Degraman: Act II. Victor focuses on one of the most interesting characters in the series, full of darkness, sex, twists n turns.

^{Note: Game was in early access when review was written (game may still be in EA at time of reading)}

The Story & Gameplay

It does state that you can play these acts in any order and I tried to play act 2 as a stand alone, and I can tell you that it is really helpful to play act 1 (just the free part) before reading it. I got to a part where I met characters that talked about others or events and I was missing context. The game does fill you in later on eventually but going in with a bit of fore-knowledge really made my experience better once I played the first act.

• One a side note * I did not review the first game but I have played it. The achievements for Act 1 do not work but they have been fixed for Act 2.

Despite act 1 getting a lot of negative reviews, I do not dislike the first act but can certainly see the validity in some of the negative points made. I am not a fan of the main character in act 1. She was too easily swayed by a bunch of handsome men (I mean I know the explanation but really all the men have to be handsome and ONE female amongst them all). I get the fantasy aspect of writing it that way but eh, I guess playing into the obvious.

In Act 2 the main character starts off a bit needy and is very self hating, however we get a bit more context as to why she is the way she is. Her mother is a real b***ch and that explains a lot about why the main character is so mentally messed up. Also the story in Act 2 focuses more on Victor and Sebastian rather than the whole story revolving around the main character, and I enjoyed that more.

I really like the character of Victor, and even though he was not the focus of act 1, to me he was always the most interesting character of them all. There are a lot of bad endings and it was a bit of a maneuver to figure out the right sequence to get the story rolling. Save at all the choice points as you will be reloading a few times until you hit on it. Once I did find the right path however I enjoyed the story quite a bit, the art looks great and I wanted to keep going to figure out the mystery of what was going on.

Note that even in the true ending, well one of two routes I experienced I did hit a cliff-hanger and will have to wait for the next part to be complete (but it ends so good)!

The story is dark and the trigger warnings are accurate. This is not a feel-good story of your typical otome romance where you fall in love and the world is wonderful.

The novel is in early access so when you’re travelling down some paths some of your choices may be blocked with a notice saying it is in development.

Settings & Features

Settings & features include; Screen mode, skip text options, rollback options, language, text speed and reading speed, audio controls and a reset progress option.

There is a cg gallery to unlock as you play and lots of save slots.

The Visuals & Audio

The first thing I have to comment on is the amazing soundtrack. A hint of mystery, melancholy, and uneasiness. I loved the music from the moment I heard it in the main menu.

The sprites are beautifully illustrated and painted. Dark outlines but really beautiful brushwork in the details like the hair and skin shading. There is no voice acting (not sure if any is planned for full release but I prefer it this way personally). The music perfectly sets the tone of the novel and not much else, in my opinion, is needed.

Overall Experience

I will admit I am not in love with act 1 but I love act 2. The story is compelling and not all centered on the main character like it was in the first act. The story does start off with the main focus on the MC but eventually gets into a much larger story brewing and it is good writing. I really want to see where this goes. I really find Victor to be the most compelling of all the characters, well I love Sebastian too but Victor is so wrapped in darkness it is intriguing.

It might be because the scope of act 2’s story is shorter that I found it better written, the direction flowed more where act 1 was trying to introduce the main story, a bunch of characters and so many endings that it lost fluidity. Act 2 tightens it up and makes for a much more enjoyable read. And the artwork, I personally find, is better in Act 2 as well.

However I highly, highly recommend playing the free part of Act 1 to get a feel for the novel and form your own opinion before buying.

Otome Lovers wishes to thank NamNorm for providing a free review copy of this game.

Review also posted on Steam ➞

Please follow our curator page, Otome Lovers, if you’d like to see more reviews like this one!