As we recently highlighted, there's a bit of a boom of visual novels on Nintendo Switch, no doubt helped by the system's format being particularly well suited to the genre. Another has now been confirmed as an upcoming Summer arrival – Hermitage: Strange Case Files. Previously released on Steam in China by developer Arrowiz, it's being localised and published in the West by Giiku Games.
Though the trailer above isn't particularly recent, it gives a taste of what this one is aiming for in terms of its storytelling approach. It'll feature supernatural and potentially grisly plotlines, and seems quite intriguing based on the official description.
The aforementioned ‘Hermitage’ is a quirky and altogether curious bookshop stood at the crossroads of a lonely junction, serving as a port of call for only the most eccentric of book worms. The store’s manager – usually to be found casting a critical eye over Hermitage’s patrons with a cigarette in his hand – is used to endearing oddities perusing his dusty shelves, but when one customer comes in searching for literature to solve the mystery behind some particularly lucid ritualistic dreams.
With Hermitage: Strange Case Files causing its protagonist to question the lines between fantasy and reality, players take on the role of said bookshop owner – a former anthropology professor who has strangely never been seen outside of Hermitage. With the help of a hacker genius on the run, a self-proclaimed detective and a short-tempered legal consultant, players will need to get to the bottom of a series of horrific incidents, taking on the supernatural horrors that lurk between the pages of Hermitage's weird and wonderful book collection.
It's a game that'll put an emphasis on detective work, while your choices will take you down different storyline paths.
We'll keep an eye out for a firm release date in the coming weeks; are you tempted by Hermitage: Strange Case Files?