Sekai Project has established quite a name for itself in recent months with the release of high profile visual novels like Sunrider: First Arrival, World End Economica episode.01, Sakura Spirit, Planetarian and Narcissu. With more titles awaiting confirmed release dates, the latest visual novel to grace the Steam store is fault milestone one. As of this writing, those who purchase the game on Steam will be rewarded with a digital shikishi of the character, Ritona. Fault is a series created by Alice in Dissonance that will be released in episodic instalments in the near future.
The kinetic visual novel tells the tale of a princess named Selphine and her royal guard, Ritona who are forced to flee their homeland Rughzenahide after a deadly invasion by their enemies. Making their escape through a portal, they find themselves lost in an unknown forest thick with vegetation but completely void of any wild life or natural creatures. As they try to make sense of their situation, they ponder many questions such as the true identity of the invaders, how they will return home and what they plan to do as their homeland lies devastated in ruins. Along their journey, they meet the Zhevic family as the spotlight shifts over to the supporting characters who have a surprisingly deep story in direct contrast to Selphine and Ritona. The focus of the visual novel transitions as Selphine analyzes the situation while Ritona badgers her with a rather strict demeanor.
Much of the game starts to lean towards the intellectual realm of knowledge as the game uses a lot of words and terms that may be difficult to comprehend. This is alleviated by accessing the Encyclopedia that explains in fine detail the description of what select terms and phrases mean when they are misunderstood or missed in the contextual dialogue between the characters. The story picks up as Selphine and Ritona meet Rune, a bubbly-girl who calls herself Sara who introduced herself to both of them on the streets of Kadia City. Other characters that the party encounters include Rudo, the CEO of Zhevitz Enterprise and Melano, an enigmatic and mysterious enemy leader. Plot twists abound as everything is not what it appears to be with the game reaching a climatic point before ending with an inevitable cliffhanger. To avoid further plot spoilers, it is advised that visual novel fans purchase fault milestone one on Steam to enjoy the adventure and to experience all of its merits.
Visually, the game looks polished with beautiful character artwork and environments sporting much polish and detail. The soundtrack is fitting and the ability to access your favorite audio tracks after the game is completed is a welcome feature. Menu interface and options are very organized and easy to use as you can save, load and play the game at your own pace with customized settings. It is apparent in the artwork and design that a lot of effort and dedication was made by Alice in Dissonance to ensure that the first entry in the fault series is both visually and aesthetically pleasing.
Although fault milestone one clocks in at roughly 5-7 hours of gameplay, the first instalment is promising as you are left pondering the fate of the characters and the events that may transpire. Even as I hoped more attention was directed towards Selphine and Ritona for the bulk of the story, there is still much to be unveiled in the upcoming second instalment. Visual novel fans searching for a distinctive visual novel this holiday season with science fiction references and an intricate plot need look no further than fault milestone one.
SCORE – 80%
This review is based on a digital copy of fault milestone one on Steam provided by Sekai Project.
