Full video review: https://youtu.be/U-VMR1uREig
It’s always these super indie visual novels that have the most insane plots and characters. As an enjoyer of insane content, I am here for it.
Story
Your school is bombed by terrorists. You are transferred to the nearest available school, which just so happens to be a private school for rich kids. This is the plot established in the first few lines of the game, setting the stage for the insanity that is to follow. Because although From Madness with Love does operate like a traditional VNs with its four routes, bunch of choices, and plenty of CGs to unlock - the writing is anything but tame.
It’s surreal, it’s fast-paced, and oftentimes doesn’t make much sense, but that is exactly the type of energy the story goes for and honestly, it really helps with the engagement. There may be “filler” content, but that content is generally pretty interesting because it’s just so absurd most of the time. I mean, there’s literally an entire character who speaks in this foreign language that sounds like Japanese, but played backwards. It took me literally halfway through the game before I realized that you can actually read what this character says by opening the log 😅
Characters & Routes
You’ve of course got the backwards speaking senpai, but also the cute gamer, the nurse that is oftentimes scary and seems to be hiding something, and the little one that just comes in and drops some random info that makes you wonder if there’s some deeper meaning to everything that is happening.
Each route kinda goes off on its own and ramps up the pacing to the extreme towards the end, which does detract from any sort of emotion that you would traditionally expect from a romcom, but I honestly don’t think the writers were going for that kinda of impact anyways. Each ending is dropped on you suddenly and - without spoiling - I can’t say I really saw any of them coming.
I would say the story is pretty interesting overall. It’s not the kind of VN that I will see myself thinking of later on, but is fun in the moment and provided for some good laughs and good “what is even going on” moments that just kept me reading.
Art & Settings
The art is pretty good! It’s got a very indie, pixel art style and the vibrant colors and backgrounds definitely add to the surrealism. What it doesn’t have though, are some fairly basic VN features - like auto mode or literally any kind of font or text box settings. I get that it’s a very indie production, but I would at least expect auto mode from any VN, indie or not.
Overall
So I would say that From Madness with Love is deserving of a light recommendation. It may be no Doki Doki Literature Club, but it does have its own similar sort of appeal. The story is engaging, the characters are interesting, the art is fun, I had a good time in the five or six hours it took me to clear all the routes and would recommend it if you like indie VNs.
It’s always these super indie visual novels that have the most insane plots and characters. As an enjoyer of insane content, I am here for it.
Story
Your school is bombed by terrorists. You are transferred to the nearest available school, which just so happens to be a private school for rich kids. This is the plot established in the first few lines of the game, setting the stage for the insanity that is to follow. Because although From Madness with Love does operate like a traditional VNs with its four routes, bunch of choices, and plenty of CGs to unlock - the writing is anything but tame.
It’s surreal, it’s fast-paced, and oftentimes doesn’t make much sense, but that is exactly the type of energy the story goes for and honestly, it really helps with the engagement. There may be “filler” content, but that content is generally pretty interesting because it’s just so absurd most of the time. I mean, there’s literally an entire character who speaks in this foreign language that sounds like Japanese, but played backwards. It took me literally halfway through the game before I realized that you can actually read what this character says by opening the log 😅
Characters & Routes
You’ve of course got the backwards speaking senpai, but also the cute gamer, the nurse that is oftentimes scary and seems to be hiding something, and the little one that just comes in and drops some random info that makes you wonder if there’s some deeper meaning to everything that is happening.
Each route kinda goes off on its own and ramps up the pacing to the extreme towards the end, which does detract from any sort of emotion that you would traditionally expect from a romcom, but I honestly don’t think the writers were going for that kinda of impact anyways. Each ending is dropped on you suddenly and - without spoiling - I can’t say I really saw any of them coming.
I would say the story is pretty interesting overall. It’s not the kind of VN that I will see myself thinking of later on, but is fun in the moment and provided for some good laughs and good “what is even going on” moments that just kept me reading.
Art & Settings
The art is pretty good! It’s got a very indie, pixel art style and the vibrant colors and backgrounds definitely add to the surrealism. What it doesn’t have though, are some fairly basic VN features - like auto mode or literally any kind of font or text box settings. I get that it’s a very indie production, but I would at least expect auto mode from any VN, indie or not.
Overall
So I would say that From Madness with Love is deserving of a light recommendation. It may be no Doki Doki Literature Club, but it does have its own similar sort of appeal. The story is engaging, the characters are interesting, the art is fun, I had a good time in the five or six hours it took me to clear all the routes and would recommend it if you like indie VNs.