From the reviews I read, I really expected something along the lines of Diabolic Lovers and spoiler alert : it is not Diabolik Lovers. Yes, the sexual harrassment is unnerving but I really expected much worse given the Steam reviews.
Plus, keep in mind that it's a game, it's an otome game, it has nothing to do with real life, it's 200% trying to sell you a romantic FANTASY. Something else that you'd better keep in mind : it's japanese society. What would be considered sexism, harrassment or straight offense in western countries is seen as acceptable there. Expectations are different and so, the fuss around make-up is, in my opinion, irrelevant. Knowing that women can formally apologize to their own relatives for showing them a no-make-up face, I'm not really shocked at the NPC's reactions. Especially since it's a make-up company and the MC becomes a public face of it in some routes.
Also, know that, depending on the route you picked, the rudeness seen in the prologue can fade into nothingness.
Dogenzaka's games are overall uninteresting and this one is no exception. Why the upvote then ? Because Steam doesn't allow any middleground and I do think that Office lovers is actually better than other Dogen games.
Pros :
- the MC is not the feeble, clumsy, can't do anything alone, don't ever understand anything, etc. type. While she's not standing up for herself everytime she could (should ?), she can have deadpan moments, be upset, take initiatives,... I enjoyed her character and wished she wasn't bound by the "can't actually oppose any LI"-curse that Dogen MCs have.
- sequel and date scenarios are a good way to expand on the main storyline to show us how the ship is sailing once she has set sails
Cons :
- sexual harrassment and other dark practices that are very common in cheap visual novels and abusive relationships
- you won't learn much about the context (managing a project, designing make-up products, etc.)
- at least a dozen typos/route
- turn off the music, it's tiring
Don't look at my playtime, I let the game run day and night for no reason. Expect 2-3 hour/route depending on your reading speed.
On a personal note, I 'liked' Mahiro and Mr. Hyoga's routes the most. The three others were... too unnerving/upsetting to my tastes for various different reasons.
