Idea Factory and its otome factory, Otomate, is at its best when working with stories based in history. Hakuouki, for example. Or the first Birushana, which was set in the Heian period of Japanese history and let you hang out with Benkei and other famous boys (made pretty) while the Genpei War raged around Japan. I believe this to be…
People love K-pop idol groups, and this is one of the least controversial things I’ve ever written. Where J-pop has traditionally struggled outside of the domestic market, K-pop has become one of Korea’s most powerful cultural exports. So it’s entirely unsurprising that there would be K-Pop Idol Stories: Road to…
As you all know, I’m working on a visual novel about my…
FallenCranberry and Okasan’s Recipe have announced that the dark dating sim and…
Set in contemporary São Paulo, visual novel Pivot of Hearts explores the idea that love doesn’t follow a single path. Branching relationships are determined by tarot-based choices, a gameplay mechanic explored in my recent interview with Brazilian developer Dragonroll Studio. The game’s narrative explores love, identity, and the many forms…
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I’ve played some great games that use in-game smartphone mechanics; for example, I love 2017’s A Normal Lost Phone. Waiting for Reply brings this type of gameplay to a visual novel format as you interact with the world through your smartphone. Use apps to send messages, check emails, take photos,…
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Brazilian indie developer Dragonroll Studio has been making games since 2019, but until now, they have all been game jam or free titles. Its focus is on making cute, subversive games. The team is poised to launch its first premium game, visual novel Pivot of Hearts. (A free demo is…
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Games that touch on mental illness can be difficult to both develop and play; if not done correctly, these games could do more harm than good to their players. This is a risk that Borealis and Eastasiasoft take with Secrets in Green, a game that follows a mentally ill woman…
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Today is the first anniversary of the Japanese launch of otome visual novel Utakata no Uchronia. Aksys Games is celebrating by announcing its English title, Illusion of Itehari, and confirming its release on Nintendo Switch in late 2025. It will be available physically and digitally, with physical pre-orders open now…
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What if Harry Potter was an otome love game and not written by a horrible woman who seems obsessed with being a one-person “can you separate art from artists” talking point? Battlefield Waltz is a bit like that. It’s a story about a bunch of teens in a special, magical…
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Otome visual novel Hakuoki SSL ~Sweet School Life~ first launched in Japan for PS Vita in early 2014 and re-released (again, in Japan) for Nintendo Switch in 2023. Today, Eastasiasoft announced it will publish the game for Nintendo Switch with English language support in the West. This standalone game is…
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It was only a few weeks ago that heartfelt game Hanako’s Flower Shop was announced with a release window of April, and today a specific launch date was pinned down for late this month. The game follows the titular character, a young woman at a crossroads in life. She decides…
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It’s nearly springtime in the Northern Hemisphere, and in a month nature will be well on its way from brown and muddy to green and blooming. What a great time to launch a game about flowers! Hanako’s Flower Shop is a shop management visual novel about running a flower shop,…
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Horror is such a difficult genre for artists to work with. People think it’s easy because they have memories of more-comedy-than-scary slashers and B-grade films, bad acting and all. There’s also the perception that it’s not a particularly subtle genre, and therefore must be quite easy to work with. But…
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