Andromeda Six

When I bought this game I didn’t know that this was an otome game and I’m not very familiar with the genre. I personally regret buying this, but I can see that fans of this genre might genuinely enjoy it.
Based on the Steam description I went in thinking I’d have more control over the MC’s personality and choices. I was disappointed to learn the MC’s personality is fully predetermined. Regardless of your choices, the MC will be a soft, reactive cinnamon-roll. They’re quick to blush, tremble, and bite their lip. They’re extremely passive and rely on others to protect and rescue them. So if you’re hoping to role-play a cool, confident hero, this MC is… not that.
The MC’s feelings and reactions to other characters are also locked in. For example with Damon, I chose not to flirt with this character, but the MC was still constantly dazzled and physically affected by him and his ‘wolfish grin’. And with the Captain, the MC is always intimidated and ‘shrinking under his glacial stare’. Dialogue choices exist, but they don’t seem to matter; the MC’s thoughts and feelings remain the same.
The game also leans into some outdated gender dynamics with male characters being very controlling towards female characters, sometimes under the guise of ‘being protective’. In one scene, a female crewmate is pole dancing, and a male crewmate tells her to stop because of “hungry stares” she is receiving. You get three dialogue options, two siding with the man and one siding with the woman. I chose to side with the woman but despite my choice the MC changed her mind and ended up agreeing with him anyway.
This is an Early Access game, so things may change in future episodes. For me, it simply wasn’t the experience I was hoping for. But if you enjoy traditional romance tropes and like being swept along by a story rather than steering it, you might have a great time with this.

I recommend this game, BUT...

I expected so much more from it having played a few other upcoming indie VNs also currently in early access. If you're like me - an LGBTQ+ person, who occasionally enjoys a nice & inclusive dating sim - you might be just as disappointed to learn that this one is very much written with the girlies in mind. By this I mean that while yes, you can pick your pronouns in the beginning and take home 1 of 7 different cis people of either sex, you have zero say over the MC's personality, which, in the broadest possible strokes, I can only describe as "all bark, no bite" with the gusto similar to that of a yorkie whose tail got sat on. She , and I do mean she, will occasionally throw out a random witty quip or a challenge to an apparent authority only to then immediately back down when the big strong man finds it less than amusing, or, altogether, get rescued by said man from a sticky situation.
I greatly enjoy a snarky MC. This one... is kinda locked into a Bella Swan-like damsel if you go for the boys; especially with Damon, who's not beating the wattpad-Edward-Cullen-in-witness-protection allegations. I wish I were joking with the amount of twilightisms in this novel. I haven't gotten the chance to do all the routes yet, though. I will update this, when I've exhausted all available choices.
Andromeda Six leaves precious little room for RP, if you care about such things.
That said, it's a solid story in an underappreciated niche and I can't wait for it to be completed. I just wish the devs were more honest about what it was and what it offered. My biggest disappointment lies with the stiffness and the overall writing of the MC. Gender stereotypes and conformist gender roles, which this game inadvertently pushes, give me - a literal raging queer - the heebie-jeebies.
Our pronouns alone aren't all that makes us.

Not really a review. Just want people to know it works on the steamdeck. It's not perfect, but playable. Wish the text was a little bigger. You can use the mousetrack pad.
It's a great story, I played it on patreon.