ENIGMA: Review
Ah, another day, another Visual Novel to be reviewed. I find myself to be in a love hate relationship with these types of games. Most Visual Novels boast similar kinds of themes of romance and while I enjoy a good romance (in very light doses), the genre of romantic comedy has bored me to death along with the uses of your typical anime tropes. Enter ENIGMA:.
When I was presented with ENIGMA:, Fruitbat Factory’s latest visual novel, I didn’t have high hopes for it. Even though with its apparent attempt at a kind of mystery, it didn’t seem like the sort of visual novel that could pull it off. However, with its bright art style and chipper opening theme, I found myself to be pleasantly surprised.
The Enigma, a peculiar and incurable disease, has spread through out the world. An illness that consumes ones body until death has the people in a panic and yet the cause or transmission of this disease is still unknown. This story begins with the recently diagnosed Chester, as he mysteriously washes ashore a small island called Carlyle. After waking up with the care of the town’s people, Chester soon finds that this secluded island seems to be safe from the wide-spread pandemic and the people who reside on the island seem to be oblivious of the events in the rest of the world.
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“Right from the start it introduces the basic plot line to reel you in, the conflict, and its cast of well developed characters all at a very good pace.”
Intrigued by the beautiful green scenic land and it’s lively people, Chester confides in one of the the villagers of the deadly disease called Enigma and how countless people, along with himself one day, has succumbed to the illness. Surprised at this news, Chester is taken to the outskirts of a forest where he learns this man eating forest also shares the same name as the disease that is slowly eating away at himself.
As mentioned before, and in my previous review for Fruitbat Factory’s earlier visual novel Magical Eyes – Red is for Anguish, I don’t particularly enjoy the romantic comedy as a genre. And as most Visual Novels run under this category and provides its viewers every anime trope out there, I tend to stay away from VNs. Enigma:, while no different, presents itself in a way that had me intrigued from the very beginning. Right from the start it introduces the basic plot line to reel you in, the conflict, and its cast of well developed characters all at a very good pace. The narrative wasn’t slow to make it feel as if the scenes were dragging out and it isn’t so fast that suddenly the viewer is thinking, “Wait, but what happened here?”. Enigma: is the perfect example of great storytelling.
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“The one drawback is the 800 x 600 resolution.”
The art style is vibrant and beautiful, with a lot of care and attention to detail. The original soundtrack that accompanies Enigma: is wonderful and does a fantastic job with setting the tone. Things couldn’t be better. The one drawback is the 800 x 600 resolution. As much as I understand how expensive high res art can be, and seeing this was done by an illustrator from a doujin group, I feel that by 2016 we should have a little higher quality images. The style is brilliant, so show it off.
If you are an avid reader of Visual Novels, I would certainly suggest picking up Enigma:. While it doesn’t have the most outstanding storyline, the execution of it is very well done. Along with multiple endings, a beautiful soundtrack and a memorable cast of characters, I fully believe this game will make a great addition to your virtual library.
***A PC code was provided by the publisher***
The Good
- Great pacing
- Lovely style of story telling
- Wonderful soundtrack
The Bad
- Poor resolution
