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Have you ever progressed through multiple LIs' routes at the same time?

Neomii

Neomii

New member
乙女
Aug 10, 2026
54
56
Have you ever progressed through two or more Love Interests' routes at the same time? (Route-hopping? if that's even a word)
For example, you start Li A's route, but before finishing it, you start Li B's route as well. So then you end up hopping between the two whenever you feel like it, rather than the usual focusing on a single LI's route from start to finish.

I just started a new otome game, and two of the Lis *reaaaalllly* caught my interest equally. I'm tempted to play both routes simultaneously but I'm hesitating due to a few factors. I'm worried it might make it harder to stay emotionally invested or remember specific plot details, or worse, I might mix up plot points between the two and ruin the experience for me.

So I'm curious, has anyone ever thought of playing like this? Maybe even actually go through with it? Or is it just me lol.
 
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I've thought about this a few times—especially with the Diabolik Lovers games, since they're episodic; I considered playing Episode 1 with all the guys, then moving on to the next, and so on. But I feel the same way you do: I'm worried I'd lose the thread of the story. I have played two otome games simultaneously before, and I found that I ended up paying more attention to one than the other. By the time I finished one and tried to pick up where I left off with the second, I'd already forgotten details—it felt like the magic was lost. Since I lose interest when juggling two games, I figure the same thing would happen if I tried juggling two routes at once, which is why I haven't tried it.
But don't worry—that's just my experience; there are plenty of ways to play. I think some people have tried it that way and it works out perfectly for them—they end up enjoying every character's route—though you have to accept that spoilers are a possibility. If you're up for it, why not give it a try for a few hours or a little while? If you don't like the experience, you can always switch things up; if you do, you can just keep going that way.
 
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What probably happened to me is that I was playing a route and it bored me so much I had to switch to another one—like with *Diabolik Lovers* and Laito's route. The same thing happened with *Mistonia* and Alfred's route; I switched to Linus's instead, then went back to finish Alfred's later, hahaha.
 
Tempted, but I never do it. My memory is the worst, so if I hopped to LI B's route, I'd forget what LI A's route even was, lmao. So, I always restrain myself. I was almost tempted to do it recently in Kimi ni Madoi tho lol
:akazukin_sweat:
 
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I always feel like I have to complete a route with all the endings before I move on to the next one. I feel like if I hopped back and forth I'll end up getting a bit confused on what happened in each one.
 
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I've never thought to do this before in the same game. I feel like once I'm in a route, I'm locked into it until I finish it because even though I can save at any time, it still psychologically feels like I lose my progress if I reload to try another route before I finish my current one. It's like, in any given game, I just continue on with my latest save no matter what, because it feels like reloading to a previous one and doing something else that is completely different (if I'm not finished and still plan to continue my original save later) is blasphemous to me somehow?

However, this only applies when within one single game. I've taken breaks from routes to play other routes from different games before. I think because that is completely separate so I don't feel like I'm carrying on from the "wrong" save file? Although I also try not to do that because I want to stay focused on one thing at a time, so that I don't get confused and properly appreciate each story individually. Doing that would probably just be when I'm really bored and not enjoying the story.
 
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I don't do it because I most likely can't handle it, I get confused by trying to read multiple fanfics at the same time so that same thing would likely apply to this scenario lol

I don't think it would make sense to do this narrative-wise either.
 
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A long time ago I used to read up to five books at the same time, and now I read books and also play games simultaneously :LOL: If the route wasn't what I expected/wanted to read, I switch to something different. It can be anoter route in the same game, can be something completely different. Not very efficient, but hobby is not required to be efficient, as long as it's interesting.
 
I usually prefer focusing on one route at a time, but progressing through multiple LIs can be interesting when a game gives you different storylines and choices. I also enjoy exploring racing games when I want something different, especially games with open-world environments, customization, and challenging gameplay.
 
Not sure if this will count, but I did something similar with Jack Jeanne. I got tired of skipping the common route after doing so twice and decided to get through the remaining characters' common routes first, all four at the same time, and stopped once I got to the Univeil performance. Only then did I continue with the recommended route order. Other than that, I'm not one to progress through multiple routes at the same time since I don't want to mix up different plot points. I also tend to stop myself from playing multiple games at the same time, and if I want to start something else, I push myself to at least finish the route I was playing previously.
 
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I've never done that, iirc 😅 My main constraint is limited time + attention span. Once I've picked up a route, I must go through until the end. If I get side-tracked, it will 1000% snowball into something else and I will procrastinate that route for months/years. To stop myself from doing that, I have to stick to my goals lol.

To add, it's easy to get details mixed up when playing different routes simultaneously. Playing different games at the same time works somewhat - though it can be confusing if you jump too much between one and another. At least with different games, the overall setting, plot and characters... are distinct from each other.
But when you juggle multiple routes of the same game, some details start to blur, it feels like the story won't be enjoyable that way?
 
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No, it seems impossible to me bc I want to focus on the LI that's in the spotlight, yet I can play multiple games. I just don't want to mix up information, and I want to invest my feelings in one LI.
 
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Yeah, sometimes I just can't help but think about what would happen on different sides of a story.. so I end up hopping in between my saves. This mostly happens if there's multiple LIs that I'm interested in though, otherwise I'll just progress through the story like most people would
 
I do this on every game that doesn't have a strictly enforced play order. It's absolutely not just you!

It's not for everybody, it can get confusing... but sometimes I'm in a LI 1 mood and sometimes I'm not in the mood for LI 1, I'm in the mood for LI 2. I still enjoy both routes even playing back and forth between the two.
 
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No, I've never tried it before because I know to myself that I will confuse the plots between routes lol. But I get the sentiment of wanting to play multiple routes at once tho because the LIs are just that interesting! But for the sake of not ultimately ruining the entire story for myself (due to my goldfish memory), I'd rather just finish things in one go as fast as I can so that I can get to play the other routes too.
 
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I think I've done this with two LIs at the same time in TMGS before! Other than that, though, I usually stick to one LI per playthrough.
 
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Oh wow, on so many occasions I was tempted to play the LI's route I'm most interested in while I did the recommended route order (a firm follower of proper route order). I think I had tried starting another LI's route but it didn't sit right with me so I just went back to the previous route I was doing. I just feel like if I committed to alternating between two routes I wouldn't be able to fully immerse myself with a single route.
 
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Before playing games, I first look at the character and design of the male lead, and usually play my favorite Li's storyline based on the character I first saw at first glance. If I suddenly find that there are other male protagonists I like more while playing the game, I will play the one I like first, usually following a route until it is completed. Open the next favorite character.
 
I've never done that and I don't think I ever will lol. I already play several games at the same time; I think if I started switching routes, I'd get confused.
 
Usually, otome games have set routes that make it difficult to pursue multiple paths at once, but in some games, I've encountered "jealousy events" where I got to see lines of dialogue from other Li's interests expressing jealousy. It made me feel a bit guilty, but it was an entertaining experience.
 
I've never done that.
I focus on just one character, clear the game with them, and then move on to the next.
 
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