⏾ Game Log: Dialovers HDB + MB
Jan. 2nd, 2026 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
visualjyushiFinally got around to playing some of these games this past week! I went into them blind to the game mechanics and any specific scenes that weren't animated (which I'm sure there's several of them). But, I did watch the anime and engage with the fandom as a teenager, so I was already quite familiar with the characters themselves. My thoughts, and potential spoilers, are under the cut.
Haunted Dark Bridal:
I won't lie... I only really care about the Mukamis, but I figured I should at least play one route in the first game. I was unaware that half of the Sakamaki routes are actually locked at first, leaving you to choose between Ayato, Laito, and Kanato when you start the game. This made me kind of sad since I wanted to choose between Shu or Subaru lmao. I chose Ayato's route since Laito and Kanato's personalities aren't really my thing.
I was surprised to find that the story doesn't read like the common visual novel, where you might follow a play by play of each day as the MC. Each "chapter" has a prologue, ten subsections, and an epilogue. The subsections are where you make choices as Yui that affect her relationship with your guy of choice. They kinda feel like random slice of life scenes featuring Yui/chosen Sakamaki with sudden bursts of lore here and there. Mostly because there's no consistent indication as to whether there's a time skip between each scene or they're actually occurring within the same day. Yui goes to school with the Sakamakis, so you can sometimes guess when it's a different day but it's not always clear otherwise. Not that it's a bad thing really, but I found it interesting that the relationship development is laid out this way!
There were some moments with Ayato where I was like "okay, that's kind of cute," like when Yui asks him what his favorite food is... he says takoyaki. Then, he proceeds to act like a spoiled baby by demanding that Yui only make them for him and not his brothers. Which, I guess is supposed to be him acting controlling again but it's just funny. 😭
I was getting quite bored though since I'm not that interested in Ayato, so I stopped in the middle of his route to start More,Blood. I just miss Azusa, man. I couldn't wait to see him any longer!!
More,Blood:
This game basically starts with the Mukamis fucking totalling the Sakamakis' limousine, which is hilarious. I didn't get too far into the story yet, but I saw that—once again—you have to do a Sakamaki route first! I was cockblocked a second time... But, the silver lining is that all of the Sakamaki routes are available to choose from immediately.
I chose Subaru and paused there, so I'll see what his route is like sometime soon. I'm just so interested in him because of how angry he is all the time lol. I also have a thing for white and blonde anime guys, for whatever reason. It does seem like it's implied that the first game's plot events transpire without Yui having picked a Sakamaki to suck her blood. So, I probably could just go through this one and go back to HDB if I end up really wanting to.
And, I honestly might at this point because I've quite literally been wanting to play Azusa's routes for forever!!! I also love Yuma and want to get to his, too...
Haunted Dark Bridal:
I won't lie... I only really care about the Mukamis, but I figured I should at least play one route in the first game. I was unaware that half of the Sakamaki routes are actually locked at first, leaving you to choose between Ayato, Laito, and Kanato when you start the game. This made me kind of sad since I wanted to choose between Shu or Subaru lmao. I chose Ayato's route since Laito and Kanato's personalities aren't really my thing.
I was surprised to find that the story doesn't read like the common visual novel, where you might follow a play by play of each day as the MC. Each "chapter" has a prologue, ten subsections, and an epilogue. The subsections are where you make choices as Yui that affect her relationship with your guy of choice. They kinda feel like random slice of life scenes featuring Yui/chosen Sakamaki with sudden bursts of lore here and there. Mostly because there's no consistent indication as to whether there's a time skip between each scene or they're actually occurring within the same day. Yui goes to school with the Sakamakis, so you can sometimes guess when it's a different day but it's not always clear otherwise. Not that it's a bad thing really, but I found it interesting that the relationship development is laid out this way!
There were some moments with Ayato where I was like "okay, that's kind of cute," like when Yui asks him what his favorite food is... he says takoyaki. Then, he proceeds to act like a spoiled baby by demanding that Yui only make them for him and not his brothers. Which, I guess is supposed to be him acting controlling again but it's just funny. 😭
I was getting quite bored though since I'm not that interested in Ayato, so I stopped in the middle of his route to start More,Blood. I just miss Azusa, man. I couldn't wait to see him any longer!!
More,Blood:
This game basically starts with the Mukamis fucking totalling the Sakamakis' limousine, which is hilarious. I didn't get too far into the story yet, but I saw that—once again—you have to do a Sakamaki route first! I was cockblocked a second time... But, the silver lining is that all of the Sakamaki routes are available to choose from immediately.
I chose Subaru and paused there, so I'll see what his route is like sometime soon. I'm just so interested in him because of how angry he is all the time lol. I also have a thing for white and blonde anime guys, for whatever reason. It does seem like it's implied that the first game's plot events transpire without Yui having picked a Sakamaki to suck her blood. So, I probably could just go through this one and go back to HDB if I end up really wanting to.
And, I honestly might at this point because I've quite literally been wanting to play Azusa's routes for forever!!! I also love Yuma and want to get to his, too...
