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

Happy Valentine's Day! Let's Talk Romance~

Happy Valentines Day, Friends! Today, in honor of the holiday of celebrating love, we are going to look at some of my favorite Otome and Eroge games! Some of these games are 18+ but I’ll keep it PG-13 just in case some tiny eyes come looking (I have an 8 year old daughter so I get it). Some of these games are also still in development—but they fit the theme so I am sharing them anyhow because they look amazing. So, without further delay, here are some Otome and/or Eroge games that I either have enjoyed, or think look amazing.

1. Quest Failed: Chapter One

Source: Itch.io Page

Quest Failed is an adult dating sim, visual novel style game created by FrostWorks, with the help of others with the music, background art, and so forth. This game is in the 18+ category, for nudity and explicit sex. You play as a young man named Matthew who has dreamed of becoming an adventurer for as long as he can remember. He will finally get to prove himself! So, he picks up a quest at the local guild and heads out to do great things! However, as he encounters his first monster, he realizes that this may prove more of a challenge than he first thought…

In Chapter One, there are five different monster girls to encounter, each with a unique personality. Jilly is sweet and innocent (with a gooey center), but has a temper and is rather possessive. Nefertari is easy going and relaxed—in fact, she’s so relaxed she might just fall asleep wherever she is. Ruby is full of fire, and would be a dominatrix in the real world, I’m sure. Lucille is a real snake in the grass, but is probably my favorite of this group. Finally, there is a mysterious girl who you encounter—a real doll if you ask me. Okay enough of my silly allusions to the kind of monster girls that you’ll see.

Quest Failed has fully voiced h-scenes (those are the sexy bits), which was interesting. It was the first game I really played of this nature. I mean, I had played the Seduce Me series, but the naughty bits were text based without the explicit images like Quest Failed offered. The girls are attractive, and the art style is attractive. I wasn’t too impressed with the music, but that’s more of a personal preference. Overall, I enjoyed the game. The choices you make only really effect the h-scenes(types of sex), and the game is rather straightforward.

This game is enjoyable if you like women taking charge (fem dom), monster girls, or eroge in general. The game is on Itch.io for $12 (a fair amount for the content if you ask me) and it can be bought *here*. If you enjoy the game, FrostWorks is currently working on Chapter 2 (Yay!) and you can see sneak peeks and updates, or pledge on their Patreon page *here*.

2. Monster Girl Island

Source: monstergirlisland.com

Monster Girl Island is an eroge game in development by Redamz. This game is a little different than what you typically see in these kinds of games because it’s 3D! You actually walk/run around, complete small quests and then of course see what trouble you can get into with the local monster girls. This game is in development still, so there is only the demo available to play for the time being, however it looks interesting. In the demo you meet 3 of the characters, and get a lewd scene as well.

The graphics look nice, and the girls are really cute. Each has a unique look, although you don’t really spend too much time with any of them so I can’t say much else about them yet. The animation looks smooth and the environments are nicely done—although I did have some issues in the game trying to go where I wasn’t supposed to and got stuck in a rock for a while…

During the h-scene you get in the demo, there are many options that give you control over how the scene plays out, which was interesting to me. Variety is always nice, yeah? I played through twice, just to try the other options. This project looks promising, and if you pledge on the creators Patreon *here*, even just a dollar, you get to help vote for the next monster girl to be introduced. You can download the demo on Itch.io *here*.

3. Seduce Me

Source: Itch.io Page

Now I know I covered this game before, but I’m bringing it back, cause it’s Valentine’s Day, and it’s still one of my favorites.

Seduce Me is a dating sim, visual novel created by MichaelaLaws that follow a high school girl who inherits a mansion from her Grandfather, Harold Anderson. Her grandfather was the CEO to Anderson Toys, so the fate of the company is also in limbo. The MC decides to move into the mansion that her grandfather left her, and she arrives there to find 5 wounded guys inside. She soon finds out that these 5 guys are all Incubi, and princes at that. A group of misfits has attacked them, and they sought shelter in the mansion. In sympathy, the MC offers to let them stay in the manor until they are healed up. The mansion is large after all, and she could use some help with the upkeep.

The five boys are Incubi. And Incubus is a demon that consumes and uses the sexual energy of humans to survive. None of them want to force the MC into anything, but throughout the game, the MC might feel herself growing closer to one of them. The choices you make throughout the game with determine which of the five brothers you grow close to. I really liked all the boys, but I think James would be my favorite.

The artwork of the game is great, and the colors are beautiful and fitting. All the boys are drawn attractively, but are unique in their own ways. Their personalities also set them apart from one another. Even though their personalities are the typical tropes you see in a lot of otome type games, the game is still very enjoyable. The music isn’t bad, and the voice acting is very well done.

You can find Seduce me on Steam *here* or on Itch.io *here*. The first in the series is free on both platforms, but the second game in the series, which is even better than the first, is 9.99, also on Itch.io or Steam.

4. Seiyuu Danshi

Source: Itch.io Page

Seiyuu Danshi is an 18+/BL-Yaoi visual novel game in development by Meyaoi Games. In Seiyuu, you play as Haato(or whatever you want to name him). You’re lazy and would rather spend your time watching Magical Ponpon than doing anything productive—like work. The problem is… you’re broke! Also, your rent is due and you’re about to be evicted. So, you have to return to work, with the help of your stern new director, Shibusawa Toshiyuki—or Tocchan as Haato likes to call him.

The demo is short and gives just a brief view of what the game looks like and how it will operate. The game has a lot that the developers are hoping to implement. The game is planned to be highly interactive, without the usual restrictions given by some dating sims. If you don’t want to work, slack off. Don’t want a boyfriend? Stay single. Just remember that every action has a reaction, and accept the consequences of them.

Other features planned include: a foreplay mode before sex, reversible roles (seme/uke or top/bottom), dress up(The developers state that there will be 500+ kinds of clothes in all styles, and also underwear choices), Room decoration, NPCs to chat with if you’re bored, and a town with plenty to do—a mall, café, book store, cinema, park, and more.  

Something that I like about this game’s plan is that as the developer states: “Unlike other dating sims, in which the game ends after the main character gets a lover, in this game you can still play even after you get a lover! Not only experiencing the intimate moments, you also get to argue and fight like actual couple!” Because it’s not all sunshine and daisies, right?

If you’re interested, you can try the demo by downloading from Itch.io *here*. The game can currently be pre-ordered for the price of 24.99. I already pre-ordered e_e;; It’s slated for release in December of this year, as there is still much work to be done to ensure the game comes out as promised.

Here are the honorable mentions and links for the games that didn’t quite make it into the main entry:

• Sentimental Trickster
• Kiss the Cock (18+, really.)
• Love and Romance- A Study ofIntimacy
• Cute Demon Crashers
• Rose of Winter: I actually reviewed this game before, so I linked to the entry.
• Mr. Massagy: I also reviewed this game before, so I linked to the entry.

As always, thanks for coming. It means a lot that so many people come here to read my inane ramblings about games. Hope to see you next time!

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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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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Demos to Keep an Eye On #1

Some games, while still in heavy production, release demos to give potential buyers a taste of what the game will hold in the future. Demos should make you want more of the game, enough to either pledge money to the production, or buy the game at its release. Itch.io and Steam hold many demos available to play, and I’ve gathered some of them together to share with you. Please check them out for yourself, and support them with words of encouragement, or by pledging if you’re able to do that.

1. Dr. Frank’s Build-A-Boyfriend (In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

I’ll be upfront, this is a yaoi visual novel, meaning that is boy on boy love isn’t your thing, you may want to pass. I found the demo to be downright hilarious, my sides actually hurt from laughing! The general premise is this—your boyfriend has stolen your research on resurrection, and is going to present them at the prestigious Hindenberg University Conference! So, you decide the best way to deal with it, is to make your own boyfriend who is even better than that jerk! We could even gather the prime specimens… That way you can make him jealous and prove your research principles at the same time!

You get to actually pick the look of the boyfriend (however you don’t get to SEE the boyfriend because the demo ends after that) but I love the ideas presented. The music is good, the dialogue is laugh out loud funny, and the art is nice as well. It’s a win all around for me! You can try to demo for yourself for free on Itch.io *here*.

2. Fox in the Hollyhocks (In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

First thing is first here, Fox in the Hollyhocks is another yaoi game, so if you got problems with boy on boy love you can just skip over this game too. The demo is short, but we get to meet our main character, Hunter, and the guy who seems familiar, but Hunter isn’t sure why—Renard. Your choices do make a difference here, so be mindful of how you answer. Not much comes about from the demo, but I like that it leaves a lot of mystery. I did fill out a survey and offer to help test the game release, so I’m kind of hoping for it. If not, I’ll still be excited to play the full release!

The music is beautiful piano music, and the art style is just lovely. I think Hunter and Renard both are drawn very well. Anyway, you can try the demo for yourself by downloading it from Itch.io *here*.

3. Inspirited (In Development)

Source: Itch.io Page

Inspirited is an adventure RPG, reminiscent of Dragon Quest, or the older Final Fantasy games. I also want to mention that this game was made for Yuri Jam 2016(the demo anyhow) so if girl on girl isn’t your thing, then pass. Created by picoburger, this delightful RPG follows Mica, a wanderer who has found herself in the Kingdom of Crusia—a kingdom with no spirits. Spirits were believed to just be fairy tales until a mysterious young lady by the name of Cyrille comes to show them how wrong they are. Cyrille wants to bring man and spirit back together again to restore balance to the good and evil or the world. Mica decided to help on this quest and together they get to work, opening the spirit gates.

I did really enjoy this demo. The art is attractive, the music and delightful, and the dialog, while nothing special, works. There were some issues with this demo, including text and character names overlapping in dialogue boxes, and white lines would sometime appear next to sprites(like a break in the image). However the reason I was unable to finish this demo, despite really wanting to, is because the item that is supposed to be used to revive your character if they die doesn’t work. I did comment to let the developers know, so hopefully the full release will run smooth and without issues. Despite the issues, I still enjoyed the demo and I plan to get the full release when it is finished, which it may be by the time this is scheduled to be posted to my blog. If that is the case there will probably be a full blog entry about it sometime. Anyhow, you can try the demo for yourself by downloading it for free from Itch.io *here*. Just take care not to die!

EDIT: I did let the developer know about the issue so hopefully it will be remedied soon! :)

4. Heartthrob Café: A Close Up (In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

Heartthrob Café is an adorable looking tech demo involving a diverse array of humanoid animals. Since this isn’t a play demo, I don’t want to comment on plot or anything, since this may be a completely unrelated thing—like a filler episode in an anime, it can be nice but completely unrelated to the actual plot.

So instead I’ll comment that the art is adorable. I mean really. I’m not into furries, but these humanoid animals are cute. There isn’t any music either. I like the dialogue though. Conversation has a good flow and it mimics how people really talk, so it doesn’t seem stiff or out of place. I even got a few chuckles.

Although I can’t say much, I’m looking forward to the full release of this game(if they haven’t already released by the time this blog is scheduled to post.) I’ll be sure to keep updated so I can let everyone know when it happens for any of the demos listed so that you’ll have the opportunity to try them for yourself as well, *here*.

As always, be sure that if you play the game, you leave some encouragement, or even some helpful criticism if needed, to help the creators further develop the game.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

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Rose of Winter for PC

“It was rather beautiful:

The way he put her insecurities to sleep.

The way he dove into her eyes

And starved all the fears

And tasted all the dreams she kept coiled beneath her bones.”

--Chris Poindexter

Source: Steam

Rose of Winter is a charming visual novel style game, developed and published by Pillow Fight. You get to play as Rosemary, an aspiring knight who left her home farm to follow her dream. The game begins in a tavern, and Rosemary is trying to find some work. Lucky for Rosemary, there are four princes who need a knight(or rather a mercenary), to assist them across the mountain. What adventures, and possible romance, await?

The art style is very charming, and I’m a big fan of each of the characters’ designs. The colors also have a soft quality to them, giving this visual novel a very fairy tale appearance—to me anyway. Rosemary isn’t your typical small, helpless otome girl. She’s got a little meat on her bones, she’s tough as nails and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. This is a girl I can relate to! The princes are each also unique—different races, stories, and personalities. I've seen in some forums where people complained, or wondered about Rosemary being a bigger girl. I look at it this way, if Rosemary were an RPG character, she would be the Tank. She needs to be a bigger lady to handle that giant Cloud-esque sword, right? Plus, she's adorable. 

Each of the Princes has a happy and a sad ending. I have played through and gotten the happy endings for all of the princes, and replayed to get the sad ending for the dragon prince. Each of the princes has their perks, but the dragon prince, Tirune, would have to be my favorite prince. Tirune, Crow, Kuya, Falkner would be the order of my princes. Falkner would have been higher on the list if he hadn’t acted like such an insufferable jerk most of his arc.

Tirune

Source: Screen Captures from Game

The music also was also wonderful, and fitting for the game. The title screen music is dramatic and sets the tone for the game. Once you start, the music changed to something more upbeat and bouncy—fitting the introduction of Rosemary.  For sentimental moments, there is charming harp like music that plays, setting the scene just right. Pillow Fight really did a marvelous job with the music selections.

Kuya

Source: Screen Capture from Game

  

The stories are all a good mix of romance(of course), drama, and comedy. No two stories are alike. Each ending was unique, and I didn’t mind replaying them to get the endings (or even again just for fun!). There is an achievement for playing through the Crow arc 5 times, and I enjoyed each one. While Tirune was my favorite prince, I am a sucker for dragons after all, I enjoyed Crow's story the best, and Kuya's story made me laugh the most. 

Crow

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Overall, this game was so enjoyable. I would go as far as to say that it is one of my favorite otome games I have ever played. The only downside for me is that it is so short. I have about 4.5 hours worth of gameplay in, with all the endings and achievements. If there was a sequel or spiritual successor to this game, I would buy it so fast! Anyhow, you can try the game for yourself, it’s available on steam *here*. 

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

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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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XOXO Droplets Demo by GB Patch

Hello Friends! Today I want to share with you a demo that I recently played called XOXO Droplets. It’s a visual novel style, dating simulator/otome game created by GB Patch. The MC(main character) is a girl who is, quite frankly, a real jerk. She is being transferred to a new school, but her parents will only allow her to stay if she doesn’t make everyone at the school hate her, like she has apparently done previously. 

***This entry IS a part of an initiative run by the developers. You can find the information on the initiative *here!* ***

Since she has such trouble making friends, she is put into a special group of kids at the school. Lucky for her, this group is nothing but boys! Cute boys, even. However, she has her work cut out for her, because these guys are just as big of jerks as she is, perhaps even more so. The cold shoulder, insults and general air of unpleasantness doesn’t dissuade your MC, no sir. In fact, it may just make her try even harder.

Source: Itch.io

I was drawn to this game at first by the art work. I’m a sucker for cute otome boys, and most of these boys are super cute! I don’t really care much for Pran or Nate in terms of appearance, but that’s fine. Someone else may find them cute. To me, that just means there is something for everyone! There are several other characters to build relationships with, like the guys and gals that belong to the different cliques, but to be honest I didn’t mess around with that so much. I wasn’t quite sure how the clique system worked. I kind of just… randomly did whatever. There didn’t seem to be any consequence for when I had the clique bars drop to zero.

The music fitting in most cases. I am a big fan of piano music so I found it relaxing and pleasing to listen to. I can’t help but feel that some places, such as “Fuchsia” which is supposed to be like a hip trendy place where teens hang out, the piano music doesn’t quite fit. Maybe more of a musical variety would be beneficial. 

I played through the game 3 times, getting all of the boys I liked except for Shiloh. My first play through was with Bae. My second was for Everett and my 3^rd was with Jeremy. Each of the boys brings something different to the table, and I liked learning a bit about them. I would have liked more back story, but this is just a demo after all.

Bae is definitely my favorite of the guys. I couldn’t resist his snarky grin and his cute little pet names for everyone(Starfish, Cookie, Dear, etc.). I also love that he works at a daycare, and that kids love him. Big, tall, mean Bae may just have a soft spot, eh? On top of that snarky charm--LOOK AT HIM:

Source: Screen Captures from Game

One things that I wanted more of, was more choices. You have choices during school days that alter your status with the cliques, but I wanted more choices with the boys. The dialogue feels almost static otherwise. Most of the conversations were I felt, "Oh I'll have to make a choice. I better think carefully about this..." the MC simply answered herself. Other than the boys’ individual dates and events, everything is the same. It makes replaying the game for the other guys seem sort of monotonous. The skip bottom is great as it allows you to skip through those monotonous part, but I’m wishing that I didn’t feel like I wanted to skip them.

A little thing I didn't get was that the swear words were censored with asterisks in the game. This seemed pointless since I (and most players, I'm sure) can already tell what the words are. It may have to do with ratings, maybe? Or an act of courtesy, but it seemed pointless to me. 

I hope in the full version to see more choices for us to make with our character, perhaps so more diverse music selections, and perhaps more visual representation of the cliques. 

All in all, I really enjoyed the demo and I'm looking forward to the full version of the game when it releases. I would recommend that if you are a fan of otome games, or want to try one, to give the demo a play. You can go to Itch.io to download the demo *here*. The characters are diverse, and you can be as much of a jerk as you want(or maybe could be, if there were some more choices). I want to see where the story goes from here. 

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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