Speakeasy

Ok i write a positive review thanks to hard work done in this game..

..but, because there is a but(t), It's mainly words, sensual texts but basically if you are more into pictures and gallery content, pass your way.

The drawings, in spite a lack of them, are beautiful though !

I'm gonna say yes for recommendation, but with a very big caveat...?
First, the positive: The art's pretty, there's some really fun character dialogue and plots. I really like Vincent, the poly route was surprisingly much better than I was expecting (I LOVE Nika and Max), I love Silas and Milo's routes immensely. It's a historical otome, and I would love to see more of them. I even admit I like everything enough to where I'll be (eventually) purchasing Speakeasy: Last Call so that I can read more of these characters and their adventures. So obviously I do like it.
So there's two complaints I have, and it's these.
1) Some routes feel jarring with their resolutions/progress and shifts in character behaviors, and two routes in particular feel significantly shorter as an experience, like they start and then get wrapped up very easily. I felt like Dhalia's and Will's routes in particular felt more like afterthoughts and seem sidelined.
2) Almost everyone except a few of the guys seem FAR more interested in each other than the protagonist 90% of the time. There's something jarring about how the premise is otome, but the writing feels more like it really wants to be a BL game. And hey, I'd be totally ok with a BL game, I own plenty, but I came for an otome - which is what was advertised! There's even a route where the protagonist is romancing Guy A, and the route pauses to focus on Guy A and Guy B having had sex, or wanting to have sex but Guy B turning him down, before the route resumes? And it just feels like the writing is going 'yeah, you may be here, but this character really wants to bone this guy more' in that moment. Uh, okay? It feels extra unnecessary when those same characters are having their open relationship mentioned and elaborated upon in every single other route, too, so it happening even with Guy A's route felt like trying to throw strawberries on an overloaded cake - pardon the poor analogy. And hey, if they usually prefer men but the protagonist is the exception - then why isn't that the angle being elaborated upon within the writing itself? I'd have been more ok with that, too, but instead the game just keeps acting like almost everyone likes men and women relatively equally, but the demonstration is all men all the time (minus perhaps Milo) with the lady being an exception as she invades their lives. I did enjoy that there was the presence of men interested in each other in the game, I just felt the extent of it was a little odd for an otome and tried to elaborate on where that might be so others who might feel less enjoyment from the game can make an informed decision on it for themselves.
*Funnily enough, I am not including Nika and Maxim in this during their poly route - it truly felt like they were all equally invested in each other and the protagonist to me, but that's my take on it and other reviews clearly feel otherwise.

LOVED IT!
The game genre isn't usually my cup of tea, so I was worried I wouldn't care for it as much. But I was completely wrong! I ended up loving it a lot and the game art is absolutely gorgeous! There were some pros and cons though, so let's get down to it.
PROS:
-Nice game play of 30+hrs, I personally only got 29hrs in because I played for only the happy endings, and kinda sped run through a couple bad endings and partway through one main happy ending (which I'll explain in the cons section)
-Gorgeous Art CGs and BGs. I also love how everything was designed to really make you feel like it was that era while playing.
-Intimate 18+ CGs all around for every route, which I loved, especially because it's hardly seen with a female MC like this. I hope a lot more game companies big or small start to put out more content like this in the future.
-LGBTQ+ route options (one route is poly oriented, and the other lesbian/GL)
-You have the option to pick between a few different skin tones. They incorporate what you pick into all of the game CGs which I found super cool. I think I'd love to have more functions like that from games in the future if at all possible.
CONS:
-Functionality on steamdeck isn't great, but it's doable. The layout for the game is WASD based, which doesn't work well with the steamdeck control layout. But I found that by changing the controller template away from the "Gamepad With Joystick Trackpad" (it's rec option) to "Keyboard (WASD) and Mouse," it's a whole lot better. With the original layout, you can barely use any of the touch screen & one button, making it a frustrating game-play. However, if you switch to the second one I used? You can use the touch screen completely, the mouse track pad, and the R2 button in place of A with almost no issues throughout the whole game (there are still certain buttons that don't work, and needing to find work arounds for).
-I do dislike not being able to skip through the end credits. I don't mind watching it through entirely once, but after each route ending it got a bit...frustrating, that I couldn't skip it back to the title screen.
-I disliked Dahlia's route and Will's was meh. Dahlia's started out okay, but the MC was really starting to annoy me. She was acting more spoiled, naive, rude, and extremely jealous in this route compared to the others, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
I basically started skimming her route right after I clicked the choice "Be honest" because I couldn't handle the MC any longer. Which is too bad, because Dahlia is gorgeous and sweet when you melt her ice cold walls.
As for Will's route...it just felt empty compared to everyone else's. It's not that it's bad like how I felt in Dahlia's route due to the MC's behavior, it's just there was less drama/intrigue driving his route forward like the other's had. It left it feeling more like a filler canon route for if the MC hadn't run away (she does) from an arranged marriage, leaving her to ironically fall in love with the guy they were considering for her anyways.
So yeah, his route felt meh, but that's okay. Not everyone will feel the same way, and to each their own in which ROs are liked the most! This is just my personal take. In the end, I don't really have any other cons, other than some ROs felt like they had less intimate CGs in their happy endings, and I would have liked to have seen more.
BUT I def recommend it, and am excited for the next one the devs are putting out and can't wait to play it. I loved this game, it's art the most, and hope you guys do too! I hope more games come out with content/art like this, we NEED IT XD.
Routes rated BEST to WORST for order play through in my opinion:
Silas (insert mind image of the Brooklyn 99 meme, but replace Arlo with Silas XD):
"I've only known Silas for a day and a half, but if anything happens to him or his precious animals, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself" lol, this meme, is literally his route in a nutshell for me, he's to be protected at all costs!
Then:
Maxim & Nika's (this route had me balling like a bby)
Milo (Milo's frustrating but worth it)
Vincent (Controlling Asshole, but hot, and maybe get's tragic back story points to explain his actions and why he does things the way he does)
Will (Sweet and frustrating "will they won't they" moments)
Dahlia (I feel bad for Dahlia having to put up with this type of MC)

Ok boys first things first: Vincent is the absolute worse.
With that out of my chest I ask you, interloper: What do you expect out of this game? Sure, It's horny, but even that is drowned between foot long nothing burgers.
I found myself, on multiple occasions, saying "Good god you're useless." To the protagonist, and sure, she's a 1920's girlie but that's no excuse, they glaze over enough gay in this story that a spine wouldn't compromise historical accuracy. The attempts to make her "fierce" come off as bratty and spoiled (which she is, no surprise there being rich and stuff). If you don't mind that then hey the art is fun! And horny! The novelty.
The endings resolve on the most whiplash inducing moments of genuine confusion.
Fucks girl once>decides she's the most precious gem on this mortal realm>Vincent does something batshit insane>profit?
I had an ok time reading the dialogue, very fanfic-y, with like sexy jazz in the background I guess.
Fun theme! I do enjoy the setting a lot. Too bad most of the CGS are naked people so there's not a lot of 1920 aesthetic past the sprites.
Some routes have more action than others, Bolshevik revolution am I right guys? But some others have me sigh and look forlornly at the window asking myself when someone's gonna get shot again or Vincent will, inevitably, suck another bag of dick's both literally and figuratively. God I hate him so much.
Let's see, so:
- Dahlia is the worst in almost every route, much like Vicent but he takes the psycho cake and fucks it too
- It's horny, if you're into that
- Bolshevik revolution had me high-key chuckle but not really because it was a real thing
- Silas. Just Silas, speculate as you will.
- Milo should sue
- The mom and dad characters are a joke, respectfully
- Art is fun, art is fine
- SEXY JAZZ
- Would give more points if Cora wasn't so freaking terrible
- PLEASE GOD GIVE THEM THERAPY
I give it 6/10 Bolsheviks.

A solid visual novel. The art style for the character models is nice and the idea of giving NPCs tiny old fashioned portraits is a smart idea to save on budget while still giving them something to represent themselves with. The backgrounds are all black and white static images that also look like they might be photos, while servicable they aren't all that impressive. The jazzy music that occasionally plays is nice, especially in the opening and closing credits (which is also where the only real animation occurs). For the plot, it's quite engaging, a real coming of age story for the protagonist with a nice selection of bachelors. It can be sweet or dark depending on your choices so it has tone to suit anyone's tastes. It doesn't do anything new with the gameplay format of a visual novel, it only has a half dozen choices so you'll spend 99% of the time just reading. But if you're okay with a solid story and dating some hunky men in a somewhat underused timeframe then this is the one for you.

I loved this game! There's so many good things about it - graphics are gorgeous, music is amazing (especially in the tragic end - I’m witnessing the most messed up stuff happening and still I’m vibing), side characters with realistic portraits and realistic backgrounds with filters are clever and cute, smut is written well enough. MC is a bratty rich girl and has her dumb moments, but she is also determined, confident and brave. And if you accept this game for what it is (smutty fun), the writing is great!

Some routes are better than others, but I enjoyed reading all of them. In order from mid to wow:

Will - his route is kinda boring innit? And the character himself is a bit…yuck. But his Speakeasy end is amazing.
Dahlia - she is a great character, but I’m a bit confused why she even likes MC. MC is extra bratty and cringe in this route, but not overly so. Dahlia’s tragic end is brutal.
Silas - he is a precious angel that I would kill and/or die for. His route is cute, but the happy ending is a bit boring imo. His speakeasy end feels kinda out of character and his tragic end broke my heart a little bit.
Max/Nika - my boys love tight clothes and I love them for it. The dynamic between the three of them is really fun and not awkward thank god. Their tragic end is dark as hell, but their happy end is truly the brightest timeline. Also, Maxim’s blushing face gives me a heart attack every time.
Milo - I often couldn’t focus on the plot, because I kept looking at him and not the text. He is just so hot. His route is really tense though and made me anxious more than a few times. Vincent is the worst in this route. Speakeasy end is the definition of toxic and the tragic end is . I love how confident MC is on the job and I love how Milo gets vulnerable with her and I love Milo. And god, is he hot…
Vincent - he is scary and a complete villain in other routes, so I was a bit worried about his route. But his route is just..chef’s kiss. It is adorable seeing this ruthless crim..businessman acting like a puppy in love. The tension between him and MC is real, the plot is perfectly angsty and the endings… Damn. His is the only route where we get CG for “bad” endings. The speakeasy end is TWISTED (but I loved it), his tragic end made me cry fr and his happy end also made me tear up, but like in a “I’m so happy for them” kinda way.


Overall, I really enjoyed myself. We don’t get many R18 otome with decent writing, so this game is a treat.

Surprisingly long story compared to what I was expecting--several hours and I got through to Vincent's "bad" ending quite fast, but I went back and I'm over 6 hours and still have not finished through Vincent's path yet.

The music is fantastic, background for the bar in the speakeasy has a cartoon sloth? which is very distracting, but kind of funny.
I absolutely cannot stand the lingerie/underwear. Modern undergarments in a 1920's inspired game? Jarring and the developer putting their name on it as a logo like it's Calvin Klein? Worse.
The dialogue is so good! Then comes the underwear and I'm like it was better with clothes on, just cut away and put in more cut-scene art.
You don't have a whole lot of time to get to know the characters and their preferences prior to choosing who you want to romance--I wish you got to learn a little more about each character first. Playing through Vincent's story, there are a lot of things I found out about other characters that may have made me more interested in those paths had I known them before choosing Vincent.

Like I said before, it is well written, albeit verbose at times.
Not many choices truly change the course of the story. Recommend saving at those points because it is not obvious when choices may force the story in a different direction.

Overall, compelling--feels like a novella--I wish the cut-scenes were actually like the videos they play at the beginning, but alas...