Placebo Love

Я АБСОЛЮТНО разочарована из-за того, что в игре романсабельны всего две практически идентичные (?) девушки. Увидев, что игра включает ЛГБТК+, я рассчитывала на то, что среди романтических интересов будет спектр различных персонажей, из которых мы уже сможем выбрать кого-либо, кто, по нашему мнению, больше подойдёт главному герою (или просто того, кто нам самим понравился больше всего). Без разницы "соулмейт" это или нет. Но нет, в итоге всё оказалось совершенно иначе. ЛГБТК+ здесь касается только второстепенных персонажей, но никак не главного героя. Так что если вы пришли сюда только ради, к примеру, слэшной романтики, то можете смело пропускать эту игру и не тратить на неё деньги. Окей, допустим, вы, как и я, не хотите романсить этих девушек, но вам интересно дружеское взаимодействие главного героя с другими персонажами или же система распределения времени, поэтому вы расслабляетесь, даёте главному герою проводить время наедине (выращивать маленького электронного питомца даже довольно приятно) или же отправляете его в большой мир, чтобы побеседовать со знакомыми. Однако даже тут фишка в том, что главный герой [i]постоянно[/i] будет упоминать этих девушек в разговорах, ему будут сниться кошмары с их участием, и не будет этому ни конца, ни края. Это серьёзно вообще? В моём прохождении он видел каждую максимум по одному разу (только первая встреча), но они вечно присутствуют в разговорах. Главный герой ведёт себя так, словно влюблён в обеих и не может выбрать одну, однако, я напоминаю (!), они виделись всего один раз и больше после этого не встречались и не разговаривали. И тем не менее главный герой проводит небольшое расследование, он обсуждает этих девушек со своими знакомыми, он пытается узнать, почему эти девушки так похожи. Очевидный недостаток здесь вижу я, очень, очень заметный недостаток. Если нам позволяют игнорировать "соулмейтов", почему же тогда игра так зациклена на них, если игрок намеренно выбирает дружеские связи и путь одиночества в романтическом плане? Один только данный момент уже значительно портит впечатление от игры. Конечно, только на основании этого я бы не стала оставлять отрицательный отзыв, поскольку у неё немало положительных сторон. Радующая глаз графика (пиксель+диджитал для персонажей в диалогах), приятные цветовые сочетания, хорошо прописанные беседы с персонажами, которые уникальны, живут своей жизнью, имеют своё мнение. Читать интересно, не сказала бы, что захватывает, поскольку разговоры всё-таки имеют серьёзные нотки повседневности, однако при этом истории вызывают эмоциональный отклик и желание узнать больше. Но... здесь опять присутствует большое "но". Как только вы достигнете статуса "connected" с персонажем, удивительно, но проводить время с ним вы больше совершенно не сможете. Всё, это конец. В списке знакомых персонаж присутствует, однако он становится закрытым для взаимодействий на выходных, что дико напрягает. Разве у него в один миг пропало всё то свободное время, что он мог проводить с главным героем? Никто не требует, чтобы на каждого персонажа было прописано, к примеру, по двадцать сцен, но почему нельзя было ввести короткие описательные моменты вроде "главный герой встретился с Энни, и они хорошо провели вместе время"? Без таких небольших эпизодов игра становится симулятором лежания дома на кровати, потому что отношения с персонажами повышены до максимума, "соулмейты" меня не интересуют, поэтому остаётся только проводить время дома. Вот это ещё одна ложка дёгтя в бочке мёда. Есть ещё одна занятная деталь: иногда в течение недели появляются уникальные моменты, когда главный герой свободен и может провести с кем-то время. И с кем по умолчанию игра предлагает его провести? Правильно, только с теми же двумя девушками, которых мой главный герой вообще практически не знает. Глупо. И как вишенка на торте: на пятнадцатой неделе в один из таких моментов, когда мой главный герой отказался проводить время с одной из этих девушек, игра просто застыла на моменте смены дня недели без возможности продолжения. До этого подобных проблем не возникало. У меня было сохранение на 10 неделе, я прошла заново. Проблема осталась. Перезагрузка не помогает. Продолжить игру невозможно. Я обычно не оставляю комментарии, но сейчас я реально жалею, что потратила деньги на это, даже учитывая то, что цена не кусается. Отрицательные моменты явно перевешивают положительные. Поставлю максимум 4/10, и то за диалоги и графику.

This is the best incarnation yet of the Twelve Tiles style: lots of design cleverness and humor, excellent writing, ingenious metaphors that tie together the visuals, game mechanics and story -- yet mostly take the form of completely ridiculous fixations, here on beverages -- and a world where abstract social concepts are taken very literally. -- Concept: all the stars/10 -- A delightful schedule-management / social links / mystery visual novel combo, where you play a somehow-soda-related muse that inspires a young man to 1) lie to his mama & besties & boss & some strangers too (or be truthful, why not) until they placebo-like you 2) explore dilemmas such as loving two probably distinct women, and 3) sleuth around a tangle of improbable mysteries and really, really well-written character arcs. Having to constantly choose between lies/truths/somewhere-in-between is a remarkably clever device for tying together gameplay, theme and emotional weight. (for a contrasting mood, I recommend also playing Little Red Lies where the lack of choice is an equally good device) -- Execution: and then some -- I especially appreciated how tight, creative yet cohesive the overall design was, with lots of nice touches like the ways important information was made apparent (and manageable via the various apps), and each character arc being made memorable with its own visual and mechanical peculiarities (including how much some seem to appreciate being lied to!) As for any game of the sort, e.g. Long Live the Queen, the first run (~10 hours long) is not going to be optimal because you need some form of prescience to figure out the bestest timeline, but there's always New game+, and there were a lot clever little hints that allowed me to achieve most of my goals by dead reckoning. -- Bottom line -- Buy it. For your friends, for your enemies, for your long-lost childhood crush who will be confused by the Steam gift, for that weird old lady who gives out tracts of impending salvation. What they need is a bit of ... *title drop* PS: The FDA or equivalent almost certainly would not approve of most plot keys.

A beautiful game about different forms of love. For those who like games focused on the story more than the gameplay, this is definitely a game you will love. It has a casting of very touching characters, and I found myself loving each one of them at the end of their bonds, even though I hated some at the beginning. They are very well written, and each of them brings a particular touch to the story. The plot remains interesting all along, making you theorize more than you'd think you would at first. Don't expect a dating simulator, though. It is much closer to a friendship simulator, with everyone having very interesting points of view on the main plot. I really recommend it to anyone loving good stories!

I can't even begin to describe how amazing this game has been. This has been such a wonderful experience and the story is absolutely beautiful. The characters are so full of life and charm and they're written so well. The soundtrack is an absolute banger. This is a game which will be with me for a long time. Its theme and messages about love, friendship, life and so many other things are conveyed so incredibly and in a way that feels natural. In short, buy Placebo Love. If you love making decisions and watching an incredible story unfold before your eyes, please give this game a try.

[quote] PD: I'm glad to confess it was an instabuy of my part, after hearing the main title song in the trailer. It was a mix of a casual and cozy game, and it evoked that feeling right through me. It somehow told me that even with a mysterious hidden plot, is meant to be enjoyed in a relaxing and chilling way. At first, I thought it was another VN where it is mandatory to chase one of the love routes. But I'm glad I got wrong. [/quote] [code] For Steam Deck users: It runs without problems. Just need some mappings in the button, mostly mouse & left click.[/code] Feeling lonely in your life? The game somehow helps you [b]#by helping find love with someone else, typical scenario[/b]. Meet Lorne in a new job, where accidentally finds himself chasing two identical candidates that appear to be... NOT twins? [b]#almost got confused with twinks, to be honest.[/b] In this Visual Novel, your job is to manage Lorne's weekends [b]#sure, we are not secretaries that fails at that SINGLE task[/b]. Surprisingly, the game made this mechanic fun, by managing influence and having conditions, such as a mandatory self-time moment [b]#I won't make dirty jokes here, we all already thought that.[/b] What's better to bloom all your relationships? Be completely truthful, all-the-time-lying for their sakes... or something in between? The future that Lorne holds is made by your hands... [h3] PROS: [/h3] [olist] [*] Romance can be avoided. Do you hate those twins? Focus more on your relationships. Family is your priority? Leave your employees on read and abandon them [b]#But don't try this at home, we don't promote social isolation.[/b] [*] Long story & Replayability. An average run should be on 7-9 hours [b]#for fast readers only, sorry[/b]. Your relationships with everyone unlock certain endings (counting more than 10, approximately), and you cannot cover all plots in a single run. And yes, some endings may give you more questions than when you started. [*] Cozy vending machines with OST. This game can be used as a rhythm box while doing your sh*t, have your own self-time moment. [*] Marika, a point in herself [b]#Not because her name truly means f*gg*t in Spanish... Kidding... don't look up...[/b] But, to be honest, all his relationships have their charm... Plus, they help meddle further in other relationships! [b]#We don't promote over socializing, either.[/b] [/olist] [h3] CONS: [/h3] [olist] [*] Messages, archives, and additional stuff that are purchased through the run. It's a nice detail, but it may interfere with the gameplay itself. In my self-time moment, sleeping is my priority, what else? [*] The Cat & Mouse is an original game, which I have to admit I'm pretty bad at. However, it's mandatory to play in one of the routes, and it's impossible to play as a feature in the Extra tab. [b]#Trolling just to lose prematurely in a Visual Novel is not a goal I have really planned.[/b] [*] No DLC for their OST. I would sincerely like to support Merlandese for the main reason I could give Placebo Love a shot. [*] Just can't date ... Ronnie? MY RAWNIE??? Even if [spoiler] just came out of me... Couldn't I say yes? Even for pity? [/spoiler] [/olist] [code] [h3] So what do you think? [/h3] If you are a fan of self-relaxing pace stories, that prove love is not the main reason in life, and somehow imply that chasing true love truly implies a large mystery within, then it's your game. I need to haste myself, going to support them at Bandcamp. 9/10 [/code]

The game plays like a more in-depth social link system similar to the Persona games, except with more control and interconnection between the various characters and your personal choices. Only two of the characters are love interests, but the non-love interest characters have strong personalities and stories that will draw you in. For those not familiar with Persona, the game largely plays out on weekends, where you must decide how the main character, Lorne, spends his time. But there isn't enough time for everybody, so you have to choose who you want to spend time with. Each character has their own story, and they link in to the larger mystery in sometimes surprising ways. The choices and number of characters to choose from both grow in complexity as you get farther into the game.You will also earn points as you progress that can be used to unlock additional helpful features or easter eggs, or to trigger certain events. Once you have finished, there is a New Game + feature that allows you to replay the game with additional features unlocked, which should allow greater exploration of any characters or story or choices you missed your first time around. Overall, this was a very nice game that explores choice and love in many forms.

Absolutely wonderful! I loved that you're not meant to be the person in the story: They don't force you to like these girls (girl?) that the player likes, instead you're more like piggybacking on his story, and getting a lesson or three about love on the way. Maybe I'm gonna play it a second time (once I've recovered, it is pretty touching), because I was not really happy with the ending I got, but on the other hand, that's a life lesson too: You don't get another chance at it, so hey, maybe the ending I got is fine enough! Had a few rough edges, namely: - The line height is sometimes too small, causing the lines to overlap and be effectively unreadable - It seemed like there's some bugs in the sound handling; when completing the final bond, it would be weirdly quiet with these weird distortions, almost like the sounds were trying to play but the - The performance is well, pretty shoddy for such simple graphics; my (albeit old) MacBook had fans spinning the entire time, and sometimes I had to save and go to the main menu to make it run smooth again (memory leak?) But eh, these are just bugs that can be fixed, and didn't really impact my enjoyment!

Placebo Love just had a big update, featuring new art and polish, meaning it's the perfect time to play the game. Placebo Love is a friendship simulator. First and foremost, it’s a choose-your-own-adventure visual novel mystery game—where you pick between truth, lies, and somewhere in-between. You act as Lorne's muse, helping solve the mystery of Lorne’s soulmates. This is not a game about dating a full roster of characters, so don't go in expecting a harem. Instead, Placebo Love explores the many forms of love, not just romantic. "Everyone feels a little lonely sometimes." A lot of care and detail has been put into Placebo Love's system and dialogue. This game has some of the best writing I’ve seen from a visual novel, surprises await around every corner, it's a must recommend for any fans of the genre. If you love a great story and fantastic characters, then this game is for you. Everything about this game exudes passion and cleverness, and it's just a heck of a lot of fun. What are you waiting for? All that's left is to order a drink.