Sound of Drop – fall into poison – (PC) Review

Fish in a horror barrel.

Sound of Drop is a visual novel, let’s get that stated right out of the gate. Taking place in an aquarium, it’s probably the least likely place someone would expect to have a story of horror and terror play out. Well rest assured, this 3-4 hours experience is one that will leave players with an interesting read that is unexpected and perhaps even shocking at times.

Bring your floaties

Sink or swim, live or die. While visual novels usually have little in the way of gameplay, there is always an ultimate outcome that determines the fate of characters and the way they make choices. In Sound of Drop, these choices factor specifically into whether or not the player will live or die. They also affect more than one character, so the choices picked can lead to some grisly death sequences. It’s not the fact that what they show is exactly graphic in comparison to some other games, but the way the writing describes the events or the sound effects that accompany them. There is some truly interesting moments and confusion going on throughout this game with very little explained.

MSRP: $12.99
Platforms: PC
Price I’d Pay: $10.00
Multiplayer: N/A
How long to beat: 3+ hours

Novel visuals

Graphically it looks great for a visual novel, with bright characters and nice backgrounds. Selection of choices can seem a bit odd at times due to the user interface. It barely lets you see which one is highlighted and then it’s also one of those moments where players ask themselves “am I targeting this choice, or the other” it can be confusing to tell which is which. When it comes time for a choice that leads to a death scene, players will always know as they are marked in red.

It’s a bit of a disappointment to always know when there is the potential of death or a bad ending instead of being totally surprised, but it also helps with replaying and choosing otherwise. Granted the game can be loaded right before the choice and then the correct answer can be selected to continue.

New Game +

It’s highly suggested that once the game is finished, to start over. Though players wouldn’t know it. There is a form of new game plus that actually starts the story over but presents more information and pans elements out. It’s a good thing too because the first time through can be downright confusing and with little exposition on what actually occurred. The story of a lost sister, an insane aquarium, and the twists and turns that occur are totally worth seeing through, but when players get no resolve, it can feel empty. Luckily it’s not the case, just play it twice.

Visual novels are not exactly my forte. This is the first time I’ve played one, and while I’m still not one hundred percent sold on the idea, even being an avid reader in the past, I can appreciate what these games do for the genre. I think I’d love to see more unique visual novels, as of now most seem to cater to similar themes and ideas. This is where Sound of Drop hooked me. It’s horror, it’s interesting in premise, and it’s easy enough to get into because I was digging the core story. Perhaps that’s all it really takes sometimes.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Theme
  • Sound
  • Death scenes
Bad
  • Lack of information
  • Plot can feel jumbled
  • Sadly no voice acting
7.5
Good
Written by
Justin is a long time passionate fan of games, not gaming drama. He loves anything horror related, archaeology inspired adventures, RPG goodness, Dr Pepper, and of course his family. When it comes to crunch time, he is a beast, yet rabies free we promise.