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Hatoful Boyfriend (Video Game Review)

If a pigeon dating sim sounds like your type of game, then you should download a copy of Hatoful Boyfriend immediately. Sane gamers will find the bizarre plot of Hatoful Boyfriend a lot more difficult to stomach though. Players head to the most sought after all pigeon school seeking a better education, and inevitably, romance. Players can influence which pigeon suitor they eventually get close to, and the game features multiple endings that offers some replayability for gamers that enjoy the new title. Hatoful Boyfriend is a stretch to call a game though, as players will do little more than click through dialogue in this visual novel. Hatoful Boyfriend will only be fun for a select collection of gamers, and there are still better visual novel games available than Hatoful Boyfriend.

The storyline of Hatoful Boyfriend centers around St. PigeoNation's Institute, and the game's protagonist enters the school as a new transfer. Players control many choices along the way that will all lead to furthering a relationship with a fellow pigeon student. Many of the choices are very transparent and not all that interesting for the player. For the player to have the strange medical bird "experiment" on them, a player will simply choose to visit the school infirmary, medical tent at school events and so on. The game does feature a fairly interesting storyline, but playing through the game can be painful at times due to long instances of inactivity for players and choices that are ultimately very uninteresting.

Though the game is a strange one, Hatoful Boyfriend is self aware of its bizarre storyline. The game allows players to turn on human forms of the birds, so players don't feel as strange about hooking up with pigeons at bird school. The game has a good sense of humor as well. Everybirdie and nobirdie are just a few of the play on words the game presents throughout its narrative, and players will get a few chuckles while reading through the game for the first time. There's still something strange about watching two birds get romantically involved in the game, and some of the dialogue between characters is uncomfortably absurd. For example, one bird is obsessed with pudding, and the food seems to make its way into nearly every conversation players have with the particular bird in a very obtrusive fashion.

Gameplay in Hatoful Boyfriend makes it difficult to call the new release a real video game. Players don't interact with the game with the exception of a few choices each school semester. The main character can get statistical boosts like charisma and wisdom, but the ratings are difficult to understand and make shaping the story to player's ideal vision tough to master. Hatoful Boyfriend features multiple endings including a brand new ending created by the series creator Hato Moa, so players that enjoy the game will want to play through the title multiple times to see each of the game's endings. The game includes a fast-forward button to make playing through the game more enjoyable, as it quickly skips through dialogue and only stops just before a player is about to make an important decision.

Hatoful Boyfriend has a unique art style and presentation that girls still living in a princess phase will enjoy, but a good majority of gamers don't reside in this minority group. Plenty of pink, hearts and birds litter the game. All of the human forms of birds look like traditional anime characters with wavy hair and big, cartoonish eyes. The artwork for the game is drawn well with school backdrops looking as though they were ripped straight from a popular animated show. The game's multiple endings make a big impact for players looking to get a lot of gameplay for their money, but there simply isn't enough fresh and unique content in the game to make the title a very enjoyable experience beyond the initial playthrough.

Hatoful Boyfriend is a unique experience that will fulfill fan's every wish for a pigeon dating simulator. The bizarre storyline will make anyone that isn't looking for lovesick birds in their video games feel incredibly uncomfortable. The game includes some good features including multiple endings, a fast forward button to skip dialogue to get to different endings more quickly and an option to turn on human forms of the birds in the game, but it's not enough to make Hatoful Boyfriend feel like a true video game. The title is littered with hours of inactivity on the player's side, and most players would be better off picking up a good book to read instead of sitting through a game about these love doves. Hatoful Boyfriend is out now on Steam.

Hatoful Boyfriend is now available for PC, Mac and Linux and can be purchased exclusively on Steam for $9.99. For more information on the game, check out the official Hatoful Boyfriend website.

Game Features:
  • Single Player
  • Date One of Seven Birds
  • See Characters in Human or True Forms
  • Steam Trading Card Support
  • Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: Mediatonic
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Mac & Linux
Release Date: September 4, 2014

Score: 4.5 out of 10

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