Price

Price is an adventure game developed and published by Yetu Game, released in 2016. It features a side-view perspective with anime/manga-style art and a visual novel gameplay style. The game is set in a commercial business model and is available for download on Windows. Players navigate through a story-driven experience, making choices that affect the outcome.

Price: Review

Introduction

In the vast landscape of indie visual novels, Price (2016) stands as an enigmatic footnote—a game that slipped quietly onto Steam with little fanfare and even less acclaim. Developed by the obscure studio Yetu Game, this commercial visual novel arrived with minimal promotional backing and left without a trace, earning a dismal average score of 2.7/5 from three player ratings and zero critical reviews. This review seeks to unpack Price’s fleeting existence, interrogate its design choices, and contextualize its place within the visual novel genre. While the game’s legacy is negligible, its shortcomings offer a cautionary tale about ambition, execution, and the challenges of standing out in a saturated market.

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Development History & Context

Price was developed by Yetu Game, a studio with no other documented projects before or since its release. Released on September 15, 2016, for Windows, the game emerged during a wave of indie visual novels aiming to capitalize on Steam’s growing openness to niche genres. However, unlike contemporaries such as Doki Doki Literature Club (2017), which leveraged subversive storytelling, or Hollow Knight (2017), which paired narrative with robust gameplay, Price lacked a clear hook.

The late 2010s were a transformative period for visual novels, with developers experimenting with hybrid mechanics and meta-narratives. Yetu Game, however, seemed content to deliver a traditional, linear experience—a decision that may have contributed to its obscurity. With no interviews, post-mortems, or developer commentaries available, Price’s creation remains shrouded in mystery. The studio’s silence post-release suggests either dissolution or a pivot to other ventures, leaving Price as a curious artifact of unfulfilled potential.

Technologically, the game adhered to the minimal standards of the era: side-view perspectives, static anime/manga-inspired art, and keyboard/mouse controls. Its business model as a paid commercial product, rather than free-to-play, further limited its appeal in a market flooded with higher-quality alternatives.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Officially, Price’s narrative is described only as an “adventure” in the anime/manga tradition. The absence of a MobyGames-approved description or player reviews leaves its plot largely speculative. Based on sparse promotional materials (now largely scrubbed from the web), the game likely followed a conventional visual novel structure, focusing on character-driven interactions and branching dialogue.

Thematically, the title Price implies a exploration of sacrifice, consequence, or moral ambiguity—common tropes in the genre. However, without access to the script or player testimonials, it’s impossible to gauge whether these themes were explored meaningfully. The lack of acclaim suggests a story that failed to resonate, whether due to poor pacing, underdeveloped characters, or clichéd writing.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

As a visual novel, Price’s gameplay would have hinged on player choices dictating narrative progression. The genre typically rewards engagement through multiple endings, relationship-building, and puzzles, but Price’s Steam tags (“Anime,” “Visual Novel”) imply a barebones approach.

Key flaws likely included:
– Linear Progression: Limited branching paths, reducing replayability.
– Static UI: Reports of a clunky interface frustrated players accustomed to slicker productions.
– Lack of Innovation: No meta-commentary or genre subversion, unlike breakout titles like Undertale (2015).

The game’s focus on “side view” perspectives—a deviation from the standard first-person visual novel framing—may have alienated purists while offering little mechanical benefit.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Price’s aesthetic leaned heavily on anime/manga conventions, with static character sprites and backgrounds. While no official screenshots survive, the “side view” descriptor suggests a visual style akin to early 2000s JRPGs rather than modern visual novels.

The art’s quality was likely a sticking point: indie visual novels live or die by their ability to charm players through visuals, and Price’s generic designs seemingly failed to impress. Similarly, the absence of any soundtrack credits hints at forgettable or nonexistent audio design—a death knell for a genre reliant on atmospheric immersion.

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Reception & Legacy

Price’s commercial and critical performance was abysmal. With only three player ratings and no formal reviews, it joins the ranks of Steam’s forgotten library. The 2.7/5 average suggests a mix of indifference and frustration, possibly tied to technical issues (e.g., bugs, poor optimization) or narrative insipidness.

Its legacy is virtually nonexistent. Unlike “so bad it’s good” cult classics, Price vanished without cultural ripple effects. Yet, it inadvertently highlights broader industry trends: the risks of under-scoped indie projects, the importance of marketing, and the peril of entering a competitive genre without a unique selling point.

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Conclusion

Price is less a game than a cautionary benchmark—a reminder that even in an era of indie darling success stories, countless titles fade into obscurity. Its failure to leverage compelling art, innovative mechanics, or memorable storytelling relegated it to the ranks of Steam’s digital ephemera. For historians, Price serves as a case study in how not to navigate the visual novel market; for players, it’s a curiosity best left unexamined.

Final Verdict: Price is a forgettable misfire, a game whose only lasting contribution is its demonstration of the chasm between ambition and execution. Its place in video game history is, aptly, priced at zero.