I backed the Kickstarter campaign for the English localization of Volontés, which we discussed near the end of the campaign.
I actually thought I might play it as my Valentine’s Day game… until I learned that even backers needed to wait until March 26 to get the English translation, despite already having our copies of the game.
So when the translation came, I decided to give it a try and see how this dark fantasy otome is.
You play as a young woman named Fiena, who is adopted into a family in a small village and lives more or less peacefully there until knights suddenly slaughter everyone. She manages to escape and is taken to a magical, isolated kingdom, where she’s declared to be a divine messenger known as the Moon Witch.
To start with, I just want to say that Volontés has beautiful art and music. It’s really a gorgeous game.
Now, getting into the story, your choices in the common route determine whose route you end up on. There are four total routes, with two being unlocked at the start and two more being unlocked as you progress. Each deals with different plot events and revelations, but they all feel cohesive and make sense together, with details in some routes aligning nicely with things you learn in others.
I enjoyed the story in each route, but the romance sometimes felt rushed. Ismail’s route had the best romantic pacing, in my opinion, followed by Mel’s. Both Emmanuel and Olivier’s routes suffered from the romance feeling like it came out of nowhere.
(It’s especially a shame because I love kuudere characters, so Emmanuel seeming coldhearted and ruthless until you get to know him has all the makings of a route I’d enjoy… but it was one of the weakest because of the lack of natural romantic progression.)
Volontés is a pretty short game, so I wish they had slowed down the routes with an additional chapter or two in each to build up the relationships better. I also wish the choices had a little more substance to them, as many of the options feel basically the same aside from whether they raise affection or not.
Choices during the routes determine which ending you get for that route: the good ending, the bad ending, or the “plunder” ending.
The “plunder” endings are similar to what Mistonia did with its “astray” endings – Fiena becomes involved with a different character instead of the one whose route it is, usually the villain of the route. I enjoyed it in Mistonia, and I enjoyed how it worked here, too.
Click for Volontés spoilers
Why doesn’t Ismail have a plunder ending, though? Since Emmanuel’s route had an Olivier ending, Ismail’s had a Melodie ending, and Melodie’s had an Emmanuel ending, I assumed Olivier’s route would have an Ismail plunder ending…
…although what did happen in that plunder ending was so wild I can’t complain too much.
It might be because Ismail never plays a villainous role, but it could have been a more bittersweet ending instead. Olivier’s route having an additional ending for Nil just left me even more puzzled as to why Ismail didn’t get one.
Anyway, I enjoyed playing Volontés despite my gripes about the romantic progression, although I should mention again that it’s short. It took me 8 hours to get every ending, so even if we assume I went through it twice as fast as the average like I do sometimes, that’s still short for a full-fledged otome game. Just keep that in mind.
So if the game sounds interesting and you don’t mind the short runtime, Volontés is available now digitally, with a physical import also available.
For quite a while now, the major otome companies have only been releasing their games on the Switch, but today Idea Factory announced that Cupid Parasite will be coming to the PC later this year!
