Underplayed Gems

Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 (2024)

Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 cover
Developer
Aditya Nair, Dave Kang, Melch Valimento
Publisher
Fiction Roast
Platforms
Windows, macOS
Genres
Adventure, Indie
Rating
3.5 of 5, 34 player ratings
Typical playtime
about 2.5 hours
Where to get it
Steam

More by Aditya Nair

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this

How it feels

A carefully paced visual novel where hand-drawn terror unfolds through numerous conversations, each moment designed to build suspense.

lineardialogue-heavysuspensefulhorror-thrillerhand-drawndeliberate pacingstory-drivenatmospheric

What players say

Players praise the macabre art and sound design but warn it is a pure visual novel with no gameplay choices. The story starts slow then builds tension, though it ends on a cliffhanger without resolution. Some longtime followers were disappointed that the final game differs sharply from the 3D horror concept originally pitched.

Screenshots

Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 screenshot 1Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 screenshot 2Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 screenshot 3Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 screenshot 4Year of the Ladybug: Season 1 screenshot 5

More games like this

More by Aditya Nair

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.