Va-11 Hall-A Review

When it comes to Visual Novels, it’s a hit or miss game for me. So when looking at Va-11 Hall-a: Cyberpunk Bartender Action from Sukeban Games when it came to PS4 and Nintendo Switch, I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it. It received some positive feedback on Steam with over 300,000 copies sold.

Diving into it, it was easy to see why it did so well on steam, after all it checks almost all the boxes – retro inspired pixel graphics, interesting characters, and a story full of sex, corruption and crime. Needless to say, the game caught my attention.

Va-11 Hall-A is a dive bar in the slums of Glitch City, which is said to attract the “most fascinating” of people. The city is on the brink of tearing itself apart with Corruption and food shortages, an oppressive force called the White Knights that ensures that everyone follows the laws and a mysterious hacker group that provokes an uprising.

The game throws you in the shoes of Jill, one of the bartenders for Va-11 Hall-A. At first glance, Jill is a normal person trying to make her rent and being social with the customers who come to drink. Here she meets a cast of interesting characters including a Robot Sex Worker, an Assassin, a Catgirl, a pure-hearted and non-corrupt White Knight, an Android and more.

Interacting with the patrons of the bar will tell you more of the world and the story behind their daily lives, but it also helps to get them drunk – it is your job. Jill comes with a variety of recipes to make a series of cocktales and the bar comes with 5 different ingredients to do so – Adelhyde, Bronson Extract, Powdered Delta, Flanergide and Karmotrine. You’re also given the ability to age drinks, add Ice, and create bigger versions of the drinks at clients wishes.

Early in the game, the orders are fairly straight-forward, usually asking for the drink by name, other times will mention that they want something of a particular taste. There are times when the clients will hint back to previous conversations or history of the drinks which will test your memory skills.

Eventually you’ll also be able to tweak a drink, altering how much or how fast the drinker gets drunk by mixing up the amount of Karmotrine (the ingredient that makes drinks alcoholic). This opens up the game’s branching storylines, which can lead to one of seven endings for the game. I found this was an interesting way to progress the story as you’re never given any dialog option for Jill, but the skill of your drink mixing and knowing what your customers want makes gives a new twist on how the Visual Novel aspect of the game work.

The reason why this works is definitely thanks to the game’s writing and likeable characters. Each personality brings something new to this dystopian future, whether it’s information on how the White Knights operate, how Sex-Workers undergo certain upgrades, or if it gives you an inside scoop on how the city is going to hell, it’s all fleshes out the world in a way that you couldn’t see for yourself.

In the aesthetics department, I don’t have any real complaints. The character portraits look great, but I wish they were a little more animated, and the music feels at home with the style and tone of the game, it almost have the same tranquility as some of the Lo-fi/easy-listening playlists you’d hear in a random playlist on Youtube.

As someone who is not a huge fan of the visual novel genre, Va-11 Hall-A hits the right notes that makes me think I should really change my mind about the genre. Interesting characters, a simple to learn mechanic for mixing drinks, and a peaceful soundtrack makes it a great packaged deal for the Switch and PS4 for those looking for something different.