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The current game I've been playing is Tears of Themis. I've been binging the game for days on end just to catch up before the next chapter is posted! And now I'm bringing it around the internet, because I really want it to be successful. I was introduced to this game by a friend who was around for beta testing and got my friend group into it.
I also helped write the Wikipedia page for Tears of Themis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears_of_Themis. Check it out for background information!
Since this game is made by the same company that made Genshin Impact, there's quite a bit more buzz around it than expected for a mobile otome game. I think it's also because of the quality and effort put into every part of the game.
Just for clarity here, it is a gacha game and that sucks. The only involvement the cards have in the game other than being pretty collectibles is to be used in battles that do nothing but gatekeep progress. At least that makes it so that you can't blitz through the story really fast? Though unlike many gacha games, there is a small pool of cards, a generous payout, and only four characters to worry about collecting for.
Another thing I'm not a fan of is how the game requires a social media account to log in. Why can't it use a Google Play account or something like that?
Story
I never thought the detective story would be more engrossing than the romance elements that are the selling point of the game, but that's what ended up happening for me. Unlike most otome games, Themis has a single main story, with the romance elements being cordoned off into the individual character stories and card stories. The main story has tons of twists and turns, with a string of dramatic murder cases building into a larger plot. Most of them involve you (as an attorney) trying to either prove someone's innocence or give evidence to convict the real murderer. At the end, a trial occurs, which I'd describe as "Ace Attorney but more serious". The stakes increase significantly with every chapter, going from a case of petty food poisoning in Chapter 1 to a journalist being murdered by a large corporation to cover up their crimes in Chapter 5. They also get extra points from me for having a chapter that extensively references Vincent Van Gogh.
The science fiction future setting is very cool and actually affects the main story instead of just being set dressing, which is always a plus.
I haven't gone through most of the romance stuff yet due to liking the main story more, but it's pretty sweet. I hope all these stories take place in different universes or something like that, else our lovely protagonist is courting four guys at once.
(heavy spoilers)
My favorite part of the story was the amount of sensitivity and care into writing each culprit's motive and writing the issues around mental health. As someone with a degree in psychology, the media landscape when it comes to things like this is abysmal. But in Tears of Themis, we have depressed characters, bipolar characters, physically disabled characters, an autistic character, and all of them are treated with sensitivity and respect. Helps that one of the main characters is our resident criminal psychologist.
Characters
Otome games live and die by their romanceable characters. The four in Tears of Themis seem pretty generic at first. We have:
- Artem, the cold, domineering boss
- Luke, the sweet childhood friend
- Marius, the douchey rich guy
- Vyn, the eccentric one
Except....the boss is genuinely kind under his cold exterior, the childhood friend is a super spy with connections to every organization imaginable, the rich guy is a hardworking artist, and the eccentric one is a romantic who has the sweetest heart out of all of them. So...a pretty engaging cast. Each chapter focuses on one of the bachelors, often fleshing them out more beyond their trope. While most of them are pretty forward and protective, none of them are assholes or brooding like the typical otome game guys. They come across as very soft when you get to chat with them one-on-one.
The voice acting is pretty top notch. There are 4 different language options for the voice acting, which is pretty incredible. I had it in Simplified Chinese the whole time since that's the default option. The voices for the main characters are really pleasant and soft, with Vyn being a standout. (<3) I know nothing about Chinese voice actors, but the Japanese voice actors chosen for this game are pretty well known and popular. Every side character is also voice acted, including the ones that don't have unique designs, making this game feel almost like a paid, full featured VN.
Standout side characters for me include Janus (Chapter 2 idol character with a meaningful name), Huey (son boy), and Jen (another from Chapter 2, very helpful).
Animation
Yes, this game has animation, and it's one of my favorite parts of the whole experience. Every SR/SSR card is animated using Live2d, there are small scenes in the story that use Live2d, and every trial/debate/most sprites of the protagonist are also animated. It is an extremely gorgeous visual display. My big beef with most Live2d projects is that they either look too stiff and minimal, or they look way too floaty and have every part of the rig move around like food in space. Tears of Themis reaches this very satisfying midpoint with almost everything moving around, but nothing looks out of place.
So here we are. I still don't think I quite captured what made me so hooked on this game and what makes it so special, but that's what other blog posts are for. Happy reading.
I also helped write the Wikipedia page for Tears of Themis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears_of_Themis. Check it out for background information!
Since this game is made by the same company that made Genshin Impact, there's quite a bit more buzz around it than expected for a mobile otome game. I think it's also because of the quality and effort put into every part of the game.
Just for clarity here, it is a gacha game and that sucks. The only involvement the cards have in the game other than being pretty collectibles is to be used in battles that do nothing but gatekeep progress. At least that makes it so that you can't blitz through the story really fast? Though unlike many gacha games, there is a small pool of cards, a generous payout, and only four characters to worry about collecting for.
Another thing I'm not a fan of is how the game requires a social media account to log in. Why can't it use a Google Play account or something like that?
Story
I never thought the detective story would be more engrossing than the romance elements that are the selling point of the game, but that's what ended up happening for me. Unlike most otome games, Themis has a single main story, with the romance elements being cordoned off into the individual character stories and card stories. The main story has tons of twists and turns, with a string of dramatic murder cases building into a larger plot. Most of them involve you (as an attorney) trying to either prove someone's innocence or give evidence to convict the real murderer. At the end, a trial occurs, which I'd describe as "Ace Attorney but more serious". The stakes increase significantly with every chapter, going from a case of petty food poisoning in Chapter 1 to a journalist being murdered by a large corporation to cover up their crimes in Chapter 5. They also get extra points from me for having a chapter that extensively references Vincent Van Gogh.
The science fiction future setting is very cool and actually affects the main story instead of just being set dressing, which is always a plus.
I haven't gone through most of the romance stuff yet due to liking the main story more, but it's pretty sweet. I hope all these stories take place in different universes or something like that, else our lovely protagonist is courting four guys at once.
(heavy spoilers)
My favorite part of the story was the amount of sensitivity and care into writing each culprit's motive and writing the issues around mental health. As someone with a degree in psychology, the media landscape when it comes to things like this is abysmal. But in Tears of Themis, we have depressed characters, bipolar characters, physically disabled characters, an autistic character, and all of them are treated with sensitivity and respect. Helps that one of the main characters is our resident criminal psychologist.
Characters
Otome games live and die by their romanceable characters. The four in Tears of Themis seem pretty generic at first. We have:
- Artem, the cold, domineering boss
- Luke, the sweet childhood friend
- Marius, the douchey rich guy
- Vyn, the eccentric one
Except....the boss is genuinely kind under his cold exterior, the childhood friend is a super spy with connections to every organization imaginable, the rich guy is a hardworking artist, and the eccentric one is a romantic who has the sweetest heart out of all of them. So...a pretty engaging cast. Each chapter focuses on one of the bachelors, often fleshing them out more beyond their trope. While most of them are pretty forward and protective, none of them are assholes or brooding like the typical otome game guys. They come across as very soft when you get to chat with them one-on-one.
The voice acting is pretty top notch. There are 4 different language options for the voice acting, which is pretty incredible. I had it in Simplified Chinese the whole time since that's the default option. The voices for the main characters are really pleasant and soft, with Vyn being a standout. (<3) I know nothing about Chinese voice actors, but the Japanese voice actors chosen for this game are pretty well known and popular. Every side character is also voice acted, including the ones that don't have unique designs, making this game feel almost like a paid, full featured VN.
Standout side characters for me include Janus (Chapter 2 idol character with a meaningful name), Huey (son boy), and Jen (another from Chapter 2, very helpful).
Animation
Yes, this game has animation, and it's one of my favorite parts of the whole experience. Every SR/SSR card is animated using Live2d, there are small scenes in the story that use Live2d, and every trial/debate/most sprites of the protagonist are also animated. It is an extremely gorgeous visual display. My big beef with most Live2d projects is that they either look too stiff and minimal, or they look way too floaty and have every part of the rig move around like food in space. Tears of Themis reaches this very satisfying midpoint with almost everything moving around, but nothing looks out of place.
So here we are. I still don't think I quite captured what made me so hooked on this game and what makes it so special, but that's what other blog posts are for. Happy reading.
