Lover Pretend Reviews
Lover Pretend is a great Otome game full of romance, with a fantastic film industry setting that you won't be able to put down.
Lover Pretend is another enjoyable otome VN on the Nintendo Switch.
To put it bluntly, I found Lover Pretend a meandering bore. Considering the many difficulties behind the scenes and the way it changed hands in terms of writers numerous times, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the story turned out as poor as it did, and equally no surprise that the title as a whole is not exactly a resounding success.
Between Pokemon Scarlet / Violet and this, I really hope I don't have any games in the future that could be great but that I have to start docking for egregious issues. A bad ending to a story isn't as bad as game-spanning tech issues, but the end result ends up being the same; a game worth recommending, but with some major caveats. Especially when the story is 95% of the reason to play the game.
After being disappointed with Paradox Paradigm I am thrilled that Lover Pretend was a big bounce back to form, both in my perception of Otomate, and the localiser, Aksys. While the first impression is that this one is going to make incest a core theme and that’s going to be simply plain unpleasant for (almost) anyone, the good news is that it soon settles down into a rather comfortable reflection on celebrity, the filmmaking process, and, of course, romance.
Lover Pretend is an otome with up to five routes available. An interesting story, but with some problems.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Lover Pretend is a surprisingly good Switch otome game that features fun characters and a lighthearted story.
I would absolutely recommend Lover Pretend. It does have some small flaws but those are nothing compared to how fun and beautifully made this game is. Every route was enjoyable to play, which does not happen often for me. This would be a good Otome game to add to your collection.
To conclude, Lover Pretend really was a journey about a girl who ends up pretending to be someone’s girlfriend. Some scenarios of how certain characters become a pretend couple are understandable, while others were… questionable. Like bro, WHAT!? With the main character being quite flavourful and able to go with the flow (bless her understanding heart) towards everyone’s wacky request, this Rom-Com comes out quite enjoyable. I’m giving this game my rating of 8 out of 10, for continuing to bring cliché scenarios back to light.
Lover Pretend is an otome game with a narrative that ends up a little too reliant on plot convenience for its romance to work. Even so, its youthful text, charismatic characters and excellent illustrations are enough to make it a good addition to the Switch library. It's worth a try if a basic drama is all you're looking for.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review