Novel Not New

For our second ever adventure game on the show, Jen, Olivia, and Six ride the last voyage of the Orient Express on the eve of World War 1. A friend is killed, gun smuggling is afoot, and there's a... robot bird? Hmm. Not all as it seems aboard this train.

This Month's Game!
The Last Express

Next Month's Game!
Kindred Spirits on the Roof

It can be a little hard to focus on finding the boy of your dreams when there are serial killings going on, you're hiding your identity, and it's POSSIBLE all of existence is a dreamlike hellscape where it's literally impossible to be happy for long... but we do our best in this surreal otome game!

This Month's Game!
Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk

Next Month's Game!
The Last Express

New cohost Olivia joins us for a trip around the world! What mysteries await us in this steampunk reimagining of Jules Verne's classic? Automata and empires stand between us and making around the world in 80 days or less!

This Month's Game!
80 Days

Next Month's Game!
Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk

The podcast, long divided, must unite. Jen and Six meet up for a fantasy fish out of water story with more than a hint of sexual tension. Maybe it's better for hentai developers to just make hentai, than to dance around the issue? Dizzy Hearts claims to issue in the "Year of the Elf." Let's see how true that is.

CW: Sexual content, a little discussion of an abusive relationship between a mother and daughter.

This Month's Game!
Dizzy Hearts

Next Month's Game!
80 Days

We’re back with the first game of a new era, an era when we can click on things and solve puzzles in addition to just reading games. Join us as we explore the strange new world of magic and the afterlife with WadjetEye’s adventure game/bioware style RPG with Unavowed!

This Month's Game!
Unavowed

Next Month's Game!
80 Days

You can support Jen and Six on the Scanline Media Patreon, and support Em and the network on the Abnormal Mapping Patreon. You can find Novel Not New on iTunes!

Please send all your questions and comments about this game or anything else to [email protected]!

After many months off we return with one of the longest games we’ve covered, and boy are our arms tired. What does it mean when a game has all the stories in it? Does live action convey anything special to narrative past charm at some hokey acting? Can glossary text single-handedly save a game? All this and more as we spiral out from diet drink scams to world-ending virus conspiracies as we scramble through the twisting paths of this massive, complicated game!

This Month's Game!
428: Shibuya Scramble

Next Month's Game!
Unavowed

You can support Jen and Six on the Scanline Media Patreon, and support Em and the network on the Abnormal Mapping Patreon. You can find Novel Not New on iTunes!

Please send all your questions and comments about this game or anything else to [email protected]!

It’s time to die and time to not let that stop us as we explore the tangled web of intrigue in this small narrative RPG Maker mystery. Do novel character-hopping abilities make up for the rough seas of buggy games, or is this one particular love boat run aground? The winds blow both ways this month. Boat puns!

This Month's Game!
Why Am I Dead at Sea?

Next Month's Game!
428: Shibuya Scramble

You can support Jen and Six on the Scanline Media Patreon, and support Em and the network on the Abnormal Mapping Patreon. You can find Novel Not New on iTunes!

Please send all your questions and comments about this game or anything else to [email protected]!

We go into the distant past of the 1980s to explore the very origins of both Japanese adventure games and visual novels with Yuji Horii’s incredibly influential Portopia Serial Murder Case. From Phoenix Wright to Metal Gear, so much of gaming started with this one quiet murder and the exploration along the waterfront. Join us for a surprisingly accessible trip down memory lane.

This Month's Game!
Portopia Serial Murder Case

Next Month's Game!
Why Am I Dead at Sea?

You can support Jen and Six on the Scanline Media Patreon, and support Em and the network on the Abnormal Mapping Patreon. You can find Novel Not New on iTunes!

Please send all your questions and comments about this game or anything else to [email protected]!

We’re back with one of our longest, most involved episodes yet as we take a look at the (in)famous Ladykiller in a Bind. What is it like to play a death game with no death? Just how much can you get away with being nice when you have to play an asshole? And really, what is UP with the Swimmer, geez?? All this and more as we talk over this surprising visual novel.

Also, we have an announcement about the future of the podcast (I promose it’s not too bad! We get right into it so feel free to check that out)

CW: Obviously explicit talk of sex in this one, including some brief mentions of non-consensual situations towards the end of the episode.

This Month's Game!
Ladykiller in a Bind

Next Month's Game!
Portopia Serial Murder Case

You can support Jen and Six on the Scanline Media Patreon, and support Em and the network on the Abnormal Mapping Patreon. You can find Novel Not New on iTunes!

Please send all your questions and comments about this game or anything else to [email protected]!

We return, Reader, to the mystic Rites once again, for tales of corrupted saves and questionable sacrifice as we explore the strange lands of Supergiant’s third game, Pyre. Join us as we travel to purgatory and back in our quest to answer once and for all: can magic basketball be a visual novel?

This Month's Game!
Pyre

Next Month's Game!
Ladykiller in a Bind

You can support Jen and Six on the Scanline Media Patreon, and support Em and the network on the Abnormal Mapping Patreon. You can find Novel Not New on iTunes!

Please send all your questions and comments about this game or anything else to [email protected]!