dUpLicity ~Beyond the Lies~ is a romance mystery visual novel with romancable guys. Different with the usual dating sims, the main purpose of the game is to find out the truth hidden in the past.
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While this is apparently the first VN game that this dev worked on, it does not leave a good impression at all. This is easily the most tedious and disappointing VN I've ever played. I misguidedly kept at it, hoping that the story or characters might improve as I got to the "true" routes, but that wasn't the case. It was ultimately a waste of time.
This VN starts out as a stat-raiser, which is where a lot of the tedium comes in. For three in-game months, you click buttons to see the same bit of text over and over and over and hang out with the guy of your choosing. It's also incredibly easy to get a Bad or Normal end within minutes, making the whole exercise feel like a repetitive waste of time. If you do manage to get on a route, the game moves to a standard VN format, but it's not much of a reward because the story and characters are terrible.
The first plot twist is revealed early as a hook, but the implications of everything that follows after is pretty disturbing. One of the main male leads is the main character's adoptive father, which makes his route creepy from the outset. Subsequent plot twists make his character come across even worse, and definitely not as the tragic romance the writing clearly intended.
The other main route isn't much better, despite having the advantage of not starring a middle-aged groomer. This character's story features a lot of casual misogyny (ex: referring to women as "toys") with an unlikable personality on top of it. It's hard to buy into a fake dating with real feelings storyline when it's impossible to imagine why anyone would catch feelings for the person in question.
Further details and hidden routes get into spoiler territory, but the short version is that none of it ever improves, nor does it make the experience worth the time. Overall, the story is not worth overcoming the stat roadblock at the start. Play any other VN.
This VN starts out as a stat-raiser, which is where a lot of the tedium comes in. For three in-game months, you click buttons to see the same bit of text over and over and over and hang out with the guy of your choosing. It's also incredibly easy to get a Bad or Normal end within minutes, making the whole exercise feel like a repetitive waste of time. If you do manage to get on a route, the game moves to a standard VN format, but it's not much of a reward because the story and characters are terrible.
The first plot twist is revealed early as a hook, but the implications of everything that follows after is pretty disturbing. One of the main male leads is the main character's adoptive father, which makes his route creepy from the outset. Subsequent plot twists make his character come across even worse, and definitely not as the tragic romance the writing clearly intended.
The other main route isn't much better, despite having the advantage of not starring a middle-aged groomer. This character's story features a lot of casual misogyny (ex: referring to women as "toys") with an unlikable personality on top of it. It's hard to buy into a fake dating with real feelings storyline when it's impossible to imagine why anyone would catch feelings for the person in question.
Further details and hidden routes get into spoiler territory, but the short version is that none of it ever improves, nor does it make the experience worth the time. Overall, the story is not worth overcoming the stat roadblock at the start. Play any other VN.