For my whole life, I never had a girlfriend. People could laugh at me all they want, but I refused to give up on my ideals when it came to love. I had always pictured a first encounter where I knew right away she was my destined one. After several chance run-ins, we would exchange numbers. Then we would hang out together on the weekends. Only once we'd grown close enough would it be time for a real date.
I wouldn't have accepted any love that didn't develop like a storybook romance. Picking up girls at a club or going on blind dates was out of the question for me. And so was arranged dates. How could it be romantic when someone else set you up?
I had stood unwavering in my beliefs for my entire life. Until, that is, when the words of a certain girl turned my view on love inside-out...
Making Lovers is a Slice of Life rom-com Visual Novel developed by Smee and published by Nekonyan. It’s rather unique from other visual novels in a number of ways, most notably that it stars an adult protagonist, (mostly) does not take place in a school setting, and each route is unique to each heroine with very little overlap between the routes. You are also locked into a route very early on, and your choices after that are inconsequential. Routes are also somewhat short compared to other Visual Novels, as the game eschews an overall plot in favor of focusing on interpersonal relationships - or more accurately, how they are built between the protagonist and the woman in his life.
Making Lovers provides examples of:
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Played for Laughs - Ako and the MC's parents are a big source of comic relief.
- Brutal Honesty: A trait of the protagonist and most of his family, with only Ako having some tact and then not much. Also a quality noted in Karen's genderfluid boss Becky.
- Not Blood Siblings: Ako is the protagonist's step sister, him having been adopted by her parents after losing his own at a young age.
- Shout-Out: Quite a lot:
- Without naming it, Saki references Breaking Bad as one of her favorite TV shows.
- Your mother manages a girls' dorm, and asks you to take over it temporarily.
You: A man managing a girls' dorm? What is this, some sort of Rom-Com?- Ako watches you play Demon's Souls, but it is spelled Daemon's Souls in the game.
- During one karaoke date, "Taylor Whatsherface" is mentioned.
- Stood Up: At the beginning of Saki's route both she and the protagonist are stood up at the same bar at the same time leading to both assuming the other is their Blind Date.
- Take That, Audience!: The game starts off right away with your parents pressuring you to find a girlfriend (no matter how sleazy she is), with you countering that you're too busy playing your H-games. To add insult to injury, your best friend is shown to be a bit of a playboy while you remain a loveless virgin well after graduating from college.
- Title In: Each girl is introduced with a unique title card describing them:Ako: Big Wife Energy! A Wifely Little SisterSaki: The Romance Novice MeteorologistReina: Making Up for a Lonely Year with an Energetic CharmKaren: A College Classmate Who's Never Honest With HerselfMashiro: An Enigmatic Neighbor with a Unique Perspective
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue:
- Saki: Three years after meeting each other, Saki and you get married, and are expecting a child.
- Ako: Ten years after you and Ako declare your feelings for each other, you are still together, deciding to forgo marriage and simply live together as lovers.
- Reina: You are already married with a daughter. Your daughter is looking to potentially follow in the footsteps of her mom.
- Karen: You are already married(?) And are going on a date at a carnival.
- Mashiro: You and Mashiro get married at the Leviathan since that's where your relationship first started.
