Overview – developed by Idea Factory and published by Idea Factory International, Charade Maniacs is an Otome visual novel focused on a mysterious stream called The Other World. As the Protagonist Sena, unravel the mysteries of the stream while also performing in forced drama episodes for a mysterious Director. This title is available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, with a link to the game available at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Idea Factory International for providing the copy of Charade Maniacs used for this piece via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the base plot of Charade Maniacs.
Story – in the near future, the world has advanced to the point where all information is controlled, but there are rumours of mysterious streams called The Other World. On the last day of school, Hiyori Sena, a sophomore in highschool who was living a peaceful life, was walking home with her childhood friend when a mysterious figure appeared before them. The two of them were abducted and awoke in a strange place with two moons in the sky.
These two are not alone, as there are others who have been pulled into this unusual situation. In their confusion, the mysterious figure that took them speaks. “Welcome to Arcadia, where your wildest dreams will come true if you perform for us”. In order to find a way home, this group is now forced to work together and perform in an assortment of drama scenes. What mysteries are going to be discovered and what is really going on in this “Other World”?
Gameplay – Charade Maniacs is an Otome visual novel, where the player takes on the role of the protagonist Hiyori Sena (which players can change their first name, but if left default the name Hiyori will be spoken). During the course of the narrative, the player will interact with the different characters as the story progresses. The story is broken down into chapters, with CG scenes for the events that occur during the game.
Throughout the story, the player will be able to make decisions and investigate the surroundings of the Other World. These choices that the player makes, will lead to the player encountering the other characters in different situations, which have the potential to altering their relationships. Depending on what options are chosen, the story to branch off and for the narrative route for the story to change leading to one of several possible endings.
The player can freely save and reload throughout the game, which can give the player the ability to experiment with different options and decisions. There are multiple save slots for players to use, as well as a quick save/load option to quickly jump to a previous point in the narrative. This can help the player when they want to explore all of the possible endings that this title has, letting players quickly change their mind on a decision they made.
At points throughout the story, Dramas occur which put different characters into dramatic scenes. During these Dramas the cast members will be acting according to a script, which means characters may be different to their usual selves. This can show a different side of the characters, as a mean character may be kind while acting and vice versa. These scenes can give a deeper insight to the cast members and give clues to some of the mysteries.
In the main menu, there is a feature where players can look at the different collected information, including CG events, character details and even a glossary for in story terms. Finally, there is a special feature called the Flow Chart, which will allow the player to see the different narrative branches and even let the player pick a point to jump to. This is combined with a system where the options players have already chosen will be highlighted in blue.
Now with the core gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls. There is no difficulty to this title as it is a visual novel, so I will be omitting that segment for this review.
Controls – there is a simple enough control system for this release, with all of the options available to the player with all of the features laid out well on the controller. There is also the option to play the game with touch controls, giving this visual novel a more relaxed feel when playing the game in handheld. This makes the experience feel more like an interactive story rather than a game, which can increase the story engagement for players.
Presentation – since this is a visual novel there is gorgeous artwork that has been implemented for the character portraits and the backgrounds. There is a wide range of character emotions that have been implemented, alongside the special event scenes that add further depth to the narrative. There is full voice acting for all of the key characters with the player being silent, this works well alongside the soundtrack which enhances the overall experience.
Final Thoughts – I’m not usually one for the Otome visual novel, as I am not the target audience for them. However, the unique premise of this title intrigued me and the narrative really pulled me in, making me want to keep going and see all of the different outcomes for the storyline. The characters have a good amount of depth to each of them, with the dramatic scenes providing the player with the ability to see the different sides of the characters.
There is a lot of content here for players to enjoy, with the multiple endings and narrative routes that can be explored. I am happy to recommend this title to those who enjoy the Otome genre and suspenseful visual novels in general, as the story is well written and engaging. This is another excellent VN from Idea Factory, with the only issues being occasional typos/confusing grammar and some repetition to reach different routes, but these are minor inconveniences.
In the end, I give Charade Maniacs a final score of 4.5/5. This is an engaging visual novel, filled with drama and suspense, that has a rather unique premise players can get invested in with the different characters and plotlines to explore. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 