The House in Fata Morgana became the Best Switch Game of 2021 on Metacritic

Written by. Ryuki Ishii based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-01-14 17:03 JST)

Japanese game developer Keika Hanada announced on Twitter that Novectacle’s visual novel The House in Fata Morgana – Dreams of the Revenants Edition – became the best Nintendo Switch game of 2021 on Metacritic.

The House in Fata Morgana – Dreams of the Revenants Edition – is a Japanese horror visual novel launched for the Nintendo Switch in March 2021. It is based on the original The House in Fata Morgana released back in 2012. With the release of a side story game called The House in Fata Morgana: A Requiem for Innocence (The House in Fata Morgana -Another Episodes-) in 2015 and cross-media projects such as manga, novel, and drama CD, this IP garnered a solid fanbase over the years.

Although the original release for PC in Japan was way back in 2012, the launch of the Nintendo Switch version seems to have brought it back into the limelight. The game managed to achieve a Metascore of 96, the best among Nintendo Switch games released in 2021. The runner-up is Tetris Effect: Connected, and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury ranked third.

The House in Fata Morgana – Dreams of the Revenants Edition – ranked second on the Best All Platforms Games of 2021 list as well. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut took first place, understandably so.

That being said, there were only 10 reviews listed on Metacritic for The House in Fata Morgana – Dreams of the Revenants Edition –. Pretty few compared to blockbuster titles such as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which accumulated over 100 reviews. The House in Fata Morgana’s user score is decently high (8.4 out of 10) with over 600 ratings, so even without considering the Metascore, it can be said that the game has been well received.

The PC version available on Steam is also doing well in terms of reception, with 96% of the 2,036 user reviews being positive. Many praise the game’s story, including Nintendo Life’s Kate Gray, who commended the game, saying, “with a fantastic, original, slow-burn story about love, loss, hurt, forgiveness, and recovery, it’s one of the best visual novels out there.” The game’s sound design and illustrator Moyataro’s aesthetic artwork are also beloved by many.

I (the original author of this article) played the game as well and was moved by the story. It likely resonated with many others, both inside and outside of Japan. I want to congratulate Keika Hanada, who handled the scenario and direction, and everyone involved in the project.

The House in Fata Morgana – Dreams of the Revenants Edition – is available on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The original The House in Fata Morgana can be found on Steam, GOG.com, and DLsite.