Fading Hearts

About

"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

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 350 reviews

story74 positive mentions

music8 negative mentions

Fun visual novel with a lot of choices that can lead to different endings.
Interesting story with complex characters and themes, including deception and relationships.
Engaging RPG elements that allow for character development and meaningful choices.

Poor writing quality with grammar issues and a lack of depth in character development.
Gameplay can feel tedious with long stretches of reading and minimal interaction before choices are presented.
Multiple endings can contradict each other, leading to confusion and frustration for players.

story
338 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 narrative, leading to a disjointed experience. Overall, while there are moments of emotional resonance and interesting character development, the story often suffers from pacing issues and a lack of coherence, leaving players divided on its quality.
- “The story was so intense and surprising at many parts...”
- “Fun story, interesting characters, and meaningful choices -- what's not to love?”
- “It has a very rich story, and I walked away with a smile plastered across my face.”
- “But this falls short since every action is the same, the story is awful and uninspiring.”
- “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.”
gameplay
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
62%
15%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth, particularly in RPG mechanics that feel tacked on. While some found the decision-making elements engaging, others criticized the repetitive music and minimal interactivity typical of visual novels. Overall, the game offers a short but fun experience with multiple endings, though it suffers from unpolished mechanics and a lack of character depth.
- “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 'players can actively manipulate story mechanics once they understand how they work' was just a fancy way of saying choose A or B like you do in any other game/visual novel; nothing intuitive there.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
57%
29%
The music in the game is generally viewed as acceptable but suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of variety, leading some players to turn it off after a while. While a few found it decent and enjoyable initially, many criticized it as bland and monotonous, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the sound design is considered mediocre, with some players opting to listen to their own music instead.
- “Music was pretty decent.”
- “It gets a 9/10 from me, it got a little repetitive (especially the work part: read book, work some, read book, work more, work more, work more, etc. several days in a row) also 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.”
- “The music is bland and extremely repetitive, it ruins what little mood the story creates.”
- “I had to turn the music off after some time, it gets rather annoying.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics of the game have received largely negative feedback, with many reviewers noting a lack of graphic settings and comparing them unfavorably to 90s Japanese games. While the artwork is praised for its beauty, the overall graphical presentation is described as dated and simplistic, contributing to a mediocre gaming experience.
- “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
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with the grinding mechanics in the game, noting that it can feel tedious and often requires a walkthrough to achieve certain endings. While the story and writing are praised for their quality, the need to grind for knowledge or stats detracts from the overall experience, making replayability feel more like a chore than an enjoyable aspect.
- “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
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game offers high replayability, with multiple endings encouraging players to revisit it, though some find the experience tedious due to its short length and underdeveloped characters. While the potential for replay is acknowledged, the overall enjoyment may diminish with repeated playthroughs.
- “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.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of hilarity and darkness, appealing to fans of both light-hearted and more serious visual novels. Players find the writing to be aggressively silly yet self-aware, often leading to moments of uncontrollable laughter. Overall, the humor significantly enhances the gameplay experience, making it a standout feature.
- “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.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers a beautiful and relatable story that resonates emotionally, with moments that can be touching and even tear-jerking. However, while it presents interesting themes, the execution often falls short due to a lack of timing and depth in exploring emotional impacts, leading to some clichéd and unpolished elements. Overall, it is recommended for those who appreciate emotional narratives, despite its mixed execution.
- “Such a beautiful story and I swear to it, I cried in 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 interesting subjects you don't usually see in games, but at other times feeling a little clichéd and slightly unpolished.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, leading to confusion about gameplay mechanics and objectives. Reviewers noted both minor and major issues, including grammar mistakes and unclear magical powers, which detracted 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)”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviews indicate a significant lack of character development, with many users expressing disappointment that only a few instances in the manga offer meaningful growth or depth. This deficiency contributes to an overall perception that the characters are not particularly engaging or memorable.
- “The reason 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 in terms of character development.”

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Fading Hearts
$10.39
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7h Median play time

7h Average play time

6-7h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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