My Silk Press Brings All The Boys to the Yard: Hanging out with the LaDs

You thought this was gonna be something different but haha, sucker! I loved the original title so much I had to keep it.

Welcome back to Some Sorta Recap, where I am not tired of this bit and I am determined to hit rock bottom and begin digging! Viva la cornball!

And in reference to the song, my milkshake is open source and the code is on Codeburg. Have at it! Today's rantsona, is... a milkshake.

Really, It Required Expansion

IHAGTOHA, p1 (or something like that) briefly touched upon the games that hang out on my phone:

[They] don't demand much brainpower. For my immersive, capital-g Gaming, I have the Switch for that. ... [Cookie Clicker] is the only game that has stuck around.

For mobile, I look for a game that's low-key– something to keep my hands busy when I'm waiting around. Ideally, an idle game where I can forget it for long periods of time then log in, make numbers go up, and forget about it again. Sometimes, that'll include gacha games until I'm frustrated by paywalls or the story gets in the way of my Numbers Going Up.

Unless, apparently, it's Love and Deepspace.

I forget the exact reason why I decided to grab this one (and install it on a partner's phone when I was absolutely toasted), but it was probably combination of

• curiosity
• recommendation ("it's actually good")
• pretty lads, why the hell not?

The Motherfuckin' LaD(s)

How do I even start this? I installed it, it took forever to get it updated, and I clicked "START." I went through the obligatory scene setting and... well.

(Disclaimer: Hey actually, I was intrigued enough to go ahead and read all the pages on TVTropes. Yeah, I spoiler'd myself for this game. It may have been fun to come across it naturally, but I wanted to know how accurate I was with my guesses. So those were my first impressions.)

Eepy Bean: Xavier

"I wanted to give you the biggest bread."

I Like: that he is a sweetie
But I Hate: this is impossible; he's a perfect cinnamon roll

Resident sleepy weirdo and is my go-to Ass Kicking combat buddy (especially after winning the Melodramatic Grimdark King companion). I had pegged him as either a Ripped Vans, Wrinkled or way, way older than he looked. Is also a really sweet guy. Looks like Hope Estheim so he's easily my favorite.

Obligatory Virgo: Zayne

"Are you done watching the snow? We should head back in if you are. You're going to freeze at this rate."

I Like: the positive Virgo traits that I also have
But I Hate: the negative Virgo traits that I also have

With ice powers, because of course. Three guesses how his personality is. But also childhood friend (?) and for some reason is also my doctor and I hope not my urogynecologist; that may be a conflict of interest and he'll know too much.

Sea Darling: Rayfael

"Some fishies speak in Glubglubnese and others in Popoposh. I've seen them talk in Blubblubblub, too."

I Like: the endearing artsy way he does things
But I Hate: that I can't out-weird him

Your resident Cloudcuckoolander artist where I suspected that he was a merperson of some sort. Says weirdo shit, like "the dolphins are out on dates," "sea turtles up in them trees," and fuckin' "smell ya later." Also has the most dangerous audio dramas to listen to with one earbud in public; one particular one had me absolutely panicking when I began hearing... intense... kissy noises... and was that a freakin' zipper unzipping!?

mEaNBY: Sylus

"Don't go home and sleep. Drive around the city with me tonight."

I Like: his pet mechanical crow
But I Hate: that bad boy shit

Your Designated Bad Boy (don't worry; he does have Hidden Depths), but this is a romance game so there's some Enemies to Lovers nonsense at the least. He's the Karen to my Jack so we're mean enbies– meanbies, if you will. Because of course he's growing on me after my initial hate; I'm not above this sort of thing and neither am I immune. He'd be my date to Goth Prom before he could say "Bad news, it's gonna be another sunny day tomorrow."

aplbtm binch: Caleb

"Is this a delayed revenge? Let me guess... it's because your defeat ended with a splash at the beach the other day."

I Like: the sibling smartassery
But I Hate: everything else

The Sib from Another Crib who irritates me, as an overprotective elder brother type does. But I know he'll probably grow on me too because once again, these people know how to weave a story. And he's a fucking nerd, looking at plane diaphragms and shit. I bet he's got Gundam models too.

All Together Now

Well, actually... they don't interact with each other. At all. It's really weird that they're all up on my (in-game) social media posts, sometimes on the same post, but they don't talk to each other.

I can only suspend my disbelief so much. How the fuck am I seeing Five Guys (Burgers and Fries) and not informing them that I'm doing so!? How is my character not having a movie night with everyone over, friends and lovers alike? How are Caleb and Zayne not beefin' and why would it end in a draw?

I know what idea is going in the fanfiction folder.

I know, I know; non-monogamy isn't popular. But I was wondering if they were going to have a "date-a-buncha-people-hilarity-ensures" or just have each character be self-contained. It's the latter, and that's alright. You don't need to choose one for all the seasonal events; everyone goes to the island and raises a little birdy with you!

It's All About Me

As the post title implies, there is a lack of curly hair. This game is originally Chinese, so I wasn't exactly surprised at the lack of afro-textures. There are a few "photo booth" modes where you have a lot more styles and colors, and I do wish there was more variety for the default/base model.

There's a little mystery around the Main Character ("MC"), which is your self-insert. Yeah yeah, there's all the tropes and if you're into any sort of romance, you can see some twists coming a mile away. But as you interact with each love interest, you get different pieces and perspectives of said story. And that, I believe, is very cool.

Mechanics and So Forth

These Memories that you collect come in different ranks. The higher ones include "dates," stories where you interact or just hear the characters talk. Due to the bits where things are more audio drama, I was able to get away with just listening during story chapters (and be scared out of my wits when I hear a giant explosion out of freakin' nowhere).

But the visual novel portions of things were not too bad, either. Engaging and whatnot. And, fun fact, they apparently used some mocap so the LaDs move about pretty convincingly.

When You Just Want to Fight Shit

I only resort to the battle stuff when I'm low on shiny objects that make numbers go up and I refuse to spend any money to get more shiny things. But it's totally different if I beat up glowing dragons and win them that way. The only thing I'm spending is my time.

Gameplay is what it is: action-based, get cool specials depending on your partner. It gets the job done, and like most games there's an Auto feature where you just poke the "Next" button. I do have one complaint: the voice quips in-battle is way too damn much. If I'm grinding a bunch, I gotta turn the voices off or mute the game entirely.

Before you get into battle, you choose one of the men as your companion and set up Memories to strengthen your party. If you get lucky and won a "pair" of memories, you get a special companion type with special exclusive outfits and weaponry. You, meanwhile, can pick out your weapon and (if you have it, ie paid or won it) your battle clothes.

So, naturally, if you're not careful– before you know it...

They Gacha Money

So the whole gacha thing kinda sucks on principle, yeah? It's why I never got into Genshin Impact or Honkai Star Rail, and ultimately dropped AFK Journey when Numbers Going Up wasn't enough to keep me interested (I also spent way too much money chasing that NGU High).

I've been warned of the level grind from levels 60 and up, and hopefully I can hold strong against the urge to throw 0.99 cents, $2, $5, or $10 at the game (and those dollars add up). For the moment, I am content with earning rewards by doing tasks: in-game currencies and tickets without spending real money.

I'm proud to announce that I held firm during their summer event, where the Memories you could win were them in lil swimshorts– I didn't spend a dime at the chance for that eyecandy. Giggle. So...

Yup! It's Still Installed!

Fortunately, the otome of it all keeps the gacha stuff from being too annoying. That is where the game excels, frankly.

Lack of the Eight Deadly Words

I found myself giving a shit about the characters, actually. The more I interact with the LaDs, the more curious I grew: "what the fuck is your damage, actually?!" The answers were mostly "aww" before I'm overheard and my street cred is in shambles. Then, when something happens that is boneheadedly stupid as hell I want to punch them like Lightning Farron. I feel emotions for these fictional doofuses.

Numbers Do Go Up

I love playing the little minigames when I'm waiting in line, getting the little trinkets and going into the little exchange store to trade that stuff for more stuff, then beating up monsters for more stuff, and the little reward ping when you listen to stuff, and all sorts of stuff that tickles my brain in a happy way.

And that cat game. That fucking cat game. If that is ever a stand-alone game I will play that until I am dead.

Which brings us to...

Variety

When I said that there was something for everyone here, I really meant it:

• reading material: stories, game encyclopedia, notes, more stories
• audio: snippets from their lives, story beats, extra files you can earn
• visual novel
• minigames
  • seasonal stuff
  • card game
  • claw machine
• just fighting shit, and there are like, 5 modes
• interior decoration
• dressup doll stuff
• character interaction
  • immersive (?) gameplay where they can send reminders, interact on Linkon!Social Media, send texts and even voice/video call you (in-game)
  • companion thing where they can "body double" while you do something else, even sleeping
  • they'll "give input" or "listen" (nowhere near ChatGPT levels; you'll need to use choices the game offers, but I'm still counting it)
  • birthdays :) 🎂🎊🎉🥳

Presentation

Y'all, this game looks good. And I'm not (just) saying that because the guys are varying degrees of hot. The dev team has done their work with MoCap, not to mention crafting all of these different things together. It doesn't feel chaotic.

Also, scroll back up and look at this hands. They didn't hafta do all that. The detail, my good bitch. That's what keeps impressing me.

It's Sci-Fi

...yeah. There's like, scifi stuff going on. I'm a hunter with magic (science) abilities, the society is technologically advanced, grandma was some sort of science nerd, stuff like that. There's even orbs! Can't say I'm complicated, huh?

There's Also Hot Guys In There

There's worse games to idle with while you're fighting with the DMV; hush. And it's not all fanservice! And even if it was? As long as there's a photo opp minigame or whatever I'll be there.

Final Thoughts

We know why we're really here, you nosy perverts. It's time to overshare!

That One Game

• Bed: Rayfael, his VA got me... uh, I... nevermind I am not using that word I just looked up just now.
• Wed: Zayne or Xavier, and with me being all anti-marriage I'll settle for Accomplice.
• Behead: Caleb and Sylus; I'll just have them fight each other , JockPrep vs. Goth style, and I'll kill the winner by dropping a piano on him.

Not-Rating

Introducing Zayne to My Mom / 5

I'm dead serious; you can have the LaDs introduce themselves to friends or family. I about fucking died. Of course I watched them all by now, and of course Zayne's my favorite because it is so dry and detailed and very uncomfortable.

Okay, so in-game it's as if they're merely rehearsing in front of you, but c'mon. I got so many people with this feature already and it is so fucking funny. It's just so much, and you know what? Another example of the detail they brought into this game. That is some serious dedication for a "mere" gacha game. Or maybe I need to broaden my horizons and just play more otome stuff.

I fucking love it.