Game Source Entertainment and Softstar Entertainment have recently unveiled a new visual novel on the Nintendo Switch titled “Voice Love On Air.” It’s a Boys’ Love (BL) adventure that creatively blends romance with radio drama production and voice directing, promising an engaging experience for players.
In this game, you step into the shoes of Aki, who is on a quest for love while juggling the demands of managing BL drama recording sessions. As you lead your team and make creative decisions, you can choose different voice actors and guide their performances, resulting in unique story experiences each time you play. This setup not only enhances the game’s replay value but requires you to balance romance with high-stakes studio management. It’s worth noting that the dialogue is primarily in Japanese, supported by English subtitles, which privileges international audiences to enjoy the charming narrative.
For those unacquainted with visual novels, they are renowned for their focus on storytelling, offering a spectrum of narratives from simple to intricate. Some, like Voice Love On Air, feature decision-making points that affect the storyline and character interactions, sometimes including professional voice acting, which immerses players deeper into the plot. Here, Aki’s romantic endeavors can lead to four intriguing paths with different male characters, allowing players to explore various endings based on their choices.
Your role is more than a romantic lead; Aki must also balance the financial realities of running a studio. There’s a hefty $200,000 debt looming, enforceable each season. This nuance gives depth to the gameplay, as it is not just a straightforward love story but also a challenge in resource management.
The Project Manager app within the game acts as your guiding tool, detailing all project requirements and allowing you to improve Aki’s skills in areas such as Recognition, Profession, Communication, and Performance. Monitoring Aki’s fatigue levels is critical, influencing his ability to efficiently lead recording sessions and avoid detrimental burnout. You can enhance his skills through online classes, funded by vouchers you collect in-game.
Recording in Voice Love On Air follows a structured but flexible pattern over four stages: Check Details, Appoint, Table Read, and Record. Each stage unfolds over five working days, ensuring you meet the set criteria to successfully finish projects and avoid the risk of financial demise. Reviewing each project’s synopsis, contract, and script is key to ensuring the recordings hit the mark.
This game gives players a wide variety of outcomes for the radio dramas based on the talents chosen and directions given, creating a dynamic gaming experience each playthrough. Over a span of two in-game years, your narrative journey offers ample time for both career growth and potential romantic developments, supported by an impressive script of over 200,000 words, 20 original songs, 30 CG illustrations, and 20 distinct dramas.
In essence, Voice Love On Air artfully combines storytelling with elements of a management simulator. Aspiring to be more than a traditional romance visual novel, it invites players to navigate a complex landscape of love, creativity, and high-demand studio dynamics. Available now on Nintendo Switch for $29.99, this game offers a unique mix of strategy and heartfelt narrative.
The review reflects a gameplay experience facilitated by Game Source Entertainment with a Nintendo Switch copy for review purposes.
