How to Take Off Your Mask
Gameplay 9
Graphics 8
Sound 8

How To Take Off Your Mask is an otome game with a cast of likeable characters, an interesting scenario and plenty of humorous moments. It also features a couple of choices that branches the storyline, which along with the Steam Achievements, adds to the replay value. The writing is also good enough to draw in players who are not normally into otome titles, but check out the free demo first to see what the game has to offer.

Gameplay: Fairly linear, but well written and with a branching storyline.

Graphics: The game features charming visuals with plenty of detail for each character.

Sound: The soundtrack is great and the game also features full Japanese voice acting

Summary 8.3 Outstanding
Gameplay 0
Graphics 0
Sound 0
Summary rating from user's marks. You can set own marks for this article - just click on stars above and press "Accept".
Accept
Summary 0.0 Terrible

How to Take Off Your Mask

Developer: Chu-3, Bakufu Narayama | Publisher: roseVeRte | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Adventure, Casual, Visual Novel | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Lilia, the lead character of How To Take Off Your Mask, happily spent her days working in her grandmother’s bakery and hanging out with her childhood friend Ronan. However, her life is turned upside down when she wakes up one day only to discover that she has turned into a half-human, half-cat creature called a Luccretia. As if this wasn’t bad enough, Lilia soon discovers that her fellow citizens barely tolerate the Luccretia and there is even a group that is in favor of exiling all cat people from the city!

How To Take Off Your Mask is an otome visual novel from roseVeRte, the publisher the East Tower titles. It follows the adventures of Lilia, whose name can be changed by the way, as she learns how to handle her new duel-identity. Along the way Lilia also discovers that she is not the only one living a double life, which leads to quite a few humorous situations. Although HTTOYM is an otome title, there is only one romanceable guy and the story is interesting enough to appeal to a broad audience. You’ll have to be comfortable viewing scenes of shirtless guys, but this visual novel never ventures into the eroge territories favored by some other titles in the genre.

HTTOYM features quite a small cast and not many locations, but makes up for this with a rather engrossing story. The setting, which mixes fantasy elements, such as castles and city guards, with technology, such as listening devices, is rather neat and the game also features plenty of humor. In fact, there were a few scenes that had me laughing out loud. Although rather short, HOTTOYM isn’t completely linear and you are given a couple of choices along the way. Towards the middle of the game the story branches allowing you to choose whether you want to focus on Lilia in her human or Luccretia form. This adds some replay value and there is also a short bonus chapter after finishing all the other paths. Lilia is quite a charming character, in both her human and Luccretia forms, so replaying the game to check out both routes is definitely worth the effort. Thankfully, her love interest is also likeable enough that you’ll be rooting for their happiness.

The game features some nice artwork, with plenty of details for the characters. There isn’t a large amount of CGs, but the ones that are featured look good. The giant “MENU” button displayed at the bottom of the screen is rather distracting at first, but becomes a little less obtrusive as you become engrossed in the story.

We’ve got nothing but praise for the soundtrack, which includes some beautiful tunes, including the theme song, Take Off Your Mask, featuring Japanese vocals by Kuyuri. The other tracks are also really good, particularly the piano based ones, like “Ochiba”. The game features an “EXTRAS” menu from where the music can be enjoyed, along with the CGs and movies that are unlocked.

HTTOYM also features full Japanese voice acting for all the characters, which adds to the polished feel of the game. Interspersed between the music and voice acting are also some nice sound effects to bring the story to life. Our only complaint is that there is one particular sound effect, played whenever characters experience something startling, which occurs a little too often. It is not unusual to hear it a couple of times during one scene, which can get a little grating.

Although not particularly deep, How To Take Off Your Mask is well written and explores some interesting themes. It is still rather linear, but the branching storyline and choices at least provides it with a bit more replay value than a kinetic visual novel. The likeable characters and strong humor definitely set the game apart, but since there is a free demo available we encourage everyone to try it out first.

System Requirements

  • OS: XP
  • Processor: 1 Ghz
  • Memory: 512 MB RAM
  • Hard Drive: 500 MB available space
  • OS: 10.6
  • Processor: 1 Ghz
  • Memory: 512 MB RAM
  • Hard Drive: 500 MB available space

Related posts

Reverse Crawl

Reverse Crawl

Nerdook once again impresses with a title that delivers turn-based strategy in an engaging, humorous and very accessible manner. The visuals are charming, the gameplay addictive and although short, there are enough reasons to replay the game a couple of times. Anyone looking for a turn-based strategy title that can be enjoyed without a degree in military tactics should definitely add Reverse Crawl to their library. Gameplay: Easy to play, but with enough depth to keep it interesting right to the end. Graphics: Features the typical charming Nerdook visual style. Sound: No voice acting, but the music is pleasant enough.

Pretty Girls Breakout!

Pretty Girls Breakout!

Pretty Girls Breakout! is an anime-themed take on the popular Breakout genre and features a selection of girls, all with different costumes to unlock. The gameplay is essentially the same as traditional Breakout games, with the exception of not just moving a paddle left and right, but controlling a little character who can swing a paddle at incoming balls and projectiles. It's not a very long game, but it is affordable and offers a relaxing way to kill some time. Gameplay: Very straightforward, but later levels can be challenging. Graphics: The character sprites are beautiful, and the visuals are very colorful overall. Sound: A decent selection of tunes and sound effects.

Concursion

Concursion

Concursion is definitely a game that will defy expectations. It is not as straightforward as it first appears and the way that five different genres have been combined seamlessly is impressive to say the least. Individually none of the genres would really have stood out, but mixed together they offer gameplay experiences that are just not possible elsewhere. While the visuals are not that great the audio is superb and Concursion offers plenty of challenging content. This is not a game that you will be completing in a hurry. Gameplay: A challenging, but addictive blend of five different genres and styles. Graphics: Plenty of variety, but I'm not a big fan of the visual style. Sound: The soundtrack is great and seamlessly changes along with the playing styles.

Please, Don’t Touch Anything

Please, Don’t Touch Anything

Please, Don’t Touch Anything is a devious game that preys on your natural curiosity. You are given one order, but to discover all the hidden secrets the game has to offer you will have to disobey it. What happens after that depends entirely on how good your problem solving skills and lateral thinking are. It is a great game for anyone that enjoys cracking puzzles, but the easily frustrated might want to pass. Gameplay: Deceptively simple, but the multitude of endings will keep you coming back for more. Graphics: All the action takes place on a single pixel art screen. Sound: Some very foreboding and atmospheric chiptune tracks.

The Longing

The Longing

The Longing is a unique title that combines elements of adventure and idle games. Playing as the lonely Shade, it is your task to simply wait 400 days in the dark caverns deep below the surface before waking up your king. Of course, nothing prevents you from exploring your surroundings or even trying to find an escape, but with 400 days counting down in almost real-time, you'll find that nothing in this game can be rushed. Gameplay: You'll find that patience really is a virtue when playing The Longing. Graphics: The protagonist is a memorable character, and the visual style is charming. Sound: The soundtrack is great, and the sound effects enhance the game's lonely atmosphere.

Sakura Beach

Sakura Beach

Sakura Beach is a typical fan service focused visual novel with a generic storyline, implausible situations, and rather generic characters. Watching childhood friends Ayumi and Momoko practically throw themselves at the completely oblivious Seiji can be amusing, but overall there isn't a lot here that players will remember after completing the game. Gameplay: Six choices that lead to one of three different endings. Graphics: Vibrant backgrounds and character sprites are decent. Sound: Rather generic.

Leave a comment

four × 4 =