Noctuary is a game of light, shadow, and a dash of hack-n-slash.
Noctuary is an independent game made in China that came out quietly on PC and quickly gained a small but dedicated fan base thanks to its unique mix of visual novel storytelling and light action RPG gameplay. It stood out from other games in the same genre because it had Cantonese voice acting, which isn’t common even in Chinese games, and it tried out different ways to use interactive elements in story-heavy games to keep players interested.
Now that it’s out on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, it gets more attention with a physical release (though only in Asia for now) and full English support built in. Noctuary isn’t developed by a big company, but it feels like it was made by people who love the different types of games they’re put together. This could be your next favorite import if you like visual novels and want something a little more interactive.
Noctuary takes place in a fantasy world that is about to fall apart. The strange and dangerous “dark readers” are a threat to this realm. They are determined to cover the world in darkness forever. The Illuminators, who are beings of light and culture, and the Arboranger, a special unit whose job is to fight darkness, are up against them.
Two young women, Fancia and Alina, are training to become full-fledged Arbo Rangers. We follow them. When they sneak out to do a real mission, the start of their trip. What starts out as a teenage rebellion quickly turns into a global journey full of emotion, danger, and discovery. Soon, they meet a girl who can’t remember her past. Her strange past may hold the key to saving (or destroying) the world.
The stories are deep and have many levels. Early on, a surprise is hinted at, but the story takes turns you won’t see coming. You think the game is over, but you’re only about a third of the way through, which lets you see a much bigger story. A strong emotional undertone helps keep the pace interesting, even during long visual novel sections.
The game does have a strong Yuri-bait vibe, but it’s done honestly and not in an abusive way. The cast is all women, and the relationships between characters are very mild. In the first place, this is a visual story. Main things you’ll do are read conversations, watch cutscenes, and follow character arcs. The game is based on missions, and each task is either a cutscene or a battle in an arena.
The fact that it can be used in different ways is very smart. Not interested in reading? You can read short descriptions and skip scenes. Don’t like fights? You can either skip fights or give yourself disadvantages like higher stats. You can play Noctuary as a full visual novel, an action game with replays of cutscenes, or a mix of the two.
The story mostly moves in a straight line, but there are side tasks that change the different endings. During the whole game, you only have a few dialogue options, but what you do, especially the side missions you finish, is very important.
Fights happen in small, isometric areas or rooms that are divided into sections. There are two characters you can control: Fancia, who attacks with magic from a distance, or Alina, who strikes with swords and spears. They each have three styles that you can switch between to change how they attack and what skills they have.
You do simple combos and fill up your gauge for special moves. Fancia, for instance, can fire lasers or flamethrowers at long range, and Alina can launch attacks from the sky that make her temporarily unbeatable. The game pushes you to change characters and styles during battle based on what’s going on.
You can’t just press buttons to fight. There are a lot of enemy and boss strikes that look like bullet hell and fill the screen with projectiles. For each type of enemy, you’ll need to read patterns, dodge well, and change your approach.
For a mix of a visual book and a game, the fighting works better than you’d think. It’s quick, flashy, and hard, at least in the beginning when you’re still getting used to the times and patterns. After a while, when you’ve mastered dodging and found your best way to fight, things can get boring, especially since the arenas aren’t very complicated.
Regardless, it works well as a break from long reading sessions. The real-time fighting changes the pace, and the bullet hell parts keep you on your toes. Just don’t expect a deep character-action-level system here—it’s just a simple but well-made way to break up the story.
You can move forward in combat in two ways: story tasks give you upgrade points, and side missions give you blessings. With upgrade points, you can get stat boosts for things like HP, moving speed, skill recharge, and more.
Blessings work like silent buffs and can have a huge impact on battle. There is a limit to how many you can wear, but that limit goes up as you finish more side quests. Some blessings are as easy as raising your stats, while others can bring healing items to the battlefield.
You have to use this method to get the good or true endings of the game. The true ending can be reached by completing all of Alina’s side tasks and gathering all 34 blessings. That means you’ll get something for taking the time to read everything, not just skimming.
High-end 3D models and flashy effects don’t make Noctuary stand out, but the direction and presentation do. The fight graphics are isometric and work fine, but the visual novel scenes are what really make the game fun. These have animated, layered backgrounds and pans that make Noctuary look lively and almost 3D.
It’s easy to see that the artist had a cinematic vision in mind when they framed and set each scene. The backgrounds are also very pretty. It doesn’t feel dull or stuck at any time—quite the opposite.
Noctuary runs easily at 30 frames per second on Switch 2, even in busy scenes. Switch 1, on the other hand, has trouble holding 30 and often falls into the 20s. The best option is Switch 2, which has much faster load times and frame rates.
The music adds to the mood and fits the scene, but it’s not particularly memorable. The voice acting is what really makes the sound stand out. There is no English dub, but there are Japanese and many Chinese language tracks, including a rare and lovely Cantonese choice. Strong acting helps make scenes that are sad come to life.
It’s a surprise that Noctuary is a mix of two different types of games: an emotional visual novel and a stylish action RPG. Some people might not like it—people who want pure action or tough RPG systems won’t find them here. This is a great game for people who like visual novels, especially those who want something more involved.
It moves along at a good pace, has a touching story, and has enough depth in its fighting and upgrade systems to keep you interested. The story of Noctuary is well-balanced, whether you’re reading long, dramatic scenes or avoiding bullet hell attacks in battle.
Just don’t play it on a Switch from the first generation unless you don’t care about how it runs. If you’re a collector, the hardcover version can only be imported for now, but it’s easy to read in English and doesn’t cost much.
