WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT
- December 14, 2023
- Lasengle Inc.
- 30h median play time
Get on Steam"WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT" is a coming-of-age story set in the 1980s, following an innocent young man and two young witches. The remastered version features fully voiced characters, full HD visuals, and animated graphical elements, bringing the reading experience to life. The game tells the tale of two witches living in a mansion on the hill, and a boy who moves to the city, narrowly missing them.
Reviews
- Incredible production values with stunning visuals, dynamic animations, and a beautiful soundtrack that enhances the storytelling experience.
- Engaging character development and interactions, particularly among the main trio, Aoko, Alice, and Soujuurou, making the slice-of-life moments enjoyable.
- A well-crafted story that serves as a great introduction to the Nasuverse, blending elements of magic, humor, and emotional depth.
- The translation has several typos and awkward phrasing, which can detract from the overall reading experience.
- The story is linear with no choices or multiple endings, which may disappoint players looking for more interactivity.
- Some pacing issues in the early chapters may lead to a slow start, potentially turning off some readers before the story picks up.
- story283 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The story of "Witch on the Holy Night" is widely praised for its engaging narrative and character development, offering a blend of slice-of-life and urban fantasy elements that resonate with both newcomers and fans of the Nasuverse. While some reviewers noted its linearity and occasional pacing issues, the overall presentation—including stunning visuals, a captivating soundtrack, and strong voice acting—enhances the storytelling experience, making it a standout visual novel. Many consider it a compelling entry point into the Nasuverse, showcasing the depth and charm of its characters and themes.
“A masterpiece of a story in every way.”
“An amazing magical adventure visual novel that has an engrossing story, amazing artwork, and excellent voice-overs!”
“A deeply engaging, rich, lore-filled story driven by characters and character motivations.”
“The plot is largely inconsequential, the stakes are low, the overwhelmingly detailed world-building is mostly absent, action scenes are relatively sparse, and there's essentially only 3-4 characters that matter.”
“The story itself is rather straightforward and can be predictable at times, and it doesn’t do anything too noteworthy.”
“Characters are never in danger and have unlimited power to solve any issues, so the story keeps throwing issues that are immediately resolved with no consequences.”
- music109 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in this visual novel is widely praised for its exceptional quality, blending classical pieces with original compositions that enhance the emotional depth of the story. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as one of the best in the genre, noting its ability to elevate scenes and create a captivating atmosphere. Overall, the music is described as beautiful, immersive, and integral to the overall experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The soundtrack is simply beautiful, with some music being classical pieces or original tracks from the visual novel that are absolute bangers, making some moments in the story truly memorable.”
“The music and animation are incredible and immersive, bordering on being an anime sometimes.”
“The music accompanying you while reading through each chapter is amazing, enhancing the overall experience.”
“The OST is also an absolute banger, so much that I'm sad you can't buy it as a DLC to listen during free time without having to open the game's mediocre music player.”
“Firstly, this is less a game and more a novel with music and pictures.”
“But would I be equally as gripped had there just been the killer visuals, soundtrack, and characters talking in a static room?”
- graphics59 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics in this visual novel are widely praised for their stunning quality, featuring beautifully rendered artwork, dynamic visuals, and exceptional character designs that elevate the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the impressive production value, with intricate backgrounds and a captivating art style that enhances the storytelling. While some technical issues were noted, the visuals are consistently described as mesmerizing and among the best in the genre, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere.
“Incredible story and world building with fantastic voice acting, music, and visuals.”
“The visuals are stunning, the sounds are phenomenal, and the music is fantastic.”
“The artwork is gorgeous and the soundtrack elevates the whole experience.”
“Not that the visuals were not significant or not good; quite the contrary, but this was more or less an animated/computerized light novel than it was a game.”
“Does not work properly on an AMD graphics card.”
“Now $40 is a lot for what is at the end of the day a fancy picture book, but Wothn has flat-out some of the best production value ever seen in this medium; challenging the limits with its jaw-dropping visuals, sporting dynamic portraits over ever-changing backgrounds, coupled with copious CGs.”
- humor15 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with moments that range from absurdly funny to eye-roll inducing, but when it hits, it delivers genuine belly laughs. The character interactions, particularly with Aoko, are highlighted as both amusing and endearing, while the voice acting adds an extra layer of hilarity. Overall, the game successfully balances humor with tense action and deep emotional moments, making it a memorable experience.
“Thanks to this, when the game goes for humor it's absolutely hysterical; I was belly laughing at multiple points.”
“The characters are incredibly well defined, the music and art are incredible and the work has an amazing sense of humor.”
“The sophisticated main character's reactions to the naive 'farm boy' are hilarious.”
- atmosphere15 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is universally praised for its immersive quality, combining exceptional writing, voice acting, and stunning visuals to create a captivating experience. The soundtrack enhances the mood, ranging from cozy to mysterious, and the overall aesthetic draws players into the world, making it a standout in the visual novel genre. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke strong emotions and transport players to its richly crafted settings.
“The atmosphere, writing, voice acting, characters, and all are to die for.”
“Witch on the Holy Night is a masterclass of atmosphere and character-building.”
“The atmosphere in 'Witch on the Holy Night' is particularly noteworthy; I'm instantly transported to Misaki Town, vividly feeling each scene's distinct mood alongside characters like Aoko and Sojuro.”
“Starting up the game and reading through the prologue while 'Liebestraum' by Franz Liszt is playing in the background, being hit with multiple shots of indoors and hearing raindrops while slowly realizing the scene isn't played in one character's perspective, this game immediately drops in a cozy yet mysterious atmosphere that dragged me in for a ride that left me eager for more by the end.”
“The novel uses its limited character art and backgrounds creatively to give a cinematic dimension to the reading experience, further enhancing the immersion and atmosphere that Type-Moon novels often took advantage of.”
- emotional13 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its slow build-up, rich character development, and a heartwarming narrative that culminates in a touching conclusion. Players are drawn into a coming-of-age story that explores themes of friendship and loss, enhanced by an outstanding soundtrack and beautiful visuals. The heartfelt writing and engaging interactions make it difficult not to become emotionally invested in the characters and their journeys.
“It's definitely a slow build up but if you like a lot of world building, character development/exploration, and strong emotional impact, give this a shot.”
“Kinoko Nasu's tried and true blend of action and slice-of-life finds itself perfectly at home in this story, where the dynamic between youthful and eccentric characters lends to a touching coming of age story, where teenagers cope with the loss of their childhood by being thrust into a new and strange life they're not sure they fit in with, but learn to find a new reason to live and exist through each other's friendship and values.”
“The stories are great too but honestly it's the characters that shine in this story the most; they are written with such heartfelt tenderness that it's difficult to not get invested in any of them.”
- character development11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is notably inconsistent, with some players appreciating the slow build and emotional depth, while others criticize the lack of growth in key characters, rendering them unlikable and unrelatable. While character designs effectively reflect personalities, the absence of meaningful development leads to a disconnect with the narrative, particularly for characters like Aoko and Alice, who fail to evolve despite opportunities for growth. Overall, the game's strengths in world-building and artistic presentation are overshadowed by its shortcomings in character progression.
“It's definitely a slow build-up, but if you like a lot of world-building, character development/exploration, and strong emotional impact, give this a shot.”
“The character designs are very good, each one showing a bit of the character's personality through their design or facial expressions, and they are also drawn beautifully.”
“The character design for some characters may not be exceptional in their uniqueness; however, they reflect their personality ideally in their expressions and designs. As the game progresses, you start to see the charm in the simplicity of some characters, as well as an understanding of the complexity of why a character looks a certain way once you start to learn more about them.”
“Unlikable characters and no character development for any of them means I am given no reason to care about the climax, and ultimately one moment at the end where a character actually does something for another person for once falls flat because they had no character development leading up to it.”
“The problem lies in that not a single character in the game experiences character development.”
“You would expect Aoko, and possibly Alice, to have some kind of development to be less insufferable, but every time there should be character development following specific events, the game immediately backpedals on it and both girls are just inexplicably awful again.”
- gameplay3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay of [i]witch on the holy night[/i] is characterized as a linear visual novel or "kinetic novel," offering no interactive choices or multiple routes, effectively making it a narrative experience akin to reading a book with accompanying visuals and sound. While this lack of traditional gameplay elements may deter some players, many find the storytelling enjoyable despite the absence of interactivity.
“In terms of gameplay, 'Witch on the Holy Night' can be classified as a kinetic novel: a visual novel where the player can only read through the story instead of interacting with it, with no choices to be made or multiple routes to play through.”
“In terms of gameplay, 'Witch on the Holy Night' can be classified as the 'kinetic novel' type: a visual novel where the player can only read through the story instead of interacting with it. There are no choices to be made or multiple routes to play through here.”
“- No routes, there's no choices to make and no gameplay (aside from a bonus story at the end), so it's really just a book with sound and pictures. It's not necessarily a negative, but you need to know it before buying.”
“The game is entirely a linear visual novel, with no gameplay or choices of any kind, but I found it very enjoyable.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's engine suffers from poor optimization, leading to significant battery drain, prompting users to adjust the thermal design power (TDP) settings to around 4 watts. Despite this, the voice performances are solid and contribute positively to player engagement with the characters.
“The engine isn't well optimized and will drain a lot of battery, so set to ~4W TDP.”
“On top of this are solid voice performances that may not be award-winning, but easily get the job done and enhance your attachment to these wonderful characters.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers express disappointment with Aniplex's lack of advertising for the game, suggesting that the monetization strategy may not be effectively reaching potential players.
