Magical Otoge Ciel

Short, fun, 'punny' (teehee), what is there not to like! This is a great introduction to Batensan's visual novel style and it makes me incredibly excited to get started on their newer visual novels. I am a Florien defender, BTW, he is best boy.

Really cute otome.

Played this one from itch.io a few years ago so I don't remember the characters' names. Sorry! But I do remember that I loved this otome game a lot and it was a memorable experience, even if it's a 2-hour free Ren'Py game. Keep in mind, this game does not take itself seriously and it's mostly just silly comedy, so don't expect anything super dark or complex. These pros and cons are based on what the game was trying to be, and I think that it succeeded, so it left a good impression. Pros: [list] [*]Free [*]Short but sweet story, in my opinion it's as long/short as it needs, although I was left wanting more, and more could've definitely been done in this setting [*]Competent, likable protagonist [*]Cute art, surprisingly good for a solo free project on Ren'Py, even if some drawings look amateurish, the art's more than good enough (seriously, my girl, your art style is amazing) [*]Interesting world and character design [*]Cute and distinct love interests (the red-haired one is best boy but I also like his brother [spoiler]and the other guy who tags along lol I forgot if he's a secret route so I'm putting this in spoilers. Also the blue-haired guy who didn't get a route was cute too[/spoiler] [*]Satisfying romance [*]Nice use of music [*]Funny and light-hearted dialogue [*]Perfect amount of drama [*]Excellent character interactions, loved the banter and relationships between the different characters [*]Comfy everywhere, from the writing to the menu design and the sounds [*]Amazing extras for those who enjoy it when others talk about their OCs or just like behind-the-scenes stuff [/list] Cons: [list] [*]The faces/anatomy are weird sometimes like I said, but personally I find it charming and not too distracting. (I'm aware that the dev's art has gotten much better since making this game) [*]I wish this VN was longer :( [/list] In short, this is a very light otome game that has a lot of love and effort put into it. For a free short VN this is actually well above average, it manages to be entertaining and look good at the same time. I don't really know you, reader, but I know that if you like otoge, you will probably like this one. To think that there are some absolutely AWFUL to the point of being insulting, barely-functional otome games made by actual non-indie companies that they charge you too much for reading and are longer but truly soulless, when there are better written and more charming games out there that you can get for free, like Magical Otoge Ciel. I'm glad this dev made more games in the same universe, although I would've liked it if they were in chronological order, lol. But I definitely want to play [strike]Magical Otoge[/strike] Moon Observatory Iris (of which I've played the demo), and any other games in the same universe. If the dev manages to finish them, of course, because it looks like she has a loooot planned for this series. If you like this VN, I also recommend [strike]Magical Otoge[/strike] Moon Observatory Anholly, which is also free, although it's not directly related to Ciel and it's a kinetic VN. It's not on Steam, but can be found on itch.io. And if you [i]didn't[/i] like this game because you thought it was too immature or not serious enough, you still might like Anholly more because its plot is more serious.

100% recommend, it's cute, awkward love and (sort of?) a slow burn, so not exazctly what I'm used to but still adorable <3

Игра «Magical Otoge Ciel» сочетает элементы визуальной новеллы и эротического контента. Сюжет развивается через диалоги, а визуальная составляющая выполнена в японском стиле с приятной графикой. Персонажи интересные, но сюжет предсказуем. Основная привлекательность — романтические и эротические сцены, которые могут не понравиться консервативным игрокам. Технически игра стабильна, но локализация оставляет желать лучшего. Подойдет фанатам жанра, но не рекомендуется для широкой аудитории.