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I still remember my reaction, when I’ve seen the first trailer of Nihil Admirari: Satoi’s art amazed me as usual, and I immediately decided that I shoud get this game and play it as soon as it was released. There was an immediate hype, and probably it was one of the most anticipated games of 2016.

When I finally managed to recieve my copy, I’ve started playing with huge expectations. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed at first: the common route seemed too long to me, and also the pacing was quite slow, so I was even bored sometimes. But when I finally entered the route, everything changed: I was completely absorbed in the story, I couldn’t stop playing!

I’ve chosen Akira as first, but probably it was a bad idea: his route contains way too much spoilers, and that’s probably what made it so interesting compared to the others. He looked like a kuudere to me, and usually I’m not into that kind of character, so I just wanted to get it done immediately… but everything I planned was changed. Akira’s route was really great. I loved him, the plot, the CGs, everything! I was ready for a plain character, with a boring personality… I was wrong. Many scenes were really cute, others shocking, there was a huge plot twist… it was all I could ask for!

Unfortunately, Shizoru’s route wasn’t as exciting. I had great hopes for him, but… I was almost falling asleep. The heroine tried so hard to prove his innocence, while he was just having fun with other women, and then, magically, he’s in love with her! There’s a huge plot twist, when you think the route is already over, but it makes it even worse. Again, the pacing was terrible.

Anyway, my mood changed again thanks to Shougo! He was my favourite, I really liked him and his route! his tsundere moments were so cute! This route had a good writing, finally, and I feel like he also got the best Cgs. Overall, the art quality is amazing, but somehow I think that Shougo was even more blessed (or probably, it’s just because I loved him so much). I can’t wait to meet him again in the sequel!

Hisui’s route was quite sad, and also boring sometimes. I spent way too much time with the boss’ wife instead of him, and she was really annoying. Her way of talking unnerved me, I swear. I just wished I could talk to him more, because I felt like his personality is more complicated than it seems: he’s not only a quiet shota, some situations made him look like a potential yandere to me… it was unexpected, but not bad.

Rui’s route was more interesting, even if the pacing was, once again, really slow. It was disappointing at first, but then he grew on me and I really loved every single ending, I even cried with the bad ones! He’s a really sweet guy, even if I’m not fond of the “love at fist sight” trope: it makes me think that the writer was just too lazy to develop the romantic part, so he focused only on the plot, because the character already loved the heroine from the beginning for no reason.

Hayato was the last to unlock, so it was obvious that his route had the most important revelations: I was really hyped for it, because I also really liked him from the start of the game (and I wished I could play him first)! Many people complained because there’s too much focus on another character, who is also the secret route, so they couldn’t enjoy Hayato at his best. I quite agree, I think that the secret chara took way too much time and overshadowed Hayato a bit, but the route itself didn’t seem worse than others, to me; Shizuru was far more boring tbh.

This game has a quite heavy plot, so it’s obvious that romance sometimes is put aside: even if it’s Cero D, the sexy parts are not the main goal; or at least, you need to go through hours of gaming before you reach them. I’m sure that when I’ll get to play these characters again in the sequel, in an easy and relaxed atmosphere, I’ll appreciate them more.

I won’t say much about the secret route, for those who haven’t played it yet. Let me just say that I was quite angry in the end, and the heroine as always is too nice with every psycho. I didn’t hate her tho, I admired her for taking actions and chosing to actively do something to save her little brother.

I think I can recommend this game to anyone: it was not perfect, but not bad either. Don’t be fooled by the CeroD rating, this is not a plotless game with random sexy scenes… if that’s what you’re looking for, Otoko Yuukaku is better for you. Nihil Admirari is plot centered and probably a bit too long, with some needless boring moments; anyway, the overall plot is interesting, the characters too and the art is wonderful, so if you give it a chance, you probably won’t be disappointed.