So, my favourite not-quite-otome! ...oops there's a lot >.> And this is after I removed bunch of games which didn't 'feel otome-ish enough' for reasons I can't articulate. If you check out my games recs there's a bunch of games I love I didn't include but would still rec.
m/m dating sim:
Dream Daddy Play a dad romancing other dads! The writers tend to undermine the romance with humour and unromantic character moments, but it's still overall pretty fun and I enjoyed it the most of the (very few) m/m games I've played.
Visual novels with female main characters but no m/f romance:
I guess technically most of these are otome, since they're aimed at women, but it's not what people usually mean.
Butterfly Soup a justly beloved f/nb visual novel about a group of Asian American teenage girls who join a baseball team. Not a dating sim, since your choices don't affect the plot but are just there for humour and immersion, but it has a really cute romance arc.
one night, hot springs Lovely visual novel about a trans woman going to a hot springs with friends.
Mermaid Splash! Passion Festival A free f/f dating/life sim about a mermaid, Cici, deciding what hobby to present at an upcoming festival. I overall enjoyed this, though some things bugged me. The art is SUPER cute, especially the character designs, with more body type diversity than you usually see and a very cute trans woman love interest.
Roleplaying games with romance:
I'm a huge fan of the Dragon Age series of roleplaying games. They're vaguely Tolkein-esque fantasy with great narratives, lots of player choice, and the most fleshed out interactive romances outside of visual novels I've ever seen. You can play as a man or woman (and often also have a choice about being an elf/mage etc), and there's a mixture of male and female love interests, who are a mix of straight, bi, and sometimes gay. I personally enjoy the combat but if you buy the games on PC (they're all pretty cheap and low-requirements these days) there's mods/cheats to remove it.
Each game has a new main character and story, with some narrative threads and side characters continuing in later games. So in some ways it's best to start with the first game Dragon Age: Origins, but the graphics/gameplay is pretty dated, and the newest game Dragon Age: Inquisition also tells a perfectly good story if you start from there. And if you want an extra large helping of angst and morally grey bisexuals, and don't mind repeated maps, then play Dragon Age 2 ;)
I also really enjoyed the Mass Effect trilogy, which is kind of like Dragon Age but less gay and in space, and telling one single story. A new remastered version just came out so there's less of an issue with the games being dated. There's also Mass Effect: Andromeda, which is set after the trilogy and generally not as well liked, but it's still fun.
Farming sims with romance:
Stardew Valley You can play as a man or a woman, and the male and female love interests are all bi. The narrative is kind of thin but very cute and engaging.
Verdant Skies Slightly janky but has a fun scifi setting and is very diverse. The player character has no stated gender, while the love interests are male, female and non-binary, and some are aroace, polyamorous, or trans.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2021-06-03 12:56 (UTC)m/m dating sim:
Dream Daddy Play a dad romancing other dads! The writers tend to undermine the romance with humour and unromantic character moments, but it's still overall pretty fun and I enjoyed it the most of the (very few) m/m games I've played.
Visual novels with female main characters but no m/f romance:
I guess technically most of these are otome, since they're aimed at women, but it's not what people usually mean.
Butterfly Soup a justly beloved f/nb visual novel about a group of Asian American teenage girls who join a baseball team. Not a dating sim, since your choices don't affect the plot but are just there for humour and immersion, but it has a really cute romance arc.
one night, hot springs Lovely visual novel about a trans woman going to a hot springs with friends.
Mermaid Splash! Passion Festival A free f/f dating/life sim about a mermaid, Cici, deciding what hobby to present at an upcoming festival. I overall enjoyed this, though some things bugged me. The art is SUPER cute, especially the character designs, with more body type diversity than you usually see and a very cute trans woman love interest.
Roleplaying games with romance:
I'm a huge fan of the Dragon Age series of roleplaying games. They're vaguely Tolkein-esque fantasy with great narratives, lots of player choice, and the most fleshed out interactive romances outside of visual novels I've ever seen. You can play as a man or woman (and often also have a choice about being an elf/mage etc), and there's a mixture of male and female love interests, who are a mix of straight, bi, and sometimes gay. I personally enjoy the combat but if you buy the games on PC (they're all pretty cheap and low-requirements these days) there's mods/cheats to remove it.
Each game has a new main character and story, with some narrative threads and side characters continuing in later games. So in some ways it's best to start with the first game Dragon Age: Origins, but the graphics/gameplay is pretty dated, and the newest game Dragon Age: Inquisition also tells a perfectly good story if you start from there. And if you want an extra large helping of angst and morally grey bisexuals, and don't mind repeated maps, then play Dragon Age 2 ;)
I also really enjoyed the Mass Effect trilogy, which is kind of like Dragon Age but less gay and in space, and telling one single story. A new remastered version just came out so there's less of an issue with the games being dated. There's also Mass Effect: Andromeda, which is set after the trilogy and generally not as well liked, but it's still fun.
Farming sims with romance:
Stardew Valley You can play as a man or a woman, and the male and female love interests are all bi. The narrative is kind of thin but very cute and engaging.
Verdant Skies Slightly janky but has a fun scifi setting and is very diverse. The player character has no stated gender, while the love interests are male, female and non-binary, and some are aroace, polyamorous, or trans.