{"id":454695,"date":"2024-01-25T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.destructoid.com\/?p=454695"},"modified":"2024-01-25T16:55:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T22:55:29","slug":"nova-hearts-first-spark-doesnt-quite-catch-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.destructoid.com\/nova-hearts-first-spark-doesnt-quite-catch-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Nova Hearts: First Spark doesn’t quite catch fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dating sims are harder to create than people give them credit for. Hundreds of thousands of words, dialogue trees that stretch to the horizon and take into account successes and failures, trying to fit in as many characters as possible to suit different preferences; the complexity piles up and threatens to collapse. It gets more difficult when you try to merge it with another genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve seen failure happen<\/a> many times<\/a> throughout my years as Destructoid\u2019s resident self-proclaimed dating sim expert. There\u2019s a reason why games like Mass Effect<\/em> usually have relationships no more complex than \u201clisten to life story, complete side quest, bang.\u201d Anything more ambitious leads to juggling problems, and it takes a lot of talent and planning to handle all those balls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nova Hearts<\/em> is a game that, so far, drops those balls. However, mercifully, Lightbulb Crew is starting with just a prologue, so there\u2019s still time to grab those balls and get them airborne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nova
Screenshot by Destructoid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nova Hearts: First Spark<\/em> is the free introduction<\/a> to the full Nova Hearts<\/em> experience expected this summer. It has you play as Luce, who has moved back to her hometown after spending some time trying to make it in the city. She\u2019s staying the summer on a sabbatical. From what? Frustratingly, you aren\u2019t told, but you\u2019re expected to go along with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo what happened?\u201d you\u2019re asked on multiple occasions. But you can only make hints because you, the player, don\u2019t know. Why give the choice in how you respond? I\u2019m not sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the story takes place on Luce\u2019s cellphone screen. Scenes are set up through text chat. Where the players are going and what they\u2019re planning to do; that all happens on a phone screen. This isn\u2019t a bad way to do it, but it\u2019s handled very intrusively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, I was invited out to eat right before a party by Luce\u2019s old friends. I\u2019m guessing \u201ceat\u201d is just code for pre-drink. I go to that scene, the bartender asks me what I\u2019m having, I tell him that I\u2019m waiting for friends. Suddenly, Luce is lounging at her desk with the cell phone in hand. What the fuck just happened? What was the point of that scene? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m guessing it was just an opportunity to meet\/hit on the bartender. However, I don\u2019t drink, so normally, the characters I play don\u2019t either, and all the direct flirting options were way too strong for the vibes I wanted to put down, so I didn\u2019t. However, the fact that my decisions meant that Luce didn\u2019t even meet her friends in that scene just left me extremely confused. And it wouldn\u2019t be the only time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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