Office lovers
- August 7, 2016
- Dogenzaka Lab
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Office Lovers" is a maturity-rated romance game where you have an office romance with a coworker, keeping the relationship secret. You're an employee at a cosmetics company, working on a new product with your colleagues, each with their own distinct personalities. Mahiro is a friendly designer, Ryo is a serious PR representative with a sadistic side, and Sadayoshi is a former boss who becomes jealous and possessive. Will you successfully balance work and love?
Reviews
- The main character (MC) is more assertive and has a distinct personality compared to typical otome protagonists, showing moments of initiative and depth.
- The game features a variety of routes and characters, allowing players to explore different romantic scenarios, with some routes being enjoyable and sweet.
- The art style is generally well-received, with attractive character designs and decent visuals that appeal to fans of the genre.
- The game is heavily criticized for its portrayal of sexual harassment and toxic relationships, with many characters displaying possessive and disrespectful behavior towards the MC.
- The story lacks depth and coherence, often feeling rushed and repetitive, with little character development or meaningful interactions.
- There are numerous technical issues, including typos, poor audio quality, and a lack of voice acting, which detracts from the overall experience.
- story54 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally perceived as shallow and rushed, lacking depth and meaningful character development, which detracts from player engagement. While some users appreciate the lighthearted and humorous elements, many criticize the problematic themes and forced chemistry between characters, making it feel more like a series of disconnected scenarios rather than a cohesive narrative. Overall, it serves as a casual time-killer rather than a compelling visual novel experience.
“The characters, despite being the incarnation of an unending HR nightmare, did have a number of good moments in each story, and the endings were sweet and had continuity in general.”
“On each route you choose, you get a sense of the type of personality that each of the candidates has, and all stories are different in the same environment, which is cool.”
“Besides that, I thought the stories varied enough so it wasn't the same plot and words every route, and each man had their own personality. The humor kept it fresh.”
“The story is rushed (unless you consider an 'I love you' on the 2nd chapter perfectly fine), not really interactive and the chemistry between the individuals feels very forced.”
“The otome games are supposed to make the player feel like they are actually experiencing that story, but both the protagonist and the characters were way too hard to relate to, and the story doesn't really drive the player in at all.”
“The story is mediocre at best, which is to be expected; like with porn, it seems writing is hard once you involve anything remotely sexual.”
- music14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 36 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding it repetitive, annoying, and reminiscent of elevator music. Several reviews noted the lack of variety in the soundtrack, leading to a tiring experience during extended gameplay. While a few players appreciated the music, the overall consensus leans towards it being a significant drawback of the game.
“Love the music here, and--what?”
“Music is pretty nice, I love the story and character design.”
“Music was okay, but as you guessed, it becomes repetitive.”
“The game also lacked voices; I understand that it is a non-voiced game, but there was only 1 or 2 soundtracks that played on repeat within the game.”
“The soundtrack is on the same level as boring elevator music, and it randomly has moments where it just abruptly stops and goes dead silent for a while or switches to some completely different tune.”
“The music was so annoying I shut it off because I couldn't listen anymore.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a mix of believable yet uncomfortable interactions, with themes of emotional abuse and manipulation prevalent throughout. While some players found the setting engaging, the limited character expressions and repetitive visuals detracted from the overall emotional impact, leading to feelings of discomfort and confusion regarding the rapid progression of relationships.
“I have no idea if any of this is accurate, but it was believable and made me feel like the setting wasn't just a throwaway.”
“The things he did to the MC in his route made me feel bad for the MC.”
“I gotta be honest though, it still made me feel kind of weird sometimes because of how quickly everything happened.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics received mixed reviews, with some users appreciating the art style, particularly the character designs like Kaido's, while others felt it was lacking in depth and auditory elements. Overall, the visuals are considered attractive but insufficient to fully engage players.
“I actually liked the art style, especially Kaido's character graphics, which look really nice on the mobile versions.”
“I kinda liked the art style actually, and I'll give the artist that, especially Kaido's CGs look really nice on the mobile versions of them, but still it lacked way too many elements both visually and audibly.”
“I have to be attracted to the art style to even play the game.”
“Yes, the art style is pretty, but that’s it!”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally well-received, with players appreciating the mechanics and overall experience, noting it offers around 5-8 hours of content. However, some players find the repetitive elements, such as music, can detract from the enjoyment over time.
“I actually loved the art and the gameplay itself.”
“This game has at least 5-6 hours of gameplay to complete it, even longer if the player is a slow reader.”
“This game has at least 5-6 hours of gameplay to complete it, even longer if the player is a slow reader, and listening to the same song for hours is not really amusing.”
“As much content as a usual Dogenzaka Labs game has, so a hypothetical 8ish hours of gameplay if you can somehow stomach through all of it.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as both intentional and unintentional, with some characters exhibiting inappropriate humor that may raise eyebrows but ultimately adds to the charm once players acclimate to their personalities. The varied storytelling and distinct character interactions help keep the humor fresh, making the game entertaining despite its flaws in translation and editing. Overall, players find the humor to be a mix of well-crafted and hilariously misguided elements.
“Not because I agreed with what was happening, but because it was a well-told (and badly copy-edited and somewhat badly but hilariously) translated tale.”
“One of the routes can be a bit eyebrow-raising, as that character has a penchant for inappropriate humor, but once you get used to the character's personality and see the interactions between him and the main character, it's not so bad.”
“Besides that, I thought the stories varied enough so it wasn't the same plot and words in every route, and each man had their own personality. Though they had the same stereotypes as most otome games, the humor kept it fresh.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is largely criticized, with reviewers noting a lack of depth and meaningful progression for the characters. While some character designs are appreciated, the overall effort in character development is deemed insufficient, leaving players without a compelling reason to engage with the story.
“Music is pretty nice, I love the story and character design.”
“There isn't any real character development or reason for playing.”
“The style of the art is pretty nice, but it's obvious that not much effort was put into the character design overall.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its solid construction and high-quality translations, exhibiting minimal glitches or errors. Additionally, it offers a Japanese language option, catering to players interested in language learning.
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which ruined the overall experience.”
“There are numerous bugs that disrupt gameplay, and the developers seem slow to address them.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly when it involves waiting for the main character to process her feelings, which can detract from the overall experience.
“In real life, this is an absolute thing, but in the game world where we are primed to know the character's feelings, it can be a bit tedious to wait for the main character to sort out what she thinks.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of character dynamics in this route is criticized for lacking depth, as the main character's motivations appear weak and unconvincing, leading to a less engaging experience compared to other routes. The reliance on bullying as a means of character development is seen as problematic and detracts from the overall enjoyment.
