Kara no Shojo

Kara no Shojo
N/A
Metacritic
92
Steam
80.025
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$34.99
Release date
22 October 2018
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
92 (345 votes)

Play as a detective in the post-war reconstruction period of Japan. Uncover the mystery behind a series of bizarre murders in an interactive and complicated human drama. The trail of clues unfolds, one-by-one...

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Kara no Shojo system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows XP and up
  • Processor: Pentium III 800MHz
  • Memory: 512 MB RAM
  • Storage: 1 GB available space
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
965810
Platforms
Windows PC
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BlendedSteakShake
BlendedSteakShake

I found this game to be unforgettable and worth about $20.

This is a great novel for fans of Ace Attorney who found that series to be a bit too cheery, but it leans more into the novel aspect than the deduction elements. You will die from making incorrect decisions, and some of those decisions will not be your fault.
The ideal playthrough is to play through the novel yourself until you hit the ending, then use a guide to unlock and see everything, because you will not be able to get through it yourself naturally. There are too many decisions and missable events that affect whether you can see the whole story, though will be able to reach a satisfying conclusion on the first playthrough. Be sure to save often so you can go back a bit if you hit a wall.
While not every character is fighting an inner demon that makes them memorable, you will end up liking each one's service to the story. No line of dialogue is out of place, and the game feels fair in the deductions it requires of you, but only when you have all of the pieces of evidence available to use; sometimes, missing an event or failing to click on something will result in you missing a key piece of evidence that forces you into a certain ending. Again, this is a novel first before it is a fair detective mystery.
There is explicit sexual content in this game, and it sometimes feels pretty forced. If that's a deal-breaker, this game may not be for you. However, if you can get over those scenes, the remainder of the game is the best kind of art: tragic yet beautiful. It's exemplified in every major part of the game, from the soundtrack (buy it, you won't regret it) to the story.

Kesy
Kesy

A fun, dramatic, and quite graphic murder mystery. Tells a compelling story with a sizable cast of lovable characters. It will not hesitate to pull the rug from you at every turn, so I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart. Tojiko best girl.

Quite the enjoyable visual novel, albeit very convoluted to reach every ending. Be sure to use a guide in case you want to get the full experience. - - - - https://forums.fuwanovel.net/topic/12352-kara-no-shoujo/

grandslam23
grandslam23

Very intriguing mystery VN, May need a guide to get all endings

strongboy87
strongboy87

Janky investigations and obnoxious nudity

SleeplessNights
SleeplessNights

it gave me an option to nut in her mouth or on her face

Tree
Tree

Making the mother of all murders here, Jack. Can't fret over every black egg.

Human Trash
Human Trash

Worst in the series, but still pretty great....almost great
Kinda unfair in terms of a lot of "dead ends" so be prepared to play this with a guide

Also bring Cartagra and Second Episode to steam! (They both are better in terms of not breaking your fucking head over constant "dead ends")

falleen
falleen

Even though there are really no "good" endings, it's a really compelling and well done VN with good pacing, gripping story line, and relaxing & nostalgic cafe and home scenes. Just what you need after having to deal with all the blood and gore at work.

falexan21
falexan21

To sum it up:

- Bought the game last week
- Binged on it in 2 days
- Said screw it and bought the sequel
- Binged on it in 3 days
- Still an emotional wreck

10/10 Would lose my sanity again

phil collins
phil collins

One of the worst, poorly written detective stories I've ever had the misfortune of wasting my time and getting all the endings for. This visual novel has barely any understanding when it comes down to what makes good characters and what has to make coherent sense, you always end up in situations where it's clear to you the reader who the killer is the moment you encounter them. "I really wonder if the killer is probably the only other male teacher we're introduced to."

It's not a story that keeps you guessing or creates an interesting set of questions for you answer, it plays itself into a world of pure anime logic and nonsense to avoid going towards the problems that surround the killers mindset. There never are those "AHA" moments when you find a piece of evidence, it's all littered around a contrived set of red herrings set to inflate your playtime if you're too too stuck up to actually read this VN without a walkthrough. To give you an idea, you can effectively hit bad ends if you accidently click things out of the wrong order, and that's during both the (free time) period and the (detective period) Accidentally click on something out of order, or not enough, you either lock yourself into a bad end or lock yourself into a specific ending.

That's excluding the characters who suffer from poor characterization. One of these is a character who's obsessed with the main cover girl, the young hostess at the coffee shop, and finally the comedy relief girl who's played up as the main characters friend. All three provide nothing to the story, provide no backdrop for the murder and the investigation, and most importantly none of them get any needed character development. In fact, if you try to to even romance 2 out of the 3 girls stated above, you will lock yourself into a bad end. Leaving their characters in a limbo beyond limbos, that's contradicting the fact that even among the writing ignores basic human nature.

These are teenage girls that are jumping on some random detectives within 2 weeks of meeting him and acting all lovey dovey.
(But it's a VN, of course it has to be this way!)
The issue with a statement like this is that it cements the problems with the story. The main drive of the story is that there are two fictional books written by two in-game characters, considering the source material they were ripped from (dante's inferno, alice in wonderland, maybe more.) You end up with something that works and drives you to question what the excerpts could mean. But this soon turns into just a scapegoat for lazy writing, since they can't really live up to the mystery they're building from content that was almost word per word ripped from literary masters.
Finally the endings.

In every ending you end up with some of the most annoying and hackneyed things to stop you from feeling like you solved the mystery. The twist is that in every ending, you end up being one of the worst detectives known to man. You basically fail to stop every single one of the murder cases, only until the very end. Limiting the bodycount by only one person. To give you an idea in one ending when you shoot a serial killer RIGHT IN THE CHEST, he runs away.
Only to have another doctor say (He has a rare condition that makes him have all of his serious internal organs on the right instead of his left.) So he survives and his crimes go unpunished, while another serial killer that you also failed to catch is dredging up more people. Even in the true ending, nothing changes. They just play emotional music even though you failed to save everyone who went to the same school, all the while the characters all play it off like it was a big success, and that you made a big "bittersweet" change.

It is one of the biggest if not the most laughable clown fiestas of a visual novel I ever bothered to read. Don't buy this, don't waste your time reading this visual novel. Instead play these other games that do everything better, and actually make everything worthwhile and interesting.
If you're looking for a game that has better writing and follows a creative set of puzzles get yourself an emulator and play Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Most of the phoenix wright series, well only if you want something less serious but still pretty interesting. Also look into deadly premonition. If you want something a little more out there but played straighter than the prior games, look into suda 51's game The Silvercase, which follows a cyberpunk future with some ghosts and the supernatural.

All in all, save your money and buy something actually good, better yet if you want some good books just read the stuff they plagiarised, and maybe even god's debris by scott adams since it handles most of the themes of this visual novel without the pretentious analogues or the murder mystery. If you want to see the horrendous hentai CG's just google them, but as a warning all of them look like an unpaid intern at mangagamer was forced to open up photoshop and draw some HP lovecraft anatomy on the girls groins.

trueangelcool
trueangelcool

Glad I read the reccomendation's and bought the VN. I had a lot of fun playing the game. VN had funny parts, adults situations, and gore/disturbing parts.

The characters, VA, story, art, music, and bg are really nice. I loved the way Inokoshira part looked like.

For me best girls are Toko and Tojiko:)

I read that the game continue's in the second part. So I hope Mangagamer brings the game over here to Steam:) I will buy and play the game as soon as the game hopefully comes over here:)

Milark
Milark

The story is quite enjoyable yet I can't say the same for the gameplay.

I was hoping to do some detective work; finding clues, making deductions, solving the mystery etc. But the game really disappointed me on that aspect.

In this game, everything is about being at the right place at the right time. If you are lucky enough (or you read some guides), you'll progress through the story. If not, you might just end up getting the same ending over and over again. And the saddest part about that is, that ending most likely will be the one which you can get pretty early in the game; without seeing the actual content and the story this game has to offer.

I don't want to keep this review long. I think all you need to know is, if what you read about the game's story sounds interesting, and that you don't mind reading a guide to walk you through the game, you'll most likely enjoy playing this one. But if you are looking for some detective work, I'll suggest you look for something else...

mKCheUNgi
mKCheUNgi

toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkkkoooooooooooooooooooo

Sirlion
Sirlion

Kara no Shoujo is an iconic eroge that has been with the scene for years and it's finally nearing its conclusion with the third chapter being completed and translated quite recently. Thus, this is the first chapter of a trilogy, and the only one currently available on Steam. Its sequel being released in 2015 by MangaGamer.

KnS is a detective visual novel with a high dose of sexual content, both avoidable and unavoidable, so if you are put off by this you've been warned. Granted most - if not all - of it is just pure fanservice and the mandatory sex scenes are not only out of place but also not very interesting. To counterbalance this, however, there are also plenty of gory and macabre scenes with dismembered corpses and liters of blood, maggots included.
The stage of this play is set during the end of the 1950s in Japan. The main protagonist, Reiji, is a freelance detective with your typical sad past that will be asked by a former colleague in the force to take on a serial killer that is perpetrating a vicious series of murders that the police is struggling with.
This isnt a kinetic novel, therefore you'll have quite a few choices to make in order to catch the killer and prevent further murders. You'll be asked multiple times to offer a culprit, a piece of evidence, examine the crime scene by means of point-and-click, and of course retrieve some vital information from a quite varied cast of characters.
You will also be able to move each day of the investigation, using a map of the local area to select your next destination. You can move to two different locations each day, so choose wisely.

There are a number of endings to KnS that span from the typical good ending with "the girl" - you can try and romance\have sex with a few - to absolutely abysmal outcomes that will leave you wondering if you should keep the lights on at night.
The system by which such destinies are picked involves the aforementioned use of dialogue choices, coupled with evidence selection and places you will visit at a specific time. I cant stress enough how KnS is unforgiving in this regard. You have various degrees of screw up for the main plot as well as the girl you're targetting, but the general gist of it all comes down to this: do not engage in sexual activities and do not stray too far from what the game is trying to convey.
Some choices are particularly irritating, and the most satisfying endings are locked beyond very circumstantial information that you are supposed to find in a guide (I challenge anyone to say otherwise). One instance of this in particular was so nasty that I dropped the game entirely the first time around and only came back to it after one year of hiatus.

As a story, Kara no Shojo is very good, it has a beginning, an interlude, an ending with open paths for its sequel, and solves most of its questions within itself without the need to add external material to it, the characters are well written for the genre and although most are your typical anime tropes, they're relatable enough. The protagonists have a pretty decent background as well, and the minor characters all have an instance or two when they feel like people and not simply convenient one liners to fill the void. Overall I'd say it was a very pleasant experience to read and trying to figure out the culprit was a nice ride, although it is very likely that nobody will be able to find it due to anime logic. Rest assured however, there's no magic involved, only pure, unadulterated detective work. The soundtrack is really great and it helps immensely with the immersion, so if you're the type that is moved more by sounds and music rather than pure text, this will be a blast for you.

As a novel, KnS is a very good read and certainly well above your average school themed harem. As a game, it has some flaws that require your patience, attention to details, and understanding. And even then you're guaranteed to lose a few times because the system is really unforgiving.
If you like thrillers\giallo with serial killers and lots of blood and gore and you're not put off by sexual content, grab this without fear.

pearchi
pearchi

I'll try to make this review as spoiler free as possible. Before I explain my review of this game I want to highlight some important things (note that the points below are just aspects of the game that might matter to different people to different extent)

1. Although this game does have hentai scenes, it is NOT a hentai game. This is still primarily a murder mystery detective game hence you should not buy this game for the h scenes only

2. This game is EXTREMELY gruesome and DEPRESSING. Even as an avid murder mystery lover this is the goriest game I've ever played, although I got used to it after a while. If you don't like depressing sad shit and bloodshed, then you might want to try other games first.

3. As stated in the game page, this is a multiple routes visual novel hence if you only like playing single playthroughs, then this game will not be worth it to you (I will elaborate on this later)

With that out of the way here's my thoughts on the game:

Pros:

1. There's a lot of characters in the game and I truly enjoy their design. There are many characters that look shady hence it makes it harder for you to find the culprit.

2. I love the story of the game, but that is only because I played it until I reach one of the endings. You will only appreciate the game if you completed it, as there are many unrevealed secrets if you dont play till the end. Nevertheless, the game is still dark and depressing hence some of you might not like it based on the theme.

3. You can make many choices and choose who you want to build relationship with in your free time. This opens up many possibilities and if you are a completionist then this game will easily net over 30 hours of playtime. Although my steam profile said that I have ~13 hours of gameplay, that is because I played the game offline most of the time. Normally you would have around 50 hours of playtime if you decide to play until the ending.

4. The steam version added a japanese voice over and I love their voice acting. It gives personality to the characters and makes it much more immersive than the base game.

5. Awesome soundtrack, even for a 2008 game. I have to say this game is amazing in all the creative aspects (character design, art, story and music), definitely worth playing for this.

Cons:

Now I wanted to list all the cons of the game but I realised that there is only ONE BIG FLAW of this game and the rest are just minor issues (e.g resolution scaling, etc)

Therefore I just want to focus on this major flaw which is that...

This game is an example of how multiple choices/routes in games can actually be WORSE than a linear storyline. Let me start by saying that to get one of the ending is a PAIN IN THE ASS. To get the best experience, I recommend that you play your first playthrough blind and consult a walkthrough until you get the true ending. This game gives you unfair choices where the outcomes of your playthrough is not determined by your detective skills, but also by luck. For example, you cant get to the ending if you don't make the correct choices of where to go on specific days which is COMPLETELY RANDOM AND UNRELATED until you get to the VERY END of the game. Moreover, the game does not even give you hints of the choices you have to make to get the ending. It is largely determined by luck and spamming reload saves. I doubt that many players have actually completed this game because of how tedious this system is, and there is no choice charts or anything. I understand since this is a really old game, but its a shame that many people would not get to enjoy this game to the fullest because of this. I for one, am desperate enough to get to the true ending that I RESTARTED THE ENTIRE GAME BECAUSE I FUCKED UP ONE CHOICE AND DID NOT HAVE A SAVE AT THAT POINT.

So is this game worth it? If you have a shit ton of time, I'd say yes.

In conclusion I would rate this game:

Content (game length): Super long, which is great
Narrative: 9.5/10
Characters: 9/10
Voice Acting: 10/10
Music: 9.5/10
Gameplay Tediousness: 11/10

Mori Dumber
Mori Dumber

As a murder mystery, it's not really a fair game. Many of the choices and deductions you make may end up having negative consequences for your intended ending, despite being correct. Many investigations also require knowing which spots to click, sometimes multiple times, else missing out on important evidence that locks you to a bad ending. Because of this, you will probably need a walkthrough to enjoy the game. However, the story is fantastic, and this is one of the few visual novels that legitimately made me feel disturbed and queasy. The illustrations and murder descriptions are twisted beyond belief, and the way everything comes together in the end felt very surprising, yet satisfying. It's a recommendable read for people that have enjoyed similar murder mysteries like Umineko, or disturbing games like Wonderful Everyday or Saya no Uta.

moonrise
moonrise

A very good mystery/suspense/horror VN. Read it if you're not offended easily,

Capnmaf
Capnmaf

Just binge read this. Pretty good serial killer detective story with some bad detective elements. And while the ending(s) are not bad at all, I wish there was...more to them. More for the reader to do leading up to it, so you could save more people leading to a possibly more "true" ending. I get that the game's got a theme of "this is what it's like to be a detective here", but IMO it'd be more satisfying being able to steer characters out of trouble once you're hunting down multiple end routes.
Despite that though I had a lot of fun with the mystery and would recommend it to those who like this genre. Just make sure you have a walkthrough unless you like playing the game several times over to find out what you were doing wrong.

Jedi-San
Jedi-San

Kara No Shojo is a Horror/Suspense/Crime VN where u play as a detective. His role is to investegate a string of murders that have been happening around the area.

There are points in the story where you get to the crime seen and have to click on certain things in order to gather evidence. Pretty cool feature. Also some dialog where you have to decide what to say/do and at first it kinda seems like it doesnt make a difference.. but trust me it does.

Overall the story and characters are this games strongest characteristic. Apart from the that there are a few flaws.
For example the diffuculty. It is a difficult game! More likely than not if you go at this game blind you will probably end up dead. I ended up dying on two blind playthroughs. In my opinion If u really want to beat this game u will need a walkthrough.

I think if you are a fan of this type of VN then give it a try when it goes on sale. Just be prepared to see some pretty graphic shit.
Use a walkthrough if u have to, most of the walktrhoughs out there are used to explore the different "H Scenes" (yep it has those) but at least you wont die and u will get to the end.

TLDR; Great story, visulas, characters.... even the music is appropriate. H Scenes if you're into that..
Pretty damn difficult without walkthrough.
Buy it on sale if you're a fan of Horror/suspense/crime VNs.

Oh and a small warning: IF you end up dying DO NOT open up your map! I ended up learning who the killer was by this mistake. And sort of spoiled it for my self.

beebotplus
beebotplus

It's basically an interactive visual novel. Got tired of skipping text. The gameplay description isn't even mentioning that reading (and ultimately skipping text) is the main thing you do in this game. Instead: "But what every (sic) you do, don't let this amazing work slip under your radar! Perhaps one girl's smile might await beneath the shell of this tragedy..." Nah, not buying it, this is a piece of scam. Refund.

AceAttVeg
AceAttVeg

Kara No Shojo was a story that showed a lot of potential but was ultimately disappointing in several ways.

Set in 1950’s Japan, being a serious murder mystery, the setting is initially compelling but not enough is done with it. Much of the story could have been set in the modern day with few changes and the story starts to fall into several VN tropes.

The characters and murder mystery are very interesting, it looks fantastic visually with a variety of locations and characters, all with great artwork. The crime scenes and twists can be shocking and compelling.

But as the story works its way to a conclusion, it starts to sputter and falls apart without a satisfying conclusion. You get some answers, but many things are still hazy, and it doesn’t feel like you actually accomplished a lot through your investigation. This was never the type of story to end with sunshine and rainbows, but I feel we needed more after the hours invested.

There are a lot of adult scenes that are quite frankly awful and have no reason for being in this particular novel. They feel incredibly inappropriate, out of character and shoehorned in, even more so than other VN’s that do this.

In order to even get that far, a guide is required. Absolutely required. There are so many required dialogue selections and locations you must travel to at specific times, that even with a ton of time and trial and error, the route to see all the endings is almost completely impossible to find.

My assumption that this VN is rated so highly because of the shock value and people are overlooking the serious flaws in the story.

mcluod
mcluod

This is a classic visual novel, so the gameplay elements are restricted to examining locations in point and click fashion and making the occassional decision how to progess further. Depending on how you chose the story unfolds in various possible ways.

Now, a warning: This is a very graphic tale. It is a murder mystery and the murders are quiet gruesome. However the story is really thrilling. I tried to advance the story on my own at first, just to ... well, not succeed. I then took the advice to use a walkthrough. And with the walkthrough at hand I saw how little I had progressed in the overall story so far. At the time of writing this I have spent 29 hours with this game, and finished the first playthrough. In order to experience all endings, you need at least 2 playthroughs - and there are more than 2 endings, a playthough with a walkthrough will use saves to explore several branches and multiple endings. And most endings are not pretty.

After "Stein's Gate" and the annoying brat who was the protagonist there I thought visual novels weren't my thing - but this one definately made me play it and play a little more ... and a little more ... just one more day of investigations, well make that two days...

SNValadez
SNValadez

I have to say: more people should be playing this.

However, it is definitely not for the faint of heart. It's graphic, heartbreaking, depressing, and requires a lot of your precious time to be invested-- if you want to reach any semi-satisfying conclusion, that is.

There are also some unfortunate drawbacks within this incredible-looking VN, and having to write it all down deeply saddens me.

Positives?
1. Fantastic artwork. Period. (It looks so good, it makes me want study every angle of the CGs-- well, most of them).
2. Good voice-acting. (And although the voices are in Japanese, English subtitles are available!).
3. A lot of intriguing characters, meaning lots and LOTS of interaction/gameplay.
4. Superb soundtrack. (One that I wish was purchasable through Steam).
5. Good initial premise. (Mystery/Suspense).
6. Interesting historical backdrop. (Post-war Japan).
7. Replayability? (More than you could ever hope).
8. The main character is hot, which surprised me-- 'cus he sounds like a gross old man, almost a little too much for comfort-- and I guess I just have mixed feelings about him, even after finishing the game and its multiple endings.
9. The writing was better than I expected.
8. AND FINALLY-- You get the length that you pay for. If you count every dollar towards this game as an hour, you will easily surpass that if you strive and ultimately struggle for the true ending. (This is particularly true-- and a bargain-- if you bought it on sale, like me).

But What About the Negatives? Well...
1. It's way too damn long. (The story contained within this VN could be told in about ten to twelve hours max, but instead they drag the fuck out of it-- and as much as I want to support this game-- there is WAY too much lull).
2. The VN itself is almost unplayable. (Clarification: I did not experience any bugs on my numerous playthroughs, but what I did experience was about six hours of eye-rolling, skipping text, still getting the same damn ending, and looking this game up only to come to the horrific realization that this VN's actual content is locked behind multiple walls and decisions of pure nonsense/stupidity. There is no natural path to take, and there is no sense of actually figuring any of this shit out on your own. The only feasible way to accomplish this is through an ungodly amount of time spent on trial and error-- and why the hell would you do that if you could just look it up, right?
That is honestly one of my biggest disappointments with this could-be masterpiece. Something as simple as not going to the train station or the park or whatever on a certain day and suddenly-- WHOOPS! LOOKS LIKE YOU FUCKED UP! It's honestly some of the biggest bullshit, and I wish it wasn't like that because this is a really great-looking, great-sounding visual novel buried underneath too much useless scene/dialogue and a needless amount of back and forth. Even when there are those moments-- times that the VN allows the reader to be more interactive-- should you fail to uncover a certain piece of evidence within the crime scene (in very specific moments), you're screwed.
And apparently you have to witness a crap-ton of endings before you can even get to the true ending but it's all so convoluted so you're just like-- NANIIII?!).
3. A lot of the sex scenes are forced, and the underaged ones made me uncomfortable.
4. I will say this again-- you cannot play this game without a guide.

And after it was all over...

There's still this feeling of not knowing what the hell is going on.

It's not a terrible VN-- the writing is very good (better than I expected).
It's the fact that it's so long and almost annoying/infuriating to reach any of the "normal" endings instead of the same bad ones over and over. Even the true ending, when you look up a guide, may appear to be rather imposing with all of the precise steps/decisions/saves needed to be made, if you want to get there at all.

It just felt a little "meh" after all the trouble you go through-- but still much better than Danganronpa, because fuck that piece of neck-bearded, weeboo trash -- and for that I recommend it. The biggest reason being that my first playthrough was honestly so shocking and impressionable, I'll never forget it. There is a good story underneath it all, I promise.

You just gotta be a little more patient and careful than usual-- and don't expect to be completely satisfied, because that just ain't gonna happen.

P.S.

The music selections in certain scenes were very haunting, and I just wish this VN had been cleaned and tidied up a bit more before being thrown out into the world. I honestly think that's why so little people have played it-- well, in addition to some of the eye-opening violence and such.

*sigh* Well, onto the next one, right?

We hungry sheep must game on.

UPDATE: They finally made the soundtrack purchasable through Steam. Took them long enough, like daaaammmnnnnn-- but I'm glad it's here now. XD

carl
carl

Very god visual novel . Recommend 100%

Abyss (Stand with Ukraine)
Abyss (Stand w…

* 30+ Playing Hours
* Necrophilia
* Gruesome Crime Scene
* Mutilation
* Female Genital Mutilation
* Macabre
* Utsuge
* Difficult
+ Choice Matters
+ Kuchiki Touko (朽木冬子)
+ Voice Acting (Japanese)
+ Great Soundtracks
+ Plenty Plot Twists
- Some plots come from Moryo no Hako (魍魎の匣) Written by Natsuhiko Kyogoku (京極夏彦)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C5%8Dry%C5%8D_no_Hako
- Pixel Hunting (a few exhibits)
- Absence of Japanese Subtitles

Harp
Harp

One of my favourite all-time titles. It's just so Innogure haha.

Chocolabeats12
Chocolabeats12

Excellent murder mystery. Hope the sequel comes to steam.

Kaluga
Kaluga

Got a boner but internally screaming.
Sad MC though, really looking forward for the sequel to be released in steam.

foREVersevenfoldense
foREVersevenfoldense

The story and characters are so well written that you'll even end up liking Rokushiki Makoto himself. The music truly succeeds in creating a mystery/horror atmosphere.
If you like visual novels and can stand the H-scenes, you should play this one.

Sharkitect
Sharkitect

My steam hours is low because i could only play this game with Locale emulator which helps you to open games with Japanese language. And because of that my hours did not register.

This game has one of the best story telling i've ever seen.
Characters are interesting and good developed.
Story is interesting, you're an ex-police officer who's now detective and you're helping police and solving cases.

All of the above are positive for this game. But... but... Sharkitect sensei! why do you not recommend this game? Because of this 2 totally nonsensical BS.

1- Hentai Scene: While i dont mind H-scenes, i didnt know this game had them. I thought this was just normal detective VN. So what's wrong with them? Well... They're there for no reason. That's the problem. Some of them doesnt make any sense, it seems like they put it there just so weebs who doesnt know where to go for hentai to jack off.

Also hentai scenes and romance routes doesnt change general dialogues. What do i mean by that? Here is example: There is a lovely friend of ours, and that lovely lady friend has a cafe. We can start romance route and see H-scene with her. But problem is our best friend is hitting on that lovely lady, and even though you just had romance with her your char. says something like "Let's make room for them so he can flirt with her." ... .... WTF?! Why?!

It just doesnt make sense.

But H-scenes are not the reason i actually have negative to this game. The reason is:

2-Ending: There is a good ending in this game. With this good ending everything is solved and everyone is happy. (Mostly everyone) But writer decided the worst possible ending which also is the most nonsensical BS i've ever seen is going to be the TRUE ending. Why do i not like that? Because it just destroys our characters whole development that happened for 40 hours. Why did writer did that? Probably just so they can sell the 2nd game. If there was no good ending i could accept such outcome but knowing there is one, there was no reason to destroy every development we've done.

For people who dont want spoilers, this is the end of my review. For people who want to see what's that nonsensical ending is here you go. Warning! This is gonna spoil whole game for you:

At the start of the game you met with a high school girl who asks you to find her real self. As a detective you accept that job. And as the story goes you two fell in love and started a relationship.

There is 2 murder case in this game, and after solving the first one(You're the one who found out who the killer is and where he's hiding) 2nd murder case at the end of the game target your lover and kidnap her. And at that point you have 2 choice. Look for your lover or look for her real self which make you go look for her parents.

Now what would you normally do as a detective? Go look for your lover of course! And if you do, you actually find her and save her and game end with she smiling at you in her hospital bed. Beautiful, such a good ending! I love it.

But that's not the true ending. In true ending you go look for her family. Before you go to search for her family, our character says "Me helping police would not do much, 1 more person doesnt amount to anything". ... We just caught murderer 2 FUCKING WEEKS AGO! and now we're just giving up on our lover because somehow our character thinks him helping does not matter?! And later we learn police actually couldnt find her so she's just lost now. So yeah.. That ending is just.. garbage.

legalize crime
legalize crime

I want Natsume to abuse me for information in her autopsy room but the only way she'll be touching me is if I send my own corpse there

La Mancha
La Mancha

ver niz!

Solid 9/10

Edit: Play Cartagra first (Don't make the same mistake as me ;-;)

*^SaoSin^*
*^SaoSin^*

I wish I had some words ready up for what I saw. Kara no Shojo it's a grand VN, story so important that if you treasure violent mysteries and adult romances, this game should be your first choice. Style of the writing comes with the mood and scenes that you can feel into. On top of that rich decision system that keeps you pro-active with story. Discovering this game is pure satisfaction.

As a whole this VN simply makes sense, creating meaning in despair and brings appreciation to life and how we are looking at it. It gives a lot for a game, so much that it shouldn't be left unnoticed. There is so much going on around. Characters that are so rooted into story that you may think about them for hours after finishing it.

Kara no Shojo is an elegant game. Despite all the different sides of this egg sheltered tale, together it is beautiful and memorable. I consider myself lucky for finding it. This should be mentioned on all literature classes among Dostoevsky. Work of art.

Grey
Grey

Best VN ever made, you can @ me on that.
Don't look at my playtime, I have more on the DRM free version.

timwaagh
timwaagh

it's pretty enjoyable. just a pretty decent story. gameplay is largely absent. It's kinda cute and so far pretty pg-13, i had expected it to be quite a bit darker.

Sins0mnia
Sins0mnia

Loved this game! Can't wait to play the sequel! If you like visual novels with horror/gore and mystery with some eroge thrown in, this is for you! It's quite difficult getting the true ending without a walkthrough, but I recommend you try at least getting a normal end before using one to avoid spoilers! Save, save, SAVE!

The art and music are beautiful. I wish all VNs were this well-crafted. Some parts of the story (bad end or not) truly break your heart if you get attached to the characters.

Rob128
Rob128

This is one of the best Visual Novel I have ever played. If you like a strong story and are not afraid of hours and hours of reading, this is the right game for you.

ImConcerned
ImConcerned

Kara no Shojo is an adult murder mystery VN, set in 1950s.
You are a private detective, who investigate serial murders with disturbing elements.
It has "free time" system, which makes it not completely linear, You can have time slots (usually 2) in a day, to select places you want to visit
The Steam version is uncensored.

+ Story
+ Character design
+ Great settings
- Unintuitive flow as you can get "Game Over" screen out of nowhere. Most likely you will need guide
- Most sex scenes actually derail the story, and feel out of place.
- Not HD, and lacks options especially compared to modern VNs

8/10

michaelius
michaelius

It's probably one of the best VN games I've ever read but it's also one of the most disturbing and depressing ones as you play detective trying to solve case of bizarre murders so feel yourself warned as you will be exploring crime scenes and looking into the depths of insanity.

naschelleresc
naschelleresc

I played quite a bit of this game long before it hit steam and while i have it as a recommendation it comes with a heavy hand as this novel is definitely not for a casual reader. Its unflinching nature in its depictions of murder and violence can be hard to stomach at times but for all its brutality the characters art and music will keep you reading.

Please release me from this hell

SayaSnacks
SayaSnacks

I bought this game because of EricVanWilderman, i binged watched all of his YouTube Videos and my interest in murder mysteries grew

Not gonna lie, there are a bunch of sex scenes in this game... and this visual novel would still be good without them

I admit exploring the main girl's story was very interesting, but the game put too much focus on her and leave out the side characters.

The Side Characters are kinda bland, as alot of VNs usually are like that

This game brings up moral dilemmas such as trying to find your true self, and there are darker themes to this game, the art and the soundtrack is really beautiful. One of the Soundtracks i learned to play on piano, thats how good some of the melodies are. It's really calming.

This game can easily take up your day, but i already know how the story goes though.

I suggest you play this game with a guide, because there are ALOT ways to get locked into a bad ending
or you might accidentally come upon a sex scene LOL

I don't believe you should buy this at full price, as you should always buy games at sale/discount.

Only play this game if you're interested in solving the mysteries of the story

L E O
L E O

Kara no shoujo is NOT for the average visual novel reader. Naturally, don't read it if you are under 18; but even if you are 18, turn back if you cannot cope well with depressing subjects, gore, graphic depictions of grotesque corpses and innocent characters being dismembered, not out of reason but out of madness.

You play as detective Reiji and the gameplay element lies in map and dialogue choices which determine the outcome of the cases as well as the endings you reach. Wise choices lead to favourable outcomes(vice versa), and character specific choices cumulatively lead to their respective endings.
Plot is fairly good in terms of pacing and design (i.e. cues, developments, twists and finale etc). 8/10
OST complements story well, however, map music is repetitive and feels out of place at times. 8/10
Art is a highlight, Sugina Miki's unique aesthetic style is one of Innocent Grey's defining traits. 9/10

(word of advice if you decide to play it, for the sake of your sanity, don't try to rationalise and justify its madness in philosophy and cruelty. Seek the light beyond the dark if you wish, but fixate yourself to neither light nor dark - for they are two sides of the same coin)

Ashkid
Ashkid

After playing the true end, I ended up vomiting after crying. It felt wonderful.

「Loser」
「Loser」

An incredible visual novel. The story was absolutely compelling and I eagerly await for the chance to play the second game. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys deep plot, suspenseful horror, and in-depth mystery.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Strong story, memorable characters, and music that conveys the mood of each scene. Great VN.

I did play this game with the aid of a walkthrough, and think it would be frustrating to play without one. The choices are not obvious and it's possible to miss clues during investigations hours earlier that lock you into a path.

Otonashi Ayana
Otonashi Ayana

UPDATE: The second part that is not on Steam is even better :))

Let me just start with saying that i LOVED Kara no Shojo. I really enjoyed the art, music, the writing. The characters were very lovable and the plot really well written. Sure, there were some minor plot holes here and there and also some parts were a bit slow, but overall I REALLY liked it. But would I recommend it? Ehhh not sure. Plz decide for yourself:

- It's pretty gory so you might get disgusted if you are a crybaby by any chance
- It's pretty gory in a sexual way so you might get aroused and then be ashamed of yourself if you are hopeless degenerate by any chance
- You can't get most of the sexual scenes in normal good endings so you might get sad
- There are lots of depictions of how miserable were Japanese women at that time so you might get angry (if you are feminist) or sad that you can't get your own cute obedient waifu/lil sister (if you are cis white man)
- The investigation parts are... pretty hard tbh so you might get sad YET AGAIN that you are terrible detective
- The true ending is about as satisfying as your first sexual encounter in high school

But emotions are healthy so don't be scared of feeling a lil bit sad and lil bit ashamed and go play it, it's pretty unique experience and you have nothing better to do in quarantine anyway.

d@rizzl@1$25OC
d@rizzl@1$25OC

Excellent and underrated visual novel.

adelq8
adelq8

its ok , some parts are fantastic some are meh but i do think the writing is ok,art is fantastic and the music is even better. it took me 38 hours just to finish every route and see every cg (especially the sex scene lmao) you wont regret investing in the game but its the whole experience is not great because the story isnt that great and some characters are underdeveloped and feel hollow. oh and the sex scenes is terrible (the art and voice is fantastic but the placement of those sex scenes is horrible in my opinion)

CocoBear
CocoBear

I read this first, then Cartagra and finally Kara no Shojo 2. Highly recommended to read them all if you get a chance (although Cartagra was an early work by Innocent Grey and it shows). Now one of my favorite visual novel series.

The melancholy atmosphere and story are incredible, and well supported by the superb art style and music.

Rad Shiba
Rad Shiba

If you like having fake agency in a murder-mystery game where you are bombarded with dozens of choices which are ultimately inconsequential and no matter what choices you make you are only able to save two people in the entire game.
The girls are good, the sex scenes add nothing to the story and often leave a bad taste in your mouth (sometimes literally).

I would still recommend this game simply for the fact it does something different and it doesn't hold back on the gore. Just don't get too attached to the characters and don't fall for the light-hearted scenes.

Spooky
Spooky

Very dark overall. This is quite clear from the get go however. There's a real slim chance that if you know about this, that you aren't aware of that much. Not a problem in my case but it gets dark to the point where it's hard to even take it seriously.

The first half (Really about 40% from what I can remember, but I'm going to say half for ease) of the game is actually decent. You go around checking out locations trying to find information about a villain. You can mess things up but if you save often you'll be fine, no guide really necessary. There are messed up things going on but not to the point of it being stupid. This doesn't apply to only the first half but the music is quite nice too.

* MINOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON*

Anyway things go straight down the drain in the second half. It was already a bit silly that you personally knew one of the victims in the first half, but it's not something you'd think about until you get to the second half, wherein you are once again faced with a murder of someone you personally know. I guess the protagonist should just keep away from everyone if they keep being murdered by virtue of him being friendly with them. The murderer must be a bit stupid too, it almost seems like they want to be caught, by murdering acquaintances of a P.I.

A very particular but disturbing type of event (can't say due to spoilers), which is rare enough to hear about in the real world affecting one person you may know, never mind 3 (possibly 4) different sets of people, if you play this, you'll know what I'm on about. It's disturbing for the sake of being disturbing but fails to be due to the frequency of it and just comes off as stupid at the finish up, it's like the people that live in the city all have a massive chance of having something I can only describe as a serious mental problem.

There are more plot contrivances I can't talk about because they'd verge into massive spoiler territory but there were a fair few turns/twists (though in fairness not all of them) you'd either figure out due to a small bit of genre savviness, or just an educated guess. This pretty much only affects the second half/part of the game however. The first half is fine and if it were somehow extended and the second half was scrapped, the story might've felt a little less stupid, especially towards the end.

This game, almost the norm when dealing with mangagamer, has a lot of unnecessary, written by what sounds like a 15 year old, h-scenes. These were unfortunately kept in the English localisation, despite adding nothing to game. You can skip them more or less, at least, and they, thankfully, do not crop up frequently. The nature of most of these secenes is very questionable to a degree. A really annoying, creepy character who you unfortunately have to deal with a fair bit more or less forces you into one at some point if I'm not mistaken. The majority, again if I remember correctly, of these scenes concerns characters who are very clearly not 18, which is beyond messed up, though I'd expect as much from mangagamer anyway. The only good aspect of that is that I don't recall being forced into any concerning these underage characters. Whatever the case there's no need for them and all they do is make you feel like a complete weirdo for going through something that has them in the first place.

Regardless, cries of censorship from what I can only imagine are loud mouthed oddballs will always overshadow the above mentioned issue, so I doubt there's much point in mentioning it in the first place. The publishers have an affinity for this kind of stuff, so I should've known better anyway. Also, the price of the game, even on sale is too high. If the whole game were like the first half, then I'd have no problem with it, but the second half is pretty much worthless.

Thanks mainly due to creepy h-scenes and a shock value "look at this blood, look at this messed up relationship between two characters!" attitude, I can't recommend this. The first half is good but I cannot recommend the game overall. If you're just looking to see if you can shock yourself, I wouldn't recommend it either since it gets to the point where the horror and violence end up becoming something I'd almost consider silly.

I don't know if the previous entry (Cartagra I think) or the next entries in this series are any good. They could be fantastic, however, this one soured my view of them enough to the point where it'll probably be a long while before I try them anyway.

Onii-Khan Mk VII
Onii-Khan Mk VII

Very fun, got brutally murdered.

ks_element
ks_element

This game gives me depression. Bring the sequel to steam please........

★MirukuStar★
★MirukuStar★

Toko very cute. This deserves more attention. UwU

Anomalee
Anomalee

Very interesting story, great music and a lovely art style (especially considering how old the game is). I would recommend looking up a walkthrough though if you want the full experience since the routes are very convoluted lol.

Bloomi
Bloomi

Crazy good story with plenty of twists. Loved every minute of it.

Billie Aurora
Billie Aurora

the story was NOT depressing enough and the game was failing to express or reflect the darkness that we want to feel. feelings were dull, childish and unexplained even though there is no apathy. i didn't feel a little bit melancholic, depressed or terrified. conversations were not deep. this game should not have been developed from the beginning as a psychological horror but just adventure or cloak-and-dagger and shit. the story was just like a brazilian soap opera. and also the music was stupid.

DjOneOne
DjOneOne

Soundtrack is great. Enjoyed my time with this VN and if you are looking for a darker story, then you've found a very promising game.

gremlin bb
gremlin bb

Warning: This game will destroy you and everything you hold dear.

Taco Bone
Taco Bone

Great hook. Unsatisfying and unnecessarily complicated conclusion.
4 normal ends, 1 true end and not a single one is satisfying. I almost wish I hadn't read it.

Collin Ramkay
Collin Ramkay

Kara no Shoujo indeed has a theme that doesn't suit everyone (But become my new favourite VN after Little Busters!, Rewrite, Miracle Snack Shop, and Swan Song). If you don't have strong mentality, It's better not to play this game as the murder graphics and descriptions can be very grotesque and depressing (I was losing my sleep upon playing this game). Although, they are choices in this game, the end result has already determined so this isn't like your usual VN where choices lead to a happy end or prevent a bad event happened to certain chara.

The reason why I recommended this game is because of the life lesson inside the story itself. Life is short and it's better if we use and cherish our time whenever we can with those we care or hold dear as we never know when they will be taken (gone) from us. Another reason is we should judge people by their conducts and not by their backgrounds or past. (This is a matter for Asian because they usually judge someone based on their background (family's background or education etc) So this game reminds us that regardless a person's past or background, it's the conduct that count. (If you play the game and shrewd enough to put the pieces all together, you will know what I mean. I'm not gonna spoil anything here). Last lesson I got from this game also that vengeance never brings a good end no matter how rightful it may feel.

Now, I'll be playing the Kara no Shoujo: The Second Episode while waiting for the last episode to hit store (on Dec 25) and have it translated into English to see the ending of this series and end this emotional ride. My advice for those who want to play this game, directly play with guide and don't repeat my mistake by playing it without guide (I directly got the worse possible bad ending as a result). Your chance to get the true ending in a single playthrough without guide is only 10% (not joking, this game is difficult. One wrong click, you can kiss goodbye your normal ending, let alone the true end).

*NT: Kudos to Sugina MIki-sensei for creating such beautiful concepts and artworks. Too bad the second and the last episode wont be on steam store.

Karou
Karou

I honestly love the story, its really fun and engaging, but I WISH there was a setting to skip the hentai scenes, I just click through them as fast as possible to get back to actual narrative in the story

OokamiJustice
OokamiJustice

Kara no Shoujo is a visual novel that deals with heavy subjects such as sexual violence, gore, mutilation, rape and grief. I will say that the character designs, interface and soundtrack are very well made. However, violence of different kinds all become a gimmick in this game. I have never seen writing so deluded as I've seen in Kara no Shoujo. It is almost always badly translated, directionless and paced enough for a horny reader to get off of a mutilated naked woman every 30 minutes. Of course, one may go so far as to defend the VN by claiming the gore and the sex to be important plot points for the mystery to develop. I think there are far better ways to hold an audience than to keep them engaged with the plot using cheap devices such as incestuous fanservicing and reminiscing about blowjobs in front of a grave - I don't think they amount to anything story-wise. If you're into that stuff, I'm not judging you. Go for it. However, Kara no Shoujo did not give me what I was looking for - a waterproof mystery with solid interactions that may affect the story at a grander scale. Though it certainly exists in the game, it is watered down with an irredeemable protagonist, girls that are just there to have sex with him if he shows any interest, and a psychopath obsessed with theology and fairy tale books.

Lone
Lone

This is my first time buying this kind of games and actually, i dint expect so much excitement for reading a visual novel about a detective case.

As the summary of steam says, the story is about a detective who has to uncover a serial killer...
Good draws, good music, and a good narrative to chill and relax.

8.8 hrs ended up in game over, apparently you can lose the game... i dint expect that from this type of games, seems like you have to replay it

Alliterative Alligator
Alliterative A…

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I purchased this game. I mean that literally, as it's been some time since then. When I finally got around to playing the game I thought I was in for a murder mystery story. It doesn't take too long before you encounter nudity in the game. Ok, that's a bit of fan service I wasn't expecting because, as I've already said, I had mostly forgotten what this game was about (including its tags).

A short while later you get full on uncensored anime vagina. It says something about the way we're trained since our youth in American society to respond differently to sexual content vs violent content. The most notable thing about the scene should be that there's a dead girl with her arm lopped off and her neck wrung. But those things are placed further from the players perspective. Front and center is hairy anime vagina.

Alright, the game is graphic. It's hard to call this fan service because you really don't want the sorts of fans that get off to nude dead girls. I continued playing and eventually came to a sex scene, complete with penetration and cumshot. I've no problem with these, but again... I was wrongly expecting a different sort of game when I started playing. So I'm left wondering how much better the story could have been if they weren't focused in trying to implement excuses for sex scenes with various ladies.

I'll finish the game, and in general I've thought the story was passably interesting. After 11 hours I still haven't finished the story but I have reached several sex scenes, one of which leads into a bad ending. Supposedly, reaching the true ending requires at least two playthroughs.

I can't recommend other people purchase the game. The tags don't really do justice to the severity of the sexual content (or the violence for that matter). Most people wouldn't continue playing through their mystery game when they realize it's actually a murder porn game. Luckily, I can. I hope this was on sale when I bought it...

28 hours and I've finished. I used a guide because I couldn't be bothered stumbling my way through the same dialogue choices over and over trying to get to the true ending.

There are many endings and I'm not sure how many of them you need to complete to get the true ending but the guide I used had me go through it all. That means reloading old saves and holding down ctrl to speed through the old dialogue... over and over and over.

There are no good endings. All your effort just results in different variations of misery.

If you played it and thought there were, you legitimately need a psychologist.

Save your money. Save your time.

If you want a mystery story look elsewhere. If you wanted visual novel porn look elsewhere. Whatever you're looking for, it's not this. And if this happens to be exactly what you're looking for the world is very really a worse place for having you.

amlab19
amlab19

Good murder-mystery vn with a likeable cast of characters.

BeBBA
BeBBA

No game has broke me emotionally like this one.

entidade maligna kawaii
entidade malig…

i liked reading this. i think at the end of the true ending you get this sense of dread, the despair the protagonist felt during his life working as a detective, finding no sense of closure.
i really liked how the plot unrolls but.....
the h-scenes were way intense more than the tags make justice for. they are very, very explicit and unnecessary. they don't add anything to the story, really. the fact that this 30-something-year detective is anything but a friend to these underage girls is problematic and the h-scenes with them are plain disgusting. i had to sit my finger on the skip button because it was just a no-no.
other than that, the novel is good. just be aware of these points i mentioned about the h-scenes and very graphic description of murders and so on.

KingHadas
KingHadas

I was hoping for a mature mystery novel. What I got instead is a juvenile hentai game with a boring mystery tacked on top. What a disappointment.

Drugoja
Drugoja

Oh Mother, where could your face be?

What a roller coaster ride! Kara no Shojo aka Girl in the Shell is so insanely gripping and exciting, a real page-turner and as such very successful as a murder mystery and psychological thriller. It's disturbing, traumatising, strange, ominous, but also beautiful and bizarrely enchanting, intriguing, rich in symbolism and brimming with archetypes. It tickled my imagination and gave me that unpredictable feeling where I couldn't quite grasp where the story would go.

You play as a private detective, Tokisaka Reiji, in post-war 50s Japan. He's called to investigate a series of bizarre murders involving dismemberments, black eggs, missing wombs, various nightmarish scenarios heavily inspired by Dante's Hell and Purgatory. The victims of these serial killings are young girls (who else?), a few of them missing from Ouba Girls Academy where our protagonist is supposed to go undercover, posing as a history teacher. The murders strongly resemble those from 6 years ago, a case that left Reiji with a mental scar and a personal loss. At the same time, seemingly unconnected, a strange girl, Kuchiki Toko, hires him to find her true self. How cryptic.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414915209

So we have a 'hard-boiled', chain-smoking, whiskey-drinking detective with personal stakes in the case, then a moon-loving, mysterious girl with bewitching beauty and a voice like ringing of a bell. Feminine but with a manner of a man, she almost ticks a femme fatale trope. Considering the time period, it's got all the makings of a dark noir and certainly has that vibe and atmosphere, but with a Japanese touch.*1

Of strange new pain I now must make my verse...

KnS is, for the most part, a classic VN with choices and 'passive' reading, but there are some interesting interactive elements. There is a map, point'n'click investigative screens, inference part and a notebook feature.*2 (more detail in the comments)

While not needed to make a VN better, I welcomed these investigative elements. Still, they only give an illusion of greater control, but you're basically led by the hand. For example, the map always opens up on its own when it's time for wandering around; while brainstorming, Reiji is the one who breaks down the situation and you just finish the thought etc.*3 However, there is one element that is essential: choices. Everything seems to be a choice in this game, whether you're aware of it or not. That's why it's very hard to get to the normal and true ends (to basically finish the story) without a guide.

KnS doesn't have traditional routes expected from eroge. Even though there are some remnants of a harem structure in the fact that you interact with women a lot, there are no girl routes. But there are lots of bad ends/game overs, a couple of normal and one true end. The good thing about these branches and endings is that almost none were redundant. They all bring more of the story to the light. It's really well done and gives you motivation to see them all just so you can collect another piece of the puzzle or get another look on things. I should also give a heads-up; there are no good endings here. The best you can hope for is bittersweet.

I take my fallen, dirty head and insert it into the egg

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2408912031

All these pieces form together a twisted, disturbing story of obsession, madness, possession, despair and trauma that spans generations. Like I said, it's very suspenseful, intense and nail-biting. Even if I know that no character is safe, it still manages to catch me off-guard and disturb me. Those are the markings of a great thriller. But this story isn't just that; actually its biggest strength lies in the wealth of symbols, subtext and archetypes. The most prevalent is the egg and its shell, which can mean many things here, often paired with Christian imagery and symbolism among other, older archetypes. Rebirth, resurrection, cycle of life, fertility... Mother... ominous black egg... Broken eggshell - birth or sin... or both? Shell as protection and oppression. Breaking out - being free... Punishment, guilt... Dante's Divine Comedy is heavily quoted as an inspiration for murders, or more like a manual. It's like there's a cycle of punishments dealt out to women for daring to break out of their shells.

You see how all this creates some strangely familiar, but unsettling images deep in your subconscious. No need for overexplaining, hints are enough; that's the power of association. The most effective in that regard were passages from an in-game fictional works The Egg of Neanis and The Shell of Sheol. Oh how I loved those parts, they tickled my imagination and haunted me with their mysterious words and Dante-inspired, surreal images, obsessive search for lost Mothers, for that warmth, smile and peace... and pieces.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2424084600

Another symbol that permeates everything is the Moon. From the in-game Moon Calendar to the moonbathing in its gentle, soft light, lunar imagery is everywhere, but mostly associated with Toko, who could almost be a Moon goddess. It represents femininity, a cycle, eternity, rebirth? Moon is an egg? *4

For all its visual beauty, this VN is not for the faint of heart. Graphic depiction of crime scenes, but especially cold, detailed description of killings, gore, dismemberment is very disturbing. It is often shown from the killer's perspective with all their detachment, madness and obsession on display. Those passages were fascinating to read, but also very uncomfortable. Victims being mostly young women, it's easy to see them objectified in more ways than one, through murder and h-scenes. But this is just another instance of unfortunate implications when putting one next to the other and one more reason why h-scenes should've been handled better or not even included.*5

You've got some dirty hands there, sensei

Yes, now I come to the biggest negative. The h-scenes (aka porn) are so random and come out of nowhere, with no regard to whether they fit with a situation let alone characters. Like, if they were removed, you'd never know they were there to begin with. That's how divorced they are from everything else. The definition of tacked on, they just feel like foreign objects. It's almost like you need a patch to get them out. Not to mention, they are badly written: very generic hentai, same lines, very repetitive, Reiji suddenly loses his personality and becomes a disembodied dick. Considering how well written the rest of the VN is, it just seems jarring and like it's not part of the original vision. Some of the h-scenes happen near bad ends, so maybe I can find some meta meaning there like: 'Serves you right when you shove that thing wherever'.*6

Silver lining in all of this is that by being so out of place, the h-scenes are easy to ignore and not be taken seriously. Chalk it up to eroge expectations that hold many great stories down. Also, they are a rather small part of an otherwise great VN, so I was able to just erase them from my mind. *7

Overall, I have to say that this VN kept me glued to the screen; you know that feeling when you're just dying to get some free time so you can dive into it. I would really like to see The Second Episode on steam someday, but who can wait for that? There is one mystery that gives me the feeling of a much larger universe looming there, so yeah I can't wait to read the sequels.

Follow Otome Sekai for more Visual Novel and JRPG Reviews and Drugoja In The Dreaming for Narrative Games

Kokosoul
Kokosoul

Very stressful and unfair game for a blind playthrough. Not because of the story but the way the this game is structured and its system. It is almost impossible to get to true ending unless you have the playthrough guide side by side and choosing the most optimum choices. Also there's too many Gotcha situation where you have to click on a certain pixel of the screen otherwise you have to start over the game to avoid bad ending (or load previous save file if you are lucky). And these gotcha events are hidden so well that it is impossible to figure out unless you are following the guide. The game almost feels unfair for people who prefers blind play. ( I am talking about the 'a note in the pocket' & 'select the correct book with pixel perfect accuracy in a bookshelf within exact same looking books' events)

Tuska daemon-killa
Tuska daemon-killa

Great game with great story till now

Dfriend1
Dfriend1

A great Visual Novel that manages to tie every plot thread into a nice little bow by the end. The writing, visuals, and OST are all awesome. The sequel to this game is unfortunately not on Steam, but it's one of the best VN's I've ever played. Also be warned that this game is not for the faint of heart, Gruesome murders and heartbreaking moments are all over this game, bring some tissues.

celios27
celios27

Wow the feels.
Its been a few weeks, and i'm still feeling it.
The music itself is worth the price of entry.
I got issues with how it ended, but overall its good.

Machiche
Machiche

Pretty great detective visual novel.
It would be great to have the sequel on steam one day

Stormy Soup
Stormy Soup

By no means the ideal version of this game but still a great game nonetheless, I really hope mangagamer eventually releases the HD remaster version cause rn, owning this feels more like a justification for priacy than anything else

Mr.Downer
Mr.Downer

can we have the sequel here on steam?

kurtisc
kurtisc

Cursed game. Bad for brain. Bad for soul.

x2n94w
x2n94w

I like the art and how it moves and the expressions change. I like the detective story. Its also aimed at adults and I like that its not watered down for gp audiences. I'm really hoping for an episode 3. I'll miss the characters when it's done and when we wont be able to visit the Kara No Shojo world anymoe.

kirkgolf
kirkgolf

good visual novel with multiple paths

code
code

Recommended. The art style is truly unique, and the overall atmosphere is very good. It has beautiful scenes, beautiful BGMs, an interesting story, and good pacing. The story flows pretty well. That is, if you can stand some pretty brutal scenes...

It is basically one detective story plus one galgame integrated into one single vn. To put it another way, it's a galgame where girls you're interested in are constantly getting brutally killed. In fact, I think this vn is kind of all about finding new ways to break the player... Although for some reason I'm not really emotionally attached to the story...

I've got a feeling that the choices made by our Mr. protagonist have way too much influence on outside events. Not sure if this is unintended or actually some subtle hints for future stories...

nefferinthia
nefferinthia

Kara no Shoujo starts off strong and interesting but loses itself in its second half. Piling on more and more terrible things makes the tragedy feel overblown and unrealistic instead of heartfelt and gripping. While the build up of the mysteries is engaging, the conclusion felt disappointing. Most of the deductive puzzles either have extremely obvious answers that were spelled out for you already in the narrative, or they are more akin to guessing than deducing.

If you can bear having to follow a guide for all the endings, I'd still say it's an interesting story worth experiencing. Probably wait for a sale though.

382
382

The ending will disappoint you.

HooMEye
HooMEye

This story was interesting, the art was good and some of the music was decent, but I'm afraid several factors left it rather unsatisfying.

First of all, I want to state that it's a deeply sad and disturbing VN, both in the text and visuals. That isn't what's causing me to give it a thumbs down, I just wanted to forewarn people who aren't wanting that.

The main character never gets ahead of the killers. He never figures things out unless somebody dies, and even then he doesn't figure much out until the end of any of the routes. The VN gives you the illusion of having a ton of choices and investigatory opportunities, and while those unlock certain encounters, it sure doesn't seem to help him do his actual job. And since the killers are targeting young girls, be prepared for a lot of dead kids no matter what you do.

When you do truly figure things out, it comes in the form of the VN taking a huge information dump right on your face. Basically saying, hey - here's all the stuff we didn't tell you in the last 95% of the story. Ain't it crazy that you wandered around for so long not achieving anything even though we made you feel like you were? Isn't this a great story that you could have been making sense of along the way? Well, we didn't tell you any of it, so here's the whole convoluted thing all at once at the end! :D

And no single route actually comes to a satisfying conclusion. No matter what you do, a killer is going to get away, which is pretty stupid considering you have the same information regardless of where you go at the end. You should be able to go to one location and tell the cops to go to the other - you're with them when you decide where you want to go! WTF?

And what's with this 30 year old guy screwing kids? There are plenty of H scenes with a variety of adults (and even more opportunities where they could have put additional scenes), so I don't understand why they include that. Is it to make you feel even more terrible when they all die?

So yeah, interesting concept with poor execution. If they had just made it a simple VN without all the different paths and combined it all together into one cohesive narrative, this could have been good.

Unit27
Unit27

This visual novel is an incredible ride into sadness. The setting is so immersive and gives you such a great understanding of WW2 Japan, and the characters are so well written that you can't help but care about them and their relationships, and feel for them when things inevitably go wrong.

That said, it's does come with some big trigger warnings. The murder part of murder/mystery doesn't pull any punches, being very violent in their description and imagery, and the nature of the crimes is very sexually charged.

Also, there is an instance where, during an investigation involving pixel hunting, clicking clues in the wrong order (which the game doesn't tell you about) can cause you to miss a vital and non obvious clue that locks you into a bad ending. Use as many save slots as you need and save before every investigation and every choice.

Bostongurkan
Bostongurkan

Made it 15 min in before they made an unecessary sexualisation of a character smh. Shows that this is neckbeard bait in the long run. Looking forward to my money back.

A Mountain Dew Can
A Mountain Dew Can

"Kara no Shojo is a transgender allegory"
"Elaborate on that"
"No"

9/10

Medusa
Medusa

If you dont like/got tired of anime bullshit in japanese games, than Kara no Shoujo is definitely for you.

10/10

Best visual novel out there. Period.

Vildiil
Vildiil

It was pretty good although I felt a bit disappointed with the True Ending, didn't feel like it was fully worth my time after doing normal end 3... but I guess this is a three part series. Hopefully the third episode gets translated, although I'm not holding my breath since apparently the second episode did not sell well in the west.

Gyepi
Gyepi

Amidst a gruesome path offering despair and death, a sudden light is brought in – a request taking shape of a plea to reacquire own sense of belonging.

TW: violence, gore

A pleasant encounter, brought in by unpleasant times:

You play as Tokisaka Reiji, a private detective who retired from his job as detective within police force after an atrocious accident involving someone dear to him.

However, no time to rest will be offered to our workaholic protagonist, as his old friend and colleague Uozumi shows up when necessitating to have you in charge of one of the gruesome murder cases he was trying to deal with.

You find yourself in no position to refuse such a request, as bitter memories from six years ago resurface…

Crime analysis and speculations:

Analyzing the methods used for harming (and eventually disposing of) the person, the injured area, the location place of the found corpse, you end up pondering about which are the main clues leading you towards the culprit.

Carefully paying attention to each tiniest detail may be the key to track down the suspect, or at least his intentions and murder patterns to take in count.

During in-depth analysis scenes where Reiji starts brainstorming on the notes and clues at hand, you will have to choose what is more appropriate to use for example as crime proof, clue or eventual suspect name. This will let you determine Reiji’s version coming to cases during the playthrough.

Crime scene investigations and more about detective endeavours:

Along the way, you will have your notebook to assist you, as it will be serving to note down suspects and details coming to cases to take care of. There is also a map, you will use it to move properly around the area to proceed with investigations.

The game does offer point & click elements during murder case investigations. You must click around the presented scene to get useful information and decide how to proceed in order to solve the assigned case.

More demands incoming:

The situation keeps escalating and more young girls have disappeared. You get hired by vice-principal Saeki from from Ouba Girls Academy (the one your sister does attend to) requesting of you to work on this case while disguising as a part-time history teacher – this way you will be able to perform a thorough investigation within Academy’s walls and avoid to tract any unnecessary attention.

Along your way you will get to know many young faces, some of them deprived of any laid-out personal traits, others will result outstanding with own features and behaviour patterns; sorta outweighing the heaviness of the indistinguishable students’ aura.

Some of them may be no more if you do not act as quick as the situation demands. Sometimes doing your best won’t bear the fruits you’d expect out of your hard work… The dread intensifies making you ponder: “How would you feel if you were to relive the exact horror from the past that keeps haunting you at each step you take?”

The outset:

Reiji is now in charge of Ouba Girls Academy disappearances, the murder cases to solve cooperating with Uozumi and a particular demand to take care of – a young girl’s request to find her true self.

Personal thoughts:

Did find personally intriguing the sudden switch of perspective during the narration taking us straight to a different location, yet happening at the same time to from another character’s point of view.

It is also quite fascinating how the storytelling switches from character’s silent introspection to a sudden call back to reality once the acquaintance speaks up. For example during the first scene portraying the two Toukos interacting accompanied solely by the moonlight.

The moment at hand feels poetic and delicate, although naturally casual due to the spontaneous approach used.

The fact this game combines detective work involving merciless homicides together with everyday moments, as well as dramatic parts blended with artistic elements and philosophical moments is what made me truly love Kara no Shoujo.

The plot is very intricate – once you think a case has been solved and you may have come to an end of the endless nightmare, the dice rolls again offering more and more mysteries to discover along which you will also note down useful information regarding the surroundings and characters’ background story.

Most of it has a delicate approach and the story merges so many elements happening at once, still in the end everything will click properly together. So many details and dedication are put into this story it is so far my favourite Visual Novel ever.

Allusive scenes and 18+ content:

Kara no Shoujo is not a censored game in any way. It will present partial nudity, gruesome scenes, allusive content as well as uncensored 18+ CGs.

While sex scenes are presented, it is possible to skip them by pressing CTRL command.
The 18+ content won’t be limited to sexual interactions only, it will be applied to murder scenes as well – beware of gory elements.

You may have to make choices in order to get closer to certain characters and achieve the 18+ scenes to get different endings, however the outcome won’t turn out to be an ending regarding the character in question, still the choices are important.

Featurings:

Kara no Shoujo is a medium-length Visual Novel developed by Innocent Grey with a story set in 50s post-war Tokyo.

While you will have significant choices to take, this is not where the gameplay ends; in fact we will have point & click interactions to take during murder scene inspections, a subsequent scene where the player will have to pick needed clues to proceed with the investigation and even a map where the player will choose upon which locations to visit.

You need to make a huge amount of choices in a certain order (including locations to visit) therefore it is strongly recommended the usage of a guide in order to complete the game thoroughly.

You will have to pick where to go even during your free time, in case Reiji is willing to take a break from everything before heading back home.
At the given place you might meet someone, and, perhaps interact with them – which will influence the story path you’ll be taking.

The game combines very dark storytelling together with daily life moments such as a peaceful waking up after getting some rest – the altogether does create a very slow-pacing atmosphere at first glance, yet enticing and full of events at the same time.

Blending this together with the anxiety inducing narrative parts from murderer’s point of view, we will be switching again to a new setting suddenly portraying pure uneasiness to the player.

Please be careful coming to your decision before picking this game as it displays gory details described in depth, as well as violence (including r*pe) making a strong psychological impact to the public not used to read about similar topics.

The game is accompanied by quality voice acting and delicate art realized by Miki Sugina.

The offered in-game map does present very detailed places (it will be a pleasure to visit them to the point of attachment), the altogether of well-thought concept and descriptions coming to each detail be it narration itself or description of places constructs a noticeably immersive display overall.

Overall:

Recommended to public enjoying intricate plot and murder mystery stories. The game does offer many different elements combined together – the experience is unique.

To find out and discover interesting VNs, indie games and more navigate through my Curator Page!
                     🍑 Peachy Reviews 🍑
EvilEye
EvilEye

Interesting murder mystery in post war Japan.

Graciaus
Graciaus

Would highly recommend you play the FULL VOICE HD SIZE EDITION and use an upscaler instead of the base version that is offered here. Download the patch, rename the .exe and drag and drop.

https://imgsli.com/MTA0ODAz/0/2 - All three version comparison
https://imgsli.com/MTA0ODA3 - Prologue
https://imgsli.com/MTA0ODA1 - CG

HD version includes higher quality art, 16:9 aspect ratio, voice acting for the protagonist, new portraits, jump to choice option, unlimited investigations clicks, ending list, some extra scenes, new HUD, and a prologue. There is no reason to play the original. The art was redrawn not cropped if that's what you are worried about.

With that said this game is extremely hard to play blind. I would suggest you play blind but when you hit a bad ending just use a guide. There are a ton of choices and ways to spend your free time. It is very tedious trying to figure out what went wrong when you don't even know why you failed. Getting a route requires picking the character in free time but there is no indication of where anyone is so it's all guess work. It's also incredibly easy to lock yourself into a bad ending with how some investigations work (evidence disappears if not done in the correct order).

The art is fantastic and the voice acting is as well. The story is good but I found it pretty depressing. Near full clear 19 hours. New prologue is about an hour.

Upscaler: Magpie - https://github.com/Z-Dante/Magpie/releases/tag/v0.8.0

https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/qgf20m/upscaling_vns_in_…

Ramslash
Ramslash

Very good game, love me a murder mystery game

Update 20 Jun 22,
Went a played the second one elsewhere since it is not on steam.
Also really good, stuff is infact all sorts of messed up but it is also a very good story.

Sir Cringealot
Sir Cringealot

Overrated piece of boring mediocrity.