[b]Note:[/b] This is marked as an adult game, so topics like violence, nudity, etc., are included.
[h1]When fascination turns into obsession... :o[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Amare Inversus[/i] is an adult, otome visual novel developed and published by thugzilladev. You take on the role of Dr. Agatha Molla, a heart surgeon who has performed numerous surgeries with ease, seeking that ultimate challenge. Thus, when a male patient, Luke, is taken into surgery and Agatha discovers that he has a unique heart condition called situs inversus, she can't help but become fascinated by him. Eventually, Agatha's mind is so preoccupied with thoughts of Luke, specifically with his heart, that she just finds other surgeries to be boring in comparison and only wants him. However, Ashvin, Agatha's technician who assists her with surgeries, figures this out, and well, I'll stop here to leave it to your imagination. :o
With the gameplay, the story mostly plays like a kinetic novel. Only one choice is present in which Agatha either enters Luke's route or Ashvin's route. Either way, it all ends up in tragedy and terror. You have the option to disable nudity and the accompanying sexual content, but if you do so, you'll miss out on certain CGs. Also, there are a few tracks although no voice acting. A couple of Steam achievements are present, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "profile features limited".
[h2]Review[/h2]
After reading the store page description for this game, I guessed that I'd be in for quite a ride, and I was right. :o Even though this is an otome game since Agatha is a female main character with two male love interests, there's only a little romance. I found the story to be interesting, with Agatha being this brilliant heart surgeon who knows how talented she is. (There's nothing wrong with being confident about your strengths, after all. XD) Initially, she's a normal person but she doesn't like socializing and doesn't care about things like self-beauty. I like that she's true to herself in that way and she doesn't succumb to society's norms. However, her character becomes twisted after she meets Luke and performs heart surgery on him. Since his case is so unique, Agatha can't help but become fascinated and then obsessed with him. I found this to be very scary since some people in real life can become like that (although I'd really hope not to that extreme :o). Without going into too much spoiler territory, I'll just say that regardless of the route, Agatha doesn't have a happily ever after, so if you're looking for that, then you'll probably be disappointed.
With the love interests, I'd say that Luke's route is more fleshed out. It's obvious that Agatha only wants him, so if she takes Ashvin out of the picture, she'll stop at nothing to make Luke all hers. Luke is a sweet, kind guy, only thinking the best about Agatha. It's only when he finally discovers her true nature that he meets his end. As for Ashvin, I have to side with Agatha about him. I found him a bit annoying, and although I certainly can't condone Agatha's later actions towards him, I can understand how she could get to that extreme. On Ashvin's route, Luke is thankfully spared, but Agatha is plagued with images and thoughts about Ashvin, despite that [spoiler]she supposedly kills him[/spoiler]. If you choose to have sexual content enabled, there are [spoiler]scenes of sex, so be forewarned[/spoiler]. I'll just wrap this section up by saying that regardless of the route, I liked reading both endings, leaving me creeped out.
Regarding the art, I like the style that is used here. It's beautifully hand drawn and the colors are soft. The facial expressions are captured well, especially during scenes in which Agatha loses her mind.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3471373357
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3471373076
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3471372623
As I mentioned earlier, if you disable sexual content, you miss out on certain CGs, so there are [spoiler]nudity CGs that show genitalia[/spoiler] and all that. Although it isn't needed to turn on sexual content to obtain all of the achievements, you need to enable it if you want to obtain all of the CGs and view them in the Gallery.
With the music, the tracks are great to listen to. Especially, I liked listening to the scarier, more terror-inducing ones. They give off that creepy atmosphere well.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Amare Inversus[/i]? If you're looking for an adult otome visual novel, you don't mind being exposed to violence, nudity, etc., you want a short game to play, and/or you want easy Steam achievements, then it's worth taking a look. It's definitely not for everyone, though. If you'd rather have a tamer story, then there are plenty of other visual novels that are a better fit. Still, I enjoyed the story, and at the asking price, it might be a bit pricey for the gameplay time. However, you can always wait for a sale.
Finally, I'd like to give a major thank you to thugzilladev for sending a review copy to Otome Rakuen. It was quite the adventure to read this story although I think I'm going to need lots of hugs and cuteness afterwards. XD
[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7593237/]Otome Rakuen[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url] team up to give readers highly detailed, thorough reviews of hot otome games.[/quote]
