Isle of Maligree

Isle of Maligree brings us an interesting mystery visual novel where you play as an investigator to help solve a missing person's case in an island. It just so happens that it is tied with an ongoing issue where other villagers are going missing left and right. You have 3 days to uncover the mystery and see if you can save the victim before it is too late. This is a VN with rpgesque gameplay where many choices and scenarios in the game have a success factor depending on your skill and the roll of your dice. Which does affect how 'easy' or how complicated things will get for your MC in the game. Your skill points can be increased or decreased depending on what items you are able to obtain or what you do. Furthermore the game gives you 3 types of MCs that you can play at the beginning. Each will give you a different advantage (and for ne unlocks a different path) in the game. The greatest strength this VN has for me is it's replayability factor. There are many little tidbits you can unlock and a handful of ways you can uncover the plot, Not to mention it is fun to try to collect many items on your limited time span you have and see how powerful (or weak) you can be. I also l…

The writing is engaging, the setting interesting, and I really like the background illustrations. I've just finished my first run of the game in one sitting, and I intend to play again to see what happens in the routes I didn't take!

Gotten 5/16 endings with some save scumming near the end, but think I'll leave it at that, unless someone posts a guide for the rest. I've done one run each of the two main 'factions' you can join and was pleasantly surprised by how different both runs were. Obviously, the core mystery is the same and some key moments have to repeat, but the two routes felt different enough and the variety of options in the key moments meant I enjoyed my second play-through as much as the first. The setting, characters, mystery and writing are all quite good for a short experience, but this game truly excels in its pacing. Both runs were single sessions, because the pace is high enough to keep you engaged and give you the feeling that you're trying to catch up to what's happening, but never so fast that it feels confusing or messy. Each resolved section/plot point of the game sets up something else you want to investigate or learn more about. Honestly, this game's easy to recommend for anybody who likes visual novels with rpg elements or who finds mysteries with occult elements interesting. I bought it on sale and feel like I got my moneys worth. Keep in mind that your playtime will likely be lon…

A brief, lovable game. My only negative remark would be that I wished it was longer. I enjoyed the story, the world and it's characters. The classes were so much fun. Happy investigating!

The decision to include RPG elements to a visual novel like Isle of Maligree was a nice touch, as random dice rolls with character modifiers add to the tension of the narrative by creating moment-to-moment stakes; they also increase the number of outcomes a scene can produce beyond just the decisions the player can make, which means the game has a lot of replayability. Each run is a satisfying length - not too long, not too short, and manages to feel like your chosen path is just that - chosen by you. Aesthetically, the game captures the sense of discomfort and weirdness inherent to early 20th century occult mysteries really well. Fans of the Cthulhu mythos or Twin Peaks will feel right at home.

This is a great game, with a deep world and intriguing story. However, the lifespan of this game is relatively short for its cost. I've already done two playthroughs and gotten several different endings, each of which are good, but a little difficult to tell how 'unique' they may be. Still, the game clearly required a lot of work to make, and it paid off in this great game. If you're looking for a $cost$ = hours played, then maybe wait until this game is on sale.