Host Holic Demo

Visual novels are more like interactive cartoons, since the action resembles that from the usual Japanese anime series, only you get to control the characters and make the decisions. Hence, if you happen to be an anime fan, then you should definitely find this kind of activity quite fun, especially if it is made well and the choices you make actually matter in the overall story.

Host Holic is one of these visual novel/dating simulation games in which you basically have to do three things: try to maintain your job as a teacher in Tokyo, assess the city’s dating world to find a suitable partner, and unravel a mystery involving some kind of conspiracy. However, all of this is done using text and suggestive imagery, so don’t expect any actual action.

The story puts you in the role of a teacher who moves to Tokyo in order to be paid better, as well as to learn more about a different culture. The plot evolves steadily over the course of the game, but it never really catches you in its spell, due to a general lack of depth. In essence, not very much is happening and the days seem to start repeating after a while.

To make matters more interesting, a dating component has been added as well, which has you getting to know a variety of men from a club in town. Depending on the one you like the most, you can choose to have pleasant conversations with him every night of the week until you raise enough points to call him your own. Speaking of which, the dialog is in most cases unidirectional and there are surprisingly few choices to make along the way.

Visually, the game looks decent and it uses the same style as most other visual novel titles out there. The characters are nicely designed and they do seem to have some sort of personality going, except for the students, which can barely be told apart. Not a lot of effort went into the soundtrack either, but it can certainly keep some of the monotony away during the gameplay.

In the end, Host Holic could have done a lot of things much better, but you can still enjoy it even so. As long as you like living someone else’s life and you enjoy having complete control over it, this game can certainly help you satisfy your need for that and provide you with a bit of fun at the same time.