The Soul in the Stone

This visual novel was entered in the Single Choice jam.

My overall impression of it varied over time, as at first I thought the story was a bit trope-heavy but later on I enjoyed the progression it made.

You play as the husband of a recently deceased witch. After her death, you discover a letter from her telling you how you can contact her spirit.

You adventure through dungeons, killing goblins, to get a spirit orb to contact her with. Eventually, things come down to a difficult choice.

Overall, a lot of the game could have had more specific descriptions instead of relying on implicit common knowledge (like the fact that dungeons exist with goblins who are enemies, who the Lord of Light is, how heaven/hell work, etc.). But I liked the main narrative thrust of the story.

This game is a remake of Crawl Back to Me from the same author, but in a visual novel form. You play as Alastair, a gallant knight who recently lost his wife, Cassandra, in an accident while away. Filled with grief, you would do anything to speak to your wife one last time, hoping it will help you move on. Incidentally, Cassandra left you instructions to help your quest.

The story might be a bit cliché, and the twist a bit too obvious, but it works quite well as a visual novel, with the clunky sprites reminiscent of old RPG dungeon crawlers games with all its campiness. I did enjoy the wide range of endings from the final choice, with the moderately neutral ending probably being my favourite out of all of them.