Sweet Pool

Visual novels have become very popular in the gaming world, especially those developed in Japan. They look, feel, and read a lot like manga, yet give you the chance to interact and enjoy the freedom of choice while reading their stories.

Sweet Pool is an offering from Nitro+Chiral, and is a Boy Love novel that will captivate even the hardest of hearts.

Not for the faint of heart

It’s not steamy sex scenes that will do your heart in for this game, it’s the creepy horror aspects that come along with this game. Sweet Pool is very different from your normal romance. It’s similar to Cafe Rouge, but with boy love added.

Although the game is mainly horror, sexual relationships between men are pivotol to the gameplay, making this a truly intriguing novel. All of the games produced from Nitro+Chiral are very dark, and their romance line is no different. Be prepared for a lot of violence, gore, and rape to go along with what romance there is in the story.

No happy endings

In keeping with the horror elements, “winning” doesn’t mean getting to a happy ending in this game. There are no happy endings. Instead, depending on what choices you make as you play through the game, the main character will either be accepting of his fate, or feel as if he were forced into it.

Unique options

In most visual novels, you’ll be given choices at set points that guide the rest of the story. These options will usually be dialogue, giving you the chance to say how much you love a person—or how much you hate them.

Sweet Pool doesn’t give you dialog options at all, instead having you choose between instinct and reason. What you choose will decide how he feels about the ending that happens to him, which will make the difference between whether you get a better ending, or a worse ending.

Incredible Art and Voice Acting

Along with an absorbing and sometimes disturbing plot, Nitro+Chiral went all out on the rest of the game. The game has a full Japanese cast of voice actors, and mesmerizing artwork that helps bring the story to life. One minor critique to the artwork is that although the characters are all meant to be teens, they look like young adults in their 20s. This can be either good or bad, depending on your perspective.

As far as dark romance goes, this is one of the better stories out there. While it isn’t romance in the traditional sense of the term, if you can get past the violent scenes this story will stay with you long after the game is over.

Pros

• Plot that will stay with you long after finishing the game
• Beautiful art and voice acting
• Intriguing choices

Cons

• Disturbing visuals