Hatoful Boyfriend Review (PC)

good
key review info
  • Game: Hatoful Boyfriend
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: N/a
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Hatoful Boyfriend

Japan did create some interesting gaming trends over the years, and in the ‘80s and the ‘90s the country was the source of a lot of innovation for the rising console market, but one of the genres created there that has never caught on in the West is the complex dating sim with role-playing elements.

Some of them include a little too much nudity for the more prudish Western audience, some focus on customs and behaviors that are unintelligible for people in that part of the world, but Hatoful Boyfriend manages to sidestep all the potential issues by creating a story that’s based around pigeons rather than humans.

The game can be incredibly stupid but also hilarious at times, and there are enough decisions and branching paths to keep role playing fans occupied for many hours.

Hatoful Boyfriend might be a little overhyped, but if there’s one dating sim involving pigeons that a gamer is going to experience in his/her life, then this is the one which can deliver some cool and interesting moments and even some interesting takes on life and relationships.

Story

St. PigeoNation’s Institute is a classic advanced education institution which caters only to the elite, but in a weird twist, is designed to house the most gifted birds across the world, and the player is one of the few human females left who can enter the institution and date the various main characters.

If the premise sounds insane and there’s no way to suspend disbelief and get into Hatoful Boyfriend, then the game is not for you, but players who want realism will miss out on the cool writing, the interesting bird-focused gags, and the almost thoughtful and complex philosophy included in the experience.

Mediatonic has remade the game from the ground up, has made sure that the English text is both funny and easy to understand, although there are a few small mistakes here and there, and has streamlined the overall structure of the experience.

Pigeon look
Pigeon look

Both the pigeons that can be romanced and the main character have clear and engaging personalities, each with their unique take on life, and those who play through Hatoful Boyfriend more than once will get a glimpse of the lore of the world, which suggests that some pretty big events have taken place.

The most interesting pigeon to interact with is Okosan, who does not have an actual human face and speaks as if it were a character from a role-playing game.

Its evolution is also very nice to witness and its obsession with pudding remains funny throughout.

All the stories that Hatoful Boyfriend tells are interesting, even if at times they seem too brief.

Gameplay

Hatoful Boyfriend does not have traditional gameplay and the main thing that players will do in the game is click to get text on the screen and then click in order to advance to the next line or the next scene, with some multiple choices thrown in from time to time.

The first day at school is probably the most important period of the game, and the most annoying if a player is going through it the second or tenth time, because this is when most of the romance options are first introduced.

Players can chose from a variety of pigeon types, from the shy intellectual to the athletic weirdo, the creepy doctor, the snoozing professor and more, and each of them requires clear commitment and long-term planning in order to be successfully romanced.

I played the first time through Hatoful Boyfriend trying to make the choices that I would make if I lived in a cave and went to an elite school surrounded by pigeons, but the results were less than optimal and I basically failed, which in itself led to an interesting final scene.

In order to properly play the title, the gamer needs to choose one target after the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game and actively chase it by doing things he likes, joining the club he is part of and generally indulging in his weird unique behaviors.

The game also asks players to choose which activities they want to take part in, and three core characteristics can be increased, although their impact is not clearly spelled out.

A normal initial run through Hatoful Boyfriend takes about 45 minutes, while the second and third playthrough take even less, and much of the joy of the game is to see where different choices lead.

Story delivery
Story delivery

The biggest problem with Hatoful Boyfriend is that it never pushes the envelope as far as it could in its romances, despite the fact that its premise is very weird and its pigeon characters are in too many ways too human and relatable, with one major exception.

The replay value is great, but most gamers will probably never get to see all the endings because the text is too repetitive and there are moments when it’s unclear which choice leads to which result.

And that’s a shame because the development team has added a coda for those who manage to get all the possible results in Hatoful Boyfriend, which offers an interesting explanation for the state of the world and the existence of the pigeons.

Graphics and audio

Hatoful Boyfriend uses the classic look of its genre, with 2D panels that allow the player to look at one of the major characters or locations most of the time, while also reading text which is designed to push the story forward.

The game is created with plenty of attention paid to detail, and the world created around the lonely human girl and the pigeons is pretty impressive. However, there are plenty of gamers who will be disappointed with the very Japanese style and the use of constant bright colors.

There are some weird choices, like the way the pigeons have a clear human look (with some exceptions), but at the same time, they exist in spaces that are clearly not suited for their overall needs.

But Hatoful Boyfriend is not interested in creating a believable world, and the overall graphic design does a good job of underlining the main story trends.

The sound of the title is, unfortunately, maybe the weakest part of the entire experience, with its weird mix of styles and the sudden shifts in tone, and fails to capture the personalities of the characters or the way they interact with the protagonist.

Hatoful Boyfriend does not have any actual voice acting, although it would be great to hear the sound of pigeons falling in love with a human.


The Good

  • Layered storylines
  • Pigeon based concept

The Bad

  • Limited gameplay
  • Requires repeated playthroughs

Conclusion

Hatoful Boyfriend is at times barely a full video game, but at the same time, this is an experience that would be impossible to integrate into any other medium.

The title has some inscrutable mechanics, a story that at times made me stop and simply look at the screen for a few minutes in disbelief, but it also has some deep insights into the way humans approach other beings, be they pigeons or something else, and it can create some wild stories to share with other gamers.

There are genres that most players will not encounter too often, especially as they become more conservative and more focused on their favorite franchises as they get older, and dating sims probably fall into this category for most of us.

Hatoful Boyfriend is not a perfect game but it has enough humor and surprising moments, and is short enough that even non-fans will be able to enjoy it, even if they do not explore all the endings and possible choices.

story 7
gameplay 5
concept 8
graphics 7
audio 6
multiplayer 0
final rating 7
Editor's review
good
 
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