Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly Review!!
This is my first ever official, extensive otome review!! I hope y'all enjoy, I went through so many ups and downs with this game. I hope this review inspires more people to get the game, or maybe even helps people realize it might not be for them! I also attempted to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but there are parts that might dive into spoiler territory. I made sure to mention it, if so! Enjoy~
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Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly is a visual novel developed by Otomate and published by Idea Factory in 2015, available on the PS Vita and Steam. Itâs an extremely dark, gothic story with very heavy themes and romance akin to Shakespearian tragedy. When I first picked up this game, I had been previously warned about the angst it contained but nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience. This game contains themes of death, guilt, regret, grief, trauma, isolation, and more. The last time I cried so much consuming a piece of media was when I watched Les MisĂ©rables for the first time when I was 15, so that says a lot. POTBB has an iffy system, but this is easily overshadowed by the incredible storyline, jaw dropping art, compelling cast, and beautiful soundtrack. Â
Before we get into plot points and character routes, Iâd like to talk about POTBBâs system. Itâs a typical visual novel at first glance, which means mostly just clicking in order to read the text and watching the events unfold. The features that set it apart however were quite interesting- and frankly quite frustrating as well. This includes its combat system and its flowchart.
POTBB has a combat system that pops up a couple times throughout the story while youâre fighting monsters. The instructions for the combat system were very vague and confusing, especially since I played on PC where the button configurations arenât clarified in the âOptionsâ menu, so it was a lot of trial and error. It instructs you to shoot your gun, but not how (on PC). I had to figure out on my own that I had to use the left and right click of my mouse to shoot/lock onto targets, so the first couple of plays I was very confused and frustrated. The object of the game is to shoot as many butterflies as possible in the allotted time while also getting a good score, which is achieved by getting combos. Playing the game earns you points. Another problem is that itâs quite glitchy and hard to lock onto the butterflies properly to shoot them, but with practice you can improve (with the sacrifice of a couple of hand cramps).Â
The other unique thing about POTBBâs system is its flowchart, which is useful because it allows you to jump to any point in the story youâve already unlocked, but it can be very frustrating sometimes. Youâre required to use the flowchart in order to access the âSide Stories,â aka extra content you slowly unlock as you play. To access the flowchart, you have to go to the menu. The game doesnât notify you when youâve unlocked a Side Story, so you just have to remember to check the flowchart every once in a while to see if any have unlocked. And even if a Side Story is âunlockedâ, you still have to spend your points you earned in the minigame to actually view the content. Certain character routes, endings, and choices canât be unlocked unless youâve viewed these Side Stories. I actually got stuck a few times during my playthrough because I didnât realize some of the Side Stories were unlocked, and you need to read them to progress. I found that the process of scrolling through the flowchart in the middle of the story often took away from the immersion, but it wasnât awful.Â
On a positive note, I have to talk about POTBBâs art, which was created by Satoru Yuiga. Yuiga has an expressive, sort of water-color art style that adds to the spiritual and mystic elements of the game. I actually didnât like the style at first; I thought some of the character sprites looked strange, but I quickly got used to it and was soon blown away. The CGs were gorgeous and added so much life to the characters. The facial expressions were so vivid, they displayed perfect depictions of terror, shock, love⊠I felt every emotion through the art. Iâm looking forward to playing more of Yuigaâs games just because of her art. (Images below are promotional CGs)
Now, let's talk plot! (I summarize the Common Route in this section, so feel free to skip if you consider that spoilers!) The story and characters are the best thing about this game, in my opinion. You play as a girl named Beniyuri who has just woken up in a strange mansion with no memory of her past or even herself. You see the world through Beniâs eyes as she traverses the mansion and tries to figure out whatâs going on and why sheâs there. The mansion is dark, gothic, and scary. Its halls seem endless, every window and door is locked, and mysterious butterflies can be seen practically everywhere. And just when things seem their darkest, Beni hears the loud roar of a beast. Two large lion-like creatures appear and attempt to attack her. Imagine if a Minotaur had a lionâs head; thatâs what they look like. She thinks sheâs a goner, but suddenly sheâs saved by a mysterious man with dark hair and purple eyes. They hide from the monsters together, and Beni learns that this man also doesnât have any memories. They team up and explore, eventually coming across 3 other men in the mansion who also have amnesia. The four of them find a large hall within the mansion to make their âbaseâ where theyâll be safe from the monsters. They realize that they all have phones on them, and though there isnât any service, each of them has received one message. âCollect the shards. Complete the kaleidoscope.â Theyâre in this mansion for a reason, and clearly someone is pulling the strings.
I canât go into too much detail about the individual routes because the amount of plot twists and spoilers in this game are insane. I will describe each guy and a summary of what their route meant for me and how it made me feel. Some of the routes were phenomenal in their story writing and character development, others not so much.Â
The first route recommended is a man named Kagiha, the 2nd person that Beni meets in the mansion, and I have complex feelings about his route. Heâs a tall, soft spoken, polite man with light brown hair and green eyes. Heâs very kindhearted and treats Beni with a lot of care, cheering her up when sheâs depressed about their situation. Kagiha was my favorite in the beginning simply due to how kind he was. All of them were in a very depressing situation with no memories and barely any hope, so his kindness was a sort of light in that darkness. I was very excited for his route and to learn his backstory. It turns out, his route is a branch of the âBest Endingâ of the game, so you get to learn the truth about almost everything as you play through his route. I certainly wasnât expecting this. I had been warned in the past about POTBBâs bittersweet endings, but I really wasnât prepared like I thought I was. Due to Kagihaâs circumstances (that I canât go into detail about), his route has two endings, and neither of them are âhappyâ in regard to his relationship with Beni. The âBest Endingâ of the game does indeed end on a happy note, but they donât end up happy together (again due to circumstances I canât talk about without spoiling). The âKagiha Endingâ of the game does have them end up together romantically, but with very bittersweet conditions thatâs more depressing than the alternative, in my opinion. I was very upset and I cried at both endings, regretting that I loved Kagiha so much because neither ending let him and Beni be truly happy together. But even though I was upset, I have to admit that the âBest Endingâ was written phenomenally and deals with the concept of death, grieving, acceptance, and change in a beautiful way. The themes in this game are very heavy but discuss them in a beautiful, important way that really gets your brain going. I sat in silence for a while after the âBest Endingâ just⊠thinking.Â
After that emotional wreck, I was ready for a happy ending or at least some more closure. Hikageâs route is recommended after Kagiha, which surprised me a bit. Based off of the cover art and his introduction, he seemed to be the âposter boy.â Hikage is the first man Beni meets in the mansion, the man who saved her from the monsters. I can barely describe his route without getting into spoilers, but it was intense. I didnât like Hikage at first because he had this misogynistic mindset and constantly scolded Beni for being âweak, just like all womenâ and yelled at her for âslowing them down.â I wasnât excited for his route because obviously it meant Beni would get more of this treatment, but I was honestly surprised at what his route had in store. Thereâs a major plot twist within the route and you come to understand why Hikage has this mindset, and that it doesnât come from a place of misogyny, but rather trauma. The ending to his route shocked me so much and I bawled my eyes out. It definitely ends on a bittersweet note as well, but the very last scene offers some sort of closure (though not enough, in my opinion.) I overall liked his route plot-wise and thought it was also very thought provoking, tackling themes of abuse, death, mental instability, and despair. Romantically it was okay, but I felt like it took a side-seat to the plot which can either be good or bad, depending on how much you value romance and/or get attached to the characters. Without spoiling, I can tell you that Hikage is written in a way where it makes sense that romance isnât the focus. Thankfully I wasnât attached to Hikage as much as Kagiha, but I still cried a river anywayâŠ
Youâd think after two routes with horrifically bittersweet endings that the whole game will probably be this way, but surprisingly, the third route in POTBB filled my heart with joy. This route centered around Yamato, whoâs a short-tempered, sporty guy with ice-blue hair. He has a bit of a foul mouth, often yelling or getting angry at their situation, but never in an irrational way. Yamato actually ended up being my favorite character overall. He has an unexpected soft side and his romance with Beni was the most realistic among the cast. I also felt his route was quite tragic, despite having the happiest romantic ending in the game. Yamato and Beniâs relationship is really complex, and they actually bond over grief and guilt. Both of them harbor so much guilt in their hearts and it shackles the both of them to their pasts, but by grieving together and finding strength in one another, theyâre able to push each other to move on and grow. I really enjoyed this route in a moral sense. It teaches you that itâs okay to grieve and that people grieve at different paces, and sometimes itâs okay to bond over said grief. Healing and forgiveness take time, and having someone else there to heal with you can make you both stronger. The themes in his route were so beautiful and even watching his bonds with other members of the cast grow were incredible too. He has the happiest romantic ending in the game as well, which just added to how good it was. Interestingly enough, Yamatoâs route also helped me come to terms with the bittersweetness of the previous routes. I was finally able to accept the circumstances and reasonings behind the depressing endings, allowing me to appreciate the game more as a whole.
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After Yamatoâs romantic end, I was excited to finish the rest of the game. I prayed that this next route had a happy ending as well, and that Yamato wasnât just an exception. I began to pursue Monshiro, whoâs a mysterious man who wears a fox mask that Beni has spotted wandering the mansion sometimes. I didnât know what to expect from him during the first bit of the game because heâs sort of absent until the end of the common route. I was pleasantly surprised, though! I learned more and more about him as I played, even in the other routes, and heâs wonderful. Heâs adorable, loving, and incredibly sweet. His route tackles themes of isolation and loneliness, with Monshiro being severely traumatized due to being alone in the mansion for several years. Heâs very clingy with Beni and values their relationship more than anything, his main fear being him getting left alone again. His ending was quite happy as well, but their romantic development and deep connection never really got the ending it deserved. Their bond was almost as strong as her bond with Yamato, but I feel like in the end they didnât get to express that to each other properly. It also felt quite short to me, I wish I could have gotten more content with them that wasnât plot-related and just focused on their bond and how much they care for each other. Overall, I enjoyed it because Monshiro is so loveable, but the ending just left me unsatisfied and begging for more.
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Now, the last route was a doozy. Iâd like to clarify before I begin that this is all, of course, my opinion and perspective, so donât let this discourage you from trying the game or loving this character! I will get into minor spoilers as well here, just because itâs hard to explain my feelings without talking about what happened. The last route I played was Karasuba, who is⊠not the best. I can confidently say I hate him, and his route didnât really change that for me. He has bright yellow hair and yellow eyes, so his design was already creepy to me from the start, but his personality is much worse. At first glance he seems like a funny, happy-go-lucky class clown type, but his real personality is much more twisted. He flirts with Beni so intensely to the point of sexual harassment, but then backs off and laughs, pretending it was âjust a joke.â Now this is already bad enough, but heâs just incredibly rude to everyone around him as well. He demeans Beni constantly for being ânaiveâ and âcowardly,â all with a smile on his face as he pretends heâs saying it âfor her own good.â He also constantly insults the other characters, starting fights with them whenever he can and giggling about it when itâs over. The whole âreasonâ behind why he acts like this is because he was bullied when he was a child. He projects his insecurities onto others and thus becomes the bully he hated so much when he was younger. He does later apologize for this at the end of his route, but I felt like one sorry just wasnât enough to atone for the way he treated everyone? He sexually harasses Beni until she starts crying at one point, then backs away and claims it was âjust a joke to teach her a lesson at how dangerous men can be.â Heâs just awful and I donât think he develops very much, even in his good ending despite his apology. His bad ending was even worse, which involved him brainwashing and manipulating Beni to be with him. I know some people who enjoyed his route and while I do respect that, itâs just hard for me to understand how someone would enjoy a character like him. I do think heâs interesting because he has deep flaws and trauma and instead of growing from it, he let them taint him and he ended up becoming the very thing he hated. So, he is interesting, but that doesnât mean heâs a good love interest for Beni or even a good character in general. If Iâd have to state one major flaw about this game, itâs Karasubaâs existence and his lack of character development or redemption.
After the 5 character routes are over, youâd assume thatâs the end. The game actually continues after this, though, with the âSummer Campâ ending that unlocks last. This was my favorite part of the game. Itâs a âWhat-Ifâ scenario where every single character gets their happy ending, and offers a lot of closure after the despair you experience in the character routes. It healed me and freshened my mind after the tragedy. Itâs a wonderful inclusion and I actually cried tears of joy while playing it, due to how emotional it made me.Â
Overall, Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly was an emotional rollercoaster that I will never forget. While yes it has its flaws, I donât regret playing it. The topics covered, such as isolation, death, and guilt, were so heavy and intense; but they were also so meaningful and I feel like everyone should experience them. I feel my favorite theme was the deep dive into Survivorâs Guilt and how people process and deal with it differently. The mystery surrounding the mansion and their circumstances was also very interesting and the plot twists were well executed. The whole cast is so full of life and each of their bonds are extremely complex. Beniyuri is a wonderful main character and I found myself rooting for her and her happiness the entire time. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who loves tragedy and complex plots, but I probably wouldnât recommend this game to someone whoâd be uncomfortable with really dark themes like graphic death. This game definitely took a toll on my mental health for a few days, but also offered life lessons that Iâll no doubt remember and value for a very long time.Â
