Game Review: Edge of Reality

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Edge of Reality is a visual novel that is currently available on Steam, but coming soon to all major consoles. It's a rather small game, from an equally small development team, but has a few features that make it rather unique. It also has a story and setting that go against the typical anime-related tropes one usually sees in the genre. Seeing as this review is probably going to take longer to write than the game took to beat (more on that later), let's just skip the long intro and get right into it!

This little thing causes so much trouble...

Unfortunately, nothing is ever free.

Edge of Reality opens with Dan entering his own personal hell: his pawn shop. He lives a tough existence, and the monotony of his life is broken when a mysterious woman shows up with an equally mysterious spider brooch to pawn. Well, "pawn" isn't the right word as she doesn't want any money for it, she just wants to give it away. After taking it, Dan is visited by yet another mysterious figure, this time it's a man who is seeking to buy the brooch. After the main acquires it (He'll get it one way or another!), the woman returns to retrieve the brooch she left the day before. It turns out her name is Rose, and her desperation convinces Dan to join her in an attempt to recover it. What makes her so desperate you ask? Well, she won't reveal it all at once, but she swears up and down that getting it back is of the utmost importance, and that horrible things will happen if it remains in possession of that man. Rather than go on the hunt blind, the pair outline various locations where they might learn more about the man, or maybe even find him outright. You probably won't be able to guess the twists the story takes from there, but they'll be ones that definitely live up to the title of the game.

The BBEG is also a Karen... GREAT!

Hmm, romance maybe?

Gameplay in Edge of Reality boils down to reading text and making a few decisions that steer the course of the game, basically the same as any other visual novel. There isn't a lot to say gameplay mechanics-wise, except for maybe mentioning that there seem to be an awful lot of decision paths for a game as short as this one. What does makes Edge of Reality stand out a bit is that you can tackle the game's areas in any order, even skipping some if you think they're unnecessary. There are several endings you can get, and some of them can be achieved rather quickly if you stumble upon the correct locations and dialogue options early on. You can even find "hidden" areas of a sort by going to certain areas first. I don't want to make it seem like this is the most robust system out there though; it basically only acts as way to inject more variables that all eventually lead to the game's end. With that in mind, I must admit that I found its inclusion rather refreshing as you don't often see innovation in a game of this scope. It also works well for the story too, as you can learn as much or as little as you'd like regarding what's going on. Who the mysterious man? What exactly is Rose hiding? How does the brooch factor into all of this? All that can be found out if you play through the game in a certain way, or you can ignore it all if you so desire. It may not be ground-breaking, but all this made for a really great game.

Since I can't really talk too much more about the story without dipping into spoilers, I think I'm going to cover all the things I didn't really like in the game here. First off was the fact that there seemed to be no way to quickly to the menus without using the d-pad to navigate to the buttons under the text box. This is a small complaint, but it made for wonky saving and loading. You also can't access any menu at all when you're in the map screen, and it also seems to be the only part of the game that lags. Seeing as the map screen represents this game's sole gimmick (it's non-linear progression), it's a shame that it feels rather unintuitive most of the time. You'll be spending a lot of time in the map screen too as most of the endings depend on where you go, and in what order. There's practically nothing in-game that helps you keep track of what choices you've already picked, and thanks to the non-linear bits there's quite a few tiny variants you can accidentally stumble into. I guess this can't be considered a fault of the game itself, but good luck to anyone else trying to get all the endings on your own. I also think the game needs a better "True" ending, but that's definitely the most subjective thing of all. While these are all rather small points on their own, it does bring down the game quite a bit in my eyes.

The map screen.

Seriously, what is the time period?

Most visual novels usually come with at least some semblance of the anime aesthetic, and you can probably tell from the screenshots that accompany this review that this isn't the case with Edge of Reality. I actually have a lot of mixed feelings on the art style, as I think the main characters look fine, but the side characters and background art are rather bland. The backgrounds simply exist, and the side characters feel like they could belong to just about any game. Also, it's hard to tell what time we're in too, as the entire police station area of the game feels far more modern than anything else. This lack of cohesion in the art style is also evident in the scrolls you read in the museum, as they have an almost cartoon-y look to them that comes out of nowhere. These may seem like rather small things to point out, but the museum and police station make up a big chunk of a rather small game, so it's worth pointing out. Speaking of the game being rather small, there isn't a whole lot to see here in general. I actually had a hard time picking out screenshots as they all looked rather similar since there are very few locations, characters, and scenes. What is here is great, but the lack of variety, and those issues I mentioned earlier, make it hard to shake the thought that the game fell quite a bit short of perfection.

Besides the story, I think the best aspect of the game is its music. First off I have to admit that there aren't a lot to listen to here, as once again there isn't much game to put more than a handful of tracks in anyway. What they did include is all amazing though. I'll admit that I winced when I saw that one of the game's "features" was that it had "music written specifically for this game", as that felt like an extremely low bar to set. Then I heard the music and realized that it was indeed a point worth bragging about. The game's main themes are jazzy in the best way possible, and there's a couple spooky tracks that really set the mood. The music really makes up for the fact that Edge of Reality doesn't feature any sort of voice acting, and only minimal sound effects. What could've easily been a very empty experience is lifted to another level thanks to the music. There were several scenes that I felt were pulled off well thanks to the overall sound design, and I can't help but think that the game wouldn't be nearly as great if it had any other music. I'm probably over-selling it a bit, but I honestly was impressed by what I heard.

You'll eventually learn more about Rose.

Probably my least favorite character.

There's really no sugarcoating it, Edge of Reality is a very short game. I had a lot of trouble unlocking one of the endings, and was forced to replay the game several more times than I needed to, and I still achieved 100% completion in about two hours. That time can be dependent on reading speed, and if you're for or against using the skip option on subsequent playthroughs. This brings the game's longevity into question. Whether you want to unlock the full gallery like me, or you're happy just getting whatever conclusion you get on your first run, you probably won't have a lot of reason to revisit the game. While that's going to be true for most players, Edge of Reality's saving grace is that its price tag is a very reasonable $4.99, and is even on sale at the time of this writing. You can even get it cheaper if you choose to get the Steam version. I've said it in a ton of reviews of shorter games that cost under five dollars, but I like to equate these experiences to renting a movie from a video store. It's a quick one-time experience, and it should be judged differently than something that cost ten times as much. If you look at it in that light, and I really think you should, its short runtime suddenly feels a lot more reasonable.

An example of some of the better art.

Only the best of advice!

Even though Edge of Reality left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied, I think that there is enough here to warrant spending the five dollars if you're a fan of visual novels, especially if you're looking for something beyond the anime-themed ones. It's short, but it's short in a way that leaves you wanting for more, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I will admit that it probably isn't a game for the casual gamer though. If you're not a fan of the genre, this isn't going to change your mind. I for one hope that the developers revisit this world with some sort of follow-up or sequel. I know that I'll definitely check it out if that ever ends up happening!

Check Out Edge of Reality on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/edge-of-reality-switch/

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Story: B-
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: A
Value: A

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ Edge of Reality's story may be short, but it's also succinct and leaves players wanting more (in a good way).
+ Amazing music sets the mood and adds to the overall atmosphere.
+ The non-linear progression offers enough variety to keep things interesting.
+ There are a lot of game variants, and endings, for a rather short game.
+ Available for a very reasonable price no matter which platform you choose to pick it up on.

+/- There's a Doctor Who game with the same title that absolutely dominates this one in online searches.

Cons:
- While the game is fun, it's extremely short. It can be completed fully in a couple hours.
- There's a lack of uniformity in the game's art style, and I'm still confused as to when the game is supposed to take place.
- The game's script features several odd grammar and translation choices that hinder its readability.
- While the music is amazing, there is no voice acting and very little in the way of sound effects.
- There's a clunkiness to the controls that could've been fixed simply by having the +/start button open up the menus.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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Is this the end? I sure hope not!

#EdgeOfReality