Mini Review: Dark Auction (PS5) – Compelling Visual Novel Makes Some Generative AI Missteps

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In Dark Auction, it’s been three days since Noah last saw his dad

My dad has this really intense hobby – collecting stuff related to this awful guy, Dictator X, from World War 2. He went to some secret auction a while back, and honestly, we haven’t heard from him since. It’s super worrying!

Noah went back to the castle, hoping to find clues, but quickly discovered he’d stumbled into a much bigger and more perilous situation than he could have imagined.

The story starts with a really unusual idea, but it quickly grabs your attention. Instead of using money, people bid on items with their own memories. The auction involves five other participants, all searching for things connected to a dictator, and everyone has complicated family secrets from World War II. Some of these backstories are ethically questionable, and some are downright dark.

This device pulls memories from people, but it’s dangerous. If it finds a lie, it can cause extreme pain or even be fatal. Hidden trauma or secrets can damage memories, so you need to identify any problems and correct them to keep the person safe. Successfully doing so is the only way to uncover the truth about the auction and what happened to Noah’s father.

Between auctions, you’ll mostly be exploring the castle and chatting with other characters to find clues. The story follows a fairly straightforward path, but the characters are well-written, which keeps things interesting. It’s really engaging to watch Noah gradually gain people’s trust and discover how their families are connected to Dictator X.

The auctions are the least engaging part of the game. They function similarly to the trials in Danganronpa, but are much more straightforward. Each night involves performing the same few tasks – completing sentences, identifying inconsistencies, and repeating information. It’s not necessarily a flaw, but it does become repetitive.

The use of AI-generated art is a noticeable weakness. Many of the flashback sequences and items up for auction use this technology, and it doesn’t blend well with the beautiful hand-drawn illustrations by KOHSKE.

The developer has acknowledged they’re updating some of the AI-generated content, but our review is based on the version we experienced.

Despite a few slow parts and some inconsistencies, Dark Auction’s story and intriguing mystery kept us engaged. If you like visual novels focused on characters and with a bit of a dark theme, it’s definitely worth checking out.

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2026-02-10 23:07