Sunlight Scream is a visual novel created by the team at Faithy Games, published by Valkyrie Initiative, and will be released on July 11th. Following the common themes of a slasher movie, with an anime-inspired art style and multiple possible endings, Sunlight Scream is a welcoming addition to the Visual Novel genre. With an M rating, it doesn’t hold anything back with a mature theme of sexual content, swearing, and violence within this mystery-themed visual novel.

The Charming and Murderous Story of Sunlight Scream

At the beginning of Sunlight Scream, we meet Max Hardy, who has had some very sudden events happen to him within the last few years, starting with the divorce of his parents making him leave behind his dad and older brother in Sunlight City to move to a different city with his mom. After years away, Max has returned to Sunlight City after the death of his mother to live once again with his father and brother. 

Just when it seems his luck is starting to turn, with starts a new school and is already making three friends, Leon, Sarah, and Samatha. Another string of unfortunate events follows Max; receiving menacing phone calls from a stranger every night, witnessing a hit-and-run that results in another death, and discovering several deceased individuals since his arrival.

The story of Sunlight Scream is more than just a horror suspense story, it also has a pleasant balance of the slice-of-life genre. From taking your date out on the weekends to taking an actual math test, which luckily doesn’t affect the story too much if you get the answers wrong, there are a lot of chances to live the life of a normal teenager. These quiet moments in the narrative offer an opportunity to better under the characters. 

There are certain instances that may require a careful read as there are some missing English grammar errors that need a review for editing. Nevertheless, the narrative flows smoothly despite a few translation errors.

Characters You Can Connect with

The characters of Sunlight Scream are very typical types of characters, you have the main character, who cares about all his friends and will stand up for anyone, the classic bully that takes people’s money and steals homework from the smart kid, and the four romance options Sarah, Samatha, Erika and a LGBTQ+ option with Leon. These are all variations of the common tropes of nerdy girl, shy girl, mean girl, and male best friend. While they are very typical characters for a visual novel, there is an added feature to all of them that adds to the story. Max doesn’t know these people; he has only known them for a few days once the killing starts happening. Any one of them could be the person behind it, and Max wouldn’t know.

That adds more impact to the choices you get to make in this game. The use of these characters brings a deeper connection while playing through the story. The big choices you make change the outcome of whether these characters live or die. 

A Soundtrack That Adds to The Narrative

Alongside the characters and story in Sunlight Scream, is the music, which plays a significant impact on the story when you listen to it closely. With 50 unique songs that vary depending on the mood of the scene or the characters, it enhances the storytelling experience by engaging one of your primary senses. The music shifts from peaceful melodies use in the school scenes to ominous tunes, signaling that the situation is about to become intense, and a choice will need to be more soon to save a character’s life.

The Choices you Make

Much of Sunlight Scream plays similarly to how other visual novels tend to do. You read through the story and every once in a while, there are times for you to choose dialog for the main character to follow. This could be an action that is as simple as deciding to go down the hall or go to the school office on the first day, to something as significant as choosing to stop one of the other characters from leaving to prevent their death. 

Something that is a refreshing inclusion to this visual novel is the battery mechanic in this game. Whenever a choice comes up for you a battery icon appears on the right side of the screen. Depending on the importance of the decision, the battery’s power changes from low to high on the icon. High being a decision that would change the fact of one of the characters and low being no impact on the story at all.

This addition to the game makes you fully understand the impact that these choices could have on the story. This makes the replay ability a big factor for Sunlight Scream, as there are several endings depending on the choices you make. However, if the anxiety of making a decision stresses you as much as it did to me, you can always save before choosing and back see what the other option would have done to your story.

Final Thoughts

In summary, the storyline of Sunlight Scream offers its players a compelling narrative to engage with characters you can connect. The anime-art style provides players with a familiar appeal, as the music plays a significant impact on the story, making it an interesting addition to the genre. Despite the translation error from Russian to English, if you’re looking for a suspenseful story with a touch of a slice of life, Sunlight Scream might just be worth checking out.

Sunlight Scream will be available on PC through Steam, Itch.i.o. and on Nintendo Switch through Nintendo Eshop for $6.99 USD. NeverMore Niche received a free review key generously provided by Faithy Games.