Placebo Love

This is a game I have enjoyed playing.
Gameplay: It's an interactive decision-making VN type game, with little action and lots of text. If you enjoy good plot and characters, then this is a great game.
Graphics: The in-game graphics are exactly as they appear in the trailer and screenshots. I personally like it.
Audio: Very good soundtrack; I listen to it a lot. There's a lot of really sweet music and it doesn't get boring.
Story: 10/10, no spoilers. Each character has their own story and many of them connect to each other; the game is very well written.
Difficulty: easy (unless you hate making decisions)
Grind: none (unless you count reading text but that's the main part of the game)
One of my favorite things about this game is how everything is structured, and how deep it can be. I'd describe it as a friendship simulator, where you manage your schedule and meet different characters, learning about them and influencing their decisions. Each character is unique, both in terms of how their individual bonds play out and their role in the main character's life as well. Having played to the end of the game, there is a lot that the game makes you think about, if you wish to. For example, what 'placebo' in the title and the butterflies might mean. No plot spoilers but there are definitely more.
I also really like how the small decisions you make can affect bigger outcomes, and how more things are related than they seem at first, similar to the butterfly effect. There's a lot of attention put on the dialogue and how everything fits together :D

When I heard it was like a Persona game (without the dungeon-y stuff), I was stoked. However, I was disappointed to discover that I could only choose between the Doppelganger soulmates. I am devastated that I could not date The Rawn or have a fling with my sister-in-law.
Gameplay: 8/10 I enjoyed the time management aspect and getting to choose who to hang out with. Being able to choose to tell the truth/half-truth/a lie was interesting. However it was a bit unclear what the repercussions of the choices are until the end of the game. Same with collecting Inspiration Points or neglecting relationships. This did not detract from the great storytelling. Lastly, as mentioned, I am sad that you couldn't date outside the main two girls. As such...there is no harem run. :(
The game took me a little under 10 hours to finish the first time around. There is replayability potential for relationships I didn't 100% fulfill or to try different response choices. However, I don't immediately see how much more it could drastically change from the first runthrough, so I don't really have the urge for a while (especially since I will be re-reading a lot of things I have already read).
Story: 7/10 The worldbuilding (setting + lore) has great potential, but it was a struggle to follow it sometimes. All the characters are interesting and have their own story (but some are more interesting than others). It is easy to get invested in certain story lines. The main character, Lorne Volley, is also loveable and didn't come across as a typical idiot protagonist. Love how the characters stories tie up into each other. However, I don't feel particularly satisfied by the conclusion (at least, the only ending I experienced after the first run through). It was a massive build up, but dragged on a little and the return was a little disappointing.
Graphics: 10/10 Cute art! The pixel art and the character portraits are great.
Soundtrack: 7/10 Helped with the mood, but none particularly stood out as a bop. Some of the spookier soundtracks didn't quite fit with the overall game mood.
Other notes: good UI, easy to pick-up, not grindy, LGBT+ inclusion (Which felt baity since I couldn't actually date them...).
Having said all of this, please support this game and give it a go. I enjoyed the ride and the execution delivered as promised on the label. If you are into story-rich time management, this is it.

PD: I'm glad to confess it was an instabuy of my part, after hearing the main title song in the trailer. It was a mix of a casual and cozy game, and it evoked that feeling right through me.
It somehow told me that even with a mysterious hidden plot, is meant to be enjoyed in a relaxing and chilling way.
At first, I thought it was another VN where it is mandatory to chase one of the love routes. But I'm glad I got wrong.
For Steam Deck users: It runs without problems. Just need some mappings in the button, mostly mouse & left click.
Feeling lonely in your life? The game somehow helps you #by helping find love with someone else, typical scenario. Meet Lorne in a new job, where accidentally finds himself chasing two identical candidates that appear to be... NOT twins? #almost got confused with twinks, to be honest.
In this Visual Novel, your job is to manage Lorne's weekends #sure, we are not secretaries that fails at that SINGLE task. Surprisingly, the game made this mechanic fun, by managing influence and having conditions, such as a mandatory self-time moment #I won't make dirty jokes here, we all already thought that.
What's better to bloom all your relationships? Be completely truthful, all-the-time-lying for their sakes... or something in between? The future that Lorne holds is made by your hands...
PROS:
Romance can be avoided. Do you hate those twins? Focus more on your relationships. Family is your priority? Leave your employees on read and abandon them #But don't try this at home, we don't promote social isolation.
Long story & Replayability. An average run should be on 7-9 hours #for fast readers only, sorry. Your relationships with everyone unlock certain endings (counting more than 10, approximately), and you cannot cover all plots in a single run. And yes, some endings may give you more questions than when you started.
Cozy vending machines with OST. This game can be used as a rhythm box while doing your sh*t, have your own self-time moment.
Marika, a point in herself #Not because her name truly means f*gg*t in Spanish... Kidding... don't look up... But, to be honest, all his relationships have their charm... Plus, they help meddle further in other relationships! #We don't promote over socializing, either.
CONS:
Messages, archives, and additional stuff that are purchased through the run. It's a nice detail, but it may interfere with the gameplay itself. In my self-time moment, sleeping is my priority, what else?
The Cat & Mouse is an original game, which I have to admit I'm pretty bad at. However, it's mandatory to play in one of the routes, and it's impossible to play as a feature in the Extra tab. #Trolling just to lose prematurely in a Visual Novel is not a goal I have really planned.
No DLC for their OST. I would sincerely like to support Merlandese for the main reason I could give Placebo Love a shot.
Just can't date ... Ronnie? MY RAWNIE??? Even if just came out of me... Couldn't I say yes? Even for pity?
So what do you think?
If you are a fan of self-relaxing pace stories, that prove love is not the main reason in life, and somehow imply that chasing true love truly implies a large mystery within, then it's your game.
I need to haste myself, going to support them at Bandcamp. 9/10

I can't even begin to describe how amazing this game has been. This has been such a wonderful experience and the story is absolutely beautiful. The characters are so full of life and charm and they're written so well. The soundtrack is an absolute banger. This is a game which will be with me for a long time. Its theme and messages about love, friendship, life and so many other things are conveyed so incredibly and in a way that feels natural.
In short, buy Placebo Love. If you love making decisions and watching an incredible story unfold before your eyes, please give this game a try.

This is the best incarnation yet of the Twelve Tiles style: lots of design cleverness and humor, excellent writing, ingenious metaphors that tie together the visuals, game mechanics and story -- yet mostly take the form of completely ridiculous fixations, here on beverages -- and a world where abstract social concepts are taken very literally.
-- Concept: all the stars/10 --
A delightful schedule-management / social links / mystery visual novel combo, where you play a somehow-soda-related muse that inspires a young man to
1) lie to his mama & besties & boss & some strangers too (or be truthful, why not) until they placebo-like you
2) explore dilemmas such as loving two probably distinct women, and
3) sleuth around a tangle of improbable mysteries and really, really well-written character arcs.
Having to constantly choose between lies/truths/somewhere-in-between is a remarkably clever device for tying together gameplay, theme and emotional weight.
(for a contrasting mood, I recommend also playing Little Red Lies where the lack of choice is an equally good device)
-- Execution: and then some --
I especially appreciated how tight, creative yet cohesive the overall design was, with lots of nice touches like the ways important information was made apparent (and manageable via the various apps), and each character arc being made memorable with its own visual and mechanical peculiarities (including how much some seem to appreciate being lied to!)
As for any game of the sort, e.g. Long Live the Queen, the first run (~10 hours long) is not going to be optimal because you need some form of prescience to figure out the bestest timeline, but there's always New game+, and there were a lot clever little hints that allowed me to achieve most of my goals by dead reckoning.
-- Bottom line --
Buy it. For your friends, for your enemies, for your long-lost childhood crush who will be confused by the Steam gift, for that weird old lady who gives out tracts of impending salvation. What they need is a bit of ... *title drop*
PS: The FDA or equivalent almost certainly would not approve of most plot keys.

The game plays like a more in-depth social link system similar to the Persona games, except with more control and interconnection between the various characters and your personal choices. Only two of the characters are love interests, but the non-love interest characters have strong personalities and stories that will draw you in.
For those not familiar with Persona, the game largely plays out on weekends, where you must decide how the main character, Lorne, spends his time. But there isn't enough time for everybody, so you have to choose who you want to spend time with. Each character has their own story, and they link in to the larger mystery in sometimes surprising ways.
The choices and number of characters to choose from both grow in complexity as you get farther into the game.You will also earn points as you progress that can be used to unlock additional helpful features or easter eggs, or to trigger certain events.
Once you have finished, there is a New Game + feature that allows you to replay the game with additional features unlocked, which should allow greater exploration of any characters or story or choices you missed your first time around.
Overall, this was a very nice game that explores choice and love in many forms.

A beautiful game about different forms of love. For those who like games focused on the story more than the gameplay, this is definitely a game you will love. It has a casting of very touching characters, and I found myself loving each one of them at the end of their bonds, even though I hated some at the beginning. They are very well written, and each of them brings a particular touch to the story. The plot remains interesting all along, making you theorize more than you'd think you would at first.
Don't expect a dating simulator, though. It is much closer to a friendship simulator, with everyone having very interesting points of view on the main plot.
I really recommend it to anyone loving good stories!