Love and Deepspace CBT Preview – Dating Hunks in Space Can’t Be This Captivating

Otome games have always been a staple genre for mobile games, I mean come on, who doesn’t like being pampered by handsome men? Come Love and Deepspace, the third entry in the Mr Love series where players venture across the galaxy with one of three romanceable male leads.

With the game previously open for Closed Beta Testing, we’ve managed to venture out beyond the cosmos in search for love.

Love, Hunting, and Deepspace

Love and Deepspace sets up the story where the player starts off as a rookie deepspace hunter, but has strong affinities with the world’s source of power called Evol. This setup is a breath of fresh air when compared to other otome games as they’re most of the time grounded in realistic settings, which makes room for a more imaginative plot development.

The storyline is pretty engaging and has a moderate pacing where the first four chapters of the game primarily focuses on worldview and progressing the plot alongside the protagonist’s mission.

Love and Deepspace also makes use of 3D visuals to its characters and backdrop, which honestly looks pretty good. The game pays a lot of attention to the details that are meant to tailor to otome players. An example being the in-game social media application logo and login animations being customisable for your favourite characters based on personal preferences.

Although, there’s still room for improvements especially for the character’s facial expressions which feels a bit stiff at times.

Features

As a gacha game, Love and Deepspace features three tiers of rarity, being SSR, SR, and R and the characters come in the form of cards called Memories. Each card carries its own set of stats, attributes and elements, much like your usual gacha game characters.

The game also features different types of game modes: Main Story and Deepspace Trials. The main story is as the name suggests, the mode where players uncover the overarching story of the game, with some battles sprinkled within.

Meanwhile, Deepspace Trails are purely battling which consists of open stages, along with the three male protagonists and their respective stages. Each stage has its Protofield Stellactrum (elements) weaknesses, and if the correct element is matched with the weakness, two layers of the boss’ shield can be broken.

There are also modes called instances which are the maps where players farm materials for. There’s the Bounty Hunt where you farm for currency, exp materials and upgrade materials. Whereas with Core Hunt, players will farm for items called Protocore, which are similar to Relics in Honkai Star Rail where the Main and Sub stats of the Protocores are randomised.

But of course, not forgetting the main appeal of Love and Deepspace, the Dating gameplay which consists of 5 different types. Playtime that includes a claw machine and Kitty Cards, Photo Studio, By Your Side which are audio-only storyline, Falling For You which are independant dating storylines, and Anecdotes.

Battle System

Love and Deepspace introduces combat, which is a fresh new take on the otome game genre. However, from the Closed Beta Test, the combat could use some polishing.

Combat often feels repetitive as it relies heavily on performing basic attacks since that generates energy to execute skills. While the combat felt engaging initially due to it being a new concept, it eventually loses its novelty, especially when dealing with bosses who are essentially just meat sponges.

The character movement feels rigid and lacks fluidity and combos feel inaccessible considering that basic attacks can only be performed while stationary. Additionally, the lack of a lock-on makes fighting multiple enemies an inconvenience, especially when needing to target a specific enemy’s shield bar.

Verdict

All in all, Love and Deepspace is shaping up to be a strong contender for the otome game genre, with its fresh story premise, beautiful 3D visuals and the amount of interactivity that players can have with the three main leads.

However, the game falls slightly short in its combat. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a unique thing to add combat in an otome game to stand out, but it still needs some polishing before the game’s full release.

Love and Deepspace is set to release 18th January 2024 for Android and iOS.

Pre-Registration

Love and Deepspace

Publisher: Papergames

Developer: Papergames

Release Date TBC

Android, iOS

As the brand new installment of the popular Mr. Love series, Love and Deepspace allows you to step into a sci-fi world where love knows no bounds. With immersive cutscenes, 3D storylines, and interactions, love is truly within reach!

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