/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Finished 恋ではなく. It surpassed all of my expectations.
It definitely isn't just an average eroge and is clearly not intended for everyone.

It has 3 routes yet only 1 heroine. You could say each route has a different love triangle but I think that's kind of misleading.
After you finished them you unlock the true route where every character gets a satisfying conclusion.
It also manages to keep a great pacing throughout even though it is quite long (2.3mb of fairly dense text).

Art and sound are also good. Tons of CGs and a good variety of memorable bgm.

I've seen a lot of reviews saying that the first 3 routes are very frustrating but I honestly disagree.
There's no denying they have some very uncomfortable situations, but the characters handle those in a way that in the end you understand what got them in that position in the first place.
That being said, the characters are definitely this works strongest point. They have realistic personalities and are surprisingly mature. Only one heroine also means that the male characters don't just serve as a comic relief.

I think there's no denying that if this was written by anyone else it would be a complete mess.

Also about the photography part of the game:
The game is filled with very detailed photography terms and discussion from the very beginning which is very discouraging but it tones down quite a bit after the first hour or so.
I had no interest or knowledge about photography when I started but I think that didn't ruin the experience for me.
While you could get away with ignoring the dictionary entries completely, I don't recommend doing it. It definitely makes the game more enjoyable if you at least try to understand them.

In the end this is one of my favourite VNs and I urge anyone who appreciates good characters and can handle drama (think White Album 2, although it's not really similar to it) to try it.

Here's some reviews from EGS that I thought describe the game well:
- エロゲーというより心理描写の妙を楽しむ、シナリオ志向な方向けの「物語」だと思います。
- 総評：普段小説を読む人にとってはおもしろい作品。ただし、ヒロインが好きになれるかで評価は異なる。