Save the Villainess Demo Review by Abubis

Save the Villainess is an upcoming otome visual novel full of mystery and secrets. Developed by Best Laid Plans, this one is worth keeping an eye on for any otome fan. You follow the role of Jane the villainess, reincarnated into a world of mystery and danger. The important question is, can you Save the Villainess? 

The current available demo for STV is a fantastic glimpse into the potentially dangerous world, introducing you to some very handsome bachelors. Unfortunately, though, don't get too close or cosy with them – not in this world! 

Upon starting, you're in a very unusual and familiar place, with Jane just as confused as anyone thrown into such a scenario would be. Covered in scrapes, blood, and bruises, the once elegant dress is now torn into pieces as she tries to figure out exactly who she is. Jane soon comes to understand she has in fact been isekai'd into another world – that of a villainess who appears to have met a concerning fate – which she is now experiencing the aftermath of. 

As of right now, there are four romanceable characters you can meet in the demo.

• Edmund, the Crown Prince. A blonde, charming man that definitely holds a threat to Jane. After all, her fiance was a former prince…
• Izel, my personal favourite – The Duke of the North. An odd yet mysterious man who hopefully has Jane's safety in mind.
• Ben, our Villainess' childhood friend. Like the rest, he certainly seems harmless and kind and caring, but even he may hide mysteries.
• Servant, our, as you can imagine, servant and a fantastic non-binary character. They're most certainly the most mysterious of the bunch, clearly knowing more than they're sharing with Jane.

While Save the Villainess has many unique and interesting features to it, a very prominent one that stood out to me immediately was the animations of both characters and backgrounds, allowing many secrets to be hidden before our very eyes – as well as bringing a liveliness to the game. Not that Jane would know much about that. This is also something you should definitely pay attention to as you progress, especially the expressions of characters as their opinions on Jane change with choices. The art is absolutely wonderful, whether it be the sprites or backgrounds, with the sprites, some of the CGIs, and title art made by Somate Studio, a game art design studio some big otome fans may be familiar with. STV's music and sound are also fantastic and certainly fitting for the atmosphere.

Depending on if you pick detective or story mode, there are a few mechanics to the game, including the well-known love/affection metre. Detective mode gives you no hints, allowing you to experience the game without assistance. Whereas story mode will show you the effect your choices have on the story and others. STV does a great job at explaining this as well as other important features, giving you a little book that you can refer to in-game to check through. 

Of course, a very important part of visual novels is the writing, and Save the Villainess has a fantastic script. It's funny when it wants to be, serious when it needs to be – and at times, oh-so self-aware. Of course, as she was reincarnated, our new villainess is very aware that she shouldn't really be there. Many references to novel tropes, for example, are mentioned and are fantastic, as well as accurate to their scenarios. The characters you meet in the demo are also very interesting. They're written absolutely fantastically, but in a way that leaves you with plenty to doubt over even the sweetest of them. Pretty much every choice can have an effect, even in the demo – something that may feel small and inconsequential may actually have some dire consequences in the end. Thankfully, the demo has multiple saves so you can experiment, as well as the ability to just scroll back through choices.

Overall, the demo experience for Save the Villainess is as fantastic as one may hope. It's a great introduction to get you hooked into a world full of mystery, dangers, and some devilish love interests that just might blind you with their beauty. Clearly, a lot of work went into this demo, whether it be from the art, the animating, or the script – and if you have even the slightest ounce of interest, I would recommend you get installing immediately, as this is the perfect time to get invested and dive into the kickstarter. STV will do wonders for the otome genre, and if the full game is as quality as the demo, we're going to be treated well with this one! I really cannot fault this demo at all, nor recommend it more for an otome/manhwa fan who may be interested even slightly. I truly believe it will surprise you and drag you in, investing you in hunting down the many secrets hidden within just the demo. Get investigating! 

If you're reading this anytime between July 22 and August 22, then currently the developers for Save the Villainess are running a Kickstarter to fund their game. You can find more info on our blog post!