Where It All Began

Visual novels are one of my favorite types of games. Where It All Began is a rich visual novel with a strong story, that isn’t afraid to dip into the dark side of life. A word of warning to those who aren’t in to the darker side of things, the novel touches on anorexia, self-harm, and other mental health issues. On top of this, there’s an optional Cheating track, but this can be toggled on or off as needed. If you’re easily offended by this sort of thing, it’s probably best to choose a different game. There are some filters in place to make things a little bit less dark, but the game is what it is. If you love dark and moody games that show real life, Where It All Began will capture your attention like no other.

A Story of Reconnection

No visual novel is worth its salt without a good story behind it. Where It All Began is an interactive tale where every choice you make matters. The story centers around a man who has recently returned home, and has to deal with the consequences of that decision.

Unlike so many other stories, it’s not about dealing with some minor embarrassment of your childhood, but has to do with crime and the criminal empire you are part of. This makes falling in love and having relationships especially challenging. One wrong move and the people you love can suffer from it.

You only come home because your twin asks it of you. Most of the game is rebuilding connections with friends and family, and trying to make things right. That doesn’t always mean good scenarios, unfortuantely for us players. Fortunately, there’s plenty of room for love in this game. Muri is the main love interest, but if you play your cards right and handle the dialogue well, you can nail an open relationship and date several other people.

As you play, you may notice this game similar to another game called Summer’s Gone. You are not wrong! It’s by the same developers and set in the same universe. Be prepared though, Where It All Began has a lot more sex scenes and is in general far sexier than Summer’s Gone.

I highly recommend playing both, since many events occur at the same time, it will help you get a good perspective of the game.

Fairly Simple Gameplay

Where It All Began is a perfect game to just read. Your choices influence the game, but there isn’t a lot of mini-games or puzzles to solve. You’re mainly reading and watching, while the story unfolds. The game has a lot of darkness to it, but the developers were considerate in how they do things. There are filters available not just for cheating, but for other sensitive themes that might disturb players. You can more or less make the game what you want it through careful attention to the filters.

The developers also created an app for Steam Deck that works specifically with visual novels, so if you don’t already have something installed to make reading visual novels easier, their app should help.

Graphics

Where It All Began features 3D graphics that, while not hyper-realistic, are fairly detailed. The characters are beautiful, lighting is well done, and the world feels expansive and large. The animations are smooth and fairly well done. H-Scenes can be somewhat hard to unlock though, with a careful path needed to get to them. Most of the easy ones are with Muri, so if you find yourself frustrated by being unable to unlock other pathways, review how you handle Muri first.

Stalled on Chapter 4

One minor drawback to this game is that the developer seems to have stopped working on it about a year ago. There has been no additional updates in the last year or so. This means if you find bugs in the game they’re unlikely to be fixed, and it’s unlikely there will be any new content after what you have already played. While this is disappointing, there’s still plenty of content already there to keep you entertained. Hopefully the developers will take an interest in it again and add new chapters somewhere down the road.

Pros:

• Decent graphics
• A rich story line for adventurous readers
• Choice based game play
• Animated H-Scenes

Cons:

• Ends at season 1 with no apparent plans to continue

Where It All Began is an erotic visual novel about returning home and the fatal consequences of such a decision. It's all over and has become mere echoes of the past. However, a call from her twin sister revives the memories buried in the darkest corners of her mind. Going back to where it all began is a mistake that can never be undone. The truth emerges in the most unexpected forms, and strangers become important in a short period of time.

Pros of the game:

• Your choices will affect the course of the investigation and the development of the hero's relationships
• Save your favorite moments in the game's gallery