Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Dec 28, 2017

  Posted in 28 Dec, 2017 - will update if there's a change (mainly on Cons section) [h1]Pros[/h1] + Interesting setting, kinda like Hogwarts but in anime style + The cast is alright ; MC isn't really your typical "passive" character and can be reliable when needed. The other characters is also okay with the exception of the 4 classmates (well, they're not really important so yea) + "Surprising" BGM section, adding a personal commentary from the composer for every used track is a really nice value. Something that's not really (if ever) present in VN these days ~ + The art is nice especially those chibi one ! They need to add some of it to the store page + As someone who doesn't read the full trilogy yet, I would say this is an alright introduction to the whole series. It completes their own individual mystery but left some of the bigger one for later, making you want to know more. [h1]Cons[/h1] - There are still some technical issue that needs to be solved. Some can be fixed by your own and some are not. For example, the blurry text and Steam not tracking the game properly. You can check the pinned post on the discussion forum to see how to fix these. - The game itself doesn't take too long to complete. Each route only takes around 2-3 hours to finish. This makes it hard to care more about each heroine especially Tsubaki and Neko. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] If you like some light mystery sets in a magical school with a likable cast, feel free to give this one a try. It's in my opinion an okay introduction to the whole trilogy which i hope will be releasing soon ^^ PS. Don't forget to apply some of the solution from the pinned post to solve your issues.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 7, 2018

  One of my favorites VN so far.. Pros : + Pretty Nice Voice Acting + Not your typical coward MC, MC is pretty strong in his own way. Not a coward, pretty bold, brave, and cool looking. + Another character is also well developed and cute ! + The art is really good, especially the CGs and the chibi is also cute. Cons : - Does not support Steam Overlay, or at least mine is like that. Can't take Screenshot use F12 since the game itself use F Keys. - The other route beside True Route is pretty short, especially since my favorite girl is not the main Heroine. But, I must admit that the True Route is really a good story. Can't wait for the trilogy!
• gamedeal user

  Mar 5, 2022

  There is some excellent writing here. But the ending gets pretty rough with both poor and even missing translations. There appear to be two instances of screens purposefully left untranslated, where the characters are presumably cursing, but there are untranslated character names and badly translated lines at the end of the true route. And the ending is, frankly disturbing compared to the overall tone. I played this without the adult content patch, which really makes the two side character routes all but pointless. All that aside, this is a great read, and a top tier VN here on steam.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 28, 2019

  Where's the Sequels dammit I need them :(
• gamedeal user

  Nov 15, 2018

  I actually like this game, but having completed my first playthrough in only 3 hours, it's too short for its £15 price tag. Reccommend getting it when on sale though. 5.5/10
• gamedeal user

  Feb 9, 2019

  Average/20 Only one character path worth it...
• jonsmith278

  Aug 22, 2023

  Good game so far, interesting story and characters. main character is kinda sarcastic and playful, interesting change of pace. I can't wait to play the other games in this trilogy, find out where it goes
• gamedeal user

  Jan 12, 2019

  A Clockwork Ley-Line is an awesome VN but with serious technical issues! [b]Introduction[/b] The story and setting are really interesting, especially for someone like me who plays mostly slice of life-ish VNs. Once you have started with reading you don‘t want to stop. Each time a new Mist appears, means that something funny will happen. [b]Playtime[/b] Concerning the playtime, one guy states in his review that he needed only 3h to complete his first playthrough. I can only absolutely disagree to this, since I cleared the true end after around [b]20h[/b]. The two other routes are kind of short, it will take around additional 2-3h to complete them. On a side note: Neko‘s route was very sweet and all, but the end… I didn‘t expected it to end like this, well, it escalated quickly :D Nevertheless it ended kind of abrupt. [b]Characters[/b] The characters are great, both main cast and side characters are very likeable. Somehow Rito was the one who I like the most, closely followed by Ushio. [b]Voice Acting[/b] Voice acting is amazing, especially Ushio‘s voice and her pronunciation. Even if you only listen to her voice in the main menu, you will fall for her :D The principles Seiyuu deserves also to be mentioned, I love her way to speak. She does a very good job! [b]Soundtrack[/b] The Soundtrack as a whole belongs to the better ones, there are some really beautiful tracks. For example “Camellia” gets very emotional as soon as the flute starts to play. “A Visit To The Realm Of Night” is also great. After opening the BGM menu, I was surprised in a positive way. Each track has a small comment written by the composer. As for the menu’s general appearance, it is well done. [b]OP/ED[/b] Oh boy, the OP is cool as fuck, such a great song! I can say the same about the ED, it’s a rearranged version of the OP and sounds amazing. Amazing isn't even the right word to describe the ED, it sounds more than amazing or beautiful. [b]Choices[/b] A good thing in this VN is the amount of choices you can make, some require you to think logically about the previous events. If you are good enough you will even unlock something ;) [b]Cgs[/b] The Cgs are beautifully drawn, in a nice art style. You can look at them in a gallery afterwards. [b]Bugs[/b] Sadly, this is the first VN where I have to write a bit more in this section. Someone in the Steam forum said: [i]“It seems that this game is being held together with duct tape“[/i]. This is the truth. It all starts when you launch the game, you will notice that your steam playtime isn‘t being tracked. Well, luckily there is a workaround![b] This workaround may work BUT it leads to way more bugs.[/b] Such as nasty text errors. At the start and at the end of each sentence you will see a „g“ and a „j“. I thought "Okay, I can overlook it" until THAT happened. The game crashed twice at the same scene. So I had to undo the workaround, play a bit further and then redo the workaround. This happened multiple times and was annoying. Another point of criticism is that new updates take forever, the support for this game seems to be almost non existent [b]All in all, the general impression of the game‘s technical state is kind of poor.[/b] [b]Pricetag[/b] Considering its technical state 20€ is a bit overpriced. I guess Ley-Line’s discount price of 15€ is acceptable. [b]Conclusion[/b] You get roughly 24h of play time, an interesting and captivating story, awesome voice acting and many more great things. As the first part of a trilogy, this game makes a good impression, so I will definitely buy the other two parts. I only hope that the following games won’t be such a technical mess.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 3, 2023

  A Clockwork Ley-Line: The Borderline of Dusk is the first game in the Ley-Line trilogy. Here, we follow our protagonist, Koga Michiru as he enrolled into a mysterious school that located deep in the mountain. Just as he wonder around the campus, he accidentally broken a statue as he was trying to save a guy that fell off from a high ground. To compensate the statue that he broke, he has to join “Bureau for the Investigation of Special Affairs” to solve the supernatural incident that happen in the school. This title offers 3 routes to play through, Neko and Tsubaki route being a side route while Ushio being the true route. Overall I feel like it's kind of unnecessary to have Neko and Tsubaki route because both of their routes are very short and doesn't have anything that is special enough to hook me up while reading them. It felt like a filler rather than liking them more as a character after reading their routes. And of course, reading their routes are basically just be having romantic talk and H with these 2 side heroines. As for Ushio route, I wouldn't really call it Ushio route but rather just a continuation on the main story line. Just as I was thinking how Michiru and Ushio gonna have the romance crap going on, the twist actually surprised me a little bit, it's a very forceful and unreasonable way of how they both "sort of" develop feelings for each other. But in the end pretended nothing had happened, which kinda sucks and questionable. But hey, there's 2 more sequels... who knows how they gonna pop it off with Ushio and Michiru. It is enjoyable to read so far and I still have 2 more sequels to go through to give a conclusion on whether Clockwork Ley-Line trilogy is a great title to read as this is merely just an introduction chapter for the trilogy. But hey, if you are interested in school setting with mysterious case solving type of story, balls up and buy the game. My experience so far has been decent, although it felt like watching a 2015-2016's anime (when tons of high school-action related anime released)