even if TEMPEST Review (Switch)

Expecto Animus

I’ve had this Otome Visual Novel in my backlog for at least 3 years now. I picked Even If Tempest up, along with some other Otome VNs, during an Otome sale and it was right before I was going to attempt a no-buy year. Which…if you check my Backlog Progress posts you’ll see that the no-buy didn’t quite work out and I didn’t get to playing any of those Otomes I bought yet. Until now, of course, when I’m finally playing one of them. Granted, I wasn’t planning on playing this when I did. I had a plan of what games to play next and this one was a bit further back. You see, there’s an upcoming Otome VN that’s set in the same setting that I’m interested in, but I didn’t want to pick it up until I played this one. To me, it didn’t make sense to buy the third (counting the fandisk here) game set in the same universe without playing the first. Sure there’s a 99.9% chance Sins of Kaleido won’t reference anything from Even If Tempest, but they are set in the same world, from the same writer, and presumably will have the same structure. I thought it would be best to play the first game to see if I liked it first. If I liked Even If Tempest, then full steam ahead on getting Sins of Kaleido; and if I didn’t like it, then I just don’t buy it and I wouldn’t have to worry or feel guilty. Plus, I wouldn’t feel pressured to enjoy Even If Tempest.

However, Sins of Kaleido ended up releasing earlier than I thought, which basically threw out my gaming plan out the window. I was not expecting a July release and thank goodness I didn’t start the other game I was planning to play when the release date announcement came. I did procrastinate on starting this Otome, though I did get things I needed to do done so it wasn’t a total loss, but now I’m ready. I’m ready to go into what I thought about Even If Tempest!

In Even If Tempest, we jump into the mind of Anastasia Lynzel (you can change her first name) who is far from living in a good environment. Despite being the eldest daughter and only blood heir of the Lynzel family, she has been locked up in the attic for the past 8 years and practically tormented. Her once loving father is now an abusive father that has completely shunned he met his new wife and their family was able to rise up the hierarchy. Her stepmother, who is the one that truly holds the power in the family, casts an intimidating aura so strong it knocks Anastasia down and takes away her voice and says things that cuts deep. Her stepsister may seem all nice on the outside but really is a witch (figuratively not literally) on the inside. And the maids that should be serving their noble? Well, they’re in on it too as not only is the stepmother paying those that torment her and dismissing those that don’t, they also seem to take glee in it. While the mansion itself is rebuilt and updated, it seemed that the attic was left alone based on its unkempt state, which isn’t helped by it not being cleaned. It doesn’t have a window for Anastasia to look out of or even get a beam of sunlight from and the lack of interaction she gets caused her to lose the ability to properly speak. The only things she has are some remnants from her childhood, but even those are painful due to the memories they bring up. Memories of how her life was before. It’s honestly a wonder that Anastasia is still alive.

However, everything changes one day as she wakes up to hearing the maids all in a frizzy. It seems Anastasia’s wish in being rescued like a princess in a fairy tale came true as a prince has asked for her hand in marriage. Despite the sabotage her family tries to do, she manages to get the strength to grasp her escape herself. However, this new life doesn’t turn out like she thought it would be as it just led her to being a pretty bird in a pretty cage instead and she seemed destined to a gruesome end. Well, good thing her luck hasn’t run out! You see, in this world witches are real. They seem to be really rare, but they can cause big problems and thus they have a whole division dedicated to catching and executing them. It turns out that one witch named Rune, who takes a cute cat boy form, has taken a liking to Anastasia and wants to strike a deal with her. Rune will use Fatal Rewind to send her back to the past upon death in exchange for killing a bad witch that has been causing mischief which he calls the Witch of Ruin. Why Anastasia? Well, he believes the Witch of Ruin is involved in Anastasia’s death, as well as another LI’s death, and while he has no clues to give her; he knows that catching the Witch of Ruin is key to her happiness. Key to breaking the chains that leads her to cruel ends.

Anastasia accepts the deal vowing to never give up ever again and to be strong. And she is the next time we see her. A new timeline has formed and despite the big change she’s made in her trajectory, some things stay the same. Some things change, which throws Anastasia off, but she has set her path in a way that will allow her to go up against the Witch of Ruin and to take revenge on those that wronged her in the previous timeline. She has to play the game the Witch of Ruin prepared and there are some other things, but Anastasia will prevail. Anastasia not only will grasp the string of fate that leads to a happy future, but will complete her deal and kill the Witch of Ruin. Nothing is going to stop her.

I really enjoyed the Common Route here. Heck, I was probably halfway into the Common Route when I wanted to buy the fandisk (Dawning Connections) as I loved the love interests (LIs) and how the story was being written. I managed to resist it as I prefer playing the original game first, but man I really wanted to. Anyway, Even If Tempest starts off at a steady pace that slowly builds up to the point where the time loop aspect of the narrative comes into play. The whole situation surrounding Anastasia and how she reacts to it is interesting and it is really easy to get sucked into analyzing every character and picking up on those subtle (or not so subtle) hints that they’re not as good as they outwardly seem to be. And once the time loop aspect comes into play, the game just gets even more interesting as you see all the changes that happened and all that ended up staying the same. Not to mention the mysteries that pop up as you progress through the Common Route that are interesting enough that you do want to learn the truth behind it. Like what caused the changes in the new timeline when Anastasia’s actions shouldn’t have affected them? Why does her stepmother hate her with a passion that seems to be beyond the reason she gives? I also like how you do get a sprinkle of hints, not enough to where it gives it away but just enough that you can theorize on what the truth could be.

The Common Route also does a great job at introducing the LIs and reintroducing them. All four LIs give great first impressions in both timelines that made me look forward to diving into their route.

Also, just want to get this out of the way now, but I know that technically Anastasia isn’t jumping to different timelines. It’s just easier to talk about and differentiate all of the alternate errrr set of events? Different versions? Yeah I don’t know what else to call it so I’ll just stick with timelines.

The side characters here are wonderfully written. I have to specify wonderfully written, rather than just wonderful, considering some of these guys are pretty evil haha. The antagonistic side characters are really well written. The only one that felt one note was the father, but he does have the mystery of why he changed and he’s not even important enough to have a character sprite anyway. The stepmother takes up the evil stepmother mantle, but the intimidating figure she imposes and what you hear about her makes her stand out. As for the others, I really liked how they were written and ended up filling different types of antagonists that everyone ends up encountering sometime in our real lives. Like people that wrap their mean girl side in niceties, those that ally themselves with the bully, and manipulative people that pick at your weak points to get you to do what they want. And then, once you step out from what they want you to do, they backstab you. However, there is light in the darkness as there are some good people out there. Nameless side characters that do trash talk Anastasia or try to sabotage her, but it’s revealed that they are actually on friendly terms or they change their opinion on her after she shows her character and her skills. I also loved Maya and the three friends that Anastasia ends up having in the new timeline. Maya starts out as a character that you start cautious of, but her actions after her introduction really redeems her. She genuinely regretted not doing much for Anastasia during her 8 years of torment. Maya is a character you can’t help but love as she truly wants the best for Anastasia and she gave me mama bear vibes haha. The three friends were also wonderful and fun to be around. They’re all different, but yet bounce off of each other so well that you can’t imagine them not hanging out together. And you can see that there is room for someone like Anastasia, which they bounce off of her well too. They even help Anastasia grow.

I wouldn’t exactly count this guy as a side character as he’s a main antagonist, but I gotta mention how much I loved the Witch of Ruin. He is such a great chaotic evil character. I love how playful he is while still being able to have some sinister undertones or being able to switch between playful evil to full on sinister showing how much he’s planned things so easily. His and Anastasia’s dynamic especially made me wish he had a route (I even checked the fandisc and sadly he does not). Yeah yeah, all the despair he caused; but I can’t help it if I think he would make for an interesting LI.

Talking about Anastasia, I really loved her as the protagonist. She may not know this, but she is such a strong character from the very beginning. Like, I don’t think I would have held out as long as she did if I was in her shoes nor would I have probably done what she ends up doing. I’d say that she starts off as a passive character as she waits for someone else to save her and starts off meek, but you do see that part of her that wants to be more. To be more active. To not fall into despair. She works to be able to speak again, she doesn’t want to be an ignorant girl so she works to change that, and how she wants to be useful rather than sitting pretty at a desk. We find out that she finds joy in discovering new knowledge and she works tirelessly to achieve goals that she sets out to do. She’s hardworking and smart. Of course, she has her flaws that stems from her trauma. In the original timeline she is especially susceptible to manipulation as she starves for positive interactions and she wants to be useful so she can’t be tossed back into an attic. She is also quite stubborn and she holds out in trusting someone even when she knows deep down that something is up and they’re playing her for a fool.

And this leads to the new timeline where the changes she goes through seems natural thanks to what she went through in the original timeline. She’s the same, but also very different. Instead of her hair being forcibly cut, she cut it herself probably so it doesn’t get in her way as a knight cadet. She decided to become her ideal self and she did as she grasped her fate and changed it. She has revenge in her eyes, but she bids her time as she dedicates herself to training and she’s much more curt and blunt now. She isn’t totally hardened, though, as she still is kind and is able to realize that she actually has people that care about her. She is more cautious now, but she still has that side of putting too much trust in someone that has different intentions and doesn’t take others that know them better seriously when they tell her something that doesn’t fit with her view on them. However, she is still dealing with her past trauma, both old (like her stepmother) and new (she now feels like she can’t rest and feels she’s inferior).

The growth Anastasia went through during the Common Route is amazing and while you don’t see what happened in the 8 year timeskip in the new timeline, it feels natural due to what she went through and how determined she was to become stronger. I also love how once she proves herself and her character, she gets a lot of admirers including those that are royal knights.

Once you get into the routes, there are actually some other systems here. Of course, we have the Love Catch system for choices that affect your affection level with the LIs. Here, you get red roses for choosing the one that raises affection and black roses for picking the one that doesn’t. There is also at least one scene that is slightly altered based on how high your affection level with the LI is.

You learn in the Common Route that the nation Anastasia lives in, Hystorica, has witch trials. Considering that Anastasia is going up against the Witch of Ruin, you’d be right to guess that the witch trials will have significance in the routes. Except, there is a huge difference. Called Carnivals, probably due to it taking place in a huge carnival tent, these trials are designed for the witch’s enjoyment, feature 300 jurors that you have to convince, and are governed by the Witch. It first starts when the skies darken, signifying that someone has successfully been tempted by the witch and has become a Membrum. It’s more or less guaranteed that the Membrum will kill someone and, once done, the Membrum and four innocents will be marked with a chain collar. Those with the collars are called Sacrificia and they’re basically the defendants. The innocent Sacrificia must convince the jury that they’re innocent and try to point to the Membrum, while the Membrum convinces the jury it’s not them but someone else. Information is the greatest weapon Sacrificia can have and thankfully, the Inquisitors put together a little case file to start you with and allows them to investigate until the Carnival. For us, the player, that means it’s time to investigate!

Investigation is pretty easy, as you can expect. You’ll be given a list of people or locations that you can visit to collect useful info and question the other Sacrificia or, if you’re not able to, anyone that is willing to talk. However, you won’t be able to visit everyone or everywhere. You only have a limited time to do your investigation and each person or location requires time to get to them. So, based on your assumptions and clues, you have to pick which Sacrificia (or location) to investigate and which one to ignore. Once you choose where you want to go, you’ll of course get a scene, get a new clue or two added to your folder, and maybe even acquire a skill. You’ll also see favor rise and fall for Anastasia and other Sacrificia at the end of the scene.

Once you run out of time to investigate, it’s time to end it and continue off to the Carnival. You do actually get a little preview of the Carnivals in the Common Route in the form of the regular witch trials that’s said to regularly happen. Though, this time, you’ll actually be able to get a word in. Carnivals are a bit trickier though and I honestly had a hard time with these. You’ll, of course, get choices throughout the Carnival that will determine whether you meet death or sentence the Membrum. You’ll also see the impressions the jury has fluctuate based on what happens. Anyway, there are the normal choices and then timed choices where you have to use a skill. There are skills that are basically default ones as they’ll be used in all of the trials while others are isolated to that Carnival. When these timed choices come up, you have ten seconds to either pick one of them that you think matches the situation or stay silent by letting the timer run out. You will also be asked to present evidence to back up your claims and this is where your clues come in handy as you need to pick which one is proof. Though, you may not end up having it. Hopefully, you’ll find the Membrum and be able to live another day.

Like I mentioned before, I actually found the Carnivals tricky. There were a couple instances where I wasn’t sure what evidence I should present (though one time I was actually right) and I couldn’t really tell which skill I was supposed to pick. It can be confusing to determine whether you’re rebuting the statement a Sacrificia is saying or advocating for the Sacrificia themselves. So, I referenced a walkthrough for this part. As for the regular choices outside of Carnivals (amazing segway I know), it is pretty easy to tell which choice you should pick, but there are some tricky ones.

It’s now time to talk about the LI routes! Due to the nature of the whole time loop mechanic, the structure here is a bit different than other Otomes. While half the routes are locked routes and this does include a selection screen, it’s more to decide whose route you’ll be starting with. Once you finish a route, the game will automatically put you in the next one. Don’t worry, you can go back to get the other endings. You can make saves so you can go back and do them right away or wait until the end and use the handy Chart. There are a couple different endings here that you can get: Normal Endings, Bad/Dead Ends, Sad Love Endings, and Happy Endings. The Normal Ending is what I’d like to consider as the canon ending to that route’s timeline as you not only need to hit the affection threshold, but it will send you to the next route. Bad Ends and Dead Ends are the classic early ends that you get when you make a bad choice that costs Anastasia her life (though, I’m not quite sure what causes it to be a Bad or Dead End). Sad Love Endings are the endings you get when you don’t meet the affection threshold. All the Sad Love Endings are all quite different and, interesting enough, these not only lean to a sad ending vibe but also a toxic love vibe. And finally, the Happy Endings or Final Chapters as the game calls them. These are unlocked once you finish the main story and act as an epilogue where Anastasia and the LIs finally get their happy ending and start their relationship.

Oh, and Zenn also has an additional ending. I won’t spoil it, but it makes sense once you learn what’s going on with him in his route.

Well, let’s get into it! As always, I’ll talk about the LIs in the order I did them in.

Crius Castlerock

First up is Crius and he is the last LI you meet in the original timeline, but the first one you meet in the new timeline. Well, technically an altered original timeline, but he shows up to help Anastasia and what he says in that scene gives her the idea of where to go in the new timeline. Crius is the Vice Commander of the Wings of Garuda, which are knights that are caretakers of these large birds of the same name that were the beloved pets of the Goddess. Though, despite that, they are considered to barely be knights even though we see that they basically go through the same training (and it is easy to forget Anastasia joined the Wings since we don’t hear about learning how to take care of Garudas). Anyway, Crius himself is basically what you’d expect of a knight: tall, strong, observant, and imposing, but still kind, taking care to listen to someone’s woes, and cares for the health of his cadets. It’s no wonder Anastasia wants to become just like him as he is an outstanding knight. He is also the type of character whose beauty shines the most once you finally interact with him. He is pretty suave and I’m not gonna lie I was kind of swooning over him as he just got more attractive. Crius is also friends with Tyril in both timelines while for Zenn he knows him in the original and is friends with him in the new timeline. However, we see that he has a scheming side to him and hints that he is more emotionless than he seems.

This one turned out to be a great route to start out with. After getting what I assume is the fairytale that those in Hystorica (we finally learn the name of where the game takes place at!) are read to as a kid, Anastasia finds herself right in front of the castle alongside Crius. It turns out that the Witch of Ruin skipped a bit and put you right when you’re about to go through the Ceremony of Acknowledgement and become a knight. This route basically starts where Anastasia would have ended up immediately after the Common Route events if the Witch of Ruin didn’t crash the party. It turns out that once you become a knight as a Wings of Garuda, that’s when you’re trusted to take care of a Garuda as it can be difficult when you first start. You’ll also be able to have some quality time with Crius where he totally succeeded in wooing me, learn some lore related to the various things related to this route, and have some route-related and overarching mysteries pop up. And of course, you can’t forget the Witch of Ruin who comes in to kick Anastasia when she’s happy. I ended up liking this route. My short summary of it may make it seem it’s not that interesting, but trust me I just didn’t want to give too much away. While there are some aspects that can bring the route down, it is overall great. Each plotline is written well, it really hooks you in, and easily keeps you interested all throughout. Like, you’d expect the Garuda plotline wouldn’t be as interesting considering everything else that goes on, but it is honestly engaging and has you on the edge of your seat due to the way it’s tied to everything else here. The mysteries were also really interesting and made you want to find out the truth. I really liked Crius as a LI. He’s so easy to just love, despite his little manipulative streak, and I liked how his and Anastasia’s relationship evolved. It was also pretty funny how he was trying to hint that he has a crush on Anastasia before slowly making it more and more obvious. This route also has this interesting aspect where some things get recontextualized and makes more sense once you know the final reveal of this route. Also, man, this route really breaks your heart multiple times. This game knows how lovable these characters are and man do the dark moments hit you hard and catch you off guard.

Tyril I Lister

Next is Tyril and he’s the one that I picked as my designated favorite LI purely based on how he looks before playing the game. I think I’ve just been surely missing this emo look in LIs and it drew me in. He’s the second LI you see in the original timeline and is the last one you meet in the new timeline. He’s also the one that you can safely say is the one that didn’t change at all between timelines. Tyril is an Inquisitor, the most promising one to be specific, and he has solved every witch related incident he’s faced since he took up his post. He has two sides of him, his Inquisitor mode and his casual mode. As an Inquisitor is is distantly cold, cuts a grand figure that inspires obedience, ruthless, very observant, and is ruthless. Technically he never really turns off that Inquisitor side of him, but more dims it as when he’s off duty he gets more casual and his sense of humor is…unique. Unique in a way that is pretty funny, but also makes you nervous considering who he is. He’s pretty fun to be around when you’re not worrying about him figuring out you’re showing signs of being a witch. He does somewhat see his duties as annoying and complains, but he is dedicated and ends up helping Anastasia in his own way. He also does have a weakness that you can take advantage of which he doesn’t mind since he does have stipulations.

Tyril is also the one that gives Anastasia the nickname “Miss Red”.

Yeah, Tyril’s route had to be intended to be the second route because it throws you right into the action here. Anastasia comes to as she’s running through the castle intending to find evidence so she could accomplish one of her overarching goals. Not only that, but we’re going right into investigating as this route starts the night the Witch of Ruin’s chosen Membrum is going to murder someone. Anastasia, not being a Sacrificia this time around, find a way to be able to investigate through joining the Inquisitorial Order and finds a way to also participate during Carnival. This route also goes into a certain shadowy figure and another reveal that puts Anastasia one step closer to her goal. Man, do I have good taste as I really loved both this route and Tyril. I was a bit worried with when the route started, but the game handled it really well and I honestly quite liked getting right into the action. The Carnivals were also so amazingly good and it feels like a step up from the Carnival is Crius’ route. Especially since the Witch of Ruin gets roped into it in a unique way that I wasn’t expecting. This route is also more plot focused than fluff focused, but man you don’t really notice it as it does a good job weaving in the romance throughout. I loved the direction this route went in, how Crius totally wasn’t jealous, and this route was perfect for forming theories for things isolated for this route and for the overall mysteries. Talking about mysteries, they were really well done here. I did guess one of them, but it was still a surprise and the circumstances surrounding it was unexpected. The other mystery was also totally unexpected and shocking, due to everything surrounding it, but it made a lot of sense. And oh boy, the reveal that happened here. It was also a nice change of pace from being a Wing to being an Inquisitor. Also I loved Tyril as a LI. I never thought the day would come, but he is like a cat. He’s observant, perceptive, and whenever he talks it’s usually a mix of sarcasm, teasingness, and bluntness that can read has harsh; but deep down he genuinely cares about his friends and his way of speaking is so he can lead people to what they want like it was their idea rather than his. It is easy to get used to how he speaks and he can be quite funny. Another point to him being a cat as he easily shows love for others in his own way and compliments others without hesitation, but when someone compliments him he blushes and shrinks back haha. I also love how his Love Catch was basically Anastasia showing how smart she is (which gave me big vibes that he came to respect her first and then started crushing on her) and oh man the second to last scene was so romantic. Also, he was kind of hot when he was in his Inquisitor mode.

Zenn Sorfield

While the other two LIs stayed the same, this is where the LIs that had some drastic changes come into play. Zenn is the LI you see third in the original and new timeline. He is also the LI wrapped in mystery. Funnily enough, Anastasia meets Zenn without realizing who he is in both timelines and what she knows about him is so different between them. He goes from a serious, business-like administration official working in the castle who is the son of a viscounty and an acquaintance of Lucien’s to a burly free-to-hire mercenary who opened a detective agency to follow in his dad’s footsteps (though he isn’t doing to well in that aspect). In both timelines he helps Anastasia, but while he actually talks with her in the original he just looks at her like he knows her and leaves without going to drink with Crius and Tyril. Although, I have my own theories on Zenn and that maybe he didn’t change between timelines as much as we originally think.

We’re going into heavy spoiler territory now (don’t worry, I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum). This route actually brings Anastasia a bit further back than the first two routes so she can use the only certain time where she knows she’ll be running into Zenn to establish contact. And by establishing contact I mean force him to actually talk to him. It ends up working out, of course, and even better he promises to Crius that he’ll look over you. Zenn isn’t too happy about it, but he warms up to Anastasia as they get to hash things out and finally get to learn what was going on with Zenn. Thankfully, the Witch of Ruin decides to come into play after they become allies. I quite enjoyed this route. Finally getting an answer on what’s going on with Zenn was great and you can actually guess, but it still has aspects that you wouldn’t have expected (you guys have no idea how much I want to make a certain joke but I can’t cause it’s super spoiler-y). The reveals that happen here were great too and we even got a few more mysteries added in. The Carnivals, though, I loved them and the role that Anastasia finds herself in. I was not expecting this route to go in that direction, but I was so excited (and here comes another joke I made as I was playing but I can’t say cause it’s spoiler-y). I also like how a certain aspect of the whole time loop aspect came into play here. As for Zenn as a LI, I was pretty neutral on him. It’s probably because this route’s focus was mainly on the story with just a drop of romance. He already had points taken away for being a smoker, sorry Zenn I’m not gonna pretend, but I he just wasn’t my type like the other LIs were. Zenn is a great character with a backstory that somehow doesn’t feel out of place, I loved the slow burn of him trusting Anastasia and them becoming friends, and how loyal he was to Anastasia; but I wasn’t really into him romantically. He definitely gave off more of a ride or die friend vibe.

Also if evil, why hot?

Lucian Neuschburn

Last, but not least is Lucien. He’s a Prince, the third son of the King, and when Anastasia was younger she was his playmate. While Anastasia forgot, Lucien hasn’t and in both timelines he’s the one actively looking for her. He is the first LI you see in the original timeline and the second in the new timeline. He’s basically a picture perfect Prince both in how he looks and his personality. He was the one that saved Anastasia from her torment and you see how brightly he shines as he’s considerate, caring, and genuinely cares for Anastasia. However, you find out that his own family and servants torment him and due to that, he’s timid, glum, fails in whatever he’s tasked with, and doesn’t push back at the terrible rumors that others say about him that ruins any relationship he makes. However, in the new timeline, he changes. The once timid Prince is now as courageous as he wished he was. He’s actually popular with the people, actually doing well with duties he’s given by his father, and taking charge. He hasn’t found Anastasia in the new timeline, but he has been sending people to look for her as he believes she is key to becoming King. He is still the same person though, as he still is the kind, patient man that deeply cares about Anastasia that we know and love. Anastasia can’t wrap her mind around a reason why Lucien basically did a 180, but I have my theory.

Now this is the route where I don’t think I should say much. This route is the true route in a sense that this is the timeline that Anastasia sticks with and we get the truth behind some of the long running mysteries that the game outright puts forth and what you hopefully questioned yourself (and theorized about like I did). I really enjoyed this route. This route sets itself apart in a way that you probably won’t expect based on the pattern established. It not only made for an interesting change of pace, but also brought along this route’s isolated mystery. We also finally get to see how Lucien really is. We peeked into it during his short appearances in the other routes, but we mainly heard the rumors surrounding him. I don’t want to spoil what happens in this route, but I will say that I really liked the direction it went down, the pacing was great, I loved how everyone was written, the reveals were great (I even was right with my theorizing!), and the ending made me so happy. As for Lucien, I honestly adore him. It’s really sad that there was a whisper of romance in his route as if anyone deserved it, it’s Lucien (he really couldn’t catch a break haha), but the story and his characterization made up for it. I also loved how Lucien and Anastasia mirror each other and Lucien was actually an interesting “perfect prince” type. And lastly, I am simply so proud of Lucien.

Here’s my LI rankings! Like always, I rank based on the combination of the route itself and the LIs.

Tyril > Lucien > Zenn > Crius

Technically, there is a secret route that I debated adding to my rankings, but decided not to as I wouldn’t really call it a route. The secret route is locked until you read through all the Happy Endings and acts as the game’s finale. You’ll be able to get a last conversation in with two specific characters and this basically serves as a Q&A thing to get some specific answers or clarify something that the narrative did talk about or reveal. Though, it won’t answer every question you’ll have by the end of the game. Also, it is lowkey funny how this route, and by extension the game, ends. It was also really heartwarming.

As for my rankings, I did honestly like all of the routes and all of the LIs, but of course there had to be ones that are on the bottom. I loved Tyril and his route, so he was an easy top spot pick, but I did have difficulty ranking the others. Like while Zenn’s route is really great and so fun playing a different role, I wasn’t really into Zenn romantically. Meanwhile, I really loved Lucien and it is pretty devastating that he is another LI that suffers from the true route curse. I also was planning on ranking Lucien lower when I was still in the first half of it, but when you go to the latter half it comes back super strong. And then there’s Crius who I really did like and liked the route…however his route is the only one where the rule of cool overrides the game’s established logic and some plotlines that do feel weak which did bring the route down for me. Also, someone had to be on the bottom and sadly that was Crius. If it makes it better, it was a very close race.

The writing style here is really nice. I’m always a bit worried when going into visual novels that I wouldn’t like the writing style and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed how Even If Tempest was written. It’s written in a way that just easily draws you in, which also lets it put its claws into you in the form of the wonderful character writing, narrative, and various mysteries that you want to unravel. It also easily puts subtleties into the script, some that you’ll be able to pick up and some that you won’t until you get to know the characters more. It even does well with putting you in Anastasia’s headspace. Like there were two characters that I just had a bad feeling of, but I second guessed myself due to how they were acting, until they dropped their mask and revealed that I was right to be guarded.

I was also worried about the game’s structure as I did hear that it took a different approach to how Otome Visual Novels are usually structured. Based on what I was reading about this game, it seemed a bit intimidating. Well, turns out I had nothing to worry about on that front either as it ended up not being as intimidating as I was building up in my head. In fact, it turns out that the usual Otome structure ended up pairing really well with the time loop aspect of the story and even strengthens as these two uses each other to its advantage. The only downside is that it does cause the romance to fall off for Zenn’s and Lucien’s route since Anastasia remembers that she fell in love with Crius and Tyril (granted they do focus more on the story which was worth it), but I can accept that with how Anastasia remembering the other timelines play into her characterization. Like how she is still suffering from the trauma she suffered from the original timeline and how Anastasia grappled with remembering events that the others technically didn’t go through after she used Fatal Rewind.

The game also does an amazing job with the game’s tone. I really appreciate how the game wasn’t dark all of the time like I was kind of expecting. There are happy moments, in-between moments, and even some funny moments all without the tone suffering. I especially love the jokes that were written here as they were both written and placed in spots where it wouldn’t ruin the tone. There are even visual jokes here! This game can be pretty funny and it’s even better that it always fits in the situation that they appear in. The Witch of Ruin was the most surprising to me as he turned out to be both funny and menacing at the same time.

This story definitely fed the theorizing side of my brain. I loved guessing or making up theories as I was playing. There are some red herrings here, but there are hints to the truth that you can pick up. And when the truth gets revealed, you’re like “yes, I guessed it right!” or “oh man, how did I not see that” as you think back at the hints that you thought weren’t that important, simply overlooked, or overlooked due to more damning clues. Not to brag, but there were some late game reveals that I happened to guess right (and don’t worry, it didn’t bring down how impactful it was). And on mysteries, I do like how they were overall handled here. The game trusts you in picking things up and putting things together yourself (and this isn’t just for mysteries, but overall). Some mysteries you can even make some pretty good assumptions based on the information you know. Granted, I do still think these should have been clarified so we would have a definite answer which I feel the story was leading up to. I also really like how there are overarching mysteries and route-only mysteries (with some mysteries being a combination of the two) which made the routes even more interesting to me. And, like I said before, the game does a really good job in making you interested in unraveling and finding out the truth on the various mysteries that this game puts forth.

I also really liked how the other LIs were used in routes that weren’t their own. All the LIs have an established relationship already with each other in some capacity. I really loved the friendship that Crius and Tyril had, the way those two knew Zenn despite Zenn taking care to not get too close, and while Lucien doesn’t exactly have a connection to them, I liked how you get hints that he does get close to them during his route. I also really liked the established friendship Crius and Anastasia have and then the one-sided friendship that Lucien and Anastasia have (especially with how these come into play in Zenn’s route). Anyway, in routes that aren’t their own I like how they ended up actually taking a part in that route’s story by being supporting characters or side characters. They helped keep the story flowing and help Anastasia in a way that makes sense for their characterizations rather than going down a different writing choice that may not have made sense or out of left field. There’s even a little twist that gets revealed that makes you go “man how did I not pick that up”.

I will say that it is best to go into the game with the right expectations. I went in knowing there wasn’t any romance and that did help me with not being disappointed like I heard others were. Although, this expectation also helped elevate the game for me as there is actually some romance here. Even If Tempest’s main focus is still the story and each route in the order I played them in basically had less and less fluff and romantic romance, but it was still there. It ended up being quite a nice surprise. So, yeah, go in expecting this to be a story-focused Otome with a drizzle of romance. I also expected the Happy Endings/epilogues to be short like I heard they were, but they weren’t and was longer than I was expecting. They’re not long, but I wouldn’t call them short.

Oh, and remember when I talked about how I really wanted to buy the fandisc before I was even finished with the Common Route? Now that I’ve played the full game, I still really want to pick up the fandisc. If there’s any set of characters that deserve fluff, it’s these characters. Plus, the Happy Endings are when Anastasia and the LIs officially start their relationship and become a couple.

So, yeah, overall I really enjoyed Even If Tempest’s story.

There are also three sets of four DLCs (so in total 12) and depending on the set, takes place either during the main game or between the Happy Endings and the fandisc, Dawning Connections. Personally, I didn’t buy them since I heard that they were very short and weren’t worth the asking price. Sorry guys, I’d rather put that money into something else.

As much as I think Even If Tempest is a really good and solid visual novel, I do have some negatives to mention. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but man I wished there was skip to choice. This also doesn’t have the ability to change your affection level when choosing a chapter from the Chart (which wouldn’t be a big deal, but Carnivals can be a bit annoying to go through again…especially when you replay them multiple times not realizing why you keep getting the Normal Ending and not the Sad Love Ending).

While I did find Even If Tempest overall consistent with its lore and logic, there are inconsistencies that I did pick up. And I don’t mean inconsistencies that you almost expect with a time loop story, Even If Tempest is actually pretty rock solid in that regard, but just regular inconsistencies involving established information or lore. Like, the most glaring one is with Anastasia’s childhood as the game seems to interchange 8 and 10 years for how long Anastasia was locked in the attic for. In the Common Route, you also learn that Anastasia was Lucien’s playmate as a kid when her mother was still alive, but then way later in Lucien’s route they’ll say it was after her mother died and her father was already with her stepmom. Lastly, there are a good handful of mysteries and questions that the game puts forth that are vaguely touched on or just left up in the air. I do understand that some of them aren’t meant to be revealed, like the two cards that don’t flip over in the Fatal Rewind animation (though you can assume who those cards represent), but there are some that I feel should have been revealed, clarified on, or questions that either the game brings up or is implied that you expect to be answered. I did hear that the fandisc does answer some questions, but that doesn’t matter when I’m only looking at the main game.

Also, man, is it a little disappointing that the monster on the game’s cover never showed up. Can’t a girl date a shadow-y monster? Though, I’m pretty sure it’s a physical manifestation of despair which is apt for the game (I did think it was also the real form of witches when I was still in the first half of the game, but I don’t think that’s true).

The localization here was pretty good. I did notice a few grammar mistakes and misspellings, but it was overall solid. I had no trouble understanding the game and you can pick up the subtleties in the script. The performance here is also perfect.

To tie this all up in a pretty bow, Even If Tempest’s sound and visuals are amazing. The music here is great. I loved each track and they perfectly matched what was going on in the story. Sometimes, it even heightens the scene as you learn which tracks are played for certain moments and once it kicks in you know you’re in for a great time. As for the voice actors, they all nailed it. They all fit their characters and they all brought their characters to life. There are so many lines that I loved due to the way the voice actors said them and there are even some jokes that come from how they said their lines and jokes are even enhanced thanks to the voice acting. My favorite voice actor is definitely the Witch of Ruin’s and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a lot of fun voicing him as he has a lot of fun lines. The voice actors for the other antagonists also did a good job hitting that middle ground where you second guess yourself over whether a manipulative character is being genuine or they’re just acting to manipulate you; while also doing the switch where the mask slipped off perfectly as well as that middle ground where the mask just slips off a little bit. Also I just learned that Tyril’s voice actor also voiced Sasuke from Naruto so it’s no wonder I loved Tyril’s VA too (and now that I think about it, both characters do share some similarities so no wonder Tyril was my favorite LI lol).

I also really loved the visuals here. The backgrounds are all beautiful, the various CGs are beautiful (and some even make the LIs hotter), and I loved the designs for all of the characters. All of them look beautiful and different from one another while also still feeling like everyone is from the same world. I especially liked the LI designs. Though, I especially want to mention how much I love Anastasia’s design. She is so pretty and I love how, despite her short hairstyle and knight attire, she still has her femininity. I am a bit sad that her sprite doesn’t show up much and I wished we got to see her in an Inquisitor outfit. They all also have so many great expressions and sprite poses which I was quite surprised with how well they matched how that character must have been feeling. I was also pleasantly surprised with how an expression can fit two totally different moods. I think I’m a bit more appreciative in this aspect as I am reading a webcomic that reuses the same character drawings but they don’t at all fit most of the time and give mixed signals on what the characters are feeling aside from the situation that the situation only fits for. I also really loved the game’s Opening and I honestly found the animations that play before, during, and after the credits beautiful. Oh, and that reminds me that I loved the animation for Fatal Rewind and the tarot cards that represent all the LIs. Someone even did a write up on how much the characters were written to correlate with their tarot cards which is pretty cool.

The visuals also play a part in some of the mysteries here and there are even jokes that come from visuals. Like, characters changing their faces as the conversation goes on (there’s a few interactions that I had to replay multiple times because the way a character’s expression changed in relation to the conversation was so funny). I especially love how the Witch of Ruin’s appearance is shrouded in darkness for the first half of the game and man, once you actually see it he will surprise you with how beautiful he is.

I think the only thing I wished was that there was a CG or maybe a better explanation for where everyone is standing during Carnivals in the script. I couldn’t really figure out where the Facilitators were. What I had in my head clearly didn’t match with what the writer had in their head as I didn’t think they were on the same platform as the Sacrificia until there was a line where Anastasia rubs the back of one of them during Tyril’s route. And then that brought into question where exactly on the platform in the middle of the Carnival area they’re at. I guess this detail isn’t exactly important, but I was confused on where everyone (minus jurors) were really.

Verdict

I’m honestly so upset with myself that it took me years to finally play this game as I ended up really enjoying my time with Even If Tempest. While there are some aspects that did bring the game down for me a tiny bit, this game makes so many great choices and a lot of aspects even help elevate other aspects that you never would have expected. The story is really interesting and engaging, the writing really draws you in and keeps you within its grasp, the mysteries were well done, I loved how much the game trusts you, the LIs and their routes are really well written, and the sound and visuals really tie everything together in a beautiful way. If it already isn’t obvious with all of my gushing, I definitely recommend playing Even If Tempest.

I am also so excited for Sins of Kaleido now. I was looking forward to it since it seemed interesting, but like I said before I wanted to play the writer’s first game (this one) as I assumed it would have a similar structure. I’m not quite sure it will now that I looked at the information that’s become available since it was announced, but I’m even more looking forward to Sins of Kaleido as I know the worldbuilding and lore now. I have some personal headcanons that I really hope I’m on the same page on with the writer.