I play a lot of different games, that's something that you'll have likely picked up on if you've spent any amount of time on this blog. I just have an knack for jumping into experiences that catch my eye even a little bit, which is why I can count both 2016's 'Doom' and 'Life is Strange' in my games library. I've a thirst for some of the more oddball games too, like 'Doki Doki Literature Club' and other types of VN games; as such when a title comes along that is so obviously niche like 'Goodbye Volcano High', it's going to be the sort of game that might possibly be up my street. The good old story-based visual novel game isn't my personal choice for game to jam out to, but I won't pretend that there aren't a few I hold close to my heart either. (Even more so than DDLC, in fact!)
That being said, I'm unsure whether or not 'Goodbye Volcano High' even fits into the VN category; that's just sort of the impression I get. I mean on Steam they've called it a 'Cinematic animated adventure' in order to make it all sound fancy, but at the end of the day I'm going to guess that just means they just put together their own engine instead of just using Ren'Py. Either way, I do find it funny that this is one of the games that Sony has decided to front for their 'Future of Playstation' stream as I can preempt the release and pretty definitively declare that is not a title that needs to be a next gen exclusive in any way, and I don't think it will be. It's just a VN, it could probably run on the PS3. But I do understand why Sony picked it; in order to showcase the wide variety of games that they are willing to accommodate for and market during their next generation. (And probably for a little bit of 'moral points' for the game apparently featuring LGBTQ+ representation.)
But what is 'Goodbye Volcano High' and what exactly is up with that title? Good question, let me break it down. Okay so bear with me here, GVH (the acronym I'm going to start using) is about an anthropomorphic highschool full of dinosaur students wherein you play Fang and have to guide her through her final year with all the whirlwind of emotions that comes along with that. So yeah, the last year of high school is a typically emotionally charged period in a lot of people's life (not so much mine, but then I'm a weirdo) so it's likely not all surprising to you for that to be the synopsis. You'll go through the straining of relationships, trying to make up before the last day and undoubtedly some hammy romance; everything you'd expect from a title like this. Only, everyone involved is an anthropomorphic dinosaur and the school is called 'Volcano High'. (Which, now that I think about it, is in extremely poor taste. Are you subtly implying that their entire species is going to end once high school is up? Just seems like a particularly melodramatic metaphor. But then what do you expect from a story like this?)
I'm jumping ahead again aren't I? I should probably address that Velociraptor in the room- the kids are all dinosaurs wearing human clothes; that's probably putting a lot of people off. But let me stand up for KO_OP here,(Though not entirely, that studio name is awful) I think the whole stylised approach with the humans being animals does provide a significant opportunity for some great characterisation. Animalising humans is done often in animation as it allows the animators to embody complex, or even simple, traits and personalities of the character's in their appearance and species, so that they can be inherently recognised by the user. Take a look at Zootopia for instance; Nick is a fox so you instantly connect him as being sly and snide; Judy is a rabbit so you already know she has a peppy attitude and will be energetic. Embodying this, 'Volcano High' might be able to easily establish a more memorable cast of characters than your typical high school drama game like, for comparison, 'Life is Strange'. If I put up a list of characters and asked you to pick out Juliet from that lineup, could you? Even if you were a fan of the game? (She's not important anyway, don't feel bad.)
Now when I mention 'VN's in the same sentence as this title I am being a little facetious; this game is certainly capable of a lot more than a lot of them. For one, the game seems to have full motion animation scenes that are actually voice acted by an actress who... is Lachlan Watson? (I though I recognised that dulcet drone) This makes for some pretty visuals that match the aesthetic and art-style in a way that I quite like. (The game looks pretty- there it is.) Although, as with any choice-based storygame, the real meat of the matter will lie in the quality of the story and, more importantly, the breadth of the narrative branches. Rarely in genres like these can a game get away without shifting storylines, (In fact, only DDLC managed that sufficiently from my memory) and that is something that can't be shortcutted with all the bells and whistles in the world. The game just needs some good old fashioned strong storytelling; which puts the weight on the project on the writing team. (good luck to them.)
From everything I can deduce from the admittedly limited materials available to us regarding GVH, I can only imagine that this will be a title to firmly confront personable relationships and a coming-of-age; hence this will likely be a game to at least vaguely interest me. As a amateur in the field I've never quite gotten the hand of accessing that sort of vulnerability, insight and empathy required for stories like this, and sometimes I fear that some actually employed and working writers for projects like these haven't either. If I were to look to an example of one that has, a blueprint of sorts that I think it rightly fair to compare with, I'd say to look to the works of the unreasonably talented Toby Fox and his titles. Yes, Undertale and Deltarune may have slightly more fantastical whims to their plots but the heart of those games, if you'll forgive the pun, lies in the very human-emotions of connection, friendship and love. If GVH can tap into that level of intimacy with it's characters then we could have something enduring and endearing on our hands. (Despite this, somehow I'm going to guess they have their eyes set more on the 'Life is Strange' crowd, unfortunately.)
Yet there is one question I have regrading this title that is entirely separate from it's content, and in fact it's a question to the future; just how will a title like this be received? Although, as of yet, nothing is confirmed, the implication surrounding all these games that were showcased at the console manufacturer's events is that they would be launch titles, or close enough. GVH has a prospective release date of 2021, but if my guess is right then that will be early 2021 and this will be one of the very first platform-advertised titles to hit the PS5 storefront. How will that role out be? Compared to everything else I've spoken about and will speak about, I don't think I've seen a single title that matches this game in terms of niche-iness and that could prove a huge hurdle to clear. Early PS5 adopters might not be the type to try their hand at a weird looking interactive story title when they'll be looking to push the limits of their brand-spanking new hardware, and that's not even taking into account the fact that a console has got to be the single worst way to play a VN ever. (Of course, I doubt the game itself will suffer too badly; it does have a Steam release on the way.)
At the end of the day, 'Goodbye Volcano High' is a weird surprise of an announcement that I am interested in, but not for the reason that I should be interested in a game at a next-gen reveal event. In the absolute best case scenario where I actually buy this game, it'll be on mouse and keyboard like a civilised person, I can't fathom what Playstation were thinking donating presentation time to this. (Particularly considering they apparently had alternatives like freakin' 'Crash Bandicoot 4' up their sleeves which they had to instead save for a random reveal date. Does this really all just come down to scoring Internet points? Is Reddit Karma truly that valuable?) Whatever, I'm not part of Sony marketing so I'm not going to sweat their headscratchers too hard. GVH looks alright, but I'm here to look at the eye pleasers; next game!
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