Graphic Novel meets Visual Novel in this sci-fi/thriller interactive story. As incriminating events start to revolve around him, experience the dark, mind-bending journey of Blake and his pivotal transformation into a vigilante.
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Blake: The Visual Novel is a passion project from solo indie dev Ori Mees that takes us to what I’d call a cyberpunk-noir future - the world and characters capture the feel of cyberpunk without relying much on the aesthetic and hone in on the feeling of being a detective. Regardless, it’s a quick story worth exploring with memorable characters, great comic book- inspired art and absolutely killer music.
Blake has been having strange dreams, but not nearly as strange as his real life has become when he wakes up with a crate of stolen owls from the zoo in his bedroom. With the help of some legitimately enjoyable characters such as Max, Orlo, Lee and Hari, Blake seeks to get to the bottom of everything while uncovering some deeper mystery and finding out about his blood family that he never knew.
Unfortunately , as this is a visual novel and is entirely a story, I can’t say anything further about the plot without spoiling it. What I can talk about is the refreshing nature of providing actual choices to the player that deviates the story greatly. There are a few points particularly where the player makes a choice and branches the story in a totally different direction. There’s also a few mini games peppered throughout that are a good time. There are a good few endings, and it all comes together to give you the feel of a good ole fashioned paperback choose your own adventure novel.
I wasn’t a fan of the ending that I got, as it felt abrupt, but I know there are a few others to unlock which might be more narratively satisfying. I also felt that some of the characters, particularly Jonathan, didn’t really have a believable dialogue back and forth with Blake. In fact, he felt so fake that I was sure he was secretly a villain until the end, as his story just didn’t add up. Blake’s coworkers are delightful though, and I especially loved Hari and was kind of irritated that Blake didn’t enjoy her company. There also wasn’t an option for autoplay, which would be a great accessibility option besides removing the annoyance of constantly tapping Enter. There are a few issues here and there with the writing’s flow and transitions from scene to scene, and yes some of it feels like being jerked between one revelation to the next, but I had a good time with it and the characters are definitely crafted with heart.
I also want to give special props to the soundtrack. It is fantastic and probably the thing that has stuck most with me, giving a perfect flair to both the cyberpunk and noir sensibilities of the visual novel. In fact the ambient music is so pleasing I left the game running on my computer while cooking dinner so I could keep jamming out to it. It fits in with the atmosphere and the story the developer is crafting seamlessly and honestly I’d just buy the soundtrack as a standalone at this point.
Overall, Blake The Visual Novel is a fine entry to a niche genre and I think is worth playing for anybody who already enjoys visual novels. If you are one of the many people that doesnt, however, I do not believe this one will change your mind. I’m a very fast reader and it took me about an hour and a half to finish, and I think the average time is around 2 hours so it’s not gonna take up too much of your time. I think if I could give any award to Blake: The Visual Novel, it would be for most directed vibes. The city of new stone is cool, interesting, and I advise anyone who is even a tad interested to give it a run.
This charming choice-driven visual novel is chock full of vibes, and with some stellar music and great characters, fans of the genre shouldn’t skip this one.
Blake has been having strange dreams, but not nearly as strange as his real life has become when he wakes up with a crate of stolen owls from the zoo in his bedroom. With the help of some legitimately enjoyable characters such as Max, Orlo, Lee and Hari, Blake seeks to get to the bottom of everything while uncovering some deeper mystery and finding out about his blood family that he never knew.
Unfortunately , as this is a visual novel and is entirely a story, I can’t say anything further about the plot without spoiling it. What I can talk about is the refreshing nature of providing actual choices to the player that deviates the story greatly. There are a few points particularly where the player makes a choice and branches the story in a totally different direction. There’s also a few mini games peppered throughout that are a good time. There are a good few endings, and it all comes together to give you the feel of a good ole fashioned paperback choose your own adventure novel.
I wasn’t a fan of the ending that I got, as it felt abrupt, but I know there are a few others to unlock which might be more narratively satisfying. I also felt that some of the characters, particularly Jonathan, didn’t really have a believable dialogue back and forth with Blake. In fact, he felt so fake that I was sure he was secretly a villain until the end, as his story just didn’t add up. Blake’s coworkers are delightful though, and I especially loved Hari and was kind of irritated that Blake didn’t enjoy her company. There also wasn’t an option for autoplay, which would be a great accessibility option besides removing the annoyance of constantly tapping Enter. There are a few issues here and there with the writing’s flow and transitions from scene to scene, and yes some of it feels like being jerked between one revelation to the next, but I had a good time with it and the characters are definitely crafted with heart.
I also want to give special props to the soundtrack. It is fantastic and probably the thing that has stuck most with me, giving a perfect flair to both the cyberpunk and noir sensibilities of the visual novel. In fact the ambient music is so pleasing I left the game running on my computer while cooking dinner so I could keep jamming out to it. It fits in with the atmosphere and the story the developer is crafting seamlessly and honestly I’d just buy the soundtrack as a standalone at this point.
Overall, Blake The Visual Novel is a fine entry to a niche genre and I think is worth playing for anybody who already enjoys visual novels. If you are one of the many people that doesnt, however, I do not believe this one will change your mind. I’m a very fast reader and it took me about an hour and a half to finish, and I think the average time is around 2 hours so it’s not gonna take up too much of your time. I think if I could give any award to Blake: The Visual Novel, it would be for most directed vibes. The city of new stone is cool, interesting, and I advise anyone who is even a tad interested to give it a run.
This charming choice-driven visual novel is chock full of vibes, and with some stellar music and great characters, fans of the genre shouldn’t skip this one.