GAME REVIEW | "Kindred Spirits" Builds a Yuritopia For a Better Tomorrow
**WARNING: WHILE THIS ARTICLE IS SAFE-FOR-WORK, THE FOLLOWING REVIEWED GAME IS INTENDED ONLY FOR PLAYERS 18 AND OLDER. READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED.**
Yuri visual novels seem to be catching on in the West, and a few are on Steam already. However, Liar Soft's Kindred Spirits on the Roof is likely the first visual novel to hit Steam uncut. This is a bit of a misnomer however, as the game's content is rather light on the erotic content. But it might just be the first step in more explicit content to be allowed on Valve's service in the future. Aside from the adult content in the story, it's worth more as a collection of romances between various women.
The basic plot of Kindred Spirits on the Roof is that Toomi Yuna, a second year at Shirijo Girl's High School, is able to see the deceased spirits of two girls who attended her school years ago. She also becomes able to converse with them, learning that they have a desire to see women become partners via giving them indirect help in their own pursuits of love.
This is all to help the kindred spirits potentially learn a way of how the two can consummate their love, which will allow them to pass on. Yuna is a bit hesitant at first, but she doesn't mind as long as she doesn't get directly involved. As the days go on, Yuna even begins to awaken to her feelings to another, and also gains many friends.
The flow of the game is a collection of skits that play out on different days, with some choices being made. The choices don't lead to alternate endings or routes, as it is a linear story, of sorts. Instead a choice can unlock new scenes that will roll back the date in the day planner, so you can learn some extra behind-the-scenes stuff that clears up some of the gaps in the main story. Once you complete the main story, you can view some extra scenes for an even more supplemental story. Viewing these also will unlock even more. As a result, Kindred Spirits on the Roof ends up being pretty long.
Kindred Spirits on the Roof has a rough art style which looks somewhat hand drawn. Its music is nice, but there's not a lot of track variety, as the tracks loop too quickly. There's also only partial voice acting, where they only show up in special story events relating to the CG gallery. The game is uncut, and there is erotic content, but the the big reason it likely hit Steam uncensored is due to the amount of erotic content being light rather than explicit. The most you will see are exposed breasts and some kissing of the chest. These scenes in question are tasteful and respectful of the genre's traditions.
Regardless on how one might feel about that, the story of the game is a beautiful tale of lovers of same-sex relationships. You also learn a bit more about the genre terminology. There's a nice balance of humor, love and drama to fill out the 40 hour runtime. The only real issue is that the framerate for transitions is a bit laggy, which is unnecessary but odd for a visual novel. If you like visual novels and yuri stories, I highly recommend Kindred Spirits on the Roof.
VERDICT:
The Good: A beautiful story of female romantic relationships.
The Bad: The visual style is a bit rough.
The Ugly: Not a lot of track variety.
SUMMARY: Kindred Spirits on the Roof is a surprisingly lengthy Yuri story that shows just enough eroticism to be tasteful and respectful of the genre.
FINAL GRADE:
Review code provided by MangaGamer
