Thursday, August 6, 2020

I walk among Zombies Vol.1

I walk among Zombies Vol. 1



I walk among Zombies Vol. 1 is a Visual Novel that as far a I can tell from the few hours that I have played is a straight-up VN with no choices and no multiple endings. Normally I don't really prefer this type of VN as I more like the ones where my choices make a difference. However, as VN's go, this one has its redeeming attributes in the way it tells the story and the way the characters are developed through the VN. I also recently discovered that they tell the same story through multiple points of view, or at least they have thus far between the main protag...well I guess he's a protag and a girl that he later meets.

Yusuke Takemura the somewhat of a protag of this VN starts out like many would. He is a former worker that due to some circumstances got laid off after a company he worked for went under. After he lost his job he became a shut-in and spent the majority of his time playing video games, watching tv, and just avoiding people in general.

As the VN starts Yusuke leaves the comforts of his apartment only to be attacked out in front of his apartment. Being bitten he retreats to his apartment where he then becomes lethargic and falls into his bed with a fever. When he awakes it has been 3 days since he was attacked. After checking online he realizes that the world has entered into a state of chaos. 

News reports are hard to come by but what he concludes based on what information he did obtain, was what was believed to at first be riots was actually the start of an outbreak of a virus that turned people into Zombies. Those people then attacked others and they became Zombies. The cause was unknown.

He decides to leave his apartment in an attempt to find food and supplies. He first stops by the apartment next to his where he comes into contact with the neighbor girl. 

When he enters the apartment he begins looking around and it isn't long before he gets startled by Tokiko Kurose. She looks through him and makes her way past him as if he wasn't really there. She begins to scratch on the door that would lead her out to the world. He watches her and then decides to test a theory. Feeling for her pulse and if she is breathing he realizes that she has no pulse, cold to the touch, and is not breathing. He realizes that she is a zombie but unlike the ones outside she was not bitten. This means she was one of the ones that turned first.

He decides to keep her 'alive' and puts her into the apartment bathroom when he isn't there to keep her confined. 

Later he leaves the apartment and tests the theory that zombies won't attack him. His tests conclude that he is immune to zombies, in the sense that they do not see him, or they see him as one of them and don't try to come after him and kill him. 

Over time he begins to use this ability to be clear of zombie attack to his advantage and begins to go further out from his base at his apartment to expanding out into other areas to see if he can find survivors and other supplies that he may need to survive if not from the zombies from other survivors.

In doing so he comes across a building that has an SoS sign attached to it. He proceeds to enter and upon entering a floor that was isolated from the rest of the building he meets an unlikely trio.

Mitsuki Fujino and her two brothers, when Yusuke finds them they are starving and out of food. He uses food he is carrying in a pack to feed the three and then talks to them in an attempt to get information about what happened and what was going on.

Unfortunately, they are not well informed and have really nothing to give him in return for providing him food or supplies. Yusuke over the time of the zombie attacks has gone from a humanitarian to a more realist. The reality of the situation is that since the collapse of society things such as food, water, supplies, and information are the new commodities of the world. Because of this, he decides to leverage everything he can to ensure his own survival. 

He leaves them on their own for a short while before returning days later with more food for them. This time though he confronts Mitsuki about the harsh reality of the state of the world. Without anything valuable to provide him such as information or supplies he didn't have, his motive for continuing to give them food wasn't there.

He then provides her with a way to get food from him and pay him back. That being to 'service him'. Now I don't mean full-on sex...at least not yet, but he does proposition her for other ways to 'service him'.

So I may have neglected to add some more information previous to this but suffice it to say that part of his 'rational' idealism is that the price of goods and services are dependent on the need, for him having the ability to move freely without being attacked by zombies provide him with a leg up against others. This means he can make demands and expect compensation.

This VN is well-drawn, music is decent, and the plot and story are unique and interesting...though it does have some 'trigger' warnings I guess. While I personally have no issue with media like this or the freedom of creativity I know there are some that have big issues. So let me blunt here, there is a lot of murder, blood, guts, cussing, sex, sexual acts, and sex with zombies...yes you read that right. 

This is an adult-oriented VN and one I do not recommend playing in the sight of young children. 

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