easy to miss, but in fact both games' main antagonists come from elsewhere in this multiverse. In the first Half-Life, the main antagonist, the Nihilanth, is actually running from the main antagonist of Half-Life 2 during the events of the game. The Nihilanth is the last of its kind, hunted to extinction by the Combine, the antagonists of Half-Life 2. The Combine are essentially inter-dimensional conquerors whom enslave entire species and drain entire planets of their resources. Half-Life starts the series as a simple alien-themed FPS, but with the introduction of Half-Life 2 the series quickly evolves into a massive story about the inhabitants of Earth fighting back against inter-dimensional forces. The plot in these games are fairly subtle, probabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's Story Falls Flat and How It Could've Been Better [SPOILERS]

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!,  released in 2014, is set chronologically between the games Borderlands and Borderlands 2. When it was released, it was under slight controversy because of the differences between it and it's predecessor, Borderlands 2. Borderlands: TPS was produced by the Australian subdivision of 2K, the Borderlands series publisher. Since 2K is American, there is a large difference between the values of the studios. Most notably is the fact that the setting of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is more or less Australia in space. What went wrong? This wouldn't be that bad if not for 2K Australia's determination for making the game as Australian as possible. But the game's blatant Australian-ism isn't what does it in, no. I believe the problem lies in the story and the lack of uniqueness and memorability. See, since BL:TPS is set between the first two games, it's seen as a side story, a spinoff of sorts, not a part of the real series. This, ...
Post a Comment
Read more