Pre-Odyssey: Love at First Quack Review

Quack Quack

It’s so nice when you play a demo and then get to play the full game. I’m actually playing this one earlier than I originally thought I would, but I couldn’t say no when I was offered a key. After all, I did like the demo and was excited to play the full game and see what happens past the point that the demo stopped at. So did Pre-Odyssey: Love at First Quack stick the landing in its full release?

Before diving into the review, I do want to say that you don’t need to have prior knowledge to fully enjoy this game. Yes, this is based on Greek mythology and the epic poems that surround these characters, but the game does a good job weaving it into the story and setting and giving you a spot where you can read up on it if you want to. While I did read both The Iliad and the Odyssey, I actually don’t remember the contents as it was many years ago on top of it being a required read. I still have basic knowledge, but I will confidently say that this is very friendly no matter where your level of knowledge on ancient Greek culture or mythology is at. So don’t let the fact that this visual novel being based on Greek mythology scare you off.

Pre-Odyssey: Love at First Quack (which I’ll shorten to just Pre-Odyssey) takes place in ancient Greece, specifically in Sparta during the shared reign under Tyndareus and Icarius. As you can guess by the game’s title, it also takes place before the events of The Odyssey (and also The Iliad, but that won’t make for a great title) and is during the time that a lot of princes and kings came to try to win Helen’s hand in marriage. However, we’re not following Helen in this tale as we instead follow her cousin, a young woman named Penelope. Her and her immediate family came to visit as her Uncle called them to help elevate her cousin’s mood. Though, Penelope just keeps to herself due to the combination of not really being close to anyone in her family and being seen as that weird “duck girl”. In fact, the first thing we see when starting the game is Penelope talking to a flock of ducks that have gathered all around her. Penelope can actually understand them and she’s just hanging out with them outside as she’s lamenting about the current situation and how shabby she is compared to her cousin. Though, unbeknownst to her, someone spots her conversing with her ducks.

The man himself, Odysseus the trickster king of Ithaca, happens to be walking past. He’s first shocked as he spots Penelope being surrounded by ducks then shocked even more as he realizes that she’s having a conversation with them. Though, instead of being weirded out like everyone else, Odysseus becomes intrigued. Enough to want to talk to her and ask about it. Penelope actually spots Odysseus as he’s still watching and, by the time she’s done blushing about his looks and gaining the courage to talk to him with the help of her ducks hyping her up, Odysseus is right there to spook her and to satisfy his curiosity. Penelope practically falls in love at first sight (though it takes her a while to really realize it herself) and their first conversation was actually a very good impression on him despite some of his comments. Luckily, this wouldn’t be the first and last time, but the start of their friendship and eventual romance.

Throughout Pre-Odyssey, we’ll get to witness Penelope and Odysseus’ relationship start and develop as they go from being friends still getting to know one another to realizing their feelings and fighting for their love. No matter how difficult her father makes it.

I really liked the story here. The writing style was really enjoyable, the ducks were a cute addition that definitely elevated the story, the pacing was just perfect, and I loved the romance between Penelope and Odysseus. The humor here is so good as well. There’s a mix of text and visual jokes and, combined with them having the perfect timing, didn’t fail to make me laugh every time. It also made the characters so much more endearing to me. I also really liked how Pre-Odyssey uses ancient Greek mythology and culture to build this scenario of how they might have met and fallen in love. It stays mostly true to the mythology that it’s based on, but it does take some liberties here or there to fit the story that it wants to tell. Don’t worry though, it’s not the type of changes that puts a worse light on how they were originally depicted (if you know what I’m referencing you know), but enhances them and fits in-universe. Like the biggest change is Penelope being able to understand ducks and that was used to enhance the story as they hold an important role in the story, is believable considering everything else that happened in mythology and that she was the daughter of a water nymph, and it makes Penelope and Odysseus more endearing. The other small changes were to fit with the story or to keep the game’s rating down. It also certainly helps that the game does make sure to point out the changes made.

This also takes an interesting approach to inner dialogue as instead of it being Penelope’s thoughts, we actually get third person narration. Thanks to playing the demo I was already used to it and was expecting it, but those that are used to the first person inner thoughts will find it a bit weird until you get used to it. Nonetheless, I did like it and there were some good jokes. If I have to describe it, it’s kind of like someone is telling you the story and they’re adding in some of their own personal thoughts and comments as they’re telling it (and implying that they were there when it happened). I personally headcanon the narrator as being one of the ducks.

I also really liked the characters here. Penelope is adorable, dare I say adorkable, here and despite being an ancient Greek princess able to understand ducks she was relatable. Penelope is pretty much the black duck (pun intended) of not only her family but also her community due to her being the “weird duck girl”. By the time that Pre-Odyssey starts, she doesn’t really mind it as all she really needs are her ducks, but she does hold some insecurities tied to it. Like how she doesn’t think she’s pretty. Plus with the combination of her father being protective and keeping her away from others, she’s pretty naive, awkward, shy, overthinks, overworries, and doesn’t really know societal norms. She also wears her emotions on her sleeve. Still, though, she’s written in a way that it’s really cute and endearing. You also see her grow as the story progresses and she hangs out with Odysseus more. What I really liked is that you actually see those aspects of her in the beginning, but they’re just not as pronounced. Like, she’s willing to still stick up for people that she cares about, tease or bite back, and while she might be naive, she will not let anyone try to pull wool over her eyes and she’s smarter than you think. Penelope is also pretty kind, which doesn’t show much considering she doesn’t really interact with a lot of people. She also finds strength and confidence with Odysseus’ help. It was also so cute seeing her be in love with Odysseus without realizing it, falling more in love as the story progressed, and then when she finally realizes her feelings.

Odysseus was really likeable too and he was just full of green flags. You wouldn’t think this as Odysseus is a charming extrovert, but he and Penelope do share some aspects like having a bad reputation, similar backstories (not exactly the same but similar enough to feel like they understand each other’s feelings about it), and fighting for what they care for. Present an easy road but it doesn’t include what he’s fighting for? Nope, hard road it is. And he will win as he uses his intelligence to be a little schemer. In addition to being attractive, Odysseus pretty much speaks what’s on his mind no matter if it’s a bit rude or mean, but you can tell that he’s just teasing or being playful. He reassures Penelope that he doesn’t care what people think about him hanging around her and he makes it so obvious he’s in love with her. Plus, him being around her gets Penelope out of her shell as all of his banter and teasing gets her to do the same (which is highly effective) and even gets her out of her comfort zone. He also is a good storyteller, is a really good listener, pays attention to the small things, and truly does care about his people in Ithaca. Penelope does find out that there is a dark side to Odysseus, but even then it’s pretty understandable. Like why he’s called the “trickster king”, that he does lie but he isn’t a swindler and he would never lie to Penelope, how he can be cranky (which is understandable why he is when you see the scene), how he can get a bit jealous, and he can get menacing when he wants to (and in fact takes the fear route in negotiations). Though, he truly shows that he loves Penelope with his actions and knowing that he isn’t perfect, but tries for her, helps deepen their relationship (as it doesn’t seem like Penelope wanted a seemingly perfect guy but a realistic one with flaws).

What’s the most endearing aspect of Odysseus, though, is how he interacts with the ducks. His interactions with the ducks were so cute. Like the fact that he gave the ducks names? And that he tried to understand them?? And he made an effort to befriend the ducks and involve them since he knows Penelope can understand them??? It’s even cuter that Penelope didn’t correct Odysseus she he thought he was getting his guesses right whenever he was wrong. Not to mention how accepting he is of Penelope???? Where can I find a man like Pre-Odyssey’s Odysseus?

Penelope and Odysseus were so cute together and they really did compliment each other well. You can tell they brought out the best in each other right out of the gate and they’re romance is so sweet. There are some variations of the love confession and they were all so cute and lowkey made me squeal (there are even three unique kiss CGs, and I honestly was only expecting one). Not to mention that they feel the same way about looking forward to seeing each other and finding comfort in one another. You can’t help but root for their happy ending.

Even the side characters were written well, which I think the banter and character dynamics really helped out. Pre-Odyssey does really well in those two aspects, which helps in giving you an impression on these side characters despite the short time you have with them.

As you’re reading, you’ll get choices every so often which will either determine what Penelope will say next or what she’ll do next. Some choices will just add a different line or two, some will send you down a slightly different scene, while some will send you down a whole different ending route path. On that note, there are three endings (four if you count the alternate version of one of the endings) as well as a couple early endings that you can stumble into. Some of the choices are even duck puns, which is so fun and really hammers in how close Penelope is with her ducks. Don’t worry, it’s actually pretty obvious which choice the game wants you to choose and there’s actually a funny early end title that shows how aware the game is of visual novel players going down every choice to see what happens. There’s a romance ending, a friendship ending, and a true ending (which is definitely the best ending). I definitely recommend at least getting all the (main) endings. Depending on your choices, you can be missing a whole chunk of the game if you stop at one ending. And trust me, those scenes are definitely worth it and give so much more perspective and depth to the characters and the romance here.

After you get one of the endings (that have an achievement tied to them and has a credits sequence), a couple things are unlocked. The Gallery is unlocked so you can admire the CGs again. A walkthrough also becomes available, which helps by nudging you to the different ending routes. This certainly will help you out if you’re having trouble. Lastly, there’s the Pre-Odyssey Theater! This is basically a bonus extra where this iteration of Penelope and Odysseus talk about this game, the myth that inspired it, the reason behind the game’s name (which is so sweet), and an aspect that couldn’t really be touched upon; how The Iliad and The Odyssey went for these two; and their thoughts on a hypothetical sequel. It’s framed where they’re talking about it in the future and they’re pretty quick and comedic segments. Combine that with them bantering all throughout and it has the added advantage of not feeling like an infodump.

Other than that, there are two extra features that you can go into that have no prerequisites. You can go listen to the music that the game features again and there is a lore glossary. You can actually check this at any time as you’ll get notifications of a new lore entry being added as you’re playing through the game. The lore glossary is a mix of giving you background history on the characters here, future characters and events, and reasons why certain things were chosen for this visual novel. It’s actually quite interesting and the entries are written well. They don’t feel like lore dumps as they’re written in the same style as the main game (just with an educational purpose to them), they were nice quick reads, and there’s even some humor in them. I definitely recommend going to read the lore bits whenever a new entry is added as you’re playing.

I don’t have any negatives towards Pre-Odyssey. I wished there was a button mapped to quickly get to the Lore tab to save a couple seconds, but that’s really it. It was also a bit annoying having to sit through the credits every time, but I did really like the full sequence. The walkthrough can also be a bit confusing, but I was eventually able to figure it out.

To tie everything up, Pre-Odyssey has wonderful visuals, soundtrack, and voice acting. The art style is cute and charming. The backgrounds have this water painting feel to them, it was a good choice having the sprites for the side characters take inspiration of the style you see on ancient Greek vases (after all, if you have to create basic NPC sprites, might as well take inspiration from them), and the sprites of Penelope and Odysseus look so great. They both are designed really well and I love how they both have some humorous expressions that they pull out in reaction to what happened or what someone said. I especially loved Penelope’s expressions (with the one where she’s heavily blushing and hiding her face with her veil being my favorite). Also oh my gosh the ducks. The ducks are so cute and I love how the main ducks have their own distinct look. They were also perfect for the “Odysseus picks a duck up and cradles them” moments as the sprites act it out. The CGs were also well done and they all looked really good. I also loved the moments where we got a sketch of something, which looked cute and made a humorous scene even funnier (and it was used sparsely enough that it was a treat when it happened).

I also want to mention the credits sequence, which actually goes over the events of The Odyssey, with the romance ending being the first half and the true ending being the second half. It also takes the art style used on ancient Greek vases, which fits well as it’s telling a story through these scenes.

The soundtrack here was also pretty nice. I certainly recognized two tracks from previous visual novels I’ve played, but all the tracks do fit with the game’s vibe and the scenes that they appear in. Pre-Odyssey has partial voice acting for Odysseus and it was pretty good here. It only shows up for the most important scenes and man did it elevate them, especially with the way the voice actor delivered some of his lines. The ducks also have their quack sound effect, which wasn’t overused even in the full game.

Verdict

Pre-Odyssey: Love at First Quack is a short and sweet visual novel that is so easy to love. So much that you might not want to stop playing until you get to one of the endings as it’s so fun and engaging to read through. There’s so much to love about this game as it has wonderful writing, a really sweet and cute romance between Penelope and Odysseus (who are cute, endearing, and surprisingly relatable), the humor, and the wonderful artwork. Not to mention that it mostly is faithful to the mythology that surrounds these characters, with changes only being made to enhance the interpretation of these characters. I highly recommend picking up Pre-Odyssey: Love at First Quack as it is well worth the full price.