VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

Shuto_Heru said:
It's probably the only VN that I've ever tried. Plus I am a sucker for anything cyberpunk. I really like the slice of life vibe it has, since most cyberpunk stuff is either drama and/or action. I think it's written pretty well for the most part. There are a lot of neat little easter eggs that relate to cyberpunk media and some really obvious parodies of anime in general as well. All in all, I'd say give it a shot!

Also Sei and Kira Miki are #1

Narmy said:
If you like cyberpunk then play Snatcher as well.

Shuto_Heru said:


Oh but of course! Although I never beat the game, I remember giving it a shot on the Sega CD...maybe it's time to try out the PC-88 version haha.

Narmy said:

The PC-88 version is unfinished. It doesn't have the ending chapter.

Guilion said:
I think people should buy it even if you don't like visual novels full of waifus, if anything else because this was created by two weebs trying to flee from Venezuela. It's a more noble cause than most NGOs out there.

BackPackMacDack said:
stella is best girl

SH4kun said:
I played the game a couple days ago (already moved on) and I have to say is kinda mediocre.

The VN sections are filled with unremarkable characters who rant on and on about stuff that is devoid of anything meaningful to say, which gets painful and bothersome unless you shut your brain off and let it go or simply skip it altogether (which is not a good thing since the dialog kinda hints the drink they wanna have in more detail that the description you are given at the end of their dialog).

Graphically it follows the whole Undermeme pixelated stuff that is plagging indie games these days, so nothing new or impressive on that front either.

Gameplay wise it's pretty straightforward and very simplistic in design. The only real difficulty comes from figuring out some of the drinks a customer that wants you to surprise them with your expertise and knowledge on the field, but besides those points the game doesn't offer any kind of satisfaction regarding it's difficulty.

Overall is a very shallow experience that fails both as a visual novel and as a point and click game with nothing really standing out in terms of dialog and characterization. If you want a good and somewhat "realistic" representation of a daily job well translated into a videogame, just play "Papers Please". This is a 4/10 experience at best (and that being generous).

BackPackMacDack said:
I just finished reading this post a few minutes ago and I have to say it definitely misses the point. He harps on about how the characters have nothing meaningful to say in a game that prioritizes extensive use of the the bar setting, a place that has been conveyed throughout literature as a location where people get drunk and ramble on about meaningless things.

He then talks negatively about the pixel art despite it being a deliberate design decision. He also brought up Undertale for some reason even though Valhalla's aesthetic is a nod to 90s retro visual novels whereas Undertale and other pixel indie games use it for contemporary means.

He also brought up difficulty for some reason. As if difficulty in a visual novel (lol) is important, and brings up Papers, Please, as a competing example despite it being a completely different game in regards to tone, atmosphere, story, gameplay, and setting.

Overall I give this guy's review a 5/10 review at best (because every hack deserves a participation award regardless of quality). Don't get me wrong fellas, it's obvious he's trying to critique the work but he's just looking at it in the wrong angles. He could have talked about the lacking main plot and how it created an alien atmosphere different from the initial atmosphere established by the game's introduction and gameplay. He also could have talked about the humor and its tendency to repeat itself to boring tedium. Or about how the gameplay never improved on itself as the player progressed. But no, he only critiques deliberate design decisions and reveals his general lack of understanding when it comes to a game's context, purpose, atmosphere, and gameplay mechanics.

SH4kun said:
This is a videogame though, not real life. As such a medium of entertainment, it's primary concern is giving the player something to be enjoying itself. If you start rambling about relationship with other people or social stuff about a world whose exposition isn't gonna be done well (because the game isn't very long), is just gonna end being lackluster. I'm not expecting a conspiracy in the making or a worldwide threat, but damn, give me something to work on.

Hold on a moment. When did I say anything negative about it? The way I expressed myself meant that I remark the graphics of this game as not something particularly new or original that has been done before, Undertale being the first thing that came to mind that seemed similar (low budget indie title). Generic for me means average, not something praiseworthy, but not a flaw either.

Phoenix Wright follows a "similar" approach (in the sense that is an adventure/point and click+VN hybrid) but the series carries it's gameplay mechanics in a better way and with a much better structure that Va-11 Hall-A does. I brought up "Papers Please" in the sense that is a game that tries to emulate a real life job but carries it's themes, atmosphere,etc in a much better way and mix them in a more tightly and stronger package.

This kind of a game doesn't really need a special or important plot moving it forward (even if, how you say, it fails at it), since it can succeed if the side characters carry the show (which they don't) or if the motives given result in their own individual, well constructed arcs that span across the game for several characters other than the player (which, again, they don't).

Regardles of the intention of the creators