Fall in Love VN Festival Special - Yase Plays: The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe)
- Yase Fuyunori
- Oct 13
- 6 min read
Hi everyone, we are back with Yase Reviews after a long break due to my health. Today we are looking into a Indie Visual Novel, namely The Good People, in the spirit of the Fall in Love VN Festival that ran from September 24th to October 1st.
The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) is a multiple-choice visual novel game with romance options, heavily dealing with Irish mythology developed and published by Moirai Myths Inc. It released on November 1st 2024 and is thus nearing its first anniversary in the Steam store.
I had the great honor to receive a Steam code by Moirai Myths Inc themselves and was then shortly spirited away into the world of Celtic and Irish creatures, of old Irish folklore and the Kingdom of the Fairies as a mere Daonna, or as you might say in English: A human. The whole experience is written in first person narration, which truly makes this the story of you and your character.
Greeted by the game's selection screen I did not hesitate with creating my protagonist. I have to honestly say the options seemed scarce but the game makes up for it, by letting you upload your own files for character creation all included with an instruction as to how.
It doesn't take much to notice just how much love and hard work went into the creation of this project. The art is gorgeous to look at and keeps your eyes glued to the screen, the writing and narrative does not to half-hearted things and leads you through the story, cultural aspects and characters effortlessly and the music's absolutely lovely and probably my favorite thing throughout my entire gaming experience, it always fits the scenes and occasions and character encounters as well.
The many choices for appropriate pronouns and the variety and diversity of characters are a huge delight as well.
My review will spoil the beginning and some of the core narrative of the first Book, namely the Book of the Traveler, so if you are someone who rather experiences stories for themselves, I'd suggest you jump to the end where I will have linked sources on where and how to find the game.
So with my character named and ready I begin my journey and find myself traveling through wide foggy, swampy and wooden meadows with our family's horse Darby, discovering through narration that during a faithful September morning, I have taken on an important task to transport
and pawn off our family heirlooms for my Da (Irish for father), who's waiting for me back home so that we can make it through a harsh and long Winter full of hunger.
As the sun slowly meets the horzison and the sky darkens and the goal of the port city Galway seems still so far away, I start hearing noises quite unsafe and unfortunately as I decide checking to see what's going on (a silly choice of mine, perhaps), my biggest fears come true and a strange, scary figure appears out of nowhere. It doesn't take long before the cloaked thief makes off with the heirlooms and Darby. Dang it.
Giving chase is futile but I choose to try anyway, praying that somehow this situation can be turned around. Night is creeping closer and without a horse nor any sort of provision all hope seems lost. No wonder the protagonist's Da insisted the journey be taken during the day.
Just as I am certain that it's all over, the forest road clears and I find myself at an ominous lake glowing red. Perplexed I look around for any hints of the thief or my horse all while trying not to get distracted from my task by the new and eerie surroundings, that seem almost otherworldy. Did the stranger really pass through here? This question is answered as fast as it arrises, when they suddenly pop up close to me and before I nor the protagonist can grasp what is going on, with a faithful push, I find myself drowning in the inauspicious glade.
When I resurface, everything is unfamiliar. No idea where I am, what is happening or where the family heirlooms, Darby or the terrible thief who pushed me, went.
From here on out things escalate, you'd think they already have but it's so much deeper and so much more intriguing and important than you might think. A person named Shae, dressed like a soldier finds me slumped against a tree without a single chance to process any of the events that just happened. Shae carries a spear but they are not British military and with their long, pointy ears coming into view with a big shock the protagonist realizes that we are not in the human world anymore and that this is not an Ireland, that we know.
No forest, no Galway, no way back, we are now in Tír na nÓg, the Celtic Otherworld. And as if that wasn't already so much to digest, you now hear Shae call you Daonna as if it was my name.
Daonna means human, and that I am, but why does Shae know me, why do they ask where the protagonist has been, why am I told that everyone has been waiting for me, when I don't have the slightest clue of who everyone is nor where I am.
So my character is left to question if our senses have gone mad and if we will ever see Darby or our Da ever again and shortly after we are dragged into interrogation by Shae before the Queen and her bustling and curious court await us. Get ready to discover a war on the way, a Queen who is way too familiar with you for a royal and be swept up in deadly fairy politics, hostile Unseelies, not a single soul who believes your story nor knows a way back home to your Da and a whirlwind romance along the way.
I can only proceed to mention once again how much care and effort have flown into this game. The land of Tír na nÓg was carefully crafted all with a full map depicting all the regions and people and different places, always available through the main menu. During the dialogue you find many, many Irish words, highlighted in green and revealing their meaning and etymology as you hover the mouse over them, just an amazing feature.
Admittedly I was at first a bit overwhelmed by the rich selection screen with a lot of options to access, books and chapters to select and bonus options to discover. But I think this is also just another display of how much the developers cared.
The UX and UI design are dreamy and it is
the little things, like leaves falling over the text box, the mouse helping you take a look around your environment as you engage dialogue and characters all being beautifully drawn with many expressions and beautiful voice acting that bring it all together the way it is. I already brought up how wonderful the music is,
but I really want to emphasize again, how much it heightened my gaming experience. Not only did it aid immersing me in the story but it also combined so well with the beautiful scenery you are exposed to at all times. Gorgeously crafted background art, greenery, cities, cosy cottages, it is almost like you can feel the wind on your skin and smell the mossy trees and stones or the pink roses surrounding the Fairy Queen.
Now to the romance: The Good People is currently in early access with only some routes complete. The full game plans on having 8 volumes in total and will most likely stay in early access for some time, as good things take time to be made. But rest assured, the characters already available promise witty dialogue, heart-tucking entanglements and moments spent together to melt for. Your many choices, with real and thought-through consequences ultimately determine how close or far away you are from charming your chosen sweetheart. This also promises great replayability and the chance to revisit and experience the story of your character many times with many different partners and outcomes to see, if your love will thrive between many choices to make, a Queen to aid and a war to wage or survive. And what about getting back home? And Darby of course.
So then, if this visual novel game sounds like it is for you, you want to support hard work and Indie developers, you already spend most of your life reading mythology, romance and longing for characters who aren't real (like me) and you ultimately always find yourself up after long nights of telling yourself that it's really and honest just “one more chapter“, then you might just have come to the right place. Don't wait until you are thrown into the arms of the Fairies, make your way there yourself. You will not regret it.
The Good People or Na Daoine Maithe is available on Steam in Early Access for only $14.99, which is an amazing steal considering all the content and content yet to come. Treat yourself to a cozy read this summer and save and reuinte the Celtic Otherworld all while finding yourself a Darling my loves.
Thank you so much for Moirai Myths Inc for having me and granting me access to this wonderful creation of theirs, I will be engaged and review future content as well and hopefully then, in better health.
See you guys in future updates,
Yase out.
The Good People on Steam:
Moirai Myths Inc homepage:
The Good People homepage:
Moirai Myths Inc on BlueSky:
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