Game: A Winters Daydream
Genre: Visual Novel
System: Switch, PS4, PC and Xbox One
Developer/ Publisher: Ebi-Hime | Sometimes You
Age Rating: EU: 3+| USA: E (Everyone)
Price: €5 99| £5.39| $5.99
Release Date: 8th October 2019
Thanks to Sometimes You for kindly providing a review code!
Get ready to read a short story involving Yuu, a young man returning home from the big city for New Years to celebrate with his family. He decides upon his return that his homecoming is little to enjoy though as his childhood feud with his sister rages on. Instead he ventures even further into the Japanese countryside to see his sweet, old Grandma. Events take another twist as he discovers that his ageing relative has instead been replaced by a young girl. What will happen next?
Switching Things Up
This review is going to be a little different. Where I usually follow my opening paragraph with gameplay reactions, this time there is no gameplay in which to comment upon. I’m also completely new to visual novels so this was a completely unique experience for me. The story is told in the form of textboxes, almost like a never ending RPG cutscene. You press A to proceed through the narrative (or tap the screen) and that’s really all there is to it!
There are a few points where the text doesn’t quite fit its frame, despite only being a short tale which is a shame to see. Otherwise the presentation is absolutely fine. The story is engaging, despite a somewhat ordinary theme I was happily reading through and keen to return as I took short breaks. The visuals are bright and pleasant to see. As the text rolls, the backgrounds are very well made compliments to the story. The character avatars are also nicely designed and react statically to the story as it’s being told. It would maybe have been nice to have a little more animation, but that’s only a personal preference.
A Boy & His Grandma
The two main characters of this tale are Yuu, an ‘almost-20’ man returning from his first semester at a Tokyo university. His studies and adaptation to city life has left a big impression on him and he’s unsure on just what to expect from his homecoming. He’s a gentle young man who remains a little unconfident but always tries to be his best, especially in front of his family who he is keen to impress. His progression during the story sees him learn some very lasting lessons about the value of family, love and even his own mortality. He’s easy to like, but I would point out he’s a very atypical ‘millennial’ type character who you may have read about many times before. Regardless, I still was quite fond of him.
Secondly is Umeko, Yuu’s Grandmother who during the story undergoes a dramatic transformation. She’s a sweet, elderly lady who is also a widower and lives a very modest life deep in the Japanese countryside. Yuu’s visit helps to see her in a new light, revealing her more mischievous nature and otherwise very enlightened worldview. Yuu’s initial visit was spurred on by his wish to escape the spiky relationship with his sister he had hoped would have been dampened in his absence.
He learns a lot about his Grandma and quickly appreciates her as a person and resolves to see a lot more of her while he can. After the first night is when he awakens to discover she has transformed into a young woman again. From there he helps her relive her sorely missed youth and even more dramatic events unfold! Umeko is a sweet lady through and through, I am a big fan. Her character is quickly established as a lighthearted person who has turned her years of wisdom into an excellent source of knowing how to make the most of the simpler things.
Supporting Cast
As well as Yuu and his Grandma, there are a few other characters in the story, all people Yuu remembers from his past be they family or old acquaintances. Whil the story very heavily focuses on the duo, Yuu’s parents, sister and other locals make an appearance. During the story Yuu learns a lot about his parents from Umeko, his Mum is a sweet doting lady and his Dad is a man of humour both who support his academic aspirations. Yuu often contemplates their favouritism of his younger sister Otoko. Otoko – or Otome if you care to remember – being an average academic who would rather obsess over her looks than improve her grades. They’re all nice characters, but all suffer a somewhat shallow development, though that’s to be expected in a story where they’re not the focus.
Otoko, does get given a few appearances throughout the story. Yuu seems to think her impressions of him and their relationship will forever be as frustrating as it has always been. But rather predictably albeit late in the story do things make a wholesome development.
Footnotes
So to reiterate, this isn’t a game! More a well illustrated novel you can install on your Switch. As you read there are nicely illustrated backgrounds and pleasant music and sounds that help to set the tone and atmosphere. Once complete, you can view the visuals and listen to the OST in the Extras menu. It’s all in all a very modest package.
Conclusion
Despite its brevity and shallow subject matter, A Winters Daydream still kept me reading on and wanting to see the journey through. The visuals and audio accompaniment are a solid asset and fans of the genre should have no problem enjoying what is on offer here.
