Going into VA-11 HALL-A, I'd set my expectations decently high. I wasn't looking for a new top 10, but it's so well-loved that I had to give it a shot before it left Gamepass.
Unfortunately, I did not leave the podunk bar with the same sense of wonder as its clients and players alike. There's enough to the experience that I understand the admiration - it has exceptional music, many of the characters are charming, and there's some interesting worldbuilding - but in the end, the muddied political takes and anime-esque humor about boobs left a bad taste in my mouth. I rarely found it 'comfy' or inviting, as many others have described it. In the end, it felt like more of a chore to play.
I know that this is a downer way to start a review for something that I gave a positive score - but I feel it's important to hone in on the exact reasons I dislike VA-11 HALL-A, especially because of its overwhelmingly positive praise. Of course, I don't aim to belittle anyone who loves the game. Rather, I simply aim to approach it from a perspective that we haven't heard as much, at least on Backloggd.


SHORT REVIEW

Visuals: 4.5/5
Sound: 5/5
Story: 2.5/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5 [3.7/5]

IN-DEPTH REVIEW

Visuals:
The setup of VA-11 HALL-A is definitely one of its most notable features. Instead of the typical first-person perspective, a large part of your POV is a bartending interface. Within it are specific windows for everything - character sprites, dialogue, the jukebox, and preparing drinks. Conversely, when you're in the protagonist Jill's apartment, half of the screen is her phone. Here you can read through news and forums, listen to songs, and save your game. Everything you need to play is always readily available, with no convoluted menus made to confuse you.
Those aforementioned sprites are just lovely, too. VA-11 HALL-A's detailed pixel art allows for some beautiful shading, lighting, and facial expressions. More importantly, though, it allows the very nice character design to shine.
Each of the patrons and employees stand out from one another easily - something I often find to be a fault in anime works. Each one have their own unique facial features, body types, and style. There's not many, if any at all, that you could confuse for someone else.
I'll throw a few examples out. The bar owner Dana's confidence shines through in her posture and expression, and her masculine outfit makes her stand out from the other women. Jamie, a regular patron, comes across as quite intimidating because of his bodybuilder physique and cyborg parts - but his crossed arms and inability to look you in the eye communicate that he's actually quite calm and shy.
Something else I find really impressive about Va-11 HALL-A is its avoidance of usual anime/gaming trappings in regards to female sex appeal. Almost none of the women are stereotypically attractive - in fact, the one woman who DOES fit the 'anime girl with big boobs' archetype stands out so much that others often comment on how stunning she is for it. Everyone else is much more realistic in their looks; Jill, Dana, Sei, Stella, Betty, Kimberly, and even Dorothy all have designs focusing on their individual personalities, rather than trying to market to middle-aged men.
Really, the only disappointing aspect of VA11 HALL-A's art direction is its lack of variety. There are very few locations. There's limited animations. Worst of all, though, is that you hear about many interesting things happening within your world, but you rarely see them yourself.
In some ways, its understandable. After all, you are merely a bystander in this cyberpunk dystopia, trying to live a normal life. You're not a powerful heroine. But I can't say I wouldn't have liked to witness some of the excellent worldbuilding and story aspects for myself in some small way.
Overall, 4.5/5.

Sound:
VA11 HALL-A's best quality is, without a doubt, its beautiful and expansive soundtrack. These electronic cyberpunk tunes accompany you through each step of your bartending adventure; its wide range of instruments - from electric guitar, to saxophone - provide variety and distinctiveness. There are 59 songs, and nearly each one of them are spectacular.
I honestly believe that the music is a large part of why so many cling to VA11 HALL-A. The mood and atmosphere it so effortlessly sets is THE main reason for the game's staying power. I thoroughly believe that the experience as a whole would not be half as good without it.
The fact that you can choose which music to play through the jukebox adds its own layer, too. You can pick between your favorite tracks, find ones that set a specific mood, create a playlist that mixes energetic jams with slower ones... the possibilities are pretty much endless. It makes each playthrough, and each day, feel a little more unique.
As a personal example, I ended up preferring the slower, more calming tracks (such as my favorite, Snowfall (acoustic).) This made the game as close to cozy as it could be for me. Everything became very relaxing, as it helped me get into the groove of creating drinks.
Even if you don't play VA11 HALL-A, I highly recommend giving the music a listen. I may remember nothing else about it down the line, but I will always have some of these tunes in the back of my mind.
Overall, 5/5.

Story:
Unfortunately, underneath VA11 HALL-A's lovely surface is a messy, problematic underbelly. For each positive I can name in regards to the writing, there are two negatives. I'm genuinely surprised that more people don't talk about its issues.
As far as said positives go, though, the character portrayals are incredibly good. Each person you come across is entirely unique, even the ones that you only see once or twice. They speak differently. They have their own opinions and thought processes. They cultivate their own special relationship with Jill. While I don't personally like all of the characters (Dorothy, Donovan, Anna, STREAMING-CHAN), I can't deny that they all stand out and remain consistent.
Some of the dialogue is really good, too. There's a handful of funny jokes, heartwarming moments, and thought-provoking conversations. But these diamonds are buried under some rough, ROUGH coal.
Thus, my many issues with VA11 HALL-A immerge.
The first glaring problem is its humor. Now, I'm not one to immediately dismiss all jokes about dark topics as unfunny; the problem is that VA11 HALL-A makes light of such things so often that it becomes uncomfortable, overwhelming, and obnoxious. Everything from rape and sexual harassment, to bestiality, to lots and lots of pedophilia - nothing is too much for this game. I'm sorry, but a woman joking about sharing her tits and ass with another adult and a middle schooler is just disturbing, not amusing.
That's not even mentioning the purely immature side of its humor. If the game's not presenting the physically 12 sex worker as comic relief, it's talking about boobs or dicks. I swear that some of these lines were written by middle schoolers - to the point where I'm surprised there's not a single fart punchline in here (though, to be fair, there IS a poop one!)
Here's just a few examples. A very serious, personal conversation is immediately swerved into talking about boob size. A character is consistently referred to as 'Titty Hacker'. The game tries to convince me that the phrase 'stupid meat rods' is funny. Without exaggeration, these sorts of moments made me physically cringe while playing.
But all of this embarrassing "comedy" is nothing compared to the politics. The genre of cyberpunk is built on deconstructing and criticizing capitalism, corporations, and society as a whole; yet, VA11 HALL-A takes a neutral approach to not only dubious topics, but some that are undeniably wrong. It brings these things up freely in conversation, but refuses to make a statement or explore them beyond a surface level.
The most glaring example is Dorothy, a lilim (AI) sex worker designed to look 10-13. She openly talks about how much pedophilic roleplay her work consists of, yet no one has a problem with this. In fact, she is often praised for loving her work.
Of course, my problem isn't with a sex worker being proud of her job. It's that Dorothy - and everyone around her - is completely okay with her success relying on her clients pretending she's a child. The only distress this causes is that Dorothy wants to be hired for being herself, rather than someone to roleplay with - she feels like no one likes her as a person. That's it. There's never a second thought given to the moral implications of her career. Her name is literally inspired by Lolita (she says so herself!), and yet, not even the overarching game bothers to say that pedophilia is a bad thing. I can't make this shit up.
Then, there's the weird stance on political correctness. A few patrons complain about it in one way or another, lamenting both people who become offended and those who try not to offend. And - again - these conversations remain one-sided. There's nothing said to really challenge this perspective; it's simply presented as the relatively correct viewpoint to have.
And all of this is just scratching the surface. I haven't even gotten into the sentiments shared about capitalism and corporations. A character plainly states that corporations aren't evil, just greedy. She insists that they provide a lot of good, such as jobs, so we should be grateful for them. And although this idea IS challenged by another patron, the former is lauded as being the correct one, while her opposition is presented as a sore loser.
[SPOILERS] But one of the biggest plot points - the White Knights' downfall - is where things get really hairy. We're told multiple times that this group of enforcers is evil and untrustworthy; they harass and beat citizens, they're filled with traffickers and mobs, and they're used as a way to keep citizens in line.
[SPOILERS STILL] Yet, we only ever meet one member of the WK, Sei, who is completely likeable and friendly. She's a first responder, aiding people involved in accidents and natural disasters. Sei is an outlier, a rare kind soul amongst her people; so why is it that she's the only White Knight we talk to? I suppose it's a way to keep the game from becoming too stressful in its atmosphere. After all, the typical WK isn't afraid to beat innocent people senseless. But it leaves a bad taste in my mouth all the same - it wouldn't have been impossible to include a more antagonistic WK character.
[SPOILERS STILL] Not only that, but after the WK are brought down by leaks detailing their evil ways, it's made sure that the civilians are presented as equally bad, too. The guy who leaked the information killed many innocent people in the process; civilians attack and murder former WK members after the group has already disbanded.
[SPOILERS STILL] Thus, our perception is warped in such a way that we are made to sympathize with the White Knights, at least slightly. It's pretty typical centrist ideals - 'there are some good cops, protestors are just as bad' - wrapped up in an unfittingly cyberpunk blanket. Behind its progressive mask, VA11 HALL-A is determined to remain centrist on nearly every topic it brings up. It comes across as an attempt to appeal to anyone and everyone, from Redditors to 4channers to Tumblr users. [SPOILER END]
Finally, let's discuss pacing problems - because even if you stripped away all of my criticisms about the humor, politics, and ideals, there'd still be weird story beats underneath. [SPOILERS] The main example of this is Anna. A sort of ghost-like entity, she visits you a few times throughout the game. She's the first face to greet you when you boot up a new save, and she's presented as pretty important in those opening moments. It seems like she'll be a main plot point, or at least someone you'll see semi-regularly.
[SPOILERS STILL] But she doesn't show up again until the last quarter of the game, and she provides absolutely nothing to the story. All she does is make snarky, sexually-charged remarks, cause you to embarrass yourself, and leave. Although you do get an explanation for who she is if you do things right, her existence just seems like an unfinished thread. [SPOILER END]
Generally, there are a LOT of things brought up that have no resolution - Gillian's mysterious past, Jamie's apparent connection, Dana's missing arm, Rad Shiba's disappearance, the assassins Art is hunting. Of course, I don't expect all of this to have a concrete explanation, especially in a piece of media with as large a cast as this one. But there's a lot of interesting ideas presented that are just there.
Now, with all of that out of the way, I will say this - the moment-to-moment conversations are often quite engaging. If you can look past the eye-rolling jokes and politics, the game's excellent character portrayals and their interesting backstories will keep you engaged until the end.
Although I found my problems with VA11 HALL-A to be too enumerated to keep my interest from waning, there was still a lot of nice dialogue and fascinating stories. It may be different for others; maybe none of the things I critiqued here will bother you, and you'll be able to focus solely on all the positives.
Overall, 2.5/5.

GAMEPLAY
"Time to mix drinks and change lives."
VA11 HALL-A's gameplay serves exclusively as a vehicle for its characters and writing. This 'gateway' type of game is such an interesting concept; it's something I wish would be explored more often. Amid exchanges with friends and patrons, you mix drinks to fulfill their orders and keep the dialogue flowing. It's very difficult to get drinks wrong, so there's little pressure on you to do much else but enjoy the process. This is a huge factor in the game's relaxing nature, making it a great way to spend an afternoon.
Still, I do have my issues here, too. I found myself getting tired of dragging and dropping every individual ingredient into the mixer. You often have to do so ten or more times for a single drink. That repetitive action gets old eventually, even if the process of making the drinks is spread out far enough to make it bearable. I think simply clicking to add the ingredient would have been a better solution - dragging adds unneeded steps.
I also personally wish that there were more complex problems to solve. While I understand VA11 HALL-A's goal is to be a 'chill' experience first and foremost, I found the orders where you have to figure out exactly what the patron wants to be the most fun. This type of puzzle-solving adds a challenge to otherwise repetitive gameplay; and I don't think it would take away from the vibe too much, as long as the consequences were minimal.
Besides mixing drinks, you must save up the money from your job to pay bills - while also providing Jill with fun purchases to keep her from getting distracted at work. Like many others, I failed to pay my final bill on time. Consequently, I knew a bad ending was imminent. And while that 'bad ending' isn't actually bad at all, there's no way to know that while you're playing. Knowing that you're going to get evicted distracts a lot from the conversations and characters. It brought down my enjoyment of the last act quite a bit. I'm sure a lower goal for the final bill would have been better, to keep this problem from happening.
Otherwise, there's not much to the gameplay. I understand the lack of dialogue options, since Jill is her own fully-developed character; still, I think a few choices would have benefited the game in the long run, even if it was simply who to serve or what to do in your free time. The lack of player agency makes it pretty standard in many capacities. But, I don't know, maybe I'm just not a visual novel person.
Overall, 3/5.

Wordbuilding:
There's so much to ponder about VA11 HALL-A's world. An endless supply of fascinating information - provided to you by your customers - sets the stage for a technologically advanced society that is held down by capitalistic greed. You'll find yourself wondering what its cities and countries are like, what you're missing out on while stuck in the four walls of the bar. Lilim, brain-robots, talking vending machines, a place called 'Kanyevania', assassins-for-hire - it's an incredibly rich setting. Unfortunately, you view it through a very restricted lens.
Of course, there's something to be said for a game where you take the role of an average person, someone who has no control over what goes on around them. It's an insane change of pace from playing the average overpowered, world-saving hero/heroine. You simply WITNESS the downfall of the White Knights, the closing of the bars, the search for missing people and assassins. You're a backseat passenger - and while that is an engrossing, relatable adventure in its own right, I can't help but wish for a larger, more personal view of VA11 HALL-A's society.
Overall, 3.5/5.

Overall game score: 3.5/5. VA11 HALL-A is a personal, touching game for many like me - its presentation, characters, and world make it a memorable experience, one that is 'warm' and nostalgic for those people. Unfortunately, its flaws are too enumerated for me to be left with the same impression. The problems with its plot, the tasteless and vulgar jokes, the tiring politics, the confined world-view (figuratively and literally), and the lacking gameplay made my time with it quite uncomfortable. It's not something I imagine I'll be revisiting in the future.

Man… talk about a prime example of an amazing story being completely butchered by a mediocre gameplay.

When I first played it, it was amazing. After having my first Kingdom Hearts experience through the intro portion of KH II on my cousin’s PS2, Days was my first “real” KH experience, and I fell in love with it back in 2009 at age 11, playing as the same Roxas that I remembered fondly. My English skills weren’t the best back then, so the story didn’t have much impact on me - instead, I loved the gameplay, the missions, the panel system (which I really enjoy to this day) and simply being able to play a Kingdom Hearts game on my beloved handheld system.

…well, the now 12 years older version of me went to the opposite direction. Hated the extremely tedious gameplay (something my experience in videogames over the years made me more aware of) and absolutely loved every bit of this story which is, for me, the best one in this series so far.

I’m playing the KH games in release order, and when it came the time for Days, I simply didn’t want to skip the game in favor of the movie version contained in the HD collections. I never got to beat it back then, and decided I had to end this properly.

…I kinda didn’t. I cheated my way through many parts simply because I dreaded this mission-based gameplay, skipping every non-obligatory mission whenever possible just to get through the game’s lovely narrative. And, no, I’m not a single bit regretful for doing so.

This game's “game” part sucks. It’s tedious in every possible manner.

……..and yet, after watching the movie version on PS3, I still think that playing the original DS game is the way to go for experiencing this story properly.

Strangely enough, the tediousness ended up adding to the experience, giving it an extra layer of believability. You are working for the Organization, often asking yourself why, and you try to finish your tasks ASAP only for being able to get to the top of Twilight Town’s Station building to share some sea-salt ice cream with your friends… Not only that, but SO MUCH of the interactions between the characters (especially Roxas and Xion!) was lost in the transition to a cutscene-only experience, to an extent that really got me surprised.

Anyway, if the movie version is the only way one has to experience this story, then so be it. It has it’s merits, adding fully voiced (and what a fine display of voice acting btw) and super well animated cutscenes, especially in regard to facial expressions, but I won’t lie: even if the game sucks, even if the gameplay is stupidly tedious, even if the graphics aged as well as the memories of your first girlfriend, it’s still the best way of experiencing this amazing, lovely and deeply emotional story.

And it desperately needs a proper remake.