Stuff that breaks immersion

[lyrevega]

Mostly for my self-inserter people, is there details or tropes in an otome that takes you out of the story and breaks the fantasy of being there or even makes it hard to really stay in character?

For example for me its the height of the MC, im considered tall for a woman so then when i get to a cg where the LI has to bend over to reach the MC to kiss her, hug her or whatever that completely takes me back to reality lol like that man is barely an inch taller than me I CAN EASILY LOOK AT HIM EYE TO EYE SO WHY IS HE BREAKING HIS BACK.
I really want to see more non-short MCs

 

[koko36]

For me, one of the biggest immersion breakers is when the MC suddenly acts completely out of character just because the plot needs a romantic moment (╥﹏╥)

Like if she's been confident and sarcastic the whole game, but the second the LI gets close she suddenly can't form a sentence and is blushing at literally everything… girl WHERE did your personality go x)

Also when the MC is ridiculously oblivious. The LI could practically confess, write her name in the sky, and stare at her for 10 minutes straight, and she'll still be like "I wonder if he sees me as a friend…?" (；￣Д￣)

I want my heroine to actually feel like a person, not a collection of convenient romance tropes °

 

[Marrychan]

It doesn't necessarily break my immersion while I'm playing, but it does stand out if a specific CG—whether it's a kiss, a hug, or some other interaction—is just "so-so." I recently finished Temirana, for instance, and many of the CGs really clashed with the background art; it seemed like the artist put effort into the prologue, but then their enthusiasm just fizzled out as they worked on the character routes. The hugging CGs in Temirana are pretty mediocre. The only thing that saved the game for me—keeping it from being a total disaster—was the secret route, though even that left me questioning things at times.

 

[toboa]

when its something too relatable XD. I just stop to think for a minute and my immersion is broken lol

 

[orionsbestie]

height

SUPER AGREE I'm in the same boat lol I just imagine everyone is just a giant. And the world is also bigger... We need more avatars who aren't uwu the tiniest thing ever

Another thing that breaks the immersion is descriptions of the avatar's looks. Yes artist we saw your design has idk blonde hair we know, what does it add to the story to keep bringing it up? why can't you write a love story without relying so much on repeating SO CUTE SO CUTE SO CUTE SO SMALL SO SMALL SO (hyperspecific physical trait)? Skill issue fr.

But the biggest offender... The biggest offender is inconsistency.... Don't make me think something and then force me to do the opposite... Make my thought process make sense with the setting! It's ok if you want to highlight the good traits of our love interests, but don't make me stupid?? Give me some common sense?? Make my actions make sense?? Please??

Edit: This is really not about the games lol but the community... Why do wall/3rd pov players always just yap away like their way of playing is the default?? The way some people worship the ground our avatars walk through and always, no matter what the game is structured like, even when it's a literally faceless avatar (and even bodyless in the case of some amare games) just keep insisting and insisting MC IS HER OWN CHARACTER!!! SHE IS NOT SELF INSERT!!! And they're talking about the avatars of amnesia and sympathy kiss. like lmao some of us like to self-insert in the self-insert game the random default name drops on promos also gets me irked sometimes.

 

[osanajimimi]

I agree that when the LIs highlight the physical traits so much they break the immersion, I mean, it's okay, the predefault design is pretty but you can highlight qualities, something different

 

[joaoka]

It's a nitpick but over requiemz has reward voice lines with the boys hoping you will be happy in the real world too and I found it so off-putting I don't want to be reminded of real life while playing lol

 

[Cyna23205]

When the MC starts showing Stockholm syndrome. Oh god I seriously cannot get into it when the MC starts saying stuff like "I want to understand him more, I want to understand what's in his heart" and then starts acting all naturally affectionate toward the guy who literally kidnapped her, locked her up, and psychologically tortured her (you know, the usual yandere trope stuff).
Like "Sure, he kidnapped me and locked me in a cage, isolated me from the outside world, and he's mentally unstable too. If I accidentally say or do something he doesn't like, he'll punish me… BUT he's actually a good person I want to understand him. I want to stay by his side.".

Some MCs actually manage to escape, only to willingly go back to the guy afterward just because he apparently can't live without her. Girl, just let him die. I'm NOT going back

 

[nerim-w]

Mine is kinda similar, its when the LIs start yapping about MCs physical features like "your skin is so smooth and pale" "such a small and petite figure" "your beautiful golden hair and blue eyes" MATE BE QUIET IM TRYING TO SELF INSERT DAMNN

Like im sorry im not a 4'11 blonde haired blue eyed baddie, I didnt know that was something u liked so much geez like I get that MCs aren't necessarily designed to be self insert characters so they have their own looks, WHICH IS FINE, but it gets annoying when the LIs start emphasising it so much, especially when common traits start to arise across all otome games (petite, pale, light haired) which starts to reinforce its like a beauty standard that i dont fit and maybe that's something I have to work on personally but goddamn it's still annoying lmaoo

 

[shuubaruotaku]

i like when the stubborn li's lighten up and show their love for the mc but when it gets too repetitive it is predictable the next route. i also don't really enjoy when they point out features cus i know i'm nothing like the mc so i feel awkward, its pretty hard to self-insert when they constantly point it out. also when the mc gets stockholm syndrome.

 

[lyrevega]

Edit: This is really not about the games lol but the community... Why do wall/3rd pov players always just yap away like their way of playing is the default?? The way some people just keep insisting and insisting MC IS HER OWN CHARACTER!!! SHE IS NOT SELF INSERT!!! the random default name drops on promos also gets me irked sometimes.

I knoww, before knowing the community i didn't think the normal would be people insisting the MC is her own stand alone character, its so usual that lately I've been trying to get into diabolik lovers but I've seen the Mc being treated as her own person for so long that now that I'm trying to play it i have to concentrate A LOT so i can forget that she's called Yui and actually enjoy the game in my way lmaoo

 

[b3rryb3rry]

Yeah I honestly find it really cringe when the LIs keep bringing up how small the MC is. It just starts getting weird when it's constantly brought up and is used as a reason as to why they like her/want to protect her.
Same thing when they keep bringing up how "innocent/pure" she is. It's just weird, this combination of stuff makes me feel like they want the MC to be a child or something.

 

[orionsbestie]

I knoww, before knowing the community i didn't think the normal would be people insisting the MC is her own stand alone character, its so usual that lately I've been trying to get into diabolik lovers but I've seen the Mc being treated as her own person for so long that now that I'm trying to play it i have to concentrate A LOT so i can forget that she's called Yui and actually enjoy the game in my way lmaoo

So reaaaal diabolik lovers even started as a situation voice series, it's baffling how there's so many Yui fans when "she" Literally exists solely because the yumes/self-inserts poured their wallets out for the boys lol
But it's okay bestie, you're the protagonist in every game you play

 

[satory]

Modern slang and standards in a medieval/fantasy setting. Or any worldbuilding shenanigans. One second you are in a different time and place fighting dragons and using magic, and the next second you are considered a minor because you are not 21 yet Not asking for a hyperrealism, I play for the sake of escapism and lazy worldbuilding is not helping with that

 

[konjikinoyami2]

For me, it's definitely typos and grammatical errors, or just plain bad writing. If I'm really immersed in a story and suddenly encounter a typo or a line that makes absolutely no sense, I'm immediately reminded that I'm reading a script rather than experiencing the story.

Another big one is slang that feels too real-time. If a character suddenly starts using very current internet slang or expressions that feel overly contemporary, it can sound strangely out of place and pull me right out of the setting.

I also get taken out of the story when the writing feels excessively modern, especially when the game starts forcing certain values or contemporary social ideas into the plot or dialogue in a way that feels unnatural for the characters or setting. I don't mind modern themes when they're organically integrated, but when I can practically see the writer trying to make a point through the character's mouth, the immersion is gone.

Basically, anything that makes me suddenly think, "Wait, I'm reading a script written by someone in 2026," instead of thinking about the characters themselves, is an immersion killer for me.

 

[Pancito]

Since I tend to identify with the heroine quite a lot, there aren't many physical details that break my immersion. For me, it's more about her personality. For example, when a heroine is confident throughout the story but suddenly becomes extremely shy or loses all of her personality whenever she's around the love interest, it gives me a bit of secondhand embarrassment lol. I prefer heroines who keep their personality and confidence even when they're in love. It makes it much easier for me to feel like I'm actually experiencing the story as her.

 

[caducus]

This is a little more general because I don't self-identify with an MC when I'm playing, but background sound effects can make or break a story for me. When they're well done, they add so much to what I'm reading - like when a background sound that you're supposed to hear loops smoothly while I'm reading a longer bit of dialogue, or continues over multiple lines of dialogue.

When they sound kind of ridiculous or don't really fit what was described... for example, "there was a loud bang" but all you hear is the sound of like, the splat of a wet noodle hitting a wall. That absolutely pulls me out of a story, full stop.

 

[RoseGold]

I agree with what others have mentioned. Any detail that does not fit with the setting or story - whether it's the way the character talk, bad sfx, etc. - really pulls me out. The story needs to be coherent with itself, if I start noticing inconsistencies then I find it really hard to focus on anything else.
It's not limited to fantasy or historical, either. For example, I was reading the demo for an indie project, and the premise was basically that MC was traveling with her car, and her car broke down in this little town, so she has to stay there briefly to get the car fixed. I, as reader, obviously know she's going to stay there a while, because plot, but she as a character does not. For her, this is a quick stop, then we're back on the road. But then she gets a hotel room and the games tells me she starts decorating it from top to bottom and gives me the option to choose how, like she's going to move there, and all I could think of was WHY? You're planning to leave asap, what are you doing? It was such a silly thing but it completely distracted me from all the rest.

 

[star light]

When I try to act in a way that is far removed from my actual personality, I feel a sense of unease—like something just isn't right.

 

[DoDoPopping]

Although I don't self-insert as the heroine,
I would also really like to see more variation in heroines' heights in otome games.

1. I can't really accept it when a clever and wise LI suddenly seems to lose their usual judgment depending on the situation. It makes me think："How could someone who originally had such good foresight possibly have such bizarre judgment and behavior...?"

2. If a character's voice doesn't suit them, or the voice acting isn't very good,
it can also really hurt how immersed I feel in the game.

3. Sloppy or rough background art makes me feel like I'm being separated from the world of the work.
Background art that has clearly been made with a lot of care and effort can often make the experience much more enjoyable.

 

[myfrral]

I think sometimes, when the plot of a game feels difficult to accept, it can make me suddenly jump out of the game, such as when the plot was supposed to be exciting and suddenly took a sharp turn. The plot didn't meet my expectations, it felt quite dramatic. It will break my immersion.

 

[khatruong1804]

Finish the game

 

[藍色水珠]

I think it's the heroine's personality:

When you meet an object you care about, you are usually smart, eloquent and responsive, but suddenly become slurred, slurred, nervous and abnormal, and may be in trouble.

The character's personality also changes so quickly that the player can't adapt to it and can only laugh bitterly.

It will break the immersion of the game.