What's a visual deal breaker to you ?

[junjonn]

Basically what the title says.

I find myself considering the art first and then the rest, so when the artstyle doesn't please me it's an immediate deal breaker. Both the character and background art btw. There is something that i can't stand, and it's when both character and bg don't blend well together. If it looks like the chara was pasted on top of the environment like a sticker i just can't help but sigh. Maybe i'm being picky lol.
A COUNTER exemple to this would be Ken ga kimi, i think the lighting really helped make the visuals feel natural and smooth.

Another more specific deal breaker was the constant layer of random blue patches on the character sprites in Black Wolves Saga. I'm not sure if it was meant as lighting or bounce light or whatnot but just can't get past it even though i did originally want to play.

 

[ninnikuryona]

(i hope its relevant to the topic)

when i check out 18+ otome, if theres way too much focus on the mc's body, its an immediate turnoff for me. same with her being voiced, but thats a separate topic. like, if i want to see a sexualized female body, i can just read a galge, right? i feel like its so disrespectful to the players. thats why i have complicated relationship with succulent titles.... and to think they even hired male artists to draw for their games.........;
* on the other hand, if developers warn about malegaze cgs on their game's page, i immediately feel, i dunno, slightly more forgiving? though ive only seen it with one developer (gayoushi), and shes not even making otome anymore.. haha;;

also, its probably obvious, but the usage of ai is a huge no-no for me. i would rather read a visual novel with scribbly mspaint artstyle than some gorgeous ai generations. art is a big part of a good experience, so i believe human-made productions are important!!!!!!!!! (and i feel like ina would agree too w)

 

[junjonn]

when i check out 18+ otome, if theres way too much focus on the mc's body, its an immediate turnoff for me. same with her being voiced, but thats a separate topic. like, if i want to see a sexualized female body, i can just read a galge, right?

is it immersion breaking? that's kind of how i see it at least. i personally love fleshed out and pretty mcs more than plain ones but mcs that look fresh out of a galge would be a total miss with me lol

also, its probably obvious, but the usage of ai is a huge no-no for me. i would rather read a visual novel with scribbly mspaint artstyle than some gorgeous ai generations. art is a big part of a good experience, so i believe human-made productions are important!!!!!!!!! (and i feel like ina would agree too w)

i didn't even think of that lolol but that's an obvious and important one for sure (she most definitely would! wah!!)

 

[ninnikuryona]

is it immersion breaking? that's kind of how i see it at least. i personally love fleshed out and pretty mcs more than plain ones but mcs that look fresh out of a galge would be a total miss with me lol

not for me at least!! i have no problem seeing the mc as her own person, in fact i prefer it that way. and i love pretty mcs too! but if i read a 18+ otome, i would love to see some femgaze fanservice (with extra attention to male body), since, you know, otome games are made for women!

 

[nemaiaish]

When visual is breaker to me me.
Is when difference between love interest body and MC when their body difference look very weird is turnoff for me.
And of course use of ai ai so so so Nono for me why use ai in visual novel :(.
I believe in human products not ai made

 

[Valderisek]

I think I'm pretty open to whatever the vns look? (If the vn is a comedy/parody i can overlook a character body and face disproportionated. Even, i can play the game for that only reason, just to have a laugh). When it comes to an otome that doesn't contain or explain that this is 'intended' to be funny well... I do tend to be picky ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

First and foremost:
—Everyone has their tastes in men in the otome genre. But yeah, I can't play a vn if the men doesn't look appealing to me. I don't know, sometimes if the premise is interesting enough i do try to play and overlook the 'ugliness'...but that doesn't end well and i drop the game (sorry for falling in the pretty privilege stereotype).
—A second No-No, is if the game doesn't have warnings in flashlights or sudden movements ＼⁠(⁠◎⁠o⁠◎⁠)⁠／. I don't care if i like the game or the premise, i like to keep my sanity. Luckily, most games have an on-off button or warn you...but yeah, i did have bad experiences without warnings .
—Lastly, when it comes to AI is something I can't really overlook even if i know the vn or game is made its art with AI. Too much uncanny valley, i don't know (that's why i also don't like to play 3D vns). There's something that makes me feel uncomfortable (also because of the AI malpractice to artists) and i cannot unsee it.

 

[TurtleLover]

I love self inserting so if the visual anatomy of the characters is completely wrong, then it makes it difficult for me to immerse myself in the stories. Additionally, as some other people said too, AI makes me want to not support them. It's incredibly disrespectful to actual artists.

 

[candt24533]

When the MC is faceless / has no features. Bro I don't want my romance MC to look like some eldritch horror :(

 

[Fishish]

When the MC is faceless / has no features. Bro I don't want my romance MC to look like some eldritch horror :(

I fully agree! Usually if they set it up like this it means it's a self insert game so I'll avoid it regardless but even if you were to be creating a self insert game why not just make the art first person, I'll never understand the faceless MC

Other than that though I don't think I have any particular dislikes in artstyles! I'll base my opinion on most games on story more so than visuals and I find a lot of "unpolished" or older artworks super charming even if they aren't conventionally beautiful though a modern lens. I grew up playing like flash games and other passion projects before ever moving on to full length professional releases so nothing art wise really phases me and I would hate to miss out on a gem because I was snobby on looks! Like I can think of multiple visual novels I think are AMAZING that have kinda janky art in multiple genres (higarashi, clannad even something like hatoful boyfriend!) like I have course looked at some CGs especially and had a giggle but once again I think it's kinda endearing!

In modern games it's less of a factor regardless, most games nowadays are beautiful!

 

[Sakuragawa]

If a character (who is supposed to know better) holds a weapon wrong, especially if it's unsafe/dangerous to attempt in real life.

Spoiler

Like if they're striking a pose by pointing a gun at their own head, finger on the trigger.

 

[Arisara]

When the MC is faceless / has no features. Bro I don't want my romance MC to look like some eldritch horror :(

Same. But recently some otomes have not only facelless but grey and bald MC. Idk how ppl can feel selfinsert? Looks scary and i always think she seriously ill or some alien. Even if it's just a silhouette..

 

[7Senses]

When the MC is faceless / has no features. Bro I don't want my romance MC to look like some eldritch horror :(

This! It looks too weird for me, even if I don't self-insert. At least give the character 2 plain black dots for eyes haha.

I also don't like it when any character looks off proportionally/anatomy doesn't make sense :>

 

[johnotome]

LOL 100% agree with faceless MC and when the proportions are off.

the biggest thing that bothers me though... are when characters pose unnaturally haha

dang im trying to find the game where this was a huge culprit.. hang on.

edit: this guy from amnesia: memories.

edit2: i guess stick legs from this game was also criticized which i kinda agree with too lol

 

[DoDoPopping]

I really care about whether the characters' expressions actually have personality.
Not really into outfits that feel thrown together—if there's some cool creative detail, I'm all for it.
Colors that are too dreamy or bubblegum-y aren't my thing either.
I'm more into clean, bold-line seinen manga styles than a polished, refined style.
But honestly, what matters most to me is still how the story unfolds.

 

[mizumachi]

if an otome goes for a more realistic artstyle, my interest in it usually is very minimal. luckily that's only a small minority of them, but i feel like so much of the appeal for me is gone when the LIs look real

 

[Igneisia]

Like a lot of people here, faceless MC yeah
I forced myself to play some older Voltage games and I was weirded out by the CG
Some people on reddit were saying it helped them self inserting better but it's too disturbing for me
Other than that, I can stand having a MC with soulless eyes (Amnesia ) especially when there is a reason for it

 

[Nikokiri]

Faceless MC and weird proportions bothers me and all, but what really disappoints me is seeing High-budget games that feature an offensively low number of sprite variations and CGs, I just want the visual aspect of visual novels to receive the same amount of detail that the voice acting and the writing receives

 

[thesunkissed]

faceless and gray+bald MCs :( i just cant bring myself to like it. completely breaks the immersion. they look like they're making out with a mannequin.

 

[badpun4you]

I really dislike faceless MCs

 

[Nekosen]

I can pretty much dig anything even quasimodo looking characters. But goatees and ugly facial hair are not for me

 

[zhaobudao]

For me, inconsistent art where character proportions change or CGs don't match the sprites is an instant deal breaker—it completely ruins the immersion. I also can't stand generic, same-face character designs that feel lazy and lack personality.

 

[ozkun]

• Regarding the content:

I don't like games that prioritize the canon guy too much. I especially hate it when the other LIs only get half-baked happy endings, while true happiness is reserved for the canon route (usually the True End). Some games even treat each route as just a reset process for the MC until she reaches the True Ending. I find it so unfair. Why can't every guy have a satisfying, complete happy ending with the MC? Another reason is that I rarely ever fall for the canon guy.

Because of this, I've skipped quite a few popular titles. I know this trope is super common, though, haha...

• Regarding the display:

I really don't like games with this kind of layout:

I play otome games for the characters first (I love looking at the art) and the story comes second. Why on earth would they display the dialogue in a way that covers the entire background and the characters like this? I usually pick games based on the art style first. There have been several games I actually liked (including the one in the picture) but I ended up skipping them anyway just because of this layout.

Also, I can't stand games with tiny text. My eyesight isn't the best, so if a game has poor, small, or hard to read fonts, it's an auto skip for me.

 

[raspberyll]

I'm not a fan of realistic art styles like Love and Deepspace, for example. It feels a bit uncanny to me personally, even though I've heard a lot of good things about the game itself :( I just can't get past the art style.

 

[hiver]

I'm not a fan of realistic art styles like Love and Deepspace, for example. It feels a bit uncanny to me personally, even though I've heard a lot of good things about the game itself :( I just can't get past the art style.

This, mostly! I can tolerate a lot of style choices in visual novels but realistic leaning 3D styles pull me out of the story more often. I tried LaDs and I think I would have actually stuck with it if it were 2D or at least anime 3D styled.

 

[sabrinaaa]

hmmm probably when something feels a bit off proportion-wise? like i cant even explain it but my brain keeps noticing it…
and maybe lips sometimes if they look a little strange i get distracted
but honestly if the art grows on me i'll adapt… im weak like that :3