Canvas Menagerie

omg it's so goooooooooood! I loved playing the game! It's really well written, it's fun and sweet and the story's really interesting. It's a great romance, I loved all the character arcs and see them change and evolve.

[H1]Canvas Menagerie[/h1][hr][/hr] Notice: This game was given to me for free to curate, which does not guarantee a positive review, and reflects my sincere opinion. Niko has been a small-time actor since childhood, mostly landing small roles in commercials and other short projects; so, when he auditions for a supporting character in a brand-new long-running series, he’s stunned to be cast as the main lead instead. The pressure is immense – especially with a famous actor as the second lead. Fortunately, the rest of the cast is warm and supportive, because Niko is gonna need all the help he can get! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3473273111 15-20+ hours to complete, Canvas Menagerie is a LGBTQ+ slice-of-life visual novel with realistic romance, authentic friendships, and the challenges of Niko – a commercial actor who unexpectedly landed a lead role in a major teen drama series. This game is extremely polished with high-quality writing, expressive character sprites, multiple CGs, and its completely hand-drawn art style. Overall, it’s pretty impressive for an Indie game; not only was the writer in particular very skilled at their work, the storyline kept m…

Honestly a lot better than I thought. Not much of a game to be sure, but a really good visual novel. Loved reading it. I'm so happy queer people exist. And that this game handled it well. The characters are great, and the game even has a blåhaj in it's natural habitat! Not sure if I would have played this if I didn't get it from my curator page, but I definitely would have missed out if I didn't. There is only so much a traditional linear visual novel can do, but this is doing it all so well. From the artbook: "There’s already a lot of pain in the world, especially regarding queer identities, so I wanted this to feel like a breath of fresh air." I think that was a good decision.

Beautiful writing and characters, but I wish there were more interactive elements or branching choices. It feels more like watching a heartfelt series than actively shaping the story, which might not be for everyone. Still, it’s a cozy and inclusive experience with a lot of charm and it’s so nice to see more queer games shining bright for visibility.

Fun BL visual novel with a trans masc main character which is rare to see. I felt it was pretty fun, there are no romance options which made it actually easier on me because I don't like men and was reading this for Niko. Ren is a bit hard to like at first but as expected he warms up as it goes on. I was hoping the story would go into Niko's family issues some more like what we got with Ren but sadly that didn't happen. All in all it was a good read that was worth the price so if you're into BL then you'll probably enjoy your time with it.

My son egg (Niko) and his boyfriend cheese (Ren).