TW: Child abuse, suicide and sexual assault (OH YES WE ALREADY GOING THERE)
This review will contain some spoilers so you have been warned
Where did I find it?
I actually found this game a few years ago when I was broke, desperate, and trawling Steam for free or cheap games to play. It popped out to me, mainly because it was completely free, but also because unlike Hentai Minesweeper (yes that is a real thing) it actually looked kind of half decent. So I played it, then forgot about it, right up until I decided to do my new research project. Not only did it fit the criteria perfectly for this but it also now has a sequel which, whilst not free, I will be playing anyway.
So let's break it down to see if it was worth my time.
A plot synopsis;
You play as a late teen girl (assumedly about 17-18 years old, it is mentioned you are about to finish high school) whose late grandfather, who was CEO of a toy company, wills her a giant house after he dies. Her mother and father (Who is a giant jackass but we'll get onto that later) decide it would be a fantastic idea for her to live in the new house for her final year of schooling in order to get her used to independence. She rocks up at the house only to find five random men all bleeding out on the carpet. One of these men compels her to kiss him (We'll be getting onto to THAT little gem later too) before the other men promptly explain that they are incubi; demons that feed off the sexual energy of others. They then explain that they're being hunted by some asshole and you offer to give them a place to stay so they can get stronger and fight said asshole. Romance with your chosen demon boy ensues.
Whose pants are we getting into?
Well! We have options but I'll give you a snippet of each.
James - The oldest; a sensible and serious type that loves to read. He is, however, a total gentleman. Will make you breakfast in bed, give you roses, if that's what you're into. He is my personal favourite and one of the three that I didn't want to punch.
Mathew -The cutest; Mathew is a cutie, bless him. He's friendly and innocent and one time pulls and ugly as hell rabbit out of his pocket as a gift. Kind of reminds you of your annoying little cousin though. Also has absolutely zero sex appeal if you are over the age of 18 as he kinda just feels too much like a teenage kid. Wholesome demon boy.
Erik - The UGHest; This guy is like the demon manifestation of a man tipping a fedora at you and saying "m' lady". If you go down his route he will call you "princess" 26 times (I kept a tally). Props to his voice actor because every time he spoke I wanted to vomit and then set my computer on fire. He's supposed to be the "flirt" of the group but in reality, is just the biggest creep. Set this whole man on fire and throw him away.
Note: After playing through his full route he's not as bad but still feels kinda creepy.
Damien - The quietest; Sweet and quiet at first with a slightly offputting dark side later on. You will definitely say "Aww Damien" out loud at least a few times. He's really obsessed with humans and being human and hates his powers and hurting people. Probably my favorite character next to James.We also have some non-demon options!
Neomi- The sensible girly friend; Gives off super fem lesbian energy. You can have a cute date with her in a cafe. Super sweet but a bit uptight.
Suzu- The tiny angry friend; Likes dragons and arcades. Super smol lesbian girlfriend energy. Will fight you.
Andrew- Why are you here again?; I dunno why this poor guy is here but I feel bad for him man, I don't think anybody is gonna go down his route. It's kinda boring.
What I did enjoy
All of these characters are fully voiced and the voice acting talent in this game is fantastic. Very few times did I feel like lines fell flat. The dialogue, especially between the five main brothers, is organic and well written. There was also a great amount of romanceable characters in this game and I appreciate the option to romance female characters (although I wish they were more fleshed out). There are an absurd amount of endings and routes to go down especially for a game that is free. You aren't railroaded into gratuitous sex scenes which I'm glad about. The art direction in this game is quite good, I think the characters designs were all unique and well done. I also really enjoyed the world building and lore in regards to demons, it seems like the team who put this together really put effort into it which is welcome in these kinds of games. The plot was pretty decent, it moved along at a decent pace and I never found myself getting too bored the first time I played. Although as I went back through to do different routes I found myself skipping a lot of it.
What I didn't enjoy
Most of my gripes with this game come down to its actual writing style which honestly kind of reads like really bad fanfiction and falls into a lot of writing troupes I dislike. I think some of the character development is lacking as a few of the boys seem like cardboard cutouts of romance troupes. I can tell an effort was made with character development for some of the boys, James has a kind of interesting arch about his responsibility to the throne vs. what actually makes him happy. Again though, this is all kind of predictable. Ironically Erik also has a really compelling story, I use that term loosely however, about why he is the way he is. (Don't get me wrong, he still makes my skin crawl.). Damien is by far the most developed character so if you really want a more three-dimensional character go down his route. The music is also super repetitive to a point where I probably should have turned it off. But honestly, a massive issue with this game is the serious topics it kind of glossed over with no real regard for. Your father is kind of emotionally abusive and at one point slaps you, then this fact is never really brought up again. There's a suicide scene which is handled slightly better but it quite sensationalised. I also really really don't like the way Sam forcing a kiss on you is excused with barely any repercussions. The game kind of redeems itself with the way it deals with consent later on (The achievement for the game "It's ok to say no" comes to mind). But I still think it was a bit dicey for these games to include these things at all as they add nothing to it and have no bearing on the plot whatsoever.
Note: You could maybe argue that the suicide does affect Damien's plotline but I'm still not a fan.
My final verdict
I didn't hate it. In fact, it kind of had the same charm that trashy romance novels tend to do. It has replayability due to its expanse of routes and considering it is completely free that's really impressive. It feels like a labour of love, not a cash grab, and honestly? Despite all its flaws, I'd recommend it if you want a quiet night in with a bottle of wine.
I give it 3/5 bottles of vodka
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