Kara Dennison
January 31, 2025 
Originally released in Japan in 2020, Genso Manège is finally available in English starting today! The new visual novel takes you to a small town in France, where a traveling amusement park has set up for a week. But the park is more than it seems, as are its handsome staff members.
We tested out the demo for this gorgeous game to give you a sneak peek of what’s in store. Read on to find out more—then grab a copy for yourself!
The Story
Genso Manège casts you as Emma (or whatever name you choose), a young woman living in France. But Emma has a secret: she’s a witch. She hasn’t used her magic in years, and her memories of the loss of her parents are strangely missing. Opinions of witches are not high, so she keeps her magic hidden. Or she did, until she visited La Foire du Rêve. The traveling amusement park has a magical charm and a slew of attractive staff members. But those staff members are trapped, unable to leave the park.
Hugo, the park’s director, wonders if a witch’s magic could help. So Emma reveals her secret and makes a deal. She’ll work at the park for a week and hone her magic with Hugo in hopes of freeing them. Whatever happens, she will part ways with them once they move on to the next town.
The Gameplay
Like most visual novels, Gensou Manège is a bit like an interactive storybook. In the prologue and first three chapters, you have a handful of choices. These are mostly to do with how you react to the other characters. Will you praise or tease “big brother” figure Arnaud? How forward will you be with stoic accountant Serge? These decisions will affect a meter for each character. Presumably, as the chapters continue, these choices will dictate how many of their dark secrets the boys divulge to you.
The visual novel also includes minigames in which you help Emma hone her magic. These are simple point-and-click games, and after the first one you have the option to bypass them and continue directly to the story. It’s a great option to have, in case the minigame just doesn’t do it for you.
Art and Voices
Gensou Manège features stunning character designs and artwork by Meij (Collar x Malice). Each character has several different sprites, making even the standard dialogue scenes look really lovely. But the CGs (as seen throughout this review) are especially gorgeous. While the demo did not include access to a gallery, we assume players will be able to peruse any unlocked art in the full version.
But it’s the voice cast that really stands out. Save for the player character, the game is fully voiced. And anime fans will recognize several of the voice actors. Wataru Hatano (Metal Bat in One Punch Man) plays Hugo, the park’s charismatic director. Hiro Shimono (Zenitsu in Demon Slayer) voices the tsundere Crier. And the rest of the cast is stacked with familiar voices, all bringing this colorful characters to life.
If you’re a lover of fantasy romance, or just otome games in general, this is definitely one for your library. Join us in helping Emma unlock her magic, free the staff of La Foire du Rêve, and discover more about their secret pasts!
Genso Manège is available starting today for the Nintendo Switch and Steam.
