WORLD END ECONOMiCA episode.01
- June 17, 2014
- Spicy Tails
- 30h median play time
Get on SteamIn "World End Economica episode.01," players follow the story of a young man, Hal, who aims to earn a fortune on the moon. He invests in various ventures, navigating a complex economy while also uncovering a conspiracy that threatens his plans. The game is a visual novel with decision-making points that impact the story's outcome.
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Reviews
- Engaging story with strong character development that keeps players invested.
- Well-written narrative that effectively combines economics with personal drama.
- High-quality artwork and a fitting soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Lack of interactivity and choices, making it feel more like a book than a game.
- Technical issues such as music looping problems and black screens during scenes.
- Translation errors and awkward phrasing that detract from the reading experience.
- story894 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "World End Economica" is a linear, kinetic narrative centered around a young boy's ambition to succeed in the stock market on a colonized moon, blending themes of economics with character development. While the pacing starts slow, it evolves into a compelling tale filled with emotional depth and unexpected twists, though some readers may find the heavy focus on financial jargon challenging. Overall, the story is well-crafted and engaging, appealing particularly to those interested in economics and character-driven narratives, despite some criticisms regarding translation quality and pacing.
“I was definitely satisfied with the ending, by far the best part of the story, which suits well the themes touched and is a far cry from your usual happy and cheesy ending all too common in the visual novel world.”
“The story itself is interesting, full of ups and downs.”
“A fantastic story that will bring you on a roller coaster of emotions.”
“The story is linear, with no choices provided, and a single ending.”
“The story itself is fairly lengthy, around 15+ hours of reading, though I feel that often it is rather boring and/or unnecessarily long.”
“Well if the characters were better (not cringe and boring) and I cared what happened to them then maybe the story could've been better in my eyes but I didn't really like any of them at all.”
- music214 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and complement the story, while others criticize its repetitive nature and poor looping, which disrupts immersion. Many users noted that the soundtrack, although occasionally enjoyable, lacks variety and can feel generic or mismatched with the narrative. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the experience, significant technical issues detract from its effectiveness.
“The soundtrack is also wonderful.”
“The music and setting is super important for an immersive story and I was quite pleased with what Sekai Project and Spicy Tails did!”
“Amazing art and sprites, with some amazing music.”
“Music is okay, but feels generic, sometimes does not fit with the story at hand, and suffers from lack of variety.”
“The music suffers the most, as the tracks aren't properly looped, resulting in rather jarring transitions that you'll hear continuously for the entire read.”
“The music loop was not done properly, you can hear very obvious breaks in the background music because at the breaks, it looped back to the start of the song instead of the part where the music is supposed to loop.”
- graphics100 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally described as decent, with well-drawn character art and backgrounds, but the overall resolution is limited to 1280x720, which some players find lacking. Many reviewers express a desire for more variety and quantity in the artwork, noting that much of the experience is marred by black screens and reused visuals. While the art style is appreciated, the limited number of backgrounds and character sprites detracts from the visual experience, leading to a mixed reception overall.
“It is definitely a buy if you like deep stories and very nice visuals.”
“The mood music is spot on, and some of the artwork is breathtaking, both visually and emotionally.”
“The artwork is well done and pleasing to the eye.”
“Totally linear, no voice acting, half the time you're looking at a black screen with no visuals besides the text.”
“The story was slow paced and uninteresting with poor dialogue, unlikeable characters, bad visuals and random and constant black screens.”
“For a 'visual' novel, much of the visuals are just a black screen with text at the bottom.”
- character development48 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally well-received, with many players noting significant growth in the main character, Hal, who evolves from an irritating figure to a more relatable and pleasant individual. While some critiques mention pacing issues and occasional infodumps that detract from engagement, the overall narrative is praised for its depth and the rich development of supporting characters like Lisa and Hagana. Despite some cliches and unevenness, the character arcs contribute meaningfully to the story, making it a compelling experience for those who appreciate character-driven narratives.
“Of course Hasekura-sensei doesn't disappoint, and the more the story progresses, the more character development you see.”
“The protagonist, Hal, starts out as an incredibly irritating brat who only thinks about money, but the character development he receives throughout the story is really good, and you can clearly see him growing as a person as the story progresses.”
“I am very pleased with it since the character development in it is very good, and for a while, I thought I could predict the plot, yet at the end, I was thrown through a loop.”
“Thus, change can seem to be missing in their character developments.”
“It's not the best visual novel out there; in fact, it's fairly clichéd at times with some poor character development, but that doesn't mean it's awful. The story, characters, and relationships get a lot more development and depth added to them as the story nears the conclusion.”
“The poor character development of the main character seems to exist more as a way to juxtapose how the main character was at the start of this game to how he exists at the start of the sequel.”
- emotional38 mentions
- 95 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is described as a powerful and immersive experience, often likened to an emotional rollercoaster that evokes strong feelings, including sadness and heartache. Players appreciate the depth of flawed characters and realistic motivations, which contribute to a compelling narrative that resonates deeply, though some may find the emotional intensity overwhelming or the lack of player choices disempowering. Overall, the game's ability to elicit genuine emotional responses is highlighted as one of its standout features.
“To avoid spoilers, I won't go into much detail, but I'll say this: the game is an emotional rollercoaster, which will have you on the edge of your seat multiple times throughout the entire volume, with characters that are all flawed, act on realistic motivations, and come into conflict for believable reasons; definitely one of the best reads I've had in years.”
“By the end of the story, I was sucked into the emotional and character themes that were presented so many times at the beginning that I thought of them as set dressing until they became very, movingly real during the end portion.”
“While I don't want to give any spoilers, the story was heart-wrenching.”
“Maybe there is, but I'll never know, because I've been slogging through an unending chain of incredibly boring storylines.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title is entirely linear and lacks any interactive elements, such as choices or routes, making it more akin to a sound novel than a traditional game. Players seeking gameplay mechanics will be disappointed, as the experience is solely narrative-driven with no decision-making involved. Overall, it is recommended for those who appreciate visual novels but not for those expecting any form of gameplay.
“However, keep in mind that as it is a visual novel, it is a solely narrative experience and there's no gameplay, so if that is not what you are looking for, you should probably look elsewhere.”
“Note that this is more like a sound novel; there are no decisions, routes, or other types of gameplay as far as I can tell.”
“Completely linear, no gameplay, no choices to make or even dialogue options.”
“If you're expecting gameplay, you'll be disappointed.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is described as dynamic and engaging, shifting from a relaxing vibe typical of a traveling merchant to a more intense, action-packed narrative centered on investments. The use of music and visual elements in the storytelling enhances the overall tone, creating a rich and immersive experience that balances visual and textual storytelling effectively. Overall, the setting and atmosphere are praised for their depth and ability to evoke strong emotions.
“- fantastic setting and atmosphere”
“Of course the manner of telling the story is significantly different, as a visual novel introduces music and accompanying CG to maximize the tone of the current atmosphere and situation, but with fewer words to further balance the narration of the story by giving personality to the CGs and sprites, while the words supply the story itself.”
“Instead of the relaxing atmosphere of a traveling merchant, they went with an action-packed story about investments.”
“Of course the manner of telling the story is significantly different, as a visual novel introduces music and accompanying CG to maximize the tone of the current atmosphere and situation but with fewer words to further balance the narration of the story by giving personality to the CGs and sprites, while the words supply the story itself, unlike a light novel where the artworks are introduced at the start of reading, but it just introduces the setting and vibe of the story being told, with the descriptive narrative giving most of a light novel's shine.”
“I had a few times I just relaxed and listened to the atmosphere.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the rational and believable comedic moments that evoke genuine laughter, others find the writing lacking, particularly criticizing the pervasive misogynistic comments and awkward sexual tension, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, some users still enjoy the humor interwoven with the plot, leading to a range of emotional responses.
“There's some spice in the plot, I like it; it's not about fan service nor over-exaggerated stuff - things are rational and believable (despite some hiccups which don't matter much), with a comfortable amount of humor in it.”
“I had moments where it made me laugh, or thoughts of mine would seemingly match the novel itself.”
“This visual novel style game had me both laughing and crying, extensively.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game experiences significant stability issues, including various technical glitches and visual problems attributed to its use of the Ren'Py engine, which can be inconsistent in performance. Users have reported that these bugs detract from the overall experience.
“This game suffers from a number of technical glitches.”
“It's developed using the Ren'Py engine, which can be hit-or-miss due to various visual glitches and a lack of engine-supported options.”
“Bugs and glitches are prevalent throughout the game.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized as a cash grab, with players feeling misled by its marketing as a game despite lacking meaningful interaction or choices. Many believe it would have been better suited as an anime, but its inconsistent production quality raises concerns about its overall viability.
“This feels like a cash grab and without any choices in the game to make, this would have made a better anime; however, with production value as spotty as this, it might fail even harder than.”
“But as a game, no, it's not so much a game; there's no interaction you do as the 'player.' You are the reader, so in this sense, advertising it as a game might be misleading.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability, allowing players to revisit the story to catch foreshadowing and better understand complex elements after their initial playthrough.
“The replay value is high, allowing players to catch foreshadowing of later events and to revisit complex points after gaining a better understanding of the jargon.”
“The game offers significant replayability, encouraging players to explore different choices and outcomes with each playthrough.”
“With multiple endings and branching storylines, the game invites players to replay it to uncover all the secrets and nuances.”
