[h1]Rock in a Hard Place[/h1]
As dating sim visual novels go, [i]Jupiter's Orbit[/i] is extremely unusual, and having spent a couple of hours with it, I'd have to consider it more of a story of self-discovery than a dating sim.
The concept is wildly original, and deserves plaudits for that. You play the part of an asteroid called dT which appears to have a broken relationship with the planet Xor in the Ananke system.
Imagine, if you will, that these rocks and celestial bodies have the ability to communicate with one another akin to the ways that people do.
I know, I know. But try. Suspension of disbelief is going to be helpful, here.
So, dT and Xor have a broken relationship that, at the start of the game, isn't going to work, no matter what you say. Which leaves you to complete your orbit around the system, and take the opportunity for a chat with the other planet in the system, Andor. Perhaps you can pick up some gossip on what's going on?
And if not, well, there's the opportunity to break orbit and get away from thiis toxic lifestyle. Doing so would bring you out into an altogether more familiar solar system – but would the problems you've left behind still be present? What if you are the problem, and you just don't know it?
You know what they say about moving away to start a new life: you don't leave [i]yourself[/i] behind.
So if things are going to improve for dT, she'll need to communicate with the planets in this new, alien system, try to learn something from them, and maybe, just possibly, become fond enough of one to settle into a permanent orbit – although that does not have to be the only option available.
[h1]Gameplay experience[/h1]
Playing as an asteroid in space provided the visual treat of an assortment of rotating planets instead of regular human sprites, and as a fan of space scenery, I really liked this aspect of the game. For audio, there is a constant background piano tune which fits the whole quite nicely, too.
Following the story initially, though, was somewhat tricky; and there [b]is[/b] a story in there, it will just take a little while to catch up with it. On first play through, I hit an end really quickly, and was left nonplussed; but as restarts (either from new or saved positions) mounted and I made different decisions, I discovered that the journey involves a number of orbits around each system, meeting the same planets more than once, and making new discoveries through different conversation options each time, which ultmately took me to the pay-off of understanding why dT had the situation she did at the start of the game.
I do not know what engine has been used to create this game, but it clearly isn't Ren'py, and there are no credits to any other known visual novel engines, so this may be coded from scratch, and as such it is a valiant effort; although this does also mean that some features we are used to as VN fans are not present: I could not roll back after accidentally missing a caption, there is no skip forward facility, and I found an oddity with the save system (there are plenty of slots, but...)
When loading up from a saved position, I found that I was taken to the beginning of a conversation with the body that I had saved at, whether I had saved at an advanced point in an exchange with that planet or not. Whilst this was not a major burden, considering that some exchanges feature several player options, it was a little frustrating to have to go through several choices to get back to where I had saved, and hope that I had remembered the same series of choices I had made previously.
Ultimately, this not being able to load up at [b]exactly[/b] the point I had saved at led me to call time on the game before fully completing it (at time of writing, I found 26/36 achievements) as I felt that I was going round and round [strike]over old ground[/strike] in the same orbit a touch too much.
[h1]Verdict[/h1]
The self-discovery and romantic attachment threads of the game are nicely woven into the overlying story and have to be discovered through player choices, you do not get railroaded into either, and I found the use of heavenly bodies as a substitute for human emotions to be a refreshing change in a story with romantic inclinations.
The game does require some effort on the player's part to see the full picture, and has plenty of achievements to find along the way. Despite a slight lack of UI friendliness – the save menu during gameplay is hidden behind a tiny three-line box in the top left corner of the screen, very easy to miss – overall this positioned itself as a worthy couple of hours entertaining distraction.
When compared to pricing and content of many other visual novels, I do have some concerns about the set price for this game, which may be contributing to an apparent shortage of attention so far, but at £4.29, it isn't breaking the bank either, and does enough to justify a look if this combination of genre and setting appeals to you.
Otome Lovers wishes to thank Alien Fork for providing a free review copy for this game.
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