High Times

Great game!

I'm totally obsessed with this game! It's easily one of the chunkiest VNs I've played in a long time - the story seems never ending, between the main romance options and even the silliest NPCs. I can't recommend it more!

Still not too far in at this point, but it's not bad! Of course the characters are all stereotypes, but I wish they leaned just a little less into them. All of the romanceable characters are within the realm of tropes I would be down with, but they're just a little too extreme for me to really be invested in them or really care about some of them when I wish I did more. If you're hoping for a dating sim merged with Papa's Donuteria like I was, it's not exactly that. It's pretty darn simple and you almost have to try and mess up the construction part of an order. I was hoping for a little more complexity, but it's very straightforward. This could very well just be the early game. Additionally, sometimes the donuts you have to make in one day are the exact same which is kind of annoying when I've bought all of the available upgrades so far. It would be nice to use them or have more freedom to create my own donut combos! I think it's a little strange that the characters have intro screens that explicitly denote their VAs? It makes it seem like stunt casting, which it probably is since that's started to become more of a thing in VNs, but it doesn't make me care about the characters or VAs any more and is just leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. The voice acting itself isn't bad, but I don't have anything notable to say about it. The game is set in the semi-near future, and has a nihilist take on it- AI is winning, the globe has been well warmed, etc.. Sometimes it's funny, but to me, a lot of the time it just kind of feels like a bleak reminder that the world really sucks right now in an otherwise pretty chill game. The fake social media site is definitely accurate though XD I do really enjoy scrolling after a shift, but it does get annoying checking it every day for there to maybe be one post. There are also some grammatical errors here and there that confused me, but that's pretty normal per the genre and for the game being at launch. No bugs for me though, that I can tell! Despite all of these perceived flaws, I'm still invested and want to continue with the game to see how the story plays out now that I have met all of the main dateable characters. The dialogue isn't bad, the donut making vs dialogue offers appreciated breaks between reading, and the characters, despite being some very "chronically online" tropes, are enjoyable (for the most part).

A unique premise spoiled by a cast of characters that are generally unlikeable and irredeemable. From their ludicrous forced baby voices to every one of their toxic personality traits, each character is a class example of a maladjusted 20-something that lives at home, spending their nights masturbating to anime cartoons and otherwise being a plague upon society. So, relatable to most of the player-base. Some of the worst offenders include: - Lucy Dee (voiced by the talentless LilyPichu) whose jarring inflection is like experiencing nails on a 35 year old chalkboard that never got over its desire as a teenager to become a loli anime girl. - The mess that is the punk girl rip off from Scott Pilgrim. Stacy something or other? Just a generally nasty and unpleasant character to engage with whose all destructive personality is no doubt intended to be somewhat charming? I found it most disagreeable to be unable to ban her from the shop, and most unrealistic as she is said to have burnt it down previously? It really makes no sense to be forced to engage with her. - Nova, another failed attempt at the loveable punk girl trope. There is nothing loveable here, only ruin. But perhaps the most egregious of all is that absurd chicken girl whose voice sounds like it belongs to an amateur 2000s parody on Newgrounds. Just some seriously awful voice work there. The character is completely unfunny, totally obnoxious and in no way at all an asset to this work. Her story, such as it is, failed to capture any interest at all. Sadly, this can apply to approximately 80% of the characters in the game. What's more, the rampant hypersexuality that underpins this work detracts rather than enhances, I fear. It is infused in the very soul of this creation from the narrative, to the characters, to the names of the donuts. Unfortunately, we are not shown the merits of a society whose moral fabric has degraded so. From what I understand, the world is on the brink of ruin and the characters themselves are in various degrees of mental straits and failure. The sexual jokes, which are done ad nauseam, could perhaps tease a chuckle from a 10 year old or a particularly infantile adult man. What then, is the goal of having every character exhibit the sexual predilections of a sad, repressed internet gremlin? The protagonist, unfortunately, is not exempt from any of this critique and could even be said to be amongst the worst of the lot. Realising the romance route of their best friend Connor, who is the most normal and forgivable member of the cast, involves a touch of relationship sabotage. Besides this, they also seem completely unable to make sensible decisions, learn from their mistakes, take responsibility for their actions and are just all-around a bad friend. A nepo baby who was given everything in life and squandered it to become the worst sort of person imaginable. So, all of that being said, would I recommend this game? Yes. Despite the failings of most of the voice work and the dislikeable cast of miscreants, the gameplay is rather addictive and the world that's been constructed is admittedly compelling in its nature - a futuristic and colourful dystopia where society is populated by the hypersexual castoffs of internet culture. One might even view this assortment of knaves as a cautionary tale against the perils of excessive internet use. A learning experience. For that is the only merit to be found here.

Spending more time shipping my exes than actually romancing them 👍

The art style is really good and it reminds me of Monster Prom. I played the demo before and found it appealing. However, I do see several minor issues with the Chinese translations such as "键盘侠“, "你妈的”, "腐女“. I would prefer "网络喷子”, "同人女“ which are the better choice. Using neutral words is important.

Major nostalgia aspects of not only the characters past life but those apart of the main characters life/story that will have you smiling and reminiscing. A game you can easily start feeling as if moments were written out of your past/current life moments, for me some major parts do fall off as far relating to me personally but not relating to others but still enjoyable to play out. The relationships both dating and friendship wise you will find yourself seeing in the people in your own life, characteristics, and emotions wise, which makes it more personable and fun! The banter play is tasteful and relatable and doesn't come off as far-fetched. I respect this game for touching kinks/preferences that in the past have been more hushed about or mocked by others, to which the gamers have done it in a very respectable way. It’s not over played, doesn’t take over the essence of the main characters/story line. I can tell that based on options picked within the game the storyline may dive deeper into those niches, for those who may want more! I will also in the same token say I appreciate that this game is the way I mentioned above because it can be hard to find a game with these subjects and choice matters (mixed with some lovely cooking simulation) that doesn’t turn into completely sexual or niches that take over and completely take away and lessen the value of the storyline. I am glad there is finally a game that touches base in various areas; job simulation, dating simulation, choices matter, casual, cozy, visual novel, LGBTQ and many more because although some topics and things touched based in the game may not be my style or interest I support and say rock on to allowing everyone be themselves respectfully. In terms of improvements or add-ons perhaps more options within the job simulation aspect, would be nice to be able to decorate the business aside from the decor that is provided for us to buy; like furniture, wall paper, flooring. The ability to make our own versions/creations of mood-changing desserts as well more options, perhaps lollipops, gummies, etc. More work clothes options besides typical cooking uniform or goth themed uniforms. There could be a better system in place as far as picking who you would like to have a love interest with. I cant wait to see how more in-depth this game will get, happy to play a game that has a good balance.