Why you should play Iwakura Aria

Iwakura Aria released in English last month, bringing the 2024 visual novel to the west for the first time. It’s an interesting release in a crowded year, so I thought it would be worth highlighting some of the reasons why you should check it out.

Iwakura Aria is a Sapphic Coming of Age Story (With a Dash of Mystery)

Set in post-war Japan, Iwakura Aria tells the story of a young orphan named Ichiko Kitagawa. Having left her job at a construction company, she finds herself turning to art — partially to entertain the kids at her orphanage, and partly for herself. A fortunate turn of events sees one of her art pieces being noticed by the wealthy Amane Iwakura, who not only buys the art but also offers Ichiko a job as a live-in maid.

Her new job is where she runs into the titular Iwakura Aria, who she’s instantly drawn to. While their relationship doesn’t start off great, they slowly bond during Ichiko’s time at the Iwakura mansion. Both learn from each other’s different backgrounds, sticking together even when things take a darker turn.

As you could likely tell from the game’s key artwork, not everything is sunshine and roses in Iwakura Aria. The mansion holds secrets that threaten to end Ichiko’s new job, and the budding relationship that is forming with Arai. While the mystery side of things ends up being revealed relatively early on in the story, it’s still a key part to the game alongside its yuri elements.

The Artwork is Beautiful

Even without playing, it’s easy to see just how good Iwakura Aria looks. With art handled Hyakunen and Nakada Fumi, the game has a distinct painterly style used throughout. It pairs well with Ichiko’s own interests as an artist, with even that represented visually via the sketches you can view at any time in her sketchbook.

While the main character art is full of colour and life, Iwakura Aria isn’t afraid to take away that colour when necessary. Either through flashbacks to less pleasant times or darker moments, there are a number of scenes that play out in full black and white sketches. There’s nothing quite like this game’s art when looking at other modern visual novel releases, and it makes each CG a treat to uncover as you play.

It’s Not a 50 Hour Epic

While naturally not something everyone will appreciate, Iwakura Aria does not try to tell a grand epic that takes many hours to complete. In fact, a general playthrough of the game ends up taking around 10 hours or so, more if you want to experience everything.

That’s not to say that this it too short, far from it. You get to view the relationship between Ichiko and Aria as it progresses at a good pace, while also uncovering more about the mysteries behind the Iwakura family. There are also less side characters to try and build up alongside the main cast, giving the main duo their time to shine.

For people that like to check out everything, there are still plenty of endings to uncover. While some are shorted bad ends, many of them lead to longer scenes detailing Ichiko and Aria’s life after the events of the game. Going back to earlier sections of the game to make new choices has also been made easy due to a generous amount of auto saves, and the usual ability to skip text you’ve already read.

It Has a Physical Release on Switch

In a time of digital-only releases (or even fake physicals in the case of many Switch 2 and Xbox Series releases), it’s good to see physical releases still going strong. As with most other PQube releases, you can pick up Iwakura Aria physically on Nintendo Switch, with a list of online retailers in your region available via the game’s official website.

Naturally, you can also pick up the game digitally both on Switch, and PC via Steam. It’s slightly cheaper over physical, but you do miss out on the beautiful reverse cover art.

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A key was provided by the publisher for this article.

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