I discovered this game by chance on the Steam store last year and decided to give it a go. And I would always play it late at night when I got off work with my headphones and a dim lamp next to me. It's a beautiful game and I still haven't finished all the endings. The music is especially amazing. I can't wait for the sequel that is being worked on!
I play it in an almost dark room with an glass of random liquid (alcohol or not and if alcohol it is with max karmotrine). Try it, you'll see that it enhance the experience.
Thinking about doing another playthrough soon, this game helped me through a lot when I was a package handler last year. Getting home at 9 or 10 if I was lucky after a 7-9 hour shift of tossing packages into a trailer, its dark and snowy. And just getting to shower, boot up the ps4 and sit down with a sweater on to learn more about the characters and world of this story was so relaxing. It was the first time in a long time I a game actually felt like pure relief to me, where I didn't have to think too hard about where to go or what enemies I was fighting. I just wanted to hear more about Dorothy and her experiences with the mall Santas. Love this game so much.
I feel you on that man. While I'm unemployed myself ( I was a package handler at UPS for the last 2 years, quit because they lowered my pay because of a contract expiring, since it's a unionized company) I decided to play this game after buying it a year ago during a sale, it's been quite a comfy game. The dialgoue is interesting enough, more so that I had to look up definitions of some words, I'd say this game has gotten my interest
I feel you and relate to you on a spiritual level man. Ive had dreams so strong (I call them journeys) that the first thing I do when I wake up is to memorize them so I can think about them the rest of the day. Dreams are wild man, I love that our brains makes us dream.
@@nikmaxter bro I had a dream once that felt like 3 days. No joke. In the dream I got picked up by this Mormon family after hitchhiking and I travelled with them while they followed their sons basket ball tour through the country. They told me “you can come live with us if you want. We have work set up for you if you decide to or not” I declined and as soon as I did I woke up. It’s dreams like those that ask “you can stay here if you really want to” that make me think if you say yes you die in real life 😱
@@nikmaxter I should write a dream book because I had 3 dreams where the people kept asking me to stay and each time I said no. It’s kinda scary honestly.
i was looking at a review for "coffee talk" and somebody reccomended va-11 hall-a as a better game, which made me check it out. the aesthetics and story made me have to buy it! and honestly, the soundtrack is just so...cool? i don't know what to call it, i just love the soundtrack! i think nighttime maneuvers is my favorite. i'm currently replaying the game to get the character endings
Definitely one of my favorite games. I first played it a year ago and loved every bit. My favorite part has got to be the worldbuilding, the whole sub-story with the white knights really intrigued me. I absolutely recommend it. Also NOBODY EXPECTS THE DOROTHINQUISITION!
Crazy that you say this because I just bought Katana ZERO a few days ago, and was planning to get Va11-hall-a too and bought it yesterday... even more excited to play it now :)
Dude I LOVE Katana Zero, and as soon as i saw Va-11 Hall-a even before that game I couldn't get it out of my mind.... Now that I played katana I think I'm obligated to play vallhalla now))
2:14 Always wanted to play this game. Loving the idea of understanding the mood and personality of the clients and then finding the drink that would fit them best, taking responsibility for their experience and well-being.
This game has a really good Soundtrack, imagine like me getting in the bus to college like at 6:30 am before even dawn breaks, and the while listening to my playlist when "Down Aproaches" plays for the first time for me.
I asked my friend to recommend some games to me that he thinks I would like and VA-11 HALL-A was one of them. It's only been a day since I've gotten it, but I love that the main thing making me want to play it asap is the story. I feel like I'm saving the game for days I have off so I can truly enjoy it-
i've been looking forward to this game on Switch because it sounds so intriguing. after watching this review, i'm downloading it right now, nice job! i like games with interesting characters, and I don't always have to be hacking and slashing. sometimes I like to just discover things and meet interesting people!
I swear, I thought Coffee Talk had the same developers as this game. I’m guessing it was inspired heavily by it though, but it’s a great game by itself!
I remember when it first came out on steam. I was curious about it, but put off buying it because I figured it get cut down to a couple bucks during a sale. I finally picked it up a couple months ago and I'm so sorry for putting it off like I did. It's quickly become one of my favourites in recent memory. It's very special to me
I bought the limited release of this for the Vita from Limited Run Games awhile back. The Switch is a really good fit and hopefully more people will give it a go. It's... _sooo_ good.
Loved this game since the first PC demo where you just made drinks for a corgi office party! Was fantastic the first time around, might be worth a second buy for the portable playthrough. That would up the curl up and chill factor even more.
Oh is that the PC demo? They reference that party at the start of the game. I did hear the demos were canon, weird that they aren't playable in some way here :/
Joshua G It’s hard to notice, but there’s a small plus in the top left of the starting menu. That’s how you access the demo/prequel. I don’t remember if you need to beat it first or not tho
I played this game a long time ago on PC, only about a quarter of the way into the story. In the last week I bought it on the Switch and played it all the way through. I don’t know how I survived without finishing it for so long.
Ye. I never knew how to play the mini game until I found out I have to find a certain drink the npc wanted and I have to find the recipe and it works every time.
People doing girls frontline should use this as a guide for the mini game used to progressed in event. Girls frontline made a calibration with this game. I had no idea what to do in the event mini game which is the mixing drink. I had no idea what was rocks and age. I found it difficult but later on I found it simple from copying recipes of mixing drinks.
aight. ive decided. imma gift it to a friend for christmas and hopefully get myself a copy in near future when i have time to play.. really loved the quick summery of the game.
I bought this game in bulk when I bought my PS Vita and didn't touch it for almost 2 years, since I was too busy playing The binding of Isaac and darkest dungeon and eventually after rage quitting darkest dungeon after having my team all get stress wiped I decided to play this game and I instantly fell in love with almost every character I came across I think this game is probably one of my best purchases on the Vita since I thought nothing of it at the time seeing the game on sale for only 3 dollars
been looking at this game since i found out it was coming to switch was gonna buy it and celeste the day doom rerelease was leaked definitely the next game i buy
Got into this game from listening to the music first and I love it! bit of a throw back to early 2000s videogame music like phantasy star online~ listen to that OST and you'll see what I mean ;)
I think you've gone overboard saying the "Visual Novels take the name of the genre too literally" well, no, those visual novels ARE EXACTLY VISUAL NOVELS. Gameplay is a nice bonus, and I understand your appreciation, but, that's like criticizing most novels for not being "choose your own adventure books". Visual novels with gameplay are a nice subgenre, but the larger genre is... well it is what it is. My first "computer" game was Zork, (Microsoft Flight Simulator II was second) and I can't help but think you've been spoiled. You should have said "I appreciate the rare visual novel that goes the extra mile and adds gameplay."
I'm considering buying this from Limited Run games/Physical copy but I'm not sure i would like this. I loved "Read Only Memory 2064" and that's the only game in recent history that I can remember that had a similar feel.. I'm just worried b/c I bought Demon Gaze 2 b/c I loved Labyrinth of Refrain and figured since they were both made by NIS and were both that "1st person" view Dungeon crawler, that I would like them both... but I got bored with Gaze 2.. Should I get it?
i've played both and i can assure you that if you enjoyed read only memories, you will enjoy va11halla. both stories are super intresting and are actually from the same universe, you may have seen dana in the hassy bar and you will see a turing plushie and some characters from rom appear in va11halla. the game is not as "interactive" as rom was but it has a cool story anyways.
Is there any way to save your progress at any time in this version? I really struggled with the PC version because opportunities to save your progress were so few and far between, that I just gave up on it. Even just a temporary quick-save system is all I need.
FUN FACT Sukeban games had trouble with the GameMaker engine "remembering" where the last text was displayed after you save the game, they could not fix up this at the end so like Joshua said you only can save in the breaks and at home.
@@sebbaa93 Yeah, that was my problem with the PC version. I like to play other games as well, so just putting my Switch in sleep mode isn't really enough for me. It's unfortunate that they weren't able to resolve this. There were times when it felt like forever between save opportunities, and I wanted to move onto something else for awhile. And while that was possible on PC since you can have multiple applications running at the same time, it was still an annoyance. And on Switch that would be even worse.
@@Exel3nce What exactly aren't you grasping? There's no quick save option, and save opportunities are few and far between. Meaning that you have to commit pretty large chunks of time to the game every time you want to play it.
Sometimes the wrong drink can get you more story than the “right” drink
@jhon alex Is this a GFL reference?
@@sonnyhuimingzhou418 doubt it, since the GFL crossover only started on the 12th this month, if I remember correctly
@@sonnyhuimingzhou418 it's not a reference, sometimes someone will ask for something, but they might prefer something else
This game isn't as popular as it should be... Thanks for reviewing it
@raynaldo arlen k.eman yet its nowhere near as cozy :P
It’s more of an interactive story “book”
Nice music, but boring as shit
@Carmine ture, but lot of good games use this style
heads up everyone, a sequel to this game is coming out in 2020
N1RV Ann-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
Hell yeah boys. Time for another Girls Frontline collaboration event.
@Arie Elberian It's no longer 2020 ;-;
???
Bad news boys
I discovered this game by chance on the Steam store last year and decided to give it a go. And I would always play it late at night when I got off work with my headphones and a dim lamp next to me. It's a beautiful game and I still haven't finished all the endings. The music is especially amazing. I can't wait for the sequel that is being worked on!
I play it in an almost dark room with an glass of random liquid (alcohol or not and if alcohol it is with max karmotrine). Try it, you'll see that it enhance the experience.
"sit back, dim the lights, and listen to the stories of cute, pixelated girls from all walks of life" **Will do, NantenJex, will do.**
Always good to hear the love spread on this game.
Doro best girl
NO ONE EXPECTS THE DOROTHYNQUISITION!!
Sei>Doro Fight me :P
Late comment but... Doesn't Dorothy get ran through on a daily?
🤝 Sei gang we lit🔥🔥🔥
Thinking about doing another playthrough soon, this game helped me through a lot when I was a package handler last year. Getting home at 9 or 10 if I was lucky after a 7-9 hour shift of tossing packages into a trailer, its dark and snowy. And just getting to shower, boot up the ps4 and sit down with a sweater on to learn more about the characters and world of this story was so relaxing. It was the first time in a long time I a game actually felt like pure relief to me, where I didn't have to think too hard about where to go or what enemies I was fighting. I just wanted to hear more about Dorothy and her experiences with the mall Santas. Love this game so much.
I feel you on that man. While I'm unemployed myself ( I was a package handler at UPS for the last 2 years, quit because they lowered my pay because of a contract expiring, since it's a unionized company) I decided to play this game after buying it a year ago during a sale, it's been quite a comfy game. The dialgoue is interesting enough, more so that I had to look up definitions of some words, I'd say this game has gotten my interest
This game gave me weird dreams about being in a cyber punk world. The world I dreamt of was fudging crazy haha
I feel you and relate to you on a spiritual level man. Ive had dreams so strong (I call them journeys) that the first thing I do when I wake up is to memorize them so I can think about them the rest of the day.
Dreams are wild man, I love that our brains makes us dream.
@@nikmaxter bro I had a dream once that felt like 3 days. No joke.
In the dream I got picked up by this Mormon family after hitchhiking and I travelled with them while they followed their sons basket ball tour through the country. They told me “you can come live with us if you want. We have work set up for you if you decide to or not” I declined and as soon as I did I woke up.
It’s dreams like those that ask “you can stay here if you really want to” that make me think if you say yes you die in real life 😱
@@nikmaxter I should write a dream book because I had 3 dreams where the people kept asking me to stay and each time I said no. It’s kinda scary honestly.
i was looking at a review for "coffee talk" and somebody reccomended va-11 hall-a as a better game, which made me check it out. the aesthetics and story made me have to buy it! and honestly, the soundtrack is just so...cool? i don't know what to call it, i just love the soundtrack! i think nighttime maneuvers is my favorite. i'm currently replaying the game to get the character endings
Dont know if you ever got around to finding it out but the genre is vaporwave
@@lokimoya i did haha
Definitely one of my favorite games. I first played it a year ago and loved every bit. My favorite part has got to be the worldbuilding, the whole sub-story with the white knights really intrigued me. I absolutely recommend it.
Also NOBODY EXPECTS THE DOROTHINQUISITION!
What if Va-11Hall-A and Katana Zero are in the same universe. O_O
Crazy that you say this because I just bought Katana ZERO a few days ago, and was planning to get Va11-hall-a too and bought it yesterday... even more excited to play it now :)
Dude I LOVE Katana Zero, and as soon as i saw Va-11 Hall-a even before that game I couldn't get it out of my mind.... Now that I played katana I think I'm obligated to play vallhalla now))
Amusingly I stared playing the game directly after finishing katana zero
All Nintendo platforms excluding the 3ds?! Wow, they finally released a new game for the game boy colour, I can’t wait to pick it up
2:14 Always wanted to play this game. Loving the idea of understanding the mood and personality of the clients and then finding the drink that would fit them best, taking responsibility for their experience and well-being.
Thank you for the review, this is one of the best games i've played and i love to see it spread
Cute pic
This game has a really good Soundtrack, imagine like me getting in the bus to college like at 6:30 am before even dawn breaks, and the while listening to my playlist when "Down Aproaches" plays for the first time for me.
It makes me so happy that a game from my country Is critically Aclaimed and loved, Thank you Sukeban studios.
I asked my friend to recommend some games to me that he thinks I would like and VA-11 HALL-A was one of them. It's only been a day since I've gotten it, but I love that the main thing making me want to play it asap is the story. I feel like I'm saving the game for days I have off so I can truly enjoy it-
i've been looking forward to this game on Switch because it sounds so intriguing. after watching this review, i'm downloading it right now, nice job! i like games with interesting characters, and I don't always have to be hacking and slashing. sometimes I like to just discover things and meet interesting people!
I swear, I thought Coffee Talk had the same developers as this game. I’m guessing it was inspired heavily by it though, but it’s a great game by itself!
I thought Coffee Talk was just ok. The writing was sometimes really clumsy. Probably won't bother everyone tho.
It’s on sale as of now on the switch for 9.89 gonna pick this up for sure.
I remember when it first came out on steam. I was curious about it, but put off buying it because I figured it get cut down to a couple bucks during a sale. I finally picked it up a couple months ago and I'm so sorry for putting it off like I did. It's quickly become one of my favourites in recent memory. It's very special to me
I know it says it’s set in a futuristic cyberpunk world but this is really not much different than just living in LA
I love this game, and I just realized.
Why didn't Dorothy get more screentime?!?!
I bought the limited release of this for the Vita from Limited Run Games awhile back. The Switch is a really good fit and hopefully more people will give it a go. It's... _sooo_ good.
They also made an app for our phones so we can access the music. And some other cool things.
Loved this game since the first PC demo where you just made drinks for a corgi office party! Was fantastic the first time around, might be worth a second buy for the portable playthrough. That would up the curl up and chill factor even more.
Oh is that the PC demo? They reference that party at the start of the game. I did hear the demos were canon, weird that they aren't playable in some way here :/
@@NantenJex I think you can play it after you finish the game once. If I remember correctly they added it to the steam version at some point.
Joshua G It’s hard to notice, but there’s a small plus in the top left of the starting menu. That’s how you access the demo/prequel. I don’t remember if you need to beat it first or not tho
This is one of those games that just has a special place in my heart
Nevermind the fact that there's references throughout of other cyberpunk works. Hell Jamie even looks like Adam Jenson from deus ex.
I played this game a long time ago on PC, only about a quarter of the way into the story. In the last week I bought it on the Switch and played it all the way through. I don’t know how I survived without finishing it for so long.
Hope Jill makes an appearance in cyberpunk.
The music is the best part. I actually have bought the Games Soundtracks in the 3 CD version and the Vinyl as well.
This game is soooo underrated. The music is so good and love them 16 bit graphics. Straight up nostalgic bliss. 🦉🔥❤️✌🏽🇧🇷
Anyone else here from the Girls Frontline Collab event?? 😁
yeah
Ye. I never knew how to play the mini game until I found out I have to find a certain drink the npc wanted and I have to find the recipe and it works every time.
lol my progress exploded during the collab because I so desperately wanted jill but alas I did not get her
rip
@@_coma NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
People doing girls frontline should use this as a guide for the mini game used to progressed in event. Girls frontline made a calibration with this game. I had no idea what to do in the event mini game which is the mixing drink. I had no idea what was rocks and age. I found it difficult but later on I found it simple from copying recipes of mixing drinks.
This Game is A such Masterpiece. Enjoy the Story and Character Stories
not only did i really appreciate the thought and depth that went into this review, but i subscribed too.
aight. ive decided. imma gift it to a friend for christmas and hopefully get myself a copy in near future when i have time to play.. really loved the quick summery of the game.
You convinced me in buying it.
I bought this game in bulk when I bought my PS Vita and didn't touch it for almost 2 years, since I was too busy playing The binding of Isaac and darkest dungeon and eventually after rage quitting darkest dungeon after having my team all get stress wiped I decided to play this game and I instantly fell in love with almost every character I came across I think this game is probably one of my best purchases on the Vita since I thought nothing of it at the time seeing the game on sale for only 3 dollars
Damn this comment section was full of praise and I'm totally sold on this game.
did you finish it and if you did how was it?
been looking at this game since i found out it was coming to switch
was gonna buy it and celeste the day doom rerelease was leaked
definitely the next game i buy
I've heard great things about this game. I'm gonna finally check it out.
Time to mix drinks and change lives
Dude, you just sold me the game
Like Coffee Talk or Midnight Diner. Nice.
Got into this game from listening to the music first and I love it! bit of a throw back to early 2000s videogame music like phantasy star online~ listen to that OST and you'll see what I mean ;)
Such an excellent game. Plan on buying it for the PS Vita.
Oh holy f*ck yes, having to think constantly is why I love the When they Cry series, and add GAMEPLAY to that? Count me in :D
Yeah, the first ending I got was the bad ending, I didn't realize it was the bad ending until I read the wiki.
Sounds almost identical to the Red Strings Club. Somebody that played both can compare?
This game and Katana Zero are both on Xbox game pass for PC
Is the music in your video from the game? Never even heard of it until it showed up in my recommended.
Game looks really charming why not this is my next indie pick up.
This is probably the best game in android.
I think you've gone overboard saying the "Visual Novels take the name of the genre too literally" well, no, those visual novels ARE EXACTLY VISUAL NOVELS. Gameplay is a nice bonus, and I understand your appreciation, but, that's like criticizing most novels for not being "choose your own adventure books".
Visual novels with gameplay are a nice subgenre, but the larger genre is... well it is what it is. My first "computer" game was Zork, (Microsoft Flight Simulator II was second) and I can't help but think you've been spoiled. You should have said "I appreciate the rare visual novel that goes the extra mile and adds gameplay."
I'm considering buying this from Limited Run games/Physical copy but I'm not sure i would like this. I loved "Read Only Memory 2064" and that's the only game in recent history that I can remember that had a similar feel.. I'm just worried b/c I bought Demon Gaze 2 b/c I loved Labyrinth of Refrain and figured since they were both made by NIS and were both that "1st person" view Dungeon crawler, that I would like them both... but I got bored with Gaze 2..
Should I get it?
i've played both and i can assure you that if you enjoyed read only memories, you will enjoy va11halla.
both stories are super intresting and are actually from the same universe, you may have seen dana in the hassy bar and you will see a turing plushie and some characters from rom appear in va11halla.
the game is not as "interactive" as rom was but it has a cool story anyways.
@@lurkydredd sweet. Thanks! Yeah it looks super interesting and im a fan of unique games
I found out about this game through a Girls’ Frontline Collab that I didn’t even experience.
Its getting more recognition :)))))
this game and YIIK both have insane amounts of dialogue, but Valhalla is infinitely better written.
Since realizing its also avalable on the switch I wonder if I should get it on Steam or switch. xD
I will defiantly check this out !
I was really interested in it when I saw it on the eshop. Now I know I have to get it.
Just bought it on your recommendation, also this games looks incredible.
I'm going to start playing this masterpiece 😀 cant wait
currently on sale on the nintendo switch eshop
Stella looks like M16 from Girls Frontline if she was a neko and was mostly red
Im that gameplay guy, and for some reasone i find myself immersed in this game
Don't mind me
I'm just here because of girl's Frontline
the first minute of this game is just describing capitalism lmfao
I liked what I played but I couldn't figure out one of the drink orders so I gave up
Alright, decent review, you've done your research on VNs
If you like this then play "Coffee Talk"
You're telling me there is more than 1 ending?
Jill is best girl. Fite me.
Is there any way to save your progress at any time in this version? I really struggled with the PC version because opportunities to save your progress were so few and far between, that I just gave up on it. Even just a temporary quick-save system is all I need.
You can save at your house and during your breaks but of course, with the Switch you can put it into sleep mode whenever and pick it back up later.
FUN FACT Sukeban games had trouble with the GameMaker engine "remembering" where the last text was displayed after you save the game, they could not fix up this at the end so like Joshua said you only can save in the breaks and at home.
@@sebbaa93 Yeah, that was my problem with the PC version. I like to play other games as well, so just putting my Switch in sleep mode isn't really enough for me. It's unfortunate that they weren't able to resolve this. There were times when it felt like forever between save opportunities, and I wanted to move onto something else for awhile. And while that was possible on PC since you can have multiple applications running at the same time, it was still an annoyance. And on Switch that would be even worse.
@@METR0lD i dont grasp your logic here
@@Exel3nce What exactly aren't you grasping? There's no quick save option, and save opportunities are few and far between. Meaning that you have to commit pretty large chunks of time to the game every time you want to play it.
Wow, he gave you a free copy? You must be special.
So like papers please but you are a bartender???
0:08 Cyberpunk 2077
"I like it, okay?"
I would say having played over 500+hrs, buy it full price its worth it.
what
@@Exel3nce don't question it... Just don't.
How?a visual novel 500 hrs?
@@andytk2723 getting all the achievements without looking it up.
what x69
Good
feels similar to papers please
If you like this game play coffee talk it’s very similar But in my opinion better
now the question is how do I obtain the game as a broke teenager
Girls Frontline anyone?
Stupid meat rods
judging by the anime profile pics of every single comment here, this game is not for me.
Your loss.
Ugh!
mid game tbh