I've been playing the Korean version of EnStars for awhile now and love it. I'm happy to have an English version where I can easily spend money without jumping through hoops and not bust my butt translating the stories.
The translations aren't perfect, but it beats doing it on your own or trying to dig up scattered fan translations from the fairly dramatic community online.
The songs slap, of course, and the rich 3D graphics are still great. I have literally no issues on my handset.
You can get dia by reading stories and doing events, though I find the monthly pass to really be worth it.
Don't put any stock in the embarrassing hipsters who try to tell you the JP, etc. version is better. It's the same dang game. The main reason to keep playing our other servers is to play the newer events. That's it.
Holy crap this game goes hard. 🌶️🌶️🌶️ It's dang near eroge and yes please, may I have another.
The menus and gashapon are a little clunky. Trying to dress the guys and understand what you actually own after drawing the clothes is frustrating. It isn't a good system. But you can earn a bunch of coins each day and turn them into tickets, and then more tickets by finishing chapters with a high enough approval rating. (That approval rating is based on the clothes the guys are wearing.)
Just know you're going to have to be patient to get all the steamy scenes. It's so rare that we get M/17+ games for women that are actually THIS erotic, so I'm content to stick with it.
The game starts out promising but there isn't much content yet. I'm not going to gripe about the cost because "Free" to Play games either require your patience or money.
The SMS/chatbot is underwhelming. 弦くん (in my case) will ask me a question about something I like, like my favorite anime or book or movie, and if I don't answer RIGHT AWAY, the bot will move onto another topic. I can't naturally reply to 弦くん about my favorite thing anymore, the bot will just spew out some generic response. Instead, I have to go into my profile and enter that information in the now-unlocked line.
The chatbot mostly texts me to tell me he's eating and that he's tired, or that I shouldn't forget to eat lunch, and when I respond (in Japanese) about the same subject, the chat usually gives a general reply. It only seems to understand THE MOST BASIC things. Doctor Sbaitso on the Soundblaster did better.
The story for 弦くん is cute but also annoying. Nobody got time to be a full grown man's mom.
This app made me happy, sad, angry, and then happy again. The story is more than I expected. I was almost in tears at one point.
Sei is very cute. His expressions are darling. The dress up options are also adorable and actually easy to obtain by watching ads or just being patient until you accumulate enough currency.
The alarm clock doesn't seem to work unless you have the app in focus, which isn't helpful since it tends to make my phone very hot (Galaxy Fold 3). Maybe this is just my phone's permissions--newer versions of Android have very strict permissions.
Its hard to review this game as a single unit because the art and stories all vary based on the book you are reading. The books range from more Western style stories to adaptations of Korean comics from WebToon or novels on Naver.
I personally find the Western stories to be cringey. The art for them is fine in most cases, but the stories (especially the Mature ones) make me want to die due to the way they are written. The BDSM ones cause my soul to leave my body--not because I dislike these types of stories, but because I find them to be written in an embarrassing way. Everything seems to be a punchline or too heavyhanded. I dont mind explicit content, but there's always room for a little subtlety.
The stories adapted from WebToon or Naver have FAR prettier art and the writing is much more satisfying. They leave you craving more, aching for the next chapter. The drama is typically better paced. The humor doesn't make you roll your eyes.
I recommend reading a chapter of a book using the free points to see if you like it, and then if you can afford it, buy the whole thing outright. You'll be able to replay the story as many times as you like (great if there's multiple romance options) and you'll have access to all the clothes for all the characters!
Voltage gave us some the first good English mobile otome games and for that I will always love them. However, I dont feel like they've kept up with other studios/developers. Even their newest releases feel dated. The MCs are typically frustrating to play in their stories and not as headstrong or brave as in those other games by other developers. I'm tired of being pushed around or being timid. TBH, some of the guys are also downright abusive.
That being said (insert Ryan Bergara reference here), the value is good. I had a pass for awhile and honestly have more stories than I can read--that was before they switched their system to include hearts in addition to coins. I've stockpiled them for nights when I want to spend 3-4 hours reading through a story.
I found this game at the perfect time in my life.
I am burnt out after ten years in my career and recently quit my job at my long time firm. I am depressed and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. My friends and family are amazing, but they all have jobs, so I am at home, trying to recover from burnout with my cats. This is where Devil Butler With Black Cat fits in.
The features of this "game" are perfect for someone who is struggling for whatever reason. The stretching and the guided breathing help me every day. The new reminder feature helps me remember to take my medication. The alarms are naturally helpful.
The characters are all beautiful. I am surprised at how humanized they are. For example, Lamli is on medication to help prevent his fainting and dizziness. You learn things about them that make them seem vulnerable and real, yet they are still strong and capable. The writers did an amazing job. You really want to connect with the butlers and love them.
I get a lot of positive feelings from this app in a time when things are rough. It keeps me moving forward. I am very grateful to the developers. If you struggle at all, I really suggest it. You will need a way to read/translate Japanese, though. I suggest the built-in Qoo translation app (paid but cheap) or EverTranslator (free, but clunkier) if you don't know Japanese.
Dressing them up and redressing the butlers up is fun. You get a lot of things simply by clicking on the butterflies and doing the dailies. They also do free seasonal clothes, like pink cherry blossom items. The devs also just added a ton of new achievements that award butterflies. Love this team.
I love the art in this game. It's the reason I kept it on my phone for years. Originally, getting free coins was almost impossible, so I stopped playing but never uninstalled. I came back to it during the pandemic and found that they made getting coins WAY easier. So, I gave them a bunch of money (funny how that works). I've gone through 2 characters and 3 endings, enjoyed all of them (even the "bad" ones).
I recommend saving several thousand coins before you start a route because you'll want to binge read it in one sitting and waiting until the next day or the day after that is awful.
This game makes me hungry because I keep having to look up the characters names and then seeing the dishes they're named after.
There are times the graphics are gorgeous, and then there are times they feel a bit standard.
So far, the story has been good, but I wouldn't say it has hooked me. Mostly, I enjoy it because it's something different.
I put the battles on auto, so the storyline gameplay doesn’t feel like much; though, you could play it manually if you wanted. I enjoy the silly mini games.
I'm not sure about value. Im happy with the characters and draws I get. I don't understand the mechanics quite well enough to know better. Qoo's translation service can only do so much.
One of this game's biggest draws are the chats and phone calls. If you've exhausted similar games, I recommend Obey Me. The guys will send you chat messages every few days (without you doing anything) to which you have response options. There is a Memory Box that lets you go back and replay chats and make different choices. You can always replay old phone calls, too, which happen every 5 levels of affection.
The card gachapon can be cruel but in they have big events that let you do lots of draws for free.
The main story is gated, which you need to pass by leveling up your cards. These "battles" are a bit annoying. That being said, I love the story and had to put N/A for value because I'm a whale in this game. Mammon can yell at me from across the room all he wants. I'll tap Diavolo until he stops looking sad. Make_Satan_meow.
The writers did a good job with demon lore. It's all hidden behind this goofy veneer, but there are little details I am surprised they added (like Mammon's connection to England). That makes the story even more fun to read.
If you need 7 to 14 more loveable idiots to love, look no further.
The characters are "brothers" in the sense that they were all angels created by god. Beelzebub and his "twin" were created the same day, but Beelzebub explains in game that they aren't actually twins. They refer to each other this way because they share a birthday.
It's a bit odd they refer to each other as brothers, but if you play the game, they explain they are not actually related, simply close because of their collective hijinks through the aeons. I provide this explanation for anyone who may have seen reviews mentioning sibling stuff.
Game is REALLY cute. I also got my husband on it as soon as he saw me playing it.
A lot of options for ads to earn more coins, etc., but none are required. You can ignore them.
For a game that came out in 2015, it's still really fun. You can feel its age at times, but the songs are all really catchy. The story is great, makes me cry. I love all the characters, even when I thought I might not originally.
If you have a newer phone with a weird screen size like the Galaxy Fold, do not play it in full screen. Go into Labs settings and change Customize Apps Aspect Ratios to 16:9 for the game, otherwise you will never hit all the red flick notes. Once you make that change, you'll ace those notes.
Very pretty on phones with bigger screens like Fold 3. The boys are all ridiculous and I love them. Songs are catchy. 2wink is the best and I demand they play Fighting Dreamer at my funeral. The body rolls on Eden are illegal.
I had a big paragraph here complaining about the story pacing, but that'll be easier to deal with now that we have an English version.
This game is visual and aural candy. The songs all slap. It's an easy game to grow addicted to.
The Tale of Food | Global
4.0I liked the JP version of this game but had to give it up because I didn't have the energy to translate 5 different games at a time. I'm happy for the global release! There are a few minor mistakes in the English, but who cares. Look past them. I enjoy all the boys. The story is a little superficial, but who cares--cute food boys!
🪦 My main complaint for the ENG version is the voice acting. It's... not great. I'd rather have the original Chinese voices accompanied by English text, but I can't change the voices in the setting. Only the language as a whole. I'll probably just turn them off...