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Code: Realize (PS Vita)

Categories: [blog]
Tags: [review], [video games], [psvita]

A visual novel, and this time a specific sub-genre known as 'otome' - where the main character is female, and most of your companions are male. It's not a dating sim, however the various routes do end in some form of romance with one of the characters. If you don't think you can handle this, clearly Code Realize won't be the game for you.

The story is set in a steampunk alternate history of London, where you are trying to locate your father to cure yourself of an affliction. Along the way, you meet several fellows who help you on your quest, and they have enough variety of character without being too stereotypical or tropey, which is often a problem with these games. They are each interesting enough, and not easily disliked. One possible complaint that could be made is once the 'route' is chosen, the other companions fade into the background a lot and don't get much development - but that is pretty much solved by playing through the other routes, as you're more or less expected to do anyway. Once locked in, the routes differ by quite staggering degrees, by the way.

Code Realize in general doesn't take itself too seriously, but neither is it a farcical joke - it walks the line of its story very well. Neither is it perverted in the way some of these games are - the tone is very respectable. The pacing may be a little slow towards the middle, but not to any significant degree. The endings I've seen have been pretty much what I wanted, so no disappointments there.

Overall an enjoyable otome which I would recommend to anyone interested in the genre. It's not a masterpiece but neither is it boring or cringey.

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