I've been
warned against that game, by both my fellow gamer Kumiko and the official
reviews on Metacritic; however, my gaming instinct was dead set on playing it,
and you know how my gaming instinct operates — once it decides something,
there's no swaying it. Not only do I really feel like playing VNs now,
but the Italian setting is very much to my liking. See, I revealed my French
roots already on
that blog; and it's now
time to unveil the fact that my great-grandfather hailed straight from Italia,
which obviously makes me partial to all things Italian. I must add that I have
yet to set foot in the country to this day — which is exactly why Piofiore's
over-the-top, highly romanticized version of Italia is right up my alley.
But beyond those fickle yet perfectly valid arguments, my gaming instinct was
drawn to Piofiore for another major reason. One
review on Metacritic
compared it to Amnesia: Memories; and once I read that, there was no
turning back. If you remember well, Amnesia: Memories was my
first foray into the world
of otome; and it remains one of my most memorable otome experiences, even to
this day. It wasn't just an otome game: somehow, it was also a survival game,
in which I had to navigate my way through dangerous shoals and make it alive to
the Best Ending shores. Gruesome endings were aplenty, douchey guys with murkey
motivations abounded, treacherous dialogue choices were everywhere, untimely
deaths were a dime a dozen — and I lapped it all up. If Piofiore offered
something even remotely similar, then there was no way I would pass on
it.
So here's my goal with that game: to survive my entanglements with the Mafia,
and make a beeline for the Best Endings — because if I do succeed in surviving
the Mafia, then I might as well do it with a beau in my bed. Lofty goals
indeed, if the reviews insisting of the delicate balance of dialogue choices in
Piofiore are to be believed; but I'm confident I can make it. I won't
bother playing the Normal Endings, let alone the Tragic ones; not only have I
witnessed enough of Otomate's blood-chilling outcomes for a lifetime already,
but I have a crap ton of other VNs ready for the reading. Instead, all Endings
but the Best will be treated as Game Overs, proof of my glaring unability to
navigate the Piofiore shoals.
In order to make surviving that game even possible at all, a bit of homework
was in order. Perusing reviews taught me that all characters have two gauges,
and that both need to be filled to get the Best Ending. One of those gauges
represents Affinity, and the other represents a secondary attribute specific to
each character. Since the latter are nowhere to be seen at the beginning of the
game, it's safe to assume they're revealed after finishing one route. Now, do I
want to play extra-fair and play a crash test route for each character, just
for the sake of unveiling Attributes? Why, not at all! Although this may be the
intended way to play Piofiore, it doesn't square with my goal at all.
And pray tell, doesn't it smell a mite like fake longevity — mixed with a whiff
of fake difficulty to boot? I'm having none of that, I'm telling you; and so
I'm starting the game with clear knowledge of all Attributes, courtesy of the
all-knowing internet.
From now on, my path is clear. Just like I did in Amnesia: Memories,
I'll monitor every single choice, comparing the Status screen after both
options and choosing my path accordingly. In case a choice doesn't land me an
Affinity increase, I'll go with the answer that best fits the character's
Attribute. This means that I'll have to rely on my own judgement on a regular
basis, which is a thrilling prospect. Now, will I be enough of a shrewd
operator to make it unscated through the game? Wish me luck, dear fellow
gamers; I'll see you soon with a run
report!
Kumiko13 November 2020 at 00:48
Ehh, going for the best endings won't do much to improve the game, but it
will certainly keep you from throwing it against the wall in pure rage. You
thought amnesia's endings were chilling? You didn't see anything my friend. At
least those 'terrible' endings had some basic on the specific character you
were going for, and were part of the overarching theme of the game. Here it's
just 'let's just do the worst things we can think off for pure fetish value,
doesn't matter if it makes no sense for the character and ruins the rest of the
story. Because gang rape and sexual slavery are totally what our fans want to
see.'
Seeing your tentative excitement for the game only makes me more bitter,
because the reason I bought the game in the first place was the exact same as
yours: I was eager to play a game similar to amnesia. And then I got hit
face-on with the terrible excuse for plot and characters, and let just say any
semblance of gameplay was the furthest thing from my mind.
Good luck, you'll need it.
At least Café Enchanté is out now. Haven't played that before, but at least it
looks wholesome with some supernatural theming as flavour.
Isleif15 November 2020 at 10:14
Café Enchanté is on my shortlist too — in fact, I'm currently waiting for
it to grace my mailbox.
As for Piofiore, well... I have a good feeling about it, despite all the
warnings I got. The thing is, I've braced myself for the absolute worst
already, and you know how expectations work: because I do expect the absolute
worst, I may end up being pleasantly surprised by Piofiore's actual content.
Not only that, but I genuinely don't care at all about Piofiore's characters
and story. I'm here solely to beat the game: it's a fight between me and the
Otomate writers, a complete survival experience. The thrill of being pitted
against a VN that roughes me up and wants me to fail is actually something I
was starting to miss, so I'm glad to get a dose of tough love with Piofiore.
I can't say I relish themes such as gang rape and sexual slavery in my otome;
however, I'm not shocked to see them in a Mafia-themed game — kinda goes with
the territory. We'll see how this is played out; but now that I fully expect to
encounter such themes, I guess the impact will be lessened.
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