Recent reviews by sleepy lesbian

tldr one of the few 10/10 visual novels and genuine pieces of art in the modern age. I played this back when it first was released over a decade ago, and it remains one of the most sincerely beautiful formative experiences in my life.
Scroll to the last paragraph to skip my yapping about the game and my opinion on why you should read it.

Let's set the stage. 2013, I'm a child on the internet with unfiltered, unsupervised access. I'm a regular on the forum site "4chan" (explains how I turned out today), and there are discussions on a board of a game recently released by a group of people on this very site I'm browsing. A visual novel. Something I've never heard of, but as a shy shut-in who loves to read, an interesting concept for a video game. So it begins.

Katawa Shoujo is genuinely one of the most beautiful pieces of media I've ever had the honour of experiencing. You follow the protagonist, Hisao Nakai, as he learns in his adolescent years that he has both severe cardiac arrhythmia and congenital heart muscle deficiencies, after a heart attack brought on by a classmate's confession towards him. After his diagnosis, he is enrolled in a specialist school, Yamaku Academy, for children with debilitating or severe disorders and disabilities. Along his journey you will meet Shizune Hakamichi (a fully deaf girl), Rin Tezuka (a girl with no arms), Lilly Staou (a fully blind girl), Hanako Ikezawa (a girl with crippling social anxiety, just like me fr), and Emi Ibarazaki (a girl with no legs), your choices in romantic interests.

The game handles disabilities and the process of learning them in an extremely mature matter, especially considering the origins of their dev group. The writing as well, is phenomenal along with both the developments of each love interest, feeling like genuine scans of actual people. There is never a moment in my reads and subsequent rereads that I ever felt like my immersion was broken, that I was truly just watching real people with real trauma but also real emotions (ouu buzzwords) live their lives. Meet likeminded people who have similar differences. Learn about each other's traumas, have their moments of fear because of their walls break down, their hearts bared. Besides this, the art is beautifully done (ignore that it was done by a doujin artist, this is an erotica after all), and the music is a symphony of angels that keep you warm and cozy for moments, as well as leaning forward in your seat and clutching your mouse for others (BUZZWORDS OUUU).

I can easily pinpoint this moment in my life of first reading this game to its entirety, every route and every ending, as a reason why I am so passionate and even needy for games with gripping, emotionally heart wrenching stories. I revisit this game every few years, when I feel like my mind has lost the memories of this story's nuance, and I get to relive the game all over again. The music, the atmosphere, even just the silent words on screen, is like lying on a field of flowers on a cloudy day, and seeing said clouds part and feeling the warmth of the sun shine on you, embrace you.

Katawa Shoujo is a must read for anyone who has the time, having around 8 hours of playthrough per romantic interest route for around 40 hours of playtime. There is never a moment where I feel like I have mentally gone "what the hell is this", everything is so painstakingly grounded in reality, and the entire game is put with so much love and passion that truly shows. Even for a moment, while they unfortunately are not, these people live real lives within this game and in each their own way, it is beautiful.

(also Hanako best girl, but you're allowed to have your own opinions)

Roxie is a woman's woman

met Damien Leone's The Terrifier, he murdered my mechanic wife and journalist wife and botanist wife, then kidnapped me and put me into a basement, gave me a "massive orgasm", disappeared, and refused to elaborate.

10/10 he goes heehee

asked a floating head to make love with me and it set me on fire

10/10 yes head

i kissed a girl and she said "yay" in response i've never felt so gay before in my life

this game is like if you injected 100g of meth straight into your eyes and was told to play some random schizophrenia simulator by an inflation fetishist on the internet

i wish there was a neutral vote on recommendations bc this game teaches the public abt the must secret and hidden technique of chess that shouldve stayed hidden

just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ shoot your opponent

10/10, i wish water was real

fuuuuuuuuuuuull combo!

gore magala is my son he has (one) disease and is also wanted in 37 countries for violating the geneva convention