While we were visiting Ohiocon 2023, we stopped by a booth advertising the indie visual novel Knight/Shade: You Are the Drug. Its sci-fi vibes and vibrant art style seemed right up our alley, so we downloaded it once we got home. And we must say – if you love crime thrillers, LGBT romance and complicated relationships, this is definitely something you need to watch. Here’s our review of Knight/Shade: You’re the Drug!

Our story takes place in Sobena, a futuristic Russian-inspired city where the powerful Strexa Corporation runs almost everything. They set up all kinds of supporting infrastructure, but also manufacture illegal drugs to keep the money safe and hire assassins to keep things running smoothly. The main character Sasha is forced to sell drugs to make ends meet, and her best friend Mishka is secretly a Strexa killer. When they both become embroiled in a struggle much bigger than themselves, they must face their fears and take a long, hard look at their lives to make it out in one piece. It all sounds pretty scary, but trust us when we say it really isn’t. It’s a cyberpunk crime thriller, so you definitely get explosive gunfights and backroom deals to great EDM tracks, but nothing particularly graphic and it’s clear who the good guys and bad guys are. The bad guys will drop in from the 40th floor to persuade the citizens to face off, while the good guys are actively trying to get away with drugs and contract killing to focus on helping the city. Basically, instead of Dorohedoro or Attack on Titan, think Yakuza or Keteko Hitman Reborn: Final Season in terms of how idealistic it is. The writing shines most in the character interactions, especially in how mature the protagonists are about realizing their own faults. One of the biggest themes is that you can only control what you do, not what others do. You can’t make someone do things the way you want, you shouldn’t blame yourself for other people’s decisions, and if those thoughts are consuming you, you need to be honest with yourself before you’re ready to be in a relationship with someone. Need to work on. It’s refreshing to see a visual novel written like this, especially since many romantic VNs boil down to manipulating love interests to get what you want them to be. The game is clearly calling out other boys love titles (especially its biggest inspiration, the dramatic murder) for unhealthy relationship dynamics they don’t address, which we can get on board with.

Speaking of love interests, you can choose between Sasha’s childhood friend Mishka and Strexa CEO Dima. Both have their own attraction points and interact with Sasha in wildly different ways, so you’re sure to find someone you’re particularly attracted to. Many fans online love Mishka for her playfulness and realistically written playmate dynamic, while others go for Dima because of his kind demeanor and how much he and Sasha have to teach each other. We think choosing Dima makes a bit more sense since he has the biggest stake in the overall plot and is much more well-adjusted in general, but both routes are satisfying and mostly just references to individual scenes rather than entire acts. differ in If you can’t decide, we suggest you go to Dima first so you can better understand the story. And we apologize for burying the lead on this one, but there are NSFW scenes if you want them. They’re all agreeable and don’t overstay their welcome, although you can always turn them off at the start of the game if they’re not your thing.