Celestia: Chain of Fate
Celestia: Chain of Fate
Celestia: Chain of Fate est un visual novel de romance-fantasy développé par Agate Studio et édité par PQube, sorti le 12 septembre 2024 sur PC et Nintendo Switch. Le jeu propose une narration pilotée par le joueur dans laquelle on incarne la fille d'un duc dont la vie bascule à la découverte de son héritage hybride, descendante à la fois d'un Angelus et d'un Daemon. Contrainte de rejoindre l'Académie de Celestia, l'héroïne doit apprendre à maîtriser ses pouvoirs magiques tout en naviguant dans un monde peuplé d'anges et de démons.
L'intrigue invite à percer les secrets de l'histoire familiale et à tisser des liens avec trois prétendants aux personnalités distinctes. Le gameplay met l'accent sur la gestion des relations amoureuses et amicales, sans pour autant négliger l'aspect scolaire : le diplôme conditionne la progression à travers une série de défis à relever. Le titre, développé sous Unity, offre une durée de vie estimée à une vingtaine d'heures pour l'histoire principale et est commercialisé au prix de 29,99 euros.
Côté accueil, la presse a salué la qualité artistique et la profondeur du récit. Gamezebo a notamment souligné que l'expérience « completely took my breath away », louant la beauté des graphismes et de la musique, tandis que RPG Fan a relevé un visual novel « surprisingly detailed » doté d'une plus grande profondeur qu'il n'y paraît au premier abord.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Celestia: Chain of Fate completely took my breath away, and it truly felt like I was in a fairy tale. The art and music are beautiful, and I loved that even the people you only meet a few times have additional stories and extras dedicated to them. I’ve already romanced Luke… so I think I’ll go for Ash next! »
« Celestia: Chain of Fate is a surprisingly detailed visual novel with more depth in its light fantasy tale than one might initially give it credit for. Plus, it provides a nice dose of romance on the side. Visual novel and otome fans willing to give the game a chance will find an enjoyable time if they stick with it, despite any initial hesitations with the game’s earlier chapters. I hope that “Book 2” releases sooner rather than later, and that’s a telling sign to me as to how much I ultimately enjoyed Celestia: Chain of Fate! »
« As far as independent visual novels go, Celestia: Chain of Fate lands in that growing middle tier of visual novel. Sure it might not have the production values of an Otomate production, or even last week’s Famicom Detective Club by Nintendo. As with all genre’s there’s an A-tier, and Celestia isn’t quite there. Yet it punches far above the typical “indie” visual novel, too, thanks to its absolutely gorgeous art, the complexity of the branching narrative, and… well, the kind of writing that does make you want to see the inevitable CG when the very pretty girl and very, very pretty boys start smooshing lips and bodies together. Celestia is a very believable bit of fantasy romance, which is the point, and it’s one VN fans shouldn’t overlook, despite 2024 being quite a year for the genre. »
« Celestia: Chain of Fate is an okay enough otome game for those in search of a game with Harry Potter-like academy, magic, angels, and demons. However, it doesn’t really do much to stand out otherwise. The character designs aren’t as striking as those in its contemporaries, there is awkward phrasing in the script, the story involves some common situations and tropes, and there are certain absent quality of life features. »
« If all you want is fluff and an easy but very long read, Celestia: Chain of Fate may be something worth looking at. Personally, I do not think a replay is in the cards for me. Once was more than enough. »
