Songs of Life

Almost a month after release and for some reason there are no reviews in English language yet. It's surprising. Maybe it has to do with people having trouble understanding what type of game it is. It is basically a pretty good linear visual novel game. You just read a lot of dialogues and find the next chapter which was unlocked after the previous one. There are three main characters and all dialogues, characters and locations are represented as cards, but you don't choose cards, you just click to display the next one. There are some splits in chapters but you can't choose a second split until you reach a dead end in the story and it unlocks. So while in-game story does have splits the actual game is linear. The story is pretty long, at least 10 hours (it took me 15 hours to complete the story but I am a slow reader). There are three card-minigames in the game related to each of the characters: memory game where you are shown a set of cards with illnesses then they are hidden and shuffled and you need to apply different medical tools to fix them, math game where you have several cauldrons and need to use resource cards to craft recipes with certain amounts of points, speed…

Visual novels are a great way to experiment with storytelling. With [b]Songs of Life[/b], all aspects of the story are told via cards. Set in a fantastical version of the Three Kingdoms period of China, you follow the endeavours of three highly skilled doctors. The story jumps around both between the characters and points in the timeline. It's admirable how much is achieved with the constraints of the card-based format, elevated by pleasant music, consistent art direction and visual flourishes, and excellent voice acting. While the latter is only available in Chinese - a language I don't know - it still manages to get the interpersonal relations across very well. Zhang Zhongjing's journey especially was a joy in that regard. Next to the visual novel there are also three minigames themed around the three doctors. It's a shame these were not woven into the story more, though the advantage now is that failing at the games won't lock you out of finishing the story. I think its best seen as bonus content. While the game has some rough edges and loses some of its strength in the last quarter, I still enjoyed it a lot.

Songs of Life, developed by DreamStep and published by 2P Games, is a narrative-focused visual novel that stands out through its historical setting and thematic ambition. Instead of centering on warfare or political conquest, it explores a lesser-seen perspective of the late Eastern Han Dynasty by focusing on physicians and the struggle against a devastating epidemic. This shift in focus gives the story a grounded, human dimension, emphasizing survival, ethics, and compassion in a time defined by chaos. The structure of the game revolves around multiple protagonists, each offering a different viewpoint on the unfolding crisis. By shifting between these characters, the narrative builds a layered understanding of events, gradually revealing connections and consequences that might not be immediately apparent. This multi-perspective approach adds depth, allowing the story to feel broader in scope while still maintaining a personal focus on individual experiences. It does, however, create a pacing style that can feel fragmented at times, as the game moves between timelines and viewpoints rather than following a strictly linear progression. One of the most distinctive features of Songs…

"Songs of Life" is a tabletop VN. It's a story that unfolds through a tabletop game. Basically, it's one story shown from different points of view and unfolds differently for each of the main characters, accompanied by their distinct card minigame (one is memory like, the other is mix and match in a way and the last one is based on speed and organization). You jump around their stories by completing games and unlock them in a progressive linear way. This keeps things interesting as you slowly see everything together instead of playing one game three times to see the other angles. The artwork is exceptional! I really liked it, as I did the soundtrack and sound effects. The gameplay itself isn't boring nor very easy nor exceptionally hard. You should be able to beat most of the game on your first try with some thinking. The presentation and animations are also very very good. The game makes a really good job of explaining to you how to play it without losing its fun for a single second! Core gameplay mechanics are solid and fun! Interesting plot and story, characters with a backstory and a rich personality, and a mystery that awaits for you to see it to the end! While the translati…