CHLO’S RATING

Masterpiece

  • I have zero gripes. I’m extremely satisfied with every aspect of this game.
  • I enjoyed the story, setting, events, overall plot, and characters (including side characters) to the fullest extent.
  • The overall story had come full-circle with everything that was presented from the beginning (Loose ends were tied together in the finale, plot holes were addressed).
  • I enjoyed ALL the routes.
  • I love ALL the LI’s.
  • The heroine was fantastic, very likable all-around. She’s relatable, and I can empathize with her.
  • The romance was present and believable.
  • I love ALL the side characters.
  • The main cast had remarkable character development.
  • All the plot twists were phenomenally executed. The story was mind-blowing and never boring. I was glued to my screen, I couldn’t put the game down even for a hot-minute.
  • The overall art was breathtaking.
  • The soundtrack was delightful.
  • The user interface was beautiful, and the game system was comfortable.
  • The game is worth the full price.
  • “I finished the game, and I still can’t stop thinking about it!“
  • I will buy merch for this game.

Excellent

  • I enjoyed the story, setting, events, overall plot, and characters (including side characters) to the fullest extent.
  • I am very satisfied but I have one itty-bitty gripe.
  • The overall story had come full-circle with everything that was presented from the beginning (Loose ends were tied together in the finale, plot holes were addressed).
  • I enjoyed ALL the routes.
  • I love ALL the LI’s.
  • The heroine was fantastic, very likable. She’s relatable and I can empathize with her.
  • The romance was present and believable.
  • I love most of the side characters.
  • The main cast had remarkable character development.
  • The story was compelling, never boring, I was glued to my screen, I couldn’t put the game down even for a hot-minute.
  • The overall art was breathtaking.
  • The soundtrack was delightful.
  • The user interface was beautiful, and the game system was comfortable.
  • I believe the game is worth the full price.
  • “I finished the game, and I still can’t stop thinking about it!“
  • I will buy merch for this game.

Very Good

  • I am very satisfied but I have a few trivial gripes.
  • The overall story was great, but there were a few plot holes that weren’t addressed.
  • I enjoyed most of the routes.
  • I love most of the LI’s.
  • The heroine was likable, and I can empathize with her.
  • The romance was present and believable.
  • I like some of the side characters.
  • Some of the main cast had remarkable character development.
  • The story was compelling and never boring. Some routes/events had me glued to my screen.
  • The overall art was stunning.
  • The soundtrack was great.
  • The user interface was beautiful, and the game system was comfortable.
  • I believe the game is worth the full price.
  • “I finished the game, and I still can’t stop thinking about this route/character!“
  • I will buy merch for this game.

Good

  • I am satisfied, but I have some gripes.
  • I enjoyed the story, but the overarching plot was a letdown. There were plot holes that were left in the dark. The plot twist/s weren’t impactful.
  • The big reveal (if there was any) was underwhelming.
  • I enjoyed some of the routes.
  • (In some games) Majority of the ‘happy-endings’ were bittersweet.
  • (In some games) some routes felt shoehorned.
  • I liked some of the LI’s.
  • The heroine was somewhat likable, and I can empathize with her.
  • There’s a route where the romance wasn’t very convincing.
  • Despite some gripes, the story was still compelling and never boring.
  • The overall art was beautiful.
  • The soundtrack was great.
  • The user interface was pretty, and the game system was comfortable.
  • I think the game is worth the full price.
  • I may buy merch for this game.

Meh! (Decent)

  • I am not satisfied, but I guess it was alright.
  • The premise was interesting, but the story was lackluster at best.
  • Boring and forgettable plot events. Some parts of the story don’t make sense.
  • There were A LOT of plot holes that weren’t addressed.
  • The game became a chore to finish.
  • I may have enjoyed one or two routes only.
  • I may have liked one or two LI’s only.
  • The heroine was meh. I can’t empathize with her.
  • Most of the romance was forced, and awkward.
  • The overall art was pretty.
  • The soundtrack was good.
  • The user interface was decent, and the game system was comfortable.
  • I don’t think the game is worth the full price.
  • I will NOT buy merch for this game.

Hmm…(So-SO)

  • Interesting start, but I was bored half way through.
  • I may have played this game just to pass the time.
  • I may have enjoyed one route.
  • I may have liked one LI.
  • I can’t empathize with the heroine. (Self Insert) Mary Sue.
  • The romance was either rushed, or just plain awkward.
  • The overall art was nice.
  • The soundtrack was passable.
  • The user interface was wonky.
  • The game is not worth the full price.
  • I’ll never buy merch for this game.

Weak

  • Boring game. The plot is painfully predictable.
  • I expect nothing, and I’m still let down.
  • I may have played this game just to pass the time.
  • I didn’t enjoy a single route.
  • None of the LI’s were my cup of tea.
  • The heroine can be replaced with a sack of potatoes.
  • Rushed romance in every route.
  • The overall art was decent.
  • The soundtrack was meh.
  • I do not recommend this game!
  • The game is not worth the full price. Buy it when it’s on sale, and as a last resort.

BAD

  • The plot is laughably bad.
  • I’ve probably dropped the game but gave it a second chance anyway. But yeah, I’m still disappointed.
  • I didn’t enjoy a single route.
  • None of the LI’s were likable.
  • The only redeemable quality of the game was probably it’s decent art.
  • Avoid this game at all costs!
  • Save your money for something else.

Awful

  • Did I finish this game? I must’ve been out of my mind!
  • The plot was all over the place, didn’t make sense, not one bit.
  • I’ve probably dropped the game a few times and only picked it back up for review purposes.
  • I didn’t like the sprite and CG art.
  • I didn’t like the music.
  • The only redeemable quality of this game was maybe the decent BG art.
  • All the routes were terrible.
  • All the characters were terrible.
  • The heroine is annoying af. I’d rather my protag be a sack of potatoes.
  • Playing the game frustrates me to no end.
  • Don’t even consider picking this up!

Worst Ever!

  • Dropped game.
  • Gave me terrible, awful nightmares.
  • Every aspect was a letdown.
  • Never again!

NOTE: The bullet points above ONLY serve as my guide when rating an otome game. That said, a certain game DOES NOT have to meet all the points required to get a certain rating as these are ALWAYS on a case to case basis.

Localization

  • +1 If the localization is damn near perfect (very little to no typos, perfect tones were used, grammar was on point, additional research was involved).
  • +.05 If the localization was decent (perfect tones were used, little to no grammar issues, the typos were very few and far in between).
  • -.05 If the localization was stilted, very stiff, very literal. The typos were glaring but didn’t take you out of the immersion.
  • -1 If it’s machine translated.

VOICE ACTING

  • +1 If it’s fully voiced, and the seiyuus’ performances were phenomenal (any language; mostly JP, KR or EN).
  • +.05 If it’s partially voiced (any language; mostly JP, KR or EN).