Discover Your New Favorite Story-Rich Romance Today (We Bet You Haven’t Heard Of #3)
Discover Your New Favorite Story-Rich Romance Today (We Bet You Haven’t Heard Of #3)
The heart wants what the heart wants. When it comes to games, sometimes what it wants is to pump hot lead into your enemies. Other times, maybe you just want to be swept off of your feet – and that’s where otome games come in. Translating literally to “maiden game,” otome games are a sub-type of story-rich games in which a player’s main goal is to romance another character.
Typically, otome games have been marketed towards women, and often feature female protagonists romancing men. However, more recent otome games have started implementing choices of male and nonbinary protagonists, as well as expanding to include romanceable women and nonbinary characters.
While there’s a myriad of games to choose from, we’ve gotten together our favorite otome games on Steam, including:
…And more! Let’s get started.
Being in high school is rough. Most teenagers feel like hormonal monsters, but in Monster Prom, there’s a twist – you really are a hormonal monster. Fans of the TTRPG Monsterhearts will feel right at home here, exploring the trials and tribulations of teenage monsters as they teeter on the cusp of adulthood. Players dive into a simultaneously silly and sweet world, navigating over a thousand absurd situations while trying to woo their special someone.
You have three weeks to find yourself a prom date, but if you’re playing with other players, you’ll have to watch your back. Not everyone adheres to the age-old “bros before hoes,” and a couch co-op of up to four players means that one of your so-called friends may snatch up your boo before you can. Of course, with three other games in the lineup, there’s plenty of opportunity to get them back.
Monster Prom features four playable characters with customizable names and pronouns, as well as six romanceable characters to choose from. Big-hearted werewolves, dorky vampiric hipsters, mean girl gorgons – the world is your oyster! So grab a controller, brace yourself for some awkward, goofy hijinks that will plunge you right back into your high school days, and get ready to be your worst self.
Now here’s a different take on high school – we’d be remiss not to mention Hatoful Boyfriend, a classic otome game. Players take on the role of Hiyoko, a fiery human girl at the all-birds school of St. PigeoNation’s Institute.
Yes, you heard us right. Birds.
Though the premise sounds wacky, the heartfelt worldbuilding will effortlessly draw you in, and it’s easy to forget at times that the characters are birds. Anything can happen as you attempt to juggle romance and your sophomore year of high school, and with love interests spanning from your childhood best friend, to your snobbish class president, or even to your school nurse, there are a whopping 14 different routes to explore. Spanning from unbearably cute romances to horrific global conspiracies, the hours will fly by as you uncover everything Hatoful Boyfriend has to offer.
🌹 Buy Hatoful Boyfriend on Steam
Developed thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, Boyfriend Dungeon is an otome game that makes your heart pound in more ways than one. Not only do you face fast-paced, electric combat in the dungeons, but as it turns out, the majority of your weapons are sentient, sexy, and very, very single. As a plus, polyamory is perfectly acceptable – and if you decide you’re better off friends, you’re still able to reach a platonic max Love Rank, removing any pressure to romance a character in order to pursue their full storyline.
Not only is your little protagonist adorable, but you have full customization over them, from their outfit right down to their pronouns. The player isn’t locked into a gender or a sexuality – men, women, and nonbinary characters are all equally romanceable. From K-Pop idols to figure skaters to bonafide mystics, Boyfriend Dungeon has someone for everyone.
🌹 Buy Boyfriend Dungeon on Steam
Though not the first otome game, the success of otome games in the West is owed in large part to the Hakuoki series. In this remake of the first game, players take on the role of a young woman named Chizuru Yukimura who teams up with the Shinsengumi as she searches for her missing father.
Boasting 12 bachelors and over 30 endings, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds provides dozens of hours of thrilling content for everyone who’s always dreamed of wooing a samurai. Step into a beautifully illustrated historical Japan, but watch out – the world of Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is rife with political affairs our darling heroine will need to navigate through.
🌹 Buy Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds on Steam
While all of these games give you a taste of those beloved “walking red flag” characters, Homicipher stands out as a game crafted meticulously for everyone who wishes they could date horror men.
Though it’s a visual novel, Homicipher doubles as a point-and-click adventure game, making for an interesting blend of mechanics. Additionally, the characters use a strange, unknown language that the player must interpret.
Investigate, escape, fall in love – with 17 different endings, there’s a lot to uncover, and the game makes it easy to reload to previous scenes to experience everything. But beware: death lurks around every corner, and one wrong move can lead to an instant death (unless that’s what you’re into? 😉 We promise not to judge!).
Honestly, this game really shouldn’t be free – but we’re glad it is. In the stunningly illustrated A Date with Death, the Grim Reaper has come for your soul, and it’s up to you to either resist his charms or suffer the consequences.
Players can customize their own character, and design their own bedroom – and they get to choose the pet they have. Weave yourself into the game effortlessly and have fun chatting with the Grim Reaper through a virtual program, but try not to get too close.
(And yes, you can pet the dog.)
🌹 Get A Date With Death on Steam
We hope you’ve found a new otome game to sink your teeth into! If you’re still searching, the Otome tag on Steam has plenty more to offer.
Have fun (and try not to get your heart broken)!
