Summary
- Otome games offer captivating visuals, multiple romance options, and diverse storylines.
- Games like Mystic Messenger and Dream Daddy provide immersive experiences with deep character development.
- Unique titles like My Horse Prince and Hatoful Boyfriend offer quirky, unconventional romance options.
Otome games have slowly gained a cult following since the very first title with Angelique in 1994. After the genre saw a large spike of games to satiate the ever-growing fandom, it slowly made its way to the West in 2002. Now, these games have captured the hearts of many.
These games are known for their captivating visuals, multiple storylines with possible romance options, and beautiful soundtracks reminiscent of shoujo anime. Each otome game features a wide range of subgenres, like high fantasy or anthropomorphic high school tales, if that’s your thing. While these games may come and go, here are just a few otome games from years past that deserve a comeback.
10
Mystic Messenger
- Released
-
July 8, 2016
- Developer(s)
-
Cheritz
- Publisher(s)
-
Cheritz
- Engine
-
Unity
Mystic Messenger exploded on the otome scene back in 2016. It follows real-time, making the phone calls and texts you receive from your possible love interests to unfold the storyline come in right on the dot.
There are seven possible romance options, with certain characters only getting unlocked after you complete the casual story. The gameplay includes answering phone calls and chats from the characters, answering emails, and uncovering the deeper story behind the surface. Each character is fully fleshed out, making you think you are talking with an actual person.
9
Dream Daddy
Visual Novel
Dating Sim
Simulation
Adventure
Indie Games
- Released
-
July 20, 2017
- ESRB
-
t
- Developer(s)
-
Game Grumps
- Publisher(s)
-
Game Grumps
- Engine
-
unity
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Fair
Dream Daddy is an adorable dating sim from 2017 where you step into the shoes of a single father looking for love after he and his larger-than-life daughter move across town for a fresh start—and in the process meet a cast of handsome (and available) dads.
Created by internet duo Game Grumps, there are seven pretty sexy dads to choose from. All include multiple endings depending on who you decide to romance, which is typical in the otome scene. There are also cute minigames, amazing character customization, hilarious situations, and some heartfelt moments in between.
8
My Horse Prince
If you’ve ever wanted to date a beautiful horse prince, now you finally have a chance with My Horse Prince. This game is categorized as a parody dating sim but even though it’s slightly hilarious, there’s still some beauty to this game.
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You, on the other hand, still know what love is in its purest form, even if you’re courting pigeons, plants, or John Cena himself.
You play as a young businesswoman who meets a handsome horse named Yuuma, who seemingly has a human face on a horse’s body. When she asks about this, the ranch hand tells her that only certain women can see the face due to having the ability to see horses as attractive men. Now she finds herself slowly falling for him, for better or worse. There are some fun minigames in the chapters and the dialogue is really sweet, considering the romance is coming from a horse.
7
Hatoful Boyfriend
- Released
-
August 14, 2011
- ESRB
-
E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language
- Engine
-
Unity
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Fair
Similar to My Horse Prince, Hatoful Boyfriend is certainly one of the most unhinged otome games. But that’s what makes it so fun! After arriving at an all-bird high school, you (a human) quickly find eight potential romance options that are all – you guessed it — birds.
If you’re wondering just how a human ended up at an all-bird high school, just don’t think about it too much. Instead, when you throw yourself fully into this game and look past the silly exterior, you’ll find that each potential candidate is heartwarming and they have a good amount of depth behind them.
6
Ikeman Vampire: Temptation In The Dark
The Ikeman series are games produced by Cybrid. Each game has different plots, characters, and storylines. Each game begins with ‘Ikeman’ in front of the title and even includes unique themes, like an Alice in Wonderland theme with Ikemen Revolution: Love & Magic in Wonderland.
But Ikeman Vampire: Temptation In The Dark is one of the older games from their series that deserves some love again. After a chance encounter in the Louvre leads you into a mansion full of some of the greatest men of history, like Vincent van Gogh, you slowly realize that not everything is what it seems. They have all been turned into vampires! So, now you must choose between pure survival or giving into their temptations.
5
Collar x Malice
- Released
-
August 18, 2016
- ESRB
-
M For Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Otomate, Idea Factory
- Publisher(s)
-
Idea Factory, Aksys Games
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
Collar x Malice is one of the more expansive games on this list and, surprisingly, the romance is not as prevalent compared to other otome games. It’s extremely story heavy, focusing on your character’s (Ichika Hoshino) investigation of a string of murders from a terrorist group called Adonis.
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The gameplay focuses on your detective work, searching crime scenes for clues, talking to witnesses and suspects, collecting evidence—the whole nine yards. And each route tells a small piece of the puzzle of the bigger storyline, making this the perfect replayable game. There are real stakes for your choices and the love interests were all really well written, allowing for time to develop the romance at a natural pace.
4
Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~
In Code: Realize, you play as Cardia, a lonely girl who is restricted to an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of 19th century steampunk London. She promised her dad that she would stay out of sight and never fall in love due to her condition, a deadly poison that’s inside of her body that rots or melts anything her skin touches.
But after the Royal Guards break into her room to capture her and is later saved by the thief Arsène Lupin, she soon finds herself on a journey to find her father and meet a cast of possible romance options. The game includes characters like Victor Frankenstein and Van Helsing, both of whom you can decide to romance.
3
Diabolik Lovers
The Diabolik Lovers games are extremely expansive, with seven games in the series so far. You play as Yui Komori, who suddenly finds herself in the care of the sadistic Sakamaki brothers. Who also just so happen to be vampires.
Each game includes a different cast of romantic partners, including the Sakamaki brothers as well as the Mukami and Tsukinami households that come in the later installments. Yui’s route is split into three sections: Dark, Maniac and Ecstasy, with each of these sections into a prologue, ten subsections, and an epilogue and three possible endings for each partner based on her choices.
2
Steam Prison
After a devastating flood, the world is now split into two: the Depths and the Heights. The Depths is a wasteland where the criminals and subjects live. The Heights is where the rulers and those with power live.
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You play as Cyrus, who was raised in the Heights. But things then take a turn for the worst when she is framed for crime, forced to reside in The Depths herself. Now, she must find a way to prove her innocence. There are four main storylines in Steam Prison with six romantic options that branch out into multiple endings. But unlike other games, the choices throughout the story determine which route you end up on, as well as your love interest’s affection levels.
1
Amnesia Memories
Amnesia Memories is the perfect introductory otome game if you’re looking to dip into the genre. It perfectly balances the romance within the story and it doesn’t have any complicated game mechanics or gimmicks.
You take on the role of a female heroine, who suddenly awakes to find that all of her memories are gone. In order to uncover the reason behind your amnesia, you must navigate the complex relationships with five potential romance options, each with their own worlds, and hide the fact that you can’t remember a thing. There are fun minigames like rock, paper, scissors and air hockey that you can play with the characters and some interesting character designs that we don’t normally see in the otome world.
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