Heart and Seoul Reviews

I played “Heart and Seoul” because the setting of this novel is Seoul, Republic of Korea(South Korean capital). However, this game was so disappointing to me. The storyline is the most important factor in a genre of visual novel games. But honestly, the storyline of this game is too plain and boring. There is a female protagonist and two men who appear as future lover(or not) in the story. But I think the story is NOT impressive enough for the characters to fall in love with each other. During a dull and boring dating, the novel's conclusion is eventually reached without any interesting events or conflicts. Also, because of the problem with the storyline itself mentioned above, the player's choice of conversation/action feels meaningless and actually is. The story could unfold in various ways and directions, including *two men with their own unique charms *impressive experiences with them *jealousy and conflict between them *the protagonist agonizing between them *and other unique atmosphere and fun experiences from the background of Seoul and so on. But literally, NONE of them was implemented. There's literally nothing! I'm sorry, but you developers really need to rebuild this game from scratch. It even feels like a novelist doesn't know what a novel is! Meanwhile, the game soundtracks and graphic/visual are good. Also, I like the Korean themed design of game badges, community items, and Steam achievements of this game.

I just watched a game use powerpoint presentation transitions and random footage of a dj party with a white-majority audience in a setting of Seoul, South Korea all for it to lead up to a pun at the end of the game. I have truly found my Seoulmate.

Hmm. Pros: -Cute Game -Not a bad story -Nice Visuals -You learn a bit about Korean Culture Neutral: -$2.99 is an eh price for this game. I would say it's more of a Free to Play to $1.99 worth game but still not bad for the price. -Only two characters but at least they are both cute. Cons: -The mini-game for working has no goal. You just do the task and that's it. -Short story, like 45 minutes long-one episode of a KDrama story. -Feels lke there aren't alot of choices to be made to get the guy you want. -Hardly no replay value. It's a game definitley worth a shot. I liked it. I would recommend it if spending $2.99 isn't a big deal for you and if you like cute visual novel games and/or Korea.

Heart and Seoul is an otome visual novel about a girl that goes to Seoul (the capital of South Korea) on vacation and has a great time there and even has a chance to fall in love. Sounds pretty standard right? Well, it is in many ways and there is no doubt that the plot is very strictly “slice of life” but within it there is something utterly charming and magical about the writing. The dialogue is often funny, sweet and heartwarming and the characters feel very real and well rounded. I’m not sure if the developers were aiming for this, but the game really feels a lot like a Korean Drama (and if it was what they were aiming for then they achieved this perfectly). The game embodies the sweetness and fun behind Korean dramas really well and as someone who has been to Seoul and Korea I must say that they got the feel down really well. Now the game certainly isn’t without faults; it is often cheezy, corny and hammy… but so are Korean dramas so can we really blame them? Besides cheese, corn and ham are some of my favorite foods! My other big criticism is that the expressions of the characters never change, that does take away from things quite a bit. All in all a pleasant VN and in my opinion, the game on steam that best represents Korea and probably the best Korean game out there!

I saw many negative review about this visual novel, and since I really enjoyed it for a good 5 hour time I'd like to make a positive one matching my thoughts! Ok, it's a short visual novel but the story, set in Seoul of course, is quite nice and relatable. If you go fast through the game or follow a guide you can do everything in an hour, but it's not a negative point if one has hundreds of games to play. This comes at 3€ but I found it on sale as an extremely low price, so, worth it. I liked the background artwork and ok, maybe the general in-game artwork isn't that great, but still to me it takes nothing away from the quality of the visual novel. I quite liked the contrast between the backgrounds, which try to emulate paintings (some of them are really awesome), and the character sprites which are your classic Japanese-style visual novel protagonist. I really read tons of super negative reviews which I found a little bit strange; it's rare that a visual novel gets so much hate xD Anyways, I enjoyed it and I'd recommend it if you're into.. ok, you know I hate these terms, "otome", ok, and Korean culture (which isn't something not to value: how many visual novels are set entirely in South Korea?).. if you're into this kind of game, classic visual novels with a nice story, good artwork in general and choices to make at every breakpoint.. put this into your wishlist and wait for some sales :) Sapphire Dragon Productions (which is based in Australia, not in Korea xD but this also means great and correct dialogues) to me has made many good games and this one is one of them, even if it's not their best one. So if you find this on sale I think you can enjoy this as a short visual novel set in Korea with no high expectations but the certainity of a non-bugged and enjoyable game :)

I wasn't really expecting much since it was a cheap game but hey I played free otome games and they were awesome, and I was really disappointed with this one. The story was short and too simple, and you don't get hints on how your answers affect the relationship with the characters, and the answer options are repetitive. Even if you end up with different characters, THE OPTIONS THAT LEADS TO THE ENDING REMAINS THE SAME FOR BOTH. There's no difference!! Even the lines are same; modified abit according to characters. There was this one annoying cut scene where all the characters went clubbing in the club and it was a video of real life people in the club, found it annoying that they: 1. didn't put a skip button, i had to endure the whole scene. 2. They made it clear in the beginning to make the game korean as possible, but the video was full of white people, even one of the characters who were supposedly dj-ing turned white here lol. It looks lazy AF to me. I wouldn't recommend this game, if you're interested in alot of endings because to me, there seems to be only two : accept the character then move or leave.

ARTWORK: character stills have little variety, no CGs, and the backgrounds are rough just like the game in general. STORY: very very short, the good/bad endings are shared between the two opposing characters, the writing needs a lot of polishing, and story/personality progression is way too fast and nonsensical, in every sense - i.e. getting a job at a top rated establishment with nothing but an informal chat. SOUND: the best part of the game be probably the generic music used. Of course, no voice acting included. OTHER: There is also a mini game that needs to be played at times, a generic and easy to play match 3 but somehow more fun to play then the story itself. Achievements are story related and overall straightforward to obtain, and card set is small and cheap, so the game has these going for it. RATING: it is cheap but still way overpriced for the - little and poorly put together - content offered. Buy it only as part of a bundle or in sale. 4/10

TL;DR: Heart and Seoul is a short slice-of-life about a getaway house-sitting for a relative. It had so much potential, but poor writing and static character sprites with only one facial expression make this visual novel (VN) fall below the quality of many FREE visual novels on steam. I can't recommend buying this when there's several free VN's with better writing, better art, and more features. Still, if you can grab it bundled or on sale, it does have some good moments. PROS Nice soundtrack Nice sound effects that are relevant to the story - door bell chimes, phone rings, etc NEUTRAL You're not able to take screenshots in Ren'Py, but the dev posted a workaround in a different game, here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/416630/discussions/0/492378806374551762/ The Art Gallery exhibit was a nice idea, but 4 paintings seemed way too short for an artist's exhibit. Writing has a lack of continuity, the characters seem to contradict themselves in places. example: Kim Yoon-Ji says "I'm house sitting for 5 days" then later says "I'm staying here for the summer" -- Wait, what? Is your "summer" is only 5 days long? There is a match-3 game in the story that you must play 3 times, and there is no skip option for it. I didn't mind it and found it was actually enjoyable to play, my objection is that there is no in-game benefit to playing it. It would have been nice to see Kim Yoon-Ji "earn her tips" bartending for the evening based on how well you did in the mini-game, then have later story choices limited by the amount of cash she has to spend. Better match-3 success = better tips / more money = more choices later on. I also think a "skip" option should be available for those who don't enjoy such games. It's not voiced. This didn't matter to me, but might matter to some. CONS There's no steam overlay. There's no CG gallery. There is a log, but the typeface and the background graphic make it really hard to read. Characters have only one static pose and one facial expression - no matter if you are having the time of your life together or if you are coldly dumping a guy after he declared his love for you, his expression never changes. I've seen far better quality on free VN's, the fact that you've charged for this is inexcusable poor quality. The characters never change clothes for the entire 5 days of the story. Whether they are going to work, going out clubbing, going on a sightseeing tour, going to a museum exhibit, or going to confess their love to a girl - they always wear the same outfit. It really ruins my immersion in the story when the characters don't change clothes for 5 days AT ALL. The game requires a LOT of clicking for such a short story. Every page has only a short sentence - sometimes only a single word, and you have to click through many pages read all of the characters speech. It would be much easier to read if you put all four short sentences the character was saying on a single page, but then it would be much more obvious how short the story actually is. I found the writing style has promise, but was still rough around the edges. I feel the author could benefit most from working on "show don't tell", as far too many things are TOLD to you, rather then shown. The biggest negative for me was the complete lack of character development, which meant I didn't really care about the characters. Kim Yoon-Ji (the main character) isn't very detailed or thought out well. It's said she graduated university 2 years ago with business and communication degree, but she's been tending bar and working at cafes because economy is bad and she hasn't found a better job. However, it's never detailed what kind of job she actually wants, what she was going to do with the degree (her "dream job"), what her career goals actually are, or what she desires in life. There are 2 male love interests, but neither one of the guys really had a developed personality so it was hard to feel anything for them, or care about their characters. Their characters seemed more like trope outlines. Insta!Love. The male characters fall in love with your character SO FAST! I do understand it's a short VN taking place over 5 days, but even if I felt a major connection to a person I would not feel comfortable declaring my love after only a week. Asking someone you've met and have feelings for to stay in the area, helping them get a job and find an apartment - yes, that's totally logical to offer them. This "romance" felt somewhat forced and unreal, because I didn't have time to develop a connection with any of the characters and BAM they're in LOVE! The characters lacked enough development to stand out and individuals, as well as connect to each other. It just didn't seem like they even really knew each other well before they jumped to declaration of love. - Park Hyun-Woo (dark hair, serious, architect assistant) says "I love you" after only knowing you for 5 days. - Lee Seok-Jin (blond hair, wacky, DJ) says " Dam girl, you really got moves!" after you make love for the first time. (yes, it's actually misspelled in the game like that) It's been mentioned in many other reviews, but it bears repeating - at the start of the game, you're told how this is supposed to be an AUTHENTIC Korean setting. Then you are treated to several minutes of a non-skippable club scene with pretty much only white people. I saw only one Asian male in the club scene. It's annoying and really breaks the mood of the game. Although there were mention of some Korean foods, there was also "No one does breakfast like the Americans." Overall it didn't feel like it was a story from Korea, it felt like it was a story written by foreigners about what they thought Korea *might* be like. TRADING CARDS / BADGES The badges are buildings. The emotes are black and white artwork, and they display clearly. The backgrounds are 2 character backgrounds and one muted city background. VALUE FOR THE MONEY Poor. There are FREE VN's that offer more both in terms of a longer story that is internally consistent and in characters who are better developed and have many varied facial expressions that match the events of the story as it unfolds. You're better off reading any number of other quality free VNs before you spend money for this.

Hmm, I'll be honest and say I'm a little disappointed with how this game turned out. I was quite excited when it got Greenlit- the description of the game is really lovely and I was eager to play it- and then I played it and it was not what I was expecting at all. The first thing I noted was the price. When I found it on the store I was surprised at how cheap it is... and I'm also relieved at how cheap it is. It's SUPER short. The story, in my opinion, is lacking and samey for each guy. I felt no emotion or connection between any of them during any of the scenes and the dialogue, whilst easy to read, is bland. The music got on my nerves quite quickly and I had to mute it. The bar mini-game is alright, although there's no help on how to play (It's pretty simple to figure out, but still some hints would've been nice!) That cutscene in the club seems pointless too. That's about it- the idea in itself I feel is a good one but it's been poorly executed. The character art is kind of pretty so I suppose that's one good thing. Not sure what else to say because I don't feel there is anything else going for this game, and that's a shame. I wish steam had a Neutral option for game reviews- I didn't hate it, I've played far worse games before, but I also didn't particularly like it either, it just feels a bit meh. Maybe get it if you're after a cheap and easy game to get 100% achievements in? Aside from that, probably don't bother.

The art style was okay, but there’s a lack of facial expressions on the characters, and that bothered me a lot. Also their personalities weren’t developed, and both guys and the MC remained as bland/empty characters, where you probably won’t care about them at all when you finish your playthrough. The idea of the story was good, but unfortunately the game turned out bad in the end. The love confession is basically the same thing for both guys, the same cookie cutter dialogue with a few minor changes. And again, I’m going to point this out: please stop putting in real life cutscenes in your visual novels. It doesn’t match with the game, it’s annoying (since you can’t skip it), and makes no sense. Especially when the story happens in South Korea, but on the club cutscene you can clearly see only foreigners dancing. On the first screen of the game the developers said how worried they were to try to keep everything “legit” to the readers, but honestly, adding that one cutscene kinda ruined their statement. 2/10. Get this game only on a sale and if you’re beginning to get into visual novels. If you’re already into them, this game might p*ss you off.