No One But You Demo

Regardless of where you were born, there’s always something special about it, especially if you still have friends or family there. Walking the same streets you did as a child can trigger a lot of pleasant memories, but the opposite can also be true. This trope is often used in all sorts of stories, and it’s easier to empathize with the main characters in such situations if you have been through it yourself.

No One But You is a visual novel about high school life, childhood friends and secrets, with a drop of romance added on top. There’s the usual drama between classmates and friends, but No One But You also allows you to become more involved with the other characters. The whole thing is also designed to look as cozy as possible, thanks to the nice artwork and the interesting backdrops.

The main character’s name is Hideaki, and he returns to his hometown of Okutama in order to resume his education. He is a high school student, and upon his return he is also greeted by his old friends. As it turns out, life has moved on in the meantime, so his friends now have secrets he is not in on. On top of all that, some things from the past come back to haunt Hideaki as well.

Since everyone seems to have some sort of trauma or problem to get over, the main character can help them along, which in turn should help him settle down and get things back to normal. The story can become a bit sad every now and again, but it would appear that things can be resolved in the end. Things evolve over a couple of in-game days, however, so the story doesn’t feel too rushed.

The artwork throughout the game is very pleasant and cozy, and unlike in many other visual novels out there, the backdrops are in tune with the characters. Thus, they do not look out of place, and they blend in with whatever landscape happens to be behind them. The music is quite pleasant as well, but it can become a tad repetitive after a while.

All things considered, No One But You does not feature any kind of new mechanics or intriguing gameplay ideas, but it makes up for this by telling you a nice story. Thanks to this, you can focus on the plot and the characters instead.