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Review of Charade Maniacs

SubjectCharade Maniacs
CharadeManiacs for Nintendo Switch
ByHelpfulness: 1
Vote: 8.5
sakuratwilight on 2023-03-25 last updated on 2023-05-30
ReviewCharade Maniacs is an otome game that contains sci-fi, mystery, suspense, drama, isekai, and slice of life. I had heard many mixed reviews on the game, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But to my surprise, I ended up liking it a lot! The catchy OP song caught my eye and some of the electronic tracks hooked me in.

The story in each route is character-based and very much revolves around the development of said/chosen guy. While it does develop the MC, Hiyori, to some extent, the main focus is very much on the chosen love interest.

The game shares one long common route. About halfway in the common route, you make a choice, which places Hiyori in one of three groups: the investigation group, the cleaning group, and the cooking group. (These are my roughly translated names for them, not the officially translated ones.) In each group, there are three guys, and you share scenes that are more or less slice of life and do not affect the overall story. However, there are certain plot elements/scenes that will be affected/changed depending on which group Hiyori is in.

So, it is one common route, but there bits and parts of it that differ as you play through the different groups. This can make replaying the common route a bit tedious the first time around, as they can be quite long. For me, it wasn't too bad, but getting through it at first could feel cumbersome. (Sadly, I could not find a skip to next choice option/button for repeated playthroughs, but the skip speed was pretty fast thankfully.) However, it was super fun to learn more about the characters and their quirks, and hilarious to witness the group dynamic come to life in the common route.

In the game, there isn't a screen indicator of romance levels. In lieu of that, there is a flowchart that tells you where one currently is in the story. Oddly, I couldn't find an easy way to access the flowchart unless I exited out of the route/scene I was playing and returned to the menu page. But in any case, it was neat to have such a reference.

It was cool to see how every route dropped hints and subtly alluded to other factors in the story, which all managed to come together in the final route. It made each route interesting, and despite repeating certain plot points, every route managed to have its own contained, gripping story. The whole drama acting element in the story also brought a refreshing twist and added to the overall suspense.

Nonetheless, it did feel as though some routes felt more important than others (in its relationship to the overall story). But I enjoyed and appreciated all of the characters and what each route had to bring to the table regardless.

And one note to add was that the finale route was long as heck. If you plan on playing it in one sitting, I would recommend grabbing some snack and a drink of your choice 'cause, oh boy, it went on for quite some time, lol.

The diversity of characters that the game had was awesome. The most obvious one, Mizuki, is non-binary and refers to themself as "they/them" (as indicated by the official translations at the time in which this review is written). There are also other ones, which I won't give away for plot spoiler reasons, but I loved it. While other otome games have touched on some, this game isn't afraid to fully tread into that territory, and I liked it a lot for that.

I also had a lot of laughs, as the written dialogue between the characters is great during light-hearted moments. It was a nice change of pace from the usual suspicious, on-edge atmosphere. The accompanying CGs were beautiful, and I had to resist posting too many while playing XD There are also many popular voice actors in the game, and they definitely showcased their talents, bringing the characters to life. The bouncers were also super adorable and made for some good comedic moments.

Those looking for steam or lots of sugary romance - this game doesn't have much, as most of the romantic/romance tension scenes are fluffly and cutesy (most of it was towards the end, but some routes had it in the middle too) or suspenseful ('cause of the mystery and all xD). [Although, there were some spicy innuendos added~ XD]

In regards to route order, I would say to play whatever character you're interested in first or play blind (whichever is your playstyle). The biggest spoilers are contained within the three locked routes, so there's no real harm in playing whatever order from the initially available routes. There's no foul for whoever you end up playing first!

Note: Rankings reflect my own personal enjoyment and not on the quality of the route/character!

Character Rankings

Mamoru Chigasaki -> Mizuki Iochi / Mei Dazai -> Souta Gyoubu / Kyouya Akase -> Takumi Haizi -> Keito Ebana / Tomose Banjou -> Ryouichi Futami

Route Rankings

Mamoru Chigasaki / Mizuki Iochi / Mei Dazai -> Souta Gyoubu -> Keito Ebana / Tomose Banjou -> Takumi Haizi -> Ryouichi Futami -> Kyouya Akase

Overall, I had a blast with the game, and I adored the characters and the stories they each had. The themes and motifs the game touched upon were ones I thoroughly soaked up and enjoyed. I definitely wouldn't mind replaying it just to re-experience the drama, haha~!

Despite its flaws and parts that some may not like, it is a game I'll be keeping on my shelf!
1 point