Goodbye Volcano High is a game

In fact it's a pretty ok game. I have had my eye on it for a minute, and I went in with rock bottom expectations, and it surprised me by being actually competently written, with characters who have basic emotions and motivations. A rarity in visual novels from what I've seen.

My problems with the game stem from it's content. It is about 5 and a half, 6 hours to slam through the whole game and in that time you will see everything the game has to offer, all the content. You will maybe miss 2 cutscenes if you're going out of your way to be a ♥♥♥♥ to the other characters. Even within those 6 hours too you'll start to see the rough edges of the game.
Character models snapping hard between animations, lips not even remotely synched to the speak, whole bridge sections between chapters going entirely unvoiced, subtitles not lining up wit voice lines, the whole shebang. I was genuinely shocked considering this game had multiple delays, and had studio backing from Sony, how barebones it feels.

even a lot of the story elements feel lacking. The characters in game talk about how they're scared of the asteroid hitting the planet but the game does such a poor job communicating the passage of time, and the location of the asteroid, that I didn't know it actually was going to hit the planet and kill everyone until the game's final 2 chapters.

There's also little screen time for any of the side cast. Anyone who isn't vital to the story are seen in 1 frame pngs, a single time. And characters who are secondary to the story barely get any screen time at all. Including the main character's love interest, who comes across as something of a creep at first.

This review has been fairly negative but I want to stress I did like the game. If it seems like the kind of game you would play from the marketing, you will prolly enjoy this game. I just wouldn't recommend it at this price point, it has barely anything going on aside from the music which is genuinely good, and the presence of voice acting, at all.

Goodbye Volcano High is a game In fact it's a pretty ok game. I have had my eye on it for a minute, and I went in with rock bottom expectations, and it surprised me by being actually competently written, with characters who have basic emotions and motivations. A rarity in visual novels from what I've seen. My problems with the game stem from it's content. It is about 5 and a half, 6 hours to slam through the whole game and in that time you will see everything the game has to offer, all the content. You will maybe miss 2 cutscenes if you're going out of your way to be a dick to the other characters. Even within those 6 hours too you'll start to see the rough edges of the game. Character models snapping hard between animations, lips not even remotely synched to the speak, whole bridge sections between chapters going entirely unvoiced, subtitles not lining up wit voice lines, the whole shebang. I was genuinely shocked considering this game had multiple delays, and had studio backing from Sony, how barebones it feels. even a lot of the story elements feel lacking. [spoiler] The characters in game talk about how they're scared of the asteroid hitting the planet but the game does such a poor job communicating the passage of time, and the location of the asteroid, that I didn't know it actually was going to hit the planet and kill everyone until the game's final 2 chapters. [/spoiler] There's also little screen time for any of the side cast. Anyone who isn't vital to the story are seen in 1 frame pngs, a single time. And characters who are secondary to the story barely get any screen time at all. Including the main character's love interest, who comes across as something of a creep at first. This review has been fairly negative but I want to stress I did like the game. If it seems like the kind of game you would play from the marketing, you will prolly enjoy this game. I just wouldn't recommend it at this price point, it has barely anything going on aside from the music which is genuinely good, and the presence of voice acting, at all.