Salvus: Aries

Since going through the Demo, I have been anxiously awaiting the EA release of this game. The artwork, music and story are incredible works of art. Despite the few audio issues and grammatical/typo errors I've found, it doesn't detract from your immersion into the story. The story is extremely well thought out and written. Unlike some other otome games I've played, where the story is written in such a fashion as if reading a young adult book (not super mature, very lighthearted or not very story rich), this is intentioned, story rich writing. I enjoy the development of the MC throughout the story, though I was a bit concerned for their initial portrayal as a kind of flighty, air-headed, naive girl. That quickly changes after the first chapter, at least it did for me. As you dive into the backstory of what drove the MC to the point they are now, their tone changes and matures in a believable and understanding way. ****SPOILER ALERT! DON'T READ FROM HERE UNLESS YOU WANT SPOILERS FOR THE VALEFAR ROUTE!**** I know this is EA, so I'm not frustrated about the audio and text issues I ran across during my play through so far. What I will say that was extremely jarring and mildly peeving was that in the middle of Chapter 6 of Valefar's route, after he's brought back from the brink of death after the battle in Heaven, when the screen fades to black, to what I assume was a transition (like it had been so far throughout the game) it put me back at the Main Menu. None of my progress through the story was saved (there's no auto save function that I saw) and I didn't save on my own as I intended to play through the entire route in one sitting. Now my progress is gone and I have to start the entire story from the beginning AGAIN (my Demo saves didn't carry over either). So I will say that is the only major flaw I have with this game thus far. Overall, the story itself is fantastic and I look forward to when the other character routes are released. I fully support this game and all the devs who have worked tirelessly to put this amazing game into creation. Thank you!

AINA MY BELOVED LSKJFNSLFJK ALSO THE MEN ARE SO PRETTY 10/10 EVERYTHING IN LOVE WITH THE STYLE!!!!! YALL NEED TO PLAY THIS RIGHT NOW RAAAHHHH

i've been closely following this games development and was so excited when the early access was released! i absolutely loved the demo. The writing is witty and keeps me engaged, the art is wonderful and the voices mesmerizing, sure the game has a while to go, with full voice acting in the works, bugs needing sorting and remixing of some of the voice lines, more background art and monster sprites, and some more sound effects would help elevate the whole experience. But given this is early access, hick-ups and a to do list are expected. I'm sure when it all comes together in the full release it'll be one wonderful experience. I'm always happy to support indie devs, especially those that do otome! My likes! - Witty banter. -Slower pacing, making me able to really get a feel for each character and their personality. -An mc i relate to, i love the way she acts! -Writing that drags you in. -Voice acting that helps convey the feelings of the characters. -Stunning art. Points i think could be improved on that don't include bug fixes. -More background art so it doesn't have as much cross over with other vn's -Maybe some more sound effects to help with world building (cat's that purr or meow, footsteps running etc etc) Overall if you like otome vn's that have a lot of banter, witty humour and make you feel for characters (if you don't mind the polishing that still has to happen) i will highly recommend it. As someone who thrives on vn and otome media, this one is definitely up there as one of my personal favourites!

An otome game with an interesting premise. I first picked up the demo and bought it immediately after I saw that the game itself had already been released, and while I know it is still in Early Access, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the game. Off the bat, the game is somewhat compatible with the Steam Deck. I played the video on PC but had wanted to play the game on the Steam Deck so I can maximise my bedrotting over the Lenten holidays, but as it turns out, some of the controls (like the menus in the dialogue box) only work through trackpad or touch screen. The volume interface, in particular, uses very tiny buttons that are hard to latch onto with the trackpad. While the controls with shoulder buttons work perfectly (going back and forth the dialogue with the R1/R2 is a nice touch) I hope the devs are willing to refine its Steam Deck compatibility moving forward; I am more than willing to help the devs in troubleshooting for the Steam Deck if they feel compelled to work on its compatibility for the game. There are some parts of the game that lack BGM, or full voicing, but I would like to give the devs some leeway to polish it, as we are still in early access, and only Valefar’s route is available at the time. However, even Valefar has some dialogues that are not voiced, so perhaps it is something that can be looked into again. Some voice lines are also not synced with the text; the voice lines play correctly for the first line, but then immediately play the next voice lines meant for the next text line. Sometimes, the text is too long and floods over the dialogue box. Other voice lines do not correspond to the text lines at all; this shows up even in key plot points and has thrown me off from my focus on the story a few times. Also, there are still some voiced lines that mention the MC by her default name (Aina), and it takes me out from my immersion a little bit because I’m like “who’s Aina?”. Regardless, I understand that the work is in progress and want to give devs more time to complete it as the months go by. The story! The story was so, so riveting; I couldn’t let go of the game until I reached the happy ending. I am genuinely terrified if, as the devs say, the routes will be more emotionally taxing from here on out. The CGs are beautiful and worth the pain. P.S. I’ll be honest— I’m here for Jimmie Yamaguchi. He’s been my favourite English VA for some time now, and is the golden and only exception to my general rule that I play exclusively in JP dub for the games I play. Having said that, the character he voices, Rune, is *the* perfect tsundere (just!! my!! type!!) so seeing Rune gives me record dopamine hits, the heights of which are all previously unknown to my nervous system. Unfortunately all of Rune’s lines aren’t voiced yet…. The avarice of my wish is unyielding: I wish to see him (Rune voiced by Mr. Yamaguchi) and actually hear him more and more as the test of the routes are released. As early as now, I look forward to Aevum Aeterna and the time I can pursue Rune as a love interest.

This is no doubt one of the more high quality visual novels I've played, and it's still in early access! I can't wait to follow along and see how it developes! It has all my support and excitement.

I can see that the devs poured their love and passion into this otome. Is it perfect? No, but yet again, this is an early access. Does it have potential to turn great? Surely, if they continue to polish and care for the game. This review takes into account the current price of the game (EA price), the fact that it's indie and with the idea that the devs will deliver what they promised. The demo + first chapter of each route was enjoyable. What I can think as some "bad" points are the following: There were some moments when the protagonist acted without thinking, or this is what it seemed to me, but she was thrown into a whole new world, with an antique way of thinking, so I expected her to fumble in the beginning. The lis seemed to all like her, which may seem a bit odd to some, but I am pretty sure it will make sense the more we get into their specific routes. For the good points: The art is superb. The author doesn't shy away from delving into darker themes, I will not say more as I don't want to get into spoiler territory. We have partial voice acting at the moment and the vas did great in my opinion. The story has potential if the writing quality will stay overall the same or will improve. Valefar was a great introductory route, with a charming story. All of the love interests are gorgeous, with varied personalities. The writing feels quite solid currently. Can't wait for the next routes and the full release! I will have to see how the next routes fare and I will try to adjust my review with the future additions in mind. But all in all, the game has potential and I can feel the passion of the devs for this game, so I hope they will continue to work on it and improve it.

The game is alright so far, but the main character can be really frustrating at times. I also would've liked more meaningful choices throughout the story, though that's just my personal preference. (And really wished Rune would be romanceable lol.)

So far so good, the story is pretty intriguing and i adore the mc and her story, the boys are also pretty fun to be around with, i love their banter and they all seem pretty fleshed out with glimpses of what their route could go. It doesn't take too long for things to get going and its pretty angst filled story i would say. Currently only Valefar Route is out and i was pretty impressed by it, i initially thought he would be the typical stoic person preferring to be in the background but his story went through quite the twist i say especially the endings. Like what do you mean this is the good ending? Im bawling my eyes out here and if this is only the least dark/painfullest route then what its gonna happen in the other guys route? Help! I quite enjoy the art style of this game and the sprites are really pretty, although i do wish there were more different poses for the guys to switch things up a bit. In terms of CGI they are beautifully made and during Val route there were quite a few more or less 8-9 i think? So if the other guys get as much im satisfied. As for Cons Note that the game is still unfinished therefore a lot of voice work is still missing and its only partially voiced here and there (gave me quite the jumpscare some times) and some missing music but that could be just a bug so if you are okay with that give it a go its only 15 so far. All in all if they keep up with the good work and add the rest of the voices i say its shaping out to be a really great VN.

Salvus Aries is a game I have been looking forward to for a long time and could not be more happy with the current state of it. As a developer myself I know how much effort it takes to produce a game THIS large with a relatively small programming team. The team is working hard to provide an outstanding game and so far it is becoming just that. Each character including the MC / Aina is incredibly well thought out and have good consistency in their personalities. The voice actors are FANTASTIC and match well with each character, and although only one is currently fully voiced, it gives me much hope for the future. The voice direction was very well done and I'm excited to see more in the future. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys romance and very captivating plots!