Former Vanillaware Designer's 'Verita Tales' Debuts to Very Positive Steam Reviews
The game's reception shows continued demand for gamebook-style digital titles that automate analog mechanics, and the hand-drawn art by a Vanillaware veteran gives the project a distinct visual identity.
Reporting from 1 source: Automaton.
The adventure game 'Verita Tales: The Witch of the Dark Castle' launched on Steam on July 9. As of July 17, it holds a Very Positive rating with 87% of 148 reviews positive. The gamebook-style title features art by Yoshio Nishimura, a former Vanillaware designer, who spent six years on the hand-drawn illustrations. Players choose between two characters and navigate a branching story with a wizard game master.
The game's wizard game master handles dice rolls, item management, and flag tracking, so players do not need paper and pencil. Death scenes send the player back to the previous page, and one homage directs the reader to page 14, a nod to the gamebook 'GrailQuest.' The art was drawn over six years by Yoshio Nishimura, who worked on 'GrimGrimoire,' 'Odin Sphere,' and 'Dragon's Crown' at Vanillaware. Nishimura developed the materials while living in the mountains of Nara, and the game displays pencil and eraser animations between events to mimic an analog feel.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.