Idea Factory International has announced a release window for its upcoming otome visual novel, Homura: The Crimson Warriors. Digital and physical versions of the game will be released in North America during March 2026. Digitally, the game will be released in Europe during the same month; however, its physical version won’t launch until April 2026.…
Idea Factory International has revealed a Western release date for its upcoming game, Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights. The title will launch digitally and physically in Europe and North America. (Read on for specifics!) The game’s website has also been updated with information about the game systems.…
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, otome visual novel Hakuoki SSL ~Sweet…
Japanese otome visual novel Kurenai no Homura: Sanada Ninpouchou launched for PS…
I’ve been quite excited for office romance otome visual novel Sympathy Kiss to launch in the West; it first launched in Japan in 2022, and in July of this year it was announced to be coming West in 2024. The game follows a woman at her job for a mobile…
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I struggle to think of a more consistent developer than Otomate. The Idea Factory otome specialist developer produces games at such a rate that I’m convinced the only reason we don’t get all of them in the West is that the localisers simply can’t work that fast… and that’s a…
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What happens when you blend the otome visual novel sub-genre with death games like Danganronpa or Squid Games? Essentially, you get Charade Maniacs. This is Idea Factory’s latest to make its way out west and it’s an intriguing and eclectic thing. I don’t know if this particular fusion of ideas…
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Immersive work-life otome game Sympathy Kiss is coming west, physically and digitally, for the Nintendo Switch early next year. It first launched in Japan last year, so we haven’t had to wait too long for this localization. Play as a new designer at an app development company, tasked with breaking…
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Have you ever played a game that feels like it was designed specifically for you? Jack Jeanne is just that to me. In fact, I’m working on a visual novel project myself, and I’m shocked at just how thematically and structurally similar it will be to Jack Jeanne (at least,…
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Very, very rarely does a game get made about the Tokugawa Shogunate. There are thousands of games about the Sengoku wars that came immediately before, and there are plenty made about the end of the Shogunate as well. The 250 years in the middle, however, are largely blank (at least,…
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I think otome games are pretty great; then again, I’m a woman, so I’m also their target audience. Regardless, the more the merrier! It’s especially nice when a game is launched that may have been overlooked at first due to its platform. And that’s kind of how I feel about…
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Wow did Lover Pretend have the potential to go places. Thankfully it doesn’t, ultimately, but there were more than a few moments on this game’s journey where I felt particularly uncomfortable about some of the flags that it was throwing up despite it being a narrative that is, by developer…
Read MoreFormerly set to release on August 25, Idea Factory’s Jyuzaengi: Engetsu Sangokuden 1 & 2 for the Switch has instead been pushed back to a new release date of September 22, with a somewhat vague “various circumstances” being the explanation. The history of Jyuzaengi has its roots enveloped in the…
Read MoreTouken Ranbu is a game about pretty boys. Who are swords. And travel around time, Quantum Leap-style. I’ve got to be honest with you, if you had told me that at some point in my life I’d be playing an anime boys game whose closest direct comparison is an ‘80s…
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