Set in a steampunk re-imagining of Victorian era London, the story follows a homunculus named Cardia who lives day to day in an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of London, awaiting the return of her father. Created with a body that is acidic to the touch, she must live in isolation to avoid harming anyone. However, her quiet solitude is interrupted one day when the Royal Guard show up and try to take her away. Their attempt is thwarted by the mysterious thief Arsène Lupin, who takes Cardia to a safe location. Together, they attempt to rid her of the acid in her body and locate her father - the genius scientist behind London's current golden age.
The steampunk setting was an interesting choice for a game of this genre, which only added to its appeal. The story took the time it needed to explore the uniqueness of its setting, with some of the best parts - airship races and steam-train heists, occurring within the prologue/common route. The player is also given adequate time to engage with the entire cast before getting "locked-in" to a specific route. The entire cast, including the protagonist, is taken straight from an assortment of literary works, offering the player quite the array of diverse personalities and character backgrounds to converse with.
I was impressed by how involved and supportive they all were, not just of Cardia, but of each other as well. It is common for visual novels of this nature to shove certain characters aside or even forget to acknowledge that they exist at all once they stop being the focus of the protagonist. But the cast of Guardian of Rebirth are so intrinsically tied to the narrative that they remain present and essential even when the spotlight isn't on them. There is a strong group dynamic; essentially the only family Cardia has ever known in her life and her first real experience with human interaction and understanding beyond fear, hate, and alienation. As a heroine, Cardia was alright. She starts off fairly naive due to her isolation, but gradually gains knowledge, skills, and confidence thanks to her supportive group of literary gentleman. She still relies on them quite a bit, but is never wholly dependent on them. Cardia takes initiative, tries to approach every problem logically and use the skills she has to solve it. She truly feels like a part of the group and not just dead weight.
There are a total of five character routes, however, only four are initially available. The final route - Lupin's, is unlocked after the other four have been completed. There are a total of 13 chapters: 1-8 comprise the common route and 9-13 are character specific. The player will make an important dialogue choice about four times per chapter. During the common route it is impossible to make a wrong choice that results in a game over screen. Instead your decisions will determine which character route Cardia will be set on in Chapter 9. During the character routes it is possible to make a wrong choice that results in either a normal ending, a good ending, or any of a handful of bad endings.
Each character route is wildly different, involving anything from secret organizations and vampires to weapons of mass destruction. With this comes unique perspectives and new bits of information that offer further insight into the larger story. Lupin's route is saved for last because it brings the whole thing together. I actually found Lupin's route to be the most boring of the bunch, which is odd considering how much the game pushes him as the "true" route. Rather than being the best match for Cardia, I prefer to view his route as the one that best addresses Cardia's existence.
For convenience there is a skip button that fast-forwards through text that has already been read, making the common route much easier to play through, although it does still take some time to get through. The fast-forward option will stop automatically at new dialogue or choice options. If you happen to accidentally make a choice you don't like, a dialogue history menu allows the player to rewind the game, back to a specific point. There is also a "Path of Genesis" tab in the main menu that let's the player start from any chapter they have completed. This is especially useful for re-playing character routes without having to re-play the common route.
Left: Rewind. Right: Path of Genesis chapter selection.
The individual routes are not dependent on one another, and so can be played in any order without encountering narrative dissonance. My first play-through went (in order of top to bottom):
• Victor Frankenstein
• Abraham Van Helsing
• Count Saint-Germain
• Impey Barbicane
• Arsène Lupin
Below are my thoughts on the cast. Covered for anyone wishing to go in blind (highlight to read):
His route has the least to do with the over-arching story and his constant flirtations could be very off-putting. However, he isn't a bad person and Impey's happy-go-lucky personality adds much needed energy and positivity into Cardia's life. Initial impressions are usually off the mark and I ended up liking him the more Cardia got to know him. His vampire reveal was kinda random; it didn't impact his story or have much relevance to his character arc and I wish the writer's had done more with this "plot twist". At the very least give him some vampire traits/weakness besides fangs and super strength.
Guardian of Rebirth is a great first visual novel for anyone new to the genre. The art is top-notch and the plot easily stands on its own, backed by decent character arcs and an engaging literary cast. It was refreshing to have a heroine that was independent and capable in her own right. Her male companions supported and guided her where needed, and even included her in their plans; she had agency and was never treated as their lesser.
First posted to videogamegeek.com
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