Deep in the Heart of Trouble || Date or Die (Prologue/Pilot)

Title

 

Date or Die is an episodic (so far) visual novel game in the works by Arden. You play as “Hero” and you’ve awoken to find yourself in a metal room with no immediately apparent escape. There is one door, but it’s locked, and a computer screen built into one wall. When the screen comes to life, you’re given a strange quiz and it matches you to another person, who you don’t even know. After which the door opens. You can even be matched to the host.

You’re met with some other folks who appear to be in the same situation as you are. They can’t remember their names either, nor do they remember how they got there. You do all have matching pink rings, however. They must have some significance.

Gang is all here!

I like the variety of characters. They all have a unique design and they all seem to have their own personalities as well. I really like the art style they are drawn in. I was matched with “Mesmer” in the beginning quiz during my first go, but “Luna” and “Six” caught my eye also.   

You soon meet the host, who explains that he has this game show to prove that anyone can find love. ANYONE. You have no choice but to participate, since those pink rings are able to poison you at the host’s whim. You’ll be participating in some challenges, designed to test your devotion to the idea of love (according to the host, anyway). But how far are you willing to go? A human’s natural instinct is to survive, but are you willing to kill another to have your chance…?

Mesmer's grin, though...

In the Pilot Episode, you get some sneak peaks with either the Host, or with “Mesmer”. Mesmer is one of the other characters being held captive for the game show. I don’t want to talk about them too much cause I don’t want to spoil any of it. I did enjoy both branches of the pilot, though. I’m intrigued by the host and I really want to know more.

Overall the Prologue and the Pilot Episode are great. They’re well written, the plot is interesting, and the characters are unique and they make me want to learn more about them. I can’t wait to see more from this developer for this game. You can download and play the prologue *here* and then try the Pilot Episode *here*.

Thank you all so much for stopping in! I hope you’ll give this game a try. Let me know what you thought in the comments below! See you next time!

Bell

I'm not Crying Wolf Here || A Werewolf Opportunity DEMO (PC)

"Never moon a werewolf." --Mike Binder

Source: Screen Capture in Game

The colors! @_@

A Werewolf Opportunity, Obviously is a MxM dating sim in the works by arcade party. You play as Eddie, a young man who is single, and looking for love. Eddie’s friend Marco talks him into going down to the Stallion, a gay bar, for a speed friending event.

At the bar, you can meet a variety of different characters, all of whom I wanted to get to know better. I think Louis the single dad was my favorite, though. He seemed really sweet! The entire cast of characters felt unique and had interesting personalities.

The art of this demo is also phenomenal. Both the sprites and the backgrounds are detailed and colorful, and I love the style of the art as well. The characters all have a unique look to them, which I love. Gladys’ hair is one of the best things I have ever seen.

The goal of all adults.

Source: Screen Capture in Game
 

 In the speed friending part of the game, each character you are able to be paired with has 3 possible conversation topics, depending on whether you talk to them 1^st round, 2^nd round, or 3^rd round. It was interesting to play through a few times to see the different possible interactions.
 

The game is estimated to release in spring of 2018 with PG-13 and R-18 versions. The developers plan for 5 dateable guys, 10 possible endings and more than 70 CGs! The art style is so amazing, I'm really going to look forward to those CGs.

Overall, this demo was amazing. I’ve added it to my list of games I’m eagerly awaiting to play the full versions of. Please give it a try yourself. You can download the demo free from Itch.io *here*.

Thanks for sharing some of your time with me today. It means a lot. Be sure to leave some feedback for the developers, and happy gaming!

Bell

Free Itch.io Games #10

Well hello, friends! It’s once again that time~ Today we are going to dig deep and find some more free games from Itch.io and/or Steam to play. Let’s see what we can find!

1.Who is Mike

Source: Steam Page

Who is Mike is a horror/mystery visual novel game created by the team at FERVENT. You are Mike Jansen… at least, you think you are. It all seems a little fuzzy, doesn’t it? Here you are in what you believe is your living room, but before you is another Mike Jansen who looks exactly like you, calling you a fake. You can’t be the fake, HE is the fake. When your girlfriend, a cop, comes down to see what the commotion is, things get more complicated. 

The idea of this game is that you can’t be sure of anything. Not matter what, the truth is not a certainty to you. There are supposed to be 9 endings to this game. I have played through and gotten 3 different endings, all of which involved me dying a horrible death. So I don’t know if there is a happy ending or not. There are also a lot of unanswered questions. Perhaps one of the other endings holds answers, or maybe it’s meant to stay a mystery. 

In any case, I found the game suspenseful and well done. Both the graphics and music aid well to the over all feeling of the game. You don’t have to take my word for it though. You can download the game for free from Itch.io *here* or free on steam *here*. And be sure to let me know if you get any different endings ;)

2. Hot Date

Source: Itch.io Page

Hot Date is a wonderful dating simulator where you get to date… Pugs! Yes, adorable Pug dogs--one of the cutest dogs ever, if I do say so myself. Hot date was created by George Batchelor, with music by Levi Pack. The game works like a speed dating session where you get a limited amount of time with each Pug to make them like you enough to want to go out with you again. It can be surprisingly challenging, although extremely entertaining. You can create a plethora of different questions to ask, and some of the answers that the Pugs give made me laugh. 

The Pug are super cute, although pink, and the music is relaxing to listen to. I haven’t reached an end, I believe it may just be an endless stream of dating. All of the Pugs wanted to see me again though, so at least I have that going for me! I would have loved to see other dog breeds in the game as well. A Chihuahua would have had me sold! In any case, this game is free to download and play on Itch.io *here*. Find out just how much of a charmer you really are.

3. The Polaroid

Source: Itch.io Page

The Polaroid is an interesting puzzle game created by the team at Dissonance Entertainment: Christopher Ng, Conrad Fay, Michael Lee, Kenneth Ng and Spencer Lee. You start off in a room with no door, and no way out. We have nothing but a Polaroid camera and a photograph. The objective is to create a picture in a picture, using your camera and the Polaroid photo. Pressing 1 will hold up the Polaroid, then press 2 to hold up the camera. You must line up the Polaroid with the scene before you to create the picture in picture. 

As you complete each photo, more items will appear in the room to complete others. Once you complete them all, the door appears and you are able to leave. I thought the concept of the game was very interesting, however there were some physics bugs that bothered me, and I feel it was lacking an overall story. If you’d like to try the experience for yourself, you and download and try the game for free *here*.

4. Fare Thee Well

 Source: Itch.io Page

Fare The Well is a romance visual novel created by Watercress Studios. You play as a wayfarer, who travels from town to town endlessly. One night he decides to rest the night in Cedar, Maine. He finds the local bar and has a drink while he rests. After some time, a young woman enters to sing. As the wayfarer listens, he is enchanted with her. He spends some times talking with her, but he knows that he cannot stay, despite the powerful pull he feels towards her. Agonizingly, he leaves he when she falls asleep against him.

This game is very Tuck Everlasting. For anyone who hasn’t read that book, I won’t tell you about it, because it would spoil it. If you have read the book, know that this game/kinetic novel is essentially the same kind of story. I feel that I would have enjoyed the game much more if I hadn’t read the book 50 times as a kid. 

The visuals are very attractive, and the music is fitting as well. I also enjoyed the ending of the game. You can try the game for yourself, for free, by downloading the game for its Itch.io page *here*.

As always, please leave some words of encouragement, or helpful criticism for the creators to help them improve their skills and content.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

Demos to Keep an Eye On #3

Hello Friends! Today I have brought you some more game demos to get a pick at the games that are upcoming this year(and maybe next)! Some of these games are a little mature, but I'll keep my commentary PG-13. Without further ago, let's get to it!

1.Blood for the Blood God(In development)

Source: Screen Capture from Demo

Blood for the Blood God is a visual novel, dating simulator game in development by Crimson-Chains. You are a servant created by the Blood God for the purpose of hunting down and killing 3 of his former servants. If you choose to accept your task, you are sent into the world to find them. However, in order to kill each of them, you may need to take the time to befriend—perhaps romance?—each of them, so that they will drop their guard and give you the opening that you need to stab them in the back, or wherever you can get to.

The 3 servants are Asstaroth, Beelzebabe and Lucifine. They are all so attractive, and the art style is wonderful. Each of them has a very different personality, different story, and I really wanted to play more after the demo ended. I’m looking forward to the full release of the game, which is estimated to be in December of 2017. You can download the demo to try for yourself *here*. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

2. Lethe(In development)

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Lethe is, from what I can tell, a romance mystery visual novel written by Pacermist with the efforts of Red-Baby, Shortycake, Alteredgingerr, and Akka. You play as a character who has retrograde amnesia after an incident that involved falling off a roof with another student. The other student seems to have died. With no idea what has happened these last 3 weeks of your life, you must now try to piece it back together with, hopefully, the help of Jaden and Cameron. You remember Jaden, he is your friend, but Cameron is a stranger to you… or is he?

I enjoyed this demo quite a bit. At times it can seem unrefined(some of the CG images), but I find the story interesting and our MC(main character) is relatable. I think some sound effects (doors, footsteps when a character runs, etc.) may have been nice to have as well. There is a lot of mystery, and I am eager to solve it! Hopefully there will be plans for a full game release soon. If you want to try the demo for yourself, you can download it from Itch.io *here*.

3. Sentimental Trickster(In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

Sentimental Trickster is an 18+ only visual novel style romance game created by Lazuli. It’s BL/yaoi, so be warned. There is nothing 18+ in the demo, but you get to meet the characters and get a bit of story. Haru is moving out of his parent’s home and going to live in a boarding house where he can learn to be independent, and also attend art school.  He’s living with 3 other gentlemen with varying personalities, who we get to refer to as: the mean one, the hot one and the gently old guy.

I thought the demo was well written, had beautiful art, and wonderful music/SFX. The demo is very high quality so I am certainly looking forward to seeing more of the game as it is released. If you want to try the demo for yourself, you can download it from Itch.io *here*.

4. BestLuck (In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

BestLuck is a bit of an enigma. The game is in development by Jae Hyun Yoo, and is a puzzle adventure game. The demo is agonizingly short, and involves only 2 puzzles, but give you a decent idea of the mechanics behind the game. You have to open doors, and what you see when you look through the door frames may be different than what you see outside. I think it’s a creative way to do puzzles.

The demo is yet unrefined. There needs to be camera controls, and the character movement can seem off. Otherwise, this game has a relaxing atmosphere about it, which I love, and puzzles, which I also love. The game is set to be released around March 2017 right now, so hopefully I can do a full review soon. You can download the demo to try for yourself *here*.

As always, be sure to leave your comments of encouragement, or helpful criticism, to help the developers improve their skills and craft. 

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

Free Itch.io Games #5

Hello Friends! Welcome back to the 5th installment of free games that you can download and play from Itch.io! I need to get these written up faster. I have such a huge list of games just waiting for me to play. There needs to be more hours in the day! Without further ado, here are 4 more free games from Itch.io!

1. Date Almost Anything

Source: Itch.io Page

Date Almost Anything is hilarious mock of dating sims, parading as a dating sim itself. DAA was created by Skye Q. I really can’t say too much, because I don’t want to spoil the game or the ending. The game is in a visual novel style, as most dating sims are, but had a more interactive interface as you are required to prepare drinks for customers. I liked the added activity.

The character art is nice, very well styled and attractive. The backgrounds are just pictures, which is alright, it could be worse. The music is nice also. A single play through of any path takes about 15 minutes. Besides the 3 main characters you see there in the picture, there are plenty of other dating options... But I'll leave you to find those out for yourself... ;)

 Although this game wasn’t really what I expected, I was also pleasantly surprised. You can play the game for yourself and see what you think. The game is free to download and play from Itch.io *here*.

2. Doctor Dancefloor

Source: Itch.io Page

Doctor Dance floor is a rhythm based game created by Sintel, where you have to press the space bar in time to a beat to give pills to the dancing creatures. Seems… questionable, to say the least. In any case, this game is rather fun. Although it is short—only 3 different songs to play through. Each song is only a few minutes long as well(they are decent songs, though), so there isn’t a long play time, or much replay value. But it is cute, and it was fun to kill a bit of time with. You can try it for yourself for free from Itch.io *here*.

3. Hope Abandoned

Source: Art Station

Hope Abandoned is a short horror puzzle title created by Josh “Faelim” Grand during PegJam 2016. You play as a young girl who is trapped in her neighbor’s house. These particular neighbors are under a lot of suspicion in the neighborhood. Since these neighbors came, pets have gone missing, children stopped playing outside, and people have been moving away as fast as they can. As the little girl, explore the house and solve the mystery of what happened. Will you be able to escape…?

This game was so well made. I do not play horror games often, and man did this game make my stomach do flip flops. The creepy atmosphere, the ambient sound effects, and a jumpscare or 2, made this game a horror to behold.  The puzzles for the safe combination and the toggle switches took me some time to figure out, but it was worth it. The biggest issue was that I played this game late at night before I planned to go to bed. You can imagine how that worked.

If you want to play a suspenseful game with a great atmosphere, then Hope Abandoned is right up your alley. I was a little unsatisfied that at the end, we still don’t know why the adult neighbor did what he did—whether he just went crazy or something possessed him or something else. But that’s just my need to know everything. You can play this game for yourself for free by downloading from Itch.io *here*.

4. Empty

Source: Itch.io Page

Empty is a zen puzzle game created by the two brother team of Dustyroom. The goal is to clear the room of objects—including furniture, light fixtures, plants, etc.—by lining the objects up with the corresponding wall colors to make them disappear. You do this using your mouse to click and pan the camera, or by using touch on a touch screen. As the levels progress, you’ll have to take care to clear some objects in a certain order, to allow other objects to be removed. It became a bit of a challenge and I really enjoyed it.

The colors are nice, and the music is also very relaxing. The controls are smooth, at least the mouse controls are. I did not test the touch controls. I don’t feel this is a game that you could spend consecutive hours in, but it was a nice, relaxing break. You can download the game from Itch.io *here*. This game is also up on Steam Greenlight currently, so be sure to vote *here*!

As always, be sure to leave your comments on the Itch.io page to give the developers some encouragement, or some helpful criticism, to help them improve their skills and content!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE*

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Email: bellannmae@gmail.com

Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet for PC

“When people ask for candy I am eating, I give them the flavor I don’t like.”

Source: Itch.io Page

Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet is an adorable about making friends and accepting each other. I suppose it is sort of a dating sim game, but honestly I found it more innocent friendship than anything else. It certainly isn’t hot and heavy romance like I’m used to. In any case, Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet was created by Nami, and this game exists within the same universe as some of her other games involving a wolf girl named Treat! I have played through the Treat series games, and I will review them another time(2/19/17 keep an eye out!).

In the game you play as Syrup, the candy Alchemist. Syrup has forsaken the ways of Magic and uses purely science and her own two hands to create delicious candies, as opposed to a witch like Butterscotch who creates candy by using magic. Syrup sells her science candy in her sweets shop, Atelier Sweets, with the help of her assistant, Pastille. Syrup is sort of a hermit(hey, a character I can relate to!), and she spends the majority of her time in her lab working on sweets while Pastille runs the shop.  

One day, Syrup enters her lab to find an adorable pink candy golem waiting for her! The only problem is that in order to create a golem, magic is required. Since Syrup is completely opposed to magic of any kind… who created the golem, and why? The answer to this question is actually pretty obvious after about 2 minutes. Anyhow, this is where the game really begins. Every choice you make matters towards your ending, and there are plenty of endings to try to get. I managed to get the romantic endings with Gumdrop(the golem), and Butterscotch, as well as an ending with Syrup getting rich, bad endings 1 and 2, and the Candibal ending. I really wanted the romantic ending with Pastille, but I just couldn’t get it right!

Source: Sandbox-Adventure

One of my favorite things about this game was the overly adorable sprites and artwork. The big eyes and bright colors get me every time. The characters themselves are also likable. Syrup was a relatable character for me, but each character is well crafted and realistic(in personality). I also love the music. The music the creators chose works well for the scenes that they accompany.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this game. There is a good amount of game play time, and a decent amount of endings(for a free game). I wish I had been able to get the other endings, but I didn’t want to use a guide(I’m weird and prefer to win games on my own merit). The game can be found for free on Itch.io *here*. I highly recommend giving it a play to see what you think—and as always, be sure to leave some kind words or helpful criticism to help the developers further… develop.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE!*

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Lads in Distress for PC

“I think women should be more independent. In society, we’re portrayed as people who simply wear make-up and sit around. We need a Princess Charming—a woman who rescues her man and slays the dragon instead of the other way around.” -Adora Svitak

Source: Itch.io

Princess Charming is exactly what Catfish Crews delivers in their free to play game, Lads in Distress. It’s no secret that otome and dating simulators are a guilty pleasure of mine, so when I saw this game on Itch.io I was intrigued. The art caught my eye as it’s just beautifully styled. I can sometimes be a little shallow when I play otome and dating games. I was to see cute looking guys and gals. Not necessarily gorgeous, but well drawn at least. 

In this game, we play as Princess Charming herself! She is the Princess of the Lunar Kingdom, but unfortunately, the Lunar Kingdom is also near a financial crisis. To help save Lunar Kingdom from being completely broke, it is decided that a ball will be help and Princess Charming will choose a suitor from a, hopefully, more affluent kingdom. Doing this will form an alliance and therefore remedy the financial situation. Charming is not thrilled at the idea, preferring to focus on her magic. Her closest friend Nicholl, who doesn't seem thrilled either, advises her that three of the potential suitors on the list of guests are to be avoided at all costs. So of course, those three suitors are going to be the ones we want to choose from, right? Right.

Source: Itch.io

Our three princes are Prince Mer of the Water Kingdom, Prince Snow of the Snow Kingdom and Prince Zel of the Forest Kingdom. You get the opportunity to briefly meet Prince Mer and Prince Snow at the ball, however Prince Zel has been missing for years. I have played through all of the Princes and gotten both endings for each of them, and I have to say that Prince Mer is my favorite of the 3. His story genuinely surprised me at the twists and turns. Both of the endings are so starkly different that after the second ending of Mer’s, I stared at my computer screen, mouth agape in surprise at the whole thing. 

Normally I go into otome and dating sim games expecting typical clichés and tropes… and Lads in Distress takes them and reverses the roles, throwing the clichés and tropes out the window. I was overjoyed with each Prince’s story and the surprises held within each one. Mer's story was unlike anything I had heard before, and I loved it. I won’t talk about them too much because I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but it was worth it to replay each path to get the other endings, especially Mer’s.

Source: Otome Twist

This game plays as a visual novel, with beautifully crafted characters and stunning background locations. The visuals are just lovely, and the music is a great compliment as well. The game did have a few spelling errors I happened to notice, and the game did crash on me once during my second play through of Mer’s path. There were no serious flaws or anything that I noticed otherwise.

The game is not complete. Catfish Crews is currently working on an expansion, with more princes and more wonderful fun. I’m going to keep a close eye on it so that I can play it when it does release. I’m genuinely looking forward to it!

If you want to try this wonderful creation for yourself, which I highly recommend, you can find it on Itch.io *here*.  The game is free to download and play, so you have nothing to lose, and a few hours of enjoyment to gain, so get at it! Then be sure to leave comments of encouragement for the creators, cause that’s the nice thing to do.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

View the Gaming in Pajamas Completed Compendium *here!*

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Mr. Massagy for PC on Steam

Welcome back, friends! I don't have a clever quote to begin this entry with, sorry. Today we are going to dip our toes into the weird side of gaming, with Mr. Massagy. Mr. Massagy is a dating simulator

game, brought to you by Green Lava Studios. It was released December 6^th 2016 on Steam and has been getting overwhelming good reviews. I bought the game because I wanted a pick me up, I was feeling a little down in the dumps, and it really delivered.

Source: Steam

In Mr. Massagy you play as Johnny (or as I call him, Muscles McAbs) and your Wingman wants you to get out there and… you know… enjoy the company of pretty ladies.  The game as it is right now offers you 9 different ladies to try to impress enough to take you home. Each is unique, and responds differently to what you say, and how you say it. If you have the right kind of controller, you can get a “massage” at the completion of each date. My Ps4 controller didn’t work, but per the steam store site, most controllers should. Once a date completes, your controller will vibrate. According to the Steam page, there are even different vibration patterns according to each girl’s personality.

Green Lava Studios would also like to advise you to take it easy with the controller. They don’t want any more proctologist stories. Here is the proper way to utilize the massage function:

Source: Steam

So let’s talk girls. As I said before, there are 9. Tuto-Rial(Haha), Nicole, Martha, Sarah, Mayo, Janein, Dorothy, Anne and Papu-Aiye. Using an app called Linger you swipe left or right through the girls, although you may be turned down is your profile picture, bio, or experience is wrong. I won’t talk too much about the girls because I don’t want to spoil the surprises for anyone who chooses to play it. However, each one is unique, if nothing else….

The game’s graphics are decent. It’s like a visual anime style novel, with generally static images, and the images change well to reflect how the girls are feeling and reacting to Muscles. I thought it worked well for the game.

The music sounds like funky club music a lot of the time, which is fine for me. There is a good variety to the songs so it doesn’t get boring or too repetitive. If you’re at home looking through your phone you can even skip tracks to find some music that you like.

This game really shines in the interactions between Muscles and the girls. I found it laugh out loud funny, and sometimes I was almost in tears laughing. There are a good variety of choices most of the time to illicit different reactions from each girl. I enjoyed even replaying through to try all of the options.

I would be really happy if there are updates to the game that add more dates. Rumor is, there will be. If that is the case, then I will for sure replay it. I may replay it for fun, however with the surprises ruined it wouldn’t be QUITE as enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a quick, silly game to pass some time, Mr. Massagy may just be for you. If you’ve played it, let me know what you thought. If you haven’t… what are you waiting for? You can buy Mr. Massagy on Steam HERE(http://store.steampowered.com/app/511350) for 6 bucks. What else are you going to get for 6 dollars?

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

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Seduce Me the Otome-- for the PC

“Seduction isn’t making someone do what they don’t want to do;
Seduction is enticing someone into doing what they secretly want to do already.”
 -Benjamin T. Russell

 I am going to beg, that as you read this review, don’t judge me too harshly. We all have our guilty pleasures, and one of mine happens to be dating simulators, or dating sims as they are called sometimes. I’ve played good and bad dating sims, and I picked up Seduce Me the Otome in the steam store because it was free! And free is always good. Because it was free, I didn’t expect much out of it. I was, in some ways, pleasantly surprised. First, let me explain what an Otome is. Otome literally means “maiden game.” These games are typically geared towards the female market, where a female character can form relationships with several other male characters. The opposite of an Otome is a Bishojo game, where it would be a male character with several women. I like to play both…

Seduce Me the Otome is a visual novel written by Michaela Laws, and brought to you by Seraphim Entertainment. It has recieved greatly positive reviews on Steam and Itch.io.

Source: Steam Store

In Seduce Me, you play as Mika Anderson, the granddaughter of Harold Anderson, CEO and founder of Anderson toy company. Sadly, Mika’s grandfather has just passed away. At the reading of the will, Mika is surprised to find that her grandfather left her his entire estate and all its contents. Mika’s father is upset over this, but says its best if she moves there immediately so she can prepare to go to business college. Mika’s father and her grandfather never had a good relationship, and her father is visibly upset that her grandfather did not name him the next CEO of the company. When Mika moves out of her parents’ home into her grandfather’s manor, she is shocked to find 5 boys collapsed in the lobby. These 5 boys turn out to be Incubi who are on the run from a Devil who means them harm and sought shelter in the manor. Mika is in shock and doesn’t believe them. After one of the boys proves that they aren’t lying, Mika faints. In the morning, Mika awakes and starts to learn about the strange boys who were found in her grandfather’s manor…

 Mika also has trouble at school, but her two best friends, Naomi and Suzu, have her back no matter what. Naomi and Suzu may not always agree completely, but they’re as close as friends can be. I was surprised to find that Naomi and Suzu were also love interests in the story. However, it was also nice to have some extra variety in pairings.

Source: Itch.io

 The five boys are, admittedly, a little cliché. But, let’s be honest… most games and tv shows have those clichés. We have James, the eldest and the brains with his cute glasses and tie. There’s Sam, the rough and tumble smart ass. Damian is the quiet, mysterious guy. Matthew, the childish and innocent of the bunch. Last, there’s Erik, the insufferable flirt. Although their personalities are the typical anime clichés, each of them has a different reason for leaving the demon world to start anew in the human world. I won’t spoil those.

 Now that we’ve discussed story and characters, let’s talk the game itself. The game plays like a visual novel, as many Otome do. The graphics are like an anime, and are, mostly, pleasing to the eye. Some angles have a weird appearance at times, like when you wake up and Diane is standing over you. Although as such an angle it would be hard to appear flattering. The colors are bright and pleasing to the eye as well. The soundtrack isn’t terrible, although it can get repetitive, and you can sometimes hear where it breaks to loop again. Some of the piano tracks are actually very pretty.

There are some minor issues I have with the dialogue, I did spot a spelling error or two. There was also a time when Diane asked us which boy we were talking about and Mika replies with the boys age, “The oldest…”, “The third…”, etc. However, this was never discussed between Mika and the boys before this scene(unless I missed something), so Mika wouldn’t have actually known. I thought Matthew was the youngest, until I found out it was actually Damian. They were small instances, but caught my eye a lot as I replayed the game about 40 times to get all the endings.

Source: Anime2Mira

I’ve gotten all of the endings except for 4, but I’m still working on it. Some of the dialogue can get repetitive, as some passages are the same, save a name change. This is particularly true for Suzu and Naomi. Leading up to their confessions, the exchanges are almost identical. It may also take a couple tried to get everyone’s “true” ending. You can get a happy ending, but each character has a special ending that you are rewarded with for making the correct choices and raising that particular person’s affection to the max. This may seem monotonous, but after you get through the game once, you get the options to do a rapid text skip through the parts of the game that don’t change. So that makes it more palatable.

I can’t complain too much, as Seduce me the Otome is free for download on Steam. The game is good for what it is. Otome and Bishojo aren’t to everyone’s liking, but I do really enjoy them and the visual novel style. For free, though, why not give it a shot?

P.S. There is a Seduce Me 2: The Demon War that I plan to pick up as well!

Happy Gaming, Friends!
Bell

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