Missing Stars is an English-language Visual Novel developed in Ren'Py by Somnova Studios. Originally known by the tentative name "Mentaru Shoujo", it has been in development since 2012.
You play as Erik Wilhelm, an easygoing teenage boy who is transferred to St. Dymphna's. St. Dymphna's is a Viennese secondary school that specializes in dealing with students with mental disorders. There he meets many people, including six girls he can befriend and date.
Missing Stars was originally one of several Spiritual Successors to the popular English-language visual novel Katawa Shoujo. As of 2019 it is the only one still in active development. The first part of Missing Stars, Act One, was released on December 29th, 2019
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There is a discussion forum, a Discord server, and an official blog detailing the game's progress.
Missing Stars provides examples of:
- Animesque: Although the character art style is a bit more Western in its appearance than games like Katawa Shoujo, the anime inspiration is still visible.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Official art has revealed that Jeanne is quite pudgy.
- Cool Mask: Lena has one, reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter.
- The Ditz: If her published side story is anything to go by, Natalya is very much this.
- Genki Girl: In a cast full of either shy or emotionally mature girls, Natalya stands out as the most energetic and enthusiastic, overlapping with her role as The Ditz.
- Mental Health Recovery Arc: All the main characters have this arc due to the school being aimed at helping the mental welfare of teenagers.
- Multinational Team: The main characters are from various European countries: Isolda and Jeanne are French, Lena is German, Annaliese and Katja are Austrian, the Volkova twins are Russian, and Erik is from Switzerland. The development team also counts as one, with members from very different regions from around the world.
- The Ojou:
- Katja is described as a classy girl, and portrayed as having a very sophisticated style of speech in the non-canon side stories.
- Natalya also counts, but she's the exact opposite of the prim, ladylike Katja.
- Phenotype Stereotype: Natalya and Sofiya are blonde girls from Russia, with Russian accents, to boot.
- School Festival: The girls are preparing for one in the prequel story, Overture.
- School Idol: Both Katja and Ela are these according to the developers, Ela is well-known for being one of the school's tour guides, while Katja is a popular singer in the school choir.
- Shrinking Violet: Annaliese seems to be an extreme example, even going so far as to run away from Erik when they first meet.
- You No Take Candle: The Volkova twins have a less-than-stellar grasp of English, due to their being from Russia. Side-stories by the developers confirm that they are perfectly eloquent, even erudite, in Russian.
