There's a lot to say about this game, so prepare yourself for a long review. If you just want to see my TL;DR, just scroll to the bottom. I'll also try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, with using just general concepts.

In VA-11 Hall-A, you play as the bartender Jill Stingray who works in Glitch City. It is located in a futuristic setting, where cars can fly and AIs, or Lilim, behave similar to humans. The game has you serve drinks to customers and listen to them and interact with them. Your job is to try to pay all your bills and satisfy customers with the correct drinks.


Since VA-11 Hall-A is more of a visual novel than game, I won't spend much time here. The main gameplay aspect is serving drinks to customers, with your job being to try to get all orders correct. By getting orders correct, you are given money which allows you to pay for Jill's bills and items. You have a calender for when each payment is due, giving you something to watch your budget and time. Failing to give the correct order means you earn zero dollars from that order. The previously mentioned items are purchased at the beginning of each day, and serve to let Jill remember each order. Failing to do so results in Jill forgetting orders during making drinks, forcing the player to rely on their memory. What you serve to customers and how you pay will affect the ending of the story.

For a virtual novel, the gameplay is decent. You have something (time and money) which give you a small sense of responsibility when playing the game. With that being said, if you're expecting it to be similar to resturant-like games where you have to a ton of orders with a pace, then it's safe to say this isn't that type of game. There is no timer on time it takes to get an order done, and you an average of 9-12 drinks served a day.

There is also a bit of replayability, where you can try to find bonus characters and discover other endings, as well as attempting to collect all purchaseable items.

The game isn't gameplay intensive and is based more around story (obviously, being a virtual novel), which leads to my next point.


VA-11 Hall-A takes place in the future in a place called Glitch City. Within Glitch City, there is many political tension going on between oppressed citizens, powerful coorperations and forces that make sure people obey the laws. You play as Jill Stingray, a bartender who works for a bar called "VA-11 Hall-A", aka, "Valhalla". You listen to and meet many different customers and interact with them.

The most important thing for a visual novel to do is have a great story that keeps the player interested, and this is something that Sukeban Games - the developer - ensures. You learn about the enviorment around you by talking to the characters and reading articles and chatlogs, where you get to hear many opinions and news. There is always something going on in Glitch City that leaves you saying "I need to know more!", making you want to play and play and play until you're done.

Saving the best for last, one of the most hands down reasons to purchase VA-11 Hall-A is for the characters. Each character you meet is memorable in their own way. They all have very noticeable and outgoing personalities and you're sure to remember each one. You'll grow attached to many of these characters, wanting to see them show up at the bar again and worry for their well-being as the story's atmosphere tenses up. They are all well-written, with some fantastic character development to add to that. Since the story is practically convayed entirely through dialogue, you'll love to hear the story go on and on. It also manages to find the right to place its humorus topics and serious themes without making the game feel awkward.


VA-11 Hall-A's graphics follow a 2D vibrant, futuristic-retro style.

At the time of writing this review, my profile is literally based on VA-11 Hall-A's artstyle just because of how much I loved it. It felt unique, memorable, warm and gave every detail in the game life. It makes the world around you pop out and supports the world around it.

The expressions on each character as well as their designs go with them perfectly and shows the emotions of not only the characters, but of the artist that created them. The graphics alone are worth experiencing.

There's a lot to say about this game, so prepare yourself for a long review. If you just want to see my TL;DR, just scroll to the bottom. I'll also try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, with using just general concepts. [h1][b] ~~~~~Summary~~~~~ [/b] [/h1] In VA-11 Hall-A, you play as the bartender Jill Stingray who works in Glitch City. It is located in a futuristic setting, where cars can fly and AIs, or Lilim, behave similar to humans. The game has you serve drinks to customers and listen to them and interact with them. Your job is to try to pay all your bills and satisfy customers with the correct drinks. [h1][b] ~~~~~Gameplay~~~~~ [/b][/h1] Since VA-11 Hall-A is more of a visual novel than game, I won't spend much time here. The main gameplay aspect is serving drinks to customers, with your job being to try to get all orders correct. By getting orders correct, you are given money which allows you to pay for Jill's bills and items. You have a calender for when each payment is due, giving you something to watch your budget and time. Failing to give the correct order means you earn zero dollars from that order. The previously mentioned items are purchased at the beginning of each day, and serve to let Jill remember each order. Failing to do so results in Jill forgetting orders during making drinks, forcing the player to rely on their memory. What you serve to customers and how you pay will affect the ending of the story. For a virtual novel, the gameplay is decent. You have something (time and money) which give you a small sense of responsibility when playing the game. With that being said, if you're expecting it to be similar to resturant-like games where you have to a ton of orders with a pace, then it's safe to say this isn't that type of game. There is no timer on time it takes to get an order done, and you an average of 9-12 drinks served a day. There is also a bit of replayability, where you can try to find bonus characters and discover other endings, as well as attempting to collect all purchaseable items. The game isn't gameplay intensive and is based more around story (obviously, being a virtual novel), which leads to my next point. [h1][b] ~~~~~Story~~~~~ [/b][/h1] VA-11 Hall-A takes place in the future in a place called Glitch City. Within Glitch City, there is many political tension going on between oppressed citizens, powerful coorperations and forces that make sure people obey the laws. You play as Jill Stingray, a bartender who works for a bar called "VA-11 Hall-A", aka, "Valhalla". You listen to and meet many different customers and interact with them. The most important thing for a visual novel to do is have a great story that keeps the player interested, and this is something that Sukeban Games - the developer - ensures. You learn about the enviorment around you by talking to the characters and reading articles and chatlogs, where you get to hear many opinions and news. There is always something going on in Glitch City that leaves you saying "I need to know more!", making you want to play and play and play until you're done. Saving the best for last, one of the most hands down reasons to purchase VA-11 Hall-A is for the characters. Each character you meet is memorable in their own way. They all have very noticeable and outgoing personalities and you're sure to remember each one. You'll grow attached to many of these characters, wanting to see them show up at the bar again and worry for their well-being as the story's atmosphere tenses up. They are all well-written, with some fantastic character development to add to that. Since the story is practically convayed entirely through dialogue, you'll love to hear the story go on and on. It also manages to find the right to place its humorus topics and serious themes without making the game feel awkward. [h1][b] ~~~~~Graphics~~~~~ [/b][/h1] VA-11 Hall-A's graphics follow a 2D vibrant, futuristic-retro style. At the time of writing this review, my profile is literally based on VA-11 Hall-A's artstyle just because of how much I loved it. It felt unique, memorable, warm and gave every detail in the game life. It makes the world around you pop out and supports the world around it. The expressions on each character as well as their designs go with them perfectly and shows the emotions of not only the characters, but of the artist that created them. The graphics alone are worth experiencing. [h1][b] ~~~~~TL;DR / Conclusion~~~~~ [/b] VA-11 Hall-A is a fantastic visual novel and completely recommended to anyone who loves dialogue, a great story as well as phenominal characters. Each aspect of the game supports it extremley well and makes for an unforgettable experience. With that being said, if you're looking for a gameplay heavy game and don't really care about story, I wouldn't recommend this game to that audience. I personally loved it and won't forget it anytime soon. Heavily recommended! [/h1]