this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2026
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Happy New Year!
I spent the last month playing a bunch of different indie VNs
of the Devil Episode 2
I had high expectations and they got surpassed, can't believe nth Circle did it again! I binged the new ep over the span of a few days immediately after release.
While Episode 0 dealt with a serial killer case and Episode 1 with a murder in the (mega-) corporate sphere, Ep 2 is all about the mob.
The case is definitely a step up both in terms of scale, complexity and production value, they even added in new character themes for Morgan and Emma :D I felt thoroughly entertained right from the start. There was already some neat set-up for future developments as well,
Tap for spoiler
as Morgan now made herself the target of some sort of super assassin. Whoopsie, that's what you get for stealing from the mob. Due to the unwanted spotlight and a few slip-ups, Emma seems to also start to suspect her more.They also already announced Episode 3, the waiting begins anew.
Z.A.T.O. // I love the World and Everything in it
I picked this free denpa VN up after a recommendation by an IRL friend and finished it in 2 days. It's short but a great experience, so I immediately went and bought the digital artbook afterwards to support the dev. Apropos, the dev is a somewhat well-known Vocaloid producer, as I found out later.
It's set in a closed town in the USSR and the protag is a school girl with a very peculiar world-view who gets bullied regularly. The story revolves around the disappearance of her friend and I won't spoil more. If you're a fan of Serial Experiments Lain, this is an easy rec!
Artificial Selection (Demo Version)
This one's an "anti-killing game" VN with escape room mini games.
The setting is only revealed bit by bit but it seems to be some sort of near future surveillance state. The main cast are all criminals who have to participate in this game in order to rehabilitate themselves, though we don't know which crimes in particular they committed yet.
I haven't fully formed an opinion on the game yet, except that the protagonist reminds me of some sort of nervous hamster (affectionate). His ugly-cute smile has won me over, also.
I've also very much fallen in love with the game's UI! Kigyo is a Ren'Py wizard and I've probably spent an hour analyzing all the little design details!
Sounds like a solid way to end the year. I'll bookmark the post as to not spoil myself on of the Devil but your thoughts on later episodes look promising.