If you’ve ever had a friend excitedly praise whatever TV series they’re currently watching only to have them, almost apologetically, say “it starts off really slow but gets really good about 12 episodes/chapters in” then you’ll have a really good idea of what it’s like to play Raging Loop.
Initially, Raging Loop’s premise seems really promising; it's a visual novel that’s a mash-up of eerie Japanese folklore and the party game 'Werewolf'. If you’ve never played it, then allow us to explain; the object is to find the werewolves among your group before they kill everyone else. This simple objective, however, opens things up for all sorts of mind games where the wolves can bluff and double-bluff to throw everyone else off the scent until either most of the villagers are no more, or the villagers have managed to find and execute both wolves.
Raging Loop’s take on this much-loved party game places you in the shoes of city biker Haruaki Fusaishi as he finds himself trapped with the residents of Yasumizu – a tiny rural village enveloped in a thick mysterious mist. During this period, no one can leave the area alive. According to the ancient folklore of the land, the mist will only be gone once the ominously-named ‘Feast’ has been performed. Essentially, this is a game of werewolf played out with much higher stakes. And if anyone from either side breaks any of the arcane rules, then they’re quickly killed off by the ‘corruption’ which turns them into grisly hunks of meat. Yum.
In case you’ve never played a visual novel before, as the name suggests, it’s a genre that’s primarily text-based with illustrations showing the characters and certain scenes. At best, they can be utterly absorbing despite the lack of interactivity. At other times, they can be about as much fun as watching a freshly-painted wall become touch-dry.
The first few hours of Raging Loop will draw you in as it builds a suitably creepy and mysterious atmosphere, introducing you to the villagers and a couple of reporters working on an article about the local cuisine. However, when the mist descends, the tension dissipates thanks to the mechanical dialogue which never manages to fully realise the gravity of the situation you’re in. Hours can pass by with nothing but characters spouting reams upon reams upon reams of exposition that quickly becomes tedious to read.
The promised 50 hours of playtime here quickly turns out to be not much more than wading through pages of text that repeats information you already know. As both a player and reader, you’re not given a chance to feel like you’re an active part in this story. It's hard to say whether or not this is intentional, seeing as Haruaki is himself trapped in a folklore tale he has to see to its bitter end, but the result is the same. Many hours will pass before the game will ask for your input, and even then, it never feels like you've made much of a difference.
It doesn’t help that Haruaki, the character you play, is almost totally unlikeable (a common problem with Japanese visual novels, sadly). Early on, he's cracking jokes about overpowering the first woman he meets in Yasumizu, then later he blithely dismisses the horrific and sudden deaths of other characters. There’s also a swerve into some unexpected transphobia with one character in particular; it's more insensitive than outright malicious, but it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth all the same.
All of which would be forgiven if this was a gripping tale to read through, and at times it can be. However, the absolutely glacial pacing gets frustrating very quickly as the game holds back on answering the mysteries surrounding Yasumizu – mysterious you're keen to get to the bottom of. Without getting into spoiler territory, the initial playthrough raises far more questions than it answers and once you realise what the game is asking of you, it’s hard not to feel more than a bit cheated. Though it offers plenty of branching options, they’re closed off to you until you wander down enough of its many dead ends, forcing you to reach an ending that delivers precisely zero satisfaction.
This isn’t to say that Raging Loop is entirely without merit. The premise is genuinely creepy, it’s accessible to everyone no matter what skill level they’re at and it has some really impressive artwork depicting its characters and locations. It can skip between being playful and light to showing the consequences of what the 'Feast' stands for. But over the past decade, games like the Danganronpa trilogy, Virtue’s Last Reward and – more recently – One Night Stand have shown what the visual novel format can be capable of.
Conclusion
Raging Loop is a promisingly creepy title in the vein of Silent Hill and Danganronpa that fails to deliver thanks to the sluggish pace of its storytelling and lack of meaningful choices. Fans of visual novels will no doubt get something out of this, but the rest of us will lose patience early on. If you’re looking for some light reading which you can dip in and out of over the space of a few months or so then you might find something to like here, but while Raging Loop may lure you in with its many branching storylines, you’ll be frustrated long before you reach the end.
Comments 22
Hey look an actual VN REVIEW
That I may live to see the day.
Is there a single VN that isn't haunted by pacing issues, though? Apart from the "AAA VN" like Steins Gate and etc.
@Shonenmon I guess it does come with the territory unless it’s like Hatoful Boyfriend or smth hahaha. 428 and Steins Gate are probably the best of the bunch but I do enjoy a smaller one every once in a while. It’s strange, I pretty much mostly watch romcom anime but with VNs, there aren’t many romcoms that don’t come off a wee bit sleazy/harem route. Open to recommendations pls people, maybe ones where you play as a girl?
Honestly, the review reads like it was written by someone who isn't used to ACTUAL visual novels (as opposed to the 'gamier' VN/adventure game hybrids that have been popularized overseas by the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series).
@Ralizah
Totally agree just think VN aren't Nintendo life thing. Got this myself and it's a lot better than a 5. Most VN could say you have "pacing issues" apart from the more action orientated ones you mentioned
Also choices are far from arbitrary.
@nessisonett Tokyo school life. Judging by previous comments from you, you might find the main guy sleazy at first but he grows out of it. There is no harem, you can only end up with one girl. The game is a bit short, but the characters are likeable once you get to know them and its wellwritten.
@Ralizah
Stil better then that blog post The Letter got.
@tobibra I'll check it out! I love a good VN but there's a whole lot of garbage to sort through, looking for a gem.
@nessisonett I assume you've played Clannad already? Pretty much THE classic romantic dramedy VN?
If you want something that is shorter and less expensive, Planetarian might be up your alley as well. It's a short post-apocalyptic romantic tragedy story.
If you're open to PC games and eroge, I've heard very good things about Katawa Shoujo. It's a romantic VN featuring girls with a variety of disabilities or injuries. It sounds like it should be horrifyingly fetishistic, but EVERYTHING I've heard about it is positive in terms of how the characters are written, etc. I also think it has an option to disable adult content. And it's 100% free.
https://www.katawa-shoujo.com/
@Ralizah Ooh, never played that one but it’s the same people as Kanon and Air, right? Are the pointy chins and massive eyes still as bad in that one? 😂😂😂
@nessisonett Yeah, all Key VNs have similar styles of character design. Very moe.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/clannad-switch/
You can check out screenshots of the Switch version there.
Yeesh, this review is embarrassing. I don't understand why the reviewer speaks with such authority on the visual novel medium when they clearly don't have much experience with it. The bit about the "end of the initial playthrough" in particular makes me cringe. That's not how VNs work. If you've finished the ENTIRE thing, that's a playthrough. What you described is a route, and nobody in their right mind would expect everything to be explained in a single route. Heck, this VN even tells yous directly that there are three main routes in the little tutorial section.
Also, the pacing is pretty quick not just by VN standards (as they are admittedly a bit slow in general due industry trends), but by any medium's standards. Picked up an actual book recently?
It saddens me that people just want substance-less, easily consumable tripe. This is a novel, not a series of Twitter posts. Please approach it as such.
We should be glad we are getting Japan VN that is a different change. And VN are Japan myth based and sounds like people are failing to know Japan myths.
@aceticdec
Uh, have you seen the "review" for The letter ?
Compared to that, this is a evenhanded masterpiece.
That "review"is a blogpost, with an author that has an obvious bias against the game.
I know people are saying the reviewer probably just doesn't know what they're talking about with regard to pacing issues but... I gotta agree that there's no way they can keep a game of high stakes werewolf interesting for 50 hours. That sounds seriously padded.
@HeroponRiki It's 3 games of Werewolf and the last 1/3 of the VN transforms into something else that I'd rather not spoil.
"Fans of visual novels will no doubt get something out of this,"
Oh Jesus Christ, this is like reviewing FIFA as "fans of football will no doubt get something out of this"!
It doesn't make any sense!
Who do you think visual novels are made for?
First person shooter fanatics?
Platformer lovers?
Football fans?
Visual novels are made for people who like visual novels, for crying out loud!
This is a niche genre for people who don't mind reading a colorful novel with pictures, sound and music, for countless hours!
In fact, they usually enjoy doing this!
Probably as much as FPS fans enjoy killing countless virtual people!
Why don't they have a label?
Why visual novels do?
Oh well.
I will just enjoy myself with those VNs that luckily made their way onto the Switch.
Thankfully, it's a nicely growing number.
Despite these... "reviews".
Well pacing issues ain't a problem to me.
VN's inherently suffer from horrendous pacing—this isn't anything new.
5 out of 10? This dosn't quite seem right. I'm certainly no authority on the genre but feel like i'm around 50/60% through and i'm already looking at a 7 or 8 here. At the very least as good as World End Syndrome which I believe scored an 8.
The review just feels half baked and comparing it to Danganronpa feels quite amateurish. The pacing and exposition has not interupted my enjoyment and i've throughly enjoyed the timeline jumping mechanic here.
As for the main character, I didnt get a transphobic vibe in the slightest. If anything he seemed to appreciate the diversity and openness of the Mochi character.
Honestly think that in the case of VN's the reviewers need to at least finish the game (Massive credit to Kate for ploughing though Fata Morgana like she has).
I know NL usually vets reviews and doubles up on review scores to make sure they're credible but really feel this one escaped the net.
If a title is too long or niche to justify putting two reviewers on it then at least put a seasoned VN reviewer on the case.
Removed - inappropriate
@YWNBAW "woke", garbage commenter.
Anyway this VN is pretty good. I just finished it and I basically echo what @20Andyv01 says. However it does get kind of lost in itself at the end, and the ending wasn't very satisfactory.
There were moments where the lack of art assets really hurt the story. Just a few more backgrounds and art would have really helped the story. Instead there were a lot of plain green backgrounds and closeups of walls where you basically just imagine the action being described.
I'd place it lower than Worldend Syndrome, but only just. They'r both in the same vein and are each worthwhile. The stories of both were good, with interesting characters and similar depictions of japanese folklore. Also I actually appreciated the linearity and helpful flow chart here, as opposed to Worldend Syndrome which basically required you to have a walkthrough open at all times.
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