Lovers in Playa Rosa

I'm usually happy to play game from this dev/publisher. This is usually a "warm" short romance story. This one apply the same recipe: start by a "drama" for the MC that will go on and discover "real" love juste after, and as often, a friend that will have a nice story in parrallel, cook discussion and lot of references to characters from previous games. But this one tick me off : - All characters have a single "picture" with a neutral expression (outside CG). They are never sad, happy. So you look the whole screen when meeting a new character and that nearlly all. Background are very generics with the only interest to setup where the action happen. So quickly you just read the dialog and don't look the whole screen. - All Characters are caricaturial in their behavior and sometimes against the story cridibility. no subtiliy in this game ( no time ?). Dont' want to provide detail to not spoil the game. As a consequence, emotion are "killed". What make the game "warm" in the others games applying the same patter disapears in this one ( subjective advice for sure ). - The story feel extremely rushed. About the dialog, it's also the same recipe than previous game ( Either it's just a "decorative" choice, either it's a choice to get along with a love interest or not ) but choices are not subtil ( in previous game, I have some time hesitation before choosing and have to wait a little for confirmation, in this on there is no real doubt ). I never go back from a previous choice once ( That's a first ). So as I say in the beginning, I'm not pleased to put a bad review on a dev team that I usually really like but will not take the next game on release for sure. The good point on the game is this is still the same kind of "warm story" and character graphics are good even if there is a single one for each. This is not a bad VN ( I have done it completely and not stop while playing but I'm really disapointed). And I still wish success to the dev team but what make your previous story nice to do are the character emotions, make sure to take care of them.

I really liked this game. So far I only got Gabriela’s arc, but her story really hit home for me. It sort of reminded me a lot of my last relationship and it’s something that a lot of people go through, especially when they date someone who is in transit… I don’t want to spoil it though as it is something I’m sure a few of you have been through before. On to the actual review: [b]Gameplay[/b] As you can probably tell, “Lovers in Playa Rosa” is a Yuri (lesbian) Visual Novel and dating sim. It’s pretty much purely that, no additional gameplay mechanics like a minigame or stat management or anything like that. Choices are quite obvious, as someone else said, it might have been nice if there had been maybe 3 options more often, to kind of throw you off a bit and try to make you guess more which choice will lead to who. I think in a game where there are more gameplay mechanics, then it’s more ok to have a game with more obvious romantic choices in the dating sim bit, but with a game that is a pure dating sim, it’s much better to have the difficulty in the choices as that IS the whole gameplay! [b]Writing[/b] Maybe the best part of the actual game! The writing is solid and in native English, I think I read somewhere on the forums that the devs are British, so that’s a win. A bit odd seeing British spelling and grammar (“favourite” instead of “favorite”) instead of American even though all the characters are either American or Mexican but it’s fine for me. Same goes for some of the slang, I suspect the writer may not know many Americans or doesn’t watch much American TV as there are quite a few examples of British slang and British-style phrasing which are not common in the US at all (Not once have I heard an American say “Rollicking”)! But as a proud Canadian, I don’t mind at all and find it more charming than anything else. I liked the comedy in the game a lot and actually found myself laughing (especially in the subplot involving Brad). I particularly liked the banter between characters and it made it feel like travelling with friends. The romance bits were good too, I liked both love interests a lot, but I definitely had the hots for Gabriela more. This visual novel is not super long. I finished it in just under 2 hours but I’m a super fast reader (life of a teacher!). I think for the average reader you’re probably looking at 3 hours if you complete both arcs and try all the different choices. [b]Art[/b] I loved the art in this game! So many CGs and I liked how they also had additional art for the food (I guess those count as CGs). The gallery has 10 slots for CGs, I have 8 already but I think I’m missing two more from the Allison arc which I haven’t completed yet. The art style on the characters is so gorgeous! I like how intricate and detailed the character sprites are and the backgrounds are in a sort of “painting” style. A bit like those paintings you get off street vendors when you travel somewhere exotic. [b]Music[/b] Very Jazzy! I think because one of the characters is supposed to be a jazz singer, they went heavy on the whole jazz thing. In the store page they say the OST is Smooth Jazz and Tropical Fusion. I think they went way harder on the jazz than on the tropical! If you like jazz you will love the soundtrack! If you don’t like jazz, maybe put it on mute and play your own music while you play. I’m ok with jazz myself so I played it through with the music on. [b]In Conclusion[/b] Solid game with amazing art and charming writing. I do wish it was a bit longer, like maybe 50% longer, as it did leave me wanting more, but I guess that’s sort of a good thing too. The characters were charming but I did want to get to know them a little more, perhaps having the group do more activities together and another subplot or two to flesh out the characters more might have been nice. I also wish the music had a more tropical and Mexican vibe, which I think would have made me feel more like I was in Mexico. But all in all, I had fun and I do recommend it! [b]TL:DR[/b] - Solid Visual Novel with good writing and art but a bit short - Rating: 7/10

Well,, This aint bad,, it seems to link to Cocoa Club as this is based in US/Mexico The Mention of Blake and Toby.. There is also the Pizza place in several of the others. Yeah you start off married but that quickly goes boom. Then you and your best mate are coming to terms with the Failure of your bar. You end up following the advice of an idiot and you end up in Mexico. Here you meet 2 hot girls and the plot commences. Both girls have something about them. The Mexican girl has a softer, more caring and shy way about her and the American girl is obviously more open and chatty. Remember, selling the Bar is the Most important part here ;p