[Non-Otome] [Boy Love] La Vie en Rose -- No Spoiler Review

 [Non-Otome] [BL] La Vie en Rose

System: PC 

Price: Free 

Voice Acting: No 

ESRB Rating: Not Rated, Reviewer Suggests M (17+)

Overall Rating: Stole 7.5/10 ♥s

Pre-Game Perception: Finding love in the most unlikely of places. I assume one of the couple is in a bad relationship and the two young men learn to find solace in each other.

Morning-After Reflection: I don’t think I’ve ever been so wrong in my life about a pre-game perception. Alright, La Vie en Rose is a game about how quickly a relationship can get out of control, and how sometimes people are just better not together. Heed the content warnings (as there are some very triggering scenes) in this VN. But if you want to wade into the water, it’s a very emotional and beautifully done game.

Story: La Vie en Rose is a sweet tale of the relationship between two young men; from the start of their romance, their daily lives, to the conflicts they experience.

In their beautiful rose-coloured world, which path will their love lead to?

Interest Rating: 7/10. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it seemed interesting enough to pick up. It was free on top of being cryptic in what it had to offer, so I just kind of threw it in my list of “to play” games and forgot about it for a long time. Trigger Warnings are aplenty! More in the plot section.

MC: Isaac is a bean! This cutie here is our MC. He’s a college student that is “gay as f*ck” as he says in the very beginning of the game. You can’t rename him, but you can control quite a bit about his personality, which I thought was neat. I didn’t realize how much control you had until I went back through the game for other endings and found how different things could turn out based on choices. So, in that sense, Isaac is very well fleshed out. He can feel a variety of ways, and react accordingly, depending on what you decide for him. The writers did such a good job with him as a character, imo.

Isaac gets his own full sprite with a variety of expressions. He’s in most of the CGs as well, but not all of them. He actually has friends in the game, which was refreshing since so many MCs seem to know no one. And based on the other sprites, Isaac seems to be average in height, with a slightly muscular build - but I’ll admit, I don’t know where he gets that from. He’s not a very smart MC, and that is brought up in the game, but he’s not oblivious to love and romance, which is (again) a nice touch since college-aged characters should have some idea of what love is by that age.

Likability Rating: Yu. I thought Isaac was relatable and well written. He was always the center of the story, had a goal, and had friends outside of the LI. I can’t ask for much more from a MC.

Plot: There really isn’t a solid plot to La Vie en Rose besides the relationship that develops between Isaac and his LI, Elijah. Yep, you read that right, there is one LI. The thing is, this game was done for a game jam which is typically a month long from start to finish, and it is so beautifully done, especially considering the very short period of time they had to develop it. So what is the plot to the game?

Well, like I said, there isn’t a solid plot. It’s a slice-of-life story with a focus on this singular relationship and the development of the characters under a dark lens. Isaac and Elijah are college students, with Isaac majoring in sociology with no real overall goal in life besides finishing his degree, and Elijah being the opposite with ambitions to be Prime Minister some day. They meet in a theater class that they both take, and from there we see where things go. La Vie en Rose doesn’t care what happens after the relationship, if Isaac or Elijah really ever hit their life goals or not, because it is squarely focused on this moment in life and what happens between these two men.

Content Advisory: La Vie en Rose has a warning on the original Itch.io page of what sort of content to expect in this game, and I implore you to take it seriously. This game gets dark at times and if any of these items are triggering, please do not engage. There is also a warning when you start up the game to be certain their viewers are aware of what could be in store. Triggers include: toxic relationships, domestic abuse, rape, mental health, and suicide. 

Replayability Rating: ★★★★★ It’s a shame La Vie en Rose is such a short game because it really has a good amount of replayability, especially knowing that there are nine endings to try to manage. If you’re into dark stories, this will be up your alley.

Love Interests: Since La Vie en Rose is about the relationship between two characters, there is literally only one love interest, Elijah. That works for me because that means this portion is going to be quite short. Let me tell you, some games where I’m going through six or more LIs in this part of the review can get tiring, but I’ve never done just one before, so let’s see how this goes.

Elijah is a charming, intelligent, driven young man. He has great aspirations and has faced tragedy in his young life - though I suppose most characters in games do, right? No one is more relatable than someone full of angst. Except Elijah doesn’t seem to have much angst at all. He’s quite mature and grounded. Whether you grow to love or hate him really depends on the choices you make as the MC, and it can get pretty intense in either case. I hope you’re ready for a rollercoaster of emotions, because I’m sure you’re going to feel something in one of the many ways this game can go.

Boy Crazy Rating: 90%. Elijah is a great character that allows us to explore the many different facets of love and tragedy. I thoroughly enjoyed having just one relationship for the game to focus on.

Romance: This game is full of romance. Sometimes the simplest of stories can be the easiest to explore to the fullest. Since there is no big plot - no end of the world, no outside interference - we can just experience the relationship between the two characters and really get an idea of how they feel about each other. It was a really eye-opening experience for me, as I haven’t played a game with only one LI before. I’ve dabbled in a few slice-of-life games, but having the focus being solely on one LI has shown me that this is a type of gaming I’d like to explore more. I felt the relationship went more in-depth, and I’m not sure if that’s because I wasn’t constantly being reminded that other guys exist, or if it was just the way this VN was written, but I liked it.

Heart Palpitation Rating: A. I squee’d on more than one occasion. Solid romance building.

Spice: Sorry, guys, there’s no spice here. There is implied sex, and a post-coital scene, but nothing explicit. I’m not sure I would have wanted that, honestly, because although I like my smutty stories, I think it would have detracted from the emotional impact La Vie en Rose had. Not much else to say here, there’s nothing to see.

Cold Shower Rating: Fail. Wrap up with a blanket to get you warm after this chilling story lacking the spice that makes you flush. Hot shower recommended.

Angst: For as sweet and cute as this game starts out, there is a surprising amount of angst to it. If you haven’t checked out the content advisory, please do. The devs aren’t kidding when they say these are themes of the game. There is abuse and suicide in several branches. It can get heavy, especially for as short of a game it is, but I thought it was all approached in a manner that didn’t make light of the situation. We’re not talking about high levels of angst - because some games certainly hit that mark and then go beyond - but moderate levels. Certainly more than I expected.  

Drama Llama Rating: 6/10. The Drama Llama is unpredictable, and some days it gets a bit bitey. Today is one of those days. Be wary.

Voice Acting: No voice acting. Move along.

Expression Rating: N/A

Art: The art for La Vie en Rose is disarming. Haha. That’s really the best way I can put it. The characters are very cute, and the pastel pink color theme sets your mind at ease. The backgrounds are detailed, but done in a manner that makes me feel like they fit right at home in an animated series. It’s likely because details were drawn in without creating a sense of realism, so buttons are different sizes, and lines aren’t crisp but instead looks like they were drawn with a pencil. These are not negatives for me, they’re just little details that I think were purposefully used to create a more impactful story. The sprites were cute and different enough that each character is easily distinguishable. Unfortunately, they all only have one outfit, but that’s also okay since this is a free game and was done for a game jam.

Still Picture Rating: ★★★★☆ Many disarming. Such soft. Very cute.

CGs: You don’t get many CGs when it comes down to it. There are several endings to this game, and that’s super cool, but all the CGs are saved as the ending scene except for a few in the common route. And I’m not complaining at all about the lack of CGs through the game, because with so many endings, plus the 3 we get before the first branch, that’s about a dozen, and a dozen is a lot for a free game made in a short period of time. For real real, I do appreciate the work that went into this game by devs like the Abyss Team who make passion projects such as La Vie en Rose. But if I’m going to rate the CGs as a whole, I think there were plenty of moments that could have been made into a still for us to experience the emotion in that moment over and over again. As it goes, if you progress through the entire story, you only get one CG past the branch point, and that leaves us with a whole lot of nothing for a long while. I say long, but really it’s only an hour. I think it would have been more difficult to manage more, and I understand that the way the story unfolds there might not be CGs for every impactful scene, so I’m really torn on how to rate this portion.

Look at this Photograph Rating: 80%. A nice addition to the game, but a bit lacking for the overall story. CGs are primarily reserved for endings. I loved the style, though.

UI/Mechanics: Here is where La Vie en Rose excels. I’m not kidding. I thought I knew a good UI, I thought I knew what I liked from a game. Then I played La Vie en Rose and the way they coded and set up the UI was amazingly innovative and inspiring. It helped build such an atmosphere for the game. I think I said wow a million times when I was playing. It was so cool. I’ll mention another cool thing that some might not see if they play through in one sitting: the entire UI changes color and design when the UI in-game changes. Take a look. Give the game a save and explore the menu with a different view on love.

Besides some extra bells and whistles that I haven’t seen a dev put together for the UI before, the game runs similar to other visual novels. You get a set of choices and those choices lead you towards an ending. No additional gameplay here. Since it was on the computer, I found it easy to navigate. Most VNs are coded the same (because a lot of them use the same program) so it functioned exactly how I expected. The menu had as many options as the standard menu usually has. However, there was one additional feature I really enjoyed (besides the UI), it was the ending flowchart, so you could see what endings you had. Though I wish they were numbered or named, because once I had most I had a hard time trying to figure out which ones I was missing.

What’s this button do? Rating: A. Really, the UI made a world of difference with this game. The writing is great, but these additional perks really brought the game to life.

Errors: La Vie en Rose is an original English language visual novel, so I’d expect it to be practically error-free. And it was precisely that. 100% met my expectations there. Sometimes a typing error makes its way into the game, but not here. I don’t think I found one issue while playing.

Here there be Bugs Rating: Pass. Super pass. Not a single bug in the entirety of this game, be it spelling, grammar, or even coding related.

Background Music: Please play with the BGM on! I know some of you aren’t interested in playing games with BGM, and you probably pass this part by, but the BGM really enhanced the game so much. Coupled with the UI, this is just an awesome addition to the game. I’m serious. I think if I had just played this game with the visuals and writing, I’d end up thinking it was pretty good, but having the UI and BGM in addition to the story really made it stand out. I won’t soon forget the feelings I had when playing. Not many games make me tense up like this one did. That’s building some damn good atmosphere right there.

BY OUR RATINGS COMBINED!: Oh ho! You thought you were done, didn’t you? Don’t worry, this will be short. Sometimes my individual ratings do not always add up to my overall rating; this is because I find a reason to rate the game based on things that are not listed in my (very) long review. I couldn’t section everything. Sometimes price factors in. Sometimes personal tastes. Basically, what it comes down to is would I buy this game knowing everything I know? Would I recommend it to a friend? I would pay for this game! I would buy it even now. But it’s free, so there is no paying. For real real, La Vie en Rose was such an experience that I think anyone wanting to delve into the darker parts of love and relationships should give it a go. But there’s the kicker: anyone wanting to delve into the dark parts of love and relationships. This game doesn’t get explicit, nor does it show mature content, but the content of the game touches on some triggering themes. I can’t in good conscience recommend this to everyone, despite how much I liked playing it. It is certainly going to appeal to a niche market, but seeing as how most BL games are super dark and explicit, it’s really mild comparatively.