Game Link: https://leonthelionel.itch.io/thehumanheart
So I decided to do something a bit different for this review. Since some vn's are very early in development it is more difficult to find their "theme" so to speak, so instead I will be giving my general first impressions of such vns, doing more of a preview if you will.
And today we have a recent vn that I do think needs more attention: The Human Heart by Leo.
Cartoony but in a Good Way:
The first thing you notice when looking at The Human Heart is of course its very cartoonish art style. What I mean by this is that this is the type of art you would see in a Saturday morning cartoon.
What makes it cartoony? The focus on vibrant colors, easily distinguishable character designs, and more goofy expressions. These elements are used in cartoons because they are bright, cheerful, and easier for kids to tell apart, thus they will stick in a child's mind.
That's not to say this art style is only for children's cartoons mind you, just to say how it kind of began.
Human Heart uses this style quite successfully for its characters, as each of the seven main characters and the various side ones look unique and fresh. The colors are vibrant, the expressions are funny and cute, and overall these characters are just fun to look at which is an accomplishment within itself.
This artstyle may not be the most complex, but I feel that its simplicity makes it endearing, and that the art style overall gels very well with the game so far, and especially with its characters.
And speaking with its characters...
The Characters:
Now I already discussed how the art style makes the characters look unique and colorful, but it also helps create the character's personalities even without any words being said.
There are seven main characters: Cade, Lars, Sydney, Dylan, Rorick, Tyler, and Ace. What I love the most about these characters is that even without them saying anything, you know most things about them just by looking.
Cade is a big sweetheart who is always cheerful and loves hanging out with his friends. On his design he wears a bright pink shirt with overalls and a heart a the center, and has a wide grin.
Lars is nice and polite, so he wears a monotone turtle-neck sweater. Sydney has social anxiety and perhaps a bit of depression, so he has on a hoodie to cover himself up along with a frown and eyes that are half-closed.
Dylan is a rambunctious gamer, so he has a shirt from one of his favorite video games (and a nice round belly as well).
Rorick is the strong silent type, so his expression makes him look perpetually annoyed and his shirt shows off his muscles. Tyler is a shy cutie, so he is constantly blushing and looks a bit insecure.
And finally Ace is a flirt, you can tell from his flirtatious smirk as well as his more loose and revealing clothing.
The art makes these characters instantly recognizable amongst the sea of furry vn characters and gives them all very charming (if a bit cliche) personalities.
Other than the art style and the characters, there have only been two builds released thus far so there really isn't much story content to review.
Although I will say that I did enjoy both the points system the dev uses to track your affinity with characters, as well as the "two truths and a lie" minigame on the first day.
But that is where the speculation comes in...
Where Will it Go?:
Human Heart is an interesting case in terms of speculating how the story and characters will develop.
This is because there are extra scenes available if you have enough points for a character, and some of these scenes give us a rather big spoiler into how it develops.
I won't spoil the scenes here but I will say that this game might get way darker than its cartoony art style may at first suggest, dealing with far heavier topics. I suppose that these scenes aren't final and could change but I do find the topics they deal with to be incredibly interesting.
So if you think these characters are to simple then you may want to give it another chance after a few more updates. I certainly am interesting in seeing how they reach those points, you shouldn't underestimate the dev of this game.
Shortcomings:
If I had any major complaints with this game it would probably just be that the characters are sort of caricatures at the beginning. And the game itself may seem a bit too simplistic for some people.
Even with that said the characters are so fun that you might just forget about that. Not every character has to be at masterful level writing, and sometimes it can be better for a vn to just be pure fun rather than trying to break the mold.
That said it does seem like you will be getting the more complex characters eventually, so this is a very solid start to a vn.
Conclusion:
Overall I had a lot of fun with the Human Heart. From its art style to its characters, the vn wants to make you happy and I can definitely appreciate this approach.
It doesn't seem like it will have a heavy story focus, much like Morenatsu the focus will be on the characters. Morenatsu is actually a pretty good comparison for what this vn is trying to achieve: simple characters-focused vn at the beginning that goes deeper and a bit heavier as time goes on.
However, whatever direction the dev decides to take this vn, I know that I will have a great time.
Keep up the good times, Leo, and happy b-day as well.
Score: As good as Cade's bear hug
