Winter With You
- January 30, 2022
- Aleksey Izimov
Get on SteamNaoki was really excited about spending Christmas with his beloved. But those plans weren't meant to be - Naoki saw her hugging another guy. Christmas seems ruined but just one random encounter can change everything. This is a Japanese-style kinetic visual novel about the Christmas.
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Reviews
- The artwork and animations are visually appealing, with high-quality backgrounds and well-animated character sprites.
- The Russian voice acting adds a fun and engaging element to the experience, enhancing the overall atmosphere.
- The game provides a cozy and relaxing Christmas-themed story that is enjoyable for a short read.
- The translation quality is inconsistent, with grammar errors and awkward sentences that can confuse readers.
- As a kinetic novel, there are no choices or gameplay elements, making it feel more like an e-book than a game.
- Technical shortcomings, such as a lack of essential features like a backlog or multiple save slots, detract from the overall experience.
- story5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The story centers on Naoki, who suspects his girlfriend of infidelity during Christmas, and his unexpected meeting with Yume, a cheerful blonde. While the narrative is straightforward and somewhat abruptly concluded, it remains engaging and enjoyable, with likable characters, despite some translation issues. Overall, readers found it readable and expressed a desire for more content.
“I enjoyed the story itself, but it did end a bit abruptly; though really, if the worst thing to be said was 'I wish there was more of it,' that's not really a condemnation, is it?”
“In the end, the story was extremely simple, but I still enjoyed it and liked the characters.”
“The story itself was written in Russian (or some other Cyrillic language, apologies if I'm wrong – I have very little knowledge of them) and translated to English.”
“Overall, it's readable enough if you're willing to overlook these problems, since the story isn't too complex.”
“The story follows Naoki, a guy who thinks he just caught his girlfriend cheating on him around Christmas, and his seemingly chance encounter with Yume, a bubbly blonde.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a cozy and relaxing Christmas atmosphere, enhanced by decent Russian voice acting and fitting music. Its excellent visuals and humorous elements contribute to an overall enjoyable experience, making the festive ambiance a standout aspect.
“The game is about 3 hours long and has a very cozy and relaxing Christmas atmosphere.”
“The Russian voice acting is decent enough and the music fits the atmosphere.”
“The excellent visuals, voice acting, and the cozy Christmas atmosphere are the main draws of this visual novel.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the visual novel are highly praised for their quality, surpassing typical indie non-Japanese titles, with appealing artwork and charming sprite animations. The visuals, along with voice acting and a cozy Christmas atmosphere, are considered the standout features of the game.
“I thought the artwork looked nice, and the minor animations in the sprites were a nice touch.”
“The visuals are the highlight of this visual novel; the quality on display here is way better than what I typically see for indie non-Japanese visual novels.”
“Final conclusion: the excellent visuals, voice acting, and the cozy Christmas atmosphere are the main draws of this visual novel.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is well-suited to the atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience, while the Russian voice acting is considered decent. However, there are technical issues, such as the game freezing on the final image and not returning to the title screen after the credits and final song.
“The Russian voice acting is decent enough, and the music fits the atmosphere.”
“The game also just froze on the final image, and even after the credits were mentioned and the final song was played, it doesn't send you back to the title screen automatically.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay is minimal, primarily consisting of clicking through poorly written dialogue, which detracts from the overall experience and raises concerns about the quality of the content.
“As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users find the grinding aspect of visual novels and e-books tedious, likening the experience to a frustratingly slow reading process where each sentence requires a mouse click, detracting from the enjoyment of the narrative.
“Visual novels/e-books are tedious at best. Imagine the best novel you ever read, whether it's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', '2001: A Space Odyssey', or 'Twilight' (if you have terrible taste in literature), but then translate that to a format where the words dribble out and you have to click your mouse every time you want to read the next sentence, instead of just turning the pages.”
“Grinding in this game feels like an endless chore. The repetitive tasks drain the enjoyment out of what could have been a great experience.”
“The grind is so excessive that it overshadows the story and character development, making it feel more like a job than a game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized as a wholesome experience, providing a refreshing and uplifting break from more intense visual novels.
“This was a nice wholesome experience and a perfect break between other major visual novels.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features moments of humor that are generally well-received, with players appreciating its comedic elements alongside a charming Christmas atmosphere.
“The game is fine, even funny at times, and I really liked the Christmas atmosphere.”
