7 min read

Tiny Bytes XOXO for 2/15/23

Here is the Tiny Bytes: XOXO for 2/15/2023, where we discuss romance visual novels and adjacent games! Read about news, game releases, game jams, and more!
Tiny Bytes XOXO for 2/15/23
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There's a new otome game, The Crimson Flower that Divides: Lunar Coupling, coming to Switch on February 23rd!

Dramatic Create, a visual novel publishing studio based in Tokyo, published the console and PC versions of the otome visual novel EPHEMERAL -FANTASY ON DARK-, a zombies-and-werewolves paranormal romance that takes place during a zombie outbreak. The same studio teamed together with developer Operetta Due to release The Crimson Flower that Divides: Lunar Coupling, a fantasy adventure otome game.

In The Crimson Flower, an incurable disease known as the Rot swiftly spreads across the fictional countries of Nasla and Rus, wiping out most of the female population. You play as Naala, a surviving woman of the Rot who's been kidnapped and arranged to marry the King of Rus. Instead, Naala is kidnapped by the King of Nasla, and in her imprisonment, she meets her potential suitors.

The Crimson Flower will also be coming to Steam in the future, but an official date has not been announced.

Amarantus is coming to Steam this year!

Content Warning: drug and alcohol use, addiction, mental illness, suicide, violence (text descriptions), sex & sexuality, toxic relationships.
Contains some non-explicit but spicy depictions of nudity and sexual situations.

Play as Arik and explore relationships in a world of political tyranny. How you pursue your romantic endeavors is entirely up to you. You'll have the opportunity to engage in brief hookups, develop polyamorous relationships, explore individual romances, or even create enemies. The most enticing and perhaps most intriguing aspect of Amarantus is that not all relationships are guaranteed, and even if you enter into a romantic relationship with someone of your choice, that does not mean that it will work out.

Amarantus is expected to release in Q2 of 2023, but for now you can try out the demo on Steam.

QUALIA ~The Path of Promise~, an android girl romance, is now on Steam!

Developed by PURESIS and published by Sekai Project, QUALIA is a kinetic novel about a maid android named Machina and the scientist who brings her home. The story is comparable to other well-renowned titles such as Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For- or the series Chobits, both stories that encompass the love between a human and a robot. In QUALIA, the scientist, Dr. Hiro Koshino, develops feelings for his new android maid the more time he spends with her, but will Machina be able to return his feelings?

You can buy QUALIA ~The Path of Promise~ on Steam for US $19.99. The adult-only version of the game and an R18 patch are available on Denpasoft.

Under Maintenance is coming to Steam!

Content Warning: Strong language, suggestive/sexual themes, and mentions of alcohol/alcohol use.

Hearty Soup Studio, the developer of Under Maintenance, just announced their official Steam 'coming soon' page for the game. The game was originally released on itch.io for Otome Jam 2022 and was wildly popular, currently standing at 5 stars with 180 reviews. Under Maintenance explores the life of the nameable MC and the struggle of her favorite otome game being under maintenance. Instead, MC must pursue romance in real life, but how she goes about it is entirely up to the player. There are three love interests, Luca, Tristan, and Theo, and what's special about them is they are all in their late twenties and early thirties, something that's uncommon in your average otome game.

You can wishlist Under Maintenance on Steam now.

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The Fairy's Secret

The Fairy's Secret, a kinetic visual novel by ebi-hime, serves as the sequel to The Fairy's Song, two years after Marnie trekked into the forest to discover the existence of fairies. The story follows the sweet romance of Marnie and Lisbeth, but this time around something looms within the forest, and whatever it is will surely bring trouble to the two. It is recommended to play The Fairy's Song before playing the sequel.

You can play The Fairy's Secret for US $11.99 on Steam or itch.io.

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The games below were released for the week of Valentine's Day and have a Valentine's Day theme.

Deep Sea Valentine

Deep Sea Valentine is an RPG/visual novel hybrid that takes place under the deep blue sea. You play as Inia, a pink dolphin who needs a date for Valentine's Day, but her best friend has to give her approval for your chosen lover in order for the date to actually happen. The game features six female love interests and a gorgeous underwater aesthetic and matching UI. The game is relatively short and takes just a few hours to complete. Deep Sea Valentine has excellent writing that's sure to make you laugh, so make sure you check this one out!

You can buy Deep Sea Valentine for US $4.99 on Steam and itch.io.

Blind Dirting

Content Warning: Death, Abuse, Animal Cruelty

Blind Dirting is a quirky spin on the popular activity known as blind dating, where you go on a date without knowing what the person looks like first. In Blind Dirting, you play as a pigworm that interacts with trees from underground, and once you find a tree worthwhile, their appearance is revealed once you decide to go on a date. Help Piggles find a tree to date so he doesn't have to spend Valentine's Day alone.

You can play Blind Dirting for free on itch.io.

Eat Your Heart Valentine 2

Eat Your Heart Valentine 2 is a yandere boyfriend dating sim that reintroduces the same boys from the prequel, Eat Your Heart Valentine. EYHV 2 captures the painful reality of adulthood and what it's like to be unemployed with rent due. On top of that, you don't have a boyfriend, and it's almost Valentine's Day. Rather than dwell on the negatives, you decide to pick your new job and download a dating app to get your life back on track. You have two weeks until the big day; can you woo one of these boys before then?

You can play Eat Your Heart Valentine 2 for free on itch.io.

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Halloween in Hollywood

Content Warning: Sexual content, nudity

Like many people with a dream of entering showbiz, Martina moves to Los Angeles to fulfill her dreams as a screenwriter, but quickly realizes her dream is not easy to achieve. Reality sets in as Martina works as a barista and barely makes ends meet, but her new roommate might have the answer that will kickstart her career. This sapphic visual novel is filled with spicy scenes and girls in cute Halloween costumes.

You can buy Halloween in Hollywood for US $3.99 on Steam.

Content Warning: Substance Use (consensual and non-consensual), Sexual Assault, Physical Assault, Consensual Sexual Scenes (No Nudity)

Glass Heart is a bittersweet story following Meira, a girl who has suffered from illness for most of her life, and now she has just one month left until her surgery that may or may not be a success. Players get to experience what it's like to find value (and romance) in your last days of life. The game has six love interests, all of whom will have something to offer Meira in what might just be her last few weeks. Glass Heart takes romance to the next level and offers textually depicted sex scenes.

You can play Glass Heart on Steam for US $19.99.

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True Colours

Content Warning: This game contains depictions of threat, violence, death, mild gore, mental illness and mild sexual references.

In True Colours, you experience the excitement of an office romance with one of your three trainees, one male, one female, and one nonbinary. All of the love interests have endearing qualities, but each of them also has something hidden beneath the surface that may shock you. What are their secrets? Find out in this upcoming office romance game with a dark twist!

You can play the True Colours demo now on Steam or itch.io.

Fool's Gold: Dice, Death & Dating

Fool's Gold: Dice, Death, & Dating is an upcoming dating sim inspired by tabletop RPGs. In Fool's Gold, you have the option to date a magical girl, a druid, a monster, and more! Embark on an adventure filled with laughs and single bachelors in the small town of Bundariko. Your goal is to scour the dangerous jungle and land a date for the Bundariko Ball. Roll the dice and see where life (the game master) takes you!

Fool's Gold: Dice, Death, & Dating is coming soon to Steam. A demo is available.

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Lisbeth

Lisbeth is a former knight and the cute girlfriend of Marnie. Lisbeth has it all: she's beautiful, she looks amazing in a bathing suit, she's athletic, and she's also really funny without even trying to be. Lisbeth is a character with long, auburn hair and golden eyes from the The Fairy's Secret.

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