PEGBRJE: Aldol and Little Bug
We got us some FEELINGS to explore.
Aldol is an idol-centric visual novel created by ebi-hime, visual novelist by trade who has had other titles featured in the bundle such as ‘This World Unknown’. In this feature, players follow the life of Hana, idol fan extraordinaire as she lives within a (somewhat) futuristic timeline in which the world is dying and idols are now androids instead of just virtual. Things get a bit strange, however, when an internet user claiming to be her favourite idol starts messaging her — something about needing to find a programmer?
As it is with traditional visual novels, Aldol follows the path of conveying a story with multiple characters focusing on a relative theme to tell its story. In this case, Hana must make specific decisions throughout her interactions with those she runs into at various times and live with the consequences of her choices. The narrative branches like many others, with bad endings littering throughout the story if players decide to straight up ignore the plot (which they can do) or not become too flakey when attempting consistent interactions with the specific named characters. With a theme surrounding idols and idol culture, most of the decisions and character interactions are with the idol community such as the employees of the Lyriq Idol company.
The driving force behind Hana’s engagement of the plot (as she’s essentially a shut in) is the fact that her favourite idol Aiko is the one interacting with her for fear of being decommissioned. It’s somewhat cliche, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing to enjoy someone going out of their way for their idol. The theme, however, is not going to be enjoyed by many, me included. While the dynamic between Aiko and Hana is quite nice and doesn’t dwell too much on the idol/fan basis, with more of a focus on making friends and relationships while showing off many other parts of ‘geek culture’, it’s the idol worship that freaks me out. This idea of worshipping the ground an idol walks on is just super uncomfortable to me which makes it a tad hard to relate with the struggle Hana goes through knowing where it started from.
Normally this would be it, but Aldol’s ability to focus on other characters outside of the MC is my favourite part about it. There are sequences following characters that the player can’t control such as the plight of the Lyriq PR workers and their interwoven relationships and complications, or the idols trying to make it into the scene that know that getting in is tough, but competing against fan favourite Aiko is impossible. There’s commentary about the career paths they’ve all taken — as almost everyone in this game is an actual adult for a twist — and the tribulations that come with going into the entertainment business. The actual relationships that Hana forges as well are also a nice change of pace, with a more grounded approach to understanding others and helping them while becoming friends and creating relationships based on experiences. Sure, some of the endings may be inferred that the friendship may become more serious later down the line, but it doesn’t just happen because ‘You Saved My Life, Marry Me’ syndrome.
Aldol is an intriguing story to tell, surrounding itself in the softest aesthetic of geek and idol culture while telling a family friendly tale of creating relationships and helping others. It even covers what it means to be human as well! There’s a lot to love — just because I have an aversion to a specific aspect doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the time I had within. If you are looking for another visual novel with some sprinkles of representation and appreciation, then this is definitely one to try.
Little Bug is a surreal atmospheric adventure made by Buddy System, a small indie studio comprised of a core duo with others brought onto the team for this title. For this, players follow the story of Nyah, a school girl simply on her way home when she comes across a sad scene of a dead cat in the middle of the road. Suddenly, she’s sent into a world of spirits, neon and a little glowing light to call her friend where her only goal is to find her way out and back home.
In the terrifying world that has surrounded her, Nyah is not well equipped to traverse the terrain — thankfully, she has received help in the form of a small ball of light. This ball, controlled by the right joystick, has the ability to tether to Nyah to allow her to fly with the power of momentum. This gameplay makes up the majority of the platforming that is needed to explore the world and avoid the dangers of neon hands and terrifying dark humanoids. Nyah has no ability to jump, possibly because she’s so young, so it is up to the player to guide her over all of the platforms and allow her to soar through the skies. Unfortunately for Nyah, the environment really wishes for her not to return to her realm as the grasping hands begin to get clever. Finger guns become literal, as entering their space allows them to begin firing their own fingers at Nyah as she tries desperately to make that last jump. They also can activate the blue platforms (which disintegrate) making puzzles much more timing focused as the difficulty increases. I will say that when the little ball of light was introduced and then controllable, I expected the mouse to be able to control it for some more precision, but it is not the case. So I will echo the game itself; play with a gamepad, trust me. Keyboard is hard mode.
Thanks to the protagonist being an actual child, the entire theme and narrative is through the lens of Nyah’s childlike wonder and mystery. How much is real or an embellishment is hard to discern thanks to her unreliability, but in all honesty that’s really not important; to Nyah, it’s all real. She sees, plays and can offer the items she finds to this cat Roadkill, all while associating each item found with a story of her earlier years. She knows not why her mother is upset, only that everything was better before that younger sibling came around and ruined everything. Only that for a brief moment, her friends allowed her to fly and are now the only companions she has to get home. It’s almost tragic really, for many who know how challenging raising a child can be to understand their train of thought are now having to view from the opposite side of the argument — see the mother disregarding her child’s fantasies as merely that while she lives them out.
Tying this beautiful narrative together along with the art is the killer soundtrack, which helped to smooth out many of the times I’ve raged over dying since I flew Nyah too far or the light source ran out. Little Bug may be a name given out of frustration, and may induce much of it thanks to the platforming, but I truly believe it to be a story of love and wonder. The unique way of platforming does add some flavour to the familiar, and the numerous items help branch the story and experience out to multiple playthroughs. Nyah just wanted to see her friends, and to be surrounded in a place without familiarity is terrifying to her — so if this sounds like a title worth exploring, go and help Nyah get back home.
