Otome has a long history, as vibrant and complex as any other video game subgenre. For decades, most of that history has been obscured in North America. The good news is now is the best possible time to get into Otome. The massive success of Love and Deepspace has more than proven that there is a huge audience for games focused on romances with men, and more of these games get translated (and made in English) than ever before. And, should you get interested in retro offerings, there are now fan translations aplenty, making it significantly easier to play through many of the genre’s best offerings.
For the purposes of this list though, we’ll focus on games that are commercially available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and/or mobile with official English translations. If Love and Deepspace’s controversies have turned you off, or you just want to get away from its microtransactions, this list will give you plenty of alternatives to choose from.
Mystic Messenger
You could describe this as the original Love In Deepspace, in that it borrows an Otome structure and packages it into a free-to-play mobile game. But where Love in Deepspace is a sci-fi epic with a massive budget, Mystic Messenger is a charmingly low-rent game focused around texting. The game operates in real-time, which means it can slot into your regular phone use and might be a bit less of a concentrated time-sink than the other Otome games on this list. In fact, Mystic Messenger is designed around a phone’s unique properties and assets. It’s cutesy, joyful, and intimate in the way only texting a crush can be.
Taisho X Alice
As you might guess from the title, Taisho X Alice is an Alice in Wonderland riff, but the population of its looking-glass world are a bevy of gender-swapped princes, like Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, who vie for your affections. But don’t let its lush art fool you. This is also one of a few Otome on this list that trade in darker themes. If you are looking for something with all the bittersweet edge of a fairy tale, Taisho X Alice is preparing a tea party just for you.
Even If Tempest
Look, Otome is full of nice boys. There’s nothing wrong with that. But what if you want something darker, edgier, more complex? Chilled black coffee, instead of a sugary sweet latte? Even If Tempest opens with its protagonist burned at the stake and dives further into witch trials and criminal investigations. Its romantic interests are princes and inquisitors, people with relentless power over the protagonist, and some of them prove to be monstrous in more literal ways. It’s an Otome with real edge and an ornate, gothic vibe to match.
Collar X Malice
Speaking of mysteries, Collar X Malice drops the Otome into a supernatural police procedural. After being attacked and chained with a poison collar, the protagonist becomes embroiled with a group of ex-police officers trying to solve related cases. Romance does take a back seat here, but if you enjoy visual novels like Dangonronpa, Ace Attorney, or Of The Devil, and wish those games were way more focused on interacting with cutie anime boys, Collar X Malice may be just the ticket.
Variable Barricade
With a premise befitting musical theater and romance novel alike, Variable Barricade is one of the sillier entries on this list. Protagonist Hibari is the lone heir of a massive fortune, but her grandfather wants her to get married and so moves her into a luxurious mansion with four eligible bachelors. The game-show-like theming and bright, cartoonish art gives this the feel of a zany romantic comedy.
Obscura
I wanted to include at least one English Otome, a subgenre worthy of its own dedicated attention. Otome-inspired games developed in North America or Europe tend to soften Otome’s genre conventions. For example, while every one of Obscura’s romantic interests is masculine, you can select the protagonist’s gender at the start. But the game’s interests are clearly aligned with several others on this list. Obscura is set in a black market, where masked visitors trade and sell what cannot be bought anywhere else. Obscura’s men all have interests of their own and navigating their desires, as well as yours, is where the game’s drama is. With every mask comes an ulterior motive.
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds
Hakuoki is an example of historical fiction Otome, set in Kyoto during the waning days of the Edo era. This is an expansive one, with 12 bachelors to court and 30 endings, which fits its monumental historical scale. Any direct comparison to novels or film is a little reductive. However, if you like your romance to be grand and convoluted, full of political intrigue and sword fights, a la Outlander, Hakuoki will more than fit the bill. If you still can’t get enough, this one has a sequel, Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms.
Cafe Enchante
This list has tended a little darker, emphasizing the genre’s forays into mystery and drama. But there’s plenty of cozy escapism in Otome, too. Cafe Enchante follows, well, a mystical cafe that is a crossroads between worlds. You can court angels, demons, firebenders, and even the Men-In-Black-esque bureaucrats who monitor the cafe, all while serving up delicious looking coffee and food. If you’ve enjoyed visual novels like Coffee Talk or VA-11 Hall-A, or cozy games like Stardew Valley or Tiny Bookshop, this could be right up your alley.
Bustafellows
Like Collar X Malice, Bustafellows is mystery-flavored Otome, with a bevy of “dangerous” men all trying to solve a mystery together. But where Collar has a hard criminal edge, Bustafellows is noirish and exaggerated. The courtable boys include a crooked lawyer, two underground surgeons, and a hacker–the cream of the crop of the criminal underworld. The protagonist’s supernatural powers give its otherwise grounded mystery a fun, time-traveling flair. Bustafellows has two follow-ups; one is already out and another is on the way.
Jack Jeanne
If there is any game on this list I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their personal interest in visual novels or Otome, Jack Jeanne would be it. It follows Kisa Tachibana, whose only dream is to enter the all-boys theater school Univeil. A chance encounter with the school’s principal lets her dream come true, but only if she can keep her true gender a secret and win the school’s highest performing honor at the end of the year. Jack Jeanne stands out for a few reasons. For one, Jack Jeanne’s boys make up a robust ensemble cast, all of whom must work together to put on the game’s many performances. This gives it the sometimes-buoyant, sometimes-heartbreaking energy of the best sports anime. The art, from Tokyo Ghoul creator Sui Ishida, is verdant and cutting. Some light “raising” mechanics a la Umamusume or Princess Simulator and a surprisingly sharp pair of rhythm minigames round out a robust and heartfelt visual novel.