[h1]Casting curses has never been this much fun or risky... :o[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]TRUE LOVE'S CURSE[/i] is a fantasy, word puzzle visual novel developed and published by npckc. You're Matin the witch, and you're the owner of a magic shop that sells curses. As you're about to close shop for the day, a mysterious stranger appears, wanting a love charm and even offering to pay triple your usual price. Because the offer is extremely tempting, you agree to help out the customer. However, when that customer returns and wants another love charm, then you might start to suspect that something is off about them...
As for the gameplay, when it comes to creating a curse, you're given a scroll that has the curse, and you have to fill in the question marks with certain phrases that are given to you. Depending on the combination of phrases chosen, either you'll progress with the story, getting the standard ending, or you'll get a bad ending. There are a total of 6 endings, and an epilogue is unlocked after obtaining all of them. Steam achievements are available, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game".
[h2]Review[/h2]
I've been a fan of npckc's visual novels for a long while now, and I got excited when [i]TRUE LOVE'S CURSE[/i] was offered for review, so I wanted to get around to it on the sooner side. Also, seeing that the game is part of [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46105077-Nonbinary-Coded-Games/sale/nonbinarycodedgames]Nonbinary Coded Games[/url], I wished to highlight a game from the event. (BTW, definitely check out the event. It has a lot of great games on sale, some of which I previously reviewed. ^^)
[h3]Story and Gameplay[/h3]
The story starts off on a fun note. Matin is going about their business, wanting to close shop, but then that mysterious stranger enters and offers a lot of money, which Matin can't resist. I like Matin as the MC. They have a fun personality, and I laughed when they spouted all the disclosures about curses and not being able to get refunds. As for the stranger, his personality only shines when his identity is revealed. As the story progresses, it makes sense as to why the stranger wants those love curses, and then Matin has to reveal a very important piece of information to him. Without going into major spoiler territory, let's just say that it's quite the twist on your classic fairy tale. I like how the relationship between Matin and the stranger grows, and I enjoyed the standard ending although it makes me thirsting for some sort of follow-up to that. In regards to the bad endings, they are quite hilarious, and I really enjoyed the epilogue, as Matin meets the target of the love curse and a fun conversation ensues.
With the gameplay, creating the curses using a set of phrases makes up the main core. Ranging from frogification to musical incompetence, creating phrases is a lot of fun and can lead to plenty of antics, especially if you get the bad endings. If you want to go for all the endings, it can take quite a bit of trial-and-error with the combination of phrases to do so, but after you complete the story once, you can access a skull poster in the main menu where you can create curses without going through the story again. You can even get hints if you're having trouble getting particular endings. All achievements unlocked for me without any problems, and you can complete the game fairly quickly. (It took me around 35 minutes to get all the endings and the epilogue.)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3765649559
[h3]Art and Music[/h3]
The art style is cute as always, and having played a lot of npckc's games, I've gotten used to the style. There's a lovely hand-drawn feel and there's just the right combination of colors. Although there isn't any of the usual CGs that are present in visual novels, CGs in the form of character sprites and getting to know the characters are unlocked in the CG gallery in the main menu.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3765649287
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3765649366
As for the music, the tracks have a spooky but light-hearted feel. They're all instrumental, and they give off that vibe that you're in a fantasy setting. The music is delightful to listen to, and if you like it, you can purchase the soundtrack for this game.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]TRUE LOVE'S CURSE[/i]? If you're looking for a short but very fun visual novel to play, you enjoy word-type puzzles in which you can create curses (for better or worse lol), and/or you like getting fairly obtainable Steam achievements, then it's worth checking out. For the asking price, I think it's fair, but you can wait for a sale, and it's in a Steam bundle.
Finally, I'd like to thank npckc for the review copy. Creating curses was quite fun, and as I mentioned earlier in my review, I would like to see some sort of follow-up between Matin and the stranger although I enjoyed how the story wraps everything up well and in a fun, light-heated way. ^^
[quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]
