1931: Scheherazade at the Library of Pergamum
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ♥ ♦ 】 Review pending...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris et augue sodales lacus porttitor malesuada nec vel elit. Aenean gravida diam sit amet finibus varius. Ut eget aliquam justo. Curabitur at libero vulputate, elementum metus sit amet, auctor augue. Sed a ante sit amet mauris tempor interdum ac convallis nulla. Vivamus sit amet suscipit dui. Vivamus gravida sollicitudin interdum. Vestibulum posuere vitae nisl non feugiat. Aliquam ornare mi quam, a posuere nisl laoreet eu. Morbi semper, tortor ut pellentesque ornare, urna purus elementum massa, eget sollicitudin diam nisl non lacus. Sed nec sodales libero. Duis risus neque, porta nec tempus quis, mollis commodo tortor. Suspendisse ornare accumsan lacus id volutpat.

Absolute Alchemical Potion
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ♥ ♦ 】 This visual novel game follows an exiled master alchemist as she tries to remake a potion gone wrong and regain her magical powers. Endings are based on choices that change stats, but because you get notified of stat changes, there is no need to worry about making the wrong choices.

I liked all the three love interests - although I was surprised I ended up liking Sitri the most, as he started out as my least favorite - and the art is beautiful, including the character designs. The main character shows agency at every turn, and her endings are not only dependent on which partner she chooses.

The plot is straightforward, but well-written. The worldbuilding appears naturally through dialogue, without over-exposition, making the setting feel organic. There are other neat details to explore as well, such as an ‘inventory’ where you can see the items mentioned during the game.

A Date with Death
^{Windows, Free w/ Commercial DLC}

【 ♥ ♦ 】 The story of A Date with Death covers a seven day bet in which the protagonist and the grim reaper stake their souls. The game simulates a chatroom and video calls through which they communicate, and many aspects of the game are customizable, such as the MC (in name, gender, appearance, and backstory), their room, and even what pet they have.

It’s impossible not to love - and want to relentlessly bully - the one love interest, and that was truly what made this game for me. Depending on how the protagonist interacts with him, there are two bad endings and three good endings, one of which is exclusive to the DLC. It is not difficult to reach the good endings, as the game focuses more on choice and immersion rather than on challenging the player, and all of them are very sweet.

Adopt a Boyfriend
^{Windows, Free}

A visual novel featuring two kemonomimi(!) love interests and the most aesthetically-pleasing UI I have ever seen. In fact, the art in general looks great. The plot is a slice-of-life story that centers on the nameable and gender-selectable protagonist and one of the love interests moving in together with the intent of starting a relationship.

The game looks deceptively light-hearted, as it ends up dealing with personal issues of the love interests. Still, both of them are lovable, and so is the humorous, meme-loving protagonist. The gameplay in itself is the biggest drawback of the title, however - reaching a character’s good ending requires not failing a single choice, and the presented choices are quite vague, although fortunately sparse. Overall, it’s a pretty decent game.

A Forsaken Place
^{Windows, Free}

This is a quite short and to the point visual novel. Plotwise, the protagonist tries to summon the leader of the demons her ancestor banished a long time ago, and eventually learns secrets about the history she thought she knew.

There’s only one love interest and three endings. Sadly, even the good ending is bittersweet as the characters can only hope to be together in the future, which did not endear me to this title. Otherwise, the art is pretty, the main character is reasonable, and the partial voice acting adds some flair.

AIRIS
^{Windows, Free}

A visual novel set in a RPG-like fantasy world, “AIRIS” was labeled as an otome game despite only one out of the three love interests being male. I found that rather disappointing, particularly as this is otherwise a decent game, with an unique take on what could have been a cliché setting.

The protagonist’s reactions are realistic, and more importantly, she has an adorable bear cub sidekick. As for the art, it’s nothing special, but I did like the character designs. On a less positive note, choices often don’t seem that different between themselves, making it difficult to play without a guide.

Akash: Path of the Five
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ♦ 】 A visual novel about romancing elementals and trying to save the protagonist’s home, this game had a lot of details I loved - the hilarious ‘click to skip’ chibi was probably my favorite - and high-quality art. I played all the routes but one and ended up liking all the characters, the protagonist included; I also enjoyed the effort that went into portraying the secondary characters and the dynamics between them.

The game includes a (skippable) minigame, extra short stories after finishing each route, and an interesting use of 3D backgrounds that makes the world feel alive. On the other hand, having two fanservice illustrations per route felt a bit much to me, though I can’t argue there isn’t an audience for that. All in all, this is probably one of the best indie titles I have played.

Alice: Love & Labyrinth
^{Android, Fremium}

【 ✘ 】 This Alice in Wonderland-inspired game was made incredibly confusing by a terrible translation. It was painful to read through, and that is without taking into account the rushed storylines; and if I find the timed ticket system to be frustrating-but-tolerable in other mobile otome games, in this case it only served to highlight all the other drawbacks of the title.

All three love interests seemed decent enough, though any depth they could have was literally lost in translation. The art was beautiful, to the extent I played all the routes just to collect the event illustrations, but it could not save an otherwise terrible game.

Amnesia: Memories
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ♥ ♦ 】 Review pending until I play the sequel...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris et augue sodales lacus porttitor malesuada nec vel elit. Aenean gravida diam sit amet finibus varius. Ut eget aliquam justo. Curabitur at libero vulputate, elementum metus sit amet, auctor augue. Sed a ante sit amet mauris tempor interdum ac convallis nulla. Vivamus sit amet suscipit dui. Vivamus gravida sollicitudin interdum. Vestibulum posuere vitae nisl non feugiat. Aliquam ornare mi quam, a posuere nisl laoreet eu. Morbi semper, tortor ut pellentesque ornare, urna purus elementum massa, eget sollicitudin diam nisl non lacus. Sed nec sodales libero. Duis risus neque, porta nec tempus quis, mollis commodo tortor. Suspendisse ornare accumsan lacus id volutpat.

Animal Boyfriend
^{Android, Freemium}

This is a mobile game which allows you to customize a love interest in terms of looks and personality, talk to him, interact with other players' creations, and participate in events. It is mostly free with a premium mode that unlocks some features and more items.

Despite the original concept, I found the game itself to be overly simplistic. The gameplay is just too limited, and its successor (Dream Boyfriend) has significantly better art and content.

Animal Complex: Cat's Path
^{Windows, Commercial}

A very straightforward game with cute art and a single love interest; it has a very pastel and adorable feel to it. The story centers around the protagonist joining a circus run by a family able to shapeshift into animal forms.

The artistic aspects are one of the best features - a lot of effort was clearly put on the visuals! On the downside, the romance element felt very light to me; this game is probably a better example of wholesome family dynamics. Overall, I would have preferred more story alternatives and different endings over the existing unlockable extras. It was not a bad game, but I won’t be spending any time or money on the sequels.

Anniversary no Kuni no Alice
^{Windows, Fanmade Translation Patch}

【 ♦ 】 This dating sim follows the (nameable) protagonist as she is taken to Wonderland, a world she convinces herself is just a dream. Despite not being the only otome game based on “Alice in Wonderland”, this one does the best job at creating a world that feels actually strange and completely different from reality. In this case, this is because time changes at random and life is not valued, there are three factions fighting for territory for no clear reason, and everyone but the key characters are faceless and look the same.

There are nine male love interests (technically ten, but the twin characters sharei> a route) and one female one. Each has two possible routes, depending on if the protagonist chooses to live at the same place as them or not. The non-stay endings are very difficult to achieve without a guide, but fortunately the translators have included both that and a flag monitor.

The characters are generally quite interesting. The protagonist can be a bit frustrating with her indecisiveness, but I also found her avoidant tendencies and pessimistic attitude relatable. As for the love interests, they have a tendency to be pushy, but they are quite interesting and some can be really cute. Being me, I was also ecstatic at there being three kemonomimi love interests.

The art is average, sometimes veering into uncanny valley territory, but I love how many event illustrations the game has. It is also fully voiced, and includes both an image and a scene review gallery. In the end, I had a lot of fun playing.

Appetité Amor
^{Windows, Free}

A visual novel about a warrior trying to help her friend save his café, this game is short and simple. Though set in a fantasy world, it merges that with elements of day-to-day life, which felt refreshing.

This game has beautiful art and the single love interest and story are very sweet. It’s certainly worth the half hour it takes to play it.

A Pinch of Magic
^{Windows, Free}

A short game that follows a witch protagonist trying to revive a family café. The player can choose between a male and female protagonist, and there are two love interests, one of each gender.

The cat side character was the highlight of the game for me. I found the male love interest annoying, and his redemption arc a bit rushed and too reminiscent of bad romcom tropes. The art is average, with one event illustration per route. The story and writing are also average. Putting it all together, the final result is a fairly dull experience.

A Troll’s Fairy Tale
^{Windows, Free}

A visual novel featuring an uncommon protagonist - a troll who is a hopeless romantic - and a fantasy setting. There are two love interests, with one being a fairy and the other a (humanized) unicorn.

The gameplay is that of a simple, short visual novel with choices. The art is lovely and the world and characters are endearing. I especially liked the protagonist for being both strong and confident, while also loving fairytale romances and doubting herself at times.

Avalon Code
^{Nintendo DS, Commercial}

【 ♥ ♦ 】 A RPG with otome elements, this is one of my favorite games due to its story, concept, and original gameplay mechanics. The game allows a choice between a (silent, renamable) male or female character, who, after learning of the impending end of the world, is given a book to record all that is worth it of the new world to come.

Besides recording elements of the world, the game also features combat, mini-games, partial voice-acting, and several love interests. Most are absolutely lovable - Ur was my favorite, but the cast makes it honestly difficult to choose - and that extends to other NPCs as well. I was also in awe of the adorable ‘inner monologue’ cutscenes that you see upon increasing a character’s affection towards you.

Though I recognize it would have benefited from being a more ambitious project, “Avalon Code” remains one of the best games I have ever played in any genre.