Fading Hearts

61%
Game Brain Score Based on 153 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Fading Hearts Game Cover
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"Fading Hearts" is a visual novel game that follows the story of a young man named Haru with a mysterious power. He crosses paths with a girl named Sakura who has the same ability, and they must navigate their relationships and abilities while uncovering the secrets of their past. The game features multiple endings based on the choices you make throughout the story.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

61%
Audience ScoreBased on 153 reviews
story34 positive mentions
grinding6 negative mentions
  • The game features a fun and engaging story with multiple endings that encourage replayability.
  • The characters are well-developed and relatable, making it easy for players to form emotional connections.
  • The combination of visual novel and RPG elements adds depth to the gameplay, allowing for meaningful choices.
  • The writing quality is inconsistent, with numerous grammar errors and a lack of polish that detracts from the experience.
  • Many players found the pacing slow, with long stretches of text before meaningful choices are presented.
  • The game suffers from bugs and glitches, including issues with achievements and character interactions that can disrupt gameplay.
  • story144 mentions

    The game's story is characterized by its intriguing yet convoluted narrative, requiring multiple playthroughs to fully grasp the underlying themes and character motivations. While some players appreciate the depth and unexpected twists, others find the pacing uneven and the plot lacking coherence, often feeling overwhelmed by the numerous choices that seem to lead to unsatisfying resolutions. Overall, the story offers a mix of engaging elements and clichés, with varying opinions on its execution and depth.

    • “The story was so intense and surprising at many parts...”
    • “Fun story, interesting characters, and meaningful choices -- what's not to love?”
    • “There are visual novels with longer and deeper storylines, but Fading Heart managed to be more enjoyable than most of them; its characters are downright endearing, and the story is interesting with its share of twists and mysteries.”
    • “The multiple storylines pulled in too many directions and left it with a weak product.”
    • “The plot veers wildly into often contradictory genre spaces, most ripped from stories you've seen told better elsewhere, in a way that feels like plagiarism more than homage.”
    • “The story is simply too short to only have two girls in it!”
  • gameplay23 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its limited interactivity typical of visual novels, primarily involving reading and making binary choices. While some appreciate the variety of endings and the humor, others criticize the lack of depth in mechanics and story, describing it as simplistic and at times unpolished. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a secondary aspect, with the narrative and character development being the main focus, though not without flaws.

    • “The gameplay was really interesting and fun, definitely felt more like a dating sim.”
    • “Very fun game but it is short with 6 hours of gameplay, but there are 7 endings, so there's replay value ranging from getting together with a girl to 'boom goes the city.'”
    • “During gameplay, you have a choice of doing things like working, resting, hanging out at a cafe, calling friends, and other activities.”
    • “The gameplay is a bit bad, but the endings are the main part that make this game great; there are several endings like sad, happy, and glitched.”
    • “This game is lacking in story, gameplay, writing, character depth, satisfaction, and polish.”
    • “The gameplay elements are also pretty simple.”
  • music9 mentions

    The music in the game is generally described as decent but suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of variety, which can detract from the overall experience. While some players find it enjoyable initially, many note that it becomes monotonous and can disrupt gameplay. Overall, the sound design is seen as a significant area needing improvement.

    • “It gets a 9/10 from me; the music was nice, making the game far more enjoyable, especially with the lack of voice acting.”
    • “Music was pretty decent.”
    • “Besides, everything is very decent from music to art.”
    • “Only major drawback in my mind was that the music could get repetitive and/or start and stop randomly in the middle of gameplay.”
    • “Music is alright at first, it gets rather monotonous since there is very little change or variety.”
    • “The music is bland and extremely repetitive, it ruins what little mood the story creates.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players express mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game; while the engaging story and well-crafted writing encourage progression, many find the grinding for knowledge and stats tedious and sometimes necessary for achieving certain endings. The reliance on walkthroughs for specific outcomes further detracts from the experience, leading some to view replayability as a chore rather than an enjoyable feature.

    • “I also dislike the amount of grinding that you can end up doing for some endings, and how you require a walkthrough to get certain endings.”
    • “I found that I was grinding up knowledge or stats quite a bit in anticipation of something, anything to happen.”
    • “Yes, I know there's supposed to be the whole replayability factor, but I find myself viewing a replay as just tedious.”
  • replayability6 mentions

    The game offers high replayability with multiple endings, but some players find the experience tedious due to its short length and underdeveloped characters. While it encourages multiple playthroughs, the overall enjoyment may vary, with some feeling that the replay factor does not significantly enhance the experience.

    • “High replayability.”
    • “It's short; you can probably finish a playthrough in a couple of hours, but it has some replayability.”
    • “Replayability is high, and that should make up for it a little.”
    • “Replayability seems really light and the characters aren't very well defined.”
    • “Yes, I know there's supposed to be the whole replayability factor, but I find myself viewing a replay as just tedious.”
    • “For a game with 10 endings, the game's length and replay value aren't much.”
  • graphics5 mentions

    The graphics received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing the overall quality and lack of in-game graphic settings, comparing it unfavorably to 90s Japanese games. While the art style was described as beautiful, it was also considered dated and simplistic, leading to a sense of disappointment in the overall visual presentation.

    • “The artwork is beautiful.”
    • “+ beautiful artwork.”
    • “The art style is pretty dated for what it is and felt pretty simple.”
    • “Games from Japan back in the 90s had better graphics and storyline than this poor copycat.”
    • “Bad graphics (actually no graphic settings in-game).”
  • emotional5 mentions

    The game evokes a range of emotions, with a beautiful and relatable story that can be deeply touching, leading some players to tears. However, while it explores interesting themes, the execution is inconsistent, lacking in emotional timing and polish, which can detract from its overall impact.

    • “Such a beautiful story, and I swear I cried at all the endings.”
    • “The story had moments that were touching and was overall very relatable for the most part.”
    • “Interesting story and mechanics, at times quite heavy and touching on subjects you don't usually see in games, but at other times feeling a little clichéd and slightly unpolished.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, leading to confusion and frustration among players. While some issues are minor, there are also significant problems that detract from the overall experience.

    • “There also seems to be a lot of bugs, glitches, and confusion about how to actually complete the game.”
    • “I found a few grammar mistakes (minor) and a few glitches/bugs in the game (some major ones too) that really ticked me off.”
    • “(edit: this is due to bugs and glitches I found during playing)”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as a mix of laugh-out-loud moments and darker themes, appealing to fans of both light-hearted and more serious visual novels. Reviewers appreciate the self-aware, absurd nature of the humor, which can be both intentionally and unintentionally funny, making for an entertaining experience that encourages extended gameplay. Overall, the humor is a standout aspect that enhances the game's appeal.

    • “Personally, I had to stop playing for a bit because I was laughing for a while after reading it.”
    • “It's aggressively dumb, but in a way that you can almost see every hilarious piece of the author's inadvertent self-awareness puzzle.”
    • “But since I found it very hilarious and used 6-7 hours of gameplay (only did 2 routes so there are more to it), I will recommend it.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Reviews indicate a significant deficiency in character development, with many users expressing disappointment that only a few instances in the manga offer meaningful growth or depth to the characters.

    • “The reasons why it wasn't special is that there was a huge lack of character development.”
    • “I mean when only a handful of the manga are worth reading as far as character development.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

7hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
6-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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