When I think of a visual novel, I simply see moving pictures, beautiful graphics, and some good music underneath. The last review I did of a visual novel fits this exact description. Truly, though, it was a visual novel, so choices weren’t exactly an option. It was…a visual novel. There’s nothing wrong with that! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like wool was pulled over my eyes on what to expect.
Anyhoo, that was my first experience with a visual novel, so I knew this time what I was getting into before I got into it. And ‘it’ was Blake: The Visual Novel from developer Ori Mees. I must tell you, folks, this story brought me back to the early days of gaming when I was a wee lad.
Let’s get into it.
Story is everything
Snatcher and Rise of the Dragon were my games back when the Sega CD was the bee’s knees…for six months. Snatcher was a Hideo Kojima masterpiece that was dialogue-driven, somewhat non-linear, and touched upon the possibilities of developing a bigger Blade Runner-esque world in gaming that could go for miles. Keep in mind that in 1988, the year Snatcher was released, most of the gaming world was still trying to figure out Mario and his possibilities. To the point, Snatcher was mostly a story with a little bit of action and a lotta bit of investigation. Was it a visual novel? Not in the strictest sense, but it certainly could give the term a run for its money.
Rise of the Dragon was the same way. It had a sprinkle of horror, mostly text-based, and wanted the player to make choices that would equal out to a successful investigation. Think of it like a darker Pushing Daisies and you get the picture. It was good for 1990.
I bring these two examples to light because Ori Mees’ Blake: The Visual Novel brought back these text-based adventurous feelings that the above provoked in me when I was younger. Unlike the first visual novel game I reviewed last year, I felt like this was more of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type of game that had easy-to-see solutions on the surface, but unforeseen consequences underneath. It certainly gave the feeling of a branching narrative that was off its linear rails, though I would have to go through it more than once to confirm that is the case. Whatever it might end up being, it felt more interactive than my first experience with a visual novel on a console. Believe me, I’ll take it.
Blake’s main star is…well…Blake. Blake is a guy who just got a job with a developer, which has a lot of different arms in what it develops. As our hero is settling into his new digs and getting to know the crew he is working with, he is thrown into a project that requires secrecy and involves more than a fair share of mystery. The project brings with it new problems into Blake’s simple life. The problems include being drugged, owls appearing and disappearing and re-appearing, kidnapping, murder – and everyone is a suspect. Also, there are some heavy realizations for Blake and his life. There are so many branches to this narrative that you could make a small forest and shade yourself from the hot sun.
The story is the most important part of this visual novel, as it should be, and the stakes feel like they’re on par with a darker version of the movie Clue. The consequences feel real, though you’re in total control of how the narrative plays out, which you must be meticulous in your choices to drive it. And this is the type of game you want from a visual novel experience. You never simply want to be on the outside looking in, rather you want real control of what could occur in a character’s life. That is what Blake: The Visual Novel brings to the table. I adore this about the game and feel like there was a lot of strong thought and love put into the making of it. That flowchart outlining how the narrative could go must have been amazing to see after it was wrapped. I’m incredibly impressed with how complicated the narrative gets and how much of it you direct along the way.
Balance is everything with storytelling
If you have never read one of my movie reviews (lucky you), then you don’t know how passionate I am about films following a well-balanced narrative structure. In a basic three-act structure, you’re looking at act one explaining main characters, location, secondary characters, and essentially setting boundaries on how big a story’s world can become. The second act is fully focused on the crisis at hand and putting the main character through a journey that will lead he/she/it to a climax. The third act of a story is engaged in the story’s crescendo that erupts into said climax and eventual resolution. The first act is generally a small piece that gives you enough information to make you comfortable. The second act takes up the most space in a story. The third act is just the top of the hill of the second act rollercoaster before the plunge to the ending. That’s how a story should work and be balanced. Blake follows this pattern perfectly.
You get just enough information about Blake and his present-day status in the first act. You get to meet all his potential friends, enemies and get to know his world. Once that is established, then the actual crisis begins, which slides right into the end of the first act. You spend a good chunk of time unraveling plenty of confusing situations while creating suspicions of who done it and why. Again, it’s a perfect amount of uncovering and showing off a bigger reason for us to stay engaged and involved with Blake’s world. The third act comes in as it should and ends the way you may not expect – of course, the choices along the way probably play into it. Regardless, the story is balanced, it doesn’t feel boring, and it is designed in a way to keep the dialogue just long enough to get what is being delivered and not too much where you feel like you’re reading a book. It’s a good balance.
Choices
Outside of an outstanding narrative is how the game delivers it. While you will be reading quite a bit, you will have breaks and moments where you must make choices that decide what comes next. Some of the choices the game gives you are obvious. For example, settling arguments for co-workers that pull you in the middle of their conundrum. You get to decide who you side with and who you don’t. That choice can create trust or hate, but the game certainly puts your decision skills to the test as you must also balance your potential consequence for said choice. For those of you who choose chaos as a lifestyle, you’re going to love how this game treats you. For those of us who must freeze and work out potential consequences, my God it’s tough to read the room. Of course, the latter makes this game fun in a sick sort of way.
At the end of the day, Blake: A Visual Novel gets you involved, which is what you want to feel like you were when playing a game of this structure. Again, it’s a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure structure that won’t end the story abruptly by your choices, but it certainly seems to veer off into a new branch with every choice you make. You want a game, even if it’s not a visual novel, to take you in that direction. It is what makes games memorable and, more importantly replayable. I just finished 50 hours of Ghost of Tsushima just to have a different ending. That’s how important a structure like this is and it certainly gets you engaged with what the story is delivering.
Choices matter and Blake does a good job with how it delivers them.
Issues
Blake really doesn’t have glaring issues that weigh it down. For what it is, it does what it promises swimmingly. I can’t complain about the choices and how they’re presented, I can’t really get down on it for the story at all, so what do I have to complain about? Nothing at all. It’s a great example of how a visual novel game should be presented and it’s only $1.99. I mean, you’re going to get two hours out of this game for $1.99. In my opinion, the only real issue I have with this game is that Ori Mees didn’t charge enough. This is easily a $5.99 game. Maybe $7.99. Can I knock off points from a score for bad pricing? Sadly, no.
Conclusion
Ori Mees did a superb job with Blake: The Visual Novel. The story is compelling, the choices feel real, and the consequences will have you trying the game again once it’s done.
