Impasse Journey ~Kaohsiung Chapter~ is Erotes Studio's seventh visual novel release (fifth in Steam) fitting into the post-apocalyptic, slice-of-life and thriller genre. This is a brand-new story featuring a female protagonist Yang Qiongqi in a post-apocalyptic setting where the island of Taiwan has split into multiple autonomous regions after a nuclear war.
Yang Qiongqi planned to head north to fulfil a promise to her father. Unfortunately, she is forced to stop at Kaohsiung Autonomous Zone which has two factions at odds with each other. Along the way, she will make some friends and enemies as she tries to resolve the conflict to continue her journey.
This visual novel has near full voice acting, including the protagonist, which adds to the immersion by helping to bring out the personalities of the main characters in the story. As with Erotes Studio's earlier visual novels, Impasse Journey ~Kaohsiung Chapter~ has attractive artwork in the CGs, character sprites, and facial expressions, brand new theme songs and soundtracks, and the additional option to adjust font thickness, making it easier to read the visual novel.
In terms of plot, the story by scriptwriters Yin Fan-Ya and Gui Sen has a decent mix of the usual slice of life drama and comedy based on pop culture in Taiwan which features actual locations in the city of Kaohsiung itself, and some thriller to keep the novel interesting. With that said, the uneven pacing, local urban legends, and random philosophical, movie, novel and song quotes that make little sense in the overall storyline could create a disconnect where readers may not understand the origins and appreciate it fully, although it is an interesting way to introduce some of the songs, products, and culture in Taiwan.
Lastly, I would also like to share that I handled the English translation for Impasse Journey ~Kaohsiung Chapter~. I was motivated to do so for my friends in Steam, and members of my Steam group (Visual novel, JRPG, Anime) to bring an interesting post-apocalyptic, slice-of-life and thriller genre visual novel that explores the local cultural landscape in Kaohsiung to an English audience. Thank you to all my friends and family members who have supported me, and to Erotes Studio for giving me the wonderful opportunity to work on the English subtitles for the game before release.
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