A Summer-With The Shiba-Inu

Review

In an alternate reality, dogs are the intelligent beings of the world. Syd's family moved to Shiba Island when she was very young; growing up there she became part of the society and aimed to be a top citizen. The island is a technologically advanced society of Shiba Inu's that use a ranking system to maintain social order. One of the primary ways this is done is in the ARIna (a virtual arena used as part of the society's ranking system) which is managed by the Allocated Reality Institute. After reaching the highest ranks of the ARIna and gaining the most coveted item of the event, Syd flees the island to Canine-da, leaving behind everyone she knows and loves to begin a new life. After many years have passed she is compelled to return to the island to find the answers to questions that have plagued her since she left.

When you return to the island you will once again meet those you knew in the past, as well as others you have never seen before as you search for the answers you need. You will be travelling through different periods in Syd's past and the present world as the story unfolds. With multiple endings, the choices you make ultimately decide how your game will end. Who can you trust, and who are your true allies? These questions and more await you in this riveting story!

Released & self-published on Aug 23, 2019, by the developer Quill Game Studios, this is their first release on Steam. It is tagged Indie, Adventure, Casual, Visual Novel, and I have added Choices Matter, Multiple Endings. It features 3 different outcomes for Syd, as well as 10 additional endings for other characters depending on the choices you make. With over 70,000+word count, it is not a finish-in-a-couple-of-hours kind of game (unless you're a speed reader, of course!). It has a dazzling visual design with professionally made characters, with a mellow soundtrack and background audio, setting the mood. An incredible story to uncover at your pace. Full controller support included,  (I utilized the mouse and keyboard for my playtime).

Should you miss some dialog; you can view a large portion of the recent history using the scrolling chat feature using the middle mouse button, or the log button in-game to see up to 250 past interaction's. I would also recommend you use the save-game feature at the multiple-choice areas to use later to complete the achievements easier. Make sure to check out all the game settings, there is a detailed online guide that explains all the available options. This is located in the top of the preference menu, as well as an HTML version in the installation folder if you are in offline.

I had a wonderful time during my playthrough. I admit I do not play a lot of visual novels, it takes a very special game to catch my eye in the genre. This story was compelling and captured my whole attention to the very end. I loved the visual style of the game (it has gorgeous artwork that is very well-done), as well as the lovely background scenes. I tried to piece the story together before the ending, but was kept hanging until the very end. At the end of my first play-through, I was left wanting more. Perhaps a sequel will be released in the future. I still need to return in the future to 100% the game as I unlocked only 19 of the 30 achievements my first play-through.

Review written by DamageInc.for Zeepond.com!