Nekojishi

About

This is a story about a college student who is suddenly able to see three feline spirits.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,803 reviews

story303 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The artwork is beautiful and well-designed, enhancing the overall experience.
The story is engaging and emotional, with multiple endings that encourage replayability.
The game provides interesting insights into Taiwanese culture and folklore.

The pacing can be slow, with long stretches of dialogue between choices.
There are some grammatical errors and awkward translations in the English version.
Some players may find the character dynamics and choices frustrating or limiting.

story
657 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
51%
2%
The story of "Nekojishi" is a rich and engaging narrative that intertwines themes of romance, Taiwanese folklore, and personal growth, featuring a college student who interacts with guardian spirits in the form of anthropomorphic cats. While many players appreciate the depth and emotional resonance of the multiple endings, some criticize the pacing and occasional clichés, noting that certain plot points can feel forced or convoluted. Overall, the game is praised for its beautiful artwork and character development, making it a compelling experience for fans of visual novels.
- “It's a great game with a compelling story and multiple endings.”
- “In conclusion, Nekojishi is a well-crafted visual novel that offers an intriguing story, beautiful artwork, and a deep dive into Taiwanese folklore.”
- “The story is engaging and funny, and the music is great.”
- “The story is so cliché that I cringed several times.”
- “The plot is campy and has major problems with feeling forced, and it isn't very subtle either.”
- “The story itself starts well, but turns quite rapidly to a depressing tone.”
music
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
49%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the overall experience, with many users highlighting its emotional depth and catchy melodies that complement the storytelling and visuals. While some found the soundtrack to be relaxing and immersive, a few noted moments of repetitiveness or mediocrity. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing significantly to the emotional impact and enjoyment of the narrative.
- “The game's soundtrack complements the visuals nicely, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling.”
- “The soundtrack is another strong point of the game; the tracks set the tone for what's happening.”
- “The beautiful music helps to enhance parts of the story really well; the soundtrack is one of the main things which will play with your emotions.”
- “The music is pretty mediocre.”
- “The music is easily forgettable, but does provide a good background noise for when you're playing; it does get repetitive when replaying, which gets annoying.”
- “Seriously, the music just makes me fall asleep that I have to play Gaga's music, Mozart, or even Hevisaurus to remove the lifelessness and boredom of the soundtrack.”
emotional
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised, with players describing it as a profound and heartwarming experience that often leads to tears. Many reviews highlight the depth of the story, character development, and the impact of player choices on emotional outcomes, creating a strong connection to the characters. While some mention that explicit content can detract from the emotional moments, the overall sentiment is that the game successfully delivers a touching narrative that resonates deeply with players.
- “The mental and emotional turmoil that this visual novel puts you through is insane.”
- “Nekojishi's emotionally complex and varied endings provide a deep connection to the world and story, displaying depth and character comparable to some of the greatest pieces of literature ever written.”
- “This game tugged at my heartstrings, each ending heartwarming, heartbreaking, or, sometimes, both.”
graphics
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
28%
3%
The graphics of "Nekojishi" are widely praised for their beautiful artwork and unique art style, which effectively brings the characters and Taiwanese cultural elements to life. While some minor graphical issues were noted, the overall visual presentation, including character design and backgrounds, is considered impressive, especially for a free game. The combination of stunning visuals and a compelling soundtrack enhances the immersive storytelling experience, making it a standout aspect of the game.
- “The art style effectively brings the spirit cats to life, each with their own distinct personality and design.”
- “The artwork is beautiful, and the characters are cute.”
- “The visuals are beautiful, the characters are unique with their own well-constructed plot lines.”
- “There's some minor graphical issues in menus in fullscreen mode (at least on Windows 10), but they're largely insignificant and don't affect anything, just some black flickering.”
- “Because the artwork between the sprites and the CGs are different by miles sometimes, it makes the player wonder if they are even still playing the same game.”
- “It's just a choose your own adventure book with graphics.”
humor
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing and engaging character interactions, often blending comedy with emotional depth. Players appreciate the balance of funny moments and heartfelt scenes, making the experience both entertaining and touching. While some found the humor hit-or-miss, many agree that the game's charm lies in its ability to evoke laughter alongside genuine emotional connections.
- “The character interactions are well-written, with dialogue that feels natural and often humorous.”
- “Absolutely incredible game, amazing art, funny dialogue and narration, and some really touching segments.”
- “A very relaxing game, just perfect to forget your everyday worries and enter a world full of cheerful, charming and funny characters.”
- “So you guys lied to me, this is not funny. I am not even a furry nor gay, but reaching all the achievements was incredibly difficult for me.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
72%
8%
The gameplay in this visual novel is characterized by a choice-based system typical of the genre, allowing players to make decisions that influence the story's outcome. However, many reviewers note that the gameplay is quite limited, primarily involving reading and clicking through text with infrequent choices, leading to mixed feelings about its depth and engagement. While some appreciate the refined mechanics and art, others criticize the lack of substantial gameplay elements, describing it as overly passive and frustrating at times.
- “The choice-based gameplay, typical of visual novels, is implemented well here.”
- “Definitely worth trying out if you're into these styles of games; the mechanics are refined and the art is very well done.”
- “Gameplay-wise, the game lets the player choose from a few options that can affect what will happen and what ending you will get.”
- “This game looked promising but the gameplay is bad!”
- “As usual with most visual novels there isn't a whole lot of gameplay to be had.”
- “The artwork is nice, especially for a free game, but the 'gameplay' is simply frustrating and far too limited.”
character development
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
13%
13%
Overall, the character development in the game is praised for its depth and emotional resonance, with players appreciating the well-written and lovable characters that evolve throughout the story. The character designs are frequently highlighted as appealing and unique, contributing to the immersive experience, although some critiques mention a lack of atmosphere and occasional generic traits. Many reviewers find the combination of strong character arcs and beautiful artwork to be a standout feature, enhancing the overall narrative engagement.
- “The character designs were some of my favorites, and the little photos of the trio together made me really enjoy and feel involved with the story.”
- “Fortunately (unfortunately??), it was full of character development, a compelling story, lovable and well-written characters, beautiful artwork, and great dialogue.”
- “Started playing it as a joke since it was free and I saw it on Reddit, but turns out this is a really well-written, endearing, sweet visual novel game with extremely lovable characters and lovely character designs.”
- “Character design: I think other than a tiger's cloth, all characters are just so generic.”
- “The storyline and character development were extremely well-written!”
- “Pretty much all of the character designs seem a little different than the usual furry art, giving the characters an attractive appearance as well as a sort of otherworldly mystique due to their slightly non-standard features.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
13%
38%
The game offers high replayability with multiple endings and hidden achievements, encouraging players to explore different choices to fully grasp the story. However, some users feel that certain aspects, like the art and narrative, may not warrant repeated playthroughs for everyone. Overall, the variety in endings and the engaging art contribute to a generally positive replay value.
- “This visual novel is something you could finish in a few hours, but it has high replay value due to its many varying endings and hidden achievements.”
- “There are multiple endings too, which gives this story a good amount of replayability.”
- “Cute art with a nonsensical story; a fun read with no replay value, in my opinion.”
- “The choices are a bit maze-like if trying to go for all of the endings, but most seem to be varied and different, leading to a semi-decent amount of replayability.”
- “There are 12 different possible endings, giving the game lots of replay value, but getting each ending is kind of necessary to understand the entire story.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by an immersive soundtrack that enhances storytelling and visuals, alongside a chill slice-of-life vibe complemented by cute characters. While the vanilla version improves character development, some players noted a dissonant feeling in one of the endings. Overall, the atmosphere effectively balances relaxation with moments of action.
- “The game's soundtrack complements the visuals nicely, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling.”
- “Cute and compelling characters, chill slice-of-life atmosphere, with a little action on the side!”
- “The vanilla version brushes up the development of the characters better, especially the protagonist. However, one ending still made me feel odd due to the atmosphere it created, which I don't know if it's just me. If you find it, please tell me if you agree with me on this.”
- “>maps/atmosphere=6”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Reviews indicate that while the game offers intriguing elements of Taiwanese folklore and a compelling story, the grinding aspect is marred by tedious dialogue and a lackluster protagonist, leading to a frustrating experience that may require players to invest significant time to progress.
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
- “Fascinating glimpses of Taiwanese folklore and some interesting twists in the final stretch of the story do not entirely make up for hours of tedious writing where the sole drama arises from the pathologically milquetoast protagonist's utter inability to either sh*t or get off the pot.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The story is interesting, but the dialogue gets horrendously tedious.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users have reported issues with stability, particularly noting that achievements in the game are frequently buggy, which may affect overall gameplay experience.
- “The only problem I've found, and this may just be for me, but in case it's a common problem, I'm still going to talk about it: achievements are very buggy.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress.”
- “I've experienced multiple instances of the game freezing, which disrupts the overall experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game has received a mixed response, with some users noting satisfactory performance while others report issues that hinder gameplay. Overall, it appears that while the game runs adequately on certain systems, there are still areas that require improvement for a smoother experience.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a straightforward monetization model with no microtransactions or ads, emphasizing a commitment to quality and providing an enjoyable experience for all players.
- “No microtransactions, no ads, no bullshit; pure quality and hard work put into this product to offer its entertainment to everyone.”