Don’t sleep on this game
Sylphy and the Sleepless Night's review
Developer: Milky Way (Published by Kagura Games)
Genre: JRPG
Store: Steam, GOG, Kagura Games store, DLSite (only in Japanese)
Reviewed version: v1.02
Censored: No, except for the DLSite version
Patch Needed: No, except for the Steam version
OS: Windows
Language: English, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese
It’s easy to feel like every RPG Maker game is the same when you’ve been playing games made with this engine for a long time. However, there are times you stumble upon some unique gems like Sylphy and the Sleepless Night that manage to impress you.
Pros
Pretty art
Solid gameplay with many different game mechanics
Decent story with multiple endings
High replayability
Cons
- None I can’t think of
Story
It puts you in the shoes of Sylphy, a thief who steals artifacts to get money for her sister’s treatment, who accidentally broke the jewel that contained the night’s spirit Lyla, freeing her and leaving the town with no night as a consequence. She then becomes the town’s slave and has to recapture Lyla within five days to recover her freedom, or else she’ll lose it forever.
Story-wise it’s decent. It’s not as dark as other games with similar premises like Crimson Colosseum, and it even includes some jokes and references here and there to break the tension. Moreover, it has several endings. Getting any of them depends on whether you manage to capture Lyla or not, as well as beating some specific foes and finishing some special quests.
Gameplay
One of the best things about the game is how solid and varied the gameplay is. You’ll be doing favors to the residents of the town that range from simple fetch quests to exploring dungeons and defeating their boss.
Dungeon exploring is similar to games like Ys and Longing Ring of Esca, in which you fight enemies by bumping into them. Boss battles, however, take place as the usual turn-based fights you’d find in any RPG. Furthermore, some missions feature elements from different genres, turning them into “Do X without getting caught” quests, first-person dungeon crawling, or even a rhythm game.
The skill system is also different than the norm. Here, you need to equip magic crystals you obtain either during quests or by purchasing them. Moreover, you're limited to 4 crystals, so you need to plan which skills you’ll use for each boss fight.
Whenever an H-event happens, you earn Eros points you can spend on any of the three skill trees available: Training, Prostitution, and Blessing. Upgrading the skills in the Training tree increases the stats and Eros points you gain during training, spending Eros points in the Prostitution tree lets you work in the brothel and get more money and Eros points when you work there, and using them in the Blessing tree increases your max HP and MP.
The game includes a new game+ mode, allowing you to start all over again while preserving your money, Eros points, stats, and so on. However, it lets you choose what you want to export to your next run, so you can attempt a virgin run while being strong enough to obliterate most enemies or do things a bit differently from your first run.
Audiovisuals
Artistically, it’s pretty. Both the characters and the sex scenes are very well drawn. Moreover, it includes a few details that make it stand out in a good way, like the option to show sound effects as if they were in a manga, putting icons in the menu options, and using a different font. As for the soundtrack, it’s nice to listen to, and it fits the scenes it plays in.
Verdict: As fun as it is original
Sylphy and the Sleepless Night is an enjoyable game that anyone looking for an original and lewd RPG Maker game should play. The quality of its art and gameplay, plus its high replayability, makes the game worth purchasing at full price.