Sometimes you see a couple tags in a game thread and you feel you know what to expect. And when it comes to tags like the "i-tag" or "romance", I cringe immediately.
Not because they are themes I don't enjoy. If they are done right. Which is very rarely the case. Most "i-games" are just copies of the same "amnesiac dude, mother, 2 sisters" package. And done in the same pointless manner, that barely touches on the taboo subject, so they can just pass under the radar and not spend too much time working on the patch. And romance...well let's just say most game devs on here don't really know how the fuck to write romance. It's usually some cringy, idealized version of adoring vanilla waifu worshiping a white knight. And it ends up being an one-sided power fantasy, pretending to be romance. Which kills any kind of drama a good romance story is supposed to have. Might as well write a romance story about your anime pillow, which is how the female characters in these stories read anyway (fitting for the intended audience I guess).
Surprisingly enough, this one gets both right! The taboo part is not shoved under the rug. It's at the forefront and the combo of sexual tension and conflict it creates, is one of the main driving forces of the plot. And this treatment bleeds into the romance part of the game, making it interesting. With tension, ups and downs, humor, intrigue even a bit of betrayal. And devs were smart enough to use the last aspect up to a point , so it didn't devolve into another (hated by many) genre, but still added to the story drama. I wish they haven't killed it that early, but at least the rivalry aspect remains, which means the conflict part is still alive. The game has villains lurking in the shadows and has done a good job establishing them (the one we know so far that is). And more importantly, it's not a romance story between one Gary Stu and a dozen different girls. There are scenes with other characters but the game reserves the romantic aspect for only two characters (plus MC). So a triangle at most.
Combine all that with some gorgeous renders and you have yourself a good game. One that doesn't pretend to be slow burn for no reason, it actually takes its time to build characters and tension.
My only worry is that development seems a bit slow. I saw that during its first couple releases and decided to let it stew for about a year (maybe more). And yet when I picked it up again, it hadn't progressed as much as I expected. Hopefully I won't have to come back next year again, in order to get a good chunk of content.
Anyone who's interested in a good taboo romance story, unlike most uninspired clones on this site, should definitely keep an eye on this one.