True Lover's Knot

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In "True Lover's Knot" , join Emma, a tech genius, and her best friend Lucas on a luxurious cruise filled with romance, comedy, and match-3 gameplay. Enjoy a visual novel complete with beautiful anime-style characters, light-hearted dialogue, and a captivating storyline reminiscent of classic romantic comedies and beloved animes. Engage in a fun and addictive match-3 mini-game as you sail through a delightful adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

40%

Audience ScoreBased on 68 reviews

story14 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The character art is appealing and colorful, providing a nice visual experience.
The soundtrack is enjoyable, featuring relaxing jazz music that fits the game's ambiance.
The game offers easy achievements and trading cards, making it appealing for achievement hunters.

The story is very short and lacks depth, with abrupt endings that leave players unsatisfied.
The match-3 mini-game interrupts the narrative frequently and is not skippable, detracting from the overall experience.
There are significant issues with character development and player choice, making the game feel linear and unengaging.

story
78 mentions
18 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The story in "True Lover's Knot" is generally viewed as short and clichéd, with many reviewers noting that it lacks depth and meaningful choices, often feeling rushed and interrupted by repetitive match-3 mini-games that detract from the narrative experience. While some appreciate the light-hearted premise and character art, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a mixed reception where the story is seen as a secondary element to the gameplay mechanics.
- “The premise and delivery of the love story on vacation was good.”
- “A nice concept that lets one 'rest' in between story bits to play the puzzles, which are relevant to the story.”
- “With 'True Lover's Knot', I particularly enjoyed the storyline, the music, the trivia I learned about Spain, and most of all the mini games which initially were elementary and later required more strategy to avoid having to retry so I could follow the storyline quicker.”
- “The story is really short, and the attempts to hide this with one sentence per page just means sore wrists from the repeated clicking.”
- “The story is rushed, the endings are unsatisfying and it seems like whoever wrote it has never been on a cruise before.”
- “Okay, nobody plays dating sims for a realistic deep connection or anything like that, but True Lover's Knot had the most basic, shallow excuse for a story I've yet to encounter.”
music
19 mentions
53 % positive mentions
32 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its quality and fitting ambiance, featuring a diverse mix of genres such as jazz, lounge, reggae, and R&B. Many players found the soundtrack to be catchy and relaxing, enhancing the overall experience of the game, while some highlighted specific tracks that stood out. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
- “The soundtrack music is good, and fits the scenes well.”
- “Becoming a real true fan of Saphire Dragon Production's works... the music is just divine.”
- “Cons: the movies were pointless and boring, all music other than the theme song, your date options, the depiction of the cruise, the mini game popped up too often, your choices don't matter.”
- “So, maybe not for its full price, but all in all this one's a very nice romantic visual novel, that focuses more on graphics, music and story rather than on endings, choices or suspense.”
- “The music has a very relaxing feel to it and made playing the game a little bit easier.”
graphics
15 mentions
40 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally well-received, with many praising the beautiful character artwork and enjoyable art style. However, there are mixed feelings about the photographic backgrounds, which some find lackluster and jarring when combined with the drawn characters. Overall, while the character designs are a highlight, the integration of different visual elements could be improved.
- “The artwork—the character artwork is beautiful.”
- “Character artwork is amazing.”
- “Really love the art style and the characters.”
- “Aside from that, there's a weird mix of drawn characters with real-life action videos, photographic backgrounds (including ones with people the drawn ones are placed amidst, extremely jarring) and does this visual novel use the 'few hours later', 'a wild night later', 'some drinks later' rather than, you know... describe it like a visual novel should.”
- “Only positive is that the artwork is decent; otherwise, run away from this title.”
- “So, maybe not for its full price, but all in all this one's a very nice romantic visual novel that focuses more on graphics, music, and story rather than on endings, choices, or suspense.”
gameplay
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its lackluster feature set, mechanical stiffness in minigames, and a shallow experience overall. Players found the minigames tedious and repetitive, particularly the match-3 puzzles, which detracted from the narrative flow of the visual novel. Additionally, the mismatch between character and background art further diminished the overall gameplay experience.
- “The match-3 mini-game, while the idea and the gameplay are good, becomes repetitive near the end of the game.”
- “This visual novel is mostly kinetic (as it says in the description) but places the gameplay in a series of 'Candy Crush' style puzzles in between plot points to be solved.”
- “Lackluster feature set, mismatched assets, and mechanically dubious minigames.”
- “The gameplay itself was broken in parts.”
- “While I could forgive the fact that the background art and the character art don't always mesh well, the shallowness of the characters and the lack of gameplay options do the game in.”
humor
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by funny and light-hearted dialogue, with some writing that users find hilarious. However, the integration of awkward scenes and repetitive gameplay can detract from the overall comedic experience, leading to moments of annoyance. The contrast between the anime-style characters and photographic backgrounds also adds an amusing visual element to the humor.
- “Funny and light-hearted dialogue.”
- “Some of the writing is pretty hilarious.”
- “It is a hilarious departure to suddenly have voices for voicemail messages, when all along the in-person dialogue has been text only.”
character development
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is limited due to the short duration of the cruise, which spans only a week, resulting in a brief narrative experience of about three hours. While some players appreciated the character arcs despite the few endings, others found the development awkward and lacking in romantic depth, leading to mixed feelings about its effectiveness. Overall, the game offers a concise but varied approach to character growth, though it may not satisfy those seeking deeper emotional connections.
- “I really enjoyed the character development, although the game won't take you more than 3 hours to read through it all due to the few endings. But it's okay in my opinion; not every visual novel must have 20 different endings to be beautiful.”
- “For what concerns graphics, music, plot, and character development, I really think you won't be disappointed. Even if the preferences section isn't extremely polished, you won't find yourself stuck or in some annoying situation where you're bound to read for 30 minutes about trivial things.”
- “The character development is engaging and adds depth to the overall experience, making the journey worthwhile despite the game's short length.”
- “There isn't much character development as the cruise takes place over a week.”
- “Fourth, the character development is awkward, and therefore the sense of romance is completely absent.”
replayability
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with users noting that it offers only three endings and minimal choices that do not encourage multiple playthroughs. Additionally, the combination of lengthy reading and non-skippable mini-games contributes to a perception of poor value for the time invested.
- “I appreciated the fact that I could choose not to end up with either of the love interests, but it wasn't enough to save the game for me. With only three ending options, the replay value of the game is extremely limited.”
- “I'm a slow reader, but $7 USD for about 2 hours of reading and repeated interruptions to play non-skippable match-3/4/5 mini games, with no replay value, is pretty overpriced to me.”
- “This game has absolutely no replay value.”
- “I did appreciate the fact that I could choose not to end up with either of the love interests, but it wasn't enough to save the game for me. Because there are only three ending options, the replay value of the game is extremely limited.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, comparing it unfavorably to Candy Crush and criticizing the mechanical stiffness of minigames. This grind negatively impacts the game's pacing, making it feel like a chore rather than an engaging experience.
- “The match-3 game is tedious, and why am I playing Candy Crush with file extensions to fix a ship's engine?”
- “It's tedious and ruins the already poor pacing.”
- “The minigames are insanely stiff mechanically and take too long to solve, making them tedious and annoying chores.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Users report ongoing stability issues, with frequent freezes occurring even when attempting to revert to older versions of the game.
- “Even after trying to revert to the old version, the game still freezes frequently.”
- “The stability issues make it nearly impossible to enjoy the game without constant interruptions.”
- “I keep experiencing crashes that ruin my gameplay experience.”