| Developer | RB Wolf Games |
| Platforms | Steam iOS Android |
| Genres | Visual Novel |
| Difficulty | Newcomer |
| Language | English, Korean Simplified Chinese Traditional Chinese Japanese and more… |
Once Again is an interactive visual novel developed by Malaysian game developer RB Wolf Games that tells a touching story about a young boy who was given a chance to travel back in time and spend time with a loved one.
Not only is Once Again a captivating story with themes of grief and letting go, but it’s also perfect for a Chinese learner of all levels.
Note: The iOS and Android versions of Once Again are free to play till Chapter 3.
About the game
In Once Again, you follow the main character’s story as he tells you of his journey back to the past.
Each birthday, he is given the opportunity to travel back in time and meet and spend time with his mother, whom he had never met before.
With each travel, he discovers more about his mother and her world.
You, as players, will discover their story through a series of dialogues and mini-games.
Trailer
Narration style, interactions and mini-games
The narration style in Once Again differs from that of other visual novels. Instead of an image of the character with dialogue and narration displayed below, images are shown similarly to comics.
In the first two chapters, a yellow circle is often shown when user interaction is required. A hint is also given to show you the type of interaction needed, e.g., tap, drag, or swipe. The indications are no longer shown as you become familiar with the interactions.
I was a little confused by some of the interactions, as there were a few times when there was no indication that I needed to interact with the image. Hint: If you see a ? or a speech bubble in the images, click on it!
As you play through each chapter, you’ll find a few simple mini-games, including piecing together a simple puzzle or adjusting the lens of a camera through dials. None of these mini-games are tacting, but they add fun interactions to a visual novel.
As a Chinese learning material
Once Again is the ideal first visual novel for Chinese learners to play in Chinese.
The dialogues and narration are short, easy to follow, and use everyday language. It couldn’t be more perfect for a Chinese learner!
The ability to revisit dialogues and replay scenes is an important aspect of a game for any language learner. Once Again has exactly that. You can revisit the chapters and play through the scenes as many times as you want! It’s perfect for reviewing words and sentences you’ve learnt from this game!
I recommend playing Once Again on a large screen as the text is small and may be difficult to read.
Final Thoughts
Once Again will take approximately one to two hours to complete. Although short, it told a touching story, and I enjoyed my experience with this game.
The Steam offers a few achievements, so there is some replay value. As a Chinese learner, you’ll gain much more from playing Once Again than just achievements on Steam.
Immersing yourself in level-appropriate content when learning a language is extremely important! Games can be challenging for language learners as we don’t have tools such as pop-up dictionaries to help us like we do with digital books. I’m happy I discovered this game, and now I have something to recommend to other learners!