6/10

All in all, I would recommend that you buy this game to enjoy the visuals, voice performance, and the cute chemistry that they have together. However, I could definitely point you in another direction if you're looking for something with more depth and polish.

Pros:
-Amazing art and character design
-Superb voice acting
-Opening Video (it's a nice touch)

Cons:
-Disappointing story
-Too short for the price
-Limited variety in character sprites
-Only three prominent characters
-Typos and wonky user interface


Disclaimer: This is a review coming from someone who has only recently begun to play through some visual novels, so read my opinion knowing that I do not know much about what makes good story telling, or have any experience in writing, etc.

Everything I am about to say is purely my personal opinion after finishing the both the Steam release, and the 18+ DLC that can be found through other 3rd party vendors online.

Additionally, I won't give a backstory or anything to introduce the main characters, as I feel like the store page does more than enough to give people a gist of what the plot is, and to provide as few spoilers as possible for those who are interested in trying it out. I do make one statement that reveals something, but it is spoiler tagged.

I initially found interest in OshiRabu when I saw it's stunning art style and bright, colorful screenshots. It seemed to be a really high budget and dare I say a "premium" visual novel. From what I could tell, it seems that the artists for the game had put in a substantial effort on the backgrounds, characters, and CGs. So when OshiRabu went on sale for 20% off, I decided to purchase it. To me, I didn't see visual novels as much as a game than a low budget anime, or a short story, so it was hard for me to justify paying more than $10 for one, so making this purchase to me was a big deal, and I had high hopes and expectations.

Right off the bat, I'm blown away by the wonderfully drawn characters, with the bright, detailed watercolor details for the hair, faces, and outfits. The entire game is brightly presented with vibrant voice acting matching each of their respective characters. I think that had voice acting not been done for this title, it would've been a lot harder to appreciate and get an understanding of the feelings that the girls convey to one another. There are a fair amount of CGs and backgrounds, but the variations in the sprites of the characters are limited to one or two outfits, and a few variations in terms of facial expressions. You won't be seeing super expressive and lively characters visually, like from NEKOPARA, but I do think that the voices make up for it, and you can easily visualize what's happening from the subtitles and tones of Akuru and Ren when they speak. Music also plays a major role in setting the scene and creating the appropriate atmosphere that the developers intend for each of the scenes. They can range from somber and serious to happy, excitable, and even silly at times.

There are a few things I want to point out. The English subtitles are pretty good for the most part, but there are a handful of typos in the text. Nothing that really puts you out of the flow of the game, but noticeable enough that it makes you go "Oh." at the credits when you realize that they only list one person responsible for the English translation.

The UI can also be a bit wonky to navigate as well. Using the escape key outright minimizes the game instead of bringing you to the pause menu. There are plenty of empty save slots to mark your progress, but it almost seems unnecessary as there are only 3(?) choices throughout the whole game. But for those who want to revisit certain scenes, then have at it. Also, the button that would bring you back to the game in the save menu is labeled as "QUIT" instead of return or something, so I found that to be a bit questionable in terms of design.

The story was enjoyable for me. I am a big fan of yuri stories and the cute interactions of a couple getting accustomed to one another. I had played Highway Blossoms and Heart of the Woods from Studio Élan, and discovered that I quite enjoy the genre.

However, this game was different. It would be fair to say that OshiRabu introduces a unique plot, and a unique circumstance that pairs our two protagonists together. As bizarre as it is, I'd brush it off as "eh, it's Japan. Whatever." Throughout the story, you get to see Akuru and Ren live their lives together, what Akuru does on her free time, and a bit of drama towards the conclusion between the two girls.

It pains me to say it but... that's really it.

I really wanted to enjoy this game, at least the version that you can buy here on Steam, but it didn't do it for me. Maybe I'm just nit-picky with how I like my stories to progress and conclude, but it felt... unsatisfying for me. Perhaps I am echoing the words of others that have left a review, but I did find that character development was pretty lackluster. You don't really get the sense that the two are really changing, or really building up a healthy and proper relationship together. In fact, it's rather one sided besides a few small cutesy moments of intimacy. This hurts the story's flow, as once climatic events happen, character reactions and decisions seem very out of character, like they are doing what they are doing because the script in the plot makes them do it.

There also isn't a very satisfying ending to the game. When I finished, and the credits started rolling, I just sorta sat there confused and a bit bewildered that that was how the game ended. There's little closure, and I found myself thinking that there could've been a million better ways to finish the story up. So much so, that I looked on the "Discussions" tab on the community hub to see if I had maybe made a wrong choice in the dialouge, or if any others shared the same sentiment as I did.

Turns out, there's a DLC for the game... not on Steam.

I firmly believe that the DLC expansion should've come included in the base game, or at the very least available to purchase on the Steam store page. I was under the impression that there was no patch or further content past what I had played, but I was wrong.

Included in the DLC that I purchased for $4 was an additional story that takes place a month after the original game's ending, set at a hotel/resort that the two girls go to together for a vacation. About 30 or so minutes of content is added, as well as 6 new CGs. It does contain 18+ content, but the way it ends and concludes the game comes off as much more satisfying to me as a player than that of the intended ending of the base game. It wraps it up nicely, and gives you the feeling of: "Man, what a nice and happy ending. I enjoyed my experience." It gives you a feeling of satisfaction following the abrupt original ending.

Finally seeing the two make love and Akuru finally reciprocate the same intense feelings from Ren is very appreciated, and the fact that you won't get to see this ending unless you shell out extra money leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

At this point, I've said everything that I want to say about OshiRabu, so go back up to the top for a conclusion if you skipped it initially. Thanks for reading.