izigame.me

I really wanted to like this game, I truly did (look at my hours). But there are just too many flaws and it ended up leaving me frustrated.

Good:


Art Style: The art is pretty nice. There are some inconsistencies, like Hayasaka's hair changing color in the new CG. But at least she looks cute in pink.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is actually underrated. I like the song from the first NSFW scene. It sets the mood perfectly. BUT DON'T BUY the soundtrack until they address this: Based on spectral analysis, it seems like they transcoded the tracks, meaning it lost quality (frequency cutoff around 16kHz, typical of 128kbps, yet released as 192kbps). Releasing it as a 192kbps MP3 is bad enough (should be at least 320kbps or ideally FLAC), but transcoding? No thanks, I got a refund, and I forgot to leave a review before I got my refund.
Sena: Thank god for Sena. She's the main reason I kept playing. Ayase is alright, and Hayasaka is...tolerable. She's kinda got the same issues as Nanase (will get to that later). If you're into kinda normal, elegant girls (maybe a little boring, tbh), Sena's a solid 9/10.


Bad:

I can't believe it took me almost two years to finish this game (except for Nanase's route, couldn't do it), and I only stuck with it because of the art. It felt like studying for the boring exam.
Story:

One wrong choice and bad ending guaranteed: It's obvious after a while, but it's still annoying AF, especially if you like to experiment. Just use a guide or if you're feeling techy, press ` and type var to check the variables. But seriously, just use a guide to save your sanity.
The Cafe Owner is a Total Asshole: You're basically a fresh grad hired as a scapegoat for a failing business. You manage to pay off like 4 million yen of the debt, and what does he do? Tries to shut the place down anyway! (Even though the business is actually making profit now!) Turns out, you weren't even told about the full financial picture, which is actually about 14 million yen in the red (9.6 million after the 4 million you paid off). Like, why not just close the damn place to begin with instead of hiring a new manager if you have given up on this place? And if you're "lucky" enough to get the good ending? This asshole owner still owns the place.
The Good Ending is Impossible in Practice: You gotta pay off almost 10 million yen, PLUS a new loan you signed, in just TWO WEEKS. Oh, and Nanase slaps you for some reason.
Everyone Blames You (Even in the Good Ending): Even if you manage to perform a miracle and save the cafe in the good ending, everyone will unreasonably blames you at some point. Because the owner still tries to shut it down, just that you do some magic to save it. When business fails, they blame the manager who is trying to do miracle to save the business instead of the owner who make it running in red to 14 million yen and not even disclosing it until it's "over", right?
The MC is retarded. He could've just told the girls that the cafe was in financial trouble from the start. I get that it would make them worry about their jobs, but that's the point! Still, he didn't do exactly wrong, he's just being a naive "idiot", not "asshole". You know what's even more frustrating? That last word come from the girl that YOU MIGHT BE DATING (depending on route).
The MC Has Main Character Syndrome: Why would he co-sign a loan for a business he doesn't even own, especially with that asshole owner? Oh, because "we're family". Why not make the maids sign it too, then? Makes no sense.
Why doesn't the MC just start his own cafe? He even co-signed that loan! At that point, you'd think he'd want some equity or just buy the place out.
The Pacing is All Over the Place: The story drags on and on when it shouldn't, then suddenly speeds up when it should slow down. You only get a few days of actual romance. At first I thought the game was just too short, until I realized that it took me only a few hours less than Nekopara, which I thought was a pretty long (albeit slow) game.

Character & Routes:

Nanase: I don't care if you have a humiliation fetish or not, Nanase is objectively abusive. She threatens you on DAY ONE by flashing you. And it doesn't stop. If you're a masochist, you'll probably love her. But guess what? Not everyone is into that. 0/10. If you hate being abused, you'll probably hate this game because of her. I couldn't even finish her route. Maybe they could, I don't know, let us optionally avoid her abuse in some way?
Hayasaka: She's also mean to you, especially when you have to cut work hours. To get the good ending in some route, you HAVE to apologize to her the day after cutting hours. Don't apologize? Bad ending guaranteed. Oh, and she's dating Nanase, which you don't find out until you choose her route or get a bad ending. And you don't even get to see them break up if you choose her route even though she says so. It would've been a nice touch to show the depth of their relationship. She gets a little more interesting on her route. I even enjoyed her dates the most. They felt more balanced than Sena's formal dates or Ayase's hyperactive ones. However, the music straight-up didn't play during her first sex scene. And there's only one real sex scene with her instead of two. The second one is just a blowjob. Rating: 1/10 if you don't play her route (because forced apology). But, if you talk to her (which you have to because of the apology), you'll see she has a playful side. 6/10 if you play her route. She's actually a decent character once you get to know her, and she could've been the best if she wasn't so mean. Fix the bugs, maybe add more to her character, and she could be much better.
Ayase: She claims she's manipulating you into liking her. Not sure how, because I didn't see it. She's really obsessed with sports. If you like sporty girls, you'll love her. If not, she's still okay, but be prepared for dates that involve running and playing sports instead of actual dates. And again, only one actual sex scene. The second one is just her masturbating for you. Rating: 6/10, I guess? Depends on your taste.
Harem Route: It's practically IMPOSSIBLE to get without a guide. You need a high harem score AND specific low scores with each girl. Seriously, don't even try without a guide or checking variables.

Technical Issues:

Live2D: The Live2D is just... there. It's just there to make the characters look less static, but you barely notice it because you're too busy reading anyway. Some of the animations are so bad, it would've been better to just not have Live2D at all. No Live2D in the sex scenes either, which is a huge bummer for this price. They could've used that money to hire a better writer, honestly. Or at least polish the animations more.
People keep talking about gender issue. I don't really care, but it seems like an easy fix to just add an option to choose pronouns. This seems like a relatively simple fix.


Final Verdict

This game has a lot of problems right now. The story needs a lot of work, some characters are just not okay, and there are some technical issues. But the art is nice, the soundtrack is great, and Sena and Ayase (and Hayasaka had she not been so mean) are a good character. Still, I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy this.