Thoughts and Prayers

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Note: I tried to make this review as spoiler-free as possible so you can discover all the things I’m talking about by yourself! If you wish to unhide spoilers, just select the black text with your cursor.

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As a complete dating simulator virgin, my expectations going into Coming Out On Top weren’t really high – I thought the game would be a low quality, smutty dating sim with a half-assed excuse for a story. I was very happy to be proven wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is a game with emotional writing, solid humor (though admittedly some of it is very “of its time” considering the game is from the early 2010s – not necessarily a bad thing by the way) and in-depth, likeable characters I genuinely wanted to get to know better.

The story, being one of coming out and exploring the world of gay dating with all its highs, lows and in-betweens is one sure to hit close to home for many players. Despite the game having been created by a woman, it’s remarkable how well it touches on gay topics, some of them rather niche and unknown to someone outside of the gay spectrum. You can tell ObscuraSoft – the developer – took her time researching and talking to gay people, and this kind of attention to detail should be applauded.

Humor is a big part of the game, and I felt that jokes were implemented rather tastefully! Very few of them felt out of place or didn’t land right. I liked that some characters’ storylines are more lighthearted than others. The humorous aspect is amplified in the Brofinder (this game’s take on a dating app) dates. Much like in real life, you never really know what you’re getting yourself into with these dates. A guy’s profile can make him seem like a good time, only for the date to later take a turn for the unexpected, messy and comical. It works the other way around too – on multiple occasions things got much more serious than I thought they would be, and such changes of pace really helped keep the dates from feeling monotonous. There was one Brofinder date (Theo) that genuinely had me laughing out loud because of how ridiculous certain side characters in it were!

Another thing I really liked is that Coming Out On Top has an original, very different feel from what you usually see in the dating sim category. This goes for both the art style and the writing itself. This game didn’t feel like the usual anime-esque action you’d expect from a dating sim on Steam, and I’m so thankful for that. I wish we had more games in this vein!

As for the meat of the game – the main 6 romance paths, I thoroughly enjoyed working through them and getting to know the guys, but I’m not going to lie – I wish the stories were longer. Especially two characters, Ian and Alex felt somewhat undercooked to me, which is a damn shame. Of course, what the game has to offer is still satisfactory, but I can’t help but feel like so much more could’ve been done and explored. Perhaps we need a sequel? wink wink

I replayed the routes to explore different dialogue choices and the game rewarded me with new interactions and variations to the endings each time. I still don’t think I’m quite done, to be honest, despite having gotten all the achievements (which was very satisfying, by the way!). The writing strikes a great balance between comedy and sincerity, rarely feeling forced even during the weirder moments.

Some people might gravitate towards this game because of its numerous spicy scenes. They do exist and are always very rewarding to see, especially considering the fact that there’s many different dialogue options and paths you can go down, so you don’t always really know if you’re saying the right thing. Sometimes you won’t know if a decision you made at the start of a guy’s path affects your final relationship with him at the end of the game. That being said, seeing it all work out in your favor is a real treat. The artist – Doubleleaf – did a fantastic job with all the artwork in the game! It’s impressive to see how well they handled the male anatomy and all the little nuances that make male bodies… male bodies. Three artworks in particular, Brad planking on the floor, Ian standing in flames with nunchucks and a ridiculous wrestling suit and drunk Ian taking off his shirt left me pausing the game for a while just to take in all the details! Honestly such a great job, Doubleleaf! Having the option to later take a closer look at those scenes in the game’s Gallery is also a welcome addition, one people learning to draw and looking for references might find useful. Another great thing is the customization. Although you can’t change characters’ physiques, you can choose between facial and body hair or lack thereof – an option fun to play around with and also reflected in the Gallery art.

In case this sounds like a love letter to the game, I will also mention what I disliked, or things I wish were included.

As I said, my biggest gripe with Coming Out On Top is that I wish the game was longer with its main romance paths. It would be nice to really get into some characters’ minds and backstories more, cause they truly are interesting and well written. It results in this weird dynamic where I like what I got, but can’t help feeling frustrated that more wasn’t done. And I seriously can’t stress this enough.

This actually applies for the optional Brofinder dates as well. When I was playing through some of them, specifically Donovan and Terry, it seemed to me that the developer wanted to do more with these characters, and it’s a big shame they were relegated to optional flings, as they had a lot of potential. They deserved to be part of the main cast of characters, in my opinion. I would happily pay for a DLC exploring a “part 2” of the main character’s encounters with the Brofinder guys!

The UI is minimalistic and doesn’t get in the way of gameplay, but it would be nice if the little options weren’t present in the bottom right corner of your screen the whole time.

Similarly, it would be cool if there was a way to turn on subtitles for the hot Gallery scenes, since the descriptions add a whole lot of depth to what you see. One workaround I found was to keep save slots right before these scenes happen to return to at will, but it can get difficult to keep track of what each save will lead you to.

As for other criticisms I saw players raising, it’s really a matter of taste in my opinion. Some people will find Coming Out On Top incredibly cringe. Some will find it “unrealistic” (despite it being…a game?!). Some will take issue with the relatively small diversity of body types. And to all that I say, you just have to play the game and decide for yourself how you feel about that.

Going right back to how I started this review, I wasn’t expecting a niche dating sim to take me on the ride it did. To quote a classic: I laughed, I cried a number of times, I sweat, I danced, I got shot, I ate and I had many epiphanies.

One epiphany, and one genuine lesson I will keep with me after beating this game and all its paths is that you never really know what’s next for you, and what else the world has to offer. You never know what people are like, and you shouldn’t make assumptions just based on someone’s appearance or one encounter you had with them. The key to getting to know someone is conversation and openness. You never know where love might lurk. All you need to do is stay open and be yourself, cliché as that might sound.

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P.S. On a more personal note, my favorite guys were Brad for his storyline and Ian for his character as a whole!