At this point, all sorts of visual novels are available on Steam, no doubt about that. But what makes this one stand out for me, is the premise: Vinty – its protagonist – is… a calligraphist! So far so good (and different), right? Well, the problem is, she’s got a bad case of broken self-confidence. Really bad. As such, your job is to help motivate her to further her craft, instead of, well, giving up. Because no one likes a quitter.
Now, as is often the case with story-driven games like Without Within, talking about it in great detail would run the risk of spoilers. So I’m not gonna do that, obviously. What I will say, however, is that the darn thing spots an impressive art style, along with a very lovely self-aware sense of humour; one that is almost fourth wall-breaking (always fun) at times. Oh, and of course, a lot of text. A LOT of text. But hey, hence the ‘novel’ part of ‘visual novel’, ya know?
Right. Anyway, whether Vinty can manage to somehow rekindle her love for all things calligraphy, remains to be seen. But since Without Within is 100% free, both from Steam – featuring optional premium extras such as the soundtrack, and DRM-free from the official website, why not take it for a spin… right now?
Vinty isn’t gonna get back on her feet without your help, after all, so get to reading and help her make all the right (or wrong?) choices.
