Haremon is a fantastic game, and while I will freely admit it’s problems, I feel as though many of the lower rated reviewers are missing the point on a lot of aspects. I could discuss missing elements described in the tutorial (like cmon, rush mode can be toggled with CTRL and skips all combat QTEs, though admittedly a lot of these reviews were written before that was implemented) but I think there’s a more fundamental problem.
Haremon is NOT AN H-GAME. It is a JRPG with H elements. Do not go into this game thinking that you can go in and just whack one off. I personally actually agree with this philosophy, an H-game needs to be a game first, and H second; otherwise just watch porn. I would recommend viewing this game as an actual game first, as I will try to do in this review.
Mind you, it’s also not really a VN, or at least, it’s as much a VN as Evenicle is, where there’s still an overarching story that the player can’t really railroad off of.
And I think a lot of the confusion regarding haremon stems from this. It’s not like Evenicle where you can basic attack through enemies with mild grinding, nor a VN that shoves an H-scenes every 10 minutes to disguise their reused assets. It is a JRPG first, and an H-game second.
Regarding combat, which seems to be the biggest complaint, Haremon is kind of strange in that you don’t technically get stronger; sure you can increase damage or effect chance, but even ‘upgrading’ moves usually comes with some downsides like requiring more focus or rage. Instead, haremon focuses on giving you more tools to combat different situations rather than strictly bigger numbers. Take, for example the SOS frog battle, a gimmick fight where if you don’t defeat the three frogs in quick succession they will call for reinforcements. Sure, there’s timing to get right when you get them out that may be a bit difficult to manage, but there’s plenty of workarounds too. Freezing enemies, stunning enemies, hell even seduction keeps frogs unable to call for reinforcements. It’s not so much combat as it is combat puzzles. Honestly, if it takes you 40 minutes without thinking that maybe, just maybe, you should try something else, then it is genuinely a skill issue.
If I could draw parallel, Half Life 1’s tagline is Run, Think, Shoot, Live. Unlike, say, Doom, that Think part is a bit important. In Haremon it’s oftentimes not so much combat as much as it is combat puzzles. Even if you want to just beatstick your way through the game (quite possible with powerhouses like Vex) you still can, you just need to freely use buffs, debuffs, and technicals. For early game, Circe+Vex wrecks house. Daisy with baton pass basically wins every non-boss fight later on.
Regarding QTEs, there’s not much I can personally add that isn’t covered by Abe’s review,though I generally think their complaints are a bit out of proportion, if correct. As I said before, combat can be rush moded through (and unlike Abe’s opinion I don’t feel I lose too much out by not getting all perfects) and the resource gathering is basically just a minigame.
Regarding the “harem” stuff, yeah it’s not technically a harem but if harem animes can end with the MC marrying only one of the girls then I think it gets a pass. “Lover” status doesn’t actually do too much practically aside from a single extra powerup on the sentiment board and some extra text. If you are completionist there are special items, which you can get by lovering one girl and then dumping her afterwards. Sucks, but I mean the “harem” command is available here on this pirated version if you are adverse to reading how women react to you breaking up with them, which is fair I suppose.
I’m not actually sure what Abe’s talking about with missing stuff. Most tile events are replayable and the only time you are actually locked out of something is at the end of chapter 2 where you can make a (quite obvious) scummy decision. Savescumming isn’t too necessary unless you really want to make sure you open that chest, but the worst that can happen is a small combat debuff or a few lost relationship percentages. I’m actually curious to see what they’re referencing; I’ve played through the game 3-ish times and I cannot remember. I’m also actually curious – there’s “various missables” but “the outcome would still be the same” aren’t exactly congruent. Also, apologies to Abe in advance for referencing his review too much – it’s a very good review imo and worth a read, even if I somewhat disagree because of the “game with h- elements” problem.
Ranting in response to ranting aside, here’s an actual review.
Pros:
Haremon is NOT AN H-GAME. It is a JRPG with H elements. Do not go into this game thinking that you can go in and just whack one off. I personally actually agree with this philosophy, an H-game needs to be a game first, and H second; otherwise just watch porn. I would recommend viewing this game as an actual game first, as I will try to do in this review.
Mind you, it’s also not really a VN, or at least, it’s as much a VN as Evenicle is, where there’s still an overarching story that the player can’t really railroad off of.
And I think a lot of the confusion regarding haremon stems from this. It’s not like Evenicle where you can basic attack through enemies with mild grinding, nor a VN that shoves an H-scenes every 10 minutes to disguise their reused assets. It is a JRPG first, and an H-game second.
Regarding combat, which seems to be the biggest complaint, Haremon is kind of strange in that you don’t technically get stronger; sure you can increase damage or effect chance, but even ‘upgrading’ moves usually comes with some downsides like requiring more focus or rage. Instead, haremon focuses on giving you more tools to combat different situations rather than strictly bigger numbers. Take, for example the SOS frog battle, a gimmick fight where if you don’t defeat the three frogs in quick succession they will call for reinforcements. Sure, there’s timing to get right when you get them out that may be a bit difficult to manage, but there’s plenty of workarounds too. Freezing enemies, stunning enemies, hell even seduction keeps frogs unable to call for reinforcements. It’s not so much combat as it is combat puzzles. Honestly, if it takes you 40 minutes without thinking that maybe, just maybe, you should try something else, then it is genuinely a skill issue.
If I could draw parallel, Half Life 1’s tagline is Run, Think, Shoot, Live. Unlike, say, Doom, that Think part is a bit important. In Haremon it’s oftentimes not so much combat as much as it is combat puzzles. Even if you want to just beatstick your way through the game (quite possible with powerhouses like Vex) you still can, you just need to freely use buffs, debuffs, and technicals. For early game, Circe+Vex wrecks house. Daisy with baton pass basically wins every non-boss fight later on.
Regarding QTEs, there’s not much I can personally add that isn’t covered by Abe’s review,though I generally think their complaints are a bit out of proportion, if correct. As I said before, combat can be rush moded through (and unlike Abe’s opinion I don’t feel I lose too much out by not getting all perfects) and the resource gathering is basically just a minigame.
Regarding the “harem” stuff, yeah it’s not technically a harem but if harem animes can end with the MC marrying only one of the girls then I think it gets a pass. “Lover” status doesn’t actually do too much practically aside from a single extra powerup on the sentiment board and some extra text. If you are completionist there are special items, which you can get by lovering one girl and then dumping her afterwards. Sucks, but I mean the “harem” command is available here on this pirated version if you are adverse to reading how women react to you breaking up with them, which is fair I suppose.
I’m not actually sure what Abe’s talking about with missing stuff. Most tile events are replayable and the only time you are actually locked out of something is at the end of chapter 2 where you can make a (quite obvious) scummy decision. Savescumming isn’t too necessary unless you really want to make sure you open that chest, but the worst that can happen is a small combat debuff or a few lost relationship percentages. I’m actually curious to see what they’re referencing; I’ve played through the game 3-ish times and I cannot remember. I’m also actually curious – there’s “various missables” but “the outcome would still be the same” aren’t exactly congruent. Also, apologies to Abe in advance for referencing his review too much – it’s a very good review imo and worth a read, even if I somewhat disagree because of the “game with h- elements” problem.
Ranting in response to ranting aside, here’s an actual review.
Pros:
- Characters are fantastic. Even if I don’t “waifu status” all of them, I genuinely can’t think of any character who isn’t excellently written. Some of the character arcs are both awesome and heartbreaking. Even parts I don’t like about characters personally I really like about the characters narratively since it fits them so well.
- CGs are pretty good and well written as well. They’re sparse (and occasionally disruptive) but their artwork and text is great.
- The voice acting is On Point and honestly rivals some professional stuff. Legitimately top tier, and I can't wait for the rest of the cast to get voiced.
- The story is probably the strongest aspect aside from characters. Lore is surprisingly deep, and genuinely enjoyable. Legit this is one of those “play it for the plot” type things. At the end of chapter 3 and 4 each I had to legitimately take a breather just to recenter my emotions.
- Adding on to that, even parts that I would think are plot holes (“hey, it’s kind of strange that Circe’s a haremon when she’s basically a human”, or “hey why is everyone sexually attracted to Fuckboy”, or “hey Longwood has ranches but there’s also skyscrapers in the background”) do get explained. Replaying this game has legitimately been a really cool moment of “oh my gosh I can’t believe this was foreshadowed”.
- Combat is a bit weird, and does take getting used to. Once you do, though, it’s actually a lot of fun. My advice is to be creative, and also don’t shy away from unconventional strategies. Or using items – you can buy while in a dungeon for a reason.
- The game does get grindy if you’re a completionist. It’s a lot of work getting every kink, every move, every relationship between haremon, every collectable. If you’re planning on 100%ing this game without console commands, good luck. That said, grinding isn’t strictly necessary since the casino is easy enough to rig and then you can just buy star shards and passion petals.
- The first few hours is … weird. Pacing’s an issue, like Abe mentioned, but I’m not sure I agree with the nitty gritty. This very much is one of those “characters and plot get better as the game gets better”. IMO it might be worth revisiting the prologue and chapter 1, since the story incentives really arent’ there yet.