A Clockwork Ley-Line: The Borderline of Dusk (PC) Review

Upon arriving at a mysterious academy where he recently enrolled, Koga Michiru gets to save another student, destroying school property in the process (sort of). The punishment for him will be to work for the installation's 'Bureau for the Investigation of Special Affairs,' which, as expected, will give him the chance to have some good ol' adventuring fun, as he will soon realise that this place is not just a typical college with sexy girls to get sexy with. Long story short: this is a magic-filled place similar to Hogwarts, with a clock tower "activating" a weird dimension known as the 'Realm of Night.'

Needless to say, this comes in two versions, with the Steam one being the "clean" one. This, however, is one of those titles where the naughtiness hasn't been removed in the best way possible - far from it, in fact. In all honestly, it's as if the developer highlighted certain portions of the game and just deleted them, not caring at all about how coherent the narrative will be, with some transitions actually being so abrupt, that the result ends up more hilarious than annoying.

With that being said, this is not like the NEKOPARA or KARAKARA series. The story is indeed at the forefront, and while it's just a light mystery tale similar to [insert favourite teenage-oriented fantasy novel] that won't really win any awards for its originality, it's quite good. The core plot is divided between four chapters, each one dealing with a specific mystery. The length of these segments clocks at around one hour and a half, so it's a VN that's great for playing in short bursts.

The cast is quite tight-knit (as it should), with each character contributing to the whole deal. Don't expect any major character development, though. The interactions between everyone are well-written, and the cast is a likeable bunch, but that's about it, as everyone, from the coy male sidekick and the strong-willed Michiru, to the cold library girl and the mysterious head of the Bureau, remains exactly as they were in the beginning of this tale.

Another thing that should be mentioned is that, this being the start of a trilogy, it kind of feels like a long prologue rather than a fully-fledged chapter. Part of the "lore" introduced here is good enough to make you interested in what the series has in store, but it would be better if this felt like a complete package. Finally, whenever encountering one of the secondary, romance 'routes,' just press the skip button, as these are boring beyond belief.

Character designs are very good, if somewhat unoriginal, and the backgrounds are vibrantly coloured, especially those in the more... imaginary corners of the school. Sound-wise, this is fully voiced in Japanese, with actors turning in solid performances. As for the music, it's the typical assortment of the generic whimsical tunes and quiet piano tracks of the genre. Finally, in terms of length, this clocks at around 10 hours, with little need for replaying after reaching the end.