Once on a windswept night

8/10 despite 100% positive reviews? Let's help with that.

Once on a Windswept Night (you can see how I'm annoyed by the lack of capitalisation) is a Visual Novel about girls' love, for other girls that is. It's free and small, first and foremost, so it's always going to be a good deal no matter which way you look at it. As with a traditional Visual Novel, there are a few categories to consider:

*Writing: Not the best, though that's a tall bar to pass. Leans a lot on cute and characterisation. The plot itself has quite a few twists and turns in it, however, and greatly emphasises reading between the lines. Subtlety is always appreciated in a piece that appears deceptively straightforward as this. It's decent enough, as good writing is hard to come by. Everything is explained in the end though, so take that as it may. Despite the game's short length, the story is rather dense and not accompanied by much change of scenery, so it can feel tiresome at times to read.

*Characters: A bit one-dimensional at first, but unlocking more endings really portrays the sort of effort which went in here. Everyone has something to hide, and that's good, even those bearing their hearts on their sleeves. There are 5 characters in this game, and though they regrettably are not all adequately developed, they are at least fairly distinct and relatable in certain ways. That's good, because you wouldn't want to read what they have to say otherwise.

*Art: Quite here and there, has the "no difference but hairstyle" effect. Overall serviceable, but I would've liked to see a lot more full screen art to accompany the non-true endings, especially some much needed love between Madeleine and Daffodil. Bonus points for those being subtle too, if that's at all possible.

*Music & Sound: Positive. Nothing too stand out, but fits well with what's happening on screen instead of being just filler.

*Novelty: Quite a bit, especially if you're going through the achievement list (check with the guide if you're interested). There're some serious fourth wall rustling here that made me laugh out loud a few times (your genuine reactions are not guaranteed to be the same), especially as my computer puts itself in a deep sleep in protest.

It was overall not a bad hour of free entertainment, and is clearly made by someone with a real standard of quality in mind. Here's to helping it get that Overwhelmingly Positive rating.

Wow! This may have been designed over a Game Jam weekend, but I am seriously impressed at how far ebi-hime took a simple concept. I have read a decent number of Visual Novels, including ebi-hime's "The Way We All Go", but this was something different. Starting with the classic, traveller gets lost and meets new people; I expected a few emotional moments with well-drawn characters. What I didn't expect was how powerful the payoff was with just 5 characters, 50 achievements, a lot of romantic undertones, and plenty of meta humour (jokes that play off the game design or break the 4th wall a lot). In other words, good in my book.

Pros:

• Short narrative with plenty of replayability to aim for the hard to reach ending.
  
• Perfectly working skip function that helped in my achievement hunt.
  
• 50 achievements I got in 5 hours. Well done.
  
• Lovely character art that was varied in design despite using only 5 characters and the same style.
  
• Writing is the author's forte and this was spot-on through all paths and endings (I checked). Sharp dialogue and some very funny humor spread thoughout. Worth looking through some of the joke options just to try.
  
• Emotional ressonance from the 3 story flashbacks told entirely through old text style. Surprisingly, the simplicity added to the emotional payoff and it took different characters lives and used a common theme to connect them all. Some of the most emotional series I've seen over the years have done just that. Use a common thread and link everything to it while keeping the different stories diverse and through multiple walks of life. That is the greatest strength of "Once on a Windswept Night."
  
• The romantic undertones and female relationships are kept very chaste. I respect that more than any VN that focuses too much on extra content or revealing CGs. This is how you romance. This is how you tale. This is how you respect one form of love. No complaints here.
  
• The narrator's laugh beyond the true end. Well played you devilish narrator. Hahahaha.
  

• Saving is a bit slow and doesn't work outside the story. Makes sense in context, but loosing the menu contol was a little jarring at time.
  
• I know the game markets unfair achievements, but some of them required me to delete my saves, since I rushed through the "Character Name" ones and repeatly closed the game. Other than that, no problems. Got all 50 achivements (20 were character names).
  
• The flashbacks were fine as they were, but if they were fully adapted in visual novel style like the rest of game, it would add a bit more content. I know this was a Game Jam project, but in post-development, that could have been an idea.
  

• The Way We All Go: Judging from the final laugh and the minor dark elements in the game, I think it would be a great contrast to play ebi-hime's first Steam game. It is horror, a little unsettling and inspired by the like of Higurashi and Umineko, but it is an example of writing talent.
  
• Narcissu & Rain Marginal: More in line with this game. Sad emotional stories that connect via one core theme and manage to tug our heartstrings in more ways than we expect. Plus the originals are still free-to-play. 10th anniversary version with new content is wrapping up and 3rd chapter is on the horizon.
  
• Clannad: Another emotional example that uses a core theme to connect everything. And because family is so universal, it ressonates more than many others like it.
  
[*]A More Beautiful World: Similar medival or old england time period in the style of Spice and Wolf or Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. Plus it has equally witty writing. Scheduled for 2017, but the demo is brilliant. Highly recommended.

A touching tale is woven creatively throughout this game. Ebi-Hime did a fantastic job of the presentation. I won't spoil anything here, but expect some surprises.

I realize that it was free since it was part of the 2016 yuri game jam, but honestly I have paid for games I enjoyed less. That it was so generously provided free of charge is a very kind gesture and should not be taken for granted.

If you like Visual Novels, you've no reason to pass this one up. I would have recommended this even had it carried a modest price tag. Chances are good you won't regret your time with it. I know I sure didn't.

Took some time and not a very difficult 100% but holy shit i got unlucky with some of the rng fml XD. fine game

Once on a windswept night has beautiful artwork, captivating characters, and nice music. The unbelievable part is how much work must have gone into this and how it's free. Every game by this creator if of similar if not better quality and amazing writing, so much so that I can notice the difference when comparing it to other works. The lack of a main menu and inability to save at times can be annoying, but it helps to develop the tone and narrative of the VN.

Such a well written and beautiful story; many laughs & tears. Give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

For a free game, this is beyond my expectation, good story with quality CG. This is not your everyday NV games you familiarized with, its design is somewhat different. Upon starting the game, you are into story without the greeting of main menu. At First I feel a bit annoying by the lacking of interface and single save slot, and you can't save some times, but I found it's for immerse reason and worth it, you don't really need to save so much in this game.

Although it's free, characters are well developed and plot is surprising, only 5 characters but all have their elaborated stories, and corresponding personality. The only dissatisfaction for me is lacking CG artworks, they are quality but few, however it's free game so I think it's ok. In this game, you will read a story in a story, explore the inner story to shape the outcome, would you compensate sad and regret in the end?

Once on a windswept night is more than decent for a free to play visual novel, if anything it felt more like it deserved to be a paid release! I don't want to go into too many details here but I just want to say if you are a visual novel fan you should check Once on a windswept night out.

my brain hurts after reading this, and i love it

This is a striking example of storytelling art. I'm not usually one for visual novels, but an acquaintance recommended this, and I am very glad she did, because Once on a Windswept Night is masterfully written, designed intelligently, emotionally gripping, and shows choices of style, convention, and subtlety which are hallmarks of higher literature. Thoroughly excellent and highly recommended.

I honestly can't believe this visual novel is free to play.

Honestly... I didn't expect this VN to be so well crafted.

I expected a cute visual novel about two lesbians who loves each other, and it's the case, but... Not in this format. It's way more "deep" and meta than I expected. It was such a joy to see every little bit of new dialog every time.

I'm sure I'll be back to play it later, if only to enjoy it's characters and it's universe full of charm. (And those achievements I'm missing, too!)

Ebi-Hime is pretty much the only English VN autor that I respect, and this just show me how great she is, and how flexible Ren'py can be. This is really, really worth your time.

CTRL will be your best friend, if you want to get the best ending out here.

Having experienced other titles from this developer, one could argue that its not unusual to be presented with something that is completely unexpected. While this is true in the case of this visual novel, it goes far beyond that. I'm not sure I've ever experienced anything quite like it. I do not write many reviews, but given the absence of any other reviews at this point, I felt the need to make sure people did not pass up this story for lack of feedback to gauge their interest. If you were unsure about whether or not to give this story a chance, heed my advice and purchase it immediately. The price is right, although it feels criminal to have this game without being asked to pay a dime.

There are many paths to take, and each adds to the overall story. Or rather, each path is a story within a story. What’s stunning about this novel is that it is an interwoven story of stories, and each attempt to find new paths reveals more and more of that story. This probably sounds confusing, but it will make sense as you begin to progress through the novel.
As I mentioned before, there are elements of this visual novel which I have never experienced before. There is no title screen, it is instant immersion. Certain choices made make it simply close. When you relaunch, it welcomes you back. There was even a choice made which caused the novel to refuse to let you back in unless you agreed to wipe the slate clean and start from nothing [no more skipping/sub paths seem to be locked again/save file is gone.].

This has been a very deep and thought provoking visual novel. Do not let the label of "Yuri" convince you this is nothing but an erotic frolic between some shallow/ditzy female anime characters. Each character encountered has been complex, and more importantly, damaged. It’s this damage which has served as an element to bring substance to the plotline. You empathize with them and wish to know more. The "best" ending is completely heart warming and you'll probably find yourself shedding a few tears.

There are some bugs which make it possible to get stuck if you do not pay attention [See Discussion tab for my thread], but this is a release day review, so I hope to see updates made in the future, as no release is ever bugfree on day one. Some of the achievements are a bit strange as well. Some depend on knowledge of the developers other stories, while others are left to pure chance. Despite that, I still give this a 10/10 rating. I'll definitely come back to this VN for a replay in the future.