Noctuary | Steam Deck Review

Most people who know me are aware that I adore visual novels. Their siren call is one that I simply can’t ignore. As soon as I laid eyes on Gratesca’s ambitious title Noctuary, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. It’s a welcome departure from standard games of the genre, and it’s evident it was crafted with an immense amount of love and care.

Starting From the Bottom

Noctuary features two protagonists: Fancia Dream and Alina Nightsong. They’re best friends who live in a world called Inlixaland, and they’re both training to become Arborangers. This group is comprised of elite soldiers who fight against Darkritters, creatures who are saturated with pure darkness (hence their name). Arborangers are the only ones who can face the Darkritters, as they are Illuminators, beings born from flowers who are filled with light. If you’re already getting a headache from this description, this visual novel won’t be for you. It’s full of dense lore and you’re constantly being fed new pieces of info throughout the 20+ hour journey. The game does feature an index that you can pull up at any time if you need a refresher, but some players will definitely be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of lore the title packs in.

A Bond That Can’t Be Broken

If you’re not scared off by the density of the narrative, you’re in for a treat. Fancia and Alina are immensely likable leads, and each side character has their own unique personality. You’ll meet the likes of Classica Wine, Brita Cold, Lura Graves, and more quirky, interesting people along your journey. They’re wonderfully portrayed, and the 90-plus side quests (you didn’t misread that) help flesh out their backstories and relationships with Fancia and Alina. I cared for these characters, even if they didn’t always have the purest of intentions. The writers did a fantastic job making these individuals feel as human as possible.

I also have to applaud the localization team. Even though there is a substantial amount of dialogue, I barely came across any typos or grammatical errors. This is probably a small factor for most players, but it was a welcome treat for me. The voice acting is also exceptional. Just be aware that the only audio options are Cantonese and Mandarin. If you enjoy an English dub with your visual novels, you’ll be left without that choice here.

Keep Fighting

One major gameplay feature of Noctuary that sets it apart from the vast majority of visual novels is the split between reading the narrative and being thrown into combat. I adored the change of pace that battle segments and boss fights brought to the experience. The game switches to an isometric view during action sequences, and the fights are challenging yet rewarding once you nail down the specific pattern you need to follow for each enemy. The Blessing Flower (this game’s version of a skill tree) allows you to select certain buffs and attributes to help you triumph as you progress, and I liked this strategic approach compared to the usual skill trees you come across in most games.

I do have to note that there are some random difficulty spikes that are extremely frustrating, though. These mostly occurred in the early hours of the game, but that made it even more exasperating. A patch was released after I encountered these fights, but I can’t attest to how this affected those beginning battles. I also encountered some frame rate drops during certain action segments. If too many enemies appeared on screen or if a multitude of attacks were deployed, the decrease in fps caused my game to temporarily freeze or slow down. This resulted in a few Game Overs, but luckily you’re able to start back right at the beginning of the battle. It’s just an annoying occurrence.

The Light in the Darkness

Noctuary is a visually stunning game. The graphics are anime-inspired during the dialogue sections, while your characters become adorable chibi versions of themselves during the battle sequences. Each detail is carefully animated, and the colors pop while also perfectly complimenting each other. My favorite visuals occurred during certain cutscenes, though. Some are hand-drawn, and they always managed to take my breath away with how gorgeous they were.

The score is also absolutely wonderful. The OST is calming and cheerful at points, while intense and more EDM-inspired at others. Each track complements the scenario it accompanies excellently. The level of love and care placed in the visual and audio departments is outstanding.

Now We’re at the Top

Noctuary is a visual novel unlike any others that I’ve had the pleasure of playing. The inclusion of battle segments is a refreshing change of pace after reading dialogue for a bit, and the story twists and turns in ways I wasn’t expecting. Fancia and Alina are strong protagonists, and the sheer amount of love and care poured into this title is outstanding. From the visuals, audio, and characters to the localization, the level of polish is greatly appreciated. The dense lore of the narrative may put off some players, though. The random difficulty spikes and framerate drops can also be a source of frustration. Despite the few gripes I had, I highly recommend Noctuary if you’re looking for a change of pace from the usual visual novel experience.

To hear me talk more about Noctuary, be sure to listen to the December 6 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 1:13:24 time stamp.

This review is based on a Steam copy of Noctuary provided by Uber Strategist for coverage purposes. It is exclusive to this platform.