Release Date: August 27, 2026 (Worldwide)
Developers: Voltage Inc.
Publishers: Voltage Inc.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T( Teen)
SYNOPSIS
The night of a crimson crescent moon, you find yourself transported to a realm called Saligia.
Far removed from your everyday life, you’re in a world where magic is commonplace.
In the midst of your confusion, before you appear five beautiful princes.
They crave the power your kiss can bestow, and will scheme to get it.
But what they seek is not just your power.
They want your heart as well…
ART AND MUSIC
| Director: Takeshi Kimura (Voltage Inc.), Kaori Narumi (Voltage Inc.) | |
| Artist: Futaba Hazuki (main), Murashige (chibis) | |
| Scenario: Voltage Inc. | |
| BGM/Soundtrack: Voltage Inc. |
CHARACTERS AND ROUTES
Court of Darkness: Adoration’s Kiss follows the exact same common route as the first and second volume of the series. Just like the previous two games, this one also adheres the usual structure of most Voltage Inc. mobile titles, which allows you to immediately choose a character’s route right after completing the prologue and common route.
Adoration’s Kiss is about the valet consorts’ routes. Basically, you’ll be romancing the valets of the previous princes: Jasper (Guy’s valet), Tino (Lynt’s valet), Grayson (Roy’s valet), and Knight (Toa’s valet). The valet routes do not spoil each other, and much like most of the COD LIs’ stories, they are pretty self-contained. So, there are no route orders or even a recommended one intended for this title.
Note: The CGs shown below are promotional images for the game, Court of Darkness: Adoration’s Kiss (the ones you can see on the game’s eshop page). All spoiler-related content in this review will be hidden behind a spoiler drop-down, that you can choose to view at your own discretion.
TINO MAES
- bread man 🍞
Tino (full name, Valentino) is Lynt’s devoted valet. Very caring and gentle-hearted. Goes above and beyond to look after his master, from feeding him some bread he himself makes, to tucking him in for his regular random naps. He also continuously praises Lynt, but he can sometimes feel inferior about himself and tends to be overly critical of his own abilities as a valet.
It’s a shame this port isn’t voiced. I would’ve really loved to hear Wataru Hatano as Tino, even if only as his partial VA.
I think Tino’s route in Book 1 is quite decent. His green outfit literally defines how much of a green-flag LI he is. He’s generally a nice and pure guy through and through. In fact, he’s almost too nice, to the point where he can’t bring himself to be stern with the bullies bothering MC. Instead, he finds other ways to stop them from bullying her without directly confronting them (which I kind of have mixed feelings about), but well…technically, that’s just how he is as a person. Just like his master Lynt, Tino doesn’t like confrontation. So, in tricky situations where sometimes you need to be a little more hard-nosed, he’ll usually brush them aside to avoid conflict.
I’m sure Valentino’s story gets better in Book 2, but his route here in Book 1 definitely wasn’t something that sparked much interest for me. His Mischief Ending, however, was great (on spice), and I enjoyed the fan service far more than a few of the Mischief Endings across all three volumes! (laughs)🤭
⬇️ Spoilers
One of my pet peeves in otome games is the constant rehashing of the highschool bullying/pack of mean girl singling out MC trope. The instance those same generic sprite girlies came onto the screen, badmouthing/bullying MC to filth, just like they did in the previous princes’ routes, I just rolled my eyes so hard. Not this again. I’m honestly getting tired of this same tropey conflict being tossed into these routes over and over again.
I didn’t like how Tino handled the bullies either. It felt rather spineless of him not to sternly defend his woman, but I get it. He hates conflict and tries to avoid confronting others, which is pretty much the entire debacle of his route. Basically, with MC’s help, Tino learns to grow a pair of balls and stopped being such a pushover. Overall, I’m not a fan of the route or Tino’s overly nice-guy personality. At least the spice in his Mischief Ending makes up for his pusillanimous side! LOL
JASPER LANE
- the man that you are
Jasper is Guy’s right-hand man and loyal valet. Usually calm and mild-mannered, he carries himself like a gentleman, but he can also be surprisingly persistent and stubborn when he sets his mind to something.
Honestly very surprised by how much I enjoyed Jasper’s route! It’s probably one of the best routes I’ve played in COD, which is saying a lot given there are a whopping 14 LIs across all three volumes. Jasper is also one of the older LIs in the COD roster, possibly the oldest even? Though, tbh, I’m not quite sure what his actual age is… (laughs)
Unlike many of the other routes, where the plot revolves around some conflict finding its way to the school and involving MC and her LI, Jasper is very much the character who pushes his own story forward. Ha! I guess that’s the most generic way to describe it without spewing any spoilery details, so take that as you will!🤪 Perhaps my only gripe, is how painfully nosy and annoying MC is here.
⬇️ Spoilers
Okay, Sirius (Jasper’s other form) is hawt af! I don’t blame MC for being stupidly thirsty here, that she literally follows this handsome stranger, gets drunk with him, and then shacks up with him at a love motel. LMAOOO LIKE OK GURL I SEE U HAVE YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT!🤪
I was apprehensive about playing this route at first because I thought they were going to play up some kind of love triangle with Guy, which I would absolutely hate. I love Guy, and seeing him treated as a rival, yet again just like what they did to him in other previous princes’ routes just pains me. But NOPE! I was surprised to get this many great interactions with Guy here, and how much we get to see Jasper and Guy’s relationship and brotherhood at play, rather than simply their master and servant dynamic. I found their bond genuinely interesting, to say the least!
If there’s anything worth ranting though, its how MC really got on my nerves in this route.(laughs) I get it though. It sucks being left in the dark, so her curiosity gets the better of her. But girl, how many times do you need to be told and repeatedly warned on how dangerous things are? Both Guy and Jasper tell her not to get too nosy or involved in the ongoing Avarian conflict. She knows full well how much of a risk she puts herself in by getting involved and knows she can’t exactly defend herself, BUT babygirl still chooses to fuck around and find out anyway. Like, girl, BYE.😭 Tbh, it’s a good thing Jasper and Guy’s relationship hard-carried this route for me, so it kind of makes up for MC’s shortcomings. (laughs)
Also, since Jasper is an older LI, he has far more experience in well……the bedroom! So this was probably by far the spiciest route COD has showcased a main route for Book 1. Lastly, I need a Jasper and Guy 3P! Perhaps there are already fanfics of this, so… I guess it’s time to dig through AO3 hell!🤪🤪🤪
GRAYSON HOTZ
- emo
- apparently the best kisser accdg to MC 👀
Grayson serves as the valet to Roy and Sherry. Quiet and stoic by nature, he has managed to carve out a place for himself in a world where magic reigns supreme, despite having none of his own. He is also highly skilled with a sword.
Another route in this volume that I wasn’t exactly a fan of. I think a big part of it was because his route felt very similar to Tino’s plot-wise. If I hadn’t played their routes back-to-back, I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to the similarities. But since I played them consecutively (a fault on my part because I love binging otome games),the repeated conflict definitely made me wince a bit.
⬇️ Spoilers
Just like in Tino’s route, some random character who’s part of the LI’s past comes to the school under the guise of “visiting”, but is actually there to replace them as a valet. With Tino, it was Daan, his cousin. With Grayson, however, it was his friend Joel, who is also supposed to be a “mundane” (non-magic folk) just like him. His entire conflict revolves around Joel trying to either replace him or join him as a valet to both Roy and Sherry. Although this isn’t exactly a 1:1 comparison to Tino’s story, it is similar enough that, unfortunately, bored me a little bit.
On a more hilarious note, I did enjoy seeing the very random scene of Grayson getting drunk and then proceeding to flirt and kiss everyone that moves! LMAO WHAT. Apparently, as Fenn said, he’s pretty much always been like this, so I have to wonder how many of the princes or other consorts he must’ve smooched before when he’s under the influence. (cackles)🤣
KNIGHT
- shota but…
Knight serves as Toa’s loyal valet. Although he is known for his sharp wit and snarky remarks, it’s clear that he shares a close and genuine bond with his master. He is also rather fixated on becoming taller and will try all sorts of methods to add a few extra inches, including drinking more milk. Knight cannot use magic, but he has speedy reflexes and can move pretty fast.
Ngl, I was ready to speed through this route, as *actual* shota characters are some of my least favored LIs in otome games. But to my surprise, Knight’s route was actually pretty pleasant and became my second fav. in this volume! Knight’s story to me, was pretty different from the other consort routes, in the sense that it beelines more toward Knight himself and a couple of conflicts happening outside of the school. I guess, atp, I’ve just tapped out with the same ol’ affray centered around their magical campus, so anything happening outside of it feels fresh to me. lol
This route also involves a lot of Toa screentime, which is another plus, given that Toa was fav of mine from the first volume. Another thing to note is that, by far, this was the only route in this volume where I wasn’t annoyed with the protagonist 😅 (cackles). She was actually a great support character for Knight, and I really liked their dynamic!
⬇️ Spoilers
So Knight is actually NOT A SHOTA and has an actual adult form. I never knew there was a character like this in COD, so I was completely caught off guard when his sprite suddenly sprung into an adult. (cackles) Yes, adult Knight has a separate sprite! 🤭He switches between his shota and adult forms quite a few times throughout the entire route, but I think his adult form is the more prominent sprite, which I guess was a good thing since I wasn’t a fan of being a cradle snatcher! lmao (Kinda wish they did this with Kanoa too in Sins of Kaleido, y’know! More adult Kanoa, please!) Anyway…
Apparently, someone embedded a Sigillum Arcanum inside Knight when he was young, which caused his physical growth to become stunted, hence why he remains in his shota form. It also prevents him from using magic, which explains why he is unable to use it like everyone else. However, what triggers his magical powers and adult form to return is physical contact with MC.
This route was very interesting, since we learn a lot about Knight’s past, who he was, how he was able to enter the Qelsum Kingdom, and how he became Toa’s valet. I was also really surprised by how heavily involved Toa is in this route. Who would’ve thought Toa had used ancient magic on Knight to suppress his past and keep his memories tucked away? I actually feel bad for Knight because, on top of having no memory of his past, his master also hides a lot of the truth from him. It’s a little sad that he had to discover everything all in one blow.
MC was a pretty good support character here as well. Instead of being overly thirsty and sassy like she is in the other routes, she was much more calm and level-headed when it came to helping Knight recover his memories and discover his true identity. I did feel like his route was missing quite a few pieces, though, such as how he became burdened with the Sigillum Arcanum in the first place. I’m sure they’ll get into that in Book 2, hopefully! Still and all, this was a very interesting route, and one that I would definitely seek out a continuation for!
MAYU SEKIGUCHI (Main Heroine)
Is it me, or is Mayu/MC even thirstier here than in the previous two volumes? Save for Knight’s route, where her thirst was a bit more tame, the other three routes felt like her hormones were running rampant! (cackles)
I understand that thirsty MCs are definitely more common in mobage (or at least from the many I’ve played), and they seem to be more in demand on the mobile platform. But too much of it, to the point where the thirst and sass become her entire personality, idk… it can sometimes feel like overkill to me. This is, however, more of a personal preference than anything though! So, if you’re someone on the opposite end of the spectrum who loves an overly thirsty MC in otome games, then Miss Mayu Sekiguchi is your gal!
SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION
Similar to the first and second volume, the UI for Court of Darkness: Doration’s Kiss mirrors the mobile app version, but without the other mobile features such as Daily Lessons, the Battle screen, avatar screens, etc., and definitely no microtransactions.
Consort Perspectives
These are scenarios in certain chapters that play out from the LIs’ perspectives. You can view them by selecting an LI of your choice on the title screen, and instead of going to their Book 1 story, you choose “Consort Perspectives” to see their POV in some chapters.
PROS:
- Rewind Feature
- Log Views
- Heroine’s Name Customization
- Chapter Select
- Skip READ function
- CG Gallery
- New opening movie exclusively for the switch version (playable in the EXTRA section)
CONS:
- The game is not voiced
- No heroine side image sprite
- No Dictionary
- No Love Catch System
- No Music Gallery
- No Skip to the Next Choice Function
- There are only 5 CGs per route
- No end credits that play after each ending
- The CGs are displayed in a zoomed-in landscape format. Since the original CGs were made for mobile and meant to be viewed in portrait mode, the in-story versions for the Switch end up cropped. The only way to see the full, uncropped CGs is by viewing them in the gallery.
Localization
Voltage’s localizations have always been pretty good, both in their mobile and console games, so I had confidence that this one would be done well too. And yep, the localization was great! Maybe I’ve only spotted two or three typos at most, but everything else was pretty solid!
TRAILER
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Unlike the two previous volumes of Court of Darkness, there are only four LIs in this volume compared to the usual five, so it was a bit quicker to finish. I believe it took me around 10–12 hours to complete the entire game, give or take. Since this title isn’t voiced as well, I wasn’t playing it on auto mode and was able to read through the dialogue at a much faster pace.
Time to Romance the Handsome Valets!
Adoration’s Kiss, is probably the final volume for the Book 1 routes in the Court of Darkness series. This time, we finally get to romance the ever-trusted royal valets of the five princes. This volume, I’d say, is certainly an indulgence for those who’ve been eyeing the princes’ personal aides since Volume 1!
I think this volume also did a tremendous job of pulling the valets out from their masters’ shadows & giving us a deeper look into their personas by unraveling *most* of their backstories. You see, it just really felt nice to understand these characters better when you get to learn more about the contexts surrounding their pasts! Plus, getting to see how they came to be the appointed aides to their kingdom’s princes was also really interesting. Moreover, it was also rather fulfilling to see more of the valets’ relationships with their masters explored in their routes, and tbh, I think this was actually one of my favorite little tinges of this volume!
My enjoyment of the routes in Adoration’s Kiss varied depending on the LI, though I can say for certain that most of the valets have pretty decently enjoyable routes. None of their personal stories/backstories made me double-take or roll my eyes out of sheer offense! (cackles)🤣
Also, not sure if I’m just overly biased with Avarians, but Jasper was definitely the star of this volume for me. He really proved himself as Guy’s expertly capable right-hand man. And my gosh, I love seeing the silent yet powerful bond between him and Guy that exists beyond their master-servant relationship! Romance-wise, Jasper was also killing it with his mysteriously amorous side, which I thought was kinda sexy. Ha!😋 So despite my exasperation with how pestilent MC is in his route, I was able to stomach it because I enjoyed her rapport with Jasper. Knight’s route came in second place (for this volume), and to my surprise, he also ranked pretty high with me among all the 14 LIs in COD.
❤️ LI Ranking: Jasper > Knight > Tino > Grayson
📝 Route Ranking: Jasper > Knight > Grayson > Tino
For the negatives, I did notice quite a bit of rehashing, especially with the slice-of-life parts of the game. For example, the mean-girls-bullying-MC trope that pops up in the first few chapters of some routes, I’m starting to get tired of. Tino and Grayson’s routes were also kind of similar in terms of their conflicts, which was probably why I was pretty lukewarm with them. The repetition can definitely wear you out, especially when you’re playing these stories back to back, so I definitely recommend spacing them out from each other.
The endings for Adoration’s Kiss, however, I seemingly enjoyed all around. Though, again, just like the other volumes, if you want the spicier endings, I’d say the Mischief Endings for this volume were noticeably spicier than the other Mischief Endings in COD, specifically Jasper’s, Tino’s, and Grayson’s. 🤭
Do I recommend this game? YES.
Court of Darkness: Adoration’s Kiss is Volume three of the COD series, featuring the valet consorts’ stories! If you weren’t captivated enough by the roster of consorts available in volumes 1 and 2, perhaps their valets will suit your fancy! There’s certainly more than meets the eye to Jasper, Tino, Grayson, and Knight, and I think their routes and unique personalities were rather flavorful! As always, this volume keeps things nice and breezy, making it a great pick for those stress-free downtimes when you just want a simple, carefree otome experience with a bit of that old-school charm.
Now that all the LI routes are out for Book 1, I hope we get their Book 2 story updates soon for the Switch too!
