What’s the most rational course of action upon catching your girlfriend cheating on you? Well, I don’t actually have an answer to that question myself as there could be hundreds if not thousands of variables to take into account. But as far as Crystal Winter‘s protagonist, Naoki, is concerned, the solution is to run away… and into the arms of a cute young guitarist. What could possibly go wrong, on this Christmas night?
A lot, most likely, because as the creator of Crystal Winter puts it, “running away from the problem is not the solution”. Not like Naoki – or the player, rather – have much of a say in how things turn out though, as this is a kinetic visual novel. No branching paths or anything of the sort. That said, Miyuki (his girlfriend) and Yume (the guitarist) are, for all intents and purposes, pretty much night and day. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing remains to be seen. Given Naoki’s state of mind following recent events, however, Yume’s general cheerfulness is, unsurprisingly, a much-needed pleasant distraction.
Now, much like Christmas itself, Crystal Winter is relatively short, lasting somewhere between 3 and 4 hours. Hopefully, that’s still more than enough time to not only get to know our little trio better, and with a little luck – and a hint of Christmas magic – wrap things up on a happy note for all involved. Including Naoki, even if all signs do kinda point towards her not exactly deserving a happy holiday. Then again, maybe? Perhaps? One way to find out, and I certainly intend to do just that in the near future.
How about you? Are you not even a little curious as to what kind of Christmas fate has in store for Naoki, Miyuki, and Yume? Wait, what am I even saying? Of course, you are!
Crystal Winter is available on Steam for $2.99.
