評論

• gamedeal user

  Sep 7, 2022

  I bought this after I stumbled upon the second game in the series (Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk) and absolutely loved it. But while sharing some of the characters (main here, minor in the second game) this game has the main problem of most otoge aka a dull cardboard MC and this is a straight out no for me. Plus while the setting is interesting a lot of twists are rather predictable and honestly it just barely surpasses "your average otome" trope by being somewhat dark and not entirely focusing on romance.
• Lexie92

  Sep 16, 2022

  The game is a little convoluted without a guide to play. While it's technically an otome game, its really more of a VN with a tiny bit of romance between characters. Good story. Overall a good game even if it's not exactly what I expected to play. Short story: Barely an Otome Story Heavy Minimal Romance Good Game
• gamedeal user

  Dec 26, 2018

  Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly is a rolercoaster ride of emotions and I loved every second of it! I loved the story and all the twists and turns that came along with it, although the MC did annoy me a little every now and again. This otome has taken my number 1 spot of favorite otome of all time even though it doesn't have the heart twinging moments that keep being me back to this genre. There are a couple of spelling mistakes and hiccups with translation but they are nothing major and easily overlooked.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 9, 2019

  (Spoiler-free review) Don't be put off by the mixed reviews for this game. Majority of the negative reviews are due to technical difficulties the game had during its early release, but those have since been fixed. Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly has got to be the best Japanese otome game I've played so far. Though the romance was not as ample as you would expect in an otome, the plot and characters were so well-done that I couldn't bring myself to really care. Even without the romance, the game is still highly enjoyable. The plot was genuinely interesting and I never felt like zoning out during the slower portions of the game as I had fun piecing together the bits and pieces of lore to try to understand the whole story. I also liked how the characters were handled and developed throughout the entirety of the game. By the end of it, they felt like actual people with flaws and motivations I could relate to in some way, even if they still conformed to specific tropes. The game has a lot of replay value in that only by completing the Common Route first will you be able to go back and get more choices that will lead to other endings. Replaying will also allow you to see certain scenes and dialogues in a new light. Some people might complain that the flowchart system is inconvenient, but personally, I didn't mind it. It made it easier to see where the story branched off and gave me clues as to which choices I needed to revisit to get the other endings. I also liked the short episodes. I know many people thought the short episodes about the characters' daily lives in the mansion are boring or don't contribute anything to the plot, but I thought they were excellent in letting the player know more about the characters outside of the plot-heavy narrative and feel like the characters were forming actual relationships with each other. Plus, the silliness and sweetness in those episodes can be a nice change from the dark and heavy mood of the main story. Though that's not to say that all the short episodes are like that. Majority of them also give insight into the plot or showcase romance. Another point I often see people say is that the game is short. I disagree. Depending on your reading speed and dedication to getting all the endings, your playtime might vary, but in general I didn't feel like the game was short. It introduced, revealed, and wrapped up everything nicely in the time it took me to play it. Everything that needed to be wrapped up was done so with a sense of completeness. The characters' stories ended where they needed to end, and I feel like adding anything extra to it would make the game deviate from the narrative and theme that it cultivated from the start. I found the romance to be enough for the story. The heaviness of the plot made the romantic bits seem all the more sweeter, though half of the romantic ends are either bittersweet or straight up dark. However, I feel like Hikage could have used more romance in his end. In terms of art, I liked the overall style. The brightness of the character designs contrasted well with the monochromatic backgrounds. thereby giving the game a certain ambiance. Once you get closer towards a certain ending, you'll be bombarded with CGs, but I found that by giving a visual representation of the climatic scenes it made me more invested in the narrative, which is a plus. One thing that bugs me though are the characters' side profiles. Some character sprites have awkward side profiles, and this problem also carries over to CGs. I also find it jarring how the MC's head appears to be way too big for her face in certain CGs, though thankfully there aren't too many of those. The music is one of the best parts of the game for me. It does a wonderful job playing up the mysterious and eerie vibe the mansion gives off. I'm glad there is a BGM gallery that lets us listen to the soundtracks used in the game. The translation is good overall, though there are a number of typos and grammatical errors that could have been prevented if better proofreading was done. Thankfully the errors don't affect the meanings of the sentences, but I found the number of errors to be a little too high. Overall, I really liked the game and I'm glad I bought it. It's not often you get to see an otome game deal with such heavy elements like death and grief, and it was refreshing to play something like this. If you like mystery and darker themes or don't mind more developed plot at the cost of less romance, then I recommend this game for you!
• gamedeal user

  Feb 21, 2019

  All the negative reviews for this beautiful visual novel, due to an issue which has been rectified, are truly disheartening. This is a beautifully crafted game, from the story, to the characters. It is visually very appealing, with a unique aesthetic that imbues the surreal world of the setting. The music is blended well with the mystifying atmosphere, and enhances the feel of the game. The voice acting is top-notch, and an area where this differs from many other visual novels, is that our main protagonist also has a VA. Although I could not relate completely to the character, and didn't agree with some of her actions, her voice actor delivers her dialogues so very well, and to me, this helped to really make me empathize with her character. Contrary to popular opinion, I quite enjoyed the flowchart system, and once I became accustomed to it, I found it to be a refreshing twist to a visual novel, easy to navigate, and could understand the direction behind it. It reinforces the mystery behind the universe and the fragmented nature of Beniyuri’s memories, as you’re forced to learn them piece by piece in a non-linear order. Although it does force the player to deviate from the storyline at certain points throughout the game, it created a nice balance between the light-hearted moments and angsty plot content. And when you do return back to the main storyline, your attachments to the characters are strengthened as you slowly learn more and more of their different backstories. This is one of those rare games in which I genuinely cared for all of the characters, even those with personalities I tend to not care overly much for, and that I wanted to pursue every possible ending, to flesh out everything that can be revealed about the story and characters. The romance actually takes a second-seat, so to speak, and is given less emphasis than the fleshing out of the characters, how they mesh or conflict with one another, and their parts in the over-all arc of the story. This lovely game will pull at your heartstrings, and draw you in, with its surreal visuals, its complex, well-drawn out characters, gripping story, top-notch voice-acting, and haunting music. I highly recommend this gem as a visual novel worth the retail price; if you love a good mystery/fantasy story with a great story, that takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, with unexpected twists, relatable characters, in which the romance is not the focal point, and the overall darker tone and feel of the game, with melancholic endings, than this is definitely worth picking up. Beautiful job, Idea Factory!
• gamedeal user

  May 25, 2019

  At first I was absolutely sure I'd love the game a lot. Art is literally breathtaking. Visuals are one of the best I've ever seen. This feature alone could be enough for a thumbs up. And the story itself was so gripping at first, I even messed up with my sleeping schedule. I couldn't make myself fall asleep until revealing the truth. But you know, right now when I finished playing it, or it'd be right to say when I gave up trying to unlock more achievements and the remaining ending(s?), I feel so annoyed and frustrated that I can't possibly state I liked the game or would wish my friends to go through all that as well. Except some big complaints there were so many little issues in this game ruining my initial excitement gradually leading to general displeasure. But I can assume that it's just my personal preferences. I really hate minigames in visual novels. The only positive experience I can now recollect was in Demonheart where that game was language related and therefore it was a great fun. I'm sorry but I'm in no mood to play any shooters when I start a visual novel. Killing butterflies was utterly unpleasant, especially when soon we learn that [spoiler] they are former people [/spoiler]. You need to play that minigames to gather enough points to unlock side stories. At first I was totally fine with it, as you can skip the execution and still get some points BUT you need to get an excellent result to unlock the achievement. It's nice when a game contains many different features attracting different players but could you, please, not force me into it. As a result, I had to ask two my friends to do it for me. Thanks for the comment in the guide about key combinations. Though they are so inconvenient, that I needed the help of three hands. Maybe it sounds hilarious for many of you but come on, I play exceptionally visual novels for a reason xD I'm still not sure what to think about that flowchart. At first I found it nice to be able to choose any episode. That's one of the reasons I like to read visual novels so much—you get some freedom, can influence how the story flows. But here it's a bit of illusion, as 'routes' are unlocked in some specific way. And it's definitely nice to follow your progress in that chart. I'm all for schemes, graphics and such stuff but I supposed I could use it to continue the story from some specific point. Alas, it's nothing like this. You just read a chosen scene and then appear in that chart again. What is it for really? How does it differ from typical memory section this game has as well?! It was especially disappointing as save files are inconvenient. They look alike with no way to distinguish what is saved where. I didn't buy the game after the release despite astonishing screenshots in my activity feed because many players reported technical issues. I waited patiently and I can't say there were any big problems but quite often I had to click several times to propel the story. And I don't mean those cases when we are to listen to sounds first or watch some movements, nah, at once I had to click about ten times to get the next sentence appeared. Settings aren't obvious. I had to ask several times in discussions to figure out what is where and how it works. Maybe I'm slow but I don't think it's right to do a quest out of it. Again maybe it's me but I'm not a fan of fullscreen modes, and I couldn't adjust the screen size here, it was a bit annoying. I've already said that art is gorgeous and it deserves to be mentioned again but I didn't like how those breathtaking CGs were organized in a gallery. I didn't find it convenient when different characters had the same CGs, maybe general section could be more suitable. I get it that it may be not an issue for the majority but I do pay a lot of attention to art in games. I like to unlock beautiful images, to check how many of them are left. But then you just see the same art...sorry, but kinda disappointing. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1738204435 Aand as usual...MC was annoying. It became slightly better when I turned off her voice. Thanks for this opportunity. I don't want to say anything bad about voice acting. Nope, everyone was amazing, really enjoyable. But in that gray atmosphere her voice felt too soft, gentle, girly, I don't know. And I can't possibly understand writers who in visual novels describe main characters as someone who dislike reading and can't share such hobbies with other characters. WHY? Is it some kind of mocking? Isn't it obvious that if a player has chosen a visual novel and not some shooter it means they like reading more or less. I was a little grumpy after my first bad ending. I mean was it really a choice to [spoiler] take or not to take a book for a VN fan? And to be killed by your hobby [/spoiler] urgh It was frustrating but I thought, ok, once in a while self-mocking can be fine but not to such extent. Or is it done specifically to fall more for your love option? xD 'cause it worked. The story was captivating at first. I enjoyed the idea. Though, to be honest, it resembled one visual novel I 'd already played. Nothing bad in it, just couldn't help noticing. Writing felt solid but soon typos and not a very good translation ruined my immersion. Some sentences made me really ponder, don't laugh but, for example, “When I was look”... O_o I even consulted the dictionary to see maybe there's another meaning of this word I'm unaware of, lol, but nah I guess “little” should be instead, though who knows. Especially when later MC seems surprised that Karasuba remembers books he read when HE was little. So it was a bit contradictory and I thought maybe something else was meant. I don't like to be thrown out of that gloomy atmosphere by such decoding. Like in that moment when really sad events were unfolding, I prepared mentally to cry my eyes out when I read how MC [spoiler] tripped while running to her love [/spoiler]. Yeah, I get it, she is a clumsy annoying typical MC but...I laughed and that's was all. I couldn't feel anything sad anymore. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1746260935 And the most disappointing part was sadly about the plot per se. I was so engrossed, couldn't stop reading when suddenly...that plot twist hurt me at first, then I felt annoyed and still being unable to accept that “care” of my “friends” I couldn't feel any emotions I was supposed to feel at the end of the story. It's the second visual novel that made me dislike itself completely after some twisted friendship concept. I'm sorry I guess it's my pet peeve, can't do anything with this. I value true friendship way more than any romance. So, I couldn't enjoy the game afterwards. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1739072078 Especially with that structure the game has. It's not like a typical otome with different routes. It's more like one supposedly sad story with just slightly different outcomes tied with different love options. All characters are nicely portrayed, I can't possibly complain about anything here. I enjoyed their...epilogues would be more correct to call them and not routes. But I felt unsatisfied, I longed for more. Actually, it could be ideal for general bittersweet atmosphere but as I didn't enjoy the main story too much... Despite all that fascinating art I feel so annoyed and frustrated I can't recommend the game. Maybe I'll get my answers, unlock all achievements, breathe out and reassess my impressions changing the review to a neutral one with thumps up. I bought the game with 50% discount. I don't think it was a waste of time or money. Maybe I expected too much, especially when I have some masterpieces I've played to compare. Decide for yourself if you want to give it a try. [table] [tr] [th]Find more in a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/readingnook] Reading Nook [/url][/th] [/tr] [/table]
• gamedeal user

  Jul 6, 2019

  Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly is not your typical fluffy otome, it's really bittersweet, but satisfying at the same time. This title didn't fail to keep me engaged and entertained throughout the story. It's full of mystery and carefully crafted plot twists, with well written story and a sprinkle of sweet romance. All of the characters have lost their memories upon arriving to the strange mansion, so most of the story is focused on them trying to escape and regain sense of who they are, what is the connection between all of them and what their lives used to be like before their memories were lost. It's quite refreshing to see an engaging story which doesn't heavily focus on romancing anyone and it's done really well. - The art style is really pretty; dark, but colourful at the same time. It definitely adds to the setting of the game. - Good soundtrack. - The story can get quite dark and twisted, but it's very enjoyable nevertheless. - Character development is really well done. - Fully voiced cast of characters, this time even the MC has her own voice. You can also disable it, if that's not your kind of thing. - Flowchart is a really nice addition, it's easy to come back to any point of the story without having to start over. - Enforced play order might not be something everyone enjoys, but it's executed quite well and carefully adds more to the story the more side stories/endings you unlock. - Minigame can be quite irritating, but thankfully it doesn't appear that often. Though it's mandatory to play it to earn points for unlocking side stories. Overall, this is a great title with well crafted story full of mystery, suspense and romance that will pull at the strings of your heart.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 27, 2020

  This game has been out on Steam for almost two years now, and it is still horrendously broken. I have to try and run the game ~10 times before it will actually start. The art is beautiful, and I really enjoy the story so far, but I can't recommend anyone pay thirty dollars for a game that barely functions.
• gamedeal user

  May 1, 2020

  Beautiful artwork, interesting story, hot anime boys. Just what a lonely trash bag like me needs.
• gamedeal user

  May 11, 2020

  - [b]Length:[/b] 25-30 hours (without skipping over dialogue, average reading speed) - [b]I think you'll enjoy this if you liked:[/b] Amnesia: Memories, 7Scarlet - [b]I think you'll enjoy this game if you're into:[/b] Games about grief and catharsis, games that make you think about how we grow as people, VNs with supernatural elements Black Butterfly is a game that, at its core, is less of an otome and more of an unflinching look at grief, coming to terms with the past, and examining the ugliest parts of ourselves. Even the 'happiest' endings are tinged with sadness and the knowledge that awful things have happened; the happiness comes from the characters resolving to move on in a healthier way, with hope for the future. It is also somewhat of a mystery game, in a similar way to 7Scarlet. There were a couple of twists that I genuinely didn't see coming, and upon re-reading you see more and more of the small pieces of foreshadowing woven into both the story and the character art, which I found genuinely refreshing. Looking over lines of dialogue again reveals [i]why[/i] things were said, and why they felt 'off' on the first playthrough. The flowchart system is a bit clunky at times but offers a different take on the usual 'play the entire common route again with different choices to receive X ending' formula, and the short stories are drip-fed to you in such a way that you never feel like you're having to drag yourself through the way to each character's route(s). Overall I definitely recommend this one. It's one of those VNs where I found myself playing for an entire day at one point because I fell down the rabbit hole of wanting to unravel more and more of the overarching story. It is bittersweet, and you shouldn't go in expecting some kind of joyful romance - it [i]will[/i] make you cry. No spoilers, but I strongly recommend the following play order: [b]Common/Best end -> Kagiha -> Hikage -> Yamato -> Monshiro -> Karasuba -> Happy End[/b]