When Andi asked me if I wanted to review the hentai game ViotoXica, I said “yes” without the slightest hesitation. For me, the words “hentai game” bring to mind dating sims, text-based adventures, and a number of POV titles, so that’s what I thought I’d be getting into. It turns out, however, that ViotoXica is none of those things; ViotoXica is an adventure platform game. ViotoXica is a sex game in that it has some sexual elements to it but I found those elements had no effect on the gameplay at all.
Well, that doesn’t leave me with much to review in terms of getting off, does it?
As a game
I will say, however, ViotoXica is a good game. It’s not going to win platformer of the year, but it would stand out among a number of indie titles. In normal mode, ViotoXica provides a Rogue-like platform experience, with most monsters instantly devouring you if you get anywhere close. The zones are challenging and well-designed, with new areas opening up to exploration as you unlock new abilities. Skills, leveling, and equipment integrate well with ViotoXica in that if you ignore them you’ll be completely destroyed by the game’s brutality. The only real drawback to the gameplay is the controls tend to stick, frequently launching you into poisoned pits.
The basic setup of the game is you’re a magic-wielding anime girl trying to escape a dungeon crawling with monsters. If you get too close to monsters while exploring, they will eat you in a particularly sexual way. Inside the stomachs of various creatures you’ll have your clothes ripped off or dissolved. You’ll also get contorted into a number of sexually provocative positions. Each time you die to a new monster, you unlock a new 3D cut scene of your sexy death.
Easy Mode
When I started, I picked normal mode because that’s the kind of girl I am. This unfortunately grew exhausting after I’d been eaten by the same two monster types over and over. The desire to explore more of the game and unlock more cutscenes prompted me to create a new game on the easiest setting. This really trivializes all the monsters in the game, however. It leaves almost no opportunities for monsters to eat you unless you just take your hand off the controls when you encounter a new beast. This is the most effective means to unlock new cutscenes; but after getting to the 6th monster type I felt more invested in exploring the dungeon than seeing the hentai scenes.
And that’s probably my main complaint of the game after the sticky controls. The sexual elements of ViotoXica are titillating but they are either a nonfactor or an annoyance in a game that is for the most part a very solid platformer. The two aspects aren’t tied together all that way, and that creates a disconnect between them. I can’t get off to a sex game when I have to bounce around on floating platforms; and I can’t shoot flower monsters with magic missiles when I have to keep watching myself get digested by a giant leech.
I did enjoy playing ViotoXica, though, but primarily I enjoyed it for its exploration. If you like that sort of thing with a little titillation on the side, then check out this game.