Review: The Fairy’s Song

VN Game Den was provided with a review code for The Fairy’s Song.

The Fairy’s Song is a new yuri visual novel about a goth girl named Marnie who, much to her dismay, is sent to stay with her grandmother for a week. Her grandmother lives in a rural English village with nothing to do, and her insistence that there are fairies around makes Marnie even less enthusiastic about staying there. Yet when Marnie heads deep into the forest, not only does she learn that magical forces truly are at work, but she also awakens a female knight named Leofe who has been trapped in an enchanted sleep for centuries and pledges herself to Marnie’s service.

At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like Marnie as a protagonist due to how grumpy she is over staying in a small village. Once I got further, however, she grew on me. She’s grouchy and irreverent and maybe a bit cynical, but she definitely has a distinctive voice and she develops as a character over the course of the story. Even if I didn’t always agree with her thoughts, I liked her as a character.

Since this story is set in the modern day despite its fantasy storyline, there are also plenty of references readers should recognize. Marnie is a teenage girl, after all, and her narration includes many references to the Internet, TV shows, video games, and more—all in ways that feel natural, and sometimes are pretty funny.

Meanwhile, Leofe is optimistic, noble, and eternally fascinated by the modern era. Everything is new and exciting to her, and of course she keeps trying to protect Marnie and look after her, which causes a bit of friction between them. These two characters have a good dynamic, and their relationship feels natural as it progresses.

While the romance between Marnie and Leofe is certainly an important part of the game, I would consider The Fairy’s Song to be more a fantasy story with a romance than a romance story, since you could remove the romance and still be left with an interesting visual novel. The majority of the story focuses on Leofe trying to adjust to the new era she’s woken up in, the two girls searching for answers about the village’s past and how Leofe came to be asleep in the forest, and their quest to break the curse over Leofe’s brother. A variety of CGs help bring this story to life, including some action scenes.

It is a kinetic novel, so there are no choices to make or any other sort of interaction. Fortunately, it’s an interesting enough story to read that I never felt bored or like it was dragging on for the handful of hours that it lasted. An occasional typo or bit of repetitive narration took me out of it from time to time, and one section near the end is a bit too heavy on exposition that might benefit from being revealed more naturally, but overall it is an enjoyable read from start to finish.

One thing I especially enjoyed is that a good portion of The Fairy’s Song is also a fish-out-of-water comedy, since Leofe is utterly unfamiliar with technology, modern phrases, and even the sorts of food Marnie’s grandmother has available. From the moment Marnie takes Leofe back to her grandmother’s house (pretending she’s a friend from school), the story is filled with humorous moments and amusing situations.

Part fantasy fairy tale, part fish-out-of-water comedy, with a romance between the two girls that develops as the story progresses—that’s the best way to describe The Fairy’s Song. It’s a cute, sweet fantasy tale, and overall it’s just a pleasant read.

You can purchase The Fairy’s Song from itch.io or Steam.