A visual novel/sim game about life, love, and working in the entertainment industry. Play as makeup artist Sian Goodin as she navigates the world of showbiz. Make friends, forge business relationships, and maybe even find romance!
Very Positive
278 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Y | Y | Y |
3.5/5。只打了john线但已经觉得好累了。此游包含养成类vn的通病（royal alchemist也是这样），故事太短小割裂太松散，没有连续的叙事；且数值判定并没有明显体现，没有奖励机制，所以模拟经营部分很无聊。角色都没有什么很独特很立体的形象，女主sian缺乏成长轨迹，各ro也都很普通，四个ro里有三个都是十八九岁的无聊青少年，而且心智都像初中生。
女主sian好像是亚裔混血+夏威夷人，她的妈妈叫ling而且用的语气词是aiya（哎呀），平时大家也是在吃pho。制作组有好多亚裔名字。
john的英式英语的音调和咬字都说得太诡异了，查了一下配音演员其实是美国人，都有有全配音了所以为什么不干脆找个英国人认真配一下？john那个[spoiler]好朋友lloyd[/spoiler]居然是他前任，我大惊，此外[spoiler]lloyd[/spoiler]和女主讲他和john的恋爱细节且不赞同女主和john的dating，这一点我总觉得emmmm，感觉就像女主掉进了他俩的play一样。角色塑造也很奇怪，在lloyd的口中john是个只喜欢acting而不在乎身边任何事的人，但故事开始的时候john似乎就已经当幕后producer当了很久了。
成就系统好像崩掉了，照着攻略打了一周目下来居然一个成就都没触发。
I've tried to play this more than once, always having to resort to guides and generally not having a good time. A guide is entirely necessary to succeed in this game and as others have said it doesn't feel like playing -- it feels like following a checklist. The fact that I've spent 11 hours playing this and failed to get beyond the common route is a pretty good indicator of this.
fun game but why the ♥♥♥♥ can you date a 15 year old
It's an okay visual novel. I was excited to play it with all the good reviews. But, the stats building is really obnoxious and there's a lot of repetitive content. There are way better visual novels for the price.
商店页面已经好评，差评呼吁中文；主打看字的游戏，没中文也是不太行的。chinese need.
202304，steam，steam掉卡抵扣，t a o宝，支付宝红包，humble，indie gala，daily indie game，fanatical，杉果，它处自定义包入的本体约4元。爱人如己，目前就这，看以后追评。兄弟萌，强烈建议不要第三方平台的小店买y u额，通过饰品等挂steam市场转的，高概率red信乃至封号，且行且珍惜。
i'm simple, i see otome game with good voice acting, i put so many hours into it for all the routes.
Great game!
Didn't really grab me when i started playing and I personally can't get over being called "Sian" due to personal associations with the name. I could get over it if all the characters didn't verbally say it but it was too much for me.
Definitely should've looked into it more but still didn't really hold my attention in the first place.
[h1]A friend of mine is going to cosmetology school... I told her all the tests will be make-up exams.[/h1]
[h3]Storyline[/h3]
Backstage Pass is all about Sian Goodin, a makeup artist diving into the world of showbiz. After an unexpected twist in her college plans, she decided to use her makeup skills to navigate the ups and downs of the entertainment industry.
As the player, you decide Sian's journey – her friendships, career moves, and even potential romance. The game explores the challenges and excitement of working behind the scenes in showbiz.
In the game, you can choose to be romantically involved with Adam, John, Benito, or Matthew. There are also other "romantic" options with [spoiler]Nicole or Alvin[/spoiler], a secret love interest and you can build a friendship with [spoiler]Lloyd[/spoiler]. If you're not into the romance part, different endings focus on other aspects of the story.
Some parts of the game, like gender-bending, mental health issues, and the huge age gap between different love interests, felt a bit out of place. Sian is 18 years old. Benito is only 15 years old, it just feels creepy. Matthew is on the other hand 35 years old, I am not sure if that is any better.
[h3]Gameplay[/h3]
As you play, you'll dive into Sian's work life, taking on various jobs, earning money, and making decisions that shape her character and path. You can also pick from 80+ clothing options to give Sian her own style. The game includes stat-raising elements and some shopping activities. It's a mix of romance, stat-raising, and decision-making, and it took me around 20-25 hours of gameplay to find a bunch of endings (still haven't finished all the routes). My first ending led to me, unfortunately, being friend-zoned, because I raised the wrong stats.
Backstage Pass is a nice Otome if you like stories with stat-raising elements and where your choices matter. There are a total of 15 different endings. However after a few playthroughs, I didn't enjoy the game as much because some events repeated themselves in different routes, and working on stats again got very boring.
[h3]Graphics & Sounds[/h3]
Backstage Pass art and background music are great, the characters are colorful, and you can see their personalities shine through in the way they're drawn. There are more than 80+ CGs in the game that show Sian's journey, and your choices and the clothes you pick change how she looks in them.
The animations, done by Studio DEEN, make the characters move and act more lively. It's like watching a little movie as you play. The graphics add a lot to the story. The sounds in Backstage Pass are really good. The voice acting and the background music make the game feel like coming to life.
[h3]Final Verdict[/h3]
In short, Backstage Pass is a fun Otome game with lots of romantic choices and pretty visuals. Some parts might get a bit repetitive if you play it a lot, and the stat raising can be quite hard to get the preferred ending if you don't know what to focus on, but it's still a good pick for people who like stories and customization, especially in the showbiz world.
[quote]Please follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/4680120/]Otome Lovers[/url], if you'd like to see more reviews like this one! [/quote]
There REALLLLYYY needs to be a MEH option for Steam Reviews. I felt like I needed to post a negative review to counteract the positive reviews and add balance to the reviews so people can understand that this game is just... OKAY. Not great and definitely not worth the price. Definitely not the worst game I have played. But just... OKAY. Definitely worth it when bought on sale, though.
Firstly, I want to quote that I think it's funny that they pride themselves on being "the first Otome Game to be fully voiced in English". Because of that, you'd assume that EVERYONE would be voiced. They force us to play as a character (Sian, which we cannot change the look of or name of) yet they do not give her a voice for some odd reason (what, you want us to try to feel like we're in her shoes?) which was an odd choice because EVERY character is voiced except for her, so having random silences while everyone else talked was just odd. Yes, I could have turned off all voices, but I wanted the voice acting. It just made no sense why she had no voice. Also, something that bugged me with a lot of the voices (may have just been because I was wearing a headset) is that quite a lot of the voices were very... wet sounding in the mic and then some lines were louder or quieter than others in a paragraph which was a bit odd. So, I just wanted to point out that its biggest selling point kind of fell a bit flat.
Next we'll come to the story versus romance/friendship versus stat raising. Because it's a stat raising game at its base, you lose a lot of the fun and romance of the story, because so much focus is spent on the stats. You have to have 2 stats at a specific amount in order for a character's route to pop which takes away a lot of the fun especially because it can easily be messed up and lead to a bad ending. Then you have the story. To me, for the first fully voiced English Otome game, I would have preferred a much more funner plot/story than this bland makeup artist/college kid in the business industry thing. It's just very slow and boring and honestly not a very good plot. Then when it comes to the romance/friendship thing, well because of the bland plot and the stat raising, you don't really get a lot of either because of how much focus is put on the other, so unless you're lucky to either have lots of time dedicated to fully playing a route or recording the gameplay and then picking it apart, it's not that fun.
Speaking of Friendships and Romance routes... there are some pluses and negatives as well. First off, even though I liked the character, Benito's route is awkward because he is a 15 year old boy and Sian is 18, so it was quite an odd choice. I did like the idea of helping him reconnect with family and such but it was an odd route. Matthew was an adorable cinnaroll and my favorite of all the route. His shyness was adorable and he's quite pretty. John may be pretty but he's very disappointing because he's so emotionally dead, so he doesn't really show Sian any real love. He's twice her age and it makes things a little awkward especially when people try to make it out that Sian dating a 9 year old (someone half her age) wouldn't be as odd of a gap as her dating him. Although it's interesting that he is bisexual and it's revealed nicely and not over the top or anything like that, so it's cool to see a bi character portrayed properly. Adam is your cliche stereotypical best friend of your life that you end up marrying. While some people like that type of route, I always find that trope so boring so I just disliked the route and his character is just... meh. Then you have side characters that they don't track but you can either romance or befriend as well. Alvin is by far my most favorite, being the big; friendly nerd who tutors you. He turns out to be Asexual (possibly Aromantic?) which was done wonderfully. His character was great and even though his route wasn't clearly as loved as the others were, I still enjoyed it so much and wished he had gotten an after ending like the main love interests/friendships got, too. Lloyd is a friendship only, being a gay man. He's a fun soul and is a lot of fun to befriend. And then you have Nicole. She can be bratty so I wasn't really a fan of her. But it's cool to see that they offered a female romance/friendship option in this game for Sian. However, romance and friendship isn't forced though and you can go it alone which is cool as well. You're not forced into romance or friendship.
There are some cool features like dress up, buying stuff (for fun or to gift to people or to find hidden events), and baking cupcakes as well.
The art... is mixed. Character sprites are good. CGs are hit or miss with certain angles and such being odd. The intro and outro videos are great. The music is decent. Voice acting is okay enough.
Other complaints: The weird plot with Allison during John's route with how suicide is handled. How Sian just randomly has panic attacks that don't match what she explains for why she has them (stressful situation and crowds.); she seems to randomly get them during the least stressful situations and they seem to be used for plot only or when the story has nothing else going for it. The drama over Sian's father, only for it to turn into something so simple; they act like he was dying or something and it was a bit too melodramatic.
Overall, I'd suggest trying it if you like otome games and visual novels, but it just does not feel worth the price. And because of the negatives I mentioned above, I cannot recommend it.
I enjoyed the stat and outfit mechanics but in the end I never completed it due to annoying randomness. I think were it not for the chance that crucial things wouldn't trigger, I would have enjoyed more. If you're fine with not completing all the routes you may enjoy. The art is not my favorite but the characters are fun. Voice acting for a few characters is so awful I had to turn them off.
One of the best otome games out there for sure, packed to the gills with customization, amazing Love Interests, and minigames to keep you coming back.
I guess I'm not cut out for stat-building otome. I was playing through a route and everything seemed to be going fine, then suddenly credits roll. I didn't even get an ending, good or bad. It was just over. Clearly some stat or other was too low but there was no indication of what I needed to do differently. Because you need to enter your weekly schedule constantly to build your stats, it would have taken forever to try to figure out where I went wrong so I decided to move to a different route. Exact same thing happened. Credits with no ending and no hint of what to do differently. So I'm done. It's a shame, since I liked the characters and am legitimately interested in what their stories would be, but I just can't make myself enter all those weekly schedules again.
Pretty interesting game.
Art is amazing (and there's a lot of it). Music is ok, I turned off voice acting when I played, but only because I wanted to imagine character voices by myself. Still, it's really impressive, how this game has voice acting and even opening/ending videos! Stats managing can get a bit overwhelming, but I got used to it fairly quickly.
Characters are fun.
I like MC, she's good at what she does, she's smart and pretty relatable. And I LOVE when games give MC their own, independent, single endings. And this one has 3! You love to see it.
Nicole's path was adorable, Alvin's - fun, Lloyd's - amusing and pretty sweet.
I was hesitant about John and Benito at first - I'm not a big fun of weird age gaps in otome - but they turned out pretty ok. Benito's path was actually really cute.
Adam's path was a bit...meh. I don't know, their chemistry felt a bit off.
And then there's Matthew. The hottest, cutest, sweetest character, who also has the best CG's in the game. I'm glad I saved his route for last, because I knew it would be my favourite.
There's also little things, that made this game stand out for me. Like cupcakes, side characters story arcs, the whole new-clothes-each-season system, pretty interesting achievements.
Yeah, I liked this game. If you like stat managing otomes, this one deserves your attention.
nicole
hearted this game sm
++ Amazing voice actors
++ the writing is just sooo good! All the characters are well built, the interactions are funny and meaningful and you just get the feeling that our MC is a very wholesome character; this is rare for an otome and I loved this game the most because of the good relationships - not only the romances but all the side chars as well
++ handling dark and difficult moments was done sooo well; I really was impressed with the author when an actress handled a mental ill girl in a moment of delusion. This was actually really helpful information and worked well while not dramaticising about the potential danger too much, like other media do.
+the CGs are insanely well done; there are so much of them that I don't know how the artworkers did this. But I love them and may add - for me as a player it's totally okay if you cannot custom name, hair or outfit at all; I would rather see 1 good cg than 44 times the same kiss with diffrent clothes on (like you did in the end of Benitos route - that must have been rough to paint)
+the achievements you have to actually plan and work for because a simple play through will not give you one; I liked that a lot it feels like you actually achieved something ;D
+the LIs are so diffrent that it made every playthrough really nice, because you learned a lot about them and it didn't feel horribly repetetive; the skip mode worked nicely here and there are enough hints in the dialogues with them to figure out what they like and dislike; that was actually great bc I romanced them without a walkthrough and it was obvious what clothing they preferred for example;
o random events are difficult for me; I do play the first time with no walkthrough and had two events with Adam and Benito that I cannot reproduce now that I'm actively romancing them; I don't know what to do to trigger them and this is kinda weird
o the stat building system itself depend too much on exhaustion; if you have something over 30 you collapse and miss a day at school; if you go to sleep your stats will go down (why?) and if you eat noodles all day at Pho you will have no money and no time for stat building. In the end I gave up on the 'maxing out' achievement because it just didn't work out for me; an option to toggle this 'failure' possibility off would be really nice; I think I crashed 80% of all my work bc of the exhaustion ._.'
-the endings depend on seeing all little scenes with your LI; I couldn't romance or befriend Adam in my first run with him because I missed the guitar-playing scene before christmas with him. This scene only shows up when you are doing something special in the week and the conditions are right - so my typical week for him with 2x Pho, 2x Sport and 1x Work didn't work out here and I lost 4h of progress because of that. This was rough.
-when appointments overlap you have to reload an older save, you cannot cancel the one that you don't want to do; that wasn't feeling right and I would love to have an option to do that
-"hidden stats" there are chars like Lloyd that have a hidden friendship stat; I didn't really understand what the hearts and stars meant in the first place or how to raise them (just reloaded so long until something happened there) but not knowing if an action has actually any effect is frustrating;
I would recommend the game if you do want to put an effort into it and are ok with the age of the LIs. Benito actually was 15-16 ys old and the route felt for me more like a "little brother / friend" route. Mat is just shy as hell so there is no romance here but a lot of cringy moments. Adam was the route with the most cuddling and I really enjoyed that MC is the active part here going in for the kiss. John was my first route and I really was happy to finally get an LI that I would be interested in rl agewise; him being a workaholic was difficult to handle and I actually couldn't bring myself to befriend him in the other routes again because he seems unaware of how his words actually hurt the people around him
very good. highly recommend
I really wanted to like the game. The managing of your character is fun, the art style and voice work is beautiful. But. There just should me MORE of everything: characters, plots, scenes, romance, tragedy. Lot of your time is spent clicking endlessly to advance the time with nothing happening to advance the story in any way. Also, the romance drama should be the salt of the game, but truthfully was repetitive and tedious.
A very cool game! It's worth the hours you put in to enjoy a beautiful and funny story line! :)
Super cute and fun. Beautiful artwork. A quick play, but lots of awesome characters so the replay value is absolutely there. Loved it!
Beautiful Opening, beautiful CGs (Golden Prince Matt makes me go hallelujah), beautiful Lloyd, beautiful Celina and Rachel, Dale is great, and my friend (who plays the game through me as proxy) is obsessed with the Monday gambling. Cupcakes are amazing too, although there are weird flavors. Anyone who doesn't understand my comments? Buy and play the game, and you will be enlightened.
Very good despite it's flaws. Original and fun, full price reflects its worth.
First things first: this game has a star studded English dub cast. Go check it out here: https://sakevisual.itch.io/backstage-pass
You are a makeup artist starting college with your BFF.
It has 16 endings: three secret romance routes (including a female and an asexual character 👀), a friendship and romance ending for the four main boys, the obligatory you got kicked out of school ending, and then some solo ones.
My favorite routes were either John or Matthew. John was an older man that spoiled me rotten, and Matthew was such a sweetheart.
My least favorite element was the stat building component (surprise surprise, I know lol). In this case, it was TOO picky. For one of the guys in particular, you have to have exactly 2.1 hearts in order to get his friendship route. 2 gives you a solo route, and 2.5 gives you romance 🙄
I’d definitely recommend giving them game a try though. It was entertaining as heck!
Bought this game today and a few times it stopped saying there was a problem now I uninstalled it mow its not even installing and keeps telling me to install but it doesn't happen.
The stat raising and calendar planning got too tedious that it ruined the game experience for me. I like the plot and all, the English VAs, CGs and art look great, but as a completionist/perfectionist, I couldn't even handle to try to get the achievements anymore and continue all the routes.
Stat raising took too much time (10 hrs of gameplay, while the whole plot/story reading would probably just be an hour, more or less).
Overall, I wouldn't even call this an otome game/visual novel but just a dating sim with a LITTLE bit of storytelling.
Very lacking in romance, and I really tried to like this game. I am just overall disappointed.
I played it years ago, but I still remember the experience. It was a really good time.
- DIFFICULTY -
🔲 My 90 year old grandma could play it
☑️ Easy
🔲 Normal
🔲 Hard
🔲 "Dark Souls"
- GRAPHICS -
🔲 "MS Paint"
🔲 Bad
🔲 Meh
🔲 Graphics don't matter in this game
☑️ Good
🔲 Beautiful
🔲 Masterpiece
- MUSIC -
🔲 Bad
☑️ Not special
🔲 Good
🔲 Beautiful
- STORY -
🔲 This game has no story
🔲 Like playing "Temple Runners" for the story
🔲 It's there for the people who want it
☑️ Well written
🔲 Excellent story
~ VOICE ACTING ~
🔲 No voice acting
🔲 Oblivionly bad
🔲 Acceptable
☑️ Good
🔲 Pure talent
- PRICE -
🔲 Free
🔲 Underpriced
🔲 Perfect price
🔲 Could be cheaper
☑️ Overpriced
🔲 Complete waste of money
- REQUIREMENTS -
☑️ You can run it on a microwave
🔲 Average
🔲 High-end
🔲 "NASA" computer
- LENGTH -
☑️ Very short (0 - 3 hours)
🔲 Short (3 - 15 hours)
🔲 Average (15 - 50 hours)
🔲 Long (50 - 90 hours)
🔲 Extremely long (90 - 110 hours)
🔲 No ending
- FUN -
🔲 I'd rather watch paint dry
🔲 Hard to enjoy
☑️ Repetitive
🔲 Actually pretty amusing
🔲 Ride of your life
- REPLAYABILITY -
🔲 It's a one - time experience
🔲 Only for achievements
🔲 If you wait a few months / years
☑️ Definitely
🔲 Infinitely replayable
- WORTH BUYING -
🔲 No
☑️ Wait for sale
🔲 Yes
не смотря на то, что я НЕНАВИЖУ статрайзеры (потому что не умею в тайм менеджмент), я в каком-то щенячьем восторге от Backstage Pass
если брать сюжетные истории, то без базового геймплея их кот наплакал, но зато насколько они приятны и насыщенны на маленькие ивенты!
ВСЕ абсолютно ВСЕ персонажи чудесные лапочки, даже те, которых изначально позиционируют как нахохлившихся ежиков. никакой токсичности, никакой проблематичности, все абсолютно адекватны (кроме нескольких сюжетных моментов), все решается словами через рот, что редкость не только в визуальных новеллах, но и в жизни в принципе
буквально отдыхала в этой игре
играем мы за такую же полноценную героиню, как и нарисованные мужья, и одна блондинка жена, со своим характером, который показывается на протяжении всей игры, что тоже довольно редкое явление для игор подобного жанра
имя изменить нельзя, ее по умолчанию зовут Шон, и ее имя озвучено в репликах. она очень взрослая для своего возраста (18 лет), собранная и серьезная, при этом смешливая и добрая. она боится больших скоплений людей и страдает от панических атак, в игре является профессиональным визажистом. не стесняется говорить о своих чувствах, не стесняется говорить о неприятных вещах, не смущается при каких-то околоэротичных моментах. абсолютно прекрасная протагонистка, просто chefs kiss
единственная претензия - абсолютно отбитые костюмы, которые можно купить в магазине для примазывания к нарисованным мужикам. из всего, что можно купить, симпатичные лишь пара дизайнов, остальное лютый кринж
всего полноценных роутов 4, и есть 4 дополнительных
в основных роутах мальчики (и мужчина) с обложки (у каждого есть дружеский роут, романтический и ИДЕАЛЬНЫЙ РОМАНТИЧЕСКИЙ т.е эпилог после титров, никаких дедэндов):
Адам (18 лет) - друг детства, вместе с Шон переехал с Гавайи. он начинающий музыкант, и пытается построить карьеру одновременно с учебой и, по выбору, любовными отношениями с героиней. чудесный мальчик, чудесный роут, полный любви, обожания и нежности
Джон (38 лет) - менеджер Адама, по совместительству довольно популярный актер, пытающийся уйти от своей роли рыцаря в новое амплуа. сначала показан мудаком мудакеевичем, но по ходу роута становится мягеньким и галантным ухажером. очень любит актерствовать, основной конфликт роута выбор между героиней и работой
Бенито (15 лет) - местный вундеркинд-фокусник, просто пытается жить эту жизнь и показывать всем волшебство. все было хорошо, до того момента, как я узнала, что ему 15 лет :) веселый, легкий на подъем, харизматичный - читать роут было очень приятно. возраст отлично показан в концовке, честно говоря словила с него прилично вайбов
Мэттью (18 лет) - большая звезда, известная модель. до отвратительного замечательный застенчивый мальчик, люблю его всеми фибрами своей души. по ходу роута привстает с колен и начинает отстаивать свои точки зрения против властной матери. обожаю смотреть, как стеснительные персонажи борются со своей стеснительностью, что бы получить то, чего желают
и 4 дополнительных (по 2 концовки на персонажа):
Ллойд (38 лет) - известный продюсер/сценарист, который по счастливой случайности пригласил Шон участвовать в съемках нового сериала в качестве визажиста. он ужасно смешной, милый и невероятно заботливый. я до последнего ждала какой-то романтики от него, но в итоге получила концовку не которую ждала, но которую определенно заслужила, лол
Элвин (19 лет) - роут максимально удаленный от шоубизнеса, приходишь позаниматься дополнительно со школьным репетитором и остаешься репетиторствовать с ним до конца года. забавный роут с милым гиком, неожиданно ударивший под дых ближе к концу личностной трагедией. есть подозрение, что он в одном из спектров аутизма
Николь (17 лет) - очень приятный, романтический ЛЕСБИЙСКИЙ (!!!) роут, который никак не ожидаешь увидеть в этой игре
ну и, конечно же, личные концовочки, куда без них. становишься успешной и богатой, но без нарисованного мужика, или блондинки жены, под боком, вариантов несколько
игра довольно сложная в открытии CGшек, а так же романтических ответвлений в некоторых роутах. о предпочтениях некоторых персонажей тебе кричит все их естество - Элвину ты с ходу понимаешь что дарить, он гик, обожает игры, обожает сериалы; Адам музыкант, дарим ему музыкальный инструмент. а у некоторых тема подарка вызывает вопросительные знаки над головой: вот как можно было догадаться, что Джон любит готовить и ему нужно дарить трюфели, а Мэттью любит рисовать и дарить ему обязательно масляные краски? то есть я знаю ответ - ты проходишь игру разок кривовато, как умеешь, а потом уже собирая инфу по крупицам, пользуясь сейв/лоад функцией подбирать ответы и подарки как надо. но это такая скука!..
советую не тратить время зря, а сразу проходить по гайдам (которые в сети есть, но немного кривовато оформленные, но их хватает за глаза и за уши)
стилистика в игре приятная, хоть и кривоватая
отдельно бурчу, что деды мои деды в свои 38 выглядят на 20, но что поделать
И ОТДЕЛЬНО БУРЧУ, ЧТО У НАШЕГО ПОТРЯСАЮЩЕГО ФОТОГРАФА ДЕЙЛА ТОЖЕ НЕТ РОМАНТИЧЕСКОГО РОУТА, НУ ЧТО ЗА ПОДСТАВА!!! мой любимый персонаж
в общем, советую поиграть, 10 нон проблематик мужей, и блондинки жены, из 10
Really liked this
[h1]Quite an entertaining visual novel game[/h1]
[i]Backstage Pass[/i] is a fun visual novel or dating sim. Where you play the hard-working makeup artist and college student Sian Goodin. A sudden accident topples Sian’s plan for a relaxing college life. And she realizes she must use her skills and knowledge of the industry to make it through the year. You get to choose your character’s future. You can focus on your career in the entertainment industry or your schooling. All while trying to navigate the world of love.
The great part about this visual game is not only that it consists of a mini game where you can bake cupcakes or it allows you to play dress up with your character‚ but this game has over 15 endings including men‚ women or no one at all. [spoiler]Yes‚ you can choose to not date anyone and focus on yourself.[/spoiler] It also has over 80 CGs with very good art style. Not to mention‚ the main character named Sian Goodin is quite a very relatable character.
If there is anything lacking about this game‚ it would be either some of the stories are a little lacking and the gameplay can be quite repetitive at times.
Overall‚ it is quite an entertaining gaming experience. The visual arts are quite stunning and the voice acting within are very expressive and well done. Most of the characters leave great impression. Whether who you get closer with or not‚ or what you are capable of doing and becoming are all depend on which stats you are raising.
Its not as fast as most otome games. and the guides really do help you out. I would wait til its on sale though.
This game is so much fun and the voice acting is INCREDIBLE. If you love slice of life and romance, you will love this game!
It was such a tough decision to decide whether or not I'd recommend this game... But I decided I don't.
I love the art and design in general (except, some of the CGs looked a little weird and in a quite different artstyle), and I enjoyed the stat raiser aspect at first. I like planning and organizing in general, so I always figured I'd like stat raisers, and this one was my first. But sadly, I can't concentrate on both that aspect and the story itself; whenever I got to new story parts and had to stop skipping, it irritated me, because my mind was like "soo I'm gonna do exercises next and then.... noooo I don't want to read rn!". Then I got into reading the story but was thrown back to planning.
BUT that would probably be the same with any stat raiser, so I don't really blame the game for it. Nor do I blame it for me getting the completely boring, neutral ending (it was just... over, one day) - since it's my first stat raiser. I was trying to get on Johns route, but I never use guides on my first playthrough. I did after and got on Johns and Benitos routes just fine.
So the reason I still decided against recommending this game is, because the second I got to the romance scenes on Johns route with the help of a guide, I felt really disappointed. It is partly because of the nature of Johns route [spoiler]he's very distant, which felt sad but it's on purpose, it gets addressed in the story[/spoiler], but even after that issue got resolved, I still felt like "and I did all this work for... this?". And I did feel the same with Benitos route.
I think the story part itself is just wayyy too short for me to feel close to the characters; just skipping through dates with all the same text didn't feel like actually spending time with them, I expected more romance scenes outside of the dates you do as a chore.
[spoiler] Also, Benito being 15 and fighting with him about whether he should talk to his parents or not... I would've thought the story would be more about how they make a famous blog and work together for his magic career, not me feeling like I'm babysitting him and telling him ditching school and not talking to parents is bad.[/spoiler]
There's also other small stuff that irked me; I love buying and assembling outfits, but the images of the outfits in the shop while buying are quite different than what it actually looks like on MC. (Save before buying!) I also couldn't really assemble them the way I want, since I had to wear whatever the character I'm romancing likes (as the guides told me, plus that way you get a small compliment at the beginning of dates). So if you follow that, you can only choose between two patterns / colors.
If you love stat raisers, then this could still be the game for you, since the quality is pretty good. I personally wouldn't recommend it though, mainly because there's not enough romance for me. I wanted to play Adams route too, but it felt like a huge waste of time so I stopped.
The great example of Visual Novel with many likeable characters.
So good :)
I've been waiting since this first got advertised to play this game and then waited till I started earning my own money, then till it became a price I was willing to pay for a game for. Worth the wait and the pennies.
Just realized I never made a review for this game! It's a great dating sim - gorgeous art and great characters. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Though I wouldn't say it's the best story I've read, the characters were likable and I still look back at this game with fond memories!
I watch a youtuber play this a long time ago. I never got to see all the endings and after several years i bought the game. I didnt expect to have this much fun playing. I highly recommend this game.
I like the character designs, their personalities, and the story itself is fine.
I'm the kind of person that likes to do all routes & achievements if I like the game.
HOWEVER.
Over half my playtime was spent trying to get onto Alvin's path. Just that [b]1[/b] character! I followed every guide I found to a T, still never happened. I cheated to give myself higher stats, still didn't help. So after 20+ hours replaying the game several times to try to get on his path, I decided to just say "screw it" and go on Matthew's. So I loaded up one of the saves with altered stats and started doing the stuff to get on Matthew's path. And you know what? It actually let me get onto Alvin's path... All those FREAKING wasted hours! I'm so pissed >.<
So here's a tip for anyone trying to get Alvin's path: [spoiler]Any guide that says you NEED a 4.0 GPA and/or to spend time with him on Halloween is a LIAR. I did neither of those (my GPA was only like 3.25 by the time the route you're on is established), I never studied, I only saw Alvin for tutoring on Mondays and never dated him on weekends. I think blogging/popularity is more a factor for getting his path (and maybe giving him the Knight Figure and watching the show with him), which none of the guides I followed mentioned and I only was doing since you need to do that for Matthew. Exercising also helps since there is a cutscene of you running into him when you run.[/spoiler]
I mentioned that I liked the character designs, and I really do. But the quality of the CG art is so BAD by comparison. Perspectives and proportions are almost always off. Shots of a character that are straight on seem to be *ok*, but if its the character's side/profile, it looks really strange. Lloyd is my favorite character, but ALL of his CGs have him so badly proportioned ;_; Doing a major disservice to my guy.
This is a stat-based game, which isn't TOO bad if you're only doing 1 route/playthrough. But MAN is it really tedious and boring if you're gonna do more than that. Even with skipping read text on, having to pick your activities each week and then going through all the animations (which are still skipped if you have skip turned on currently) is just so monotonous. The game itself takes place over the course of almost a whole year, so thats over 40 weeks of inputting your weekly activities. Per playthrough. It adds up and really makes the game a chore to get through.
To get all of the achievements (or to get an achievement for one of the main guys), you have to do both their friendship route AND romance route. Without following a guide, getting the friendship route can actually be extremely difficult, which you wouldn't normally think so. So if you plan to do all achievements, make sure you're using a guide in order to minimize the amount of times you have to restart or reload a playthrough.
This game is just lovely, it provides the challenge of time management whilst giving you ample progression in your relationships so you don't get bored. The romantic interests are all lovable in their own unique ways, and the supporting characters also get to be important throughout the game. The art is very pretty, with the cgs being extremely satisfying to unlock. This is a visual novel that *will* provide a challenge but have a worthy reward for your work, very underrated!
This visual novel game is really cute and addicting. the characters are well developed, and the story line is never lacking.
"As soon as you equate your work with your value, you lose."
Sounds weird but it really helped me through some serious questions in life/work. Thank you. :)
At times the VN had a bit too much of a j-drama feeling but it all in all it was a pleasant experience.
i love how everything you do effects the game in someway
系统很丰富啊 有换装和礼物系统学习日程邮件系统这是我没想到的，在视觉小说中绝对很突出了
流程挺长，但是还是蛮充实.....居然全程的英语配音，质量很高，太感动了555顺便练习英语
John的人设直接戳中我的点，太可了！其他人物也不错欸，推荐玩玩
剧透慎看↓
[spoiler]说起来。。知道John和导演大人有过一段的时候真的是震撼我妈啊草 太突然毫无防备 Σ(っ °Д °;)っ喝水我他妈直接喷出[/spoiler]
-
For some reason, I keep forgotting about what did happen in this game, what I thought about it after finish. Everything. Like I've been brain wash after playing it. This is the 4th times I play this and it still like the 1st time, yes, I didn't skip ANYTHING due to lack of memories about it. When I re-read my own review about this game, my reaction like "What, did it really happen? Why I have no memory about it?" and "Whoa, so this is my thought back then".
But it still a nice game to pick up regardless, based on my old review and thought about it. The quality is good, especially if you consider the time this game release: Beautiful artwork and UI (and the art quality also not up-and-down like most indie game), full voice acting expect Sian (and ofc the voice acting is good!, I still feel bad that they remove the voice acting for Sian...), and our cast are plesant (they may not make a strong impression in me but I also don't have complaint about them at all). The game worth it full price well ! And if you feel it so pricely then wait for the sale.
Edit: After replay a playthrough I remember why I have dull impression about this game now: the gameplay IS unremarkable, and the gameplay consume the largest part in this kind of game. It's hard to keep going while the dating conversation so boring. But I'm still recommend it for the overall quality anyway.
Fun dating sim that's very extensive
This is honestly one of my favorite games. It has plenty of replay value, it gives you plenty to do, plenty of routes and endings. It's beautiful art, clever use of the 'otome' game, giving you side games to do. Time management, even what you wear can be important to your endings. This is a game I recommend for everyone.
Backstage Pass ("BP") is a colorful visual novel with a stat-raising and choice system. It follows Sian, an amateur makeup artist, during her freshman year at college. Sian does the makeup for her childhood friend Adam, an up-and-coming pop star, and begins to meet a variety of amateur and veteran stars in the field: John, a veteran British actor who is moonlighting as Adam's manager; Benito, an amateur magician; and Matthew, a gorgeous and shy model. But an incident forces Sian to balance work and school in order to make ends meet.
I have played through all four main routes, platonic and romantic, achieved about half of the Steam achievements, and completed all of the non-independent side character routes. Overall, I recommend this game, as it features a wonderful cast of characters, colorful and attractive art, and generally well-written sequences that explore unconventional themes within a romance-focused visual novel. I do have two caveats: the stat-raising system employed by the game can be very tiresome and repetitive, especially if you are trying for all achievements. In addition, there are a number of collectible graphics, or CGs, that require players to replay scenes over and over to get all of the possible variations. If you care about that kind of thing.
The Good:
+ Fantastic characters. From Sian, the MC, to all of the love interests ("LIs") and secondary characters, BP excels with its colorful and unique cast. My personal favorites were: John, the charming and mature British actor; Alvin, the adorkable TA; Lloyd, the upbeat and friendly director; Matthew, the sweet model with abs for days; and Rachel, the down-to-earth camera operator.
+ Interesting story. All of the routes are entertaining and generally well-written. I liked how the writers explored different themes like social anxiety, asexuality, age differences in relationships, and the ever-dreadful career choice all young adults have to make.
+ Art. Initially, I was unsure about the art style of BP, and some CGs do look a bit strange with regards to proportionality. However, ultimately the colorful character designs and scene choices are done really well with respect to the game setting.
The Meh.
o The Romance. I respect an independent girl, but Sian often came across as lukewarm until the game was set onto a characters' romantic route, and I was often surprised when the romantic path occurred for all of the routes except John's and one of the secondary characters. (Possible spoilers, so not naming names.) There was a definite lack of tension and often chemistry for many of the routes. The stories were still enjoyable, but I was scratching my head. One of the particularly problematic routes was Adam's, as he is the childhood friend, and there are quite a few obstacles to overcome to deliver a believable romance, namely the issues that can arise when a longstanding relationship changes, which were not really addressed.
- The lack of sequel! I honestly thought that a sequel was so feasible, given a Plot Thing that happens during one of the routes. I also just want to get to know the characters more, as the scenes we do get in BP are well-done but short.
The Bad:
- The stat-raising. I just do not like stat-raising. BP's is a bit more clever and strategic, with having players balance the four main stats, Sian's GPA, and her fatigue level, but it does feel like an uphill struggle. In theory, it's a management system that can allow players to be strategic and create different scenarios. In practice, it just leads to a lot of unnecessary grinding. This system wasn't as bad as games like Dandelion, where players also have to try to randomly meet the LIs during the activity. But it's still not my favorite.
- The CG variations. I absolutely hated the fact that at least 1/3 of the CGs had variations that require the players to replay a scene UP TO ELEVEN TIMES in order to get full CG completion. I'm fine with having the variations, but they should just all be unlocked when the only difference is what outfit Sian is wearing. -_- Some of the CGs were also very difficult to unlock. I had to rely heavily on a guide to get full CG completion.
Okay, so I kind of hoped that one day Steam will release a maybe (?) section between the yes and no. It wasn't bad game. I like making the weekly schedule and having different cut scenes depending on what you choose to do. Game is fun and the story I can follow and its pretty sweet. The voice acting wasn't all that bad either. Here is my grip and I know that it is my personal taste when it comes to romance games. If you like the whole "My fair lady" type of romance games, I will say it is definitely up your ally. As for me, it makes me...super cringy that I can't even spell it right. I much preferred it when John called the main character Little Wizard as a cute romantic nickname than My Lady...Blehh!!!! X_X and he isn't the only one with those lines..but again if you like the whole My Fair Lady, you'd love this game.
loved it
Its a pretty neat game yall
I like the concept of the game but the stats raising got really tedious. I just couldn't enjoy the story as I got bored of the stats raising aspect. The artwork and VAs are both great and it is nice to have an otome game with English voice acting but I got really bored of it.
I used a guide to get all the ending as I am a bit of a completionist when it comes to otome games achievements but I got so bored trying to get all the achievements.
I would only recommend this game if you like stats raising dating sims, if not give it a pass.
So, I just 100% Completed the game, all the routes. Annnd well I'm missing one of Adams CGs I guess it only shows up sometimes in the romance route? Well I have to run through it again.
This Game is both amazing and.. well tedious. I recommend it though, the characters are quirky loveable, and the MC is great. Personally when I first got into the game, I marked each character based off the prologue who would be my favourites and least favourites. How I go from there is I make my absolute favourite go last, so I always have something to look forward too, and have my least favourite character second last, and then my second favourite first, and then the middle one just in the middle.
So I went with the routes Matthew, Benito, Alvin, Nicole, Lloyd, John and then Adam. Surprisingly after it all.
John's become my favourite, Second is Matthew, Third is Nicole, Then Adam. Though, Johns a bit of a ♥♥♥♥ in other routes but he's so wholesome in his own route. The game is... extremely tedious, I had to push through it most of the time and lots of saves, and lots of skipping because of accidentally mistakes in Stat raising, or missed something in a week causes you to restart, so it's good to make saves before every month in case you mess up and you don't want to restart the entire game(Believe me, I restarted a new game like.. over 30 times already.. It was painful)
The Story was what kept me going through the Stat raising torture, and the art style, and the voice actors. Ofcourse, Naturally Micah Solusod voice acting Adam? Hell yeah I'm in it for it.
It's a really nice game!
Love the characters and the story. The romance is realistic and cliché free while still fluffy and sweet.
If you like romance VNs with stat raising like this one, I warmly recommend Nicole from Winter Wolves.
This is such a cute game !
I really enjoyed every aspect of it. The different routes are varied, the characters interesting and the whole "showbiz" background is really well exploited.
It's easy to get attached to the MC. She has her own personality (a rare trait for a visual novel character) and feels very real.
I liked the stat raising part, it can be a bit tedious but it definitely adds planning and gameplay in a game that would be, without it, lacking in the latter. This doesn't just feel like an interractive story but a fully fledged game, so kuddos to that !
To conclude, this was a short and sweet VN, much lighter than the majority of drama-focused stories, but with enough depht that i never felt bored.
The game is average, 7-8/10. I wish there were more romance or events to happen in the game, but overall it's a nice take on the otome genre.
É muito viciante! Tem um sistema de agenda e planejamento bem legal e possível de administrar. As histórias paralelas de cada date são interessantes, os personagens são cativantes e têm um traço bonito. É legal trocar as roupas e passear na cidade. Tem coisas que poderia melhorar, mas sinceramente dentre os que já joguei, é um dos mais legais, especialmente não sendo japonês.
One of the cutest and sweetest visual novels I've ever played. It's more about finding out what makes you happy in life and less about romance. That's a good thing though!
Cute characters and very well made. I liked the life management side of things more than I thought I would. Good endings beyond the romances too!
It's a nice game with cool features. After a long time playing it, it got a bit boring. But it's a cute otome type game.
Again, I wish there's a neutral review but whatever, fine. This otome wasn't particularly downright horrible throughout, however, the gameplay is a huge pain and is true repeat hell. I don't like stat raisers and management that is done weekly like this, tedious is putting it lightly. I didn't even do the profession independent endings bc I had enough!
Also I just need to know why they put basically a child and an old lad as of the mains to romance with a uni student protag who is 18. Disgusting.
...But I like majority of the characters and the gay route was great! I also appreciate there are friendship routes, it was a pain to stop affection enough to get them though. Oh! Also there is another fella who is ace!!! Can you believe that??? I need more of these ppl please and good gay options in more vns, done respectively of course. Or maybe I just haven't been around playing enough to see more good examples than terrible ones I've seen. Hm.
So ignoring what hell I went through with making Sian's schedule, most of the routes were fun to go through aside from 2 problematic ones. Yeah. I'm calling them out like that.
I love how many things you can do in this game and the boys are pretty awesome but it is a difficult game, i got 2 bad endings and had to look up a walkthrough before i could actually get anywhere.
As someone who suffers from social anxiety, it was nice to see a protagonist who was like me for once. Thank you for that. The music was also beautiful.
I like the characters, the art, the story and the music, so why am I writing a negative review? Because of all this:
-It is completely illogical for a dating sim to have friendship paths that are harder to get than the romantic paths.
-Some CGs are next to impossible to get by yourself or following guides.
-Some endings appear to not have been finished. They are so abrupt you are left wondering if there's a bug or something.
I am not asking for this game to be easier, I just need it to have a kind of logic and not feel like it's bugged or not finished.
Firstly, I'd just like to say I can really relate to the player character, as someone with anxiety disorder. I'm not massively into the make-up scene, but god, the familiar thought process means I can really really find myself in the moment as the character, and can strongly sympathise with the mental health references - they're done really well. I love that, and seeing positive representation of people with mental health conditions is very important to me and makes me really happy. I love Sian as the MC so much!
Secondly, I genuinely find this an enjoyable game to play. The characters are lovely, the artstyle is wonderful and the game mechanics themselves are fun for me. It's a wonderful game and I'm very glad I purchased it.
只玩到女主角去演唱會工作被保安擋在門外，接著女主角看起來打算掉頭走掉，
John出現並把她帶進去
John說沒化妝師會很困擾，怪她不打電話給自己
女主角想哭但"堅強"的忍住然後說自己shy，後面還叫人家閉嘴，就受不了這位公主了
目前三個讓我玩不下去的點:
一、主角個性....我覺得繼續玩下去，高機率得繼續忍受這位公主犯病，我玩遊戲是想放鬆紓壓的...
二、遊戲文本冗長，可能沒中文的關係，對贅字的忍受程度較低，比如:
在床頭櫃上發現一封信，還要" I cut it open with a pair of scissors and pull out the note. "
誰管你用兩片剪刀還是拆信刀還是直接用手撕用嘴咬開信封
諸如此類的廢話在本作神多，刪掉這行完全不影響劇情那種
三、長得像反派路人的魔術師我不太ok
可惜其他人推薦的什麼豐富的系統，我大概沒機會看到
砍了這堆強迫玩家看的前期廢話，直接進到系統那裏不是很好嗎?
想追誰就只看他的劇情，也許玩家(我)對廢話忍受的闕值能提高?
這樣就可以早點退選魔術師，已經被迫看了兩段劇情
因為化妝師這個職業，必須在暴露在大眾面前，及各種批判
總是要讓自己保持在最佳狀態
因此常極具壓力，覺得生活過得很辛苦
當中得在自己的計畫中安排學習各種知識和能力
化久後，會在一些工作場合遇到一些NPC影響結局走向
不過我認為當中有角色成長的部分和劇情沒有太強烈的關係
(應該要修改下，如.時尚or知名度不到一個程度不會遇到某人或不穿某套洋裝不會觸發主線這樣...)
不然經營來的錢可能就是只拿來買衣服、配件，除了形象好看，好像就沒有其他作用了
總結來說，我喜歡這個作品，希望還可以畫面、經營系統和劇情交互關係能改得更好❤
I tried to like this one and I just couldn't. While the art is good and I liked the VA, the stat raising got tedious pretty fast. The game just felt lacking. Even with a guide, I got a pretty lacklustre ending. Would not recommend at full price.
This one was so cute! I enjoy that you can date out of your character's age range and practically everyone you meet is an option. The graphics were lovely, the story line left me needing a breather before coming back, and I honestly appreciated that the main character wasn't /completely/ pathetic for once. I wish there had been more information on line to make for an easier play through, but there was enough.
A fun little dating sim. Can be quite difficult to figure out how to get onto the routes I want without a guide, but is fun nonetheless. Plenty to do and I was quite surprised to find out the endings that don't include the four main guys; makes it feel like one-of-a-kind.
A bit shorter than i was hoping for but i did enjoy this game. I actual hope they make another one..
I have finished almost all romance endings and I think this is a really interesting game. However, it is kinda hard if you want to find out all the endings by yourself. It was complicated even though I followed the guide. Still, if you want challenging then this game can satisfy you. Another problem is that arranging schedules can be repetitive because the game lasts for one year. It makes me quite boring sometimes and just want to skip it to read the story. I will finish independent paths in the future before saying goodbye to this game.
its cute and it makes me feel cute so shut the ♥♥♥♥ up
I've played for around five hours and only just finished one route of 16. It's very full on and at times frustrating trying to learn the mechanics for the game. BUT it has been SO SATISFYING finishing something. Plus it really makes you wanna complete everything, which is a feeling I've never felt before playing these styles of games.
I can't wait till I can play more!!
[h1]Note: If you're looking for yuri, look elsewhere.[/h1]
There's only one route where you can pursue another girl, and that is [b]Nicole[/b]. The story of her route is decent enough, but everything else with Nicole is so underwhelming that it's not worth your time or money if that was your main reason for buying Backstage Pass. Nicole's route barely even hints or ends at any romance developing between the two, that you wonder why the developers even bothered adding Nicole's route at all. To me, it comes off as just a "joke" route, despite the developer's real intentions.
Other than that, I would say the production quality of the visual novel is high, but it's clear that it's just an otome game and nothing more.
I had this game in my wishlist for the longest time, and it never seemed to drop under $25 until Summer Sale 2019, so I finally got to grab it at a somewhat decent price (more on that later.) The art and music is good, and the gameplay itself has a better UI than some of the other life sim/date sim games I've played. I also appreciate that there is more going on than just chasing after one character's romance; I've only done two routes and discovered different side stories based on how I played each of them. I also always like when a dating sim has a happy ending even if you don't date anyone, and this one has a couple different outcomes in that respect.
That being said, however, if you are looking for yuri/girls love, I really can't recommend this game at any price above $15, and that's really pushing it. There is one female love interest, and you have to do some pretty specific things to even get involved with her, let alone her good ending. It was also a bit disheartening because there are multiple female characters that could have been good routes too, ranging from the lead actress on the tv series you work on, to a camera operator, and even a random extra (yandere route?)
One of the most thoughtful and put-together VNs to be released in the western market for a long while. The game is super cute, and very in-depth -- to the point I think you'd almost certainly want a guide if you wanted to actually unlock a [romantic] ending with any of the characters. And speaking of the characters, there's actually quite a few not advertised that you can have a 'route' with, so to speak -- including a romantic one with Nicole. This last part I am happy about (always glad to have the inclusion of at least one F/F route, I mean it's progress, right?), although unlocking this route is so dang obscure you would never be able to come across it without either a guide or unlocking an extremely specific series of events. Finally, the addition of several independent endings is also very welcome -- there truly is no bad ending for Sian (unless you get expelled from college).
Art is clean and great, although characters do appear off-model in several CGs. Voice acting is similarly great, although a couple characters' VO work is clearly subpar (and I notice an audible issue with the microphone used for some of them, which could be annoying to some). All in all, a fine visual novel and enjoyable to play, if pricy - so unless you're wealthy, wait for a sale!
rich story, charaters, stat mangerment, have to remember what people say. i like it. you don't have to go for the romantic story if you dont want to. that's a plus.
This is one of the most in-depth dating sims I've played. I really enjoy that you can completely ignore the actual dating aspect and go for different careers with the main character. There are a few that I want to romance, but it's even more fun to dig around and discover all the possible hidden paths. It's also the only game in my library that I paid full price for if that counts for anything.
An enjoyable read with many different ending depending on how you play (16 endings in fact). The game involves you making choices on how to spend your week via the calendar screen and through emails you character is sent. While this game may seem simple on the surface, the way in which you get the different endings can be very complicated. So complicated in fact, that it is pretty much impossible to get every ending on your own.
The guide I used is here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/288220/discussions/0/490123197950519860/
Pros:
- Because of the amount of endings, the game has a lot of replayability
- You can equip different clothes to your main character
- There is actually a lesbian route in this game
- Nice art style that stands out
- Decent, mature character driven story
- Routes that don't involve romance are an interesting addition
Cons:
- Though there are a lot of endings, the game is quite long so getting through these endings might be a drag for some
- Very convoluted mechanics that require a guide to figure out
- For example, the ways that you can gain affection aren't clearly outlined.
- Gameplay quickly becomes repetitive and mindless
- You can save before each action and keep loading that save until the action passes, making the failure system meaningless
- Some of the ending don't warrant being an ending on its own. While it's cool that there are friendship routes with some characters, I wish they were a part of other routes instead of having me go through the entire game again to get them.
Conclusion: 7/10
This game is a good amount of fun, but is held back by convoluted mechanics and its overly long length. I played the game through once without a guide and got the neutral end, then switched to using a guide. Even though I used a guide, I still didn't get the ending some times. The game would have been improved if you could get multiple of these endings at a time, but instead, you have to play the whole game 16 times to get every ending.
Similar games:
Sunrider Academy - A spin off of the Sunrider games that has you making choices on how you spend the day and has four routes for you to play through. You are the vice president of a school and have to organise and improve the various clubs that are under performing.
Just Deserts:
You are stationed in a military base in the desert to fight against an alien menace. You have to manage your day to increase various skills you have, while also increasing the affection level of your potential love interests. Has 5 routes and a cringey Harem route.
Full disclosure: I won this game in a free drawing and have come nowhere near completing it. I think I left it running and waddled off somewhere for several hours inadvertently.
Backstage Pass has a protagonist whom I actually liked quite a lot and it was simple enough to get into her mindset despite not being a student or artistic professional myself. She's well written despite being a protagonist in a dating sim, so that's quite a big plus in my book. You manage your time, going to classes, studying, hanging out with the guys whom you befriend and can potentially have a romance with, and making some career progress as a make-up artist for celebrities.
Nothing really put me off on the game mechanically, musically, or concerning the protagonist. However, the fellas whom you can befriend and romance didn't really come off quite as likable for me. Granted, [strike]Sayori[/strike] the longterm friend character is pretty successful and likable enough. He would be a sufficient uh...husbandfu (whatever the dude version of a waifu is???) for my gal, but all the other guys were marginally people I would even want as her friends at best. One guy is a real jerk (kinda like a tsundere and a kuudere had an even more douchey offspring but there was little to no playfulness or cute chemistry to it). Another is sort of a mama's boy and a real pushover and prettyboy sort. And then another is spontaneous but so whimsical with his career/life that I don't want this person in my gal's life for fear of him bombing at his magician job and trying to bum money off of my girl to her education's and career's detriment.
I have a feeling it would never come to that in the game, but other than the fella who has been your character's long-term friend character, I wouldn't even dream of considering another pair-up for the protagonist, which takes a lot of fun out of this sort of game for me. If the other dudes sound good to you, perhaps you would enjoy the game, but for me, I wasn't even all that excited about pairing up the protagonist with the childhood friend character, and he was the only one I would even consider for her since the others put me off so much. It's not a bad game, but I would recommend inspecting the romance options before you consider buying the game since there isn't a lot of incentive to play it if you don't like the potential pairings.
Sakevisual é certamente um dos veteranos no ramo das visual novels.
Mesmo quando nós eramos pouco mais que alguns fãs no fórum da ferramenta Ren'Py, lá nos idos do começo da década, ela já nos dava RE:Alistair, a grande referência em freeware nesse gênero, talvez entre os videogames em geral, pelo simples motivo de que é um trabalho de extrema qualidade.
Se RE:Alistair é tão bom sendo de graça, você pode imaginar minhas expectativas para Backstage Pass. Eu não fiquei desapontada.
Backstage Pass é extenso, sim, é difícil conseguir algumas conquistas e CGs, sim, mas é parte do seu charme. Esse é um jogo que te surpreende, esguio, sorrateiro. Nada existe nesse mundo por acaso, e se o jogador não fica esperto, ele perde uma oportunidade que não volta mais. Não preciso mencionar o quanto potencial de replay ele tem.
O preço é salgado, mas vale muito a pena.
作为一个恋爱游戏人物塑造的很不错了，个人比较喜欢百合线，虽然相对其他几条主线有点短，但是她可爱呀_(:з」∠)_
One of my favorite western otome visual novels ever. I'm a big fan of the developer and their other visual novels, and this is definitely no exception. Great story writing, a very charming and likeable protagonist, and the ability to not just cultivate relationships with the main romances but also friendships as well; there are some otome games where it's very "insta-love" and this is not one of those games. I would definitely recommend it to either anyone who is already an otome fan or looking to try that genre.
This is such a cute game! Story progression may seem a little off-beat at times, but is overall easy to get hooked on.
If you're looking for something similar to Hustle Cat, you're in the right place. If you're after something like Dandelion, this will at least tide you over until you find your next otome.
Characters - 9/10
Story- 8/10
Gameplay- 6.5/10
i just started playing this game so i may be writing this too early, but so far i LOVE it! the characters are amazing, the music is perfectly matched, and the story line is well written and carried out amazingly with the voice actors. if this were to become an actual anime i can 100% say i would watch it. fantastic game sakevisual 10/10 love it!
Tags: Adventure - VN - Visual Novel
Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library
TLDR: Niche appeal. Centers around student who is makeup artist. Well executed but a lot of fluff text and grind-a-stat hurts pacing.
This is a well crafted otome game with some voice acting and a well presented agenda. Eventually it became a bit of a slog to constantly assign tasks for each week and the random events were often of the slice of life, everyday occurance type which were mundane and uninteresting. If you really got into the character and her life maybe it would hold more immersion but I ended up feeling disengaged and stopping play.
I enjoy stat raising games, so I had fun with Backstage Pass. I read a few comments stating that the stats required were impossible to achieve, that is not true at all, when you learn how to do it, it gets easy.
That being said, the characters look a little weird sometimes, specially John, it looks like a total different character sometimes.
Let's get to the point here, it is fun and cute and all, but I am not sure it is worth the price.
Really enjoyed this game. The variety of endings and the stories are all great. I had to use the guides, but that didn't take away from the fun. This is one of the fiew games I got all of the achievements for.
Let me preface this by saying I generally dislike games with stat raising mechanics and usually write off any that use the concept- I usually like to sit back and read the story. I only started playing this years after I got it on sale- and was blown away.
I still don’t really like the rng nature of stat raising, BUT I did like how it made me feel I was actually working to impress the romance interests. I played John’s route first, and he wouldn’t even take my calls until I’d raised my fashion stat high enough. Wearing specific outfits got a positive response. And in the end I felt like I’d been an active contributor in Sian’s and John’s story- plus when she first tried to ask him out? His reaction is the story of my life.
So I am nowhere near done playing all this game has to offer, but I am very satisfied by the story and the professional voice acting that I feel very safe recommending this game.
This is one of those times where I'm in the middle of a thumbs up/thumbs down for this game. It was fun enough that I enjoyed it. The common path story was decent enough on it's own. The gameplay itself was enjoyable as well.
I would recommend this game as a starting visual novel for players who like stat raising. However, I cannot recommend the game to otome fans because of the lack of romance content.
+ Voice acting is enjoyable, as it features a few popular VA's.
+ Stat raising was fun while going through each route.
+ I appreciated the effort of having clothes customization, as well as it being incorporated for certain CGs.
+ I like the artstyle of the game.
+ I appreciated the Opening Movie animation. It made the game feel more professional.
- Barely any story outside of the common path. I spent more time stat raising than watching a non-common route scene.
- Romance is rushed into and ends very abuptly.
- Music is repetitive that I muted it after 2 playthroughs.
- Lacks a bit of polish on the script not matching the VA's spoken dialogue.
- Art is a bit inconsistent in CGs.
The game is likeable for the effort and gameplay content added in. You can mix and match clothes, buy stat items, make cupcakes, and unlock a variety of places to advance your stats/relationships. The achievements were a challenge to earn, but I had fun going through each method to see each ending. The gameplay is well thought out so that you can earn heart/star points through different means. However, there isn't much freedom, as certain actions earned more points more efficiently than others.
I had trouble playing blind without a guide. I repeatedly got the Alone ending before using a guide to actually get onto a character's path. I'm not gonna nitpick the difficulty, as some may enjoy the challenge. Personally, I'm not a fan of stat-raising based visual novels. While the gameplay is fun, I much prefer to read through the story while making choices.
Most of the romance scenes involved a quick confession or opting to advance a work relationship followed by an abrupt ending where they kiss. It may be enough for some people to have that, but I feel unsatisfied with stories that stop at this stage. I enjoyed John and Adam's route for the little content it had though. My favorite route is Alvin, for being adorable.
As for it's retail price, I feel the amount of quality and effort that went into developing this game is justified in it's asking price. However, for the amount of actual story content, I feel it is better off as a discount purchase.
One of the best fully english voice acted otome dating sims I've played XD
4 main guys with both romance and friendship endings along with a bunch of side characters and solo endings you could get :D
Sadly you don't get a proper official ending if you don't have the right stats and affection with the main guys but getting side character endings were much more simple even if they do have less events XP
P.S.
I had a lot of fun playing this back then but I forgot to write a review about it lol
Dużo pisać o tej grze nie muszę. Każdy, kto lubi pograć sobie w jakąś dobrą visual novelkę powinien być z niej zadowolony. Postacie narysowane są bardzo ładną kreską, heroina jest typowoą bohaterką zdaną na pastwę zaprogramowanej historii, za to sama fabuła i możliwości jej rozwoju są na tyle ciekawe, że wciągają na godziny gry. Gdybym miała więcej czasu to przeszłabym wszystkie możliwe ścieżki, które przewidziano dla głównej bohaterki, ale nikt nie powiedział, że kiedyś nie dam rady tego dokonać. Samego openingu często słucham poza grą, po prostu mi się podoba. Za każdym razem jak już zabieram się do gry to zawsze bardzo dobrze się bawię, więc naprawdę polecam ją każdemu, kto lubi usiąść i poprowadzić heroinę przez życie. :)
The visuals and character voices were good and i gave it a 'thumbs up' for that but the story left me feeling empty, as if there should be more of a challenge to it. More twists to the plot perhaps? It just seemed to lack in the end.
I have very mixed feelings about this one, but overall after finishing some of the endings I felt like I hadn't enjoyed my time.
Pros:
[list]
[*] The art is great. It's not [i]incredible[/i] but mostly it's great.
[*] Discounting the romance - the main storyline is really good and the characters all feel interesting and real.
[*] Almost full voice acting. Though it is just a little bit jarring that the main character isn't voiced.
[/list]
Neutrals:
[list]
[*] The main character has social anxiety disorder. May not be an issue for all but it can ruin the immersion when these kinds of traits are forced on your character.
[/list]
Cons:
[list]
[*] My first full playthrough was very frustrating. I picked one of the boys I liked, maxxed his stats and called him every weekend. Somehow I still got a bad ending, and when I checked a walkthrough it turns out that I hadn't triggered a certain romance event early in the game to establish that the characters were dating. I had NO IDEA that this event was supposed to happen, it's not like my character had instead been rejected, everything just carried on relatively cheerfully with no mention of the failure. My romance level continued to increase with him, so I just kept going assuming something would trigger eventually. Nope. I only pursued the romance path for one character so I don't know if the other's are equally as arbitrary but I really don't want to waste my time again or have to follow a walkthrough religiously.
[*] When I went back and completed the romance path, it was actually pretty lacklustre. There's just some cute flirty scenes dotted around, but there isn't really any substantial relationship stuff. No meaningful conversations or conflict of personalities - just fluff. It didn't have much depth.
[*] Why is the only same-sex option a secret path? Why are there secret pathways at all?
[/list]
I really enjoyed the game and all the aspects. I loved all the different routes you could take!
Backstage Pass is a decent Dating Sim game. I had some problems with it, but overall, I do recommend it to people who enjoy similar games.
The art and the cinematic look pretty and the voice acting was overall a good addition. The stat raising was not that hard once you got used to it and I also liked that you could buy clothes and change the outfit you wore.
The biggest flaw of the game was probably that it was a bit buggy. Sometimes , certain things would not unlock even if they should have and I had to restart the game hoping that it would function properly this time. Also, another thing I didn't like was that most of the characters felt a bit shallow and boring and there was very little romance.
If you enjoyed Backstage Pass then here are some other games that you might like: Blood Code, Heartstring Bugs, Re:Alistair++
Abolutely love this game! The stories are amazing and the game has replay value! Amazing and worth the time and effort! The voice cast is amazing and the stories are well written! The graphics etc are good! The flow is amzing! There is just so much there isn't anything bad I could say about this game!
