When you're on a quest for something as noble as love, you'll stop at nothing to achieve what you want - and in the case of Otaku's Adventure, that includes jumping through a TV connected to a retro console, journeying to the centre of the earth, or turning into a pile of goo on an alien planet. If that sounds at all bizarre to you, there's more where that came from in this dating sim-slash-visual novel - but are all these quirks endearing, or are they simply too out-of-this-world?
Table of contents:Of course, all this is a recipe for disaster, as the date - if it can even be called one - doesn't turn out the way you planned. What ensues is a series of fortunate - or unfortunate - circumstances that range from getting sucked into an RPG to saving the world from an apocalyptic meteor.
The beauty of this bizarre tale is the fact that there are even more bizarre endings you can unlock depending on the choices you make. Even something as simple as what to buy with your measly money at the very beginning of the game can have a tremendous impact on how your story will turn out. In that sense, the replayability here is simply off the charts, which is a delight given how entertaining each branch of narrative can be.
Tapping away at everything in sight during trial-and-error is a delight in itself thanks to the vibrant visuals of the game. The comic book-style art makes you feel like you're inside an actual manga, and the cutesy characters go hand-in-hand with the lighthearted nature of the game. There were a bunch of laugh-out-loud moments that came out of nowhere for me, like the Narrator character breaking the fourth wall and the many, many Easter eggs and pop culture references in the dialogue.
Spoofs and goofs aside, the Narrator does make a strong point about saving often - you can't rely on the autosave function alone here, as each decision you make may lead you to a branching outcome without you even realising it. There are more than 35 different endings, after all.
To be honest, the personalities of the three female leads - and the male protagonist himself - are nothing to write home about, as they're mostly just templates of your average anime stereotypes. It's the gameplay and presentation that really entertained me - littered throughout the title are mini-games that depend on which route you're on. For instance, Waifu's route has a bunch of hilarious target shooting mini-games while (´?ω?') 's route thrusts you into random turn-based battles in an isekai adventure.
The game also applies that classic point-and-click feature of you dying over the most ridiculous things and then it's instantly game over. While the visuals and lighthearted theme of the game can lull you into a false sense of security, you can't let your guard down as one wrong decision might end the game for you.
There were times, however, when I felt like things were becoming a little too repetitive, and often a little frustrating especially if you can't beat certain mini-games to progress through the game. Also, while the possibilities of those 35 different endings do sound appealing, I didn't feel compelled to unlock all of them after I already got the endings I wanted.
Still, Otaku's Adventure is a fun albeit bizarre title that almost feels like three separate games at times. It's not the most intellectually stimulating point-and-click game out there, but it's a great time-waster for when you're up for a bunch of enjoyable nonsense on your mobile device.