Seven Days

Developer: LIFE0 | Publisher: Fruitbat Factory | Release Date: 2019 | Genre: Visual Novel / Adventure | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

These days, the visual novel genre is unfortunately associated primarily with adult content, which means plenty of titles get ignored despite catering to different audiences. One of the titles that deserve more attention is Seven Days by LIFE0 and Fruitbat Factory. At first glance, Seven Days appears to be a horror title as the protagonist, Kanzaki Shuuichi, comes into possession of a cursed Blu-ray disc. Shuuichi is not entirely convinced that this disc is the real deal but quickly finds out how wrong he is. Fortunately, his neighbor and childhood friend, Sairenji Murasaki, has a lot of experience with ghosts and saves Shuuichi from a terrible fate by performing an exorcism on the disc. This has the unintended and unexpected side effect of leaving behind the physical form of the female ghost that inhabited the disc. Shuuichi and Murasaki are even more shocked to discover that the now corporeal girl, Kikanagi Chiyako, shares her body with six other girls. Like Chiyako, these girls died under tragic circumstances. The bad news is that while the curse has seemingly been broken, Chiyako only has 49 days left in the world before her spirit will depart permanently. Thanks to Murasaki’s experience with spirits, she is able to grant each of the girls control of Chiyako’s body for seven days, giving them enough time to hopefully leave this world under happier circumstances than before. Shuuichi kindly volunteers to take in Chiyako and her companions and vows to help in any way he can to make their last days as fulfilling as possible.

Although the story is not that unique, it is the characters that really make Seven Days such a pleasure to play. However, as much fun as it is to spend time with the different girls, it is also a bittersweet experience as you know there is no happily ever after waiting for the characters. This is something that Shuuichi experiences, too, as each week he has to say goodbye to one of the girls forever. As emotional as the story is, it’s not just doom and gloom. Each girl is given her own chapter, filled with lighthearted moments, laugh-out-loud situations, and plenty of charming interactions. Unlike other visual novels, the focus in Seven Days is not on romance, but that does not mean Shuuichi or the girls can not fall in love. It does, however, mean that the final farewell will be that much harder when it inevitably occurs.

In contrast to the typical “paths” for each character commonly found in visual novels with multiple heroines, Seven Days favors a more linear approach. Each girl is given her own chapter, and once concluded, you can move on to the next one or replay any of the previous ones. The game is filled with choices that can be made, so replaying previous chapters helps explore the different outcomes. You will also need to reach specific outcomes for each chapter if you want to progress to the true ending in the final chapter. It’s a straightforward system and worked well, which is a relief as these things can get quite messy in visual novels with branching storylines.

From a visual standpoint, Seven Days is a great-looking game with plenty of really good art. The seven girls all take turns possessing one body, but each imparts their own personality by changing outfits and hair color. The other characters, such as Murasaki and Shuuichi’s mother, also look great, and the game doesn’t skimp on CGs either. There are a few slightly risqué scenes in the game, but no nudity or need for any patches to restore content. The setting is restricted to Shuuji’s house and surrounding areas, thanks to a magical barrier the ghosts can’t cross. However, there’s no shortage of backgrounds as characters interact with each other in the various rooms of Shuuichi’s home as well as places like the main street, convenience store, park, beach, and more. Even better, many of these areas are also shown in a different light, depending on the time of day, which is a nice touch. Of course, Seven Days is a relatively new title, so the visuals are in full HD, which isn’t always a guarantee for the genre.

The audio has been given as much care and attention as the visuals, so you’ll hear plenty of background tunes and full Japanese voice acting for all the characters apart from Shuuichi. The user interface is intuitive and features everything one would expect from a visual novel, including the ability to quicksave, quickload, skip text that you have already read, and so on. Interestingly, there is a button to rewind to the last choice that you have made, but not one to skip to the next choice. Players might also be caught off guard by the few reaction-based decisions in the game where you need to quickly click on a button that appears.

Seven Days has its fair share of genre tropes and cliches but still manages to tell a very emotional story. Since its premise is so off the wall, it also means that some things don’t quite make sense or push the boundaries of credibility, but overall, it is a great game. The mixture of horror, slice of life, drama, and humor, not to mention the emotional aspects, makes it a very memorable title. Seeing the days get counted down for each character and knowing that they are running out of time makes it feel like every moment you spend with them counts. The final chapter also brings everything together in a very unexpected but welcome conclusion.

Overall, Seven Days kept us entertained and emotionally invested throughout the 25+ hours it took us to complete the game. The story could have been predictable but veered off in unexpected directions enough times to keep us on our toes. If you are looking for a visual novel with great visuals, good audio, and, most importantly, a moving story, then don’t miss out on Seven Days.