Having dipped their toe in the visual novel genre a fair few times already, with the likes of Horrific Xanatorium and Raging Loop, publishers KEMCO are continuing their focus on this area with the arrival of Together We Live. Developed by Water Phoenix, it’s a post-apocalyptic themed visual novel that comes with warnings of violence and disturbing elements.
So, let’s see whether Together We Live does enough to grip its audience for the duration, or if there’s more of a shock factor than any real substance to proceedings.
Awakening in a barely lit room, Kyoya bears witness to a girl being crushed to death by an unknown force, with shattered bones and blood spewing everywhere. The next moment however, she recovers as if nothing even happened. Unable to move for some reason, Kyoya pleads with this monstrous being who claims to be human, in fear for his own life.
Rather fortuitously for our protagonist, the girl – soon to be named Asagiri – means no harm and explains she’s actually on an important mission to relive the deaths of all mammals to atone for humanity’s sins. The world is bereft of life these days, but Kyoya refuses to believe there’s nobody left and barters with Asagiri to accompany her from now on. Picking up the immobile Kyoya, the two set off on a journey to find their purpose.
Together We Live certainly lives up to the advertised elements, but more in a descriptive sense than anything graphic being visualised. The grim deaths Asagiri suffers are quite varied in that she has to relive beatings, gunshots, and even the feeling of being burnt alive. There comes a point where the final moments of some people, and animals, are played out in detail. Just through using words and blood splatters, it’s still utterly grim and you may find it to be harrowing.
In between the deaths, you’ll experience the relationship of the two being built from the ground upwards. Taking it upon himself, Kyoya teaches his companion about joy, love, happiness, and more. Asagiri’s sense of wonderment in regards to the little things in life is totally adorable to see. As such though, it’s a very slow process and due to the lack of worldly knowledge possessed by Asagiri, conversations are somewhat repetitive in the first Act of three.
It’s worth sticking with Together We Live though, because there’s a little bit of humour to enjoy along the way to counteract the grisly death and their bond really blossoms wonderfully too. Additionally, a lot of the earlier interactions are full of hints relating to what you’ll eventually figure out about both characters. Everything is knitted together really well in the second half of the story and the ‘payoff’ is worthwhile.
One aspect that could put you off Together We Live however, is the fact that it’s a kinetic visual novel. This means you have zero influence on the narrative at any stage, with no choices to be made by you. You’re just going to read it like a picture book that’s got a lot of words in it. Hence, once the roughly five hour playthrough is finished, there’s no replayability for different endings nor any alternative story routes.
Unfortunately, the visuals are a bit hit and miss too. I understand the post-apocalyptic setting requires environments to appear desolate, but damn, the backdrops are incredibly dull throughout. Conversely, at important junctures in the narrative, the CG scenes used are great and there are a fair few that are simply gorgeous. The colours just pop and complement the characters featured in them beautifully.
On the audio front, the BGM is barely noticeable in the best kind of way. Despite the tracks being looped multiple times, the wide selection means you’ll not grow tired of them. I’m not sure if the voiceover for Asagiri will be appreciated though, for it’s in Japanese, but at least the text transcription is in English so you won’t miss anything she says. The translations are good and most of the dialogue makes sense, however it’s not perfect and there are situations where you’ll have rogue words in place to confuse matters.
Overall, Together We Live is a slow burner that develops into an intriguing visual novel that’s equally depressing as it is heartwarming. If you can handle the detailed deathly descriptions, don’t mind the lack of narrative choices, and have the patience to see it through the early stages, then there’s a rather lovely tale to experience here.
Together We Live: A Visual Novel of Redemption and Resilience in a Ruined World – https://www.thexboxhub.com/together-we-live-a-visual-novel-of-redemption-and-resilience-in-a-ruined-world/
Buy Together We Live – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/together-we-live/9N4VR6NR3ZVX
