Kuroi Tsubasa is a visual novel with an amazing story and different paths. It offers an interesting and entertaining gameplay experience on all major platforms such as Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The heartwarming story was crafted by a talented team with a deep understanding of visual storytelling. With its extensive content of 120,000 words, Kuroi Tsubasa offers approximately 10 hours of gameplay, accompanied by over 50 original songs, including vibrant vocal tracks and captivating in-game music videos. But is the game worth playing? Let’s find out in our review of Kuroi Tsubasa.
The story: Meet Kureha!
Kureha Kurono is the protagonist of the story. She is a kind-hearted girl who gave up her dream to support her family. She lives alone in a different city and misses her grandmother. The heartwarming story keeps the player engaged in the game. It all starts when a devil becomes curious about the human world and takes the form of Kureha’s stuffed animal, “Blackwing,” by possessing it.
The devil chose her stuffed animal because he found positivity in Kureha, as she was so kind and generous. Due to the devil’s negligence, his negativity leaks out and affects the people of the city, and Kureha deals with them with the power that the devil gave her.
Because of the power that the devil gives Kureha, she starts to have superpowers, which increase her speed. Her outfit also changes into a beautiful purple outfit that resembles Blackwing.
Blackwing was a stuffed bat animal sewn by Kureha’s grandmother. When she saw her stuffed animal speaking and flying, she got scared and ran out of her house. Then she learned that she was a chosen one; although it was all said by the devil, she still trusted him.
Meet Blackwing
The devil, a.k.a. “Blackwing,” is different from others in his hometown. He wanted a vessel to live with a positive person. When he entered the city, he only saw negativity and hatred, which took him time to find someone positive, causing some of his negativity to leak out. Wherever he looked, he only saw negativity, whether it was a salesman or a traffic police officer. Everyone was selfish and hated each other. But then he entered an office where he met Kureha and was happy to see that he finally found a person who could be his partner. He was shocked at how a human could bear all the hatred without arguing or becoming angry.
Kureha and Blackwing become partners and fight for peace. They meet different characters all over the city and make friends. The story becomes more interesting as it proceeds. There is only one end, but if the player doesn’t enjoy the choice they made, they are not forced to play it; they can play it all over again with a different choice this time.
Following are the names of characters close to Kureha: Jonii Kochoha (friend), Buddy Kitsu Awadatsu (friend), Sigrid Monroe (mother figure; best friend), Shinamon Yoshiro (housemate; buddy; comforter), Tsubasa Arugo (guardian). Although Kureha is very insecure and doesn’t talk much, she is still thankful that there are people who really care for her.
Kuroi Tsubasa explores real-life problems
At the beginning of Kuroi Tsubasa, we see that Kureha was treated badly. Everyone around her took advantage of her kindness, but she kept quiet and didn’t talk about anything. That’s why the Devil liked her and chose her to be his partner. The female protagonist had dreams but had other priorities and cared about her family more than herself. Players get different outcomes with the choices they make, making it more interesting this way.
I liked the fact that the game revolves around the problem that is faced by the common people. Low confidence, loneliness, insecurity, poverty, and many more elements are in this game. The visual novel experience will teach you a lot while you play as Kureha.
Talking about the art style, the developer has chosen Kureha’s character to be inspired by the typical anime girl. While the game presents us with different images to help us understand and emerge in the story better.
Gameplay: Should have been more interactive
Don’t get me wrong; the game gives you the option to take on different paths. But most of the time will go tapping on the “X” button. If the game gave me choices from the very beginning it would have been a much more interactive and fun experience.
The music in the game is soothing and will keep you hooked. However, the developer of the game should look after the text box. It becomes harder to read when it blends with the background. The opacity of the dialogue box is kept low, making it hard to read, especially for console players. There is an option for dark mode that one has to find in the settings but would have been better if it was turned on by default.
Play it or not?
If you like visual novels and want to play a game with meaning close to real life, this one is definitely a good choice. It is an underrated title, and will definitely be liked by the fans of this genre. Yes, there could have been some touchups to make it more interactive, but the developer kept the focus on the storyline. Overall, it has a thumbs up from my side. That said, those interested can get the game on the platform of their choice, as it is widely available on all major ones. Make sure to stick around MobiGaming for more gaming reviews!
