Santa Monica Paradise
- May 29, 2020
- VN House
Get on Steam“Santa Monica Paradise” is a romantic comedy visual novel and dating sim set in sunny Santa Monica. Play as a famous chef visiting California and meeting new people.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a charming and relatable story with well-designed characters, making it easy to feel attached to them.
- The character art is visually appealing, and the backgrounds, while mixed, have a hand-painted quality that some players may enjoy.
- At its budget price, the game offers a decent experience for those who appreciate short romance visual novels.
- The story feels rushed and underdeveloped, lacking depth in character development and backstory.
- There is a significant lack of variety in visuals and music, with only a few CGs and minimal sound effects, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The gameplay is simplistic with obvious choices, and the pacing is hurried, leaving players wanting more substance and engagement.
- story28 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story is generally perceived as brief and underdeveloped, particularly in its romantic elements, which feel more like a prologue than a complete narrative. While some players appreciate the character design and find the story enjoyable, many criticize the lack of character development, static personalities, and insufficient pacing, leaving the overall experience feeling rushed and lacking depth. Despite these flaws, there is hope for future expansions or sequels to enhance the narrative.
“This game is quite short but has a really lovely story and character design.”
“I hope the developer will make a sequel or extended story for each route!”
“I love the story.”
“The biggest flaw I can think of, and directly linked to the romantic aspects, is a lack of character development and a more exhaustive backstory.”
“The story of the game is bland and has no interest whatsoever.”
“That all said, the pacing seems hurried, and while the characters all seem to have a decent amount of backstory to them, their personalities are static the whole way through.”
- music8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the background tracks as good, while others criticize the lack of quality and variety, particularly given the presence of a musician character. This inconsistency contributes to a sense of missed potential, though the overall experience is deemed acceptable for the price.
“The background music is good, and the character art is well done.”
“The lack of quality and variety of music tracks, especially considering that one of the heroines is a musician, only contributes more to the feeling of wasted potential.”
“Overall, despite all the criticism above, for the price asked, it is not the worst VN in terms of story, art, and music.”
- character development6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game features appealing character design and a lovely story, it suffers from insufficient character development and backstory, particularly in relation to its romantic elements. Many players express a desire for more depth and fleshing out of characters in future installments to enhance the overall narrative experience.
“This game is quite short but has a really lovely story and character design.”
“The biggest flaw I can think of, and directly linked to the romantic aspects, is a lack of character development and a more exhaustive backstory.”
“In future games, I hope to see a lot more character development and story, but the bones are there; it just needs more fleshing out to raise it up a little.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics are characterized by a nice art style, but overall, they are perceived as mixed and lacking in engagement.
“Nice art style but wasn't very interesting to me.”
“The visuals present here are mixed.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have several bugs, which detracts from the overall experience and can be quite frustrating for players.
“It's a bit buggy though, making it annoying.”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight that the game offers a substantial amount of gameplay hours, indicating a rich and engaging experience that keeps players invested for extended periods.
