Do you read reviews? What's important to you in a review?

[osanajimimi]

I usually don't read many otome reviews. Sometimes the ones I find contain spoilers or feel biased. I prefer reading reviews based on someone's experience, with just the essential information.

One thing I find really helpful in a review is a recommended route order, especially for players who prefer to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

 

[wisteriatree]

The recommended route order is definitely the first thing I look for in a review. I always prefer to read with story flow in mind over any personal character preference.

I also think it's nice to see a warning if the writing is particularly misogyny-heavy. I'm fine with reading otome with such topics, but sometimes I'm just really not in the mood for it.

 

[Yara010]

I usually read reviews AFTER game to see others thoughts on LI I liked for example

 

[Liiiii]

I almost always read a review or two before deciding if I want to play a game. For me a review needs to be as spoiler free as possible, while still conveying the feel of the game to me. I try to look at the things the reviewer likes or dislikes about the game in order to understand if the game could be for me. A negative thing for the reviewer could be a positive thing for me or vice versa, so I try to match things they say to my preferences. For example, if a reviewer says the good endings of the game are to convenient, then that would be more of a plus for me. I dont like bad or to bittersweet endings and if the reviewer says the endings are to convenient, it almost guarantees me a really happy ending for everyone! I also like to look at route orders as others have already said. But if I have already decided to play a game, I wont read reviews about it anymore and only look at route orders and walkthroughs.

 

[usagi-k]

i love reading reviews even if it's about a game im not interested in playing ! i love seeing people's thoughts and if someone comments on a scene or character they really liked it helps me feel excited for them even if they arent my type ^^; for spoiler heavy reviews i tend to bookmark and read after im done with the game but when people make impression posts or describe the general vibe of the character i really love reading those before i start a game !

i also really prefer when people specify the recommended order since it makes it easier for me to choose who to start with ^^; i will say though i dont really trust a review if it's purely positive since it feels like it isnt very accurate to the experience so what's most important to me is when i read a review and i can tell that the person wrote it critically or at least put some thought behind it instead of simply promoting the game !

 

[Iiiiii]

After getting traumatised because of a certain route in an otome game, I got into always reading the reviews of the games before I play them lol. Though I prefer them spoiler-free. Also, I don't have as much free time as I used to be, so I unfortunately can't play every new otome game, so I need to be picky with my choices :( and reviews are a good way to gauge that

 

[藍色水珠]

I don't read comments before I play the game. Avoid being spoilers or preconceived notions. After all, comments are very subjective. Everyone's preferences are different, and it may not be suitable for you. It's like tasting delicious food. Only when you try it yourself can you know the taste.

If it is based on the premise of non-spoilers, I will refer to the recommended strategy order or favorability/system tips.

When I finish customs clearance, I will read other people's comments. It's more realistic.

 

[ninnikuryona]

i do read reviews! mostly to see if there are any landmines that i need to look out for, because unfortunately it is very common in the genre for whatever reason. i often end up spoiling myself because of that, but its better to get spoiled but know what you are potentially getting into than trying to clear a title and get smacked in the face with some unfavourable elements. if i ever get to read them after that, of course! lol

recommended order route is a given too. im very dumb when it comes to following the story through non-linear narration, so if it can be all laid down before me in an easily digestible way, id definitely prefer that:D

but also, besides the points above, oftentimes reviews talk about how good/bad the game actually is in other aspects. like, if the romance is compelling or not, if the story is a snoozefest, if cgs are weird. stuff like that is often important!
for example, i was surprised to learn that tmgs4's cgs are the biggest hated point among reviewers, among other things.. though i havent looked at them, because i want to experience the game myself one day, but, well, at least these reviews helped me to brace myself for whats in store! lol
or tengoku struggle, which, aside from the usual landmine, has an (allegedly) unsatisfying romance plot and a nonsensical heroine. maybe i spoiled myself a bit, but at least i know what to expect now..
or, this is a bit unrelated but still, since no one on the en side discussed my9swallows, i was shocked to see from the reviews that the game is like, enormous! like, 80-90h enormous. probably will take me even longer with ocr + mtl, but still, what an interesting info that was..!
so all in all, i think reviews are very useful..!!

 

[ninnikuryona]

After getting traumatised because of a certain route in an otome game,

what happened:0

 

[Meowtastic]

I do! I oftentimes also look at what other otome games they reviewed so I can have a good idea what they really like or dislike, and in turn know whether I would like that certain game or not. Sometimes, the author might dislike certain themes that I like, and vice versa.
They can also be a good way to know playing routes in which order would give the optimal experience, and sometimes how to unlock the secret/true route.

 

[Iiiiii]

what happened:0

Sorry, I have no idea how to spoiler mark on this site or if it's even possible. So read at your own risk ladies.


It's the Ichiya route from Variable Barricade, my poor baby didn't deserve the absolute emotional torture he went through :( (and me playing as the one subjecting him to it made it even worse)

Maybe I'm just hypersensitive, but I shed many tears and I couldn't wait for it to be over. By the end of it, I just wanted to isekai myself into the game and save him, and actually give him the love and care he deserved.

 

[ninnikuryona]

Maybe I'm just hypersensitive, but I shed many tears and I couldn't wait for it to be over. By the end of it, I just wanted to isekai myself into the game and save him, and actually give him the love and care he deserved.

awww thats so blessed!! but yeah, if he is your favourite character but he also gets absolutely tortured by the game itself, its not for the faintest of hearts...... im sorry you had to learn the hard way...................

also, here are some spoiler options!

first one hides the text like this, while the second one

Spoiler

like this!:D

 

[myfrral]

I don't read otome reviews because different people play the game and have different feelings. I am afraid that others may reveal the plot of the game or have some personal opinions inside, which may affect my interest in playing the game. I like playing games in completely unknown situations, and at this time, I am full of curiosity and anticipation.

 

[woodypei]

I read reviews about games Im curious about that I am currently not playing, and don't mind a little bit of spoilers. So basically games Im not super excited for LMAO. Since at the end of the day, reviews can still affect my view on a game. Like a lot of my friends viewed Matsurika no Kei and Unlogical very negatively when they played it before me. So I made sure to steer clear of any impression on those two that I was quite excited for.
I do still pick and choose what reviews to read. Early on playing JP unlocalized games, I got burned by blogs spoiling the whole plot and a lot of important cgs. So I pretty much don't read reviews from blogs anymore unless I am sure I will never play the game.
vndb reviews are often the safest, but there often aren't reviews posted on the games Im interested in. Being in otome discord groups is also helpful bc spoiler tags are often quite strict on there. Amazon JP's reviews are mostly spoiler free/spoiler minimal, but it doesn't always have a good comprehensive review.

 

[ichigomilk]

Not really, unless I'm wondering if I'll enjoy the game or I need to check to see if the game has a recommended route order. When I need to read reviews, I always look for and try to read spoiler free ones because I don't like being spoiled and want to avoid it if I can. If I can't find any spoiler free ones, I just quickly skip to the overall thoughts at the end lol.

I take the reviews I read with a grain of salt because everyone has different opinions and stuff they enjoy. The only time I'll believe a game is bad and probably best to avoid is if the vast majority agrees the game is bad and doesn't recommend it.

 

[mitsumitsu]

I mostly read reviews if I'm done with a game/route, I tend to avoid spoilers as much as I can. But I do like to hear the thoughts of the community so I read reviews/playthroughs on reddit and blogs, maybe there's some neat easter eggs I missed and it's nice to hear different points of view.

If I'm too curious about a game, I do open up reviews to quench my curiosity lol. A lot of times I just take them with a grain of salt because some games I enjoyed quite a lot aren't appreciated in English speaking spaces(I still don't get why everyone hates 7'scarlet so much), and a lot of the games the community enjoyed just weren't my cup of tea. One man's kusoge is another man's kamige I guess.

 

[ninnikuryona]

One man's kusoge is another man's kamige I guess.

beautiful.

 

[Mitsurugi]

If I happen to find a reviewer with similar tastes in games, I tend to look at just the rating they gave it to figure out which game to try out first. Eventually I would like to play everything out there, I wish I could split myself to play everything...

 

[Suzu鈴]

Before I start a game, I only check the recommended route order. After I finish the game, when it comes to mind again after some time, I usually read reviews instead of replaying it. So I prefer reviews with lots of spoilers.

 

[mitsumitsu]

beautiful.

i like to gaze fondly at the games i gave a 10 when they barely got an average rating of 6 on vndb

 

[SmallEagle]

I may give a quick look at some reviews just to get the vibes of the game and see if it's worth to buy it.

 

[dogiwall]

I only look at reviews for the translation quality especially since most of my experience would be reading and I don't want to correct things often or make dialogue sound better in my head every line lol. I would also look on takes on the quality of the writing and what people liked and dislike about the game to see if I would like the same thing.

On a side note, I can't stand "reviews" by people who either hate visual novels, otome, or both for obvious reasons lmao. And I don't like those who go "thing I dislike = it's objectively bad" since that's not even factual and it's a matter of their taste. I would rather negative reviews to be at least actual unbiased constructive criticism tbh. Like I've seen some dude give a very rude negative review of a free untranslated indie otome game on Steam (イロハニホヘト/ Irohanihoheto) and he didn't even say anything about the game at all. He just spouted about his hatred of visual novels and go on a tirade about how vns aren't "real" games, along with rudely mocking the premise and calling it and the writing "cringe" (he most likely didn't even read it even with a translation tool). That review pmo so badly.

 

[noch]

I also only read reviews after playing the game, mostly to stay as spoiler-free as possible. I don't want the review to affect my perception or expectations going in, so that's why I prefer after, once I've already formed my own opinion and thoughts on the game.

If I were to think of an analogy, it's kinda like a conversation (albeit one-sided since the reviewer prob doesn't even know you exist). Imagine listening to someone rant and rave about an otome game they just finished: specific scenes that were memorable, LIs they liked the most, characters they didn't like, unanswered questions about the plot, and so on. Wouldn't it be a much more meaningful and engaging conversation if you had your own thoughts about the game? Otherwise, all you really can do is nod along and take their words at face value. It becomes less of a conversation and more of a lecture, which is perfectly fine if you're reading for informative purposes before playing a game, but I prefer the former.

 

[ninnikuryona]

On a side note, I can't stand "reviews" by people who either hate visual novels, otome, or both for obvious reasons lmao. And I don't like those who go "thing I dislike = it's objectively bad" since that's not even factual and it's a matter of their taste. I would rather negative reviews to be at least actual unbiased constructive criticism tbh. Like I've seen some dude give a very rude negative review of a free untranslated indie otome game on Steam (イロハニホヘト/ Irohanihoheto) and he didn't even say anything about the game at all. He just spouted about his hatred of visual novels and go on a tirade about how vns aren't "real" games, along with rudely mocking the premise and calling it and the writing "cringe" (he most likely didn't even read it even with a translation tool). That review pmo so badly.

ooooh so true, especially for steam! you often see reviews like "this is not a game but rather a visual novel. it doesnt belong on steam" and its just ?????? okay?????? no one forced you to buy a product without literally checking what it is about? you didnt think to read other reviews to see if its a visual novel, with or without choices? these reviews seriously deserve to get reported since they offer literally nothing of value to potential buyers/players/readers
but also, steam is full of normies, so this is an expected reaction. for vns, especially otome, you are better off seeking reviews on other platforms.. if they even exist that is..;;

 

[Pancito]

Honestly, I don't read many reviews before buying a game. I usually read two or three just to get a general idea and see if there's anything I should be aware of, like a route that stands out or an aspect that might not be for me. That said, I prefer reviews with as few spoilers as possible because I enjoy discovering the story on my own.