Another year has almost come to an end, so it’s time for my usual otome game awards!

Sadly, 2019 didn’t bring us many new releases and I just bought my Switch, that’s why most of the games you’ll see in my list are old stuff I finally managed to clear from my backlog.

So, let’s take a look together!

Among personal and work problems I went through in the past months, somehow I managed to complete 16 games and replay 2 of my most loved ones; I used to do better, but it’s not bad at all!

I’m sure I won’t be able to reach this number next year, but we’ll see what happens.

So, for the awards:

BEST YANDERE OF THE YEAR AWARD: Ephemeral

I’m usually weak to yandere and I’m also used to their creepiness, but Natsume was on another level: I’ve never thought someone could threaten to cut my hands or feet, or make me blind to rely completely on him. It was sure an experience.

SOFT PORN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Jakou no Lyla Allure of musk European Night

Just watching the opening song’s video, I expected some kind of plotless sexy game; that’s what I got, I can’t complain, but it wasn’t enough to give me the motivation to play all the games.

Maybe I’ll change my mind if I ever decide to play the Switch port, but for now I can’t see anything interesting about it besides soft porn.

BEST PLOT OF THE YEAR AWARD: Steam Prison

This game is simply awesome. Nothing more to say.

It could have been my game of the year, since I loved literally every single scene.

I’d recommend it to anyone who loves dark and mystery otome games, you won’t be disappointed!

WORST COPY PASTA AWARD: Shinobi koi utsutsu kanmitsu hana emaki

It was so boring a repetitive, I couldn’t even bring myself to write a review, since every route follows the same pattern. The first game suffered from copy pasta issues, but this fandisk was even worse and I was falling asleep most of the time.

CREEPIEST SEQUEL OF THE YEAR AWARD: Nil Admirari no tenbin Kuroyuri En’youtan

I started this game thinking it was a fluffy sequel, but I was SO WRONG.

There’s so much violence, abuse and creepy scenes, I can’t recommend it to people who are too sensitive to these topics; I love this genre, but it was kinda disturbing even for me sometimes.

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR AWARD: Norn9 Last Era

I expected a great sequel, but most of the routes ended up being boring or useless, as if they were some kind of filler to make the most popular boys shine more; well, it happened in the first game too. I’m sorry, but 9 guys are too many for me, I lose interest after a while and I keep dragging the game just to force myself to complete it.

MOST GENERIC HEROINE OF THE YEAR AWARD: Bad Apple wars

Since I don’t play otome games to self insert, I always appreciate when an heroine is cool, or at least I can empathize with her feelings and see her character development; but this girl is completely empty. Really, I can’t even say something good or bad about her, she has no feelings or opinions, she’s just…. there. I have no idea how someone could fall in love with her.

I WASN’T MISSING THAT MUCH AWARD: Re:Viced

Re:Viced was one of the first otome games released on Vita and it had good reviews, so I started playing it with a lot of expectations; but it was kinda disappointing.

It’s not bad, overall I enjoyed it, but it’s not something memorable that I’d recommend, I expected a lot more. I’ll forget about it very soon.

SEXY ONI AWARD: Utsusemi no meguri

I bought this game for the beautiful art and the CeroD rating, expecting sexy times with demons, but I ended up caught in random yandere endings, with blood and abuse. I can’t say it was a kusoge, it was memorable in its own way.

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY LIKE ME AWARD: Yoiyo mori no hime

Literally no one played or talked about this game, so I expected it to be an awful waste of money and time; and it was. The theme was interesting, I think it could have been decent if the writing wasn’t so lazy. Well, at least I can warn you and save your money.

I’M FINALLY FREE FROM THIS SERIES AWARD: Starry Sky series

Even if I’m emotionally attached to Starry Sky, I admit it wasn’t easy to play 4 fandisks with so many characters; but those boys deserved it, or at least most of them. It’s a classic.

MOST BORING FANDISK AWARD: Yunohana Spring Cherishing time

It was so boring, I was almost going to drop it; I only resisted for Takahira, since he’s my best boy and his smile deserves the effort. But still, it was a waste of money and time.

And now, the award you’ve been waiting for…. but I guess you were probably expecting this!

GAME OF THE YEAR AWARD: Variable Barricade

I loved everything about this game: all the characters had their own charm, their interactions were always funny and Hibari is a great heroine, with a strong personality. And she’s even voiced, what else can you ask for? The art is amazing, as expected from Usuba Kagerou.

Maybe the setting is too simple and someone could consider this game “boring” if they aren’t into comedy or slice of life; but even if I’m usually into creepier stuff too, I enjoyed Variable Barricade because it’s relaxing and funny, it never gets boring and it doesn’t require a lot of concentration or effort. It’s entertaining, how a good game should be.

So, what’s your game of the year?

Have you enjoyed Switch releases, or you’ve been stuck on PsVita like me?

Honestly, looking back it wasn’t a great year for me, only Variable Barricade and Steam Prison were really good, the other games were average or just boring; well, I guess it’s what I can get if I dig into my old backlog, the good games have been played immediately when they were just released.

But who knows, maybe I’ll find some hidden gems next year!

Since I finally got myself a Switch, I can look forward to the new releases, hoping for a masterpiece. But I’ll write about my plans and expectations somewhere else.

See you after Christmas!