Anime Expo 2026 came in swinging with the exact kind of chaos my backlog did not need:
otome sequels, visual novels, shoujo revivals, yuri licenses, fantasy manga, BL, CLAMP artbook bait,
and enough “coming in 2027” announcements to make my planner feel personally attacked.
This roundup is focused on the good stuff for gamer girls, otome players, visual novel fans,
shoujo and josei readers, yuri/BL enjoyers, and anyone who still gets emotionally damaged by pretty
anime boys and magical girls. So not every huge AX announcement is here. This is the
“yes, but is it for my shelf, my Switch, my Steam wishlist, or my romantic damage pile?” edition.
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Love and Deepspace Valko Controversy: Why the Canceled 6th Love Interest Became Bigger Than One Wolf Boy
Love and Deepspace has always been dramatic. We are talking tragic sci-fi romance, beautiful men, emotional damage, space-time mysteries, monster hunting, and gacha pulls that make my wallet hide under the bed.
But the Valko controversy? This escaped the otome fandom containment unit.
What started as a new love interest reveal for Love and Deepspace quickly became a massive fandom, gaming, business, and mainstream media story. Valko, also known as Ao Yin in the Chinese version, was announced as the game’s sixth love interest, promoted with werewolf imagery, EonCore Tech lore, and a July 9, 2026 debut planned for Version 6.0. Then, after intense backlash, Infold/Papergames canceled him entirely.read more
“Love & Deep Space,” a new mobile Otome game by the creators of Shining Nikki and Mr Love Queen’s Choice, is an immersive and visually stunning experience that has captivated its audience. This game transports players into a sci-fi world filled with romance and adventure, blending state-of-the-art 3D graphics and engaging storytelling.
One of the standout features of Love & Deep Space is the extensive character customization. Players can delve into a wide range of appearance details and makeup choices, allowing for a personalized gaming experience. The voice customization adds another layer of immersion, with various timbres to choose from, making each interaction unique and personal.read more
When I first heard about *Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical*, my excitement was palpable. Being an ardent admirer of David Gaider’s work with Dragon Age, and given my penchant for musicals, the concept of a roleplaying game that integrates musical elements sounded like a dream come true.
The narrative of *Stray Gods* drew me in immediately. Playing as Grace, tasked with proving her innocence against the accusation of murdering the last muse, while navigating the world of Greek gods, is nothing short of exhilarating. The stakes are high, the drama is palpable, and the narrative choices make for a deeply immersive experience. Each choice influencing the story’s progression, especially in the musical lyrics, adds a whole new layer of depth, resonating with the musical lover in me.read more
Oh, where to begin with “Oshi no Ko”? The anime adaptation of this popular manga (personally I haven’t read it yet and since this series is not yet over I don’t want to spoil it for myself) but so far in just 11 episodes this anime took me on a breathtaking ride filled with emotions, artistry, and star-studded dreams. The story starts off with a feature-length premiere (almost two hours long!), setting the stage for a tale of two siblings reborn with past life memories and a mission to help their mother become an idol singer.read more
Welcome to the world of otome games, where love, romance, and personal growth intertwine to create immersive, interactive experiences. In this today’s post, we’ll explore 12 of the best stat-raising otome games that will captivate your heart and challenge your strategic skills.
As you embark on these virtual journeys, you’ll develop your protagonist’s skills and attributes, unlocking new paths and romantic possibilities with every choice you make.
From the pioneering classics to the innovative gems of today, this article delves into the intricacies of each game, comparing and contrasting their storylines, anime graphics, stat-raising gameplay, and other elements. read more
Hogwarts LegacyFirst Class Student (BRONZE)#PlayStationTrophy #PS5Share, #HogwartsLegacy pic.twitter.com/5FZFjkoPlh
I am only level 3 and just returned from my first trip into Hogsmeade and there’s still plenty I have yet to unlock or discover. I’m barely even through the game’s tutorial, but I thought, why not give my honest early impressions.
Love it, or hate it, Harry Potter is one of the most iconic books and movies of all time. Hated by various groups for various reasons, including religious groups who find the book demonic, or LGBT who hate JK Rowling for some unsavory political comments she made. Despite all the drama and backlash, Harry Potter endures for many a beloved classic.read more
The Harry Potter Inspired Lineplay Looking Simulation and Crafting Free To Play Gacha Mobile Game Hit is finally getting an English translation. I am not sure if it will be in the USA app stores, but an English version is definitely coming. Here are some key indicators of this fact.
An Official Announcement here:
English Youtube Videos On Their Official Youtube Channel Here:
I just started playing the korean version and on the same day, I discovered the global version and I did in fact pre-register… but now I am a bit concerned because it says on the official site it is not available in this country (when accessing it on my PC) – so I may have been logged into one of my many other Apple IDs, such as my korean Id or Singapore ID or Japan ID. But none the less, soon an English version will be available somewhere in the next 24 hours. read more
Yesterday, I shared with you some of my recent past life readings in an article titled “Are Past Lives Real?” That article was already quite long, but I received two more of my readings today and they are a bit more of a fun read. One of them is an audio file and the other one has images of who I was in a past life – and those images honestly look a lot like my current self in this life.
First let’s take a look at the reading with the images. In this life I was a virgin priestess in Ancient Rome. Here are the 3 photos the psychic sent me. I don’t know if they’re random photos from google, or if she drew these – there are some people who are psychic artists. Either way, random photo, photo generating app, or skilled artist, I was surprised by how similar this woman looks to me. The shape of the nose, the shape of the face, chin, cheeks, the eyes, the lips, and the black curly hair. read more
I have always had a mild interest and belief in past lives although I am Christian (and actually recently turned Catholic). There is some evidence of reincarnation even in the bible and until a few hundred years ago both Christianity and Judaism referenced reincarnation. I have heard it was removed to make people more mindful of their actions and consequences in this life.
Sprinkled in this blog post are screen shots of some of the actual past life readings I have received. They are not in order and just thrown in randomly to illustrate the story – although they don’t make great pictures since they’re text as well so I added a few random images to break up walls of text to make this easier to read. I imagine no one’s really interested in reading this, except for me, so what I say goes :). One of the readings I ordered is an audio recording, but I have not received it yet. I prefer the text so I can go back and reread it and reference it easily. Absorbing different things each time I read them.read more
I just started playing Wildermyth on the PC yesterday. This game is very fun and very challenging. I warn you, don’t get too attached to any of your characters, because it won’t be long before they die. Permadeath is real in this game. You get two chances. First time, your character will be maimed, second time, dead. I’m thinking I have to start all over because my characters just aren’t strong enough for the battle that they’re facing. I’ve tried twice now. Some had already died before that too.read more
I recently shared news of the launch of Alice Closet, a new free mobile game with anime artwork by famed manga artist Arina Tanemura. Arina’s works include Full Moon Wo Sagashite, Phantom Thief Jeanne, and Time Stranger Kyoko, just to name a few popular shoujo manga by this artist.
I have been playing the game since launch and I am loving it so far. I did purchase some of the cash items admittedly, but the game is free to play and the cash items are totally optional.read more
I just started playing “Starry Love” yesterday after seeing a Facebook ad. It’s a brand new game from someone named Modo Games whom I’ve never heard of.
The gameplay is quite similar to Love Niki, or Mr Love Queen’s Choice or Wanabe Fashionista… all of which I’ve reviewed here and all of which I definitely recommend.
When I started playing Starry Love there was only one review and it was a one star rating. Maybe someone was confused and thought one meant good and 5 meant bad.
There’s not much bad about this game so let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.read more
Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists Ateliers Of The New World
Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists Ateliers Of The New World is a brand new game by Koei Tecmo Games to celebrate 20 years of the series. Wow has it been that long already? I still remember the first 2 games way back when. And you know what else I remember, a little-known Nintnedo DS offshoot game in the Atelier Series called Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island which came out about 10 years ago.
So why Am I mentioning Atelier Annie? Because, if you’ve ever played it, then you know what to expect from Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists. Both games are unlike any of the rest of the Atelier Games, and instead put you in a role of managing a city and completing missions to advance.
Nelke has some really negative reviews – at least on Steam, but I purchased Nelke anyways, on a hunch it’d be like Atelier Annie, and you know what, I’m not disappointed. If you liked Annie, you’ll like Nelke. Conversely, if you hated Annie, you’ll hate Nelke, and if you’ve never played either game, well there’s only one way to find out then, and that’s by giving it a go for yourself.
The reviews on steam are complaining how different Nelke is — and to some — how boring it is… But honestly Atelier Annie was one of my favorites in the series. I loved the humorous story / humorous main character, and yes, I enjoyed the more “Sim Like” gameplay of building a city.
Nelke is not without flaws however; Unlike Annie, it lacks the humor and charm, and feels a bit dry and dull so far in the story. I’m 4 hours in at this point… which brings to another flaw, in that 4 hours in, I’m still in the tutorial… This game is very very very linear in the tutorial… Like almost everything will be on lockdown… for a long while… expect your first 8+ hours to be linear AF….
After that though there really is a TON of stuff to do in this game. It is NOT boring at all. You can craft items, gather materials, build new buildings, talk to your villagers, discover new recipes, sell items in your shops, and invest in new routes and tools to use in your adventures. There are simplistic turn based combats and different characters to recruit to your village.
You have to complete some required, and other optional tasks within a set number of days within the game. This can make it difficult and frustrating, so save often and in multiple save slots to try to minimize time lost if you miss a goal.
The game either runs slow on my laptop, or just is really slow by design, to the point where its a little frustrating. It may just be my laptop though and can probably be improved if I adjust some settings.
The main complaint a lot of people have is that while exploring you do nothing but watch your characters walk by on the screen. They will converse, gather items, and occasionally run into random enemy encounters. The battles are also slow and tedious. I do agree with these basic gameplay flaws. However, they don’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the other aspects of city building and mission completing and watching my city grow and evolve based on my decisions and choices made in where to invest and what to build next, etc.
The graphics are insanely adorable as always with the Atelier series.
Unlike a lot of the other games in the Atelier Universe, this one does not have English voice acting. I do like to have the original voice actors, but I also sometimes like to have an English cast too. I was disappointed they didn’t offer both.
I assume replay value is high because each city you build will be pretty unique and you will attract different stores, different npcs, and different quests based on how your city is developing.
All and all I’d rate the score card like this:
Title: Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists – Ateliers Of The New World –
Platform – (for this review The PC version was used.) It’s also available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Where to Purchase: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FMZZYK1?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp
Geeky: 3/5 – Points for bringing back some of the popular characters from this series over the past 20 years.
Sweetie: 5/5 – For the casual gameplay and kawaii art
Overall: 53/70 78% C+ “Good Game For Girls”
Gameplay: 7/10 – I do love the sim aspects, having been a huge fan of Atelier Annie (easily one of my top 3 games in the Atelier universe). But I do agree that the game is slow and the wait for the payoff/reward is pretty steep. The game also doesn’t run great, can’t tell if it’s just my PC though maybe.
Story: 3/10 – I’m not loving the story, or lack there of. I’m 4 hours in and there’s not much of any story to be found; it does keep hinting at solving a mystery about a fruit from a legendary tree. But compared to other Atelier games the story feels less engaging so far.
Characters: 10/10 – I love seeing popular characters from the Atelier games return all in a brand new game. I also love the new characters that were created just for this game.
Voice Acting: 7/10 – The original Japanese voice cast does a great job and sounds super cute, but where’s the dual English voice acting? A bit disappointing especially for a 20th anniversary edition, you’d think they would have put a little more time and effort into the localization on this one. It feels cheap and rushed to not have both to choose from.
Music: 10/10 – Always love the music in the Atelier games, and Nelke doesn’t disappoint here either.
Replay Value: 8/10 – I think replay value will be very high, but I’m not looking forward to dredging through 5+ hours of linear handheld tutorials each time.
Overall: 53/70 78% C+ “Good Game For Girls”
Overall I would recommend this game to anyone who does not mind slower paced casual simulation games, or to anyone who remembers playing Atelier Annie on the DS. I like Atelier Annie a lil bit more because of the humorous story; but Nelke’s story may pick up and become more interesting. I may come in eventually and update my review scores if I find the story to improve as I get further into the game. Gameplay wise though it is almost identical to Atelier Annie, so if that’s your thing, be sure to check Nelke out.
