Fading Hearts

About

Fading Hearts is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Sakura River Interactive and was released on February 5, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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64%

Audience ScoreBased on 174 reviews

story37 positive mentions

music4 negative mentions

Engaging story with multiple endings that encourage replayability.
Interesting characters that develop throughout the game, making players care about their outcomes.
Unique blend of visual novel and RPG elements, allowing for meaningful choices and character interactions.

Poor writing quality with numerous grammar errors and inconsistencies in the story.
Gameplay can feel tedious with long stretches of reading and minimal interaction before choices are presented.
Bugs and glitches that disrupt the experience, including issues with achievements and character interactions.

story
169 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
69%
9%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players finding it intriguing and layered, while others criticize it for being clichéd, poorly executed, or lacking depth. Many reviews highlight the presence of multiple endings and player choices, but some feel that these choices do not significantly impact the overall narrative, leading to a disjointed experience. Overall, while there are moments of interest and emotional weight, the story often falls short of being captivating or cohesive, leaving players with a sense of frustration or disappointment.
- “The story grips you so much you want to jump over the grinding stuff to get to it.”
- “Fun story, interesting characters, and meaningful choices -- what's not to love?”
- “The twists and connections throughout the storylines are interesting, and surprisingly unexpected without being completely random.”
- “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!”
gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
60%
16%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its limitations, particularly in depth and engagement, as it often feels more like a visual novel with simple decision-making rather than a fully fleshed-out gaming experience. While some appreciate the variety of endings and the fun mechanics, others criticize the repetitive music, lack of character development, and unpolished elements that detract from overall enjoyment. Overall, the gameplay is seen as simplistic and occasionally frustrating, with some interesting concepts that fail to fully materialize.
- “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.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
46%
31%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it decent and enjoyable initially, while others criticize it for being repetitive and monotonous. Many users noted that the lack of variety in the soundtrack detracts from the overall experience, leading some to turn it off entirely. Overall, the music is seen as a mediocre aspect of the game, failing to enhance the atmosphere effectively.
- “Music was pretty decent.”
- “It gets a 9/10 from me; the music was nice, making the game far more enjoyable, especially with the lack of voice acting.”
- “Price and quality are okay for this game, as are the graphics and music.”
- “Only major drawback in my mind was that the music could get repetitive and/or start and stop randomly in the middle of gameplay.”
- “I had to turn the music off after some time, it gets rather annoying.”
- “The music is bland and extremely repetitive, it ruins what little mood the story creates.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing them as poor and outdated, lacking in settings and depth. While some appreciate the beautiful artwork, the overall graphical quality is described as mediocre and reminiscent of 90s games, failing to impress in comparison to modern standards.
- “The artwork was very nice and the PS system was a cool thing.”
- “Artwork was beautiful, however.”
- “+ beautiful artwork.”
- “Games from Japan back in the 90's had better graphics and storyline than this poor copycat.”
- “As for graphics, there are around 10-15 background images (locations).”
- “The art style is pretty dated for what it is and felt pretty simple.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game, noting that while the story and writing are engaging, the necessity for extensive grinding to achieve certain endings can feel tedious and frustrating. Some users feel that the complexity of the systems requires a walkthrough, detracting from the overall experience and making replayability seem more like a chore 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.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
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.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a range of emotions, featuring a beautiful and relatable story that can be deeply touching, often leading players to tears. However, while it presents interesting themes, the execution lacks consistency, with some moments feeling clichéd and underdeveloped, which detracts from the overall emotional 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.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 damn thing.”
- “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)”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mix of dark and light-hearted elements, often eliciting genuine laughter from players. While some moments are aggressively silly, they showcase a unique self-awareness that adds to the comedic experience. Overall, the humor is well-received, appealing to fans of both darker narratives and traditional visual novel comedy.
- “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.”
- “It's funny sometimes, depressing (those who liked Katawa Shoujo will probably also like this, for the somewhat darker take on visual novels versus light-hearted stuff like Galaxy Angel), and the art is excellent.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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. Overall, this aspect is seen as a major shortcoming in the narrative.
- “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.”