Love Notes

[h1]VERY short review[/h1] Uninspiring story, short in length, too few CGs and recycled resources such as background CGs and sprites from other games. The story lacks cohesion and this is only made worse by the menu in between every scene, making it an extremely disjointed experience. [h2]Should you buy?[/h2] Nope, maybe at 2 euros or less if you have nothing else to buy.

TLDR: too short and lacks a cohesive storyline. Art (without vm18 cgi unfortunately) and writing are good, but the division in scenes deprives the story from a sense of cohesion. Add this to the duration of one route (about 3h) and it's a thumb down. I own most WW games and this isnt one of their best.

I wanted to really enjoy this game; however, it left me feeling cold. The story seemed unfinished and did not seem to have a natural flow of events. I did not enjoy or really understand the need for the menu between scenes which disrupted the experience whilst playing. I also have concerns with representation and how certain people were portrayed. or described. I would have also liked to see a greater variety of backgrounds and scenes. This game was not for me, but players of their previous games may enjoy it.

Love Notes is set in the same universe as Love Bites, with several characters making a reappearance from the first game, though it's not necessary to have played it to understand the story, as it's not a direct continuation. Instead, there are two new main characters (Rachel and Jesse) which the player can choose, both of whom are part of a band whose last gig went seriously awry ... with supernatural consequences. While they figure out what happened during that gig and deal with the ordinary and supernatural aftermath, the overarching plot scenes are interspersed with the subplot from one of the five available romances, which the player is prompted to choose from a lineup after a certain point in the story. The plot and romance are kept very separate in terms of influence from one to the other, which I didn't mind, as the subplot scenes serve to explore the dynamic between one of the love interests and the main character, as well as the lore of the universe the story is set in. I played all five subplots, albeit only with Rachel, not with Jesse, and I enjoyed interacting with every romantic interest a lot, as they're all vastly different characters with a variety of personalities. The sprites are lovingly rendered, with beautiful CGs to match (one per love interest and main character, so ten in total), though this is of course also a matter of personal preference. My total playtime comes out at about 6 hours; however, I'm a very fast reader and made frequent use of the skip button on replays (there are two "epilogues" available for each romance, and I wanted to see both). There is no unnecessary padding to the story or subplots, which I appreciate, as more isn't always better. Overall, I had a great time reading Love Notes, and would definitely recommend that people who liked Love Bites give this VN a chance as well.

[i]Love Notes[/i] is a horror, dating sim visual novel developed and published by Winter Wolves. Although it is set in the same world as [i]Love Bites[/i], it is not necessary to have played it. However, there are some fun character appearances from [i]Love Bites[/i]. Anyway, you either take on the role of Rachel or Jesse, who are members of the rock band, Spectral Howl. After one night where Rachel or Jesse wakes up with no memory of what happened, one of their fellow band members, Sean, finds them and informs them that the band is no more because a certain incident occurred. Thus, as the main character, you're trying to gather your wits and find out as much as you can about what happened while doing your best to save the band. Also, you notice certain physical changes happening (and not just the lack of memory), and you want to figure out what's going on. Along the way, Rachel or Jesse might just find romance. That's the basic story premise, and I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that. As for the gameplay, there are numerous main story scenes as well as several romance scenes, and all these scenes have some choices that are presented. Early on, you can choose from among one of five romance options: Tristan (the bar owner), Valerie (Tristan's sister who's a bartender), Nathan (a shaman who was once a medical student), Zoe (a librarian who has lived for multiple lifespans), or Kasumi (a social media handler). There are CGs as well although they're confined to the final romance scene as well as several music tracks. Also, there are several Steam/in-game achievements but no Steam trading cards at the time of this review. Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. Way back, I played [i]Love Bites[/i] and remember how much I enjoyed it, so I was happy to hear about [i]Love Notes[/i], being set in the same world and all. First, I'll go right into the story. I liked that it has a slightly different story premise. Role playing as Rachel or Jesse, you know that something is off because of your short term amnesia, but you can't quite figure out what it is. However, you have friends (most of whom are romance options) who can help you figure it out due to their vast knowledge about the supernatural. (Yes, this is a world where even the main characters are aware of the supernatural. XD) I liked both of the main characters although I slightly liked Rachel more, simply because I found her to be a tougher, no nonsense type of character. As for the other characters, I liked the variety of romance options and personalities. A lot of these characters appeared in [i]Love Bites[/i], but they weren't romance options then, so it's great to see them as being romanceable here. There's a good variety of romance, with each character having their own issues and the main character being wrapped up in them. Of course, like any good romance, these issues get resolved. As this is a Winter Wolves game, the romance scenes can get pretty hot and heavy with sexual innuendos and whatnot. There are no nudity scenes, though, and as far as I know, there's no option to unlock them. As for the main story scenes, I noticed that the choices made don't really affect the outcome of the story. I'd always get the same ending, no matter what choices I made, so it seemed like those choices were pointless. In contrast, with the romance scenes, the choices made can determine one of two possible epilogues with said romance option although you have to max out on the romance meter. In addition, there's the option of presenting gifts to the romance option, which help to determine the specific epilogue. I noticed that the work scheduler option from [i]Love Bites[/i] is no longer present, and I can see why. It's easier to get the ending that you want now although it can feel a bit boring at the same time. I kind of miss the more gameplay-focused option from [i]Love Bites[/i], but that could be a personal preference. As for the writing, I found it fairly well-paced. There are occasional typos, but they don't distract from enjoying the story. In regards to the gameplay, I noticed only one bug in regards to a particular choice although you can simply choose the Ignore option and proceed with the game. (In other words, the game won't crash, thankfully.) All the achievements unlocked for me without any problems. Regarding the art, it's in the usual anime style, and I believe the artist for [i]Love Bites[/i] returned to do the art for [i]Love Notes[/i]. I like the artist's style here. The sprites are drawn well, and the females especially look hot without it being unrealistic. The guys are pretty good looking, too. XD In regards to the music, I enjoyed listening to the tracks. It has been quite a long while since I played [i]Love Bites[/i], but I think the tracks in [i]Love Notes[/i] are all new ones, and they fit with the whole rock theme well and the slightly horror atmosphere with vampires and other supernatural creatures without it being too much. There's even a vocal track that's great to listen to. Overall, would I recommend [i]Love Notes[/i]? For those who played [i]Love Bites[/i] and enjoyed it, [i]Love Notes[/i] might seem like a bit of a letdown, simply because there isn't as much gameplay, like the work scheduler, so there isn't as much of a challenge. However, if you enjoy visual novels and want simple choices (and like I mentioned earlier, the only meaningful choices seem to pop up in the romance scenes), then [i]Love Notes[/i] is worth a look. I enjoyed the story, writing, and variety of romances (otome, bishoujo, yuri, and yaoi). I should mention that a lot of the art (mainly, backgrounds) are reused from previous Winter Wolves games. For the asking price, I would recommend holding off for a sale. I finished all the routes and obtained all the achievements in fewer than 9 hours. Still, I think it's worth getting at some point if you like visual novels by Winter Wolves and especially enjoyed [i]Love Bites[/i]. ^^ [quote]Flying free and writing reviews solely for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url].[/quote]

I wish I could recommend this game. But I can't. Writing is frantic and so, confusing. After reading all of the routes, I'm still not sure what villain wanted, who turned MC or who caused amnesia. Romances progress extremely abrupt. One scene you have that flirty tension, next one they already refer to each other as boyfriends/girlfriends and act like they've been in relationship for years. Ending is EXTREMELY rushed. Things are just...happening. Music is mediocre, there's not much variation to characters outfits or emotions, routes are fine (some are kind of interesting even) but suffer same abrupt end as the main storyline. Cameos from Love Bites were fun, though pointless plot-wise. By the way, out of the two games, Love Bites is better - it has more charm and coherent writing. Replaying is booooooring. I know why story split into parts (because the writing is so disjointed, reading it as one story would give you vertigo), but I don't understand why gifting system is even here. It made sense in Love Bites, because you had to earn money to give gifts, but here? Useless. Also, I understand how reusing assets can be advantageous, but this feels like too much. The only saving grace is graphics. Character design is not bad and CGs are VERY pretty. Gave me motivation to read all routes, so I could at least enjoy the end CG. Unfortunately, with all of the problems with the writing, typos and the price, I cannot recommend this game.

I LOVE THIS GAME, just like i loved love bites!!! <3 it's so interesting, the art so pretty, even the music it's pretty cool! it definitely deserves more love, people it's so bitter these days, ♥♥♥♥ that, i was eager to play a new love story from winter wolves and ain't disappointed at all <3 !!! keep up the good work guys

I actualy enjoyed this VN, You can choose Male or Female, the non chosen becomes an npc as you are both in the band and are childhood friends. I played as Rachel and did the Valerie route. This is a fun and interesting route, a vampire who never saw herself as a domestic type settling down and them both playing the parent to a part time human girl. I have just completed the Zoe route, which was fun, with them becoming devoted to each other, so much so, that when others tried to take Rachel from Zoe, they had no chance and gave up. The Kasumi route is crazy where you end up competing against your duplicate, It is kind of strange how the game starts and you quickly see that it isn't just you. I have found a few bits are the same on all routes, just a huge difference IN the routes. Soon you see nearly everyone was affected, so you all start to dig into things. Things start happening to you and then you are hit with a sledge Hammer Along the way you get to pick a Romance route and the story builds from there. I found the Valerie route cute and funny in places. I do recommend it. Now off to try another route.

I enjoyed the bit of this game I played through so far. I ended up liking the way the game handled the romances better than the prequel, Love Bites, as it didn't focus quite so much on juggling the five routes at the same time. Each route is not super long, but there's five per main character, and there are 10 total CGs to collect. I'm curious if, like Love Bites, the stories are different depending on who you choose as your main character. I hope [spoiler]Dante[/spoiler] is added as a romanceable route, despite not making the Kickstarter goal! I loved him so much.

Pros: - Great art, - Cool music, - You can adjust how fast text appears on the screen, - LGBT+ options (same sex dating), which is cool, - Different love interests with unique and interesting personalities, - You can play as a guy or a girl. Cons: - It is difficult to know which option is the right option to pick, to succeed in romancing someone, which makes the game a bit frustrating to play. Picking the right option to impress friends is not intuitive or logical. It doesn't make any empathic or emotional sense, and the characters treat you like an annoying or boring idiot if you choose the 'wrong' option. - The gifts option is quite difficult to win. I got two out of three correct gifts for the love interest Kasumi, despite doing two play throughs. - There's a mean side character who is just described as baldy, which yikes. Being bald doesn't make someone evil. Good bald people exist, and plenty of people suffer from hair loss caused by diseases like cancer and Crohn's disease. - The sole Chinese/Chinese coded character Cassandra (who wears a Chinese dress) is the main bad guy, which is unintentionally racist. - What is with the option that shames you for liking soda? *bursts out laughing* There's nothing wrong with drinking soda. Edited to add: OK, I've reread this review, and I owe the game devs an apology. My criticisms of this game are wrong. There's nothing wrong with the characters being toxic or morally grey. Having morally grey characters doesn't mean the game devs agree with their characters' actions. My previous review's criticisms were caused by my poor media literacy and comprehension skills. That's not the game devs' fault. I'd cautiously recommend this game for anyone who likes villain characters or morally grey characters.