Backstage Pass
- August 22, 2016
- sakevisual
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"Backstage Pass" is a visual novel/sim game that follows Sian, a makeup artist's daughter, as she navigates the world of showbiz. With fully voiced characters and over 15 unique endings, players must help Sian balance her schoolwork, career, and romantic life while working with various talents in the entertainment industry. The choices made will determine Sian's path and her future in the unpredictable world of showbiz.
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Reviews
- The game features beautiful artwork and well-developed characters, making it visually appealing and engaging.
- The stat and outfit mechanics add depth to the gameplay, allowing for strategic planning and customization.
- The storylines are interesting and varied, with multiple endings that encourage replayability.
- The stat-raising and calendar planning can become tedious and overwhelming, leading to frustration.
- Some players experienced abrupt endings without clear indications of what went wrong, making it difficult to achieve desired outcomes.
- The voice acting quality is inconsistent, with some characters having poor performances that detract from the overall experience.
- story232 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging characters and well-developed arcs, while others criticize it for being too short and overshadowed by tedious stat management mechanics. Many appreciate the mature and realistic storytelling, as well as the diverse routes and endings, but some feel that the narrative lacks depth and can become monotonous. Overall, while the story has its strengths, it may not fully satisfy those seeking a more substantial narrative experience.
“The story is interesting, the characters are really well developed and believable, and the dialogues were fun to read.”
“Great story writing, a very charming and likable protagonist, and the ability to not just cultivate relationships with the main romances but also friendships as well; there are some otome games where it's very 'insta-love' and this is not one of those games.”
“The story was what kept me going through the stat raising torture, and the art style, and the voice actors.”
“Lot of your time is spent clicking endlessly to advance the time with nothing happening to advance the story in any way.”
“The plot was extremely boring and the guys didn't stir up almost any emotions in me.”
“I think the story part itself is just way too short for me to feel close to the characters; just skipping through dates with all the same text didn't feel like actually spending time with them, I expected more romance scenes outside of the dates you do as a chore.”
- graphics82 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful artwork and engaging art style, with many reviewers noting the quality of character designs and voice acting. However, some criticism arises from inconsistencies in the art style between different character graphics and scenes. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing the storytelling and gameplay experience.
“The graphics are amazing, the character's CGs are totally fangirl worthy, and I actually do enjoy the gameplay of it.”
“The artwork is very well-done, the game itself is well-designed, and it offers hours of replayability with many endings that go beyond 'good ending' or 'bad ending'.”
“The characters are lovely, the art style is wonderful, and the game mechanics themselves are fun for me.”
“Initially, I was unsure about the art style of the game, and some CGs do look a bit strange with regards to proportionality.”
“Between this and the inconsistent art style between sprites and CGs, it feels that all of their money went to hiring Studio Deen for the anime opening.”
“There are a number of collectible graphics, or CGs, that require players to replay scenes over and over to get all of the possible variations.”
- gameplay54 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of stat-raising and choice-based mechanics, which some players find engaging and fun, while others criticize it for being convoluted and repetitive. Many reviews highlight the time-consuming nature of stat management, with some players feeling that it detracts from the overall experience. Despite its flaws, the game offers a rich visual and audio experience, appealing to fans of visual novels, though it may require patience and investment to fully enjoy.
“The gameplay is well thought out so that you can earn heart/star points through different means.”
“Fun, engaging stat-raising gameplay.”
“If you like visual novels, it may seem expensive, but the branching, length, quality of the gameplay, visuals, audio, and replay value is amazing and so worth it.”
“Stat raising took too much time (10 hours of gameplay, while the whole plot/story reading would probably just be an hour, more or less).”
“If there is anything lacking about this game, it would be either some of the stories are a little lacking and the gameplay can be quite repetitive at times.”
“- gameplay quickly becomes repetitive and mindless.”
- music48 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its beauty and high production values, while others find it repetitive and occasionally too loud. Some players enjoy the relaxing and catchy tunes, but a few have opted to mute it after extended play due to its grating nature. Overall, while the music enhances the experience for many, there are suggestions for more variety and better volume control.
“The music was also beautiful.”
“Good music that doesn't get repetitive.”
“The music is relaxing, and as of now I have 32 hours played (I know, I'm addicted, it's bad).”
“The music is repetitive that I muted it after 2 playthroughs.”
“The music gets very grating very quickly.”
“The music in this game is fairly well done, but one thing that I personally believe is that the music cannot actually be turned down low enough without being fully mute.”
- replayability40 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its numerous endings, secret routes, and well-developed characters, encouraging players to explore different storylines. Many reviewers highlight the engaging narratives and quality artwork, making the experience worthwhile despite any concerns about price. Overall, players find the replay value to be significant, with ample content to keep them returning for more.
“It has plenty of replay value; it gives you plenty to do, plenty of routes and endings.”
“The artwork is very well-done, the game itself is well-designed, and it offers hours of replayability with many endings that go beyond 'good ending' or 'bad ending'.”
“This gives the game so much replayability as you want to figure out all the extra endings and get the scenes you were unable to get prior.”
“The replay value is high, since there are many different endings you can strive for.”
“Can tell there will be a lot of replayability to get all the different endings.”
- grinding26 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration due to the need for meticulous stat management and calendar planning. Many reviewers expressed that the requirement to restart frequently after minor mistakes detracts from the overall experience, overshadowing the game's potential for engaging storytelling and character development. While some appreciate the strategic elements of stat raising, the overwhelming grind often feels unnecessary and detracts from enjoyment.
“The game is extremely tedious; I had to push through it most of the time with lots of saves and skipping due to mistakes in stat raising. Missing something in a week causes you to restart, so it's good to make saves before every month in case you mess up. Believe me, I restarted a new game over 30 times already; it was painful.”
“I was really hoping for more story instead of mindlessly grinding to get the character of your choice, or finding out the hard way that you had to be close enough to someone before a certain date to even get started with them.”
“Having to monitor the protagonist’s fatigue and boost her stats does get grindy and repetitive at times.”
- humor24 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players enjoying the unique and well-written characters that elicit genuine laughter and smiles. Many highlight specific routes, particularly John's, as particularly hilarious, while the overall charm and cuteness of the stories contribute to a lighthearted experience. Despite some critiques on the innocence of the romance, the comedic moments and character interactions are consistently noted as a strong point of the game.
“Dude, Benito is the smoothest guy in this game; I totally didn't see anything he did coming, and it's hilarious.”
“I found the characters to be really well written, and I found myself smiling and laughing along with happy moments and jokes alike.”
“It was hard to get a good ending, but oh my god, a certain 'conversation' had me laughing hysterically.”
- character development8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its colorful designs, well-written storylines, and engaging voice acting, contributing to a visually appealing and immersive experience. While most character designs are attractive and fitting for the game’s setting, some cutscenes feature distorted facial representations that detract from the overall quality. Overall, the character development is considered strong and enjoyable.
“It has well-written and interesting storylines, good character design, beautiful art, and great voice acting.”
“The stories are cute and funny, and the character designs are all very pretty.”
“However, ultimately the colorful character designs and scene choices are done really well with respect to the game setting.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by the depth of character development, particularly in the protagonist John's route, where he is portrayed as wholesome despite being less likable in others. Players appreciate the innovative side storylines that address mental health and career challenges, which enhance the overall emotional engagement, even if the random nature of stat raising can be frustrating.
“I still don’t really like the RNG nature of stat raising, but I did like how it made me feel I was actually working to impress the romance interests.”
“Also, some of the side character storylines are really innovative, touching upon mental health issues, career conflicts of interest, etc. Looking forward to what Sakevisual does next!”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from notable stability issues, with users reporting various bugs that hinder gameplay, such as unreadable emails and unplayable opening videos. These technical flaws significantly detract from the overall experience.
“The biggest flaw of the game was probably that it was a bit buggy.”
“A bit buggy though, I could not read the emails in the slightest and I could not watch the opening video, but the music still played.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews do not provide specific feedback on the game's optimization, focusing instead on the quality of the voice acting. Therefore, no conclusions about optimization can be drawn from the provided texts.
