Goodbye Volcano High

I'm gonna preface this with saying, I'm someone who played I wani hug that gator first and then snoot game after that. I love wani, and enjoyed snoot. I'm also nonbinary, and have been since early highschool. I'm not here to talk about the controversy between these games nor do I want to. I just wanna give wani/snoot players an idea of this game.

I think this game is very good. The art, the music, the voice acting, the ending, the rhythm portions, the LnL segments. all of that is absolutely fantastic. Fang in particular is i think a great character. I love everything about them in this game, their personality, their design, their va. awesome. potentially better than snoot's fang, though they are extremely different characters. (That being said, if you go into this expecting all the characters to have their snoot personalities, they are very different for most of the cast.) also the gameplay is definitely different. its still mostly a visual novel with choices that affect your relationships with others. but there are excellent rhythm game sections interspersed through it as well (kinda wish there was more tbh)

as for criticisms, the game is way too short. i think you don't really get what you pay for, so i can only really recommend this game at a sale price. i bought it for 20 bucks and i think that was a decent price. also i wish the story was slightly different, and you got to individually choose who you hung out with in between band sections. sort of like how night in the woods does it if you've ever played that. (great game btw). also certain things related to trish and naomi i really didn't like. especially naomi. (she sucks in every universe apparently) but that's more so gripes about specific story beats that isn't really relevant here. the first couple of hours kinda drag too, but once you get to the first LnL session the game shoots up in quality for writing and characters. Which is a shame that it took so long for that to happen. right before the first LnL session, I was complaining to my friends about how i want to like the game, but none of the cast was that interesting to me despite playing for around 2 hours at that point. which is way too long for a game to get good when the game is only roughly 6 hours long.

overall, if you're a wani/snoot fan. i think you should absolutely play this game. show some respect to the original creators that gave rise to a different great set of games and fangames. plus i think the good really outweighs the bad. (i cannot stress enough how amazing the art, voice acting, and ending are.) So yeah, good game. I do wish there were a few things different, and i think if they took this a slightly different direction it would be an S tier game. but for now its a 7/10

also for those who haven't played snoot or wani and played this game first. i really don't recommend snoot, at least not at first. the game is great but has some serious issues with how they portray fangs identity. the creators have since said that they wish they could rewrite how they did fangs identity in snoot now that they know more about gender identity, which is nice. Wani is a fantastic game i definitely recommend.

Goodbye Volcano High ,

Before i start , don't go into this game THINKING its a Rhythm Game - it has sections with Rhythm Aspects , and also don't go into thinking your choices matter , because they don't change much , but they change your connection with certain characters which does change things about the characters. - IF you don't like slow games or Queer Characters - NOT FOR YOU.


Good parts:
Goodbye Volcano High , is a high school setting visual novel about growing up , making the most of things , before you may lose the chance to. I really really enjoyed the setting made me connect because i've personally recently graduated so i know how that feels i understand what they're feeling.

The DND Inspired sections are filled with so much CHARM and love and i absolutely loved my time with these sections. I also enjoyed the dynamics with friends in the friend group , how you can actually get closer to some of your friends more then others and that can affect and change how the story works which again i loved. The art style and music is beautiful , the mini game sections i found super fun and enjoyable and the music again is SO AMAZING - already have a few in the playlist.

No Spoilers :3 But the ending made me tear up , the big finale of the game really works for me personally and its really bittersweet.

Bad Things:
Now while there is alot of hate for this game (personally) its mostly unwarrented , my main issues were
- The Lip Syncing , its pretty bad at spots but doesn't remove me out of the game because its so bad , i can still play the game and enjoy it but the Lip Syncing was pretty obvious that it was a bit off at spots.
- Cutting Voice Dialouge, at spots theres talking and sometimes it cuts off mid sentence - sometimes the super abrupt ones happen very rarely , but there is sections where it is obvious,
- Polish, This game could have been to me perfect in a way , without some of the issues and bugs that are present, i wish it had a little more polish but again won't take me out of the experience.
- No Manual save or manual loading and not saying what chapter you're on , This should be in the game regardless of everything else i said , the photos and the other achievements require around 3 playthroughs to do - but i ended up rushing some of it in my second playthrough because theres no reload or manual save. But again for first playthrough the game works super well.
- Lastly the price , for how long i got out of it for 100% Achievements - was roughly 10-11 Hours , i recommend only buying it on sale , for full price i wouldn't say its worth it

Anyways i absolutely loved my time with this game , and i highly recommend it if you like nice Queer Rep + Beautiful Music and Art , and a highschool setting about moving on and making the most of life
<3 AWESOME GAME

Wholesome!!!

good game have 2 big problems with it. not a fun having skipping the whole game because no save.

cried like a baby playing this game. i really really loved it, the characters were written beautifully, the art, the story, all of it. 10/10 hands down. OH! and the music is fantastic obviously, some of my new favorites. the songs are stuck in my head

It's melancholic, a bit gay and definitely woke but so am I so I find it kind of nice. Totally not GOAT, for in the end it does not have branching storylines, the dialogue choices won't have a significant effect and even if you would like to go really offensive with the stressed dialogue option it just flattens out by actual dialogue which is played by your choice. So yeah - even if I said I am woke, I sitll wouldn't mind that the game had a bit of spice in it. Even I act like a jerk sometimes when I am mad, even being part of LGBTQ+. Although the story in total is still pretty good and time to time there is hard relationship issues and arguments, but devs keep the story strictly on rails. And yes the rhythm parts are also ultimately meaningless and they do not have any impact on the story, but yet again that does not need to mean to lose your marbles about it when you could just enjoy of them! You can at least open achievements related to them.. Some people are also claiming that the game ain't actually a Visual Novel, but more like a animated movie or series that were never aired, and I take it as a good thing because it is. Animation is really smooth, likable and original imo and the script is touching and bittersweet. I do recommend despite of some hatred it has gathered. Peace.

Goodbye Volcano High is a game about change.
I came into it after playing a certain other game. I read a lot of things about GVH but still had it on my wish list so my broke bum can afford it when it came time. The game isn't a dating sim, nor does it feel like a visual novel as the tags would suggest. with how seamless everything transitions together, and the full voice acting, It feels like I am watching a long movie, kinda how you would feel, playing something like until dawn. It had more interactivity than your standard VN being the music segments. But jeez did the music get me feeling some way, songs were cachy and the characters feel like real people.
Anyway after all the things i heard about this game from the other fandom, i believe Goodbye Volcano High stands on its own two feet just fine. Now i just have to go back and collect the rest of the photos.

Go play Snoot Game instead...it's free!!!

Absolutely adore this game, I'm sobbing, it's such a bittersweet story with so many wonderful heartfelt moments.

Easily the best part of the experience are the characters. They truly all feel so tangible and *real* and it made me feel super invested in what happens to them every step of the way. For a few hours I felt like I was really part of their world.

You all say this: GVH < Snoot Game
I say this: GVH > Snoot Game
I love Goodbye Volcano High better than its fan game(s) (Snoot Game and soon to be: Snoot Game Encore).
Even if there are some probable bugs I ran into (I think, I can't remember), this is is still an awesome (fully voice acted game mind you with the exception of the L&L parts) game.

I absolutely cannot recommend this game to anyone who values their money. For $30, you get a poorly optimized, buggy mess that barely lasts six hours—and trust me, you’ll be grateful for the short runtime.

It’s pathetic how long this game spent in development, only to launch with glaring issues: jarring audio errors (voices cutting off abruptly, especially in scenes where characters talk into a microphone), frequent screen flickering, and performance so bad my high-end PC sounded like it was awaiting for take-off. A visual novel like this shouldn't be stressing out hardware.

The rhythm sections are supposed to be the game at its peak, but they turn out to be completely meaningless. No matter how well or how poorly you play, the story marches on like nothing happened. You could set your controller down, walk away, and get the same result as a perfect score—unless you care about Steam achievements, that is, in which case that’s all you're playing for.

Character designs are mostly fine—except for the ones that aren’t. Some are just exhausting to look at for long periods of time (Sage's, Stella's and to an extent Reed's designs suffer from this), but the real issue is the constant animation inconsistencies. Fang’s bracelet swaps wrists between shots like the artists were flipping a coin. Naser’s underdeveloped wing? Can’t even decide which side it’s on. Hell, sometimes it vanishes entirely, leaving him looking like a one-winged pterodactyl. A reminder that this game was in development for at least three years.

The story itself is… fine? Occasionally bland, sometimes outright disconnected from what’s happening. Three times, the game throws you into an extended Dungeons & Dragons session because one character won’t go to school picture day unless you humor him. You are forced to sit through someone else's D&D campaign. These filler sequences derail the entire plot and pad out runtime, likely because the developers wanted to save on voice acting and animation costs. On an unrelated note, this game was made in Montreal.

Oh, and the ending? Everyone dies. An asteroid wipes out all life on Earth, roll credits. Rocks fall, everyone dies! Spoiler alert, I guess, but that would imply this story has something interesting enough to spoil, which it doesn’t. It’s a typical high school drama with a doomsday element slapped on at the end. I know a major part of the story was that the characters had to make the most out of their last days before it hit, but still! Way to make all my already meaningless dialogue choices have even less of an impact by literally killing everyone off soon after, no matter what happens.


TL;DR: Do not buy this game. Instead, imagine an alternate timeline where this game had actual story routes, meaningful character development, none of the jank, and was free. No need to imagine too hard—because that game already exists, and you know exactly which one I mean. Save your thirty bucks and go play that instead. You will get a better experience.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Neutral option is appropriate here.

tl;dr: no post-credits scene, c'mon now.
Yes, the future and change is scary but there's always hope.
Maybe I missed the point, but mildly dissappointed.
Overally I enjoyed it; just feel robbed by the missing cherry on my ice cream.

However, game has production value.
VA was a pleasant surprise. Music is excellent (album available on Bandcamp).
Play Snoot Game first. Give this a shot if you really enjoy the characters.

Touching, heartfelt, and just end-of-the-worldy enough for an uplifting, bittersweet time.

Одна из лучших игр в которые играла
Сюжет, атмосфера, персонажи, рисовка. Здесь всё прекрасно
Может когда-то наберусь смелости и вдохновения снова вернуться к музыке. Может когда-то смогу словить те же ощущения, которые были у гг игры
Немного грустно. Когда-то была попытка собрать кавер группу. Затея провалилась. Не раз возвращалась к пению и игре на муз инструментах и каждый раз теряла вдохновение...
Может... Однажды... Я смогу закрыть этот гештальт..
Небольшую нотку ностальгической мотивации словила в процессе прохождения этой прекрасной игры

probably one of the best choice based narrative games of all time

Sage Game 10/10

10/10 sobbing but absolutely worth the experience and the time spent with each character.

Beautiful game. I hate Trish though

how do you make a fully 2D game run like shit that is impressive

anyway this game isn't very good and mostly just a worse version of night in the woods but it's got enough soul and ironic value that I enjoyed it and that's good enough for me

if you're looking for a genuinely good visual novel/story game ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh maybe just play night in the woods, if you're fine with the game being stinky and not the best (and really overpriced) or if you just have bad taste, you're in the right place

Gosh, where do I even begin? Usually, I really struggle to finish games. Especially ANYTHING story based. I either get bored, never get to invested, or just overall don't have time to play. I don't remember the last time I have ever finished a game fully but man, this game is truly something. First off, the art style is so unique and beautiful. I can stare into it for hours, the simple camera shots are truly beautiful and just make the game just mesmerizing. The Animation is just, AMAZING! Seriously you can see how much time they put into even the littlest of details. The music with it, just completes it entirely. The soundtrack feels so moving and you can feel the moods of the characters with just a simple tune. Some scenes made my heart ache, made me happy, made me feel unease, tense, anxious, and overall hopeful. I had so many emotions happening going through the game. Let alone the story makes you really feel things for the characters, I feel like its hard to really find a game that shows emotions with characters like in Goodbye Volcano High. I seriously cannot talk about how much different things are put into this game, so many references i can sit there and laugh about. I feel like the game is amazing if you are ever into story games like this! I can sit here and talk about it for hours ha ha! I truly recommend it!

Excellent song, rush story, good art style, weird animation, meh decision system. Overall, decent enough to kept me playing to the end, mostly cause of the song(The singer is sooo good)

As someone who found this before I ever heard of Snoot Game, go play Snoot Game or I Wani Hug That Gator, they're written much better and are actually worth money in the case of Wani or free in the case of Snoot and have great communities around them too!

also play snoot game

Pretty fun. Kinda hipster. Feels like an interactive TV show. I like it.

I enjoyed my time with this game, although I did think it was a little too short and fumbled the theming a little bit.

Maybe I set my expectations too high, but I expected the setting to be perfect for a story about grief and loss, and how to face tragedy. There are elements of this theming in the narrative, but ultimately it doesn't really go anywhere.

The characters really carried the story for me personally. I really liked Fang and also enjoyed the rhythm game components. It would be really cool to see more of Fang. If there was a standalone spinoff gane thar was just about the rhythm component, I would play that as well.

Overall, I think this is a neat game to play over a weekend, if you can get it on a good sale.

As someone how came from playing Snoot Game and IWHTG, I kept hearing from some people in those communities saying that GVH was bad, a rip-off, and other things. So I sat myself down and gave a crack at this game.

After 1.8 hours and completing the entirety of Chapter 1 of 8, I have come to a realization.
This game, isn't bad. Sure, it's not worth for game of the year or something, but for what it's got, it is a fun time. Sure there are issues, but most of the can be overlooked.

To me, the rhythm game sections don't take away from the game. They are played during whenever Fang is playing any form of instrument and adds to that interactive feeling of the game.

Another thing, the ui is incredible. It feels very PS5 esque and fits the vibe of the game. Following up, the voice cast and music are some of the best parts of the game. I can totally see Lachlan Watson voice Fang again in a dub of Snoot Game if she wanted to. It definitely deserved that Tribeca Festival Award.

After all this, I really enjoyed this.
Give Goodbye Volcano High a chance, because this isn't the bad game most people thought it was.

Best game ever

This game has wormed its way into my brain.

FUCKING beautiful art, this was basically an intractable cartoon. My taste for games has shifted a lot lately, and i'm glad it has so i can play this piece of art

but what do i do once i get all achievements?

Why did the meteor had to wipe all of the dinosaur women.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This game caught me by surprise. I was expecting maybe a simple kind of emotional end of the world story but it is so much more! Well, to be fair, it does include the emotional parts but it's also got great humor and great music. It's not for everyone, I get it, but the weird hateful fixation by a certain group of people on this game is just, well, weird. Don't be swayed by the haters, give it a try and see for yourself! It's not very long but it's a great ride that I thoroughly enjoyed!

i... i dont know what to say. visuals are amazing. everythings so cool. just... i love it so much its amazing in all the ways. musics great. storys great. charicters are amazing. the one problem is its short. i wish there was more content for the main story. but in alls elts. its amazing, i recomend getting it

A touching story about identity and friendship, and what it means to stick together through difficult times, when all we may want to do is be alone. It's sincere characters and dialog were such a great companion to the story. The music is great as well! My only complaint is that I waited this long to play it.

In terms of how good it is, the game itself says it best: "To being less than great, but more than dead!"

My recommendation: Buy it on sale, give it a shot. Heartwarming story :)

still having stomach issues from how emotional this game made me... i wish things had gone differently but i cant imagine the characters happy ending in any other way.

Killer art, killer music, killer vibes.

First off, this game is amazing. It's one of those games that is good enough for me to say that if you're thinking of getting it, just get it. HOWEVER, I can't say that for this game due to the dollar/hour that it has. The game will take you around 6-7 hours probably and at full price it is I think around $40. That much money for 7 hours of game is pretty bad. I would definitely pick it up on sale, me personally I waited to get it for a while until it went down to closer to 20 dollars. The only other downside I can say for this game is that in the first quarter, there is problems with audio in voicelines cutting off abruptly while the last couple words are still being spoken. Not anything serious, just a minor annoyance. Overall this game is a solid 8/10 and I would definitely give it a play, especially if you're coming here from Wani.

I went into this game not really expecting much, I was told its a very queer story and I'm a straight cis guy so I was worried I wouldn't understand it. Holy shit was I blown away- A visual novel rhythm game? fuck yes! The gameplay was actually challenging (for me at least) and OMG the songs themselves? I instantly went to spotify and saved the entire soundtrack. From the themes of "growing up, worried about the future" to "getting so engrossed in something you tune out everyone else's wants and needs" hell, even the "not owing anyone 'normal.'" Every single theme that did land and resonate with me hit HARD. I don't cry because of media often, but this game made me the closest to tears I've been in such a long time. Was it perfect? No. There were some writing issues I had issues with, but I could easily overlook them

I don't care what the other reviews say - the game has its imperfections but that does not make it any less of a work of art. The characters are really expressive and adorable, the sound track is amazing, the voice actors have done an incredible job. I hope this review can offset some of the negativity I've seen <3

and now I'll go cry for the next few weeks

amazing

mid story, mid rhythm game, mid characters, I paid this game to get drunk with my friend big Fat L.

its like a bird flew in my window and got hit with 5 stones

The story has a lot of flaws and none of the choices have impact beyond the relationship chart.

I really wanted to like this game, i really do, ever since it was first shown back in the Awards thing, tho is kinda weird they would show it off as is does not look like a Triple A title lol, but thats beside the point

I have nothing against anybody liking this game or enjoying it! the only thing i digged about the game is SPOILER> Is the scene of Fang's friends coming out as Trans and that bit made me happy cuz it reminded me of one of my best online friends coming out as Trans to me, and ofc like the scene i am happy for them coming out and just being comfortable with me talking about it, because trust me, hearing news that families and or friend rejecting their friend/son/daughter for just being themselves is disheartening asf, Trans Rights are Human Rights BITCH!!

but even still, your choices only matters to the friends you talked to and made, and the ending is exactly the same regardless of what you do, Which as a completionist to games i enjoy or just sometimes really easy to 100%, i hardly have the motivation or care to go out and do them :/

Spoiler over, now, Last Night, as i am writing this, i finished Snoot Game, got Ending 3 and i'm gonna be honest, it is.... 10 TIMES BETTER THAN THIS, that may be overselling it, but honestly, i was more invested on the Plot and Characters wayyy more than i was in this game, am gonna hunt for End 1 and 2, so wish me luck on that and might do an update.

IF you do ended up liking Snoot Game (which i do reccommend over this) check out I Wani Hug That Gator, another great game by the same people from Snoot Game ^-^

Интересно

Fun Dinosaur Rhythm visual novel game, I like it

<3<3<3<3<3

Really enjoyable! I've had my eye on this one for a while now and very glad I picked it up! Happy I could play this all in one go over a few hours.

- Great soundtrack

- characters that feel real, I actually ended up caring about them

- fun music mingames

- Story was engaging throughout