I was sent Volcano Princess as a review code. I am very grateful for the opportunity but won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Volcano Princess is a visual novel life sim for PC. You play as a single father who must raise a daughter in a fantasy world where demons and man are at war. You make the choices that will foster her growth into a functioning adult. How you choose to raise her is up to you, but the choices you make affect her future.
The gameplay loop is simple. Each day you are given a limited amount of action points to spend where you do activities with your daughter that increase her stats. What you choose to do is up to you, but the limits affect your relationship with her and what she grows up being. The game slowly introduces more mechanics as your daughter ages and choices become harder. When she is old enough, there will be a lite dating sim where she can choose from 18 romantic partners and a mini turn-based rpg game. The pacing is fantastic, and the different game mechanics give the game much-needed diversity. Your first playthrough will take about eight hours, but there are more than 50 endings to work toward.
This game is surprisingly addicting. I stressed over my choices because I needed to be a great father the first time around. I think I was successful, but I already have some ideas for future runs. The amount of choices available is what makes this game so much fun. Eventually, you be forced to think tactically about how you spend time with your daughter. Do you help her through a difficult time at the cost of some important attributes? Do you let her date? Become a writer? An actor? A warrior? It is all up to you, and it is such a wholesome good time.
My biggest tip for new players is to go in as blind as possible. I recommend not looking up a guide unless you want to collect every ending. Even then, I recommend you get some of your own endings first. The story is a little cheesy, but it is a good kind of cheesy worth experiencing at least once.
I love this game and would buy it if I hadn’t gotten it already. The art is cute, the story is wholesome, and the mechanics are relaxing and fun. That said, it isn’t for everyone. This game is great for players who love life sims and don’t mind visual novels. This game involves a lot of reading and waiting for timers. The timers aren’t long, but it doesn’t make for the most exciting gameplay. The story is fine, but there are noticeable grammatical errors. I didn’t mind the grammatical errors and loved the gameplay, but it is something to think about before you make the purchase.
Volcano Princess is $10.99 on Steam, and it is totally worth it for what you are getting.
GDC Recap: Viewfinder
To conclude my coverage of GDC, I want to talk about the nifty puzzler, Viewfinder. Viewfinder is a first-person puzzle game where players can reshape the world by placing printed media like photos or drawings into the world. It is a cool concept that is masterfully implemented around an interesting story. If you like puzzle games like Portal, you need to get Viewfinder.
The biggest draw to Viewfinder is the freedom of creativity that this game allows for. There are many ways to solve puzzles, and players are only limited by their imagination. I spent way too long reshaping the world because it was fun and not because I was solving the puzzles. This game has the potential to be a huge time sink if you like to mess around with map editors. It is unbelievably cool to watch how you reshape the world with different art styles. By the end of a puzzle, you will have this insanely beautiful fusion of art that you created.
I was blown away by the amount of work that went into making this game work so well. Everything in this game works smoothly. I tried to break this game, but the physics was just too good. You can make it rain sideways or make objects fall from the sky with no visible latency. I will be the first to say that Viewfinder has an unlimited potential for shenanigans and that alone should be enough to make you wishlist.
I spent too much of my session admiring Viewfinder’s novel experience. Everything in this game from the art to its innovative gameplay is perfect for people who want to pick up a game to have fun.
Viewfinder is coming to the PlayStation and PC sometime this year, but no date has been set yet. Until then, do yourself a favor and wishlist it on Steam!
I want to thank the game’s writer for sitting down with me and answering all my questions. The game is great, the story is solid, and I can’t wait to play it!
I also want to thank you, guys, for your continued support. I was only able to go to this event because of you. I got to meet some cool people, make important connections, and play some cool games. I never thought people cared about what I had to say, and never dreamed I would have such a wonderful opportunity. I am overjoyed that there are people that enjoy my writing, and I will strive to keep doing better. Thank you so much. I love you all!
****Images are from press kit, gifs are from the steam store. I don’t own them.