Wow, Tropicali, what a fantastic sophomore effort by Story Anon. Summer vibes, sandy beaches, bikinis, a light and playful mood, but also something darker lying just beneath the surface. Tropicali is an oft eclectic grab bag of themes, tropes, and meme-ridden humor, but it all just kind of jives together, like an effortless summer afternoon on the beach.
The story sets you up as the inheritor of a tropical island resort. The first wrinkle: your sister, whom you've been estranged from since childhood, has already sold it. But our protagonist has other plans, and convinces the new owner--the incredibly attractive and fierce Mio--to let him keep and run the resort.
Gameplay will bounce back and forth between the management of the resort and pursuing romance, connection, and, of course, a copious amount of sex with the various diverse love interests. The management gameplay is engaging without being overwhelming. You will need to ensure your business is profitable enough to make the increasing payments to Mio to buy the resort back. Love interest characters, as well as a small army of side characters, will staff all the various facilities. To maximize profits you'll need to select the right characters for each particular business, and rotate them out as their morale declines and they need a break. It's an engaging gameplay loop that doesn't outstay it's welcome over the course of the game, and never distracts from the main attraction.
The love interests each present a unique experience, with Story Anon doing well to give each their own personality and plot. The quasi-sandbox gameplay system will give you some opportunity to choose which love interests to pursue in which order, though the game definitely is focused on harem building. Moments spent with love interests can be cute and flirty, somber and touching, downright raunchy, and many shades in between--Story Anon shows their skill and range of talent by delivering a consistently satisfying experience across this wide array of tones and moods. Choices are not incredibly frequent, but there are more than a few that are very meaningful to how the story will play out.
Graphically, the game pushes the limits of what can be done with Honey Select style renders. One could raise quibbles about the Japanese writing that appears on background signage and other assets in some of the scenes, or the lack of advanced camera techniques (like depth-of-field) but to focus on these small problems would be to discount the wonderful composition of the renders. The tools that Story Anon used to create the graphics of the game are limited compared to some alternatives, but they are used incredibly well here. Unless you have an absolute hatred of Honey Select graphics, Tropicali is sure to satisfy in this department.
Also, I can't wrap up this review without highlighting the soundtrack. Perfect summer beach vibes. In particular,
"Agosto" by Helado Negro featuring Buscabulla really stands out as being a great mood setter for some important moments in this game.
Overall, I really can't recommend Tropicali enough. There seems to be something for everyone in this title. And the execution is superb, Story Anon really is to be commended. This game deserves a spot in your must play list.