Secrets of Me

Honestly, I finished this a pretty long time ago and bought it only because it was in a really cheap bundle with at least a dozen other games. I want to say that it's honestly not too bad if you read it with your expectations on the ground, like my review for Pub Encounter, but it just too far removed from my preferences that I just... hated the 10 hours I spent on this. :) I only finished it to complete the achievements and get it over with, so I can forget it and never have to think about it again.

I read some of the other reviews before, so I played this hoping it would be a bad otome I can laugh at when I'm bored, BUT everything about it just stresses me out. The amount of secondhand embarrassment I would get from looking at their interactions, the ridiculousness and outlandishness of the entire scenario playing out, everything just....doesn't help their case at all. There is nothing I can find redeemable about this game.

Steam needs a 'Meh" option. I have said this a million times and I will continue to stick to it. This game had a unique premise for an otome game in that you get to play a stalker, so in some cases it was self-aware and I want to believe it was humorous on purpose, too. However, that's where the enjoyment ends. Mizuki is my favorite of the characters and I liked the aesthetic of Ryo and Meguru, but the fact that every character was in a relationship that you have to break up; well, it just made the game un-enjoyable. Add in the fact that the MC is stalked or sexually assaulted and grabbed against her will and then constantly made fun of for being innocent and it's constantly made known that they "want to assault her for being innocent" and it just completely made me uninterested in the rest of the story. So, despite loving the fact that the game gives you a different plot than other otome game, I am rating it a "no" to try to even out the reviews so people can see it's just a meh game. It's ok enough to play if you get it cheap/on sale but definitely not worth the full price.

It's a garbage game. I hated it and I hated myself for playing it.

Premise is dumb (stalking ain't cute), cliche over cliche, dumb plot twists, dumb story...
Sometimes it was so unbelievably stupid, I honestly thought it was a parody or something. Oh, to dream... It could be funny in the dumbest of ways. But it's kind of funny after which you think "I can't believe I giggled at this, what is wrong with me".

There's no good characters here. If you're expecting at least one route without SA, I've got bad news for you.

• MC is dumb, creepy, pitiful, weird, embarrassing, pathetic idiot with no common sense, no standards, no confidence and self-esteem so low it challenges her intellect.
  
• Shun is mediocre, possessive weirdo.
  
• Akira is arrogant, rapey, possessive prick - who thought bully/victim to lovers would be a good idea?
  
• Megumi is privileged, rude, cheating arse with such beloved tropes as "You're so not like other girls" and "I can change him!" in his route. Big yikes.
  
• Ryu is just the worst. The most rapey of them all. Oh how I wished he wouldn't end up in the lucky 40%... (I wanted him dead, that's what I'm saying).
  
[*]Mizuki is alright. I didn't hate him (constantly at least), but nothing to like here. It's like... all of them are trash, but if Ryu is disgusting, decomposing, rotting corpse of a rat, Mizuki is more like mouldy apple - still edible if you're starving.

Whenever I think to write a review for a game developed by Dogenzaka Labs, I have a hard time deciding whether or not I should "recommend" the game in question. At this point, I have played through the majority of content DL has to offer, and as a result, have noticed that the review sections on this platform are almost always polarizing. If you're interested in the otome genre and are *only* familiar with AAA titles like Hakuoki or Collar x Malice, Dongenzaka Lab games might be a hard pill to swallow. Unlike bigger titles, DL games tend to focus on the erotic side of otome, often covering taboo topics like workplace sex or even incest. Although "Secrets of Me" is admittedly one of the tamer works that DL has in store, you can almost always expect the writing of these games to be fantastical and raunchy on a rather absurd level.

In essence, these stories are not for everyone.

If you've made it this far, and aren't offended by the topics that DL explores, you might be interested in "Secrets of Me". Without going into too much detail about the narrative, the MC in this tale has recently undergone intense plastic surgery in the hopes of becoming worthy of her chilly fiance - only to find that his feelings for her are anything but romantic. The MC must learn how to accept her new body and all the newfound attention she's receiving from her transformation.

Compared to Dongenzaka Lab's body of work, "Secrets of Me" is one of the more enjoyable games on the list (and trust me, my bar isn't very high). The love interests in this game posses more intriguing quirks and back stories than their counterparts. There are fewer problematic situations, and some characters are even called out for their bad behavior (this isn't always the case in a DL game, so I thought it might be worth mentioning). Other than that, it really is your average smut game. It's not the best I've read, but it does its job.

I've seen some divided opinions on this game and I think it comes down to two things.

1. How seriously you're taking the game and its story/themes
2. Your sense of humor

This is not a deep story of two human beings organically growing to understand and respect one another as partners. It's a romantic comedy that cheerfully parodies and parades common tropes of the genre. No one in this story reacts realistically to the stalking - not the victims or the perpetrators. It's all played for comic effect; no harm, no foul. If you don't appreciate that in a story, then no worries, it just isn't your thing.

Other than that, it's just a matter of whether or not the jokes actually click with you. The MC is oblivious and scheming at the same time, with juuust enough self-awareness not to embarrass herself (most of the time) and get into trouble. She is "innocent" in some unusual ways, to the point where she seems to think of "beautiful people" as an upper caste of society, as well as being ignorant of many dating norms in some pretty hilarious ways.

Personally, THIS. KILLED. ME. OH MY GOD. I DIED IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES GUYS. I CAN'T EVEN. This is one of the greatest games on Steam. Oh my god. It kills me. The MC starts out in the prologue with lines like "...this insignificant pain [from the surgery] means nothing before my invincible beauty!" "Yay! In other words, I'm smoking hot!" "Haah... I wish I could change my personality to be as beautiful as I am on the outside..."

AND THIS IS JUST IN THE PROLOGUE. The combination of complete ignorance of the real world (she really seems to believe being beautiful will make everything awesome, but also sort of just shrugs and moves on when it doesn't) and the self-awareness is like nothing I've ever seen. A private detective goes "you should stalk your bf to fix your love problems" and she just! Takes this advice at face value! And DOES IT! AND HER BF IS ACTUALLY CHEATING ON HER!

It only gets more wacky and coincidental and absurd from there. Some people won't like it, period - some people will. There's definitely romance/attraction between the characters in every route, and the MC is just delightful throughout. I had an absolute blast with it, 100% recommend - provided the writing is your kinda thing.

'Tis the 2nd Dogenzaka VN/Otome I've played (1st one was Office Lovers) and while harassment is not as extreme as the 1st one, again its story revolves around another questionable action: stalking. (Which again I didn't realize since I bought a bundle, but it is written on the game logo: Stalking Love)

Our main character is a woman, who had been feeling so insecure about her physical appearance that "to be a woman that his fiancee(!) can be proud to show around" she undergoes surgery but her relationship *spoilers/I don't mark them as spoilers because it's literally the prologue.* doesn't go well for some reason. She encounters 5 different men in the prologue and with the new freedom she has, she decides to find love by STALKING these men.

Again, I'll admit that I had fun here and there, I laughed and stuff. Although there's no excuse for stalking, I must also admit that MC is not a very aggressive stalker of sorts. She just follows people -mostly unsuccessfully- but that doesn't mean stalking someone and trying to make them fall in love with you is okay!

I also didn't like something about the characters we try to woo. They have this thing -an obstacle for us =spoiler here: They all have a fiancee or a love interest of sorts and this obstacle conveniently disappears all the time! I mean, obviously, it is going to be like that but why all of them have the same obstacle? And none of these men seem to care about the same thing!

Like the Office Lovers example, these men are also thirsty AF but they are not extremely pushy about it. Although, they also seem not to care about MC's protests about not wanting any physical business. What's with these men not being able to stop themselves when there's nothing to make them start doing something? And for the love of God, can we see one MC who'll kick/punch them in appropriate places instead of freezing and making lewd sounds? All except maybe 2 of them are quite shallow characters, even those two I'm thinking about right now are shallow in a sense but they have some serious tones in their backstory.

All stories have a best & happy ending and two extra small chapters.

Unfortunately, I will not recommend this because I didn't quite enjoy it, and the story was ridiculous -not in a good way- in most places. But, all you're reading here are my personal opinions based on my personal tastes/beliefs/principles. So if you're into this type of romances, of course, go ahead, you may have more fun than me. In both cases, I can only recommend you to buy the game while it is on sale!

The characters are funny and lovely.
The main stories are interesting and entertaining. I really like how the girl tends to turn into a crazy stalker, because let's admit, deep inside all girls have a little stalker in them
One of my favourite stories was Mizuki's story (´ิ ❥ ´ิ♡). I was laughing through the entire story
But every story is great in it's own right. Some of them are funny, some of them are dramatic and some of them are romantic.
I can only recommend it!

I really do not think I am the target audience for these games. I am about five games into the D3 bundle and have only recommended one as playable so far.

The Good:
- Shun. He has his "off' moments (let me teach you a LESSON about letting your guard down around us disgusting lecherous men) but GENERALLY speaking, he's a decent guy. He's got charm, he teases MC but not in a rude or mean way, and he does seem to care about the people around him--my low bar for these characters is "Are you a sociopath?"
- Mizuki? I like Mizuki in theory, but in execution he does not play well off of MC. He comes off a bit too paternalistic because MC is ridiculously lacking in common sense. I had high hopes for him since I like the affable and friendly types, but alas.

The Meh:
- Akira. His route was surprisingly FUN once I got past my feminist rage in the first couple of chapters because you can raise affection with the mean and sarcastic dialogue options. Even though he's a spoiled, arrogant jerk, he does have a strong work ethic. *thumbs up*

The Oogly:
- Ryunosuke. He is, without a doubt, one of my least favorite LIs that I've EVER played in any otome game or romance-themed visual novel. He is basically a sexual assault lawsuit waiting to happen. He wasn't so bad as a side character in Mizuki's route, but I absolutely hated him in his own. He is always forcing himself on MC and the options that raise his affection have to do with being demure and apologizing for everything, including things outside of the MC's control or things that are his fault. AVOID.
- Meguru. He is just boring. He's also really weird, as his life philosophy is to help beautiful destitute women. He has some psychological reasons and childhood trauma that are supposed to explain away his inability to interact with women appropriately, but sadly I didn't care enough to pay attention.
- Art. Not a fan of the art style in this game. (MC is also faceless, which is never comforting.)
- Editing. Lot of sloppy mistakes and weird typos. I think I saw "dead" for "read" at one point. There were also quite a few scenes where the background music, which admittedly isn't great, just came to a screeching halt.
- Premise. MC gets plastic surgery to appeal better to her jerk fiancee who ends up dumping her anyways. She picks up some stalking skills from one of the LIs, private eye Mizuki, and proceeds to use them on one of the five men she ran into immediately after she became "beautiful." >> Maybe I would respect this premise more if there was some message here, like a body positive message or even a "plastic surgery is not so bad" message. Or something showing how plastic surgery by itself will not cure you of low self-esteem or self confidence issues. There was a weak sauce attempt in Shun's route to highlight the fact that people who get plastic surgery shouldn't be made villains or shamed, but it was so slight that I had to squint to pick it up.
- Story. Like other D3 games, these are very short stories that utilize over-the-top plot points that mostly leave me wanting. I do not need an overdramatic or melodramatic story if the interactions, character development, and dialogue are good.
- Cheating. Without giving too much away, cheating is prevalent in all of the routes. The writers attempt to justify it by creating a scapegoat in most of the routes, but it did not sit well with me.
- Heavy signs of rape culture. MC is yet another pure-as-snow protagonist who's lacking in all sexual experience (she freaks out when her hand is held for the first time) and says "No" and "Don't" quite a lot, mostly at odds with what she actually wants, which is another problem in itself, and it's 100% treated as "Oh, I just need to manipulate you more into saying 'Yes'" by all of the LIs.

If you like basic cliches and character tropes (except the heroine being a stalker, nice), then this game is for you? But otherwise there is no originality, and it definitely isn't worth full price. It was like a piece of meat that's under cooked with no seasoning, perhaps. Maybe it's enough for some people, but it's way too bland for me.

Well, secrets of me was... interesting xD
let's start with the pros and cons and move on to the plot.

pros:
1. I liked the artwork it wasn't bad.
2. the story was quite interesting and a bit unusual, it was refreshing.
3. The writing was alright
4. The translation was good, a few typo's here and there but I cannot complain about such a silly thing.
5. I liked that all the stories had a different plot, the mc would overtake different jobs, her background would change according to the story, overall not repetitive.
6. I have to say the MC's personality wasn't half bad, although she did suffer from the occasional damsel in distress syndrome she wasn't as annoying.
7. There was a decent amount of content, not as lengthy as other games but it worked fine.
8. The mc wasn't as much of a ''stalker'' as the description made her out to be.
9. The guys may seem like ''cheaters'' on first glance but there are some underlying situations that you will get once you play through the game, so don't get too turned off by that.
10. If you like ALL the fluff without the complications of angst well you are in luck, only good endings all around!

cons:
1. one of the stories was a bit disconnected for me, didn't make much sense.
2. I was ok with the art for the most part but... seriously draw some damn eyes on the girl already xD she was creeping me out, I personally would like to volunteer to draw eyes if it is too much trouble, that's how much she was creeping me out.
3. Some dialogues felt quite silly, but no biggie, they brought out a bit of laughter. The umm *cough* s*x scenes xD well they felt like that the writers thought that the world would implode if they wrote a dirty word xD so it goes at a very roundabout way.
4. If you are looking for a literary masterpiece well, this aint it, but it is enough to pass the time pleasantly.
5. There is some light sexual assault, be warned. But it is nothing new to the genre.
6. I know it is a cultural thing that you should not appear eager for intimacy. But I wish women would stop saying no when they mean yes in these things, makes consent a blurry line. This is a general thing though not just in this game.
7. I was begging for an auto button...

And these would be the first impressions, the con's are not very severe. In fact the whole game was quite passable and enjoyable. The unusual story added to the excitement, ofcourse it is not the best otome out there, but it definitely is not the worst and it will make for an overall pleasant experience. If you feel like the price is too much then get it when it is on offer, I didn't regret purchasing it. I recommend.

Now on to some plot spoilers, If you hate those then turn back now ^^
*SPOILER ALERT* Below there will be a short analysis of the LI's their relationships and the MC.

First the MC and why I said she was not as much of a stalker as they make her out to be:
She is the typical ugly duckling girl that got cheated and duped by a bad boy, she is a complete virgin in all aspects (she even mentioned she has never even been hugged before), and she is desperate to be loved and accepted, she gets plastic surgery just to be accepted. Would I call her a real stalker? She has been burned by her first love and acts out. She is definitely missing the crazy psycho aspect of ''I will make a collage of your face allover my ceiling and then I wanna kidnap you and tie you to my radiator and wear your skin'' type of thing. She does go a bit far with following people and being curious some times but nothing severe.

Now on to the love interests and their stories:
Lets say here that 3/5 were in loveless relationships of co-dependance that were toxic and damaging and they were all better off without their girlfriends regardless of the MC. The other two women were decent characters but... yea you will see.

Shun Hosaka:
The guy with the pygmalion syndrome,AKA I made you what you are.
He is her plastic surgeon. He was in a loveless toxic relationship with a woman that was faking a serious illness to keep him close even though she was in love with another man. He was with her out of pity and no real feelings were involved, in fact he had never been truly in love before.He is being followed by our MC and he knows it, eventually they fall in love and his damaging toxic relationship is resolved.

Meguru Yakushi:
The playboy that didn't know love.
He also was in a loveless relationship based on monetary gain, his fiancee was using him to steal his company and then dump him and ruin him. Toxic all around. He did get lightly followed by the MC. He did get on my nerves with his ''innocent act'' of maaaan... I dunno why all these women fall in ''love'' with me and become my mistresses, it ain't my fault, all I ever did was give them extreme amounts of money, take them on romantic dates, touch them, kiss them and xxxx them, I mean it's normal right? Anyone with a charitable soul would do that! (gimmie a break). Eventually his fiancee gets caught and the toxicity dissolves as he falls for the MC.

Akira Ninomiya:
The highschool nemesis
He is the bad boy with the golden heart that you thought he bullied you in highschool but he really did have a crush on you. Him being emotionally constipated and ashamed of his preferences didn't help. He is also in a toxic relationship with a woman that only uses him for his looks and fame to brag to her friends. He is not really stalked by the MC, although she was curious. They end up in the same working environment and that's how they develop feelings. Even though he is attracted to women on the heavier side that do not have the classic beauty, and he does state that he is not really attracted by the MC's appearance in the end they fall in love. Not because of what she looks like but because of who she is. I will note here that this was my favorite story out of the bunch. Even though he is rough with expressing him self (the emotional constipation thing) he is really kind and caring deep down. His toxic relationship is resolved and everything is peachy.

Mizuki Kudo:
The man with the nice guy syndrome.
This was my least favorite story, it didn't make much sense from a romantic development standpoint, his fiancee was a decent woman but their sexual preferences were worlds apart, that put a strain and secrets between them, and not to mention no action in the bedroom, and she was actually planning on breaking things off with him regardless of the MC. She did attempt to stalk him but lo and behold the tables turned and she got stalked instead. Well, cannot help it he taught her the art of following people. He acts all I am here to save you mah lady but he has the hots for her and we know it. His girl eventually reveals her secrets to him and dumps him cause she wants to fly free and whip people, he gets it on with the MC and life is good.

and last but not least
Ryunosuke Tachibana / code name: Ryu:
The hedonist with the tortured past.
I guess it is true what they say that those with tortured pasts make the best artists. He is a romance novelist that only writes bad endings. His fiancee although she was awesome she was not really his fiancee, they were in a fake relationship because of serious reasons, no romance between them. So that makes him officially the only one without a relationship to begin with. The MC simply gets hired to stalk him (by him - it was a novel research thing) so it is a part time job for her. He was my second favorite story, might be cause I got a thing for men with dark hair and tortured souls. He is all about pleasure and fleeting moments because of his dark past. Not to mention a life threatening medical condition, but don't worry he lives on in the end. He discovers love with our MC and he finally writes his happy end.

And here end my overall in depth impressions of this story. Hope you will enjoy this game, it was fun for me.

It would be easiest to describe this game as cheap trash. There aren't a lot of positives here. But somehow it's still strangely enjoyable, and the characters are oddly endearing.

The basic premise of the entire game is problematic: You have a heroine who went so far as to get major surgery to impress her boyfriend. One story line even mentions this cost upwards of $10k and she was now completely broke. And of the 5 guys you get to pursue, only one doesn't have a real relationship. Each route explores these various "moral grey area" scenarios in a different way. Dubcon and assault is rampant throughout, with the heroine only narrowly avoiding much worse (sometimes at the hands of her own love interest).

And yet, the same heroine that squandered her life savings on a man it turned out she scarcely knew, is remarkably strong and bold. She's cast as "innocent" and "naive" in the story, but she really isn't. Inexperienced sure, but she frequently takes matters into her own hands when she encounters a problem. And she always has something to teach the guys she gets involved with.

The Guys

TL;DR:

Overall Impression:

Content:

Translation/Editing:

Art/Character Design:

The Heroine:

The Love Interests:

Story:

In closing...

This is one of the weirder Dognezaka Otomes. The premise is odd. The protagonist is interested in this guy, so she gets plastic surgery to be more his type... and then finds out he is a cad who cheats women out of their money. Too bad she just spent all of hers! Being slightly depressed, she bumps into five handsome men, and she decides to use her newfound looks, and a few skills taught to her by a detective (who is one of the options) to steal them from their girlfriends.

That is a bit cringeworthy, but I think it is also the plot of several movies, both Asian and American...

The characters get a lot of growth, even if the guys do eventually dump their girlfriends (or wife in one case). In most of those cases the girlfriends have some issue or another that makes the breakup the right move. I'm not so sure about the wife one...

I would probably suggest getting this title on sale, but otherwise it is a decent read.

I really wanted to like this game. The prologue was funny and zany, but after that? It went downhill fast. The character I chose to romance, Akira, was pushy, cruel, and cheating on his ACTUAL GIRLFRIEND.

From what I understand, all of the options are currently dating someone else while the MC tries to seduce them away.

Akira's girlfriend, Yuka, is a cute plus-size girl in lolita fashion. In her case, she is extremely selfish, and when Akira has to go to the hospital because of a 102 degree fever, Yuka bursts in and yells at him for missing their date the night before. So the only chubby girl we see in-game is a screechy shrew who Akira only likes because he's a chubby chaser. Akira is trying to date MC at the same time as a "beard", or cover, so no one finds out his actual girlfriend is fat.

Akira is also very aggressive and repeatedly ignores MC's attempts to say no to him, and at one point I was actually concerned he was going to rape MC in an elevator. He had his hand up her skirt and was continually ignoring her refusal.

After six chapters of this, I was done. Despite my best attempts, I could not like Akira at all.

The goofiness of the concept was quickly overshadowed by the complete lack of consideration for MC from all of the potential romance options. I couldn't finish even my first playthrough.

Art: 9/10
Music: 4/10
Storylines: 6/10
Characters: 6/10

Overall: 6'25/10

An easy cliche otome VN with a slight twist. Buy it on sale to complete your Dogenzaka Lab collection or directly in the bundle itself.

The MC is a girl full of insecurities regarding her appearance, so obsessed with it that she goes through plastic surgery right at the start of the VN just to be pretty for her boyfriend. After discovering that he's a scammer, though, the MC sets her sights on another man out of the 5 that she meets right after her surgery, deciding to take the dubious advice from one of them and stalk them in order to gain information and seduce them. Also, all of those men already have a girlfriend or fiance, so it's the MC's job to ensure they break up to fill the gap.

That's basically the premise of it, however the "stalking" itself takes a backseat in 3 out of the 5 routes and, though it is still part of the story it's easy to forget about it. Heck, in one of the routes she's actually hired to do the stalking by the guy himself, I personally don't consider it stalking when the other party knows about it and encourages it. Also, despite the game apparently wanting to play that card as if it makes the game twisted or something... In the end it's actually just a way to make it far more credible how the MC keeps meeting with the romantic interest of each route and being at the right place at the right time, something that always happens in those games except in all those it's blamed on it just being a "coincidence".

The other element the game tries to pride itself on doing differently and thus "being a twist" is the fact that the MC is "the other" and causes break ups to happen in order to stay with the guy in question. Unfortunately, this isn't such an original twist as the game thinks, the only "original" thing is that it's a cliche that's shared in all of the routes. Many other otome VNs usually have at least one guy with a girlfriend or a fiancé, often forced on them due business deals or something like that. And this game actually plays on that card as well, none of the guys really seem happy with their respective current girlfriends/fiancés and it ends being as if the MC is saving them from a life without love by tempting them.

The translation job could use serious improvement, but it's not as worse as many others on similar simple otomes. There are several glaring typos that seem to suggest there wasn't even a simple proof-reading before putting them in the game rather than just hit the spell-checker tool, but their presence varies. They seem to run rampant on two of the routes while the other three show a welcomed lack of them (there still are some of them but they are so rare that it's easy to forgive).

The VN is full of cliches and troupes common in the genre, though the use of those elements depends on the route, which is what makes the quality of the storylines fluctuate. In my opinion one of the routes was simply terrible, with barely any direction and sense of flow in the story, events just kept happening and being thrown around and the progression of the relationship felt plastic and mechanic. Two of them, however, were much better, presenting actually interesting characters and conflicts and a depth I didn't expect in this kind of game. The MC herself varies slightly in personality and intelligence between routes, being quite sharp and quick in one and a complete idiot in another.

The worst part, by far, is the music. Just mute it and put some playlist or something else if you want to listen to something while going through the game. There are about 3 tracks, maybe more but the game abuses the heck out of 3 in particular and they aren't even very good, just a few notes set in a constant loop. That coupled with the annoying chiming sound whenever advancing the text is basically a guaranteed headache. This kind of soundtrack is acceptable for a mobile game (in fact this game is a port from a mobile game), but not on PC.

The art is good, but only regarding the characters' designs and the CGs. The backgrounds are blurry and highly limited in number, and the game doesn't even try to make it seem as if it's a different place just looking similarly. Your whole life in this VN is going to center on the MC's room, a street and a cafe, with a few more places added depending on the route you choose but that's about it. It's not great, but it's sufficient as the focus of the game is in the storytelling, unfortunately, as I mentioned before, that by itself isn't that great.

Not a purchase I regret in the slightest (though two routes, one more than the other, made me experience physical pain to get through) but definitively one I'm not going to return to any time soon.

This game is cute, in a strange kind of way. Personally, the thought of stalking for love creeps me out, which makes some of the MC inner dialogue awkward and unapealing. I also think the biggest con in this game is the MC is just a dunce and a bit of an airhead. She sweet and has some really great points about her, but i do find myself being annoyed a lot at having to immerse myself into really crappy personal moments. Overall, she is so weak, practically maddeningly so. That being said, I found that the redeeming feature that makes up for it are the boys personal struggles and trials. For most of the story lines, the men's personal trouble eased the crazy that my character was and made the playthroughs relatively interesting and sometimes meaningful.

Other parts:
Artwork- average, nothing to really write home about
music- average, I suppose, there's this one note that really irks me (but that's the musician in me) so i just turn the sound of and play my own stuff in the background if i really need the white noise
Length of game play- pretty good- 8 hours thus far and still haven't finished 2 stories and the extra sequels

Overall, i recommend it. Even moreso if you can get it on sale :)

This is one of the better VNs by Dogenzaka. After running through 2 terrible ones, this one was a breath of fresh air.

Basic plot: The player character is self conscious and decides to get plastic surgery after her boyfriend proposes to her. Soon after, the player learns that her boyfriend was actually a con artist trying to launder money from her. He breaks up with her once he finds out that she spent all of the money he was going to launder on plastic surgery. The player then gets involved with one of the five romanceable guys, who all turn out to have a fiancee/girlfriend. The player starts to stalk them out of interest. The relationships are either one sided or had a fatal flaw within them. Eventually, the guy breaks off the relationship/engagement because he fell in love with the player.

The VN still has the problems that all other Dogenzaka VNs have. The 5 storylines are much better written than some of their other VNs published by Dogenzaka. They're 13 chapters + 2 endings rather than 8 chapters + 2 endings. There was actually character development compared to some of the other ones. I would actually recommend this one, even though there are some obvious flaws in it. The awkward translations are less noticeable in this one. The premise is weird, but it wasn't weird to the point where it's cringey.

If you plan on buying this game, get it in the bundle or wait until a sale.

This VN actually had me laughing out loud several times. The set up is sort of odd and the heroine definitely insn't the usual type but I really liked her because of it. She's a lot bolder than the normal heroine you get from VN's. I do wish they wouldn't played up the stalking aspect a bit more but it's overall a very fun game. The only other thing is they made these guys' chins so damn pointy, but the overall design isn't too bad.

When this title was released on Steam, I'm glad I recalled a friend some time ago praising it as one of their favorites (they played the smart phone version). Otherwise, I may have put off or fully passed on this title since the impression this game gives off is a murky one.

I'm gonna tell you Secrets of Me is weird. More of a "weird GOOD" than a weird bad. Otome games can be predictable but this kept me on my toes. Much of the credit goes to the MC, who had a strange mix of traits that somehow end up being kind of interesting & charming. This girl can be shameless but the light-hearted manner of everything will make you like what's happening. I never had so many dialogue options make me truly laugh & excited to see the following result.

The guys were far from perfect but certainly loveable, there are many amusing scenarios/crazy antics but just enough restraint that you can enjoy a few serious moments. Don't hesitate to play this game if you're looking for something different & quirky, be a little open minded and let the stalker games begin!

Like the previous reviewer, I was initially turned off by the weird game description. But I wasn't going to kick it until I tried it.

Pros
Character design
Reminiscent of a Korean romantic comedy

Cons
Inconsistent music loop
Blurry backgrounds
Lack of depth
Cliche plot elements

Some of the pros and cons I listed could be taken either way. But here, I'll discuss my personal opinion of the game. (I know it says I've only docked about 11 hours, but I really did get all the acheivements already.)

The story starts out with you, the protagonist, newly transformed after undergoing plastic surgery to impress your fiance (slightly weird thing to do, considering he's already agreed to marry you, but it's good. lol). Later on, using your stalking skills and the help of a handsome stranger, you find out that he's actually a con man who tricks women into marriage. After returning home, you get a call from your fiance asking to borrow money, but you had spent it all on the surgery, so he breaks up with you. And thus, your otome dating sim begins.

Right off the bat, I assumed this game would be your typical, cringy, dating sim. And I'm actually really into that (I've played so many Dogenzaka lab games lol), so I went into it with a very open mind.

I really liked the art style in this game, specifically the CGs and character sprites. One thing that bothered me a bit was the way the protagonist was drawn (no eyes), but that is a minor detail. The backgrounds were disappointing and looked like blurry pictures, which has worked for other games, but these specific photos looked bad (maybe I'm just being picky?). The music also seemed familiar, maybe recycled from another game, though it was pleasant enough. I got the impression that the creators didn't invest as much time into this game compared to some of their other titles.

Above, I mentioned that the story reminded me of a Korean romantic comedy (which I'm not that into, so I listed it as a pro for others rather than myself). I found the protagonist a bit silly, with her clumsiness and stalkish behavior, made me chuckle a few times. She wasn't too passive overall, so the choices weren't ridiculously frustrating, which was a plus. A surprisingly common element in this game was that the characters were engaged to someone else from the beginning. Personally, I'm not interested in pursuing this type of character, so I didn't like that aspect either. And though the characters had great designs and personalities, I didn't feel an emotional attachment to any them or their stories. The suitors seemed cliche (e.g. rich doctor, model, CEO who sweeps you off your feet). Halfway into most of the routes, I lost interest. I can honestly say the story got pretty freakin' weird at times, but it still wasn't enough to keep me captivated.

What I liked the most about this game was the obvious message and overall theme that beauty isn't only skin deep. Sadly, the protagonist had already gone under the knife before realizing any of that. And in a way, her beauty makes me question the integrity of some of these characters. It's likely that most of them wouldn't have even interacted with her, had she not undergone plastic surgery to be such a stand out beauty.

Even though I liked it, this has been my least favorite of the Dogenzaka lab games I've played. Now, if you are a fan of kdramas, romantic comedies, strange storylines, or you just need something to pass the time, then you might enjoy this more than I did. Overall, I give it a 5/10. Not that great of a game, but I've certainly played worse. I'm not really recommending it, but I'm not saying you shouldn't give it a chance.

I've only done Akira's storyline so far, but it was amazing. By far one of the best virtual novels I've played in a long time. I was a little hesitant to buy it, because the description sounded weird, but I'm so glad I chanced it. The story had a lot of twists and turns. I couldn't predict what was going to happen next and I really had to think out every choice I made. I got the "Best" ending for Akira, so I'll probably go back and play it again to see what the "Good" ending is as well. I'm going to try to play all the storylines.

Art: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Storylines: 11/10