The isekai subgenre of fantasy is well-known to anime viewers, and in most cases, fans have strong feelings about it. The word literally means Another World in Japanese, and in these stories, heroes from our modern world are whisked away to fantastical realms by portals, mysterious devices, or the now-iconic Truck-kun, among other means. Without committing to any particular plot points, these narrative methods allow the story to swiftly transition to the fantastical realm.

And KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! is a video game developed from the same name as the well-liked anime and light book series. In the game, you join Kazuma and his zany band of adventurers as they navigate perilous times, driven mad by a mysterious device that forces them to dress in ways that go against their true selves. Gathering materials, making a timetable, and making choices that impact your relationship with the heroines are all part of the game, which is basically a visual novel with some dress-up features.

Although KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! is loosely connected to the 2017 Japan-only game KONOSUBA: Judgment on this Greedy Game; fans will find that it stands well on its own. The protagonists of KONOSUBA—Kazuma, Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness—encounter a mysterious black slab bearing indecipherable writing while they are traveling. The gang learns that the black slab can make clothes out of various materials and substances. They also learn the hard way that awakening someone's reluctance to their own desires is a curse and that the only way to break the curse is to give in to their newfound desires, both physically and psychologically.

The innocent victim's desire is gradually supplanted by the new one as the curse lingers on them for an extended period of time. Just to make matters worse, the party finds out that the slab actually belonged to a nobleman—who then accuses them of stealing it. As a result, Kazuma, Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness find themselves in a sticky situation—they need to buy the nobleman some bizarre clothing so they can prove their innocence and break the curse of the black slab—but they also have to wear these costumes just to survive.

At the start of the story, our heroes stumble upon a stone and a mystical tablet—which, as they soon discover, has the power to fashion garments. The clothes we wear not only reflect our personalities but also shape who we are. Oddly enough, the heroes are presumed to have stolen these valuable artifacts. It turns out that helping the robbed nobleman out with some work—yes, making clothes for him—is the only way to escape imprisonment. So, the race against the clock starts. We are obligated to fulfill the order by the given deadline.

But the enchanted mystical tablet makes it impossible. The only way to break the party's curse and escape the nobleman's death sentence is for everyone to embark on adventures, gathering materials to make provocative clothing. In addition to the main clothes, you can customize bonus outfits that open up new narratives and deepen the connections between Kazuma, his three female companions, and some recognizable faces from the KONOSUBA series, such as Sena, Chris, Wiz, and Yunyun.

Playing KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! is like stepping into a surreal world where you get to design garments and manage your time in a visual novel style. To satisfy the nobleman's attire request, you have a set number of days to embark on quests or accomplish part-time jobs. This is how the system works every five days: you have three days to choose chores to gather materials. Stories can be set off by specific tasks, and according to your tolerance for explicit references and material, they can be either very funny or downright awkward.

In theory, each of the four protagonists could have a different job for three days each week. There were more side occupations than objectives, just like at the beginning of the series. The main gameplay mechanic in KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! is that you will have to make certain decisions and organize your day occasionally. The four companions must devise a plan to acquire the materials for the new garments and the extra cash to buy the items that cannot be obtained through usual means since time is running out to repay the noble owner of the tablet.

You can optimize variability by assigning each person odd chores like babysitting, blacksmithing, or mining. There are, however, group-oriented jobs that provide more targeted rewards for story-relevant clothing. To maximize your chances of gathering more exclusive items, it's recommended to use the full three days of planning for any particular team task that you pick.

After you complete the three days of work, you will be given the opportunity to choose one of the numerous locations where Kazuma can go to relax. Not only may these choices let him advance the plot and stretch his legs, but they also provide you the possibility to meet one of the numerous ladies you could develop romantic feelings for—this is a visual novel with enormous fanboy aspects. You'll have a short talk with the woman before seeing a discussion fork with three options. If you can win her over with the correct one, you'll have a happy ending and additional artwork to be found in the collection.

With each side gig, they rack up a little cash and parts. It appears that many characters have diverse preferences when it comes to their jobs. It seems like an additional scenario was unlocked because I put a particular godless goddess to work doing something she hates. An in-game hint suggests that the frequency with which a given task is assigned can impact the story's development. There appear to be a plethora of jobs—at least twenty-five—that can be unlocked through fulfilling hidden prerequisites.

The work assignment system appears to have some depth, a fair bit of gaming, and a purpose beyond simply earning money. I was eager to understand how everything fits together. The distribution of resources is completely random, while you do have some administrative say on your party's overall performance. This choice may appear questionable at first, but the eight weeks it usually takes to make clothes and the potential to use revenues to purchase supplies eliminate any chance of being frustrated.

Even if the primary storyline is not particularly compelling, the majority of the time in KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! is spent viewing scenarios with characters, which are a lot of fun to watch. There are a number of scenes that are associated with the costumes, as well as ones in which you come across them outside of town, and there are even hidden sequences for the major heroines that are tied to jobs that you may unlock. There is at least one conclusion for each and every character.

The good news is that you get to enjoy a wide variety of talks, from the very benign to the most outrageous antics with humor. Starting new conversations is where much of the fun and possible responses come from. Although you can influence some of these through your crafting, Kazuma's social choices might set in motion others. Naturally, if you're good with words, hanging out with any of the seven females in the game will increase your chances of improving your connection.

The majority of the character sequences are intended to stand on their own, but the ones in which you encounter people in the town are considered to be mini-storylines. I found these to be quite enjoyable to read, especially because they gave me the opportunity to learn more about Yunyun, Wiz, Chris, and Sena. For instance, fans of KONOSUBA are all aware that Yunyun does not have any friends, but it was enjoyable to read a short story about how she was attempting to change that and the reasons why she was failing.

This was in contrast to some of the isolated scenes in which the topic was just brought up as a joke. Engaging with characters goes beyond advancing the plot. Aside from the main quest, you can obtain Side Quests during the journey, or you can simply observe Kazuma chatting with his pals. As an added bonus, many of the interactions have their own distinctive CG, which, although being slightly off-kilter from the overall game, is quite satisfying to watch.

The choices made in dialogue can affect the attachment point system. The degree of closeness influences the conclusion; Kazuma's group members with the most emotional investment have two potential conclusions, whilst the supporting cast has just one. One of the numerous endings can be reached by following this path. Darkness, Aqua, and Megumin all have two possible conclusions. The fact that Yunyun, Wiz, Sena, and Chris—all minor characters—have the same conclusion was a nice surprise.

Regarding clothing, the components are utilized to create garments; however, the demonstration ceased at that point, so I am unable to provide any substantive feedback regarding the matter. Along with the money made from part-time occupations, the money earned might be utilized in Wiz's store to buy components.

A well-planned schedule is essential for gathering materials from side jobs and quests; what's more, there are a plethora of optional outfits that can be crafted; these outfits aren't directly related to the storyline, but they do affect the ending that the player can achieve for Kazuma. You won't feel rushed to finish all of the endings in KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! because the game moves along at a reasonable pace. In spite of my best efforts, while I was able to create all the main and option dresses for the second chapter, I was only able to create a few dresses in the third and fourth chapters.

This means that you'll have to play the chapters multiple times to complete all the dresses to unlock the scenes and multiple endings. For Yunyun, when I finished my first game, I got her ending instead of Aqua's. Every chapter ends with a time limit that you have to meet in order to unlock the main plot clothes; I thought this was a clever and engaging approach to add player agency to the game. You will also need to carefully manage your inventory and outfit priorities. On top of that, getting Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness to do part-time jobs they hate really unlocks special events in the game, so it's like a hidden bonus for being average.

The game's graphic presentation is on par with that of the majority of titles that are classified as visual novels. A collection of static pictures depicting different emotions is used to illustrate each character. Moreover, there is a unique photo of the ladies putting on every item of dress; in fact, many of the items include a distinctive representation of the illustration depending on the additional decorations that are utilized to create them.

The overall success of the game is due more to the soundtrack than the graphics. When it comes to voice acting, the entire KONOSUBA cast is back for the visual novel, and they offer all the passion and energy you'd expect from the main animation. On top of that, the game provides an opportunity for the supporting cast members to shine in a manner they do not often in the series.

Like the rest of the series, KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! is shamelessly sexually explicit; however, I thought the anime was slightly more humorous in its use of sexual rumors. The game maintains the series' signature self-awareness, although there are a few scenarios following the extra costume for one of the seven women that seem overly dramatic.

Because I wanted to take my time and see everything in KONOSUBA, the game took me around 20 hours to unlock all the endings and cutscenes. And this wasn't laborious, given the constant barrage of hilarious and lighthearted content. For anime aficionados, KONOSUBA could be a more intriguing and enjoyable game if the story and gameplay were better.

Those who loved the anime will probably adore KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire!, too. There isn't much of a story or gameplay to speak of, but there are plenty of pleasant moments filled with a delightful cast of protagonists and lots of entertainment. Fans of KONOSUBA can expect a great deal of it in this game.

However, those hoping for an attempt at genre subversion involving Megumin, Aqua, or Darkness in swimwear or maid outfits will likely be disappointed. Despite its obvious fanservice, this game has several hilarious moments that will keep fans engaged—particularly if they manage to get an ending portraying a beloved character.

Azfar Rayan (@AzfarRayan)
Senior Editor, NoobFeed