I kind of want to like this game. And I kind of succeed. I kind of like this game. But it also rubs me the wrong way a lot. By which I mean a lot.
To start off, I had high expectations. Mr Dots made one of my all time favorites with Melody, and DMD's first two chapters were good. Let's just pretend 3 and 4 did not happen just like there never was a sequel to The Matrix.
To start my review off with the standards: this game works. There's no bugs, no hundreds of typos in a single line, the renders are professionally done, good lighting, you get the idea. The story has an overarching goal in saving/growing a hotel, so you're not just hunting down girls just to hunt down girls, which is a huge plus in my book. I could go into all kinds of details about the central mechanics but the bottom line is: it just works, nothing to complain about.
There's a couple of typical MrDots quirks which I do not particularily like, like the introduction of character sheets and a "hotel development" page which feel like your decisions matter on this but will just go forward in the usual style of a VN so there's not much more information than how far you went along in the story. There's a "task list" but unlike in a sandbox you cannot do anything to advance specific tasks, it just happens by continuing the story, so in essence is meaningless. Well, this is not unlike the "corruption meter" in DMD or the "still a virgin" character sheet entry in Melody. Not too bad. But it is more of it than in those games, which brings me to my main criticism, and I would have written it earlier if I could have pointed my finger.
This game is "overproduced". Most of it is just too much of whatever it is. It isn't bad individually, on the whole however it just doesn't flow for me. Posing of characters often does not feel natural but seems to be done for the "camera". Texts are unnecessarily over informative. You don't say "I'm gonna ask her whether her mother will come over", you will say "I will use the messaging app on my computer to ask her, Shortcake, whether her mother, Trisha, will come over to this location, which is here." (Not an actual quote but an amalgamation of three. Yes, the "messaging app on my computer", the unnecessary names, and the explanation of "this location" all do exist in the game. Within 10 lines of dialogue or so.) Every render, every line of dialogue is trying to grab your attention. Of course they should somehow grab it but it feels too obvious here, it's just not natural.
This pattern continues with the music. Since the game is overproduced you have skip forward and back or choose your song of around two dozen songs. But they're not chosen to complement the mood of the scene, they're just on a rotation, often attention grabbing as well, especially when they include actual singing. That's not game music, that's a greatest hits album running in the background of a movie without care about what the movie is about. (Edit: the tracks with singing were removed in a later update for this reason)
The next thing is the characters. None of the girls has any major depth. They get some backstory and some characteristics, so it is not all bad. Then again, there's not much beyond some cardboard cliché. Innocent virgin (including all kinds of overdone "No that cannot be" reactions by MC). Self confident helper who "has been around". MILFs and 18 year olds galore, rarely inbetween. Every girl serves her purpose - but that is all she does. There's nothing unique.
Similar the MC. Some have described him as a weak simp or other non flattering remarks. I tend to disagree - for his backstory and similar he performs reasonable, he isn't supposed to be some alpha gorilla. However, that is all he does. If he gets challenged (talking like he is an actor here) he is out of his depth. When confronted with the personal background of a girl he is cringeworthy. His (justified) breakdown in one situation is acted out in a way that would make regular porn actors decry the lack of believability. He is incredibly stiff and whenever shown has the most artificial smile imaginable.
Yes, a lot in this game is right. There are choices which matter and it's not just scoring points, it's also "Do I want to go route A or B?" stuff. And it is logical. But in the end it just doesn't gel for me. For months I have been loading this game, playing a bit, and found me tabbing out to read the news because I couldn't bear the plastic artificiality of it. Just as I am writing this review right now out of the need to get away from the game. I want to like the game. Some of the girls tick all the boxes I want. And yet ... it always is off, in an uncanny valley kind of way. It just doesn't feel natural.
Then of course there's the "Peeping Tom" hunt and the "Donut" hunt, where you can get extra scenes/images by finding the correct spots. Which are a nice idea but distract from the actual proceedings. Also they will give you lewds of girls you haven't lewded yet which I consider a cheap cop out. And to unlock all, well, let's just say there are twins in this game but you can only date one of them - with identical scenes apart from the dress color and the name. But you'll have to play through both of them.
It isn't a bad game and I see myself continuing my pattern of loading it up and playing for 15-20 minutes only to save because I've had enough. This game does everything a VN needs to do, but it lacks soul. There are a few games out there with bad renders, loads of typos, unlogical stuff happening, but they have a certain je-ne-sais-quoi which makes you care. I don't feel it here. It is extremely polished but it is lifeless.