Who Murdered My Empress? Review by Amjara
"Are you ready to hold on to the red thread of destiny to unveil the truth…?" If so, hold on and delve into the mystery of Who Murdered My Empress?
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The Story
One day while actively on a case, police officer Mai gets injured. It is a good thing she paid attention during history class for when she awakes she finds herself embodied as the Empress Le Pham, who ruled Da Viet in 1845, 19th century feudal Vietnam. As you try to avoid mutiny and war you must also discover how and why you ended up here.
This novel is not an otome (dating sim). In the main story line you will have one romance route but as the story progresses you can have romantic interactions with three others in stories you unlock as you play through the game and achieve certain milestones.
Duy Khanh is sarcastic, self-righteous, snarky and an idealist. Thanh Tung is icy, stoic and emotionless when you first meet him. Minh Quang, the only son of the richest merchant in the country, is childish at times, playful and wants to prove himself to his family. And lastly, Vu Huyen is charming, sensual and mysterious.
All the handsome males start showing interest at the same time after a very long slow burn. You just start to show interest in one route and it is like they all know and start asking you for dates and get-aways. Who can solve a murder surrounded by such distractions? :)
This game is spicy but nothing lewd or really graphic. It does not show full on nudity but does have suggestive sexual moments and spicy text. Just enough spice to heat things up.
Once you complete the main story you can replay the story from the perspective of your main romance. A nice twist.
A very well crafted visual novel. The writing is really well done. A shout out to Vi for the script!
Gameplay & Features
The hud and menu is beautifully laid out in this game. Settings include; display options, text speed, audio controls, skip options and save files. You can also unlock a collection of special scenes as you play the game (food cards and special scenes with Duy Khanh and Lan).
The novel is divided up into chapters with a countdown in between to remind you of how many days, as the Empress, you have left till the day of your assassination. You gather clues about your consorts and those around you to uncover who is the murderer before the time is up.
* One feature I love about this game is if you die you do not restart the story over. It puts you back at the moment of making a choice just before you die. This is so much appreciated!
The Visuals & Audio
The intro to the game was gorgeous. I have to commend the artwork in this game. From the main characters to the backgrounds and the cg arts. Just a beautifully illustrated game. I have to also compliment the artwork of the food (it looks delicious and I admit I grabbed snacks a few times while playing this novel)!
Some of the gorgeous backgrounds in the game…
The characters are not voiced (which I prefer personally). It is always nice to inject your own ideas of what characters would sound like. The ambient noises are well done (doors creaking, foot steps).
The soundtrack really adds to the atmosphere of the story. Asian inspired melodies, some haunting others jubilant. A shout out to the chief composer for a wonderful score Iyan Sunda.
The key special moments in this game are accompanied by gorgeous artwork. If you read my reviews you know I am a huge fan of cg arts in visual novels. Every time I encountered one in this game it was such a treat.
Below are some of my favourites. I have many screen captures but want the people playing the game to experience the delight of finding them for themselves.
All gorgeous artwork in this game is by these talented individuals. Character illustrations by Sunkist & Daldalezz. CGS by Daldalezz. Backgrounds by Thinhnv, Soanala, Okela Studio and Emfrizky.
Overall Experience
I really loved the concept behind this visual novel. It being set in feudal Vietnam is such a striking location and time period. Blending the future and past. Destinies intertwined. A really fascinating combination of elements that ends up being a really well written story that you get to be part of.
I look forward to any future works this developer and their team put forth❣️
Otome Lovers wishes to thank Little Snake Studio for providing a free review copy for this game.
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