Xoxo Droplets: review

XOXO Droplets is a visual novel made by GB Patch Games. The game takes place in the same universe as the more popular game "Our Life: Beginnings & Always" by the same creator. The story goes as follows: the main character, nicknamed JB (for Jelly Bean, a childhood nickname), moves to a boarding school after convincing her parents to let her relocate and is placed in a mandatory afterschool group with six other men and one supervisor, who is also the nurse. All of the characters in the game who are relevant are jerks, including JB. The only exception is Lynn, the group supervisor and school nurse, who is really just trying his best to make the characters get along.

I only played one playthrough where I romanced Shiloh since I admittedly don’t have enough space on my laptop to romance the other two free suitors. I really like the choice of making all the characters absolute d*ckheads; it's a really nice change of pace from the usual romance visual novel and definitely a different story from GB Patch Games' other title. The gameplay is simple as you go through the week trying to keep your reputation up with the rest of the school to avoid a game over. Admittedly, it does get boring as you near the end of the game since it’s just repetitive clicking.

I am slightly upset that a lot of the game was locked behind the paid completed version, for example, the rest of the suitors, the ability to accessorize, and other quality-of-life mechanics. Although the devs have to make a living somehow, I would have paid for it if I didn’t have 18 cents in my Steam account at the moment. I do recommend the game since the story is compelling with the whole premise of jerks who don’t improve; they stay jerks until the end of the game. Although it is hard to relate to JB since her personality is lacking, I think that’s the reason you aren’t able to customize her beyond her name.

I spent 13.5 hours on the game and earned 18 out of 36 achievements at the time of writing this review. My rating for the game would be 7/10, with points taken off for the repetitive gameplay and lack of customization in the free version. That’s all for now! Shooting stars to you all!