Raising a Daughter in a World of Choices
Sometimes life throws you a complete curveball, especially life reviewing games.
You see, quite often the games we spend time reviewing come with very little information up-front; and such is the case with today’s offering.
Debuting on Game Pass is Volcano Princess, the creation of those at Gamirror Games and 养蛋人 Egg Hatcher. This is a game that has us answering an age old question: what happens when a single father raises a daughter by himself? Well, I don’t know about you, but this is a question that I don’t think is asked enough in the world of video games, and so I dived in with a will, determined to raise my daughter, Dave, to be the best she could be.
And yes, the game does let you choose your own names. Why do you ask?
Guiding a Life
Volcano Princess is billed as a parenting simulator/life sim/RPG, and that seems like a pretty fair summary of what is on offer here. The story is pretty simple, when you boil it down: We were happily married to our wife, a baby came along, and the wife exited. I assume that the wife dies, although the game doesn’t make it clear, but she still has a starring role in cutscenes, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
Our daughter begins as a toddler, and it is up to us to teach her right from wrong, guiding her in the right direction by choosing what she learns, attempting to influence things going forward.
With multiple endings to the story, there is a good deal of replayability in this game, and seeing our little girl grow up is strangely satisfying.
Cutesy Charm and Minimalist Movement
Presentation is certainly on the cutesy side, especially in terms of the visuals, but equally they are pretty simplistic. As we begin, we can visit our daughter in her room, and then choose what she is going to do: should she concentrate on her lessons, should we take her for a walk to the various locations, or should we play games with her?
Each of these activities is represented by a cutscene, and while she can walk around the locations available, and even go on adventures when she is old enough, there is never anything found here that is going to make the Xbox sweat. In fact, most of the screens play out as simple side scrolling affairs, with people and things to interact with. Thankfully, the graphics work perfectly well to portray what is going on.
I would say that the sound is a bit of a mixed bag, with our daughter having a good line in chatter, in Japanese, despite which language you choose at the beginning. Luckily the subtitles are in English (or an approximation thereof, at least) and so we know what is going on. Other than this, the sound is very low key, and all the better for it, to be honest.
From Protector to Life Coach
Volcano Princess is split into months, with each beginning in the same way: we meet our daughter in her room, and then decide what we are going to do. As she gets older, she will have definite ideas about what she wants to do, and so our role changes over time; from protector to mentor to guide and life coach. It’s here where we can have heart to heart chats with her when she is troubled, and these are usually opportunities to guide her in a certain way, basically ensuring that she stays on the straight and narrow.
Jobs, Friends, and Adventures
As she gets older and grows, she can also go and get a job, should she wish. Those on offer do require certain skill sets: working in the bath house giving massages, for instance (aiming our sights high!) requires an amount of charisma, while doing the accounts requires her to have a higher mind score. Talking to different people in the various locations can also teach her different things. And better still, she can even gain friends this way.
Having friends is a great idea when it comes to the adventure section of the game, which is a simple little RPG type diversion. It plays out with a path through the location, leaving us to make it to the end. However, going there alone is a recipe for defeat, so taking a trusted friend along makes the whole thing easier. These adventures are critical to the training that she undergoes to become a knight, and ultimately to the ending that we receive – along with all the rest of the choices that we make.
Choices and Consequences
Yes, in Volcano Princess, choices matter and open up certain paths to us. To use the example of the bathhouse earlier, being a masseur pays well, but increases a level of Darkness, and believe me, having a high Darkness score will close off some conversation paths as some people simply won’t want to engage in chatter. Of course, you can remove the Darkness, but you’ll have to discover how to do that on your own.
A Rewarding and Stress-Free Parenting Sim
All things considered, Volcano Princess is a very interesting proposition. It is nice to take in a game that is about as stress-free as you can get, instead leaving the player to go shaping a (virtual) life; something that can be strangely rewarding. Making the right choices, nurturing a young girl – but not smothering her – is an interesting challenge, and the balancing act can be tricky at times.
There’s little reason to not give Volcano Princess a go, if only so you can try and care for your daughter as much as I care for Dave!
Your Links
Critically Acclaimed Volcano Princess Erupts onto Xbox, Game Pass & Play Anywhere – https://www.thexboxhub.com/critically-acclaimed-volcano-princess-erupts-onto-xbox-game-pass-play-anywhere/
Download Volcano Princess through Game Pass – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/volcano-princess/9PLNGNZVB1ZP/0010
