OBSCURA is a dark fantasy Otome/BL where you must work to save Vesper, the cursed protagonist. Fantastic and unique LI meet a dark world, where survival unfortunately won’t be easy.

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

Obscura is a wonderfully written dark otome visual novel by Rotten Raccoons – the first of hopefully many. You follow the story of a main character for whom you can choose the name, pronouns, and even the mask. There are currently three options for their masks which are all great designs and well done! Make sure to pick the mask that interests you the most, as once past the start you will not get a chance to change without restarting entirely.

You start as a very, very unlucky individual – whom we shall call Vesper – making their way to a strange and dangerous market under the mountain, where everyone becomes faceless – with but a mask and simple name to them. Unfortunately cursed, Vesper’s life above ground becomes but a memory as they venture to the markets in search of a cure to save their life, yet it won’t be simple. Not in the slightest.

Obscura contains four handsome bachelors who each have their own goals and place in the world, each much different to the next. Unfortunately, Vesper does not have the time – or lifespan – to sit around and enjoy some romance with these questionable, and potentially untrustworthy men. However, they may come to be essential to survival and finding a cure.

Yeah yeah, I know. You read handsome bachelors and need to know more.

So, we have my personal favourite; Keir. He’s a sarcastic thief with a clear distrust of Vesper. Earning his trust is worth seeing the real side of him, the selfless side that just wants to help his own people and keep them safe.

Following that, Cirrus is a mysterious “humble” priest Vesper encounters when she’s struggling with her search for the cure. However, his help will not come for free and everything has a price. Trust him if you may, but be prepared for his punishments. ;)

Francesco is a very sweet, innocent spirited adventurer who’s certainly not fitting for the world you’re in. But in such a dark and dangerous place everyone has their secrets. You all left behind who you were at the door, after all. But why?

Lastly Oleander is a playful merchant. If there’s anyone who could get you something your best bet is Oleander. But he’s a merchant, so there’ll always be something to pay, just don’t get distracted by his charms!

My biggest warning before getting into Obscura is to pay attention to the mature content description. There are plenty of real, sensitive topics that are covered in this game that may be a trigger for some. I do feel a lot of it is covered and written well, enough so that I felt it brought genuine discomfort as the plot definitely intended.

The trigger topics may come hand in hand with the fact the game has a “safe space” you can enter at any point via your own choice of safeword. The word will always be on the top of your screen to click – you can make it only appear while hovering, but it will always be there for the player if they need a safe space. You can speak one-on-one with Vesper for a moment of respite, or simply have a moment to yourself. This may help those who are interested enough to play, but are aware of potential triggers they can run into. Remember, you can enter your safe space at ANY point.

While the above is a wonderful accessibility option, the game also has a few others, with some being gameplay-based. This being the ability to be given direct hints or turn off timed choices, giving the player an easier, relaxed time. Screenshake and flashing visuals can also be turned off, and includes multiple fonts for ease of reading.

Before I even got to playing Obscura, it hooked me on day one of the steam page due to the art. Not only does it fit the dark fantasy theme it’s going for, not only does it look great, but the style is different, dark, and just fantastic. I’m talking about both the sprites and the backgrounds which match well with their scenes. Due to being in early access the stories are steadily progressing with release, therefore the game lacks romance scenes and therefore CGs which I’m sure will increase with development. As expected with a visual novel that has such a wonderful art choice, the music too is wonderful. It is both pleasant and well done! To accompany this Obscura has occasional background noises to expand a little on the immersion of the scene.

The state of Obscura’s writing as of this review is of a high quality. I never felt like the story was dragging on with pointless dialogue, it described places and situations well, and most of all it kept me invested. I can lose attention very easily if I feel the story has become a bunch of pointless rambling but Obscura has a lot of interesting things going on in its world. You’re always learning about the world, someone else, or even Vesper, the playable character.

𓆩♡𓆪

Overall, despite the fact this game is in early access – I’d still recommend giving it a go if you’re interested. I’m really not one for EA games, especially visual novels, as it sucks waiting to get a good conclusion or just see how the romance/routes go generally. At release, Obscura’s routes “ended” in cliffhangers and hoooh boy, waiting after seeing that? Ouch. But the reason for that is most certainly the quality of the story and characters. So if you’re looking for a dark fantasy Otome that will hit you in the feels? Obscura is such a great one for that – whether you pick it up now or in the future! I cannot wait to play more myself, but this will likely wait until the full product is released. If you’re interested in reading more, keep an eye out for the removal of that EA tag and an update here! ♡

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

Review also posted on Steam ➞