Perhaps in another world this is an accessible and immersive visual novel-esque mobile game with a dedicated following and an IP not attached to one of the most entitled and influential bigots in the West. In our reality however it's an exploitative, unplayable mess thanks to paywalls shamelessly forced in-between every few minutes of gameplay, not allowing for any meaningful progress. It's been this bad since day 1 and the sheer thought that it's gotten worse somehow really makes me question the sanity and morals of those who are supporting this sad excuse of a game enough for it to be able to keep going after five years.

This is the most camp yet oddly cohesive story I've seen in a mobile game to date and the way it makes you care about some, if not all, of these characters and is able to give them almost equal amounts of screen time and development is a scarily impressive feat. Anything you might have heard about it is true and false all at once. You will roll your eyes, you will stare in disbelief and you will unexpectedly get overwhelmed by feelings of adoration and triumph in more than one of these event stories (if you stick around and connect to at least one of these idols, that is). Being such a character-driven game only does it favors. If the character(s) you produce get a lore dump or new arc it's honestly game over, this game doesn't pull its punches.

Where I think the game shines the most however, aside from the love many of its characters receive (including quite gorgeous and continuously improving artworks by the very talented, anonymous artists behind the cards), is the rhythm game side of it. The sheer amount of options you're given in the live settings alone, ranging from note type and size, to speed, timing, a mirror mode and several difficulties (among other things) make it one of the most accessible rhythm games I've seen, covering the needs of novices and aficionados alike. It's got a satisfying learning curve and you can always adjust it to your needs as time goes by. The presentation also has its fair share of customization and can be quite stunning, if you have the necessary storage to spare, the MVs and especially SPPs really elevate the game alongside the customizable options for idols, which are unlocked on their respective idol roads.

There's not much to say about the gacha itself. It's gambling, a mere game of chance you're tricked into thinking you have any control over, when you really don't. The most you can do is plan ahead (at least if you don't play the JP version) and save up your resources for your favorite idol(s) to increase your odds. Compared to other gacha, I appreciate the guaranteed 4⭑ in a 10-pull and quite enjoy the presentation of it all, it sure knows how to get someone excited with those rainbow stage lights. The pity for 4⭑ and 5⭑ alike is a little too high for my liking (300 pulls? Really?) and giving you at least a single free pull for new banners would be very tempting, even occasionally rewarding depending on your luck. The nigh nonexistent rerun of banners and a lack of pity on birthday banners are most definitely the greatest shortcomings of this game's gacha system. Other than that, it is what it is. 5⭑ cards themselves fortunately aren't too out of reach thanks to how events are structured in this game, but it can make keeping complete card albums for more than one specific character a daunting experience, especially for F2P.

My biggest issue aside from how certain stories are handled (a lack of planning as it just "goes with the flow", but especially regarding the issue of the game having no feature summing up key events from the basic era for newcomers), is probably idol work. The office has a great amount of customization and adorable little chibis that can interact with their surroundings, but work basically requires no input from the player. It's honestly quite a bore after the first few times when you've pretty much memorized the quotes of your go-to idols, and while you can increase the drop rates of patterns and your in-game currency, it's tedious work where you do nothing but sit idly by and hope you get the desired outcome. I find this much more tolerable in form of societies, because those can help you grind for more resources by simply being active and doing your daily tasks, unlock more things for your idols and in the rarest case even let you socialize with fellow producers.

Truly, I don't know how to sum up a game like Ensemble Stars Music. It's reached a level of infamy online I still can't fully comprehend, and yet when you get out of that specific fandom corner you realize it's still a relatively niche game, which hasn't quite reached mainstream status the way other mobile games have. To say it's an experience would be putting it mildly, and said experience will largely vary between players. But the game is definitely special in its approach and presentation, in the attention, love and hate it receives. It needs to be seen to be believed. It's a game I find easy to recommend to rhythm game enjoyers and less so to people who form unhealthy connections with comfort characters, as they are more prone to develop a gambling addiction. Casual players who might find enjoyment in the music and live stages which come with the game should have a good time with it as well. For anyone obsessed with the particular type of media which has a key gimmick that is valued above all else, discussed gravely and used to settle disputes of any kind and scale à la Yu-Gi-Oh!, Hypnosis Mic and Kakegurui will also feel right at home with Enstars. While the concept of idols is not always talked about in a competitive sense (these characters do in fact address their problems in conversations and don't immediately start a singing contest on the spot), the importance of idols in this world identical to ours, be it philosophical, economical or even psychological, is something I find very reminiscent of the previously listed media.

As can be seen, I have many thoughts and feelings about this game, which is precisely why I feel like I can't give it a fitting score just yet. I score games based on how they handle their writing, presentation and gameplay, looking into whether or not these things are balanced out and executed right. Enstars is far from finished. There's still a fair share of unsolved mysteries and unfinished plotlines (the godfather and the disease of the Sakumas coming to mind for me), characters which will be further fleshed out in the future, and gameplay features which might be added and/or altered. For now, this review is all I'll leave my log of the game with, and I'll return to score it eventually when I feel it's the right time to do so.

— for anyone wondering who in their right mind would put in the time and effort to write a serious review of Ensemble Stars Music, of all things: hello, it's me, your friendly neighborhood AdamP. I have nothing to promote, not even my reviews of varying quality, so all I'll say is that you should do yourself a favor and listen to Valkyrie's discography <3