Heralds of the Avirentes - Ch. 1: Wings of Change is a fantasy choice-driven visual novel blended with rpg elements, set in the mystical world of Nanraas.

The Story
Set in a Crystal punk setting in a parallel universe to our human world called Nanraas. In this world is a race known as Om'veri (a sentient race of dragon-like beings). After decades of darkness and war, peace has finally come to Nanraas and the Om'veri are once again have been rebuilding & re-discovering their race.

You play as the main character Azaries Amnera and the story is told through her memories starting from her childhood. How your character shapes out to be is determined by your choices but by nature Azaries is curious, kind, inquisitive and has an adventurous nature.

This game has some spicy humour…oh my. I mean it does not show anything. I asked my best friend Ahros to help me with a task and well the conversation was amusing to say the least.

Gameplay & Features
In the beginning you will play the prologue that sets up the story and introduces you to the main character. After completion you will move on to Chapter 1 and begin your adventure by selecting your class. Select the class to learn about that class's attributes and features. Once you've read all three descriptions you can choose your destiny. From there you'll choose your difficulty level (narration or classic. Dangerous world is grayed out to you in the beginning).

* You can skip the prologue but I suggest playing it as some options will be unavailable to you in the main game if you skip it.

This game is a blend of visual novel, rpg elements and a choice-based reputation system. Choices you make will affect you physically and mentally, as well as impact the relationships with others you meet along the way. You also can unlock new abilities and or handicaps through the choices you make, whether dark or light in nature. I played through two of the three routes in my playtime with the game (first being kind and good and the second being evil) and was pleasantly surprised at how some stories that were previously open to me were closed off but new story parts opened up with my new route.

This is a novel that includes a turn-based battle system. You select attacks or skills according to the enemies defense type and weather can affect or be used as a strength in your attacks. Dialog during the battle can give you valuable tips on how to defeat the enemy and turn the tides in your favour. At the end of a battle you receive XP that goes towards levelling up your character in areas such as Kindness, Charm, Charisma, Confidence and Cruelty.
There is also an economy of sorts in the game. You can earn currency to buy items and upgrades and even gifts for your friends.

Features include;

• Nice clean hud with very easy to read text.
• Highlighted words in blue that you can click to get further information (pop up glossary)
• Ability to hide the hud for taking screen captures.
• The ability to save the game at moments of choice (lots of save slots)
• To pause the game & quickly load the settings menu hit the right mouse button. Then hit it again to return to the game
• Romance options!
  

The Visuals & Audio
The soundtrack for this game is so well done. It is reminiscent of old school fantasy rpgs. Fantastical, magical, and whimsical.

The voice overs are in Ukrainian only (and you are able to disable the voice if you wish), but I kept it on. I found the main character's voice to be adorable. If you do keep on the vocal track you can adjust the levels under audio settings along with the background music and ambient noise settings.

Visually the art is a blend of beautiful handmade and digitally painted art. It is magical, cute and gorgeous. Atmospheric effects are animated into the frames (magical particles, dust, special effects).
Some of my favourite art in the game (Art done by TellerySpyro_GTX). It was so hard to choose just a few to share as the whole game is beautiful. 

The Combat…My Experiences
During combat in this game, there is a correct sequence of attacks you need to use to fight some of the tough enemies and this is a bit of a guessing game.

Classic mode - I chose to play the game in Classic mode to start, which is what the developers suggested (a more balanced game experience). Admittedly I struggled with the battle system greatly in this mode. I decided to go back to the start and replay the game on Narration mode (which is more story focused and not as battle intense). So for about the first 7 hours of my game time is Classic mode.

Narration mode - Battle is so much better in Narration mode! It is still a challenge but not frustrating like Classic mode. I also selected capabilities that would enhance me in battle the second time though. I personally recommend players to start in this mode. It has a challenge but feels much more balanced.

Overall Experience
It was a real pleasure for me to enter into the world of Nanraas that this team has created. The story is very in-depth, the world is full of choices to be made that will shape your adventure, friends to meet, romances to pursue and enemies to fight.

I have had no crashes or glitches. I am enjoying the array of characters and storylines. There is some spicy humour which I enjoy and some lighter humour as well. A lot of great stuff to enjoy with much more to come in the future. 🐉

Otome Lovers wishes to thank TellerySpyro_GTX for providing a free review copy for this game. 

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