Kiss/OFF
ABOUT THE DEMO
Kiss/OFF: AUDITION is a prologue to Kiss/OFF, a comedy visual novel set for release later in 2023. You play as Vic Powers, college track star and all-around charmer. Vic has a big day ahead of him — he plans to ask out *that special person* he’s had a crush on for the past few weeks. However, when he receives a threatening phone call from the mysterious ‘X,’ he’s given a challenge: If he CAN’T successfully ask out his crush, Vic will never see them again. With each failure (or success), reality resets and changes in unpredictable ways. What follows is an introduction to Steffi, Arturo, and Risq, the three main alien love interests of ‘Kiss/OFF,’ as well as the complete breakdown of reality as Vic knows it.
Xargazorg Intergalactic proudly presents Kiss/OFF, the hottest new dating show in the galaxy! Six Contestants have been Involuntarily Volunteered™ to pair off and SQUARE off in a supercharged dating royale. Whichever couple has the most passionate, *magical* kiss at the end of the three days wins the Ultimate Prize: They get to go back home to their families! The losing team gets the Ultimate Second Place Prize: Horrible, fiery death!
♥ MEET VIC ♥
Play as Vic Powers: college track star, chill dude, and pansexual king. When he gets abducted onto the set of Kiss/OFF, he suddenly has a lot more to worry about than declaring his major. Now, he’s got to kiss a hottie, win the dating game, and find some way back to Earth!
♥ DATE OR HATE?! ♥
Unlock over a dozen unique endings based on whether your Kiss/OFF partner LOVES or HATES Vic. Go for true, perfect romance, or try to drive your partner crazy—but always remember that actions can have big, big consequences.
♥ MEET HOT ALIEN SINGLES IN YOUR AREA ♥
Space Hero Kel, Robo-Risq, and Desert Wanderer Arturo are just a few of the contestants who couldn’t be more excited* to be featured stars on the galaxy’s sexiest gameshow! Match-up with everybody onboard and learn their secrets.
*Disclaimer: Excitement may vary.
♥ EVERYBODY GETS TO DATE! ♥
Whoever you DON’T pick as your partner will team up and compete against you. Get the chance to see how the other characters get along when you’re not in the room.
♥ ALWAYS ANOTHER EPISODE… ♥
Finish one episode, and immediately start binging another! THRILL as you discover that literally everything is different on the second playthrough! GASP as you slowly reveal more secrets of The Ship! GRUNT as you consider the possibility that Interstellar (2014) although a critical darling, was perhaps a bit overrated at the time of release!
♥ MYSTERIES AND TWIST…ERIES ♥
Unravel the riddle of The Ship, the alien audience, and your alien host with the alien most: Xargazorg. Every playthrough and every unique route gets you one step closer to escape…
♥ FURTHER FUNTASTICAL FEATURES ♥
150,000+ Words!
Hundreds of lines of voice acting!
20 Unique Endings! (With Achievements! Whoa! Achievements!)
A fully original soundtrack with over a dozen sick beats!
6+ hours of unique story content!
1 super-secret true ending!
1 very hot girl who is part robot but also super mean and basically evil!
Steam User 1
Pros: I like the different paths and storylines, and the music. I looked forward to playing Kiss/Off since the demo was released(!).
Cons: Once I dated Arturo, Steffi, and Risq, I found that the storylines became the same or similar every time. But as a plus, the Wheel of Choosables became my favorite part of the game because it adds a layer of variety.
As someone else commented, I'd like to see a "universe"/scenario in which Kel lives, and I'm also interested to see Tori again or find out what has happened to her since we went into "Admin".
Steam User 1
10/10, my bisexual butt fell in love with each character.
Steam User 6
I’m writing this after having reached one of the True Endings—the Truest one, I think? If it makes sense? And it is a bit unfortunate that I didn’t try to learn the True Meaning of Hate first, as the ending with finding out the True Meaning of Love was SO VERY EPIC, KICKED SO MUCH ASS, was so so HEARTWARMING AND HEARTBREAKING AND PERFECT ahhhh that I’m not even sure that I can gather enough spirit to be mean to either Steffi or Arturo, even to Risq, let alone Kel, ohhhh KEL, my heart bleeds at the mere thought, ah.
It wouldn’t be very spoilery to tell from the get go that Kiss/OFF is one of the visual novels utilizing their unique interactive nature to create a time-loop/differing timelines/multiverse metanarrative, and it handles such narrative incredibly well. It is usually pretty difficult to find a right balance between the weight of repeating loops, how all of them exist meaningfully and are experienced by their participants, possibly taking a severe toll on one’s psyche—and the enjoyment of the audience. And Kiss/OFF truly excels at it! Replaying the scenarios of how everything could go (did go) never once feels like a chore; coding these variations has probably been a nightmare, but the result is amazing—everything happens very naturally at all times, the characters not only react to your decisions but also manifest their agency offscreen (including being active with each other, hehe), and the story just feels so LIVELY and VIBRANT, even after the seventh or so loop.
It also doesn't take that many replays to reach the True Ending (a True Ending?)—the creators devised an in-story explanation why some stretches of events would be the same even if—also not much of a spoiler—some entities/characters are aware of the “loop” and can retain memories. This explanation was a massive gut punch and added a lot to the experience, but ultimately I got to the Finale without running out of the “unseen” text even at the start of each phase.
Another thing that is not required for reaching the True Ending (at least the one I’ve got) is behaving like an asshole, which could be a plus for some readers who find it difficult to be cruel. Still, being a mean ass here is rewarded not only by achievements but also by MOAR STORY and also getting to know some of the characters better, so if it's your thing, go for it! Be gay, do crimes! Or not exactly gay but more like pansexual, yet queer nonetheless, so yay for that too!
And more about the said queerness—even the pairs that look straight at the first glance, or at least, eh, straight-presenting, are queer as heck too, and not just because everyone is essentially pansexual (and not in a player-sexual way, to boot). This game demolishes cisheteronormativity with gusto, which, in the end, has a wonderful effect of making even seemingly mlw relationships appealing. I’m usually pretty averse to male MC/female LI scenarios, but any issues I could possibly have with those are just non-applicable here.
Kiss/OFF also works wonderfully as a date sim, a parody of one (that plays around with all da tropes), AND a deconstruction, both recognizing a violence of making persons smooch—and presenting a real affection that can bloom between people despite the odds. These two ideas could be easily undermined by each other, but Kiss/OFF manages to avoid it gracefully. Maximum kudos.
Seriously, though. Whoa. This game is SUCH a delicious mix of comedy and angst, silliness and profoundness—brimming with memes one moment and wrenching the heart out of your chest the next, interspersing adorkable shenanigans with transhumanist and eternalist philosophy, taking you through dizzying and exhilarating twists and turns with gentle guidance. I believe it holds such a wide appeal that I would recommend it in a heartbeat to just about anyone. It is not niche whatsoever, yet somehow it happened to be exactly to my taste, and what a well-prepared cup of tea it is.
I also cried at least twice, and had to get off the screen to scream into the pillow or do some pacing around my room quite a few times. Please, pick it up. There is SO MUCH to think and feel about.
Steam User 2
I have no idea why this game isn’t more popular. Only 19 reviews?! I loved this. The complexity. The story. This game is amazing.
Steam User 1
I'm honestly very surprised that this game hasn't received more attention. The premise is unique, the characters are all very well done, the voice acting actually made me tear up at one point and the story is all in all very enjoyable. The dialogue had me laughing fairly often and there wasn't a single character that I ended up disliking. Honestly, I'd say the only real complaint I have is I still have no idea how to go about getting the final fifth ending for each character.
Do play if:
- you're looking for unique character backstories and story lines
- you enjoy unraveling mysteries
- you're looking to feel a spectrum of emotions
- you enjoy exploring multiple endings
Don't play if:
- you're looking for a one and done run with only one character
- you don't like octopi
Steam User 2
Kiss/OFF is one of the most fun and engaging dating sims I've played in a really long time. It really feels like the people behind this game knew EXACTLY the vibe they wanted to capture, and they did so wonderfully. With a really cute artstyle and a unique premise that has lots of fun queer characters, there really is a lot to enjoy here!
I was initially worried that I would grow tired of the game and its concept quickly while trying to view all the possible events and endings, but the game truly charmed me with it's quirky characters and very fun game mechanics. Having to figure out what specific actions and choices would lead to new content was super engaging. Like a real game show, I felt like there really were fun surprises at every turn (Thanks Xargazorg) so I was never bored at any point.
If I had to say any negatives I would say that the writing and comedy might not be for everyone's tastes as it can be very silly, but as a certified Silly Enjoyer I can proudly say it was definitely made for me.
If you are on the fence about buying this game: Please just buy it. Support these devs because honestly this game is super under-priced for the amount of content you're getting here. Kiss/OFF definitely deserves more attention from VN fans across the Milky Way Galaxy.
Steam User 3
It was an engaging show, haha