Just another dating sim designed by refugees from 4chan as a result of an anonymous post on /a/. Also, all the girls are disabled in some way -- Katawa is roughly translatable as "retard" or "cripple;" it's not a nice word. Heartwarming, right?
But, shockingly, it's the best portrayal of people with disabilities I've ever seen, far outstripping those you see in the mainstream media, mostly because those are limited to Professor X.
The characters are written with love, as people who are not defined by their disability, nor ignorant of it, but overcoming it as best they can. The easy way to write a game like this would be to make the big strong hero show up and save the poor disabled girl, but instead we are obligated -- or given the opportunity -- to appreciate them as complete individuals, just like you or me. The hero himself has a condition, and a good amount of the story is devoted to his own efforts to come to terms with his disability, and the changes in his life it necessitates -- instead of being othering, the effect is to create an overarching narrative of coming to terms with disability. But, more than a narrative, it's a true slice of life -- a life many people may never have lived. There's a force for social change here.
The game isn't complete yet; after two years of development, they've just released Act I, a scant few hours of gameplay, but a demo that cries out for recognition. In many ways, this game is an example of the power of independent development -- can you imagine Electronic Arts funding this? And can you imagine it being worth playing if they did? This is the power of passion, dedication, and consumer-pro tools. There ought to be a movement.
N.B.: The game's currently available only as a torrent, so you'll need a Torrent client to download. Also, when I downloaded the Windows version, it came without a file extension. However, renaming to add ".exe" and running it worked fine.
Very intersting
When I downloaded it there was a link under the torrent link labeled DDL and that was a direct download. But that was some time after this article was posted so it might have been a new link.
In the game there were not as many choices as I had hoped there would be in some sections, but overall enjoyable go though the different endings. The subject matter was fascinating to me because in high school I knew people with various disability's. It brought back memory's, both good and bad, of what I saw in high school. When played like reading a book I enjoyed taking time to think though the motivations of the characters. I look forward to seeing more of the story unfold.
Huh.
I actually have a disability too so when I saw this I thought, BORING. XD The game sounds interesting actually but I don't feel like playing graphic adventure games... I'd rather just blow things up like a mindless 5 year old on crack.
I really have to thank this
I really have to thank this reviewer; I would have overlooked this beautiful, romantic gem without it. Most sensitive, honest portrayal of the subject I've seen in any medium, bar none.
Interactive? Novel?
According to the in-game clock I have now been playing for two and a half hours, yet have only been given about 6 decisions to make. Further, I sense (but cannot prove) that my actions are only causing a few lines of dialogue to change, rather than having any greater impact on the story.
Whilst the writing is not bad, it is not strong enough to carry a novel.
Thus, in my opinion, Katawa Shoujo fails on both the "interactive" and the "novel" requirements.
That said, I agree the content is presented well (and beautifully), and the characters compelling enough that I intend to persevere to the (at least one?) end to see what more I can learn about them. From the nature of the piece makes I suspect I will not find the details I am looking for, but I can hardly judge that until I know for sure!