Soulslayer～灭魂·误佳期～ Reviews

Not terribly complicated or deep philosophical commentary, but am pleasantly surprised. Added bonus if you understand mandarin because of the rather poetic way they converse. This is a story puzzle/ investigation game, not a braindead otome (because I've been playing way too much of those lol). Protagonist is smart and sensible. Pretty aesthetics and nice music. While the story does somewhat circumvent the typical cliches of its genre, I wish they would have done more with the storylines and character development of the side characters, though it is not a very long game. Pacing was good.

This is a visual novel with beautiful art, a likable protagonist and a decent mystery, set in a vaguely dynastic-China millieu. That said, this is a qualified recommendation. Get it if: (a) it's on sale, and (b) you can speak (Mandarin) Chinese There is some beautifully-written prose in this game, but this isn't something that will come across in the translation. The translation is competent, but it fails to bring across the elegance of the original writing. I'm not sure this is a fault of the translator, more that it's inherently difficult to do so (I'm saying this as someone who used to do Chinese>English translations at my job.) The other big problem, I think, is that there's a lot of good storytelling here that's often actively hobbled by its gameplay elements. There are a ton of choices that aren't real choices, in the sense that picking them will lead to a dead end. And worse, there's often no logic to why something leads to a dead end, you just kinda have to do some trial-and-error. There is a Groundhog Day element to the story, where you are given three "restarts" after you die. However, as far as I can tell, the paths that lead to the "good" endings have the maximum amount of deaths "built in". That means if you trigger a death not part of the "canon" storylines, you lose, though this is not often immediately apparent. All this means the story is really more linear than it pretends to be, it just wastes a lot of the player's time pretending otherwise. I would honestly have been fine with just culling these dead ends from the game entirely. That said, it's not too bad, since it's a very short game overall. Expect to finish this game in about two hours. 4-6 hours if you wanted to see all the endings. Would recommend looking up a guide. I've already mentioned the strong writing. The voice acting is excellent across the board. The VA for the protagonist in particular is really good. And the art is absolutely gorgeous. Despite all my complaints about the gameplay, it really does evoke the feeling of watching a good period drama, which is why I'm giving this a thumbs-up.

This little suspense game is certainly a refreshment from all these dull and repetitive galgames which are hardly engaging with all these repetitive routines and meaningless conversations. The story really presents twisty plots as well as some innovative puzzle designs. I appreciate that the player is allowed three times of rebirth to appropriately arrange the sequence of attaining hints in each cycle to achieve the best ending. At the same time, the normal endings, in which you wrongly accused an innocent character of attempting a murder, don’t turn out to be complete nonsense as each of them sets you into a different perspective to understand those characters better. Pleased to find the dialogue decently written, emotionally dubbed and made fitting for an ancient Chinese setting. Arts work is somehow poor but since romantic elements are minimum in this game, one can tell that arts are not as highly demanding as they are in traditional galgames featuring exquisite CGs. The only regret is that the game is a little too short and could become far less interesting once you have managed all the breakthroughs, despite just being well worth its 15% discount price. Looking forward to its successor. Btw, I was seriously thinking of something like a bonus ending in reward of completing all endings in which the heroine could spend a happy life with her fiance (even in the dreams if it could make more sense). The reminiscence of their past in the fiance ending was the only one scene that rendered me into tears... :( [spoiler]然而小成成注定只是个炮灰深情男友，我还是哭着去脑同人好了。[/spoiler]

Set in medieval China, this is a VN with detective elements. Playing as a young lady from an aristocratic family, you are told you have 3 chances of saving your own life and trying to find the culprit among your servants/family. [h1]Positive features[/h1] + The game has [b]full Chinese voice acting[/b] which, in itself, is rare on Steam. If you are a Chinese native speaker or learner (like me), the game might be for you just because of that. + The [b]art style[/b] is great and beautifully designed. Have a look at the Steam screenshots to see if it appeals to you. + Pleasing to the eye: The game uses white [b]font[/b] on brown background and is very easy to read. As an avid VN reader, I've come across a few badly optimized games on Steam and the font can destroy an entire VN. + [b]Choices and achievements[/b] which are not that hard to get if you actually read the text. Something for both achievement hunters (quick) and casual players (logical) alike. + [b]Trading cards[/b] [h1]Negative features:[/h1] [strike]- I have only tested the [b]English translation[/b] so far but I have to admit that I am disappointed. I was one of the backers on Greenlight and the game took a while to be released, hence the team could have hired somebody to write a better translation. A lot of the vocabulary seems to be literally translated and the translation feels unnatural to a native speaker. I will change my review should the translation be changed in the future.[/strike] In short, buy it for the atmosphere. The future of this game series can be very bright!

'Cause I'm so bored with Kawai VN games, this game is definitely the one I'm look for. The artwork is well designed and music is very beautiful. Though it's a lovely and dedicate game, the English subtiles and the clue function were a little confusing for me, which made the gameplay less fun. If there is another update or a new DLC to release, I hope it will make the game better.

A nice game with beautiful art and nice story. It's a Chinese Ancient style game. The game itself is easy to figure out. The whole play-through is about 2 hours.

Soulslayer is a murder mystery visual novel with supernatural elements. I say elements even though the fact that the player character Yao Xiu has three chances to figure out who murdered her [i]after[/i] she died is pretty much the main premise of the game; gameplay itself, however, mostly consists of regular sleuthing. After Yao Xiu dies, she has three days - or rather, the same day three times in some sort of ancient Chinese Groundhog Day scenario - to find out who wants her dead. This is done by talking to people, asking the right questions, enquiring about different things, and drawing the correct conclusions. There are several choices to make and multiple different endings to reach, only one of which is the "True" ending, as seems to be tradition for VNs; however I'd say all routes except for one (which is good for a laugh, if nothing else) are worth going through since you learn a lot about the characters and goings-on. The story is quite intriguing, with several red herrings to distract from what's really happening. Personally, I was not expecting the True Ending to turn out as it did - at least not right from the beginning. It took me 3-4 hours to finish all routes and endings. Fairly short, but the story focuses on important things and doesn't overstay its welcome. The art in this VN is gorgeous. Colourful character design, suitable backgrounds and a fancy UI make it very pretty as a whole, where everything fits together well and is complimented by beautiful music. I can't say much about the voice acting as I don't speak Mandarin but it seems ... fine? The English subtitles are alright, though I am at least aware that there are some intricacies to the original language which don't translate well so that might take away from the experience a bit. The text has some typos and other errors, but not enough to be aggravating - your mileage may vary. I'd recommend Soulslayer to anyone who likes VNs or murder mysteries.

I really enjoyed this VN and was pleasantly surprised! Especially liked the mini "after-endings" that made me sympathize with each character. It seems they fixed the English translations since it flows pretty well now.

25/07/17: Edited to address the changes to the translation. This is a Visual Novel with some investigation conducted through conversations to unravel who the culprit of a certain crime [spoiler]your death[/spoiler] is and you have three chances to do it. The art is really nice, I love it. The music is good too. The investigation part through conversations, trying to figure out who the culprit is while staying alive is rather interesting. [strike]The good parts are brought down by an English translation which leaves a lot to be desired. The text feels dry, stiff and sometimes it doesn't make too much sense. Sometimes it's just a word missing, sometimes it is a typo, sometimes it's a phrase that feels disconnected from what the characters are talking about. Considering what seems to be there of the story is quite intriguing, better care on the translation would have gone a long way into making this more enjoyable.[/strike] [strike]Another issue I found is with the skip function. Given the 3 chances mechanism in the game to unravel the mystery before it is game over, the skip option is important to jump over what has been read already, but the skip option only seems to work up to a certain point. A little bit after the [spoiler]first death[/spoiler] it seems like the skip option does nothing for the text I have already read.[/strike] [strike][b]I'm conflicted about the game[/b]. I feel this is a nice game for the price, but the English text doesn't make me want to give it a fully positive recommendation. After all it is a Visual Novel, reading is pretty important and if the text doesn't flow well and actually works against you by taking you out of the immersion, then most of the experience can fall apart.[/strike] [strike]I can only say Yes/No and the experience hasn't been negative enough on the whole for me to say No. Translation aside, I enjoy the other parts of what's there. For everyone else though, [b]unless the English translation gets updated, I'd suggest to get this only if you can look past what looks like a shoddy English translation or if the game is on sale[/b][/strike]. The English translation felt lacking on release but the developer quickly aknowledged the issue and got to work on fixing it. While the translation present in the game now is not the final version, it already reads better and erased the doubts I had on release about fully recommending the game. Now the package feels pretty complete for English readers, with a good reading experience along the beautiful art and pleasing music. Considering the developers are still improving the translation, adding some features and fixing other issues I think the game is fully worth the asking price.

[i][h1]This review is written from the perspective of someone who is fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese. If you are interested in this game but can't read a lick of Chinese, this review is for you.[/h1][/i] [b]TL;DR Verdict:[/b] Pick it up on a sale as the English version is not worth the full price. ------------------------- + [b]Completely standalone story[/b] that leaves room for sequel(s) + Intriguing murder mystery story in unique historical setting (dynastic China) + [b]Very good Mandarin voice acting[/b]; every line of dialogue is voiced + [b]Distinctly Chinese aesthetic[/b] (character design, interface, music) + Well written, likable protagonist with quite a personality (considering the era she lived in) + [b]8 distinct endings[/b] (3 bad endings + 4 character-specific endings + 1 true ending) + Protagonist is given three "Groundhog Day cycles" to uncover the truth; retains her memories after each cycle and can use them to her advantage +/- Fast-paced story with [b]zero filler[/b] but [b]very short[/b] considering its price +/- Romance not a focus, but plays an important, albeit twisted role in the story +/- Evidence system similar to Ace Attorney but simplified (no going around clicking on stuff) +/- Certain backstories and secondary plot threads are partially left to our imagination +/- Semi-archaic Mandarin dialogue reminiscent of period dramas on Chinese television (Not the perfect analogy for you English speakers, but think Games of Thrones dialogue) - [b]Below average English translation[/b] that pales in comparison to the original Chinese script [u][i](more on that below)[/i][/u] - Backgrounds drawn in broad strokes with little color or detail (though this could be a deliberate design choice to reflect the protagonist's mental state while living in the family mansion) - Some music tracks loop abruptly and awkwardly - Certain endings are hard to achieve without a guide - A minor plot hole in the story (spoiler in Chinese) [spoiler]父亲离家时阿秀年纪小，记不得他长什么样我能接受，但这么多年周围就没一个人发现这对“父女”长得不像？人设上确实看不出来，难道彭伟是化妆大师？不过他当年的干儿子隔了十几年却一眼就认出了他， 所以这也讲不通。。。 [/spoiler] ------------------------ Now here's a unique VN that has certainly carved out its own little niche on Steam. As someone who grew up watching Chinese period dramas and has played a bit of Ace Attorney, I felt right at home playing this game. While the gameplay is basically a watered-down version of Ace Attorney plus your typical VN branching choices, it sets itself apart by allowing the protagonist to [b]relive the crime scene and change the course of events[/b] instead of investigating the scene after everything is set in stone [i](well that’s not entirely true, but you’ll have to play the game to find out why)[/i]. The story is pretty good considering its short length, with a final twist that I did not see coming at all. The character-specific endings serve to flesh out the members of the cast, whereas the true ending resolves the entire mystery. I would whole-heartedly recommend this game to anybody interested in murder mysteries, historical dramas, or just good stories in general. But there is a caveat, and a quite major one at that: [b][u]You will have a lesser experience with this game if you don’t know Chinese.[/u][/b] ------------------------ Now before you accuse me of being biased towards my native language, let me explain why: [h1]1)[/h1] [b]There are inherent linguistic and cultural subtleties in the Chinese language that simply cannot be carried over to English[/b], not to mention the Chinese script (written in a classical flavor that often utilizes words and expressions not commonly used in modern Chinese) assumes the reader has a basic understanding of the workings of a Chinese society in the dynastic period. Many of these subtleties, which sadly cannot be reflected in the English script, go a long way in making the voices of each character distinct. You can learn about a character's upbringing, personality, and social standing just by observing their speech patterns in Chinese. Luckily, the well-executed Mandarin voice acting can make up for some of that. Let me give you the most obvious example I can think of on top of my head: As far as I know, there is only one way in English to refer to oneself --- “I”, whereas classical Chinese is much more varied and flexible in this regard. In the Chinese script, when referring to themselves, characters would sometimes swap the standard first person singular pronoun (我) for a third person noun more appropriate of their social status and identity; it usually depends on who they're talking to. For example, the maid Rosy always uses “婢子”("lowly maidservant") instead of “我”("I") when referring to herself in front of her mistresses, whereas the much younger Cloudie, having not learned the proper manners yet, almost always uses “我” ("I"), even in front of her mistresses. Referring to oneself in the third person this way is not only a display of modesty and courtesy, but also a sign of conformity to the established social hierarchy; these qualities were the hallmarks of dynastic China --- a rigid, conservative Confucian society which valued social order and harmony over personal freedom and expression. My personal favorite is that one uncultured brute who uses the vulgar term “老子”(daddy/old man) when referring to himself, which is borderline cussing in Chinese. (It also makes him sound like a boss.) Unfortunately, all of these vastly different “pronouns” would have to be uniformly translated to “I”, or else the English script would sound like gibberish. [i](Trust me, all this makes a lot more sense if you know Chinese or another language that does this.)[/i] [h1]2)[/h1] [b]The English prose is dry and bland compared to its Chinese counterpart.[/b] [u]Now I’ve only played the prologue in English, so take my verdict as you will[/u], though I wouldn’t expect the prose to suddenly have a jump in quality past the prologue. Although I wouldn’t call it poorly written ---it's perfectly readable--- it’s not exactly what you would call a competent localization. English is clearly not the devs’ native language, as the English script lacks the fluidity, personality, and historical flavor of the original script. Despite there being no glaring grammatical errors, reading it just feels “off,” for lack of a better term. Occasional missteps in the translation certainly don’t help either. (To give a few examples I found in the prologue, "甄公子" was translated as “Mr. Zhen” instead of “Sir Zhen”; "你笑什么" was translated as “What makes you laugh?” instead of “What are you laughing at?”; “她操持，才正让我不放心” was translated as “Even with her in charge, I’m still worried about it” instead of “It’s exactly her being in charge that makes me worried.”) Fortunately, judging by the other English reviews here, [b]the English script isn't bad enough to hinder one's enjoyment of the story.[/b] [h1]3)[/h1] Also, for some reason, the devs didn’t bother to put up English subtitles for some of the calligraphic title cards. I mean, do they seriously expect English speakers to figure out what stuff like [url=i.imgur.com/pXj3TPD.jpg]this[/url] means by themselves? -------------------------------- It may seem like I’m spouting a lot of negativity here, but I absolutely adore this game and would love for more people outside the Chinese gaming community to experience it. However, as a bilingual fan, I feel obliged to inform you guys of certain shortcomings in this game that you would not have known otherwise. Thanks for reading all my ramblings, and I hope you have found this review helpful. If you have any questions, I would gladly answer them in the comment section.