Hidden Gems #1

Welcome to a new series here on VN Game Den called Hidden Gems. Hidden Gems is dedicated to promoting great visual novels, whether demos or finished products, that you may have looked over. Our criteria for this series is that the game is at least a month old and has fewer than ten reviews on itch.io and/or Steam, depending on where it’s available.

Love Lime!

Price: Free

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (demo available on itch.io)

Love Lime! is a unique game that caught my eye thanks to its strange cast of characters. If you’ve read my posts before, you might be aware that I’m a fan of Hatoful Boyfriend, a game where everyone except for the heroine is a bird. So I very much enjoy having games where the characters aren’t humans but very much act like them. You play as Lime, a former human turned into a fruit. Although they very much want to be reverted back to their original form, until they can find a way to do that, they will have to attend Orchard Valley High School, where all the students are fruit.

From the demo I’ve played, I very much enjoyed what it had to offer. I really liked Lime, who is completely over everything and just wants to be done with this whole being-a-fruit shtick. Meanwhile, her friend Donny, who turned into a durian, is the lovable idiot who can’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation. There’s a lot to the cast, such as Peach, who is the pretty boy that’s full of himself, and Mango, a sports lover and overall health nut. Although these characters are just tropes that are turned up to 100 for comedic purposes, I ended up having a good time with each respective fruit. The music, which is lively and occasionally filled with the sound of kazoos, perfectly fits the tone of this quirky title.

The only massive downside to this game is that despite its itch page being updated earlier this year, there has been no real update to the game. Although I always try to remain optimistic when it comes to projects, considering there has been nothing since 2016, it doesn’t strike much confidence in me that the game will get done. With that being said, what there is of Love Lime! is a fun product that I think people looking for a good time will enjoy, even if it isn’t complete.

One Last Wish

Price: Free

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (itch.io)

You play Sam, a father who has died after getting hit by a truck. Although we may not know much about our protagonist, the small insights into his life give enough information for the player to understand him and his motive: he’s a caring, potentially single parent who constantly works overtime in order to give his daughter a happy life. Despite the game only just starting, I felt for Sam. While I may not be a parent myself, over the years I’ve realized what my parents, my dad in particular, have gone through to make me happy. He’s worked countless hours to the point of risking his own health just so I could have a good life. Seeing Sam do the same for his child made me really like him as a character. At the same time, my heart broke for him, because you can only imagine the toll the stress of work has on him. But at the end of the day, seeing his child smile makes it all worth it.

When Sam awakens, he’s granted one last wish, but he only has an hour to complete it before being sent off to the afterlife. Sam decides to fulfill his final promise to his daughter. It’s your job to help Sam accomplish his dream within the given time limit. In order to do this, you’ll need to browse his daughter’s room for clues and answer puzzles. I wouldn’t say the game is hard, especially given that you have 600 seconds (10 minutes) to get the job done.

One Last Wish is a fantastic albeit incredibly bittersweet tale about a parent’s love for their child. If you’re looking for something that will not only warm your heart, but also pull at your heartstrings, pick up this game.

You can submit your visual novel to our Hidden Gems request to be featured in our series!