If you play VNs- you're bound to hear this name, "Saya No Uta" (Saya's Song in English), at least once.
For those who do not know about the genre, they are exactly what the name implies- a novel with music, sound, and usually voice acting in it.
Saya No Uta is a Visual Novel developed by Nitroplus- well known for its horror elements that seem straight out of a Lovecraft book- madness, jaw-dropping writing that does an excellent job explaining in detail of the most grotesque things that will make your nightmares seem a rainbow-filled, pastel-colored trip to heaven, as well as keeping you hooked through the whole story.
The plot is the following: Sakisaka Fuminori is a medical student that suffers a car accident, which kills his parents and almost takes his life, too- if he wasn't saved by an experimental brain surgery.
However, the side-effects of said surgery are worse than death itself- he nows sees the enviornment he has gotten used to so much as horrible, twisted versions of what he remembers they were. Streets are now filled with gore and blood- humans are putrid pieces of unrecognizable flesh, and even the food he has to eat tastes horribly disgusting- enough to make him think of suicide, after having his sanity taken away little by little, the culprit being said horrible perception of reality. One day, though, a cute girl appears in front of him- which seems like fucking Paradise in middle of R'lyeh. In fact, she is not cute; she's incredibly beautiful, which only draws him close to her.
Fuminori, after that, tries to lead a "normal" life, all he wishes is peace. He tries to avoid his former friends; those who are now horrible creatures whose voices sound like the cry of an unrecognizable monster, with yellow liquid coming from their rotten, slime-texture flesh, and a putrid smell no human could stand.
His horrifying senses are so twisted, he can do nothing but wait to see said girl- named "Saya"- day after day.
The plot will give you a set of options to chose from time to time- however, it is not heavy in said choices. Different choices lead to different endings, of course, and, if I am not wrong, the number of endings the game has available is three. If you're going to play it, make sure you save after a choice so you'll be able to revisit it.
Said story is interesting, and does a great job keeping you hooked. It's half a romance story, half an horror story. Sadly, it does suffer of pacing problems from time to time.
As you may know already; the game is heavy on mature content. And no, this is not "mature" in the sense of videogames nowadays; this is something that no kid should truly perceive. In fact, the game has an option to turn down the gore with self-cencorship and darkened presentations- however, it is better experienced without any of that.
And besides, images aren't the truly horrible- instead, the words the game throws at you are the ones that will leave you with a face of disgust and horror. The graphical material this game contains is quite heavy, going from raw murder to rape and beyond- so, it goes without saying, it is not for those faint of heart.
The game does a great job setting up an eerie atmosphere- even more considering it's a Visual Novel. You'll truly feel scared sometimes, and while this is nowhere near Amnesia or Penumbra's levels, it's still damn good.
And, mind you, this game does not contain "jump scares". Instead, it will keep the incredible atmosphere and will show horrifying things- those that will creep you out. If anything, think about it as reading any of Lovecraft books- no cheap jump scares, no idiotic moments- all it has going for it are truly horrible events that happen, this time around with a great musical score (even when it can get somewhat repetitive with time).
The art style is pretty good- the number of CGs are varied; albeit it could've used even more.
For VN standards, the game is quite short- you will be able to clear a run in one or two sittings- however, thanks to that, it never feels like it drags on or has any filler material.
As I've commented before in this review- the writing is simply great. In fact, it's so good, I can't stop praising it. It explains with great detail every little event that happens, as well as showcasing the characters horrors and feelings with ease.
However, said writing is not without flaws. In sex scenes, for example, you'll find the typical-but-annoying: Reproductive organs replaced with completly laughable things, such as replacing "Penis" for "Manhood", and such. It's not big, but it's annoying, nonetheless.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matters if you haven't played a VN before- you should give this game a try, if you can find/download it.
JAST USA is planning a release of Saya No Uta, as well as other Nitroplus games, if you cannot find it with ease. That would mean waiting quite a while, however.
I can't help but feel Saya No Uta is of the best of its genre- if anything, this is one of the games that you should truly experience before you die.
I may be overexaggerating a bit; but I just loved every second of it.
MonsterVine: "October is the month of Halloween, so what better time to sit down and play some spooky games? Here are a few of my top picks (in no particular order) for spooky games–which are not necessarily all horror games–to play this month. "
COGconnected: With hundreds of horror games vying for the position of most fear-inducing, we've narrowed down our list to the top ten scariest PC games...for now.
Chalgyr's Game Room writes:
Mother 3 (SNES) - Natural Killer Cyborg
I'm one of the perhaps 5 people on the planet who doesn't passionately love the Mother/Earthbound series. Before you start hurling tomatoes, let me just say that I did enjoy the series - but only just. I mean, the hit-and-miss, absurd humour and eccentric boss battles are entertaining, and I acknowledge most of it is ironic and deliberate, but I'm afraid I'm just not the intended audience. Not enjoying the gameplay and narrative as deeply as required doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the music as much... far from it. Though this is the first time any track from the Mother series is making an appearance in MM, expect a good number to follow in future articles.
Until then, enjoy this rocking and surprisingly catchy tune that has some of the best drum beats I've heard in my life. If you don't find yourself bopping your head 3 seconds in, you need to reset and try again.
You like Visual novels Neckbear? Wow I thought I was the only one. You should try out Katawa Shoujo. The first act is out and is free and when the full version comes out it will be free as well.
Saya no Uta is awesome man.