[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":357},["ShallowReactive",2],{"studio-blog-post-if-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel":3,"studio-blog-related-if-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel":314},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":287,"cover":22,"coverHref":15,"date":288,"description":289,"draft":290,"extension":291,"image":292,"meta":293,"navigation":77,"path":294,"seo":295,"stem":296,"tags":297,"takes":303,"__hash__":313},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel.md","if you stay: Free PC-98 Style Yuri Visual Novel on Steam","nyxe",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":274},"minimark",[10,24,34,49,68,78,87,92,95,106,115,121,125,132,143,147,154,157,166,172,176,183,187,203,207,218,222,237,241,244,248,251],[11,12,18,19],"a",{"className":13,"href":15,"title":16,"style":17},[14],"vg-hotframe","https:\u002F\u002Fstore.steampowered.com\u002Fapp\u002F4437140\u002F","if you stay on Steam","background-image:url(\u002Fblog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel-bp-hero.webp)","\n  ",[20,21],"img",{"src":22,"alt":23},"https:\u002F\u002Fshared.akamai.steamstatic.com\u002Fstore_item_assets\u002Fsteam\u002Fapps\u002F4437140\u002Feb41c942207ea2d71ce2640aa496ced2f90618d3\u002Fcapsule_616x353.jpg?t=1792641686","Official if you stay Steam capsule: a close anime style portrait of Mika, a girl with wavy shoulder length light brown hair, large amber eyes glistening with held back tears and flushed cheeks, her lips slightly parted, wrapped in a soft pink knitted scarf and a lilac winter coat while hugging a brown teddy bear to her chest, set against a pale blue winter sky with falling snowflakes, and the pixel style title if you stay in pink and white letters with a long arrow shaped progress bar beneath it (YukimiSoft)",[25,26,30,33],"p",{"className":27,"style":29},[28],"blog-muted","margin:-0.75rem 0 1.5rem;font-size:0.9em",[11,31,32],{"href":15},"if you stay (Steam)",". Hover for a Voidge draft sketch inspired by a fragment of the capsule key art.",[25,35,36,40,41,44,45,48],{},[37,38,39],"strong",{},"if you stay"," is a ",[37,42,43],{},"free yuri visual novel"," on Steam, drawn in the style of the ",[37,46,47],{},"PC-98"," Japanese romance games of the 1990s. It is winter 1999. You play Fumiko, a former student council president who has been outed by her closest friend and has lost her home life, her friendships and her plans in one go. She has a one way ticket to Tokyo. Her girlfriend, Mika, calls and asks to see her one more time before the train leaves. The whole game is that last date, and the choice in the title.",[25,50,51,52,55,56,59,60,63,64,67],{},"Solo studio ",[37,53,54],{},"YukimiSoft"," released it for free on Steam and itch.io in late October 2026 (Steam lists ",[37,57,58],{},"October 21","). App ID ",[37,61,62],{},"4437140",". As of about 11:07 BRT on October 29, the store shows ",[37,65,66],{},"97% of 139"," user reviews as positive. Not bad for a week, mate.",[69,70],"iframe",{"title":71,"src":72,"width":73,"height":74,"style":75,"loading":76,"allowFullScreen":77},"if you stay clip on Voidge X","https:\u002F\u002Fplatform.twitter.com\u002Fembed\u002FTweet.html?id=2115810254323650992",550,650,"width:100%;max-width:550px;height:650px;border:0;border-radius:12px;margin:1rem 0","lazy",true,[25,79,82,86],{"className":80,"style":81},[28],"margin:-0.5rem 0 1.5rem;font-size:0.9em",[11,83,85],{"href":84},"https:\u002F\u002Fx.com\u002FmyVoidge\u002Fstatus\u002F2115810254323650992","Open the clip on X"," if the embed does not load. Cut from the official if you stay trailer.",[88,89,91],"h2",{"id":90},"one-last-date-in-a-small-snowy-town","One last date in a small snowy town",[25,93,94],{},"The structure is simple and it works. Mika wants a proper date, a few hours before departure, and you spend them together: a snowy park with an empty playground, a cafe with a very chatty waitress, a bedroom full of idol posters and a little television, a phone box under falling snow. Along the way you pick dialogue options that change what you learn about the relationship and how much friction comes up between the two of them.",[25,96,97,98,101,102,105],{},"The store describes it as a ",[37,99,100],{},"branching storyline"," about adolescent drama, nostalgia and the pain of being \"seen\", at roughly ",[37,103,104],{},"10,000 words per playthrough",". That is one sitting for most readers. There are \"Two(?)\" endings, each with its own CG and dialogue, and yes, the question mark is the developer's. The tagline adds that no matter what you choose, there will always be consequences. I reckon that is the honest pitch for a story like this.",[11,107,18,111],{"className":108,"href":15,"title":109,"style":110},[14],"Mika in the snowy park (Steam)","background-image:url(\u002Fblog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel-bp-shot2.webp)",[20,112],{"src":113,"alt":114},"https:\u002F\u002Fshared.akamai.steamstatic.com\u002Fstore_item_assets\u002Fsteam\u002Fapps\u002F4437140\u002F84714ddfd0e9e380b3ba7859d4f8ad076867ffe1\u002Fss_84714ddfd0e9e380b3ba7859d4f8ad076867ffe1.1920x1080.jpg?t=1792641686","Official if you stay screenshot in PC-98 style pixel art: Mika smiles shyly with her hands behind her back in a snow covered park, wearing a lilac winter coat, a long pink scarf with fringed ends and a dark pleated school skirt, with bare snowy trees, a small snowman, a playground with swings and a slide under a green roof behind her, the scene framed by grey and pink train door panels on both sides and a black dialogue box below that reads MIKA: This...is a date, right? (Steam)",[25,116,118,120],{"className":117,"style":29},[28],[11,119,32],{"href":15},". Hover for a Voidge draft sketch inspired by a fragment of the snowy park screenshot.",[88,122,124],{"id":123},"the-pc-98-look-done-properly","The PC-98 look, done properly",[25,126,127,128,131],{},"The art is the hook, and it earns it. YukimiSoft calls it ",[37,129,130],{},"handcrafted 16 bit pixel art"," reminiscent of PC-98 romance games, brought up to modern resolutions. In practice that means limited palettes, heavy dithering in the shadows and the snow, big expressive anime eyes, and scenes framed inside a window with a plain black text box underneath. Some shots sit between panels that look like the doors of a train carriage, which is a quiet nod to where all this is heading.",[25,133,134,135,138,139,142],{},"The music matters just as much. The soundtrack is by ",[37,136,137],{},"William Gomez"," (@WilliamMusiek on X), written to replicate the ",[37,140,141],{},"YM2608"," sound chip, so it sounds like it came off an old Japanese home computer. The store calls it melancholic, and that is fair. If you have never played a PC-98 era visual novel, this is a brilliant and very low risk way to see what the fuss is about.",[88,144,146],{"id":145},"a-heavy-theme-handled-with-care","A heavy theme, handled with care",[25,148,149,150,153],{},"Worth being clear before you download. The story starts after Fumiko is outed and kicked out of her home, so it deals with rejection, family fallout and leaving everything behind. Steam's mature content note from the developer says the game contains ",[37,151,152],{},"some cursing and references (not shown) to violence, domestic abuse, and homophobia",". Those things are referenced, not depicted. The automatic age ratings on the store sit at 12 to 15, with no age gate.",[25,155,156],{},"What I see in the screenshots and trailer is a quiet, tender story rather than a shocking one. It sits with two girls who care about each other and are hurting, Fumiko angry at the people who hurt her and Mika struggling to say what she feels. There is no AI content disclosure on the store page either.",[11,158,18,162],{"className":159,"href":15,"title":160,"style":161},[14],"Phone box in the snow (Steam)","background-image:url(\u002Fblog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel-bp-shot3.webp)",[20,163],{"src":164,"alt":165},"https:\u002F\u002Fshared.akamai.steamstatic.com\u002Fstore_item_assets\u002Fsteam\u002Fapps\u002F4437140\u002F786bde5f5cbf3b31fd992e7a178f387f49d0c86e\u002Fss_786bde5f5cbf3b31fd992e7a178f387f49d0c86e.1920x1080.jpg?t=1792641686","Official if you stay screenshot in PC-98 style pixel art: a quiet winter night with snowflakes falling over a navy dithered sky, a two storey Japanese house with a snowy tiled roof and a wooden fence at left, a large tree with snow on its twisted branches at right, a row of dark green hedges, and in the middle a lit glass phone box half buried in snow with a figure in a pink scarf holding the receiver inside, above a black dialogue box that reads MIKA: Can we make this a date...? (Steam)",[25,167,169,171],{"className":168,"style":29},[28],[11,170,32],{"href":15},". Hover for a Voidge draft sketch inspired by a fragment of the phone box screenshot.",[88,173,175],{"id":174},"what-our-clip-shows","What our clip shows",[25,177,178,179,182],{},"Three takes from the official ",[37,180,181],{},"if you stay trailer"," on Steam, with its own audio. First, Mika in the snowy park asking whether this is a date, then a playful close up as the conversation turns personal. Second, the bedroom scene with the little television, and the cafe with its very chatty waitress. Third, Mika in tears on a station platform beside a red train, with a plain Yes or No choice waiting in the text box. That is the whole game in one frame. No menus, no logo cards.",[88,184,186],{"id":185},"free-with-an-optional-way-to-support","Free, with an optional way to support",[25,188,189,190,193,194,197,198,202],{},"The game itself costs nothing. For players who want to give something back, YukimiSoft sells a ",[37,191,192],{},"creator support add-on for US$5.99"," on Steam and itch.io, which the developer says includes a mini art book with developer notes, the full soundtrack and more. Patch ",[37,195,196],{},"1.02"," landed on October 26 with fixes, plus an extra Halloween goodie for supporters. If you enjoyed our ",[11,199,201],{"href":200},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffooles-world-free-steam-personality-quiz\u002F","Foole's World writeup",", this is another free solo project on Steam that punches well above its price, sorted.",[88,204,206],{"id":205},"how-long-is-it-and-what-does-it-run-on","How long is it, and what does it run on?",[25,208,209,210,213,214,217],{},"At about 10,000 words per route, expect a short session, and a second one if you want the other ending. It runs on ",[37,211,212],{},"Windows, macOS and SteamOS or Linux",", in ",[37,215,216],{},"English",", with Steam Achievements and Family Sharing. It is built in Ren'Py, and the minimum is Windows 10, a 2.0 GHz 64 bit processor, 2 GB of RAM and an OpenGL 3.0 or DirectX 11 card. A potato will cope.",[88,219,221],{"id":220},"who-makes-if-you-stay","Who makes if you stay?",[25,223,224,225,227,228,231,232,236],{},"Steam lists ",[37,226,54],{}," as both developer and publisher. On X, ",[37,229,230],{},"@yukimisoft"," describes the studio as making homemade anime games, and the launch post blew up, with thousands of likes and coverage from Japanese game news sites and English visual novel accounts. Since then the developer has been posting patch notes and thanking players. For another short narrative pick with a lot of heart under a simple surface, see our ",[11,233,235],{"href":234},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbig-dig-steam-mayor-dog-narrative-incremental\u002F","Big Dig post",".",[88,238,240],{"id":239},"is-if-you-stay-worth-it","Is if you stay worth it?",[25,242,243],{},"Yes, if you want a short, sincere yuri story with proper retro craft. It costs nothing, the art and music are lovely, and the writing treats its subject with care. Fair warnings: it is brief, English only, and the themes are heavy. Grab it on Steam and give the support add-on a look if it lands for you. Cheers, YukimiSoft.",[88,245,247],{"id":246},"image-credits-rights","Image credits & rights",[25,249,250],{},"Images on this page are hotlinks from the official Steam store assets for if you stay, used with respect for their copyright.",[252,253,254,261,268,271],"ul",{},[255,256,257],"li",{},[11,258,16],{"href":15,"rel":259},[260],"nofollow",[255,262,263],{},[11,264,267],{"href":265,"rel":266},"https:\u002F\u002Fx.com\u002Fyukimisoft",[260],"YukimiSoft (@yukimisoft) on X",[255,269,270],{},"Capsule key art and screenshots by YukimiSoft. Music by William Gomez (@WilliamMusiek).",[255,272,273],{},"Screenshot sources remain on the Steam CDN (capsule and store screenshots for app 4437140). Voidge hosts only purple crop-inspired draft sketches for hover and fallback, plus the short blog clip.",{"title":275,"searchDepth":276,"depth":276,"links":277},"",2,[278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286],{"id":90,"depth":276,"text":91},{"id":123,"depth":276,"text":124},{"id":145,"depth":276,"text":146},{"id":174,"depth":276,"text":175},{"id":185,"depth":276,"text":186},{"id":205,"depth":276,"text":206},{"id":220,"depth":276,"text":221},{"id":239,"depth":276,"text":240},{"id":246,"depth":276,"text":247},"indie","2026-10-29T11:00:00","if you stay is a free yuri visual novel on Steam in PC-98 style: winter 1999, one last date before a train to Tokyo. 97% positive across 139 reviews.",false,"md","\u002Fblog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel-bp-hero.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel",{"title":5,"description":289},"blog\u002Fif-you-stay-free-pc98-yuri-visual-novel",[298,299,300,301,302],"if-you-stay","yukimisoft","visual-novel","yuri","pc-98-style",[304,307,310],{"author":305,"text":306},"remmy","Honestly, what clicked for me is how small it keeps everything: one date, one snowy town, one train to catch. Pretty solid proof that a free short story can sit with you longer than a forty hour epic.",{"author":308,"text":309},"pixxer","Lowkey the dithering is the flex here, every snowdrift and shadow built from checkerboard pixels like an old floppy disk game. And framing the scenes between train door panels? That little detail tells you the whole story is a goodbye.",{"author":311,"text":312},"junno","Deadass, a free VN with a full soundtrack written to sound like a YM2608 chip goes hard. Respect to YukimiSoft for putting a heavy, honest story out there with no paywall.","hfUzhhemr1H41Pz2MHYfK6QAL5U0NNLKrwZhFIoaLcc",[315,329,343],{"path":316,"title":317,"description":318,"date":319,"category":287,"author":6,"tags":320,"image":326,"cover":327,"coverHref":328},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffooles-world-free-steam-personality-quiz","Foole's World Steam: Free Absurd Personality Quiz","Foole's World is a free personality quiz on Steam from solo dev Kae Kolormore. About an hour, 50+ questions, one alignment. Very Positive 99% since Sep 23.","2026-10-06T19:00:00",[321,322,323,300,324,325],"fooles-world","kae-kolormore","psykik-creations","f2p","steam","\u002Fblog\u002Ffooles-world-free-steam-personality-quiz-bp-hero.webp","https:\u002F\u002Fshared.fastly.steamstatic.com\u002Fstore_item_assets\u002Fsteam\u002Fapps\u002F5134970\u002Fd608b0dee915e070e92ec72873e075d7f497a80b\u002Fcapsule_616x353.jpg?t=1790179034","https:\u002F\u002Fstore.steampowered.com\u002Fapp\u002F5134970\u002FFooles_World\u002F",{"path":330,"title":331,"description":332,"date":333,"category":287,"author":308,"tags":334,"image":340,"cover":341,"coverHref":342},"\u002Fblog\u002Fno-murders-in-grimwick-steam-cozy-harvest-murder-mystery","No Murders in Grimwick: Cozy Murder Mystery on Steam","No Murders in Grimwick is a hand drawn cozy murder mystery on Steam: a body turns up in a harvest festival scarecrow contest and the town says it's fine.","2026-10-28T19:00:00",[335,336,337,338,339],"no-murders-in-grimwick","bee-and-boo-games","cozy-mystery","point-and-click","detective","\u002Fblog\u002Fno-murders-in-grimwick-steam-cozy-harvest-murder-mystery-bp-hero.webp","https:\u002F\u002Fshared.akamai.steamstatic.com\u002Fstore_item_assets\u002Fsteam\u002Fapps\u002F5198670\u002F84e50ad0e6f70742de380f68f37127edf84b7d88\u002Fcapsule_616x353.jpg?t=1792602060","https:\u002F\u002Fstore.steampowered.com\u002Fapp\u002F5198670\u002F",{"path":344,"title":345,"description":346,"date":347,"category":287,"author":305,"tags":348,"image":354,"cover":355,"coverHref":356},"\u002Fblog\u002Fselkies-salvage-co-steam-incremental-fishing-mouse","Selkie's Salvage&Co.: Incremental Fishing Game on Steam","Selkie's Salvage&Co. is a first person physics incremental on Steam: fish scrap from a flooded ocean, grind it for upgrades and keep your mouse boss happy.","2026-10-28T11:00:00",[349,350,351,352,353],"selkies-salvage-co","uglycoal","incremental","physics-sandbox","fishing","\u002Fblog\u002Fselkies-salvage-co-steam-incremental-fishing-mouse-bp-hero.webp","https:\u002F\u002Fshared.akamai.steamstatic.com\u002Fstore_item_assets\u002Fsteam\u002Fapps\u002F4984870\u002F5aca665ad6b5d3ff53f88ae18fbc2074b24936c2\u002Fcapsule_616x353.jpg?t=1793113022","https:\u002F\u002Fstore.steampowered.com\u002Fapp\u002F4984870\u002F",1793283587489]