LoveKami: Divinity Stage
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for LoveKami: Divinity Stage
I don’t think a couple more branching points would have gone amiss, but even as a strictly linear visual novel, LoveKami -Divinity Stage- is a great game. It touches on some serious themes around idol culture and sexuality, but mostly, it’s just a cute, sexy romantic comedy to get the heart pumping.
As ecchi visual novels go, LoveKami: Divinity Stage doesn't really do anything that could help it stand out. It is good looking, but also unremarkable; it's light-heartedly sexy and titillating, but doesn't really cater to any particular fetish; and although well-written, it won't really win any awards. In other words: enter only if a big fan of the genre… or if the price drops.
Anyhow, I digress again. LoveKami, for better or worse, is the kind of game that, for all its merits, is going to keep driving you back to its most overt elements; those giant cup sizes, and the costumes designed specifically to highlight them. That will put some people off immediately and irrecoverably. Others will come to the game entirely because that's what's on offer. In the case of both groups, there's an enjoyable reflection on a very Japanese way of thinking in the game that is going to be overlooked for interest in the fan service... but then I imagine that my efforts here of trying to intellectualise this game has been one giant exercise in futility.
Accompanying the inevitable amount of fanservice, Lovekami: Divinity Stage is filled with colourful detailed scenery, heart-melting moments of friendships between the goddesses and Yamato, and an insightful perspective on the music industry. The story is enchanting and despite what feels like an unusually limited range of choices requiring player input in a visual novel, the likelihood of replaying the tale is high because of the appealing characters and the overall feel-good spirit of the tale.
LoveKami: Divinity Stage gives us a fun story of idol Goddesses just trying to make it in this world. Its comedic elements and lewd imagery carry the narrative but don’t expect to feel too attached to the characters after the conclusion. Ultimately, the Switch version holds this release back with a lack of additional features and low-quality assets. At least the CGs are their to hold the reader’s attention.
