1BITHEART

1bitHeart is the story of a lonely, agoraphobic boy named Nanashi who goes forth on a personal journey of self discovery and friend making. All while having to deal with wild mysteries across his home town, culminating in a sweet story about life and dealing with social anxiety.

Finding Friendship in Dark Places...

1bitHeart features a slew of different activities you can take part in as you go through each chapter in a 4 hour or so long visual novel adventure.

You don’t just click through multiple dialogue lines; you can actually do a lot to interact with the world around you through Persona like social mechanics. You can make friends and play mini games in between chapters during the free time moments you’re allowed every now and then. There’s plenty of characters to interact with and over 20 people to befriend ensuring that you never feel lonely during your time in this game world. The story is sweet and in depth and can definitely tug at your heart strings in more than one moment, culminating in a visual adventure that’s well worth your time and money.

But Not Much Else…

The biggest drawback to 1bitHeart is simply the fact that despite being a good game overall, it never really “shines” in a way that puts this game over others in the field. Everything tends to be a bit too mundane and somewhat uninspired as you actually go through the moment to moment gameplay. The friendships, while plentiful and entertaining, never really reach the heights of many other games you’ve played. You’re not gonna find any super memorable characters here that will stick with you forever like the ones Persona provides. Similarly the friendship making itself can feel hollow as it mostly revolves around gift giving and not much else.

The free time is also similarly devoid of excitement and all of the mini games you can play are really nothing special. And that’s the problem, nothing feels special which makes this game solid and entertaining but not much beyond that. Sometimes that’s all you need but for a game and genre that’s all about feeling, it’s a tad bit too noticeable.

The Good & Bad of 1bitHeart

Pros:

• Interesting story.
• Well rounded characters.
• Varied gameplay.
• Clever mysteries.

Cons:

• Generally mundane.
• Slow to get going.
• Hollow friendship making and bonding.