The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty from Zerocreation Games and 2P Games is a visual novel inspired by traditional Chinese art with modern animation. Learn more in our The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty review!
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty from Zerocreation Games and 2P Games is a visual novel inspired by traditional Chinese art with modern animation. It’s a dark tale that is not going to be for everyone, as you’ll soon learn. As for the time period during which it takes place?
During Chongzhen’s Reign (A.D. 1628-1644), land annexation reached unmitigated extremes, the country faced domestic issues and foreign invasions, coinciding with the catastrophic Little Ice Age. After many years of horrid disasters in succession one after another, the Ming court continued to impose inhumane policies resulting in widespread starvation and leading to the rise of multiple rebellions against the court.
You see, a bandit named Liang and his companion Tongue are commissioned for a job offered by a merchant of a dubious nature. What’s the task at hand that will earn them some extra coins? Escorting four girls as they protect them along the way so that they can be presented to a wealthy lord in the city of Luoyang. It sounds simple enough since the journey will take the group through Huazhou, Wenxiang, and Shanzhou in order to be able to reach Luoyang. As you experience this story and marvel at the gorgeous hand-drawn art, you quickly realize that something is a bit off.
It’s then that Liang learns about what is really going on. Sui, one of the four girls that must be taken to Luoyang, lets Liang know what is really going on: the lord that is waiting for girls is actually is the Swine Demon, and it enjoys devouring young ladies and has been doing so for more than a thousand years. He does this every year on his birthday, and it’s now time for him to celebrate again. Sui knows this because her sister was one of the girls who had been devoured by the Swine Demon. Will Liang and his companion go through with the mission? Or will they take pity on the girls and set them free?
Visual novels are games that will have you experiencing what is usually a novel-sized story presented in a visual format. Some are of a comedic nature, others feature darker stories – such as this one – and there are also visual novels that feature potential romantic suitors. Voice acting is also an element that some visual novels include, and that’s the case for this particular release. You can enjoy the story of this visual novel with voice acting in Chinese or Japanese. Don’t know the languages? Then there’s going to be a lot of reading in your future!
You can play The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty by using the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con or by making the most of the console’s touchscreen when playing in Portable or Tabletop Mode or if playing this one on a Nintendo Switch Lite. Pressing the X button will move you from dialogue to dialogue. There will be a series of icons on the bottom right corner of the screen that you can access by using the left analog stick or the D-Pad and pressing the A button. These will allow you to choose auto-play, go back to check a previous dialogue, save the game or load a save, skip previously read text, or open the settings menu.
If you want to 100% the game and experience everything that this experience has to offer, then you’ll need to pay attention to the Flow Chart. The Flow Chart will show you how you’re moving through the game’s overall story beats and will clue you on which chapters offer additional choices for you to make that will send you to alternative story sequences that you would otherwise miss. There’s also an Extra section where you can check out the music and CG you’ve unlocked so far.
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty from Zerocreation Games and 2P Games is a visual novel inspired by traditional Chinese art with modern animation. It’s a dark tale that is not going to be for everyone. You see, a bandit named Liang and his companion Tongue are commissioned for a job offered by a merchant of a dubious nature. What’s the task at hand that will earn them some extra coins? Escorting four girls as they protect them along the way so that they can be presented to a wealthy lord in the city of Luoyang.
It sounds simple enough since the journey will take the group through Huazhou, Wenxiang, and Shanzhou in order to be able to reach Luoyang. As you experience this story and marvel at the gorgeous hand-drawn art, you quickly realize that something is a bit off. It’s then that Liang learns about what is really going on. Sui, one of the four girls that must be taken to Luoyang, lets Liang know what is really going on: the lord that is waiting for girls is actually is the Swine Demon, and it enjoys devouring young ladies and has been doing so for more than a thousand years. What will you do after learning this? Will you take Hong’er, Cui’er, Qiong Hua, and Sui to the Swine Demon? The game offers voice acting, and you can switch between Chinese and Japanese. The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty is out today on Nintendo Switch with an $11.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by 2P Games.
