Sabbat of the Witch

Hoshina Shuuji has a secret: He has a mysterious power that allows him to perceive the emotions of others.

One of Shuuji’s classmate, Ayachi Nene, likewise has her own grave secret: She will randomly experience periods of strong arousal, something which she has no control over.

The two of them had nothing to do with one another beyond just being classmates, until one day, when Shuuji stumbled upon a scene that defied his wildest imaginations.

Following that one accident, two strangers became friends. The bonded with one another through their shared secrets, and form this, Shuuji came to learn about certain things.

That is, not only about the reason for Nene’s random “fits,” but also about the existence of people called “witches”–

Nene’s secret actions as a “witch,” and the “fits” she goes through because of that serving as the magnet, a junior, an upperclassman, and a transfer student all congregate together.

Shuuji’s once normal life is thrown into chaos, and with that, a certain faint hope wells up inside of him:

“Maybe this will be the start of something new.”
Sabbat of the Witch, Synopsis from NekoNyan

Buy Now ON Steam

Technicalities

Sabbath of the Witch is a standard visual novel with branching plots and multiple endings. Yuzusoft developed this visual novel while NekoNyan localized it for the English-speaking audience. Like other Yuzusoft VNs, Sabbat of the Witch also features CG and music galleries and sprite mode. Characters are also voiced except for the protagonist.

The base game of the Steam version is the all-ages version, but the game has a DLC that restores cut content. To gain access to this DLC, you must first enable viewing of adult content from your Steam account settings in order to view the DLC page. The DLC is free of charge. By having this DLC, sexy CGs, hentai scenes, and After Stories are restored. Completing a route unlocks the after story of that particular heroine which is an extra chapter that takes place after the conclusion of the main story. There are five heroines in this game, and therefore, five after stories. This review covers Sabbat of the Witch with the 18+ content unlocked.

Magical Plot

The protagonist, Hoshina Shuuji, is not your average high school student because he possesses the power to perceive the emotions of people around him. Hoshina feels these emotions through his five senses which can be painful depending on what emotion he is perceiving. This power had eventually become a burden for him that he needed to either shut himself off from interacting with most people or do them a favor just so to avoid unnecessary pain.

One day, he was asked by his classmate to fill up on a library duty and he obliged just so to avoid the pain he would have come to feel if he turned her down. A little while after he finished, he wandered around the empty library to when he heard Ayachi Nene, his classmate and attractive, sociable, and well-known girl in the school entered the library. It was then he encountered the craziest incident no one would have expected.

This incident led to him having to talk to Ayachi to clarify things but eventually caused an even bigger problem: the heart fragments she collects got absorbed by Hoshina. And thus, it reveals that magic exists and Ayachi is a witch who desires a wish fulfilled.

Heroines

There are a total of five romanceable heroines in Sabbat of the Witch: four of which are considered major routes and one minor or optional route.

Starting with the optional route is Kariya Wakana who is the childhood friend of Hoshina. She’s a little guitarist friend. Kariya shows mischievous behaviors but is very much a kind person. Her route is simple, but it doesn’t cover much about magic. It only takes about 3-4 hours to finish her route.

Togakushi Touko is the student council president of their school and is also one of the romanceable characters in the game. She is very mischievous, tells dirty jokes frequently, and likes to tease the protagonist without getting embarrassed. Her route isn’t as enjoyable, but it does explain some of the lore so if you’re interested in that, you could give this one a go. As one of the major routes, her route can be completed in 8-10 hours. Although, something’s off with her…

Shiiba Tsumugi is the transfer student who dresses as a guy for a reason: she is also a witch who has a price to pay and that is wearing girly or cute clothing or accessories make her sick. She has a sweet personality with a sweet high-pitch voice which makes her extra cute! Oh, you might be skeptical about her being a trap but she’s a real girl, looks like a girl, and has girly personality. Despite being Shiiba’s route, it’s a little disappointing that her route ironically isn’t about her. You can finish reading her route in 7-9 hours.

Inaba Meguru is the underclassman who is trying to reinvent herself after failing to make friends during the first few weeks of the classes. I really like how she acts so girly at most times and is borderline tsundere. Inaba has an interesting backstory and sweet romance so her route is worth reading and can be completed in 8-10 hours.

Lastly, we have Ayachi Nene who is the beauty of the school campus. Like mentioned above, Ayachi is a witch who collects heart fragments to fulfill her wish. She has an elegant personality but her ‘fits’ negates it in a hilarious way. Her route is very emotional so I recommend preparing some tissues. With 10-15 hours of content, Ayachi is the main heroine and even have her route split into two: You have to finish her the first part of her route and then restart it. Her route is a must-read because, well, she’s the main girl.

Regarding route order, there is no requirement for it except for Kariya’s route where completion of at least one route is required. I do recommend reading Sabbat of the Witch in this order: Ayachi part 1, Shiiba, Inaba, Togakushi, and Ayachi part 2. Though, you can go about this in any other way such as reading Ayachi’s routes first before moving on or reading Ayachi’s routes only. Kariya’s route is not that important but it’s still a good read.

Art and Music

Yuzusoft has done a great job with the art of Sabbat of the Witch despite only being 720p native. I also like how each heroines are given unique facial expressions such as Ayachi’s dead eyes, Inaba’s annoyed face, Shiiba’s panic, Togakushi’s mischief, and Kariya’s smug. There’s also those adorable chibi drawings.

The original score of Sabbat of the Witch is memorable and even each heroines get their own theme soundtrack and ending theme song. Ayachi’s elegant theme and Inaba’s playful theme are pretty catchy. Our little guitarist friend, Kariya, has a song performance as well so I maybe that’s a good reason to read her route?

Conclusion

For roughly 60 hours of content (with the patch), Sabbat of the Witch is a well-written supernatural visual novel from Yuzusoft. Laugh and cry from the funniest of scenes to the saddest ones or get surprised from the unexpected plot twists. There are some typo errors but it’s not too common so I don’t think it will impede your reading experience. We recommend this visual novel to both beginners and veterans alike.

We give Sabbat of the Witch the Green Mochi Stamp!

A supernatural visual novel featuring magics and witches, Sabbat of the Witch is fun romantic visual novel that will make you laugh and cry with its great art style, plot, soundtrack, and heroines!