As of writing this review this is the newest Nitroplus Chiral VN written by Fuchii Kabura. If you look through the credits you'll notice she's been bumped up to director too which is really great! Congratulations Kabura-sensei! This game is a huge love letter to N+C fans but you can definitely jump into it as a newcomer as well, especially considering this game doesn't nearly have as much of the ridiculous scenes that permeated throughout her previous two works. But that's definitely not to say this game is tame, it's simply depraved in a more grounded way is all.
In fact I would say because it's more grounded I think it's harder to kind of recommend simply because of the main character himself who is a sociopathic masochist who only feels pleasure when he's abused. Definitely a way more interesting take on an MC for a BL and I personally think he's probably my favorite protag that Kabura has written. That being said I think even with all the new bells and whistles and higher production this game has, it takes awhile for the game to really get its ball rolling.
Personally, I feel like the protagonist carries the game for a good long while, even though all the characters are quite likable I think he's just way more interesting than everyone else. The script starts to feel somewhat self-aware of this as you get closer and closer to the final route because after awhile I just noticed that every route just felt like build up towards said final route. Not to say that the routes are bad at all, just kind of weak compared to Kabura's previous work (Dramatical Murder) which felt like it gave equal amounts of importance to every route.
But then again that's one big thing about this game too, excluding the first two "normal routes," there's actually a specific order you go in for the last two and as such it definitely exemplifies that notion that everything is just world-building and setup for the characters and their roles to play in the final route. Sweet Pool (Kabura's third work) did this in a pretty interesting way but since this game is a lot more down to earth, the day-to-day life of the MC and his acquaintances can sometimes make the game feel slow. It's not necessarily a bad thing just something that may or may not make someone get bored depending on how they feel about the "pseudo-slice-of-life" thing this game has going for it.
Something I do have to mention though is that I actually found myself remembering the side characters extremely well, they're some of the most fun and well-designed side characters in any N+C VN and I personally think other BLs should take notes on how they combine their different aspects and roots in the game's plot to help strengthen the game's world-building. Even though really I'm just talking about three in particular which create this sense of a network the MC has with other people in the city and how people interact towards them.
I would say excluding one specific route, the ero-scenes in this game are really great (including the two extra freebie scenes you can find.) Even for one character I thought I was gonna be "meh" about had awesome ones and I felt they were probably the best route that wasn't the true route. In addition to ero-scenes there are also literal dedicated guro scenes in this VN which usually isn't something that's separated from an ero-scene so that's definitely something this game has unique about it. Those scenes aren't insanely graphic to look at, but they do insinuate and express through text a lot of: woundplay, foreign object insertion, body modification, etc. It can be somewhat brutal but not enough for me to get queasy at any point, then again that's dependent on the person I guess. If that turns you off completely from this game then I would say run the hell away now and do not look back. However if you like the really dark, disgustingly romantic aspect associated with these kinds of scenes you'll absolutely adore them, as did I.
Once again the payoff for getting to that final route is immense in Slow Damage. Kabura really went all out on it and personally I think it stands above so many other BL romance stories and VN routes. It's a lot longer than the other routes and is a bittersweet, powerful story that displays an unexpectedly beautiful dynamic between the protagonist and the final route's character.
However I'm going to be honest, in light of all of that if you have played previous N+C you're gonna notice that this game takes a lot of cues from previous works. Sometimes it does it better, sometimes it does it worse. It almost feels like a sort of "anniversary piece" that honors what came before it, there's even certain audio and visual easter eggs hidden in the ambience and backgrounds that will further point towards that mentality. It's definitely a game that feels a lot better if you haven't seen said concepts and cues in the previous games so take that information as you will.
Another thing that is somewhat disappointing but not necessarily a ginormous gripe is that in a lot of the promotional material before this game was released the game felt like it was gonna be even darker than it is and it kind of straddles the line back and forth considering a lot of the MC's friends are a lot more upbeat than he is and it definitely makes the game feel somewhat cozier than expected. Some people may like that, some might not, I've kind of grown into it and kind of understand that from a writing perspective it was probably to make the characters feel a little more real, as in how real people would probably cope and try to stay cheery to keep each other's heads up through the metropolitan hellscape they live in.
Speaking of which the setting of this game is really appealing and has this strange cross between grimy and exciting that gave me goosebumps about living in a similar situation. On the funnier outlook of that mentality, because the city the characters live in they're practically always bandaged up and are constantly fighting, getting stabbed, etc, etc. It's definitely the rowdiest N+C VN I've ever played and through the MC it vicariously knows how to poke fun at itself in such a setting.
Back on the topic of the game feeling a little more "lighter" than expected it actually has a lot to do with the soundtrack. It has a jazzy tone to it but there's a lot more tracks than I expected that would fit the bill of sounding definitively "visual novel-esque" that definitely throws the mood back and around for a loop. One thing that does stay consistent though is the wonderful character art done by Uiro Yamada who from what I can tell has been a long time Nitroplus fan so it's pretty cool they got their chance at working on one of their games. Since the game is much more down-to-earth the character designs are also a lot simpler but still definitely stand out considering the fact that the artist's imprint is undeniably unique. Eeeeespecially the protagonist's design which is probably one of the best I've seen in awhile for such a simple, edgy design.
I'll be honest I really don't care for the opening song and the visuals kind of spoil a lot of what's in store and I think it's way better if you go into it considerably blind besides trigger warnings since there's tons of shocking moments that really gripped me when I saw them for the first time. All the ending songs are good...except the ones by ARKTA, they sound like really bad western metalcore but hey, who knows, maybe you'll like it. Definitely the ending songs by GOATBED were the best and I love them to death, I hope he keeps making more music.
I'll briefly mention that there is a "gameplay" aspect added to Slow Damage and it's used to gain more insight on side characters and if you do enough digging you pretty much have an easier time gaining access to certain endings in the routes. There's also a type of negotiation mechanic that happens semi-often with characters in the story but to be honest it feels pretty redundant excluding the final segments in routes which decide endings, it kind of just eats your time so you go back and see what dialogue you missed but most of the time it isn't much. I took about 60 hours to beat the game and I let the dialogue audio play fully most of the time. The character voices are memorable and very well done as to be expected by Nitroplus but an honorable mention goes to the sound design too. There's times where I heard a character walking up the stairs in the game and I thought it was happening in real life, they paid a lot of attention to it and it definitely did not go past me unnoticed.
Even though I did feel like the game has a lot of ups and downs that final route really does clean up the game nicely and really gave me a much better impression of the game by the end. I still think Dramatical Murder is unmatched in the BL world but regardless this game is still a must-play by any BL fans that can deal with its themes and extreme scenarios. I hope though that in the future, Kabura and the rest of the team at Nitroplus Chiral try to take an even weirder direction and go somewhere very different. This was a really great refresh on the gritty, dangerous nightlife type setting from them but they've proven they are extremely creative and can go bonkers with their storytelling and I hope they continue to do so.
Definitely give this game a good shake if you're even slightly interested, it's definitely worth your time and is probably one of the best visual novels I've read in awhile. My criticisms mostly only really apply as a long-time, hardcore fan of Nitroplus Chiral and as such I would sort of take said criticisms with maybe a grain of salt.
All in all, it's a game where people beat the crap out of each other and have badass sex. Have fun!
In fact I would say because it's more grounded I think it's harder to kind of recommend simply because of the main character himself who is a sociopathic masochist who only feels pleasure when he's abused. Definitely a way more interesting take on an MC for a BL and I personally think he's probably my favorite protag that Kabura has written. That being said I think even with all the new bells and whistles and higher production this game has, it takes awhile for the game to really get its ball rolling.
Personally, I feel like the protagonist carries the game for a good long while, even though all the characters are quite likable I think he's just way more interesting than everyone else. The script starts to feel somewhat self-aware of this as you get closer and closer to the final route because after awhile I just noticed that every route just felt like build up towards said final route. Not to say that the routes are bad at all, just kind of weak compared to Kabura's previous work (Dramatical Murder) which felt like it gave equal amounts of importance to every route.
But then again that's one big thing about this game too, excluding the first two "normal routes," there's actually a specific order you go in for the last two and as such it definitely exemplifies that notion that everything is just world-building and setup for the characters and their roles to play in the final route. Sweet Pool (Kabura's third work) did this in a pretty interesting way but since this game is a lot more down to earth, the day-to-day life of the MC and his acquaintances can sometimes make the game feel slow. It's not necessarily a bad thing just something that may or may not make someone get bored depending on how they feel about the "pseudo-slice-of-life" thing this game has going for it.
Something I do have to mention though is that I actually found myself remembering the side characters extremely well, they're some of the most fun and well-designed side characters in any N+C VN and I personally think other BLs should take notes on how they combine their different aspects and roots in the game's plot to help strengthen the game's world-building. Even though really I'm just talking about three in particular which create this sense of a network the MC has with other people in the city and how people interact towards them.
I would say excluding one specific route, the ero-scenes in this game are really great (including the two extra freebie scenes you can find.) Even for one character I thought I was gonna be "meh" about had awesome ones and I felt they were probably the best route that wasn't the true route. In addition to ero-scenes there are also literal dedicated guro scenes in this VN which usually isn't something that's separated from an ero-scene so that's definitely something this game has unique about it. Those scenes aren't insanely graphic to look at, but they do insinuate and express through text a lot of: woundplay, foreign object insertion, body modification, etc. It can be somewhat brutal but not enough for me to get queasy at any point, then again that's dependent on the person I guess. If that turns you off completely from this game then I would say run the hell away now and do not look back. However if you like the really dark, disgustingly romantic aspect associated with these kinds of scenes you'll absolutely adore them, as did I.
Once again the payoff for getting to that final route is immense in Slow Damage. Kabura really went all out on it and personally I think it stands above so many other BL romance stories and VN routes. It's a lot longer than the other routes and is a bittersweet, powerful story that displays an unexpectedly beautiful dynamic between the protagonist and the final route's character.
However I'm going to be honest, in light of all of that if you have played previous N+C you're gonna notice that this game takes a lot of cues from previous works. Sometimes it does it better, sometimes it does it worse. It almost feels like a sort of "anniversary piece" that honors what came before it, there's even certain audio and visual easter eggs hidden in the ambience and backgrounds that will further point towards that mentality. It's definitely a game that feels a lot better if you haven't seen said concepts and cues in the previous games so take that information as you will.
Another thing that is somewhat disappointing but not necessarily a ginormous gripe is that in a lot of the promotional material before this game was released the game felt like it was gonna be even darker than it is and it kind of straddles the line back and forth considering a lot of the MC's friends are a lot more upbeat than he is and it definitely makes the game feel somewhat cozier than expected. Some people may like that, some might not, I've kind of grown into it and kind of understand that from a writing perspective it was probably to make the characters feel a little more real, as in how real people would probably cope and try to stay cheery to keep each other's heads up through the metropolitan hellscape they live in.
Speaking of which the setting of this game is really appealing and has this strange cross between grimy and exciting that gave me goosebumps about living in a similar situation. On the funnier outlook of that mentality, because the city the characters live in they're practically always bandaged up and are constantly fighting, getting stabbed, etc, etc. It's definitely the rowdiest N+C VN I've ever played and through the MC it vicariously knows how to poke fun at itself in such a setting.
Back on the topic of the game feeling a little more "lighter" than expected it actually has a lot to do with the soundtrack. It has a jazzy tone to it but there's a lot more tracks than I expected that would fit the bill of sounding definitively "visual novel-esque" that definitely throws the mood back and around for a loop. One thing that does stay consistent though is the wonderful character art done by Uiro Yamada who from what I can tell has been a long time Nitroplus fan so it's pretty cool they got their chance at working on one of their games. Since the game is much more down-to-earth the character designs are also a lot simpler but still definitely stand out considering the fact that the artist's imprint is undeniably unique. Eeeeespecially the protagonist's design which is probably one of the best I've seen in awhile for such a simple, edgy design.
I'll be honest I really don't care for the opening song and the visuals kind of spoil a lot of what's in store and I think it's way better if you go into it considerably blind besides trigger warnings since there's tons of shocking moments that really gripped me when I saw them for the first time. All the ending songs are good...except the ones by ARKTA, they sound like really bad western metalcore but hey, who knows, maybe you'll like it. Definitely the ending songs by GOATBED were the best and I love them to death, I hope he keeps making more music.
I'll briefly mention that there is a "gameplay" aspect added to Slow Damage and it's used to gain more insight on side characters and if you do enough digging you pretty much have an easier time gaining access to certain endings in the routes. There's also a type of negotiation mechanic that happens semi-often with characters in the story but to be honest it feels pretty redundant excluding the final segments in routes which decide endings, it kind of just eats your time so you go back and see what dialogue you missed but most of the time it isn't much. I took about 60 hours to beat the game and I let the dialogue audio play fully most of the time. The character voices are memorable and very well done as to be expected by Nitroplus but an honorable mention goes to the sound design too. There's times where I heard a character walking up the stairs in the game and I thought it was happening in real life, they paid a lot of attention to it and it definitely did not go past me unnoticed.
Even though I did feel like the game has a lot of ups and downs that final route really does clean up the game nicely and really gave me a much better impression of the game by the end. I still think Dramatical Murder is unmatched in the BL world but regardless this game is still a must-play by any BL fans that can deal with its themes and extreme scenarios. I hope though that in the future, Kabura and the rest of the team at Nitroplus Chiral try to take an even weirder direction and go somewhere very different. This was a really great refresh on the gritty, dangerous nightlife type setting from them but they've proven they are extremely creative and can go bonkers with their storytelling and I hope they continue to do so.
Definitely give this game a good shake if you're even slightly interested, it's definitely worth your time and is probably one of the best visual novels I've read in awhile. My criticisms mostly only really apply as a long-time, hardcore fan of Nitroplus Chiral and as such I would sort of take said criticisms with maybe a grain of salt.
All in all, it's a game where people beat the crap out of each other and have badass sex. Have fun!