Newfound Courage

Premise This review reflects my personal experience with the game. While I aim to write thoughtfully and as fairly as possible, my reviews are subjective in nature and should not be used as objective metrics to assess/critique a game. I also curate a steam group which focusses on reviewing BL/Bara/MxM VNs. Feel free to join if you would like to see more reviews! :) [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46061383-Gay-Games-Vault] Gay Games Vault[/url] Worth Playing: ★★★☆☆ Writing & Story — ★★★☆☆ In Newfound Courage, you play as Alex, a gay man arriving in Silverspire, slowly connecting with the people around him, including a kind-hearted man you develop feelings for. SPOILER That friend is straight. END SPOILER What follows is a painfully tender, one-sided love story that unfolds at a dreadful pace. It leans into awkward pauses and hesitant conversations. Chapter 2 hit me the hardest; it does not soften the experience of being gay in a space that at times, can feel quite discriminatory. But I will refrain from adding to much due to spoilers. I found the writing and story good, despite the heartbreak, probably because it's something most of us can identity with, but if you…

[b]Review Update (June 2026)[/b] I have updated this review to include an [b]At a Glance[/b] section that better reflects my current review format. The review itself and my overall assessment remain unchanged from my original write-up. [b]At a Glance[/b] [b]Recommendation:[/b] Recommended with Caveats [b]Best For:[/b] Players looking for a sincere gay-led narrative adventure focused on self-discovery, emotional growth, and coming-of-age themes. [b]Not For:[/b] Players seeking a romance-forward M/M experience with substantial romantic development and a strong fantasy-space focus. [b]Playtime:[/b] Approximately 7-8 hours. [b]MLM Tags:[/b] MLM, M4M, Adventure, Gay-Centered, Self-Discovery, Drama, Romance-Light 💬 [b]Supportive Caveat[/b] This recommendation comes from a place of genuine support for creators telling gay stories, even when the result is not perfectly tuned to what many M/M players are actually looking for. [i]Newfound Courage[/i] is absolutely gay in the sense that Alex is gay and the game is centered on his experience, but it is not a straightforward “pick a guy, fall in love, get your happy ending” kind of M/M romance. The first arc sets up Alex saving the…

I really enjoyed this game. I don't regularly play games with pixel graphics, and now I feel like I've been missing out on a ton of fun. I found the story to be incredibly promising and clearly setting up a lot of world-building for future content that hopefully will come one day. Being queer is a part of the story, and I like that it was something that wasn't subtle or briefly mentioned, but instead an actual part of character development and moving the story forward. I think some of the earlier reviews (prior to the free DLC included) felt a bit cheated in a sense because they, much like I assumed, that the romance would be in the first book, and technically there is love (friendship) there, it's just not romantic like you'd initially assume or maybe felt led to believe. However, the second book actually does include romance, albeit with different characters, and continues the plot in a way that felt exciting and fun to me personally. The combat in the story is also fun, but very simple, which I didn't mind, but at times I wish there were more variety there. I think my biggest want with this game is that I wish it were longer and there were more to explore. I think the romance …

Positives: world-building is extremely interesting, there are some really emotional moments that surprised me, gameplay was fun and not too difficult Negatives: writing could be a little clunky, the development of romantic feelings (both books) seems rushed, storyline is unfinished even after book 2, [spoiler] forgiving Jarrow and going on a date with him happens too quickly for me to feel comfortable with it especially after the rant to Miss about what love does and doesn't mean[/spoiler] I know it's supposed to be a short game, but I think you can find balance in a short game so that all the elements have enough space. This game would have been better if it was longer, more fleshed-out, with more gameplay and storyline development. It just tries to fit a lot into a small package in a way that leaves me a bit unsatisfied. I still like it and think it accomplishes what it sets out to do. [spoiler] Also, everyone upset book 1 does not end with a romantic relationship, you get the chance in the DLC that adds book 2. Yeah you have to get the DLC but it's a misrepresentation to act like the MC never has that opportunity[/spoiler]

Initially I was set on disliking the game, albeit it won over me, especially with the DLC. The graphics are great, the music is somewhat decent, however, the story and especially the dialogue still needs work. Thumbs up for improvements in the second part of the story, the DLC really did make it more worth it. I do hope though that there's more to come to this game.

I don't often leave reviews but I really enjoyed this game and it impacted me in a big way. Alex's story is relatable for many of us who have been made to feel out of place in society for our identity and the opportunity to trace a romantic path for him in book 2, while short, feels extremely meaningful. I truly appreciate the message behind the game and while initially I was skeptical about the story and thought it wasn't making much sense, I started to go with the flow and saw that the story takes a backseat to the emotional and psychological experiences of the characters, which are mostly well-developed and in my opinion relatable for a wide audience since they touch on universal themes. The only thing I don't understand is how to play the winter DLC. If anyone knows how to play it please let me know! I tried hitting play from the DLC but it loads the regular game and I can't find the winter story. I truly hope to see a book 3 in the future <3