Changeling Tale

Sit down, relax, and take everything easy. This review is about a game that can be considered an adult game. However, it’s generally considered to be a great visual novel(and we all know how sappy these can get). So, Changeling Tale is set in Scotland, 1919. all about a young man who comes back to his home from war, and he’s having a hard time readjusting to calm farm life. Go along his journey and follow along as he tries to find his ‘true self’ and his ‘true love.’

In Changeling Tale, you play as Malcolm(a young veteran) who struggles to rebuild his life and find peace on the farm where he was raised. He lives across the MacLeod sisters(who are his childhood friends), have definitely taken a hard toll from the war. So the return of Malcolm might have been the blessing in disguise that they have been waiting for! Your choices will decide what ending you reach, so make sure you keep Malcolm and those close to him safe!

That’s the basic description of the game, so if you’re one of those gamers who absolutely enjoy anthropomorphic-themed Visual Novels, then Changeling Tale will probably be the best one you’ll find out there! The storyline is rich and has a lot of substance. There are many endings you can achieve. You can have more than 11 love interests. There’s just so much about the game to love! So tune in on this review, it’ll be worth it.

A Collision

This game is the result of a collision with fantasy and reality! Historical scenes filled with flappers, fae magic, and lots of stereotypical Scottish things. More than that, its romance clashing with history! The best girls are clashing with other best girls! There’s so much to love about each tidbit in the game, so I highly recommend checking it out for yourself!

The Gameplay

Though I say gameplay, its nothing of the sort. I have mentioned previously that this is a Visual Novel(VN), which is a text-based narration, that is sprinkled every now and then with interactivity, all supported with still or animated visuals. Changeling Tales employs the Butterfly effect, meaning the choices you make(in the interactive scenes) will dictate how the story proceeds, so make sure you choose wisely.

If you’re like me and can’t afford to support the creator of Changeling Tale, then we only have the option of downloading the demo version. Though a demo version, it is still brimming with an excellent storyline filled with lots of plot. In this demo, you’ll only have the pleasure of having 3 love interests - all 3 of the MacLeod Sisters; Jessie, Marion, and Grace. Which you’ll have the joy of finding, quite amazing characters.

It can be considered an adult game because every now and then; you’ll get some scenes that have nudity or shows the girls scantily clad. However, don’t let this fact dominate over how well-thought-out the whole novel is. As mentioned on the game’s website, ‘story-rich & character-driven VN,’ which is absolutely true. The developers also scattered some Achievements, Easter eggs, and minigames - so it’s more than just a basic visual novel.

Changeling Tale is a transformation-themed visual novel, so if you’re interested in the likes of Furries and such, this visual novel possesses that unique kicker! Your first 3 girls(the MacLeod sisters) and you will, at some point in the game, will be transformed into the animals themselves or take on a somewhat humanoid form. A wolf maiden, a cow maiden, and a draconic maiden, it’s your choice who to choose and follow through with.

Changeling is still under development, though, so you should definitely keep a good visual novel like this under your radar. So if you’d like to support the Little Napoleon team, you can do so by going to their official Patreon page! Supporting the team can get you early access to new builds and the full game upon its completion. You might even become a contributor to the whole storyline as you vote in polls to aid the game development.

What I Like

The artwork is quite beautiful. Character design aside, the effort that was put into the art for the game is truly admirable. The backgrounds of each scene, the subtle animations, the color shifts to signify changes in time - simply beautiful. Likewise, with the characters, the effort for every detail - the changes in emotion, the subtle changes in facial expression, you can’t help but just revel in its charm.

The soundtracks that were chosen just sets the whole mood for the backgrounds — completing the ensemble that is Changeling Tale. The music simply keeps you moving forward, and with every scene switch, the music mimics. So it’s akin to watching a movie where it helps you to get into the right mood. It’s not too overbearing as well, so it is still suitable to listen to while reading at a calm pace. They’re all original soundtracks too.

The storyline is probably the best part about Changeling Tale. The depth at which Little Napoleon thought is quite praiseworthy, considering that they’re not a professional company but a small team that is supported through Patreon. An endearing and sweet tale, riddled with a challenge that forces you to think carefully of the choices that you will make - If you genuinely want to reach the end scene for every route.

They employ a save and load function. So if you simply don’t have the time to finish the whole visual novel in one sitting, then you can just save and come back to it at a later time. So your progress through the long and rich story won’t be lost at all. Though your memory will probably be foggy so you might need a refresher if you’re gone for too long.

What I Don’t Like

As with every game, there are always things that people will focus on, myself included. Those are the negatives of the game(or just the things that we don’t like personally). It’s impossible to say that there is a perfect game out there - much less, a visual novel, a genre that not many people are highly dedicated to.

Firstly, it is said on the official Patreon page that this game is an 18+ visual novel, which got me excited at first because who doesn’t love an erotic visual novel? However, I was thoroughly let down when I found out that the most action you’ll get are still images with one animated section(which is usually not an important part in the scene). The sexual content that was promised did not match the expectation I had and what I was looking for.

Secondly, like any other visual novel, it’s really slow! I mean, sure, you can adjust the text speed and the whole skipping speed. Still, unless you’ve already gone through the novel once then, you’ll need to read each line carefully as it might be a crucial part of the story. So your reading speed will decide the pace at which you can complete the whole novel. Not to mention that you have to go back and load if you’ve made a mistake.

Thirdly, it’s basically a click-fest hell. If you haven’t already tweaked the setting to change the text loading speed, then you’ll probably be doing a lot of left-clicking. This is similar to the second reason, where it’s slow. Because your clicking is also associated with your reading speed, so again, if you’re a slow reader, then, of course, you’ll have a slow pace going through the whole novel.

Conclusion

I am a big fan of interactive visual novels. So when one of these hits my radar, I’m sure to check it out. Oh boy, I’m glad I did because it is such a high-quality visual novel. With good writing(a good storyline with a great plot, intricate details on how each character’s mannerisms and speech patterns), good soundtracks, good artwork, and art style, I really hope that Changeling Tale will get the recognition that it deserves.

Though with every decision, you’re followed up with a fuckton of clicking just to read, is kind of annoying. I still enjoyed my time reading each line because each line progressed the story without having to sacrifice any other aspect. So it was definitely a good novel in my eyes, I’d probably give it a 3.8 or 4 out 5.