When Choice of Games first announced launch of the new series, Heart's Choice, I met the news enthusiastically to say the least. I have always loved the romance focus in their games, and if it is mixed with great storytelling and a vivid world, then oh my glob! So I will just say it straight: my expectation for Heart's Choice were very high – after all, this series claims that [i]“Heart’s Choice label puts romance at the center of the story, and you at the center of the romance”[/i]. Sweet, right?
Unfortunately, this became my ultimate downfall. Why? Well, you see…
[h1]Pros[/h1]
Jazz Age is by no means a terrible game and it definitely shines in some aspects. To begin with, the atmosphere and the setting. Both were described beautifully! New York of the 1920s is a beautiful and alluring place where all your dreams come true. If you are ready to suffer, bleed and sweat to achieve them, of course. The city was described in a very charming manner – it has both a very dark side and the one full of dazzling light. Clubs, hotels, theaters, even the railway station, all of them have something unique and stylish. New York is also the city of fashion and dashing beauties of all genders. The author, Nicola R. White, was able to describe clothes of that period really well. Lila was particularly impressive.
Second, I would really like to mention characters. I remember most of them quite vividly even several days after I completed the game, which proves that their personalities felt realistic and were interesting enough to remember. Both John and Lila are also interesting choices for romantic paths, but I have not read their love triangle route yet, so cannot say much about it. Toni was a real charmer with her bubbly personality and outgoing attitude to life. Fern, the little sister of our protagonist, was more annoying than anything, to be honest. But at least she is sincere, I guess? There is also one technical issue connected with her, but I will talk about it later.
Well, sadly, these are all features I have to complement. Now we are getting to the cons part. And boy are they disappointing as heck!
[h1]Cons[/h1]
While it was quite easy to read the whole text and there were no mistakes or typos, I still cannot really praise both writing and story without complaining. The main issue is that the plot does not feel complete. No, it has a proper ending, even an epilogue. However, I could not shake the feeling that either half of the story was removed or it was simply missing. Specifically, transitions between the events – they were literally non-existent. For the most part, there were just a few words at the beginning of the scene like “your character did this and a bit of this”, and that is it. This also affected interactions between characters, as they were limited to the present moment only. What does it mean? That apart from meetings within the main plot line, there is hardly anything else of substance. Why do we fall in love with John? Just because he told us a sob story about himself at the very beginning? Or because he loves blue color? The protagonist will meet him two or free times at best before falling in love madly and singing serenades on stage. The same goes for Lila – yes, there is some attraction from the very beginning as our character is impressed with this woman’s fashion and personality. But, once again, why do we even love each other?! Just because it is convenient for the plot? And for God’s sake, my character was able to kiss her just about one hour after they met! This is awkward. To sum up, there were just not enough special moments between my character and her love interests to make me believe in their undying feelings for each other. The same goes for most side characters and even family members.
Another strange thing is that you have all three romantic options open all the time. I never showed any interest in John while on Lila’s route and had just 55 points of relationship with him, but he still confessed his love to the protagonist in the end. And I was able to choose between him, Lila and the love triangle – even though I did not do anything to promote two of these options. Also, both romance routes were exactly the same, just with different dialogues. So none of them felt really unique and special.
This brings me to the conclusion that the story was also rushed – which explains the feeling that something is missing. We jump from scene to scene on some mad ride that takes place within one month, as far as I understood; one moment you have just failed your audition and moved to Lila’s place, and the other – you are already in the theater trying to impress a famous director. The beginning of Jazz Age had a very nice pace and introduced characters and places perfectly. However, after it everything started to speed up too much. The ending came too fast and felt abrupt and dissatisfying.
Speaking of the one and only adult scene in the game, I should confess that it made me more uncomfortable than anything else. Compared to Heart of the House, where sex scenes were described in the elegant style of Angelica - Marquesa de Los Angeles with its subtle yet quite revealing manner, the one in Jazz Age feels crude and unappealing – in John’s case more than in Lila’s. Maybe it is just the problem of my own taste, maybe I am being too harsh, but I just could not find any good points about it. For me, there is a huge difference between novel-style writing with gentle interactions and lots of artistic descriptions and a smut book where sex is added just to attract bored housewives.
And the last small point: Fern’s surname in the Stats page is always Irving, no matter what your character’s full name is. In the text itself Fern gets your surname, though.
[h1]Summary[/h1]
Jazz Age has an amazing wrapping – like a shimmering golden liquid shining brightly under the night sky of New York. And when you see such beauty, you cannot but expect something absolutely delicious inside. Swiss chocolate with a hearty sprinkle of hazelnut mousse and maybe even bits of actual hazelnut. But when you finally open this lovely treat, you just get a bland mint fruit drop. Well, it is sweet and tastes not that badly, but it is definitely not what you were hoping for.
It really pains me to give Jazz Age a negative mark, but its shortcomings outweighed all positive aspects, sadly. I did not find what I was hoping for – an endearing and maybe spicy love novel full of meaningful interactions and a rich story. If this game was longer and had more content, it would be way better and really worth a positive review. As of now, it feels shallow and rushed.
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