▼ Not recommended
12 hrs
Caveat: It's not for me, thus why I can't recommend it. However, you may have a better time with it than I did.
My main, and only, gripe with this game is the writing. The exploration events in particular. Something's wrong when I dread meeting characters and spend a lot of time gazing longingly at the skip button as I force myself to read through the text. A lot of the conversations I experienced feel heavily one-sided. Characters I didn't expect to be particularly chatty will monologue at you with no real rhyme or reason. And after some odd hours of playing I couldn't muster the slightest ounce of excitement at learning about new lore or delving deeper into a character's psyche. Reading ended up feeling like something I had to do to finish the game instead of an experience meant to be enjoyed.
The intimate encounters during the exploration period is also...not for me. I played through Soren's route since it has a guide and I wanted to give the writing another chance. And I can't say for sure since I don't dabble in the spaces, but it kinda feels like it may be inspired by NSFW ASMR roleplay? Having the love interest narrate what's happening, what MC is doing, and what they're doing to MC (e.g. stuff like "I can't help but leave kisses down your spine") while MC hardly says a peep, if she even spoke at all, is a total mood killer for me and an experience I'm not keen on repeating. I do realize this may be a matter of personal preference, so maybe it'll set your heart aflutter? idk. It's not for me. I think the visual novel portion (post trial 2) got better with this, and it's entirely because I noticed there's less of the love interest narrating what's happening.
There's also the ending. I only played Soren's good ending (I played halfway through Titus' route since it also has a guide, but, eh, did I really want to spend that much time on a game I wasn't enjoying?) and it left me feeling a little disappointed. Without getting into too much spoiler, Soren becomes mired in what's essentially a big misunderstanding (fueled by a malicious media frenzy) with the other characters and the general public. While MC and Soren resolve their conflict and get their happily ever after, there's not a word more about what happened to the other characters or how Soren will resolve the misunderstanding with the public. I know the main point of dating sims is the romance between the main characters, but, man, leaving something so major unresolved just leave me thinking "That's it?" It feels like I was eating a meal and someone snatches my plate away before I could finish eating, that's how unresolved it felt.
I really wanted to like the game. I like stat-raising sims. I think the visuals are super pretty. But writing is what makes or breaks visual novels, and the writing completely failed to capture me. I do, however, recommend that you figure out for yourself if this game is for you. I just wanted to write this review so someone else can be spared from the ASMR roleplay bits.
My main, and only, gripe with this game is the writing. The exploration events in particular. Something's wrong when I dread meeting characters and spend a lot of time gazing longingly at the skip button as I force myself to read through the text. A lot of the conversations I experienced feel heavily one-sided. Characters I didn't expect to be particularly chatty will monologue at you with no real rhyme or reason. And after some odd hours of playing I couldn't muster the slightest ounce of excitement at learning about new lore or delving deeper into a character's psyche. Reading ended up feeling like something I had to do to finish the game instead of an experience meant to be enjoyed.
The intimate encounters during the exploration period is also...not for me. I played through Soren's route since it has a guide and I wanted to give the writing another chance. And I can't say for sure since I don't dabble in the spaces, but it kinda feels like it may be inspired by NSFW ASMR roleplay? Having the love interest narrate what's happening, what MC is doing, and what they're doing to MC (e.g. stuff like "I can't help but leave kisses down your spine") while MC hardly says a peep, if she even spoke at all, is a total mood killer for me and an experience I'm not keen on repeating. I do realize this may be a matter of personal preference, so maybe it'll set your heart aflutter? idk. It's not for me. I think the visual novel portion (post trial 2) got better with this, and it's entirely because I noticed there's less of the love interest narrating what's happening.
There's also the ending. I only played Soren's good ending (I played halfway through Titus' route since it also has a guide, but, eh, did I really want to spend that much time on a game I wasn't enjoying?) and it left me feeling a little disappointed. Without getting into too much spoiler, Soren becomes mired in what's essentially a big misunderstanding (fueled by a malicious media frenzy) with the other characters and the general public. While MC and Soren resolve their conflict and get their happily ever after, there's not a word more about what happened to the other characters or how Soren will resolve the misunderstanding with the public. I know the main point of dating sims is the romance between the main characters, but, man, leaving something so major unresolved just leave me thinking "That's it?" It feels like I was eating a meal and someone snatches my plate away before I could finish eating, that's how unresolved it felt.
I really wanted to like the game. I like stat-raising sims. I think the visuals are super pretty. But writing is what makes or breaks visual novels, and the writing completely failed to capture me. I do, however, recommend that you figure out for yourself if this game is for you. I just wanted to write this review so someone else can be spared from the ASMR roleplay bits.
18 found helpful
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