So. This game is a tricky one to categorize. On the one hand, it is one of the better D3 games I've played. On the other hand, D3's standards of quality are a bit... lower... than most otome games I've played. So I'll proceed with a "YES, RECOMMEND, FOR A D3 GAME" but see the Meh and trigger warnings to decide whether this is the Game For You.
Office Lovers is about a young woman, let's call her Faceless MC, who works at a major cosmetic company in the marketing department. She's a nerd for polls, is very hardworking, but wants to move into the development department. She is also very Bad at putting on makeup--doesn't seem to know how to use it at all. Well.
She makes in-depth charts and reports for fun, and one day the head of the development department reads one of her reports and is impressed. So even though she's at the bottom of the employee ladder, she gets invited to join the project team for their Christmas limited edition set and is selected to work alongside one of her coworkers on an aspect of the project: eye shadow with the head of development, the serious and strict Akihito Hyoga; lipstick with her former boss, the kind and supportive Sadayoshi Saijo; perfume with the cheerful and friendly designer Mahiro Kunizu, who started at the company at the same time as her; nail polish with the cool head of the PR department, Ryo Kaido; or as the CEO Hiroyuki Otori's secretary. But CEO Otori makes a weird announcement at the start of their project: No one can date within the team, unless the MC dates him. *wink*
So... moving on to The Good:
+ MC is actually pretty decent FOR A D3 PROTAGONIST. Let me be clear, you are not going to find a complicated and well-written character the likes of [insert big commercial game] but for a D3 game, I was impressed. Only Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya has churned out a better protagonist FOR A D3 GAME ("FaD3G"). (Keep that phrase in your head as you continue to read this review. Everything in perspective, after all.) She has ambition, drive, a desire to move up. Sometimes she gives in to the guys' machinations, but for the most part she will push back when they're harassing her or bullying her. Example: people mention the fact that all of the guys comment on how terrible her makeup is--which is a bit weird when you're working in a makeup company, to be honest--but she responds back with, "Well, you are all dudes who don't wear makeup so don't tell me that I should spend precious time to apply some." Of course, she does later accept she needs to improve her makeup skills, but imo she is not the wilting flower some of the reviews are making her out to be. She has dunderhead moments, nothing too ridiculously offensive, but if she didn't, I would question whether she was a robot or not.
+ There was a surprising level of research in this game, with regards to the makeup development and production process. Some people might find details like this boring or unnecessary, but I live for a minimum of low-level research efforts. I have no idea if any of this is accurate, but it was believable and made me feel like the setting wasn't just a throwaway. They talk about sampling, color choice, product testing, customer interest surveys... I appreciated it. It also added to the portrayal of MC as a person with goals.
+ There are a couple of sweet routes with decent relationship development for the length of the route. I personally found [spoiler] Mahiro's route [/spoiler] to be my favorite. [spoiler] Sadayoshi and Akihito [/spoiler] also had decent routes too.
+ Short and sweet. You can get a full route in 1-2 hours. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. I choose to be positive and want some short stories interwoven with my long otome routes.
The Meh:
o Art is better than a typical D3 offering (except Men of Yoshiwara)--but a little generic. The dudes are generically handsome. Generically styled. Nothing memorable or special, but also nothing offensive.
o The story. It's simple, easy to follow, and employs a LOT of tropes. So if you can't enjoy or at least tolerate a silly plotline, like corporate espionage or the use of an affair to raise the company's profits, then turn back now.
o The romance is not going to be a slowburn. It's only 1-2 hours after all. So all of the dudes are interested in MC from the start, but unlike the other games I've played, they're not constantly pawing at her all the time. Yes, they show interest and it's obvious to the players when they're trying to spend time with her one-on-one, but I didn't find it to be a huge problem. There was the appropriate level of development to the relationship for the length and complexity of the route.
o The game does employ a lot of scenarios where the LI is very obviously into the MC but she is a bit unaware or uncertain of their real intentions. In real life, this is an absolute thing, but in the game world where we are primed to know LI's feelings, it can be a bit tedious to wait for MC to sort out what she thinks.
o Subtle and not-so-subtle sexual harassment. Yes, there is some pretty blatant sexual harassment. I wouldn't say in all of the routes. I only found it really bothersome in one of the routes because the dude was also bullying MC at the same time and asking her point-blank whether she's ever had sex, which is awkward. In some cases, MC points it out or is very direct about not liking it. Unlike their other offerings I've tried, D3 does a better job of letting us into the head of the MC and showing that while she may be resisting, she actually likes being pursued in this fashion. Without this level of introspection, it would most definitely feel like dubcon and be uncomfortable, but our girl likes to be pursued. If you personally do not enjoy that and feel like it would ruin your enjoyment to see that happen to a willing character, then do not play this game. Some routes employ questionable consent more than others, but in every route there is at least a kabedon or something similar. See The Oogly for the worst offender.
o One of the routes can be a bit eyebrow-raising, as that character has a penchant for inappropriate humor, but once you get used to the character's personality and see the interactions between him and MC, it's not so bad. I think of him more as an overexcited slobbery dog that you just have to shove off of you every now and again.
The Oogly:
- Music is blergh. Turn it off and put your own tunes on. (If you're still willing to play, that is.)
- One of the routes is preeeeettty trashy. I'd say expect verbal abuse, blunt remarks to MC that she needs to get laid, patriarchy, and bullying. One comment that sticks in my mind is him telling her she's his "dog on a leash" or something. o.O The rationale for his behavior is kind of stupid, and MC is probably the least tolerable in this route because she loses some of the spark she has in the other routes--turns out she likes being put down or at least feels grateful for this dude's so-subtle-I-cannot-see-it motives to employ bullying to, er, improve her job performance. All bully and no sugar is not fun.
So tl;dr this is not the game for everybody. If you've played a D3 game and enjoyed it, I think you would enjoy this one. Of the six I've played, I would say this is the third best, after the two Men of Yoshiwara games, and is better than My Secret Pets, Secrets of Me, and Pub Encounters. Keep in mind that it's good for a D3 game.
