Gods of Love: An Otome Visual Novel

Honestly I almost didn't get this game because of the reviews but I'm happy I bought it anyways. Yes it's a bit cheesy but it's so lovely to see a female lead in an otome game who can take care of / speak for herself and even better the male love interests all listen and respect her wishes and decisions (so far anyways I haven't finished the game yet). From all that I've played up until now the game focuses on communication and consent and it's a breath of fresh air when compared to the many Japanese otome games I've played. If you are looking for something sweet and so far very healthy fluffy relationships I think you'd really enjoy this. (P.s if any of what I said happens to change as I finish the game I will come back and edit my review.) Edit: Just finished Helder's route and oh man I lost count of how many times I wanted to deck this dude. Luckily this MC is amazing and she doesn't let him get away with any of his bull. I love Thalia she's my most favourite MC ever.

[b]Note:[/b] This is an updated version of an old review, with added screenshots and headings. The core contents are the same, though. ^^ [h1]The battle for love begins. :o[/h1] [h2]Introduction[/h2] [i]Gods of Love: An Otome Visual Novel[/i] is, as the title states, an otome visual novel developed and published by Y Press Otomes. You take on the role of the healer Thalia, who secretly has magical powers which she uses to heal the sick people of her village. One day, as Thalia's away from her village gathering herbs, an old man approaches her complaining of an ailment. Knowing that she'd have no time to take the man back to her village, Thalia decides to treat him right then and there. However, before she can do so, the old man transforms into Lysander, the god of love. He tells Thalia that he heard rumors about her and wanted to find out if she has magical powers. Once it's confirmed, Lysander is excited over the news, as Thalia might be the first goddess to exist. He then runs off (or more like, teleports away lol) and the other three gods, Helder (god of light), Exinious (god of darkness), and Rhane (god of peace) find out about Thalia and become interested in her as well. As this is an otome vn, you can probably guess that there will be romance (well, maybe lol) as well as some bigger issue that encompasses the story. I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that. XD As for the gameplay, multiple choices are presented throughout the story. The first few choices determine which one of the four gods' routes you'll be on (or maybe, none at all) and then the remaining choices determine if you get their canon (best) ending or a side ending. Of course, there are a good number of CGs as well as Steam achievements although, at the time of this review, the game is in "profile features limited," so achievements won't count towards a user's global total. [h2]Review[/h2] Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. [i]Gods of Love: An Otome Visual Novel[/i] is the first visual novel by Y Press Otomes that I've played, so I had no idea what to expect. (I just knew that I was in the mood to play an otome vn. XD) Anyway, I'll start off with the story. I really liked the premise of it. Thalia is a strong, independent female MC who uses her healing magic to help the villagers, and she also has the responsibility of taking care of her little sister Moss. This gave me a good impression right off the bat since I prefer strong female MCs in otome visual novels. Even though Thalia isn't looking for romance and having four gods approach her with the goal of courting and marrying her is definitely overwhelming. However, Thalia can choose to pursue that path or refuse it altogether. (Of course, there is more story if she pursues it.) I liked the four romance options. There's a good variety of personalities. Rhane is the nice, quiet god who has lived in Thalia's village, while Lysander is the flirt who won't stop at anything to win Thalia over. Helder is a moral, upright god, while Exinious is his polar opposite, encouraging freedom and fun. I won't go into spoiler territory regarding these romance options, but personally, I liked Rhane the best (since I tend to like nice guys). However, Exinious has a very interesting route, and I really enjoyed the interactions he and Thalia end up having. Helder's route has the most obstacles to overcome, while Lysander's felt more fun and emotional at times. In addition, I like the main problem that ends up being presented to Thalia as she pursues one of these guys, so it isn't purely romance. Before I forget, I probably should mention that this visual novel is mostly safe to read. However, [spoiler]there are a few CGs that show some nudity (but I didn't upload screenshots of them) and parts of the story do briefly describe sex scenes[/spoiler], so do be aware of what I just mentioned if you're considering getting this. As for the writing, this is where there's some disagreement and why some of the reviews are negative. Now, I personally didn't have issues over it although I do agree with the comments pointed out. There are a few places where the pacing felt rushed, and I did notice a few typos although not many and not to the point where I couldn't enjoy the story. There is some argument over how the characters speak since the story takes place back in the equivalent of ancient Greece/Rome. They talk in modern speak (not sure how else to word it lol) although that certainly wouldn't make sense for the time period. Yes, I agree it is weird, but it didn't put me off. However, be aware of this. As for the art, I'll say that I enjoyed looking at it, especially the CGs. I thought it was well done and I really liked the use of color. (I liked the art so much that I took a few screenshots. ^^) As for the soundtrack, I enjoyed listening to it and the tracks fit well with the scenes they were placed. However, I noticed that in some scenes, there would be no music whatsoever, which breaks the story immersion. The tracks I did listen to fit in well with the story, though. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2427214800 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2427215767 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2427215243 [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Overall, would I recommend [i]Gods of Love: An Otome Visual Novel[/i]? As this is my first visual novel by Y Press Otomes that I've played, I'll say yes. It isn't perfect and it definitely has flaws, but I'll give it a pass. I ended up enjoying the story although, of course, I liked some paths better than others. XD For the asking price, though, I definitely recommend waiting for a sale, maybe at half price. It took me about 8 hours to 100% complete the game, so it feels a bit overpriced. On a sale, though, it's worth considering. ^^ [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7593237/]Otome Rakuen[/url] team up to give readers highly detailed, thorough reviews of hot romance games.[/quote]

Gorgeous artstyle and interesting music but shallow and flat characters. The game's really short for it's price. Do not recommend.

[b]Yine tavsiye etsem mi etmesem mi diye ikilemde kaldığım bir oyun.[/b] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3618004020 Çizimleri, özellikle de CG'leri göz alıcı ve muhteşem duruyor, fakat hikayesi inanılmaz sığ ve kısa: Birbirinden yakışıklı tanrılarla dolu bir kasabada tek tanrıça olarak beylerden birinin gönlümüzü kazanmasını bekliyoruz. Arkaplanları, karakterleri ve hikayesinin temelinin belli olup da neden daha detaylı devam ettirilmediğini anlamadığım bir oyun daha. (Diğer bir örneği için bkz: Sword Daughter.) Birkaç save dosyası ve ctrl'ye basılı tutarak önceki yerleri geçip farklı diyalogları seçerek ışık hızında tüm başarımları açabilirsiniz. Ekran görüntüleri de profili gayet güzel süslüyor, fakat ne yazık ki bu kadar. Aklımda yer edinip "Vay be ne oyundu..." diyeceğim bir yapım değil. Yine de bu muhteşem sanat stiline -özellikle karakter tasarımlarına- kıyamayıp indirimde denemeniz için olumlu oy veriyorum.

Alright, I admit I was going to return this because the price is too high. I feel like that is wrong though since I liked the game. But after writing down my thoughts, I think I will. I will however buy it back if it ever goes on sale 50% off and get all those achievements! I recommend getting it on sale. Maybe 8$ The writing itself isn't bad and I didn't notice many/any typos. The pacing is off though. It has good elements in each story like: using a safe-word when role playing, the importance of consent, that it's important to talk about intimacy with your partner, talking about your body with your partner is good, leaving abusive relationships is a must, you can't help some people, it isn't your job to stay in a bad relationship and stick it out, too much control leads to suffocation, etc... The art is very very nice. The pacing is what I think ruins it for a lot of people. It isn't fleshed out in some significant places like: meeting your deceased mother you never got to say goodbye to and your dog who passed away in heaven, major character reconciliations, "a whole day of activities", wedding night (not saying you need a s*x scene but I mean any scene). Those things I just mentioned, you don't see at all. There is a cut to black and then you're back like "wow that was fun glad I did it"...... Conversations happen very quickly, and characters reach conclusions or have striking moments of self awareness that move the plot forward at a very fast pace. I think this game could use the assets they have currently (maybe with minor additions here and there like a dog) and add 100% - 200% more writing to it and tell the same story but better. Because the writing and topics it covers are interesting but held together with very little background. Ideas for Helder to give him more depth and experiences from which to grow from: -Seeing Helder's "day of activities", seeing the angels "naivety" (maybe they're really hiding things from him or maybe they are really like dumb animals), looking into the past at your parents relationship and confronting Helder about the reality of divorce, You and Helder meeting your mom and dog and further driving home the fact that divorce is necessary sometimes, talking more about the angel he slept with and how yes some relationships need to end but there are good and bad ways to end them (don't cheat and don't manipulate people into staying), Helder getting jumped on by your dog or lots of dogs and trying to pretend he doesn't like it :), you and Helder talking to Exinous (and his demons) about demons and that possessions aren't bad, how Helder apologized to Rhane on his knees and in tears (I want to see that because it is a huge turning point for him). Also, not having s*x before marriage is fine and what some people want. I personally didn't want to have s*x before marriage and that was a deal breaker for some but that's ok (I told them early into the relationship so there wasn't a surprise later). But there are a lot of hot things you can do without having s*x and exploring that with Helder or talking through it would've been very interesting. And that is just Helder. There are so many things you could do to naturally move the story along and learn with the characters you're pursuing. I played through Exinous and Rhane's true routes as well (I am a fast reader but that is too short). Exinous has a TON going for him and is easily the star of the show right now. I could think of so many things for his route, but this review would be way too long. Rhane is cute but he also lacks depth like Helder does. Rhane could be really good though and serve as a sympathetic character (someone who has lost his way, been torn down by people he trusted, had to try to live on their own, who needs help but is afraid to ask, who needs to build his confidence back up...) I think this is one of the better games by this company actually. There isn't any contrived plot that requires the MC or compels them to sleep with anyone, and the MC is stronger than the others and fun to play as. I am sorry this has the worst reviews of all of their games, and am afraid that it will make the team think that they should stick to their previously successful methods (already see a game about a "heterosexual male" going to a prison planet where he's almost definitely going to need to exchange s*x for protection.....*eye-roll*) This game can work but it needs more substance. I think what is there is very good and there just needs more to it to flesh it out. I do think it is better than all of your other games I have played at talking about difficult topics and using consent.

It is a pretty simple, straight-forward romance visual novel, but the protagonist is a strong-willed woman and I can never fault a game with a strong protagonist! The art is beautiful as well. The routes are cute but simple and short, so it is a sweet little game to buy on sale.

a good Visual Novel. I recommend it. lots of answer options to choose. sweet girls. the price of this short game is in offer for -53% alright.

I need to say, that I just don't understand why people don't like Y-Press Games - but I guess, everyone has different tastes and opinions. So, let's go for mine! ;) Let's start with: I knew the owner of YPressGames far longer, I already loved her stories when she was "just" a writer. So of course when I saw that she started making Visual Novels, I was hooked! And I backed every Kickstarter since then <3 To the game: As always I get what I love most, awesome artworks (I just love their artist choices), deep characters with flaws and strenghts and evolving within the story, what makes them interesting, adorable, likeable or even lovable ( in any kind of way *winks at Lysander* ). I don't think the story is really short, it is perfect for me. You got a conflict between the gods and a strong, independent female that is thrown in that conflict and you can navigate through it and in the end, maybe get a god as a husband :P The story is lively, choices matter and I had a few good laughs (and tingles) <3 I adored Rhane, I loved Lysander, I was swooned by Excinious and surprised by Helder <3 Although Too Good, Yet Not Good Enough ... just doesn't work (for now, I know they will fix it soon). So what can I say? I will stay a YPressGames Fan for a little bit longer ;) And I hope they will make a few more Otomes! Or maybe Visual Novels with both choices! <3 <3 I will have their back!

I personally love Y press games. That being said, to anyone interested in this game, try out the demo. If you enjoy it, then I highly recommend buying this game. The story concept is very interesting and executed very well. The characters are compelling and written very well. I did read the negative review, and yes there are small jumps in the story, but they flow well, and they were scenes that could of been written in, but they were definitely not needed. There was a reuse of CGs, but it wasn't out of place. It fit and flowed with the story. This is a very well developed game. It is definitely worth it, but I recommend new comers to try the demo first to see if they will enjoy it.

I have been a fan of Y Press Games for a good time now and I am glad I got this one as well. I'm not the biggest fan of Otome games (so I'm not as familiar with the tropes/cliches of the genre) but if this is just their first step into the genre I can't wait to see what they do next.