ThunderheadFred
2020
I’m terrible at this game, but it’s so rewarding to die that it doesn’t matter. I sank hundreds of hours into this beast, and I’m still bad at it.
The soundtrack is a masterpiece.
The soundtrack is a masterpiece.
2021
I loved this. I bought it mostly on a whim and started it with zero expectations. I immediately became addicted and could not stop until I finished it nearly a week later.
Five stars reflect my own personal enjoyment, though I don’t think it’s perfect and some of the routes were better than others. A lot of that always comes down to personal taste, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, there is a lot of implied and direct sexual assault in this story, so I imagine the bad ends won’t sit too well with some.
Overall thoughts: the production was stellar, with some of the best art I’ve ever seen in an otome. The music was likewise gorgeous. The STORY is Incredible: lush and operatic, with this deep and mysterious lore that had me completely hooked from word one. Fantastic side characters and world-building; it felt like a fully fleshed-out fantasy novel.
And UNF! The romances are ROMANTIC. Horny, yes (this game is definitely Mature) but it’s much more than that. Each route had its own wild twists and obstacles, revealing more and more of the plot. Pretty much all of the routes tugged on my heart strings in some way, though Riku ended up being a surprise favorite.
I can actually see myself revisiting this some day, which is pretty unusual for me. Possibly my favorite otome I’ve played so far.
Five stars reflect my own personal enjoyment, though I don’t think it’s perfect and some of the routes were better than others. A lot of that always comes down to personal taste, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, there is a lot of implied and direct sexual assault in this story, so I imagine the bad ends won’t sit too well with some.
Overall thoughts: the production was stellar, with some of the best art I’ve ever seen in an otome. The music was likewise gorgeous. The STORY is Incredible: lush and operatic, with this deep and mysterious lore that had me completely hooked from word one. Fantastic side characters and world-building; it felt like a fully fleshed-out fantasy novel.
And UNF! The romances are ROMANTIC. Horny, yes (this game is definitely Mature) but it’s much more than that. Each route had its own wild twists and obstacles, revealing more and more of the plot. Pretty much all of the routes tugged on my heart strings in some way, though Riku ended up being a surprise favorite.
I can actually see myself revisiting this some day, which is pretty unusual for me. Possibly my favorite otome I’ve played so far.
Cute and fun, but pretty shallow. I think these 3DS remasters would have worked better as DLC add-ons to the existing Switch game so that that the tracks and outfits could carry over and feel like more of a bonus. Packaged on their own as a standalone “game”, they’re unfortunately relatively weak.
2020
A bit simplistic; the “mysteries” were predictable and required little to no actual input. The picross puzzles got pretty samey - would have been nice to see some variation in the types or extra challenges thrown in. HOWEVER, this game was precision-engineered to appeal to me. Overall it did wonders for a bit of mindless stress relief. Charming art and a great soundtrack! I’d definitely play another if they made this a series.
I’d like to play Clue: Zero Escape Edition
— Mr Green (cloned) in the moon base with a robot arm
— Miss Scarlet in the grand staircase with a baseball bat
— Mrs White in the incinerator with sudoku
— Colonel Mustard’s severed head in the pantry with a chainsaw
— You win when Mr Body is no longer dead
Okay but actually. The balance between visual novel and puzzles was far better than the previous two, and the flowchart was brilliantly implemented. I called most of the twists. This is NOT a criticism. Not at all. All the twists actually make me want to replay the entire series, because everything is so well seeded. Uchikoshi has a way of feeding you exactly enough information to piece together the plot yourself, and then he immediately rewards you for paying attention. Every time. Very few plots in any medium are so collaborative with the audience. It’s really, genuinely special. The meta stuff is also just, intensely good. It’s hard to imagine this series being anything OTHER than a video game.
My brain broke though. How many people who worked on this game just ran out of the writer’s room screaming, never to return?
Reviews on this game are all over the place, and I can absolutely understand why, but I loved it start to finish. The janky insanity of it just really appeals to me, I guess.
— Mr Green (cloned) in the moon base with a robot arm
— Miss Scarlet in the grand staircase with a baseball bat
— Mrs White in the incinerator with sudoku
— Colonel Mustard’s severed head in the pantry with a chainsaw
— You win when Mr Body is no longer dead
Okay but actually. The balance between visual novel and puzzles was far better than the previous two, and the flowchart was brilliantly implemented. I called most of the twists. This is NOT a criticism. Not at all. All the twists actually make me want to replay the entire series, because everything is so well seeded. Uchikoshi has a way of feeding you exactly enough information to piece together the plot yourself, and then he immediately rewards you for paying attention. Every time. Very few plots in any medium are so collaborative with the audience. It’s really, genuinely special. The meta stuff is also just, intensely good. It’s hard to imagine this series being anything OTHER than a video game.
My brain broke though. How many people who worked on this game just ran out of the writer’s room screaming, never to return?
Reviews on this game are all over the place, and I can absolutely understand why, but I loved it start to finish. The janky insanity of it just really appeals to me, I guess.
Easily one of my favorite game franchises.
Knocking off one star simply because I wish the Switch version had some of the Vita game features like practice mode and built-in quests. Would have been great if the Adventure pack (which I love, don’t get me wrong) had been incorporated as DLC rather than released as a separate game, because switching between all three titles is a pain. But that’s pretty minor, and was probably a licensing issue, so oh well. Still….. no practice mode…….. alas…..
But yeah, other than that, it’s pretty much straight unadulterated serotonin.
Knocking off one star simply because I wish the Switch version had some of the Vita game features like practice mode and built-in quests. Would have been great if the Adventure pack (which I love, don’t get me wrong) had been incorporated as DLC rather than released as a separate game, because switching between all three titles is a pain. But that’s pretty minor, and was probably a licensing issue, so oh well. Still….. no practice mode…….. alas…..
But yeah, other than that, it’s pretty much straight unadulterated serotonin.