Introduction
Two days ago, I announced my plan to review a significant number of short visual novels submitted to the minimalist O2A2 2026 – Only One of Any Asset Visual Novel Jam (“O2A2”) (see my article about my own submission) and proceeded to review 11 entries. Because I introduced the project there, I will skip the introduction here (start with article one if you landed here first). But before my second set of reviews, I do have a short introduction.
Part Two Review Struggles
When I published part one of this article duo, I had planned to review 12 O2A2 visual novels for this part two in addition to the 11 I reviewed for part one. While I had not actually tried the 12 that I tabbed for part two, I assumed that I would end up reviewing most. For example, I recall having started 13 novels for part one before ultimately writing about 11. However, I ended up dropping or otherwise declining to review about half of the 12 visual novels I had planned for part two for various reasons.
Because I had promised 12 reviews, I scrambled to re-populate my list and ultimately ended up playing, or reading, 14 visual novels that I could have reviewed – before cutting the list back down to my promised 12.
Part Two Reviews
I present my reviews of 12 O2A2 2026 visual novels below. Note that these reviews are presented strictly in the order I played/read the novels and do not in any way represent a ranking.
A Totally Normal Day Outside
I begin part two, continuing my O2A2 review project,with review number 12, A Totally Normal Day Outside. This is a simple solo piece by Turtleseason.
In this novel, we see the player character’s reflection in a bathroom mirror. The player character, described by Turtleseason as a “socially awkward human,” attempts to rehearse every small interaction he may have that day, from buying a coffee to encountering someone in the elevator at work. The novel has no sound, but four choices. None of the choices affect the dialogue, much less the single ending – but they correspond to the protagonist making different facial expressions as he rehearses his social interactions. The background, including the player character, is one digital art piece. The UI has a distinct “stock” Ren’Py feel, but that is perfectly acceptable given the nature of the piece.
While this is the most minimal O2A2 novel I have reviewed thus far – lest we count my own submission to O2A2 – it has some charm and made for a fun little read. While I do not see myself in the protagonist, I have experience with aspects of the character archetype. I give A Totally Normal Day outside my totally normal nod of approval (also remember to go outside).
Runs On: Web.
You’ll Be Back
Lucky novel 13 is You’ll Be Back (VNDB entry), which is a submission by DonDonPataPon, who had already published four visual novels on Itch.io. This piece caught my attention in the first instance because he ran his one background image through a “Higurashi filter,” which evinced that he has good visual novel taste (count me as a Higurashi fan). He provided the following introduction for the piece:
In this world full of real and present fears affecting too many others… Will you take a moment to indulge me a personal fear of mine?
The story places the player in the shoes of a young man who finds himself pulled into a conversation with an older man on a bench, which leads to him feeling trapped as the older man goes on a sort of bleak “kids these days” and “everything is terrible these days” monologue/ The young man tries somewhat unsuccessfully to tune out the gentleman (note the author confirmed a certain strongly implied relationship between the narrator and the man on the bench in a separate project postmortem post (confirmed by the author externally), but I will leave that to readers to discover. True to the theme, we see early that the narrator feels uneasy in that he sees his own future in the older man, which sends a proverbial chill down his spine. The piece employs a very interesting (and unseen to this point if you have been reading my reviews in order) persistent data mechanic. The story “ends” unexpectedly quickly, returning to the title – but readers will find upon starting a new game that it picks up after the events of the first “loop.” This happens a few times before starting a new game finally reaches a clever dead end. The title screen changes after “loops” (but not in a way that breaks the O2A2 rules).
You’ll Be Back uses a single background image featuring a bench and riverside view. The image does indeed have a “Higurashi filter” that would make it easily fit in to the classic sound novel series (and others from the era, see e.g., my reviews of Plain Song and The Letter), all without coming off as derivative. In order to depict different scenes, the camera pans and zooms, which is done to good effect. The piece does not use background music, instead relying on a “wind” sound effect in the background, which goes well with its psychologically oppressive feel. The text is presented in NVL mode, which is not the most common configuration for novels built in Ren’Py, albeit not at all unprecedented (see e.g., my review of Limerence).
My overall impression of You’ll Be Back errs on the positive side with some caveats. It is praiseworthy in all technical respects from its aesthetics, structure (a loop-mechanic with a 1,000 word limit is not for the faint of heart), and for largely fulfilling its introductory promises. But for me as a reader, it falls into a similar place as the very different Envelope My Heart and If the Shoe Fits that I reviewed in part one. It is technically commendable, but not my choice for estival park bench reading. I will note without spoilers that the author’s personal fear is not unique to the author. But within the four corners of the story, we have a view-point character who is defined for us almost exclusively in terms of not wanting to turn into the older man on the bench, which is perhaps the consequence of a 1,000 word limit. As for the narrator’s objections, we can discern a growing list of things the narrator does not like about the man on the bench. But, even granting the strongly implied in-text and externally confirmed relationship between the two characters and the narrator’s monologues, I do not think the script completes the circuit. However, in light of the author’s own expressed goals of sharing a personal fear, it succeeded in its stated objective – and for that earns a completed mission statement hat tip.
Small recommendation: There should be a menu option for clearing the persistent save data so that the reader can start over without knowing the default file system location for Ren’Py save data (or, better yet, now without the O2A2 deadline, ensure that there is a way for the reader to start from different loops after reading to the end once).
Runs On: Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. The Itch.io page only lists Windows and MacOS, but the Windows download includes a Linux executable, which is what I used to read You’ll Be Back. (Please respect the penguin and note the Linux executable on Itch, Ren’Py devs.)
(PS: Could I be the guy on the bench? Perish the thought. Thinking about talking to (or at) the kids these days makes me tired.)
EMOJIBOT
Up fourteenth, we have the most unique visual novel I have reviewed, thus far, EMOJIBOT, which was a submission of Twanch. Having published articles about emoji story telling and an emoji-only chat app, I was excited to try this one from the Itch.io page description:
You are a bot that helps people choose emojis for their messages. Choose the emoji that best fits each conversation.
The entire visual novel takes place in what appears to be a chat app. There is no music, but there are chat app sound effects (unfortunately no AIM door effects). The player is an emojibot real estate broker. In the first of three conversations, he interacts with a dissatisfied home hunter. There are three prompts in each of the three conversations, for nine total, and the player must choose an emoji to match the mood of the real estate broker’s message. At the end of each segment, the novel scores the player – acting as emojibot – on how many emoji selections were “correct.”
EMOJIBOT strikes me as more a proof-of-concept piece than a finished product in its current state. For example, the player’s choice of emojis – even the most absurdly and obviously wrong choices – do not change the course of any of the conversations, making it feel a bit more like the player is decoding the tone messages as part of an SAT prep course than meaningfully contributing to the in-game app conversation. But there is something interesting here. The phone aesthetic is well done and the text conversations themselves – especially the second of three – are well-written and humorous for an O2A2 submission. I would be interested in seeing a more fleshed out take on the EMOJIBOT idea and hope that Twanch develops it beyond the O2A2 Jam.
Runs On: Executables for Windows and MacOS. I ran the Windows version on top of WINE (note for Linux users that I used Proton-GE after default system WINE did not work).
Lights, Camera, Scandal!
My fifteenth review is of Lights, Camera, Scandal! (heretofore “LCS”) (VNDB entry) by Rou, who handled the story, art, GUI, and programming, with textbox design coming courtesy of JV_san. The novel is described as follows:
Lights Camera Scandal is a hit reality show where disgraced celebrities fight to restore their public image. Earn back the public’s trust or be reaped by Riri, the Reaper of Stars, and say goodbye to the spotlight.
While the extraordinarily flashy Riri (see the screenshot below) dominates the visuals, the view-point character is an actress who stars in a fictional show or movie called 10 Ways To Get Canceled. This actress is ironically facing what Riri describes as a potentially career-ending scandal, which is why she is Riri’s guest of the day. The actress, who would prefer not to be canceled, is given a script by her manager, which just happens to cover all the “correct” answers to Riri’s interrogation questions (conveniently highlighted in green for the player). (I will note that the “scandal” set-up strikes me as a bit alien as an American reader, even as someone who reads the New York Post (Metro Section, to be precise)).
Riri dominates the visuals, standing front-and-center and aided by a variety of ominous facial expressions and one bouncing effect as she takes glee in the prospect of destroying public figures for public entertainment. Behind her we have a garish purple studio set, which I suppose matches Riri well. The text box is highly stylized and fits the theme, but the novel made poor choices for dialog text font in design (too plain) and soft white coloring (very poor contrast). The novel uses a single background track that fits the piece, albeit I cannot say it makes for good ambient listening. There is one unfortunate bright color flashing sequence late in the novel which prompted the developer to add an epilepsy warning to the game’s page (I dare suggest it would have been easier to omit this).
I almost opted against reviewing LCS because of quality-control issues in the script, which reads awkwardly at points and is difficult to follow at others (see, e.g., some of the view-point character’s internal narration between choices two and three). The scripting issues were exacerbated by the fact that the novel, being held to the O2A2 visual asset restrictions, was forced to lean on writing to describe certain visuals that it could not show, putting more pressure on the novel to “tell” instead of “show.” I found the novel’s decision to give the player the “correct” answers to the three decisive choices odd, albeit I would have had some difficulty figuring out the “right” answers based on the dialogue. With that being said, the script leaves a certain point ambiguous in a clever way in the end.
While the current script needs work, the team demonstrated some solid artistic chops and the celebrity interrogation set-up could make for an interesting short piece with surer writing and not having to fit within the O2A2 restrictions.
Runs On: Web. Executables for Windows and MacOS (no Linux). I played the web version.
Thank You for Being My Friend
We change gears for review number 16 with the distinctly scandal-free visual novel Thank You For Being My Friend by yazzs. She describes it as follows:
You are playing as the imaginary friend of a young child. Spend time with her and help her have fun with various activities. The only goal of the game is to make her as happy as you can. Just don’t get too attached.
Yazzs’ description of Thank You for Being My Friend covers the piece well enough that I have little to add. As the lonely child’s imaginary friend, the player is presented with several choices on how to keep the girl entertained. The story ends in the same way regardless of the choices, which only affect a small amount of dialogue.
Thank You for Being My Friend has a distinct visual aesthetic, with yazzs having drawn a cute, chibi-esque little girl in a plan room which matches the style. The single background track, YUKARINOTI by Megumi Ryu, is pleasant and fits the child’s imagination theme, but it is very short, which causes it to loop multiple times in what is a very short novel.
Yazzs described the novel as “very rushed” and “unpolished” and promises to “polish it in the future and add more content when I have time.” I would not go so far as to call the current piece unpolished, noting that the art is charming, it works in a technical sense, and it technically has a beginning and end. However,it would be fair to call it unfinished in a similar vein to EMOJIBOT. I see potential here between Yazzs’ illustrations and the interesting imaginary friend set up, so I encourage her to “polish” the piece and expand it beyond the O2A2 constraints.
Runs On: Web. Executables for Windows and PC (not sure if there is a difference in this case), Linux, and MacOS. I played the Linux version (finally a part two O2A2 Ren’Py novel that both included and listed the Linux executable).
Until Closing
Up 17th is Until Closing by Puzzle Deluxe.
The world is ending. A zombie outbreak is spreading through the city, and a small neighborhood bar becomes your last refuge. Inside, a bartender offers you a drink as if nothing unusual is happening. Outside, the dead gather at the door. Inside, time seems to stand still.
The Itch.io page introduction for Until Closing reduces my workload by being both detailed and on point in describing the novel’s set up. The story is interactive, featuring up to five choices in any given play-through and four distinct endings, all of which turns on how the view-point character interacts with the bartender. I was able to find all four endings fairly quickly by testing different combinations of choices, but the one of the endings is a bit tricky as it requires a specific sequence of answers (the developer notes the sequence in the Itch.io comments for the perplexed). Although the author cautions that his first language is Spanish, the English script reads well and I have no glaring script complaints in the context of a short O2A2 submission.
The novel’s visual focuses on the bar and the striking bartender – using the camera zoom to give the reader a sense of whether the view-point character is located in relation to the bar. The novel has a catchy laid back soundtrack that fits the interior of the bar and the back-and-forth conversation (if not the events transpiring outside) perfectly.
I could quibble with little things like the font choice for the dialogue speakers, but taken as it is,Until Closing is one of the best, if not the best, O2A2 entry I have read and reviewed, and it is technically solid in a way that leaves me without much to add. The art and music selection are both thoroughly on point, and the use of the camera zoom to show the view-point character’s perspective is effective while being situated within the O2A2 limits. The script is fun and the two speaking characters, despite having never met previously, have a good rapport. The humor of the bartender’s laid back attitude given the events outside was effectively conveyed through his dialogue and the view-point character’s reactions. The cause and effect relationship between the choices and the endings is more than good enough for an O2A2 novel created from start to finish in five days. Until Closing is not ambitious, but it is a well-executed fun read with a set-up that fits perfectly inside the O2A2 restrictions.
Runs On: Web. Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. I played the Linux version.
Mid-Century Butterfly
My 18th review covers Mid-Century Butterfly (VNDB entry) by WMN Awanama, who is an Indonesian developer branching out from webtoons to visual novels. The piece features background music from Dova-Syndrome. This is the only O2A2 piece I am reviewing with an age gate (17+), which it earns for the protagonist’s salty language and her description of her non-PG money-earning activities. With that being said, nothing actually happens, so I will opine while it is not for kids, I have reviewed heavier pieces on this family-friendly website (see e.g., The world to reverse and Christmas Tina). The oppressively purple store page features a long description of the piece, so I will excerpt the highlights below:
In the city-state of Infinity City, each citizen has a nanochip implanted inside their body since birth, one that tracks their Reputation Level, a system that decides the kinds of opportunities that an individual can gain once they become of age in a city ruled by the Penrose Group … Having just turning of age, she is now considered a part of the system. And while the youngsters are given a slight advantage as a ‘gift’ for them finally being a part of the society, things doesn’t seem to look good for her. In fact, it seems going downhill for her ever since…
I will reverse my usual review course for this project and begin with the aesthetics. The cyberpunk-inspired visuals for Mid-Century Butterfly stand out as notable in the O2A2 pack. The protagonist, seen below, pops out, with the background being her motel room, which has a sort of cyber-3D effect.
The novel also has a fittingly garish text box, and the font choice and color here is very readable (contrast with the similarly purple-loving LCS, which I reviewed earlier).
The Itch.io page notes that the unnamed protagonist, who is the only character who appears in the novel, is set to play a leading role in a future full-length visual novel WMN Awanma is working on. Let that inform my assessment of the writing.
The entire short story is the internal monologue of the young woman pictured above, which the game page describes as “[a] sassy, unfiltered protagonist who may or may not have an inflated ego [and] who also happens to be a troubled, misled late-teen.” This is all accurate, so I will let that description stand (along with my prior note that she is living out of a motel in this futuristic cyberpunk setting) without unnecessarily divulging particulars. The issue with this story is that nothing happens, even within the confines of the girl’s mind. The sassy unfiltered protagonist stands alone, fretting in a motel room, and dropping what appears to more or less be her life story and unfortunate present circumstances on the reader for close to the novel’s allowed 1,000 words. Were I to try to make sense of it in world, I would be half convinced that some cyberpunk technology causes the young woman to have to constantly remind herself of her life story and present circumstances, lest she otherwise forget. While I offered a gentle critique of Tea Time With the Princess in part one of my review project for having some info-dump tendencies in the middle sections, Mid-Century Butterfly could be described as an info-dump from beginning to end.
I appreciate Mid-Century Butterfly’s aesthetics despite not being a cyberpunk fan, and I undertake this review in the good spirit of offering what I hope is some constructive criticism. It comes through clearly that the author is developing an interesting cyberpunk setting and that this perhaps understandably warped young woman promises to be an interesting person in said setting. But I would humbly advise – even in the context of a micro visual novel – to show me why the setting is interesting instead of putting me in the role of the motel wall the young lady is talking at (the teenage girl version of the man on the bench). Have the young woman do something (preferably not her current day job in this case) or at least engage in a conversation with another person. That would make for a much more compelling teaser for the developer’s in-progress full visual novel.
Runs On: Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. The Itch.io page only lists Windows and MacOS, but the Windows download includes a Linux executable, which is what I used to play the novel. (More Linux-hiding.)
(PS: One can fairly try to counter my critiques with “but Ferrell Sensei, your entire O2A2 submission was a monologue!” Fair point, fair point. But I counter this counter by noting that my protagonist’s monologue involved sharing a specific story in response to her dream, and will humbly submit that it was not an info-dump. Of course, I leave it to others to reach their own conclusions.)
Oh, Regret
The 19th novel on my final list, Oh, Regret by Skylily Wolf was not on my initial to-review list, but I added it when I was looking for replacement novels. Apparently I did not “regret” it, evinced by the fact that it made my article. The Itch.io page describes it succinctly: “Apologize and agonize.”
The entire piece, which runs about 500 words (or one-half the O2A2 allotment), features a the view-point character standing at the grave of a late friend, offering flowers and her stream of consciousness regrets both for not having been there for her friend in her last days and for not returning her then-unrequited affections (as I read it, at least). The camera moves up and down at a few points, but it is otherwise a what you see is what you get production.
Oh, Regret rivals my Under the Alien Sky in terms of aesthetic minimalism, featuring the author’s waterpaint-style background (which includes the view-point character) and a small amount of camera movement, but no sound.
While Oh, Regret is both plain and to the point, it works well as an O2A2 piece. In my al|together review series, I praised From the Bottom of the Heart for its interesting setting of being the epilogue to an unwritten story. Oh, Regret strikes me as similar, in that like From the Bottom of the Heart, it is effectively the capstone to a story we only learn about indirectly through the regretful reflections of the view-point protagonist. Oh, Regret is credibly written and gives the reader a clear enough idea of the view-point character’s relationship with her late friend and why she approaches her friend’s gravestone with approximately 500 words of regret to off-load.
Runs On: Web. Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. I read the web version here, despite there being a listed Linux executable.
In the dark, a song
I was not expecting to review a Japanese visual novel for O2A2, but I stumbled upon one as a part two “replacement” pick , In the dark, a song, which comes courtesy of a developer who goes by Ruminio (who contributed to another O2A2 submission, Our Last Goodbye, which is not on my review list). It features humming by Kylie Siaw, who created the afore-parenthetically-mentioned Our Last Goodbye. In addition to being the only originally Japanese visual novel in this review set, it is also my first look at a visual novel made in Light vn, which is a freeware, closed-source visual novel engine with separate licensing requirements for both freeware and commercial pieces. Ruminio describes this piece as follows:
In the darkness, a single song reaches someone. A short story about discovering you are not alone.
Rumino’s description of In the dark, a song is on point, granting that it is not the easiest piece to summarize. The view-point character comes to in the dark, unable to see or speak. This character is naturally afraid, but hears a song in the distance. Despite not being able to see or speak, the view-point character can move to look for the source of the song. Like You’ll Be Back, In the dark, a song features multiple play-through loops, here being two, with the second taking a different perspective on the same events.
Having just opined in my previous review that Oh, Regret rivaled my own O2A2 description in the minimalism department, I dare say that In the dark, a song surpasses us both (I think it is the shortest O2A2 novel in terms of word count on my final review list). It features no background art or sprites whatsoever save for a plain back background. The text overlays the black background. Fortunately, the font choice is solid and readable. But as the title promises, the novel does feature some sound in the form of humming provided by Kylie Siaw.
I appreciate In the dark, a song. While it did not set out to push the limits of O2A2, it is a neat way to express two ideas, with the first being the feeling of being all alone, but “discovering that you are not alone.” Despite its unusual set-up, its message is both clear and intelligible.
Runs On: Web.
D.C. al Coda
My 21st review, D.C. al Coda (VNDB entry) by FumbleBaum, was not on my original to-do list, but perhaps it would have been had I read the Itch.io page introduction:
Waiting for her connecting bus, Ella has nothing but time, her own thoughts, and the company of a pianist playing in the flat behind her.
The first line of my own Under the Alien Sky was based on a line in a short essay by a nineteenth century weaver named Ella, so I suppose I was always going to find my way to reviewing this one (as I noted in the Anemone Questionnaire review in part one, names are powerful things).
Names aside, the Itch.io page for D.C. al Coda singles out the main ideas of the story. Most of the piece feature’s the blind Ella’s monologue while she stands at her bus stop listening to the piano-playing of the woman in the adjacent flat, who Ella has quite clearly taken a fancy to. The novel is perhaps unexpectedly interactive in light of the premise, with Ella at several points offering the reader with two choices on how to interpret the piano music in the background and her own feelings about the music and the pianist herself. Like You’ll Be Back near the top of this article and the more modest (in terms of word count) In the dark, a song, D.C. al Coda makes use of a persistent data mechanic. As the Itch.io page advertises, the novel has two “neutral” endings. Seeing both of those endings triggers the third and “true” ending. I understood these endings to exist sequentially rather than in loops or simultaneously. I will note here that I am not 100% certain how the choices interact with the endings, but I reached the “true ending” by trying different choices in the “neutral” ending play-throughs. Somehow, it all fits into the 1,000 word limit.
While my O2A2 review project is in no way a ranking, I will opine here that D.C. al Coda is the most aesthetically impressive of the 26 O2A2 novels I either made myself or read through for reviews. Its aesthetic made me think of a cross between Until We Meet Again and True Remembrance (consider that high praise). The entire piece is in grayscale, featuring the blind view-point protagonist, Ella, at its center, bundled in a coat with her scarf and walking stick, waiting at a bus stop.
The scene feels alive with snow falling, and this novel has an interesting effect when moving the mouse to the edge of the frame. The novel makes the most of O2A2’s one background rule by adjusting the zoom to show different parts of its one background. Choices are very aesthetically designed, appearing as clouds next to Ella. The novel uses a single piano background track, which, while not itself the best music track of the O2A2 pieces I reviewed, is pleasant and, here, an actual part of the story itself.
That my strongest negative critique of D.C. al Coda is its use of the default Ren’Py web presplash screen in the web version (I join the author in recommending running it locally if practicable) should be taken as a sign that this is a very strong O2A2 submission in all respects, from the aesthetics to the script (Ella reads credibly as a lovestruck woman with a literary sensibility without veering into pseudo-pretentiousness). All I can say in the final analysis is “well done” and “replace the pre-splash screen on the web version.”
Runs On: Web. Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. I played the Linux version for my review (I used the web version to refresh myself on one point). As I noted in the review, the installed versions run more smoothly than the web version.
Call of the North Star
We have covered originally Spanish and Japanese visual novels in this article. With Call of the North Star by Horseless Knight, we can add Russian to the collection for the penultimate review. The description from the Itch.io page comes as follows:
CALL OF THE NORTH STAR (i.e. polar/arctic hysteria, piblokto, menerik, meryachenie) — an abrupt dissociative episode with four phases: social withdrawal, excitement, convulsions and stupor, and recovery … Time doesn’t really matter when you’re living at the northernmost point of all Eurasia. It matters even less during winter, when the world goes completely dark save for the stars shining above the frozen sea. But is it truly wise to lose track of time when the darkness and malnutrition are already gnawing quietly at your sanity? The radio whispers something. Yes, your head hurts… but really, you should come and listen for a little.
We are put in the shoes of a meteorologist stationed on a remote Russian island, slowly descending into polar hysteria as he goes months without seeing sunlight, and listening to radio transmissions (for better or worse). The radio transmission, and the story’s ending, reveal some interesting history tie-ins that I will leave un-spoiled here. Despite the author cautioning readers that the piece was originally written in Russian, it reads cleanly in English, although it does read as being a bit constrained by the O2A2 word limit. The novel has no choices, so it is a straight read from beginning to end.
Rather than describe the visuals, I present you with a screenshot:
While D.C. al Coda is the most technically impressive O2A2 piece in my review set in the visual department and part one’s Froggy Goes Boating … and Tea Time With the Princess winning in the artistic department, Call of the North Star is the clear winner in the UI department (noting that the UI and background are one here). Here we have an outstanding background with a man (the view-point character), stationed on a remote Russian island, fiddling with a radio as we follow his disjointed thoughts and the static-filled radio transmissions. But I would be remiss to overlook one notable, but likely easy-to-fix, flaw in the O2A2 version. The dialogue text color contrast is very poor and makes reading, especially when not in full-screen mode, a bit of a chore. I would strongly recommend reassessing the dialogue text color and, while in the area, choosing a less generic font that would go better with the top-notch screen design. Returning to the positive, the story is accompanied by an excellent, somber background music track that is in the running for the best of the O2A2 submissions on my review list.
Call of the North Star is with both its aesthetic (text contrast issue granted) value and a difficult concept that is one of the stronger O2A2 submissions discussed in these two review articles. While it is effective within O2A2 constraints, this is a novel that has some room to grow into something better if the author is inclined to expand it a bit (it works best as a short piece, but perhaps something a bit longer than 1,000 words). Being able to spend more time with the protagonist, perhaps across some different periods, would make it possible to explore more deeply the Call of the North Star. A well-done sticker is well earned here.
Runs On: Web. Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. I played the Linux version.
996 words left
From the beginning, I decided that the 23rd and final review would be 996 words left, which is by Ashe Lucia with artwork by uberblacktorne. I present the introduction:
Crystal is a game developer and writer who decided it would be a good idea to join O2A2 Jam with only 24 hours left. Crystal has zero ideas, but thankfully she has a friend to help. Will they finish their game? or will they run out of time because of Crystal’s procrastination?
This novel comes exactly as advertised: It is an O2A2 story about making an O2A2 visual novel, which ends up being as circular as the premise promises. Perhaps to drive home the “rushed” point, the UI looks to be very close to stock Ren’Py (with color contrast issues for Crystal’s name). The background, the making of which is described in this piece, depicts a retro computer set-up that we are told in-piece does not accurately Crystal’s workspace. Save for a log-in sound effect near the start, this is a silent visual novel.
The frantic conversation between Crystal and her artist friend earned a chuckle from me. This piece is deliberately unpolished, but a fun read all the same. Having had to handle art, scripting, and coding for my own O2A2 submission in less than 48 hours thanks to Kenney Jam’s time-frame (taking into account real work one day and my regular newsletter the next), I can relate to the time-crunch, although I will note with some satisfaction I finished more comfortably than Crystal in 996 words left.
Runs On: Executables for Windows, Linux, and MacOS (no web). I played the Linux version.
Conclusion
I will wrap things up briefly here and reserve my more detailed thoughts for my O2A2 recap article. Of the 12 novels I looked at in this part two, there are two standouts in what I would describe as the general classification. First, Until Closing is well-constructed in all respects with an effective script and set of choices that perfectly fits the O2A2 constraints. Second, D.C. al Coda is the stand-out aesthetic production of the O2A2 novels I read and it effectively makes work a number of choices and three endings (relying on persistence) with a 1,000 word limit (no small feat). Other notables include Call of the North Star for its inspired UI, music choices, and subject matter (it is a font-fix away from joining my “general classification” winners in full) and You’ll Be Back for its technical and structural merits, allowing that the technically sound script was not entirely amenable to my taste.
