Dialogue with a robot opens a hidden door within oneself. "BatteryNote" is a conversation-based adventure that places you between life and death.
Note: the original Japanese article can be found at:
https://www.4gamer.net/games/931/G093100/20251023039/
Writer: Okudosu Kumata | 2025/10/24 08:00 (UTC)
That feeling when a door opens—don’t you know it?
Not a physical door, but the innermost chamber of your heart, usually ignored or overlooked—the kind you’ve deliberately avoided looking at.
The room6-published title “BatteryNote” is precisely the kind of game that gently places a hand on such a door.
Within its simple dialogue, it quietly asks: “When you hold someone else’s life in your hands—what would you do?” In doing so, it draws out emotions and shadows of guilt we usually pretend not to see.
72studio (Nanani Studio), the independent developer behind this work, faced their own “quirk”—a desire to meet, talk with, and even love non-human characters—and channeled it into a dialogue-based science fiction adventure game.
In this title, players simply engage in conversation with robots. Three distinct robots—each different in origin and personality—are the conversational partners.
First is Jessica, a waiter robot who once worked at a diner.
Next is Debaind, a combat robot suspected to have been developed for military use.
And finally, Savery, a security robot that once monitored an office building.
The protagonist awakens from cryosleep and, upon the suggestion of their assistant (a robotic companion), begins talking with these robots in a dimly lit garage.
※ The following content does not reveal major spoilers, but some descriptions and screenshots may hint at story developments. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid hints.
Image Gallery No.004 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
Image Gallery No.005 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
This game has no grand mission to save the world or a definitive goal. If anything, its purpose might simply be listening to their stories and learning who they truly are.
All three robots were found discarded in a junkyard—broken-down units with nearly depleted batteries and only a short time left before failing completely.
Players progress through conversations in the order they choose, ultimately witnessing each robot’s final moments.
There’s another significant commonality: In this world, these robots are known as “Anomalies”—entities historically blamed for harming humans or considered dangerous.
For example, Jessica—once a waitress at a diner—was labeled a troublemaker. She was infamous for dousing customers with water and shouting insults, behaving in ways utterly unlike other robots of her kind. Even during conversations with the protagonist, she suddenly picks up a wrench.
Image Gallery No.008 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
Image Gallery No.009 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
Thus, these three robots are potentially dangerous—capable of harming the protagonist. Yet as players engage in dialogue, they gradually uncover the backstories behind each robot’s “way of living.”
What happened to them in the past? Why were they discarded? As conversations unfold, players quietly share their final moments.
This forms the core experience of the game.
But it doesn’t end with just conversation.
To keep talking with these robots, there’s one unavoidable act: charging.
Their batteries are nearly empty after being pulled from a landfill, and without power, they can’t even converse properly. So players must supply electricity during conversations.
At first, this felt like routine maintenance—just another necessary step to continue the dialogue.
But soon enough, the player realizes: This charging process is not just “keeping life alive”—it also has the power to take a life.
There are two ways to charge: normal charging slowly restores battery levels, while high-voltage charging delivers a sudden surge of energy in a short time.
However, the latter carries significant risk. Overloading the battery can create extreme internal stress. If pushed too far, the robot may permanently cease functioning.
Moreover, these robots have no way to stop it—no mechanism to cut off excessive power beyond their functional limits. Their fate rests entirely in the player’s hands.
Image Gallery No.012 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
Image Gallery No.013 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
You want to understand their past. You want to hear why they ended up like this. So you keep talking, but these are the robots labeled as Anomalies—each with a unique personality.
Even if you approach them seriously, they may act aggressively or provoke you with taunting behavior.
That’s when it happens—the door opens…
You feel something dark and unwelcome seeping out from within yourself.
When faced with such conduct, you might be tempted to punish them. After all, these are robots that caused trouble for humans—so punishing them seems justifiable, doesn’t it? It’s unavoidable… They’re arrogant, and this is punishment for their crimes.
Pressing the high-voltage switch causes strong reactions. The robots flinch violently, writhing in pain from their own internal collapse.
They act badly and say things that infuriate you—yet is raising the voltage really justified just for that reason? At the same time, you can’t ignore the feeling: their lives are in your hands.
A faint sense of superiority—a kind of emotion you never knew existed within yourself.
Of course, it’s not merely revenge or punishment. There are cases where high-voltage charging is truly unavoidable.
For instance, Debaind suffers from memory circuit malfunctions. Sometimes, recalling certain memories requires a high-voltage stimulus—otherwise, those crucial memories remain locked away, and the conversation can’t progress.
The same applies to the other robots: jolting their batteries sometimes triggers unexpected reactions or reveals long-buried truths hidden deep within them.
As you repeat playthroughs and experiment with different charging methods and approaches, each character’s personality gradually emerges in new ways.
Image Gallery No.018 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
Image Gallery No.019 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
The outcomes when high-voltage charging damages (or destroys) a robot vary. It doesn’t simply result in the robot lashing out with hatred—instead, some robots find it a form of “release,” accepting their fate peacefully.
Here I found myself surprised by my own reaction: “Maybe it would’ve been better if they hated me completely.”
Was I seeking punishment for my own sins? Or did I truly want to see them suffer? Even I couldn’t be sure. But in that moment, I felt something akin to touching the “karma” within myself.
I now realize opening this door any further might be dangerous. Perhaps it’s best to gently close it again…
But once a door has been opened, it can never fully disappear. Pretending ignorance is probably no longer possible.
……Though I’ve drifted into somewhat philosophical territory, let me return to the game itself.
Why are they called Anomalies? Why were they discarded and left broken in the protagonist’s path? There is actually a clear reason behind their “abnormality.”
As conversations unfold, the robots’ pasts gradually come to light. For example, Jessica’s strange behavior—spraying water on customers or shouting insults—was tied to emotions she herself hadn’t even recognized.
And these “distortions” slowly take shape in dialogue, subtly changing how we perceive each robot before us.
Talking with one robot until its final moments—each scenario lasts about 20 minutes, and a single playthrough is relatively short.
Once you complete one route, you can view conditions for other endings in-game, so collecting all endings isn’t difficult if you’re prepared.
Though the gameplay time is brief, the density of content packed within it is astonishing. I initially thought this was just a dialogue-only game—until I realized how deeply my emotions had been stirred.
Personally, I found the scenario involving security robot Savery the most impactful.
Savery engaged in stalking and illegal photography over 100 times against female employees and repeatedly made lewd remarks toward the protagonist.
At first, I thought: “This is just a despicable machine.” But as we learn about their environment and history behind such actions, it becomes impossible to dismiss them simply as “creepy robots.” A quiet, devastating reality unfolds—so real it leaves you speechless.
Debaind’s story also left a strong impression. To uncover his past, high-voltage stimulation is sometimes required due to memory circuit issues. This robot offers the clearest possible confrontation with the feeling of “holding someone else’s life in your hands.”
Image Gallery No.023 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
Image Gallery No.022 thumbnail / Dialogue with robots unlocks hidden doors within yourself. “BatteryNote” is a dialogue-based adventure game where players stand between preserving and ending lives
“BatteryNote” pushes ethical boundaries in remarkable ways.
It allows players to send power into an entity with clear self-awareness and will, observe its reactions, and gradually drain its life—yet this act is presented as perfectly acceptable.
Yet it’s important to emphasize: this is only possible—the choice of whether to do so always remains with the player.
While the game may guide certain directions, deciding where to cross boundaries is ultimately your own decision.
The game features multiple endings; if you aim for all outcomes, there will be moments when using the high-voltage switch becomes unavoidable. But in the end, it’s still you who decided to do so.
And within that act—perhaps a fleeting thrill, or some inexplicable sense of guilt—I recognized my own self. From now on, I must live without looking away from this truth. Honestly… strange? No—it’s truly bizarre—and yet, wonderfully profound: I’ve opened a door I never knew existed.
Still, the way these robots are portrayed as “otherworldly” is strangely meticulous and convincing. It’s not just about design or setting; it’s because they’re genuinely brought to life as beings that aren’t human—this is why their presence can stir such deep emotion.
I feel somewhere within my soul: this developer, I believe in them.
“BatteryNote” is currently available on Steam. If you’ve ever sensed a door inside yourself that’s never been opened, I truly encourage you to experience this game once.