This World Unknown
- September 2, 2016
- ebi-hime
Get on SteamIn the war-torn country of Aslande, Rhea lives a quiet life until her friend Luca returns from battle, changed. As she cares for a patient with a mysterious illness, Rhea must navigate a branching storyline with four potential love interests in this 300k+ word visual novel. 'This World Unknown' offers around 10-15 hours of reading.
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Reviews
- The game features a well-written story with deep character development and engaging plotlines that touch on serious themes such as racism and classism.
- The visuals are stunning, with beautifully designed character sprites and a fitting soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- The game offers multiple routes and endings, encouraging players to explore different character interactions and story outcomes.
- Many players found the dialogue to be excessively long and filled with filler content, making the pacing feel slow and tedious.
- Some characters, particularly the male love interests, were perceived as uninteresting or poorly developed, leading to a lack of emotional investment.
- The game has been criticized for its uncomfortable age dynamics in romantic relationships, particularly involving the protagonist's interactions with older male characters.
- story73 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story follows Rhea, a nurse in a small village, and is praised for its deep character development and exploration of serious themes such as racism and toxic masculinity, all while maintaining a well-paced narrative. While many reviewers appreciate the emotional depth and quality writing, some criticize the excessive filler dialogue and lack of world-building, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the story is seen as a commendable work that balances romance and social commentary, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its slower pacing and occasional dull moments.
“The story, in a typical Ebi's fashion, takes classic tropes and then exceeds all expectations by creating something much deeper and more impactful.”
“The plot is well written, with a cast of characters that play well off each other.”
“The story flows well, and I felt the characters themselves were written in a more genuine way, a little less like tropes and more like real people.”
“The story is basically just 90% filler text and the artworks are not my cup of tea either.”
“There was a lot of completely useless dialogue that has absolutely no relevance to the story and it was quite boring in the beginning.”
“In all honesty, the story can drag in parts, and I found myself getting bored as I crawled through the slice of life stuff.”
- music14 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for being tasteful, relaxing, and well-suited to the story's themes, enhancing the overall atmosphere. While some players found certain tracks less appealing, the majority appreciated the soundtrack's ability to evoke emotions and complement the gameplay. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, with many expressing a desire for additional music-related content.
“The music in this story is tasteful and simply does what it needs to do.”
“The dialogues are not voiced but accompanied by a few sound effects and background music that matches the mood of the scenes you are going through.”
“The music was lovely, the character designs were cute, and the stories for each route were well written.”
“The casual soundtrack did also get on my nerves at some point as I didn't like it for whatever reason - which is not a critique per se since it isn't *bad*.”
“The dialogues are not voiced but accompanied by few sound effects and background music that matches the mood of the scenes you are going through.”
“I was wrong; the backgrounds, the music, are subdued in a way that matches the story because it touches on dark themes at times.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the stunning visuals and unique art style, while others find it unappealing and not to their taste. Overall, the artwork is described as cute and different, contributing positively to the storytelling experience, though opinions vary significantly among players.
“What else is also enjoyable are the stunning visuals that ebi prepared for us.”
“The graphics are nice and the soundtrack is chill and relaxing... I don't usually play this kind of game, but the ebi-hime games are really great!”
“I liked the art style quite a lot; it’s pretty cute and different, and the story is also good.”
“The story is basically just 90% filler text and the artworks are not my cup of tea either.”
“For the visual part of the novel, you'll have to judge for yourself, since some people do like the art style that the characters are made with; I personally don't.”
“I don't usually play visual novels with this type of art style, and because of it, I thought it would be more of a cute, light-hearted story.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as hit-or-miss, with some players finding it charming and funny at times, while others consider it dull and lacking depth. The cute art and engaging dialogue contribute positively, but the overall comedic impact varies significantly among players.
“Funny game!”
“The writing is easy to follow and funny with only a few misspellings.”
“Despite its problems, I did find it charming and endearing in parts, as well as funny and gripping in others.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Many users find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and dull, expressing disappointment that the positive reviews did not adequately address this issue. While not universally criticized, the repetitive nature of the gameplay leads to a lack of satisfying payoff after completing the routes.
“The visual novel gets really tedious at times.”
“I found it quite dull and tedious to get through.”
“Obviously, this is just my personal opinion, but the reviews were so positive, and I was thrown when playing the game, wondering why the reviews didn't point out how tedious reading through it felt, and there was very little payoff after going through the routes.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game elicits a wide range of feelings, from sadness during heartbreaking moments to joy and laughter during lighter scenes, creating a dynamic experience. While some character interactions may feel intrusive, the overall narrative effectively engages players' emotions, pulling them through various dramatic turns with both humor and heartfelt moments.
“I couldn't help but be sad when reading about heartbreaking moments, but at the same time, I giggled a lot during happy moments, often with a goofy grin on my face.”
“The story is making me laugh and smile, and has pulled me along by the heartstrings across every emotional and dramatic turn thus far!”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay is straightforward and intuitive, allowing players to navigate routes without guides. However, it is limited in depth, primarily involving initial choices that lead to one of four story branches.
“The gameplay offers a unique experience where your initial choices determine which of the four story branches you take.”
“There isn't much for actual gameplay; you make some initial choices that determine which of the four story branches you take.”
“The gameplay is really easy, and with a bit of intuition, it is possible to complete the routes without the use of guides.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its well-written stories that enhance the charm of the cute character designs, contributing to an engaging and immersive experience.
“The music was lovely, the character designs were cute, and the stories for each route were well written.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through its choose-your-ending mechanic, allowing players to explore various romantic outcomes and deepen their engagement with the warm and intimate relationships among the colorful characters in a rural town.
“It is a pretty fun read with choose-your-ending (romantic partner) based replayability; the subject matter being the fun and sometimes not so fun but always incredibly warm and intimate relations between the colorful characters of a rural town, told in third person from the perspective of Rhea, the female lead character.”
“The game offers multiple paths and endings, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. I love discovering new storylines and character interactions every time I start a new game.”
“With its branching narratives and diverse character choices, the replayability is off the charts! I find myself coming back to explore different outcomes and relationships.”
