DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia Review

I have been pondering how I could open this review with absolutely no prior knowledge about this franchise or what it means to people. I merely saw a glimpse of the game's genre, and considering my declining health, I saw no better way to spend my time than to stay in bed and play through yet another visual novel. So begins my blind step forward into DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia.

You play as a male high-schooler, Shido Itsuka, and you already catch a feel for what DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia's narrative will be like. By that, I mean you are already faced with a woman's bosoms greeting your character within the first thirty seconds of pressing to start. The woman in question is called Natsumi, and as I found out later, she is not really a woman but a child who can shapeshift into an adult version of herself.

I immediately paused the game to think if I had made a mistake because I was clearly not the target audience, given how obviously developed it was to the male gaze. I am also missing so much context. Alas, I must finish what I had started, so I pushed ahead anyway.
 

 

After that whole ordeal of Natsuki reverting to her original form, she seemed shy and did not say much afterward. I had many questions, like why there was a magical girl in our house. Why did she try to seduce him with an older version of herself? My questions only grew with the following scene, as I witnessed how much more chaotic it can get for young Shido before going to school.

After heading downstairs, two more girls popped out. One is called Kotori, and she refers to Shido as 'Onii-chan', while the other is called Miku, and she refers to him as 'Darling'. Basically, to a person newly exposed to the Date A Live franchise, it felt like a whole lot was happening. I needed to pause the game indefinitely this time and gather some context to continue playing.

As established, DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is a visual novel created by Idea Factory, which has a few more titles in the same universe under its belt. The game had its initial release in Japanese about four years ago, and this release is the long-awaited official English release for fans of the former games and anime. Yes, this franchise has an anime series as well.

Everyone needs to know the background of Date A Live going in: It kicks off thirty years after space quakes purge our planet Earth. Mysterious beings termed spirits—who are, incidentally, all adorable anime girls—emerge at the worst possible instance, setting off these disasters.

After the Rio Reincarnation events and the anime's third season, the world was finally at peace thanks to Shido Itsuka's successful seal of eleven spirits' powers—a love bond sealed with a kiss—kicking off DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia. And with that, I finally gained my context and could resume my playthrough.

Once the frenzied introductions were over, I got to pick which girl I wanted to spend my time with. Do you recall how one of the girls referred to Shido as 'Darling'? Well, there was no way I would go for her at first, which was a shame because I initially liked her design the most out of the others. She was just exceedingly irritating to me. Like, every time she came on, I felt very violated and smothered.
 

 

Some other girls were similar, so I looked to the opposite end of the spectrum and picked Natsumi for my first route. I did not think I would be choosing her, and I am sure that you did not think I would either, considering how bamboozled I was when the game just flashed her chest in the beginning. She later turned out to be quite mellow and tame, so I was okay with making this decision.

Of course, there are also others similar to her as well. What I am trying to highlight is that there is a wide range of personalities to explore. Your ability to reach a satisfying conclusion depends on the decisions you make along the way. Basically, it is the general consensus of a visual novel.

Upon selecting any route, Shido has a strange dream of a girl in bandages, laughing hysterically. A mystery container lies under his pillow as he wakes up. Basically, the eleven spirits are at his disposal to unlock the container. By doing so, they may be granted three wishes by the game's title character, Ren, the enigmatic figure from the dream. That being said, you can expect to see her often. A careful watch on her is required to finish the game.

With click-driven advancement and conversation choices that impact the outcome, DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia has a relatively traditional visual novel approach. You cannot level up your stats or visit particular places at certain times. The thrill is in the narrative. There are so many possible conclusions, too. And with the emphasis on choices, unlike most dating sims, this one does not rely on love meters.

Every route takes about an hour or two to complete and has a handful of major decisions that might end well or poorly. The options are more nuanced than I anticipated. I had to try a few times before I got a satisfying conclusion. But because each route only reveals a fraction of the plot, you must see them all, even the negative ones, to get a feel for the whole story and discover the two ways Ren may send you on to the end.

The characters in DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia pursue these pathways to different degrees of ridiculousness. However, the general lesson is to be cautious with what you desire. The character routes delve into the wants of each girl according to her unique personality attributes. The girls' bickering, particularly amongst those with different personalities, is entertaining, and Ren Dystopia has clever use of language from time to time.
 

 

The renowned Tsunako of Idea Factory returns for DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia with yet another collection of stunning works of art. Lip movement to accompany their speech and chest motion to imitate breathing are just a few examples of the liveliness that even their seemingly stationary photos have. Honestly, the lack of CG is my only real gripe with the game, considering the sheer number of paths and endings.

Every scene, even the most dramatic situations, is accompanied by pleasantly goofy music. The situation dictates how it affects your mood, determining the quality and level of engagement you achieve. A superb and skilled ensemble of voice actors flawlessly portrays the emotions they were to express in all their dialogues. The voice acting is entirely in Japanese, and it is rather smart that they implemented voice snippets for certain menu screen items instead of sound effects. However, the protagonist remains voiceless. Typical.

With those positives out of the way, some may find DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia too simplistic; I know I did. Every path is quite short and easy to get over with. Each character has two possible endings, so if you are unhappy with one of them, you may always try again. Because there are very few choices in each path, I neglected to make regular fast saves before making any decisions. Each path has a mere three options, and if you know the character and their goals, you can easily choose the one that makes the most sense and be fine.

Depending on your priorities, you may find that some pathways are more important than others in DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia. You can only hope that the path provides the material you want for your favorite girl if you have one. My lack of familiarity with the anime and earlier games in the series contributes to my impression that these characters' relationships with Shido are sometimes underdeveloped. There are many missed chances for character development for the girls, and even Shido, when you have maybe just an hour to complete a route, in my opinion.

Moreover, in certain routes, the characters are not even given the spotlight on their own, as other characters may just come and take over the reins, which is screen time. I saw this in Natsumi's route, too, because what was supposed to be my time with her, I think, was five to six more characters just barged in mid-way. On top of that, Miku was there with her dramatic flair and nasally voice, irritating me again. 

I assume you will like your experience in the game if you are already engaged in these characters from past titles. The writers will manipulate your expectations by using your prior understanding of these individuals. And if you are completely unfamiliar with them, you can always look at the glossary—I did just that—but I will say that it will not provide you the emotional punch their past adventures have carried out.
 

 

All things considered, DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is just like any other visual novel. You should get this if you are a fan of Date A Live in general to see where the story goes. Unless you fall into that category, I would hesitate to give it my entire recommendation.

If you have not consumed any form of media from the Date A Live franchise, seen the anime, or completed the Rio-Reincarnation visual novel and all its extras, then you should not play DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia. If you are interested in playing this game, you should give it a chance; however, you may want to start watching the anime or play something with a wider appeal to a wider audience first.