Title: SoulSet
Genre: Adventure, Casual, Indie
Developer:
NoBreadStudio
Publisher:
NoBreadStudio
Release Date: 17 Dec, 2016
English
I was curious and played the demo. I really enjoyed some of the characters, and the story was enough to get me interested in purchasing the full version, so I did. Both the characters and the plot really grew on me and I was engaged enough to follow through to many of the endings, will likely play through eventually to all of them. Haven't been that interested in visual novels up to this point, this one is definitely an interesting story that keeps you guessing and has both some messed up and comedic moments. It was all text, no voice acting, but I tend to prefer text because I like imagining what the voices sound like myself, so that didn't bother me.. + Involving mystery that delivers new clues across every route
+ Excellent cast of characters
+ Competent, savvy and brave protagonist
+ Bad endings are an important part of the storytelling
+ Dateable ladies!
+ At least one poly ending, with lots of most excellent poly shipping hints in general
+ Friendship routes are available if you don't want to smooch anyone
+ Sex scenes are non-explicit, focus on character dynamic, and are basically all optional
- The true route doesn't quite live up to its potential
- Mishandling of certain LGBTQ elements along a specific route
- Character designs are great, but the actual art looks stiff and disproportioned at times
Stop me if you've heard this one before: A group of strangers wake up trapped in an isolated environment, with no memory of how they got there, where the threat of danger is ever-present and no one can fully be trusted.
This describes quite a few visual novels, but chances are the ones that immediately leapt to mind\u2014999, Danganronpa\u2014were all quite good. And luckily, SoulSet fits snugly among them with its ability to weave a good mystery across multiple routes and endings.
If you're bored of generic otome slice-of-life plots, SoulSet delivers a well-written fantasy thriller that's immensely refreshing. Not only do the characters pretty much always do the logical thing, they're downright smart.<\/i> Half the time they think of something I wouldn't have. I was slightly disappointed that all the clues and information eventually added up to answers that, while logical, didn't quite build up to an emotional climax the way e.g. Danganronpa does. But the fact I'm even comparing an indie VN made by a two-person team to one of the most popular VN franchises says a lot in and of itself.
The characters are a good combination of complex and likeable. The entire cast bounce off each other in fun ways, occasionally even pairing off over the course of a route. Mariko is a great heroine to be at the center of it all. I was beyond thrilled to realize that the cool goth lady with the metal claw was going to be my player character. She's convincingly confident, flirty, and clever, a breath of fresh air in a world of blandly naive otome heroines.
Unlike most otome games, the characters don't just stop talking to you when you're not pursuing them. No matter which route you're on, the characters (and their relationships with Mariko) are constantly being developed. The subplots they have going on never simply vanish just because you've chosen not to focus on them, and sometimes that will<\/i> have consequences. It makes the characters feel nicely independent of your influence, driven by their own struggles and motivations.
I'd recommend not bothering to follow a guide or recommended route order at all, at least at first. Every route you play reveals new information (which the game keeps track of as colour-coded "clues"), eventually unlocking new paths for the story to take. That means no matter what ending you get, it's never a waste of time. This includes the bad endings. A lot of VNs use bad endings to punish you for making the wrong decisions, often just insta-killing you so you're forced to restart a scene. But in SoulSet, bad endings are carefully thought out branching points that, like everything else in this game, constantly feed you an addictive drip of information and insight into the characters' motivations.
I do have two complaints, both quite spoilery. Shira's crossdressing isn't handled well at all. She could have been written as fully trans, which would have been fine. Having her identify as a guy with no qualms about his gender is an odd choice, but it also could have been alright if it were written tactfully. Instead it honestly felt like the writers had no idea how to write characters with blurred gender identities. Shira's pronouns were a mess. There's never a discussion about whether he'd prefer masculine, feminine, or neutral pronouns, but the narration continues using "she" even though he apparently sees himself as a cis guy? And then there's the revelation of Shira's "real" voice at the end, or the way Mariko basically says that what he's got below the skirt proves he really is a guy during their sex scene... The route also gives you the option to tell Shira you feel "cheated," which is horrible wording that's even more jarring because the following scenes actually handle the situation with maturity and grace, and wind up being a rather touching establishment of friendship. Overall, the way it was written was quite disappointing given how great the game is with its other LGBTQ elements. <\/span><\/span>
In addition, I found the final route that can only be accessed after completing all the others somewhat lacklustre. It isn't all that rare to have one character be the true\/canon love interest; said love interest was even one of my favourites. But the route still didn't feel quite right given everything that came before it. I couldn't help but be disappointed by how Apris, Shirr, and Yvonne were sidelined during Marco's true route, especially since Mariko remembered all her individual romances with them from the other timelines. They were practically written out completely through plot shenanigans. It made it feel like the bond Mariko had with them wasn't as important. It's kind of baffling that you can get a poly ending that includes Shira but not the others.<\/span><\/span> Shirr's good ending actually felt happier for the group at large. Although it's entirely possible I'm just salty about the lack of a poly cuddlepile ending that includes everyone.
TL;DR: Even with a handful of writing complaints, this is easily one of the best otome games I've played, putting as much emphasis on plot as it does on romance. I can't wait to get my hands on Whiteheart Woods and any other future VNs by this team.
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