This emotional and immersive visual novel "game" is a must-play for fans of the original.
First off: If you are looking to buy Hate Plus, be sure you have bought and played (to completion) the original, "Analogue: A Hate Story" first. This is a direct sequel, and there is little-to-no context for players being first introduced to this storyline.
And that is the entirety of Hate Plus- text-based story. Like it's prequel, Hate Plus is a visual novel, and only a "game" in the sense that you can interact with a UI, reading through various political minutes, transcribed conversations, and diary recordings of various characters.
Returning to the past of the doomed colony ship, Mugunghwa, Hate Plus tells the (previously) untold story of how an isolated, futuristic, sci-fi-esque civilization regressed into a neo-confucious, pseudo-feudalistic society, where nobles lord over uneducated peasants and women are married off between families for diplomacy.
It is MUCH better to experience this all personally, and, (akin to my review of the prequel), saying much of anything wanders into spoiler territory. That, and like I've learned while trying to explain this game to my friends, any blunt declarations of story do not do it one ounce of justice. It's one thing to hear about two people in a relationship, it's another to view their thoughts and letters to each other, to witness to blossoming and conclusion to a love story.
Hate Plus is not for everyone, but I, myself, would not consider myself an avid reader, at least not of fiction, and even I was able to be massively drawn into this imaginative world of relationships, conspiracy, and intrigue. Nearly everything is tied together, intricately and beautifully. It is also HIGHLY emotional. It says a lot that simple text can make my heart beat faster, or swallow in anticipation of the next paragraph. And yes, I realize how cheesy that might sound. (And I consider myself quite stoic!)
The music, by Isaac Schankler, infinitely amplifies the experience with hauntingly beautiful tracks that create the perfect ambiance to the story.
In conclusion, this non-game is hard to review on a gaming website, but since it's here, take my word for it, experience this world!
(And more than that, support it. I want to see more from Christine Love.)
Some Cons:
- The game literally makes you wait 12 hours between "chapters". I give Christine Love props for trying something interesting and cute, I can see what she was going for- immersion. But, (without knowing this was coming) I saved my game about 4 minutes before a "day" ended, so, when I booted it back up the next day, after work, bam- "literally wait 12 hours to continue." Maybe you can move your Windows clock 12 hours ahead to cheat this, I don't know.
- A new inclusion to the game are portraits of in-game characters, adding some much-appreciated visual context. However, the art style difference between these and the game's title/AI artwork is a little jarring. I had always assumed this was an anime/manga-esque world, but the portraits are photo-realistic. Not the biggest deal, but it did waver my mental image of the Mugunghwa's setting and inhabitants.
- Slight disappointment with the conclusion between the main character "you", and your AI partner. This was never meant to be a dating game, but the relationship seemed to have been a distant and occasional side-plot, I personally never got the feeling of "aww" bonding that I felt in the "Analogue: A Hate Story." (Particularly the ending.)
What made this more disappointing was that I felt it was building up to something, what with your place of business demanding to take possession of your AI sidekick as part of your contract.