This is the first visual novel I have ever played and I was pleasantly surprised. I expected to not enjoy it at all and lose interest quickly but its decent story and witty writing kept me engaged most of the way through.

I did find some of the conversations to drag on and found myself quickly skimming through the text until the game changed location or a new day passed. The relative freedom you are given to visit different locations gives it more depth and gameplay than I expected even though it did mean I missed some vital clues causing me to fail the last few cases.

Overall I enjoyed Aviary Attorney but was glad it didn't overstay its welcome and was quite a short experience taking me only 5 hrs to complete. I would recommend it if you enjoy these types of games or if like me you want to try one out for the first time.

They used 19th century caricaturist J. J. Grandville's illustrations for the characters, and I absolutely loved it. It gave the game a unique look that you don't see often in visual novels. (There is, however, one background that stuck out as a sore thumb and was clearly a background they had to create themselves for the game. Very minor thing.)

I do rather wish they had made the dialogue sound a bit more "old". Writing it in a style similar or evocative of 19th century English would have made the game more fun and interesting. I personally found it a bit distracting, especially in the beginning, that everyone spoke like the rest of us in the 21st century. Same with the modern references/gags, those also distracted from the game; though, I don't think they're bad or frequent enough to put anyone off the game.

Overall, I enjoyed playing the game, despite my quibbles with the amateur-ish writing. The plot kept my interest, and the characters were memorable (I think in large part to Grandville's art). If you like visual novels and/or games with courtroom mechanics similar to Ace Attorney, I think it's easily enjoyable. Give it a chance!