No One But You
- July 30, 2020
- Unwonted Studios
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"No One But You" is a visual novel game where you follow the story of Sora Kojima, a young woman returning to her rural hometown. She becomes reacquainted with old friends and faces challenges in uncovering the truth behind a local mystery. The game features romanceable characters and multiple endings based on your choices throughout the story.
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Reviews
- Solid story with a good balance between choices and dialogue, making it a great introduction to visual novels for beginners.
- The character art is nice, and the soundtrack features a variety of decent tracks that enhance the game's atmosphere.
- Some routes, particularly Chinatsu's and Yui's, are well-written and emotionally impactful, providing a satisfying experience.
- The game suffers from inconsistent writing, with some routes being poorly executed and filled with plot holes, particularly Shiro's and Megumi's scenarios.
- Many promised features, such as voice acting and additional content, were not delivered, leaving the game feeling unfinished.
- The pacing is often rushed, with some character developments and story arcs lacking proper explanation, leading to confusion.
- story92 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of the game is a mixed bag, featuring a solid narrative with engaging character backstories and some compelling plot twists, particularly in the routes of certain characters like Ryo and Megumi. However, it suffers from clichés, inconsistent character development, and a lack of meaningful choices that affect the plot, leading to moments of confusion and immersion-breaking continuity errors. Overall, while some players found the story enjoyable and emotionally impactful, others criticized it for being poorly executed and overly dramatic.
“The story begins peacefully, slowly heading into a melancholic direction as you start learning more about the heroines' background stories and your past.”
“I haven't been this attached to a visual novel's story in a while, and to me, it's very close to being one of my all-time favorites next to Katawa Shoujo.”
“The story is superb with its own tint of deep dark alleyways, and a perfect sprinkle of comedy.”
“The game itself is just a headache for simple-minded story and always changing perspective of the story without giving hints to the reader, even the price release was as expensive as other well-known titles of the same genre.”
“The story is a bit of a cauldron of clichés, with an amnesiac protagonist right off the bat and plot twists I saw coming from a mile away.”
“This story also includes some nonsensical plot points and events, and overall just left me feeling uninvested in the story.”
- music21 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the 35-track soundtrack for enhancing the game's atmosphere and emotional scenes, while others find it repetitive and not particularly memorable. Although the addition of a theme song and opening animation post-launch was appreciated, some players noted that the music could benefit from refinement and a more cohesive integration with the game's themes. Overall, while the music is generally considered decent, it lacks the standout quality that would make it truly memorable.
“One notable thing in No One But You is the soundtrack, which includes a whopping 35 tracks, mostly very decent and used to enhance the game's climate and give a unique feel to crucial scenes throughout the story.”
“I recommend this game for its gorgeous storylines and soundtrack.”
“The game has nice artwork, and the soundtrack is pretty good.”
“One notable thing in no one but you is the soundtrack, which includes a whopping 35 tracks, mostly very decent and used to enhance the game's climate and give a unique feel to crucial scenes throughout the story.”
“Soundtrack is not memorable at all.”
“Music is repetitive and is usually out of place.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 8 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and quality, standing out among many other visual novels on Steam. While some players have mixed feelings about the art style, they acknowledge the overall visual appeal and the impressive backgrounds and character designs. However, there are minor technical issues and inconsistencies that detract from the experience, but these do not overshadow the game's artistic strengths.
“The visuals are quite nice compared to a lot of the sloppy visuals of other VN games on Steam.”
“Decent story with some fun characters, and surprisingly gorgeous sound and visuals.”
“The art style is truly beautiful; the backgrounds and background music were also amazing.”
“Now, I can go on about the art style and how I am not a particularly big fan of it (which I'm not), but that would be slightly biased as some might say that they particularly like the art of the game.”
“Away from the amateurish stuff -- side characters suddenly having western names like Anna, artwork flashing out of nowhere for a second (whole scenes before they should appear), the calendar being unable to switch properly to the name of the next month (instead declaring that the month was repeating itself), gaining the achievement of two different endings when I finished only one, a character talking about a detail from a scene I didn't pick, and being unable to delete my save data in-game -- I'd say for western VN readers to definitely give 'No One But You' a shot.”
“My only complaints would have to be the lack of additional music, and some additional artwork for minor characters would have been nice.”
- emotional11 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it overly ambitious and poorly executed, leading to moments that feel more laughable than tragic. While certain storylines, particularly in the second half, manage to evoke genuine feelings, many users criticize the pacing and character depth, resulting in a lack of lasting emotional impact. However, there are also players who appreciate the emotional rollercoaster, noting its ability to provoke strong reactions despite its flaws.
“The second half, whichever way you go, gets a lot more emotional and dark, something I wasn't really expecting at all.”
“10/10 would cry again.”
“I loved this game but I know I will never be able to play it again because it's just so damn emotional and it nearly brought me to tears... I'm an adult male.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, with players finding the bad endings amusing and the interactions between characters particularly engaging. The writing strikes a balance between lightheartedness and deeper moments, contributing to a bright and funny overall experience that keeps players entertained throughout.
“We have a visual novel with 5 different routes with different endings, a good art direction, nice writing, good taste in never exaggerating too much, but not keeping things mundane either, shocking (final) moments and excellent humor.”
“In fact, the good humor of MC Hideaki is the trademark of this visual novel, and like in any good visual novel, his interaction with the other characters is what really kept me hooked until the very end.”
“I also really enjoy all of the characters, and the humor of the game cracks me up.”
- gameplay3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a standard visual novel format with the option to develop romantic relationships with five characters, offering around 10 hours of playtime at a reasonable price. However, the game is limited to a maximum resolution of 720p, leading to potential pixelation in fullscreen mode, and there are minor glitches, such as a persistent incorrect date display, which, while not game-breaking, can be distracting.
“There are multiple characters you can choose to develop a romantic relationship with (5 total), and the price is appropriate for the length of gameplay (about 10 hours).”
“The rest is standard visual novel gameplay, but one downside is that the maximum resolution is 720, so fullscreen can have some pixelation, which is disappointing for a 2016 game.”
“The rest is a standard visual novel gameplay; one downside is the maximum resolution is 720p, so fullscreen can have some pixelation, something that should never happen in a 2016 game.”
“The date shown in the top-right corner became glitched on two occasions, permanently showing the wrong day. It didn't affect gameplay, but it did bother me a little.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development is criticized for being excessively shallow, lacking depth and complexity until the player's route is predetermined.
“The character development is shallow to an unbelievable level, to the point where your 'route' is predetermined.”
“There is a lack of meaningful growth for the characters, making it hard to connect with them throughout the game.”
“The choices you make feel inconsequential, as the characters do not evolve in any significant way.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy has been criticized as exploitative, with users feeling that the game was released in a flawed state primarily to generate revenue.
“They released a broken product for a cash grab.”
“The monetization system feels exploitative and prioritizes profit over player experience.”
“It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game fully without spending extra money.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs reported by users, detracting from the overall experience.
“But, at the time of writing, this game is extremely buggy, which is a dire shame.”
