I used to be a huge otome fan, but after a while got tired of some typical cliches and moved on to BL/GL, which I'm far more satisfied with. I backed this game on KS and already completed it. Brought it here so I can support the dev(although I consider a refund rn).Well, turns out this wasn't the game for me. The other negative review has an issue with pricing, but for me it's not a concern. Rather, I have problems with advertising, writing, pacing and the "true" route of the game.[olist][*]Let's start with the fact this game is neither otome nor BL. This game is about friendship and struggles of teenage relationships. More ramblings about the issue:[list][*]The whole point of otome game is having a female protagonist. Here, you can only play as a guy, no kind of POV from Emily(the female "MC"). It's such a missed opportunity to not have her become an actual MC in her own route. Heck, she isn't exactly thrilled to enter a romantic relationship(understandable in the context of the game, but for a potential buyer it's very misleading).[*]The "BL possibilities" part of the description is more accurate than otome part, but not quite. This game features little to no romance, Geum(MC of the game) straight up tells the player he has no intention to fall for either of two male leads. Even by the end of the game, during an individual route, the guy confesses he MIGHT be interested in Geum, but not right now due to personal reasons. That's right, there's no kind of romantic resolution here. Understandable, but why label it BL?[*]I also have a problem with "not-so-generic" thing. Is it, really? I'll talk about writing problems later, but the game is kind of a friendship simulator where you can flirt with your friends. I suppose such closeness in platonic relationships is something we lack in VN department?[/list] [*]The writing. This was the weakest part of the game: This game has a problem with "show, don't tell" rule. First, it shows you something and then it tells you how to feel about it. Generally, it's better to let the player think on their own and react accordingly, unless it's a game made for toddlers. As an example: one of the screenshots has a guy with cat ears. In context, he was trying to defuse the tension and everybody else remarks how weird and whacky this situation is.The worst example for me was the fact every every time LI rejected MC and told him they would rather be friends, Geum tells the player "I guess it was wrong of me to try and trick/force them into falling for me". Yes? No ♥♥♥♥? Why were those lines necessary, the game showed MC was acting selfish during first three minutes of the gameplay? As you can see, this point really frustrated me. Hehe, I did the same thing.[*]Another huge issue, the pacing. The game takes place in a span of a week. So, it makes it very hard to believe Geum could befriend his male love interests, much less fall for them in such a short period of time. Both routes felt like a race to the end rather than gradual build-up. At least his and Emily's relationship was believable enough.[*]Final point, the "true route" aka polyamorous ending. Yup, remember how I said it felt unnatural for any of the main cast to be into Geum? Welp, suddenly all of them are! And of course, the game doesn't miss the chance to tell you how weird and strange this is! And of course, someone makes a harem joke! Honestly...I quit this route and that, because I have a feeling this will be even more of not my thing.You may think "you didn't even finish this, why judge it so harshly? Indie devs already have it rough!". I agree, I might went on this a little bit too critical, you may really enjoy this if you don't mind or enjoy things I mentioned. But for me, the writing and pacing problems made me forgot about things I initially praised the game for. So, I sadly will leave this game with a "not recommended" rating.[/olist]
