While we see quite a few Voltage otome games appearing on other platforms, primarily the Switch, the company started with mobile titles. These tended to roll out in chapter-based releases, with new characters gradually added. Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is one of those otome titles that started out as a Love 365 app release, and it’s one that’s gradually grown with additional “books” and love interests like Rio Voleri. Now that it’s on the Switch, it’s a great move for preservation purposes, but is an incomplete port that doesn’t go past Book 2 or offer all the prince or valet romance options.
Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss begins with a young woman who’s living alone with her pet cat, Robin. Her parents passed away years ago, so she’s accustomed to getting by on her own. However, one night when she looks outside, she happens to see an unusual blood moon in the sky. When she does, she falls into a deep sleep and wakes up magical alternate world called Saligia. But she’s not alone. Five princes named Fenn, Guy, Lynt, Roy, and Toa are all around her. After inadvertently touching some of them, they discover doing so amplifies their magic powers. It’s then that the headmaster of the academy where she apparently awoke tells them to get back and places her under the school’s protection. What follows means getting used to these unusual individuals, finding out why she has this ability, and perhaps discovering a way forward that could lead her home again.
Since Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is a port of one of the Voltage mobile otome games, that means the Switch version UI does follow that aesthetic. When you start, you’ll be able to pick the common prologue to find out what’s going on and how your avatar ended up at the academy in Saligia, surrounded by princes, on the night of a blood moon. You can then also select which of the five love interests’ routes you want to see and read through the Book 1-2 stories and Book 1 Consort Paths. This does mean the flow is a bit different, if you’re more accustomed to Voltage’s other Switch games like Neon Clashor The Red Bell’s Lamentor titles from Aksys and Idea Factory International. It isn’t necessarily bad and I can attest that you’ll get used to it, but it does feel very different and some might find it breaks up the flow and pacing.
Once you do get into a Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss Book, it does feel like a traditional otome visual novel. You’ll be doing a lot of reading while looking at character portraits and CGs of different characters. Again, since this was originally a mobile otome game, it might not feature the same sort of character designs and artistic directions as others. However, I do appreciate that there are different portraits for major characters to change their perspective or pose, and the designs do have a pleasant sort of 1990s and 2000s aesthetic to it.
Likewise, the story takes that sort of approach as well. There’s the whole magical academy element, adding some school life themes to it. However, the fact that the main heroine can boost the power of the royal romance options adds a twist, and finding out why does add a hint of mystery. Speaking of twists, there aren’t too many present here due to this only going up through Book 2. However, the character development is still rather solid. Likewise, the localization ended up being better than I expected, or rather stronger than I remembered, which is another plus.
Like I mentioned earlier, the main downside to Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is that the Switch version isn’t as up-to-date as the mobile ones. We don’t get characters like Rio, Jasper Lane, Lance Ira, or Tino Maes. While that’s understandable and easier to deal with, the lack of additional books ends up feeling more disappointing. From what I recall, the app’s gotten into Book 6 for some characters’ and the Fenn, Guy, Lynt, Roy, and Toa stories only go up to Book 2 here. It means we’re left off on a cliffhanger. While I really do enjoy this story, not getting the full experience and needing to then head into Love 365 if we really enjoyed it and want to see what’s next is a shame.
I applaud the fact that Voltage does preserve its mobile otome games with Switch ports like Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss, but wish there was more to this one. It’s a really fun story involving magic and school life, and the heroine actually has a personality and speaks up so she isn’t a total blank slate. The love interests included are interesting too. Unfortunate, we aren’t even halfway into each of the routes for the characters who are present, and people need to head to another source and potentially spend more money to find out what happens next.
Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss is available on the Switch, and the ongoing otome game is part of the Love 365 mobile app.
Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss
I applaud Voltage preserving its mobile otome games with Switch ports like Court of Darkness: Temptation’s Kiss, but wish there was more to this one.