Game: Blackberry Honey
Genre: Visual Novel, Romance
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows, macOS & Linux) PS4, PS5, & Xbox)
Developers|Publishers: ebi-hime | Ratalaika Games
Age Rating: EU 12+ | USA T
Price: UK £12.99 | EU € 12,99 | USD $12.99
Release Date: February 11th, 2022
Review code used, with many thanks to Ratalaika Games.
Blackberry Honey is a kinetic girl’s love visual novel about a love that flourishes between two Victorian-era maids.
Synopsis
Lorina Waugh is a young English woman who has come to work as a maid at Bly Mansion for the esteemed Lennard family. She works to help support her mother’s shop back home. She has been sent away from her last job as a result of some mysterious indiscretion. As a result, she is worked to the bone and bullied by the senior maids with few people coming to her defense.
She finds an unlikely ally in the aloof Taohua, a mysterious older woman who seems to have an interest in Lorina. Cat-like in her disposition and foreign in looks and behaviour, Lorina is unsure whether she can trust this woman. Is she a witch? A demon? All she knows is that Toahua is enchanting and she wants to grow closer to her, in ways that even she doesn’t understand.
Characters
As a visual novel, this game leans heavily on the side of character study. Lorina and Toahua are the primary focus. Lorina is a fiery woman who endures what she must to help support her family. She is a classic tsundere in many ways, from the way she interacts with Toahua, to her cute reactions to romance, to her passion and stubbornness. Meanwhile, her partner is much harder to read. Toahua is direct and honest, though still fairly confusing, especially for poor Lorina. She hides a fire and strength within that takes time to unravel and get to know.
There are other characters, Lorina’s fellow maids, Lady Lennard, other nobles, and staff. However, the main one that stands out is the tempestuous Lady Constance, the young mistress of Bly Manor. She is a rather unpleasant character who hides depth and hurt underneath all her pointed snark and blustering. She becomes more compelling over the story… which is more than can be said for the rest of the cast. While these three feel like characters, the other NPCs are just kinda… there.
Kinetic Visual Novel
Blackberry Honey is a kinetic novel, which is a type of visual novel where the story is linear and doesn’t have choices. Instead, it plays more like a webcomic or book. I’ve only played one or two in the past. It was nice to kinda just read and not have to agonize over choice, though I did miss interacting directly with the story.
Audiovisual
The audiovisual was alright. The sprites were bothersome, namely Lorina’s because of the odd proportions and the uncomfortable pose she’s often holding. The art is otherwise rather nice, but the cutback to the sprites could be jarring when switching between scenery, CGs, and scenes. The UI design was pleasant to look at.
The music was to be expected for the time and scenery. It was occasionally a little loud, but that can be adjusted in settings. Otherwise, it was fine.
Overall Opinion
Blackberry Honey is a nice enough visual novel. It executes the relationship between Toahua and Lorina in a believable fashion. I found most of my enjoyment came from seeing these two fall for one another and slowly open up. The character interactions were fascinating to watch.
The rest of the story elements were more ambivalent. They are middle of the road and a little generic. They’re standard visual novel fair.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed Blackberry Honey. It was easy to get hooked on seeing how the characters and their relationships developed. That was the most memorable part of the game. It’s a nice visual novel.
Final Verdict: I Like it. 
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