I play a lot of visual novels. So many in fact that it’s occasionally hard to keep them all straight. The genre is so big in Western markets at this point that it’s honestly impossible to keep up with them all, much less all the other gaming that’s constantly releasing in every possible form imaginable. Half of the VNs that come out these days are terrible and with sub-genres like horror and otome splitting the market, bargain titles being released and indie studios popping up like weeds, how do you even choose what to play? Well, it turns out that occasionally it’s not that hard to choose. Enter Angels With Scaly Wings, the latest VN from developer Radical Phi and publisher Ratalaika Games.
Angels With Scaly Wings is not your typical VN. You play a protagonist sent through a teleportation portal to a world where dragons live. Not growly fire-breathing giant menacing dragons mind you. No, these dragons are sentient, slightly larger than humans, speak English, and even wear jewelry and makeup. They’re human counterparts and you’re humanity’s ambassador on a trade mission to swap our knowledge for the dragons’ green energy. So begins Angels With Scaly Wings, a unique and interesting visual novel that takes you to quite a few unexpected places. Suffice it to say the story is good, the dialogue is good, the characters are unique and interesting and to say much more would ruin the plot. Or plots. There are actually 13 endings in Angels With Scaly Wings, and the game requires multiple playthroughs to unlock the true ending. Sure that sounds daunting, but once you start playing, you’ll find that you definitely want to know more. I really don’t want to tell you a damn thing about the plot here though, because it’s fantastic all the way through and spoiling it would do the game an absolute disservice.
As I previously stated, you play a human in a world of dragons. But the dragons react and talk like humans, there are a multitude of strange parallels between the dragon world and ours, and everything has a distinctly human feel to it. The whole game seems odd at first, but just trust me, it’s less weird than it sounds. And more weird than it sounds. Anyway, the game consists primarily of dialogue with the occasional branching decision. Each branch slowly eliminates other options but the great thing about Angels is that it allows you to really guide where the story is going, what kind of person you want to be, where your loyalties like and what kind of romantic endeavors you wish to pursue. Did I say romantic endeavors? We’ll get to that.
Choosing options moves the story through its five chapters in a variety of potential directions. To get there you have the option of standard progression with button pressing, high speed scrolling through dialogue with the right shoulder button, a rewind function with the left, and autoplay features if you’re feeling a bit lazy. Angels With Scaly Wings also integrates touchscreen compatibility, allowing you to simply tap dialogue and branch selections. It’s a crisp, responsive system that’s well-designed, intuitive, and easy to use. The rewind function even allows you to back up and change your choices at decision points, a rare but welcome inclusion in a visual novel. With the inclusion of a save anywhere system, the entire interface is pretty much as good as it gets for a visual novel.
On top of the excellent and well-designed controls, the soundtrack is particularly good for Angels as well. The music matches the action and plot shifting from relaxing piano to energetic as the suspense builds and honestly would probably be worth buying if it was available. Apparently the deluxe edition on Steam comes with the soundtrack, but it would probably be worth grabbing on Bandcamp or even a physical disc. It’s rare to have such a solid soundtrack for a VN, so this was a real treat.
Ok, fine, let’s get to the romance. Yes, you can romance a dragon. Yes, there are some rather steamy scenes. No, this isn’t X-rated, you perv. But that being said, things definitely went further than I expected they would in Angels. Interestingly enough, your gender is kind of indeterminate in the story and the romance options for gender are entirely unrestricted. I ended up choosing a male on male option entirely through circumstance and even though it wouldn’t have been my first choice, it was well-written, flowed naturally and ended up being really cool rather than awkward, which things definitely could have been. This is a sensitive subject for a lot of people and the way the game entirely ignores traditional gender norms in favor of completely open options is refreshing, surprising, and will likely appeal to a much wider audience. It’s easy to see this becoming more normal and frankly, that’s a good thing. So romance whoever you like, see where things go, and enjoy, because it’s all part of a rather intricate story that’s a lot more than you might expect!
In addition to the rather unique romance options, Angels With Scaly Wings boasts a noticeably robust multiple storyline system. Once you beat the game the first time, the system tells you that there’s more to come, clearly explains how to play back through and skip previously read dialogue, allowing you to streamline subsequent playthroughs to maximize your time and experience all there is to offer. Once you get there, you’ll likely want to play again because the chances of getting a bad ending the first go around are pretty high, but even the bad endings are pretty darn interesting. Returning to the main screen even nets you a new intro screen, and some things in the game are permanently changed by events in previous playthroughs, a neat trick that shakes up your expectations enough to keep you playing. Your first time through, the game is only about 8-10 hours, but you can easily double that finding your way through all the endings and romance options. All in all, it’s certainly a fair amount of content for $10!
Angels With Scaly Wings is somewhat unique in its inter-species romance, captivating storyline, and excellent overall technical design. In fact, the only place the game is really lacking at all is in the visual department. That’s not to say that the design work is sub-par, since it’s absolutely not, but the only thing keeping Angels from being really top tier is the lack of animation. Characters are primarily static, shifting whole images for expressive reactions. It’s a shame the animation isn’t a bit more robust. The same goes for voice acting. There’s definitely a missed opportunity with the lack of voice acting here.
Overall, Angels With Scaly Wings far surpassed my expectations in almost every aspect of the game. It’s simply an absolute gem of a visual novel. On top of that, there’s even a webcomic sequel called Angels With Broken Hearts, so don’t be surprised if this becomes a franchise. The quality for this initial offering certainly warrants it! If you’re on the fence about Angels With Scaly Wings, don’t be. The premise might be odd, but this is one visual novel worth picking up, especially for the low price!
This review was based on a digital copy of Angels With Scaly Wings provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was absolutely excellent in both and is particularly suited to portable play on the Switch! Angels With Scaly Wings is also available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on Steam! All screenshots are of actual gameplay.
