How to Raise a Wolf Girl

About

"How to Raise a Wolf Girl" is a visual novel about Kousaka Shuuji who, along with his friend, finds a feral girl with wolf ears and tail. The girl, Sakuraba Iroha, was spirited away ten years ago and has now returned, unable to speak and more animal than human. Shuuji finds himself falling for Iroha's fierce innocence, and the story follows their journey of love and self-discovery. The game features a CG gallery, music gallery, and multiple endings.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 133 reviews

story36 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features a heartwarming story with lovable characters that evoke strong emotions.
The art style is cute and well-executed, enhancing the overall experience.
The game offers a cozy atmosphere and a unique premise that sets it apart from typical visual novels.

The story feels rushed and ends abruptly, leaving many plot points unresolved.
Choices in the game have little impact on the overall narrative, making them feel meaningless.
The game is relatively short, which may not justify its price for some players.

story
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
69%
2%
The story of the visual novel is generally described as heartwarming and emotional, featuring lovable characters and a simple yet engaging plot that explores themes of friendship, love, and healing. However, many reviewers noted that the narrative feels rushed, particularly towards the end, and lacks depth and meaningful choices, leading to a somewhat abrupt conclusion. While some players appreciated the wholesome nature of the story, others felt it could benefit from additional content or a sequel to fully develop its potential.
- “Amazing story and wonderful characters that suck you right into it.”
- “The story is surprisingly good for a short-length casual visual novel.”
- “An amazing story, quite the emotional roller coaster for me, the way the characters act, interact and articulate their responses.... I could really feel the surge of emotions they must be feeling.... funny moments, happy and heartwarming moments, moments of great sadness.... it's all there.”
- “The story is somewhat lacking; it feels very rushed both about 1/3 of the way in and also at the ending.”
- “The story features a handful of pseudo-decisions that mostly only alter the immediate following dialogue and is otherwise a completely linear story.”
- “What I don't like, however, is a visual novel that is unable to properly close its story out, and unfortunately, 'How to Raise a Wolf Girl' is a prime example of that.”
emotional
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a heartwarming and engaging story that evokes a range of feelings, from joy to sadness, often leading players to shed tears. Many reviewers appreciate the lovable characters and their development, which contribute to a wholesome experience, despite some noting that the narrative can feel abrupt or incomplete. Overall, the game successfully combines humor, emotional depth, and relatable moments, making it a memorable journey for players.
- “At a few points, I even wanted to shed a tear or two, either from how downright depressing things get or just how heartwarming something happens.”
- “An amazing story, quite the emotional roller coaster for me, the way the characters act, interact, and articulate their responses... I could really feel the surge of emotions they must be feeling... funny moments, happy and heartwarming moments, moments of great sadness... it's all there.”
- “It's pretty emotional, though, and there's enough character development in that short time to let the player really care about what happens to the characters.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
48%
14%
The music in the game is generally praised for its soothing and heartwarming qualities, with a well-composed soundtrack that enhances the emotional depth of the story. While the number of tracks is limited, they are memorable and fitting for the game's atmosphere, providing a pleasant listening experience. Overall, the sound design is high quality, though it may not be groundbreaking, and the classical style offers a refreshing change from typical genres in visual novels.
- “I really enjoyed the soundtrack of the game.”
- “The background music is, in general, really soothing and I never got tired of listening to it.”
- “A few tracks stick in your head and it also helps that every song has a really cute name.”
- “There aren't a lot of songs in the game, averaging around 5 or 6 total, but given how short the game is - it's not at all surprising.”
- “Music and sound are high quality and well selected, but nothing groundbreaking.”
- “The music was more classical and less j-pop like than most other visual novels I've read lately, which is a welcome change, but while there's a music player in the extras menu, I can't imagine that I'd ever spend time just listening to it.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
27%
20%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute and detailed art style, with many reviewers highlighting the high-quality artwork and vibrant scenery. The visuals are complemented by excellent music and voice acting, contributing to an overall enjoyable experience. Additionally, the game features a solid technical foundation, including a native 1080p resolution and dynamic character sprite presentations that enhance the visual storytelling.
- “The art style, the music, the story, the characters, the voice acting... it's all so wonderful!”
- “The scenery and art style are one of the main things I enjoy in this visual novel.”
- “Graphically, How to Raise a Wolf Girl scores with a native 1080p resolution and features gimmicks like having character sprites showing the character's back to give the scene a more lively feel.”
- “The graphics are quite underwhelming, lacking the polish and detail expected from modern visual novels.”
- “The character designs feel generic and uninspired, making it hard to connect with the story.”
- “The environments are bland and repetitive, which detracts from the overall immersion of the game.”
character development
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the emotional depth and gradual growth of characters like Iroha, others criticize it as being slow or lacking depth. The overall sentiment suggests that while the story is heartwarming and engaging, the character development may not fully meet expectations, leaving some players wanting more.
- “The graphics and music are good, and while the character development is a little slow at first, it really picks up the pace.”
- “Heartwarming story, nice character development, good background music.”
- “It's pretty emotional, though, and there's enough character development in that short time to let the player really care about what happens to the characters.”
- “Character development: this might be the worst drawback of this visual novel.”
- “Poor character development.”
- “While the storyline is indeed comfy and doesn't waste your time getting into things, it comes at the expense of character development.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by a mix of funny, heartwarming, and emotional moments, with players frequently finding themselves laughing throughout the experience. The interactions between characters and the whimsical scenarios contribute to a lighthearted yet engaging narrative, making it a memorable aspect of the game. Overall, the blend of humor with emotional depth enhances the storytelling, appealing to a wide range of players.
- “More than anything, I found myself often laughing a lot at this game; it's honestly just really funny.”
- “The story has a nice selection of funny moments, heartwarming moments, and even a few sad moments.”
- “Pretty cute and wholesome story, with some adorable characters and funny moments.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Overall, the game's optimization is solid, running smoothly on the Kirikiri engine with features like 90 save slots and customizable settings. Users appreciate the performance, noting that it allows for in-depth tweaking if desired, although the default experience is already satisfactory.
- “Running on the Kirikiri engine, this game offers a well-known set of default features like 90 individual save slots, auto and skip mode with behavior customization, menu voices, and other highly customizable options. There's also a hidden 'advanced settings' menu for more in-depth performance tweaking, though it already runs smoothly as is.”
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for a seamless experience with minimal lag and quick load times, which enhances overall gameplay enjoyment.”
- “I appreciate how the game allows for extensive customization options, making it easy to optimize my experience according to my preferences.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
- “Despite the potential for a great experience, the lack of proper optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”
- “The optimization feels rushed, resulting in long loading times and inconsistent performance across different hardware configurations.”
gameplay
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The gameplay aspect has been criticized for its absence, with some users feeling there is little to no engaging gameplay to evaluate.
- “Given the lack of any real gameplay, I opted to skip that section.”
- “The gameplay feels repetitive and lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I found the controls to be unresponsive, which severely impacted my overall experience.”