On the whole I’ve absolutely struggled with the variety of digital novels that have come to the Switch. Whether the issue is simply the stories being a bit too cheesy or dull, there being a lack of any interactivity to break up walls of text, or frustration with having no agency at all in their runtime, I still struggle with putting these experiences in the same space as games. What I haven’t yet run into is effectively a digital novel adaptation of some of the works of H.P. Lovecraft… and I’ll admit that it at least brings something unique to the table.

Consisting of a small handful of different stories, some shorter than others, that were written at different phases of his lifetime, each of them is narrated well in a voice generally appropriate to which point in his life they were written. While you won’t be wandering around to take in the game’s often creepy and surreal environments, you will be able to look around to fully take in their scope at times. At each step you’ll get a little more of the text, and then you’ll be looking for the spot that will take you to the next one. You’ll also possibly want to keep an eye out for bits of trivia that help provide background on both Lovecraft and his works, which are generally informative and interesting, but you may not like them interrupting the flow of the narratives.

While I applaud bringing something distinctively different to the visual novel space I do sort of wonder who the likely audience may be. For Lovecraft fans I’d see this possibly being a bit of a step in the wrong direction, with either their vivid imaginations or how other games have more actively embraced his concepts and themes being better ways to enjoy his works. While perhaps it could attract new fans to the fold, this has always felt like more of a niche crowd who typically has certain expectations for what they’ll find in the eShop. Sure, defying expectations could be a good idea, but I could just as likely see it struggling to attract a following with its darker tones.