Casina: A Visual Novel set in Ancient Greece is the latest visual novel developed by studio Neoclassic Games that features full voice acting, character animation, different languages, different fonts, multiple choices and multiple endings.
Story
The plot follows three male characters, Lisidamus, Chalinus and Olympio, who all wish to obtain the love of a beautiful slave called Casina. Meanwhile the wife of Lisidamus, Cleoostrata, and the gossipy maid, Pardalisca, are plotting against the faithless husband Lisidamus.
The game's story is a digital transcript of a comedy written by Pluto in the year 184 BC which has a great sense of humor and is full of comedic moments that frequently put a smile on my face.
The main characters have an important role in the story and their actions help drive the plot. However, even though there are multiple choices that the player can make in this game, sadly they only have a minor impact on the story itself apart from the ending. Most likely this is to allow the events to follow closely to the original script that the story has been built upon.
This is a fairly short visual novel that only took a little under two hours to fully complete both endings. I enjoyed my time with this title, but would have liked to see more content.
Characters:
All of the characters are interesting and have their part to play in this story, but Cleostrata really stands out for me as she is both smart and beautiful.
It was very fun to watch her plot against her faithless husband, rightfully so.
Audio
Every character in game is fully voiced in English and the voice acting appropriately suits each situation in the story. The OST of the game is pleasant to hear and it matches the look and feel of the novel.
In the main menu you’ll have the possibility to hear the full OST in a separate section. This is a nice extra to include.
Backgrounds
The graphical quality of the backgrounds and main character sprites are great and meet the expectations of a modern visual novel.
Every character has facial animations and lip sync with the speech, which is very pleasant to see in a visual novel since there aren’t many with this feature.
During the static scenes the character sprites will change depending on what’s happening or the topic of the conversation in the game. All of them are pretty funny and light-hearted.
Localization:
The game has a total of eleven languages available and it’s fully voiced in English. I tried the English and Italian version and I can say it was pretty good in both versions.
An interesting feature is that you can actually change the font of the text in the game via the settings in the main menu. It is nice to see additional customization options that aren't typically available.
Bonus:
The menu has the gallery that includes every scene unlocked in the game, a section for the OST, and also a codex with a detailed explanation of every particular word or figure of speech you’ll find throughout the story.
Final Thoughts:
Casina: A Visual Novel set in Ancient Greece is pretty fun experience. Although the length is rather short, the price is not too expensive so catching the game on a sale would provide a good value.
I enjoyed my time with this title and would recommend for others to give it a shot.
This is the first game that I have played by this developer and I look forward to seeing new projects from them in the future!