Ghostpia is one of those games that you look at and immediately want to buy just because of how pretty it looks. That’s exactly what I did, and in this case, it completely paid off. Ghostpia is an amazing visual novel.

Just a Ghost

You follow the perspective of Sayoko, who lives in a supposed ghost town where no one seems to die and no one knows what they are. They simply label themselves as ghosts. However, Sayoko feels different from the rest. Her memory of the past is blurry, and she feels like she doesn’t belong here.

You’ve probably already noticed that this game is called Ghostpia: Season One, and it really feels more like watching an episode of an anime than playing a visual novel. The intro and outro animations really help bring this vision to life, along with the numerous CGs and animations (of which there are many). So, even though this won’t be one of the longer visual novels you’ve played, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth just in the art department. Trust me.

Each episode follows Sayoko and her friends: typically Pacifica, a well-off girl who seems to care a lot about Sayoko; Anya, who works at the repair shop and might come off as standoffish at first but really does care; and Yoru, a girl who mysteriously appeared in this town one day, a town where the number of residents has never increased.

Sayoko

Just from looking at the promotional materials and reading the description, you can probably tell that the game will explore a wide range of emotions within our main character, or perhaps the lack of them at first. But you might still be surprised by the tone. The game is unexpectedly violent, which initially caught me off guard. Over time, though, you become numb to it, despite the cute, almost Ghibli-like art style. Sayoko is already used to it, and so will you eventually.

I really couldn’t guess the mystery of this game, which is tightly wrapped throughout the story, but clues are definitely scattered along the way. The game functions as the season name suggests, in episodes, with each episode typically lasting about three hours or so. Each episode is its own arc, but it is not an episodic format where they forget what happened in previous episodes. Each episode seems to bring Sayoko closer and closer to becoming more human than what she thinks of herself, a simple ghost who has been thoroughly outcast.

While Sayoko is the protagonist, it does not treat Sayoko as a blameless victim. While one of the main antagonists, the church, has made her reputation, let us say, not great, she also sometimes does cruel things to people trying to help her. For example, there is a character named Clara whom Sayoko constantly uses and manipulates, yet you still care a lot about her.

Her insecurity, lack of memories, and interactions with her friends all feel very human. Despite not always being the best person in her friend group, perhaps even selfish, I really wanted to support their journey and see where they were all headed. It reminds me a lot of my own friend groups in real life, and it is one of the more touching and interesting perspectives I have seen on this type of topic.

Onwards to the Next Season (Hopefully soon!)

The glitchy visuals and CRT effect might be a bit too heavy for some people, but you can adjust them. To me, they add a lot to the story. Sayoko feels like someone whose memory is literally clouded and glitchy, so viewing her perspective through an old television made sense. It feels like the game is saying that this experience is fragile, something that could be forgotten or lost with the glitches and the wear of time. She remembers fragments of things, has questions about herself that she can’t answer, and has questions about others that she’s too afraid to ask, even if she knows she probably should. It’s a multi-faceted experience that really puts you into the viewpoint of Sayoko, not to identify with her, but to understand her as a person.

The story doesn’t end on a major cliffhanger, but it also doesn’t resolve every mystery, since those will be addressed in the sequel. Even so, I really enjoyed this game and now I’m excitedly waiting for the new season. Ghostpia is going on my all-time favorites list for visual novels, right up there with titles like Enjoy the Diner. It’s unique, it’s heartwarming, and it’s beautiful to look at. I would say this is a must-buy for anyone looking for a visual novel with a different vibe.

We also have a video version of this review! We want to start making video reviews for most of the game reviews on this site. This one is a bit shorter because we wanted to balance the script, keep the editing manageable, and I’m not very confident speaking for a long time. Hopefully, we’ll get more comfortable with longer reviews as my writing improves.