Four Nova-box visual novels just hit GOG at 75% off

GOG just added four narrative games from French indie studio Nova-box to its catalog. The store is running a 75% launch discount on all of them. The lineup includes Along the Edge, Seers Isle, Across the Grooves, and End of Lines.

Geoffroy Vincens founded Nova-box in 2007 in Bordeaux, France. The team started out doing contract work for Nintendo DS games before pivoting to their own original titles. They eventually found their footing on PC by building interactive graphic novels. The studio prioritizes branching text and hand-painted art over puzzles or combat.

Occult mysteries and magic vinyl

Along the Edge was the studio's first major hit in 2016. It follows a woman named Daphne who moves to the countryside and uncovers her family's occult history. The game contains over 80,000 words of text and 450 hand-painted illustrations. The draw here is the sheer volume of branching paths. The game has 60 different ending variations. Daphne's physical appearance even changes based on your choices. Players often praise the lack of wrong choices. You are not punished with an abrupt game over screen for picking a bad dialogue option. The story just adapts to your decisions.

Across the Grooves from 2020 shifts into magical realism. The protagonist, Alice, gets an old vinyl record in the mail from an ex-lover. Playing the record throws her back into her own past. This lets her alter her timeline. I appreciate any time travel story that centers on a mundane office worker instead of a space marine. The game takes Alice across various European cities as she tries to track down her ex and figure out the origins of the record. The art style mimics European comic books. The soundtrack also shifts dynamically based on the decisions you make.

Island trials and climate collapse

Seers Isle launched in 2018. It plays with the visual novel format by removing the physical protagonist. It casts you as an invisible entity instead. You observe and influence a group of teenage shaman apprentices who land on a sacred island for their initiation. Because you play as a spirit yourself, your interactions are subtle. You nudge the characters toward different conclusions rather than speaking to them directly. The game earned an Excellence in Narrative nomination at the Independent Games Festival.

The newest game in the batch is End of Lines. It originally came out in 2023. This one drops the supernatural elements for a near-future climate apocalypse. The developers researched environmental science to build a realistic depiction of ecological collapse at the end of the 21st century. You manage the supplies and morale of a family wandering through a devastated Southern Europe. The gameplay loop forces you to balance their physical inventory against their mental well-being. It is a bleak premise, but the hand-painted art style makes the ruined landscapes look striking.

Four games under three dollars each

The 75% discount applies to all four titles individually. You do not have to buy them as a bundle to get the price cut.

Every game in the promotion comes with a DRM-free offline installer. If you have a weekend to kill and prefer reading over reflex checks, a few dollars per game is a reasonable entry point.