Nightshade／百花百狼
I really have no idea what to say about this game, but I will try my best.
–-I like everything medieval so the setting and atmosphere was appealing. I think it did a fair job conveying it.
—The sound track throughout the game nicely coincides with the atmosphere. I did not tend to like the opening theme song, but, in hindsight, it works anyway despite it.
—The artwork was well done and for once most/all the characters are dressed stylish instead of sad and pathetic (I am especially looking at you Amnesia memories).
– Real player with 92.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Female Protagonist Story Rich Games.
TL;DR Nightshade is the equivalent of an AAA game in the otome world, and absolutely worth its price.
First for an overview.
Nightshade is a visual novel on what it means to be a shinobi in the Sengoku era of Japan, during a time of tentative balance teering on the brink of change. The main character (I strongly recommend keeping the canon name Enju since the other characters will actually say her name) is a girl who is determined to give back to her shinobi village, and finds herself way in over her head in a conspiracy.
– Real player with 61.3 hrs in game
Lost in Secular Love
I noticed this game long time ago while searching for cute backgrounds and it’s finally translated into English! I’ll say right off the bat the translation is very decent. It’s my first voiced Chinese visual novel. It sounded quite new and peculiar for my ear but soon enough I really fell for it! I know one developer who is creating a Chinese learning game right now and I’m eager to try it, that’s how much I enjoyed the voice acting here. Not only the language but also music (the opening is amazing) and visuals are creating a unique atmosphere of a different culture.
– Real player with 17.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Female Protagonist Dating Sim Games.
Rating: 7/10 (“Good”)
Recommended for: People who enjoy romance. I would recommend this for a first time VN reader.
My route order: ZhiKong ZiQing HuiHai. I didn’t have a least favourite guy, but my favourite route was probably ZiQing’s.
Lost in Secular Love is a Chinese visual novel where you play as QiYe, a young girl from a noble family. Unfortunately, her family has fallen in status and become quite impoverished. As a result, QiYe disguises herself as a man and works at a restaurant. Her mother devises a plan to get her married to a monk; this would bring status back to their home as well as ensure that QiYe does not live on the streets. In addition, QiYe will be able to support her family by sending them an allowance.
– Real player with 16.7 hrs in game
Pinewood Island
Hello Steam user who is wondering if this little visual novel is worth their time. I’m going to tell you right now that the short answer is yes, especially if you’re a fan of the mystery genre.
Pros
– The story and mystery. Okay so if you taken a look at the plot synopsis you can pretty much see the standard murder mystery scenario. Group of people in an isolated location, somebody gets murdered and things go to hell when people start playing the blame game. Pretty standard set up but thankfully it’s executed well. It actually took me at least three different play throughs to figure out the murderer was which thankfully means the mystery itself is not to easy but it also means that it’s not too hard to figure it out either. The story itself is a little clunky at times by and have a good flow once it gets going and it’s pretty fun to play through even though you have to do about four times to get all the endings (I’ll complain about it later though so…).
– Real player with 10.7 hrs in game
Picked this game up after it had been on my wishlist for a while and I checked the store page to see it had no reviews yet. Decided I had to give it a go myself and leave a review so there was something here for people to go off of.
If you want a synopsis, you can read the descriptor, it’s not a super complex or original idea. It plays out fine enough though, I found it pretty enjoyable from the run and a half I’ve done so far. It doesn’t seem like choices are super duper important aside from boys and knowing what’s going on, but they impacted a few things aside from stright up bad ending, or continuing on the plot so far.
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
Amnesia™: Memories
No, Amnesia: Memories isn’t a horror game , unless playing a female protagonist who can date four different guys (and maybe N from Pokémon) in a Japanese visual novel makes you break out into a cold sweat. If you keep reading, I’m going to assume you totally came here on purpose and share my strange passion for dating hot, fictional men who just can’t help falling for me…with the help of a walkthrough, anyway. (Sadly, I have a rotten personality and can never self-insert.)
– Real player with 54.7 hrs in game
**“And, even yet, I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in memory’s rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again?” - Emily Bronte, Remembrance**
Amnesia: Memories is the only game ported to PC from the highly successful otome game series called Amnesia by Otomate and Idea Factory. Originally made for Playstation Portable and later Playstation Vita; Amnesia game series were started in 2011 and it was well received primarily in Japan. Within a year or so, the franchise earned a notable fan base and a reputation all over the world as a high quality otome series with countless merchandise and many sequels. Here we have Amnesia: Memories, which is actually the 4th game in the series, yet it is consistent and well elaborated enough within its own self, so you don’t necessarily have to play any other games to enjoy it.
– Real player with 50.5 hrs in game
As We Know It
I saw this tagged as “sci-fi” but I don’t know if it should be categorized as that. It’s a post-apocalyptic story, but the science/technology in it isn’t fictional at all. Anyway, it’s got Mad Max: Fury Road vibes, but takes place within a setting similar to that District 13 underground city from The Hunger Games. The implication is that climate change eventually impacted the livelihood of humankind, and for some, the answer was to move into underground city shelters.
Good Stuff
- Racial diversity. More than half of all the characters are not white.
– Real player with 20.6 hrs in game
I played Pinewood Island first and had high expectations for this one! I bought it during a sale since I couldn’t bring myself to buy it at full price!
Long story, short? I really enjoyed this game! Customization of your character was simple but I felt it added to the immersion of the game! The plot is phenomenal and I wanted to know more and more about the world we’re in! As of writing this i’ve gotten 2 out of 30 endings; 30 endings?! That’s insane but it shows how much thought went into this!
– Real player with 10.1 hrs in game
Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome
Funny and cute! Definitely worth it!
At first I wanted to get this game because I like the voice actors, particularly Yotsuya Cider. As I started to play the game even further, the more I became engrossed in it.
STORY/DIALOGUE
The plotline itself wasn’t spectacular, although it’s not bad either. It’s pretty meh at most and you’ll notice that the game does poke fun at itself for being like that. Most of the scenes were pretty funny and I got a really good laugh out of them, especially the “bad” ends. That said, the game itself doesn’t have a very serious story and is rather light-hearted than the usual otome game; and they know that very well. The problem I had with the plot was that there wasn’t any more to it than just to make Ema a model and Miki’s designs getting famous. I felt that Saito didn’t get as much treatment as the other two, and you don’t really get to know him that much in his route.
– Real player with 32.1 hrs in game
I’m a huge otome fan, but the genre has its faults… And this treasure dodges them seamlessly! It’s reminiscent of Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge/Kimi ni Todoke in that the heroine is a “scary” aka misunderstood and unintentionally intimidating girl, and is a perpetual loner. But the game takes that idea and runs with it in its own original direction.
Annoying protagonist, who is too clueless to live? NO! For once, the protagonist is funny, quirky, has a sense of self-preservation, and is willing to stand up to the asshole character (if you choose). She also has the most hilarious inner monologues related to a variety of topics, among which are her preoccupation with the fact that the sadist, Saito, MUST be a member of the yakuza, and her interpretations of his lines as some kind of mafia punishment.
– Real player with 32.1 hrs in game
My Vow to My Liege
I’m gonna say this right from the start: This is one of the best otomes I’ve ever played. And I’ve been playing otomes since I was 13-14 y/o, I’m 22.
It’s clear that it was made with so much care, so much dedication to its culture, that it actually sparked my curiosity to learn more about Chinese culture, and its myths and legends; a curiosity I only get when a game it’s actually really good (something that happened to me with Hakuouki, per example). The plot is very well crafted, and kept me hooked, and emotionally engaged… too emotionally engaged… Also, I can’t remember when was the last time I supported a protagonist this much. Oh, and the art is really good! The guys are very handsome, and those CG’s are top-notch.
– Real player with 90.5 hrs in game
Okay, I’m sucker for angsty stories. I live for them. I’m addicted to them.
Long story short: Please play this game. I highly recommended this Otome.
Long Story below:
This game is plastered with angst almost every corner and when you reach their respective route’s Good Ending, you will feel that they are well-earned.
I usually played Otome that has female love interest as well. But the premise of this game is too refreshing and interesting to ignore. The typical and cringey notion when playing Otome are the Mary Sue protagonists. Too sweet, too feminine, too stereotypical princessy. Too typical. You could always roughly expect how she would react. Too Bland.
– Real player with 34.0 hrs in game
NEKOPARA - Catboys Paradise
To start this off I would like to say I consider myself somewhat of an expert on not only anime but also anime boys, make them cat boys, and consider me god. I’ve recently gone through a really shit time and needed something to fill the infinitely expanding void and this game did exactly that. The second I saw this game pre-release the heavenly light shined above me and a new reason to live my life was given to me in the form of virtual cat boys. This game is simply a prologue and only came out a day ago but it is life-changing. Waking up on this game’s release date can only be topped by waking on Christmas knowing you have a million dollars waiting for you under the tree. I was instantly drawn into this game weeks before release due to me being so overly attracted to the cat-boy sprites that were shown off. as someone whos struggled with erectile disfunction his entire life this game made my William stand firm and strong for the first time in 30 years. I cannot express the amount of sexual attraction I feel towards this game
– Real player with 549.2 hrs in game
I adore this and want more!
I seriously loved every single character so much that I can’t pick a favorite. They’re each charming in their own way, and their designs are fabulous. I really liked how even though they’re all pining for their mistress, the catboys are mostly still friendly with one another. There’s a bit of friendly rivalry and one character who’s a bit more possessive than the others, but I got the sense that they’re still all friends who care about each other, and it’s mentioned/implied throughout that you may end up adopting all of them even if the route format suggests one will be your main squeeze. It was refreshing and leaves a glimmer of hope for there being a future harem route or ending.
– Real player with 14.0 hrs in game
OZMAFIA!!
I haven’t long gotten into Otome games (this is about my eight), but, oh boy, do I love this!
The Good
It has Japanese voice acting (covering about 70% of the game) that is superbly done and really takes many scenes to a whole other level; from heart warming, to funny, to heart breaking, to slightly steamy, to dark and disturbing, above and beyond what the writing alone would have done for me. Regardless of weather you understand the language itself, the tone and delivery makes all the difference in my book. I loved the writing and the translations are superb and flowed wonderfully, not rough or choppy or clumsy at all.
– Real player with 77.2 hrs in game
This game is just so…weird. The best way I think to describe it would be as a dark fantasy, with romantic and comedy elements.
This game is not for everyone. The routes all start off rather tame, but then quickly shift to WTF. Several endings have dubcon and noncon (implied and described), and can be rather graphic in their descriptions of violence and sex.
If you are interested in knowing more about the specific characters and routes, then continue reading below as I go into more detail without giving too many spoilers. If you want a surprise, well, just start playing and good luck! (I really recommend a guide though, there are just too many endings)
– Real player with 55.1 hrs in game
Steam Prison
If you like the premise of this game, go read Code Realize instead, a much better Steampunk themed visual novel and MC. Don’t waste your time on this overly priced I-can’t-believe-I wasted-money-on-this crap. I know it has very positive reviews, but take your time to read both the positive and negative and then decide.
Because is this game for real with this protagonist? This visual novel is very dark, violent, disturbing, and yet the MC is a childish airhead? It’s super weird. I wish I was just being mean, but she really is that dumb and boring. I never bash on a visual novel like this, but I can’t recommend it. It had potential. But all you get is a protagonist written like some parody of the old otome trope of the naive-but-cute-woman-child, and a story full of boring conversation filler, torture & violence, lackluster romance, and a few interesting men. And uninspiring music with an annoying, repetitive gong sound in the UI.
– Real player with 61.5 hrs in game
For those who don’t wish to read all of the review: I recommend this game to everyone who love visual novel romance. The game has beautiful artwork, fitting music, great voice acting and an interesting plot and world which is explored over the different storylines.
(For Developers/LocalizationTeam: I would love to have Fin’s route localized if possible and more background on Sachsen would be interesting as well, it is the only character that I couldn’t understand properly.)
The game has an interesing world setting which is the base of many intruging plots over the different storylines.
– Real player with 59.1 hrs in game