Otaku’s Adventure First Impressions: Nerd Alert!

Anyone who’s been a gamer for very long has probably at least flirted with the life of an otaku. Just in case you’ve never heard of the term before, otaku is a Japanese word referring to a certain subset of hardcore fans who are obsessed with video games, anime, manga, and other nerdy activities. For the true otaku, these aren’t just hobbies; they’re all-consuming fixations that eclipse family, friendships, relationships, jobs, and anything else that might constitute a healthy, full life.

Remember the last time you started playing a new game you loved and got so into it that you stayed up way too late and had to spend the next day giving embarrassed non-answers about why you were so tired? An otaku takes that kind of passion toward their interests and multiplies it by a million. So who wouldn’t want to step into the shoes of one of these social outcasts?

Enter Otaku’s Adventure. This tongue-in-cheek adventure title places you in the role of a lonely dork who has decided enough is enough; it’s time to finally get a girlfriend. The game begins with the main character (with a player-given name) waking up on the day when he is set to meet with Mei, a young woman he’s been talking to online. Could this finally be his chance for true love?

Of course things are never that easy for an otaku. Before he can even leave the house, the protagonist must solve a few easy puzzles, such as replacing the batteries in his air conditioner remote controller and finding his wallet, and complete a few minigames, including shaving and, uh, perfecting his aim...at the toilet. Ahem.

The puzzles featured in the Otaku’s Adventure demo weren’t particularly challenging, but I enjoyed clicking around the handful of environments and seeing how the emotionally stunted main character commented on things. The game employs a colorful manga-inspired art style that’s effective at making otherwise bland locations like a living room or a small diner pop out and feel a little more interesting to explore. Exploring thoroughly comes with some rewards too; the game has hidden collectibles in the forms of pieces of the protagonist’s busted Gundam action figure that can only be put back together if you find them all.

If it wasn’t obvious, Otaku’s Adventure doesn’t take itself overly seriously, and it isn’t above some, well, potty humor. This serves the subject matter well; as much as I may slip into otaku tendencies from time to time, I don’t necessarily think it’s a very balanced way to live, and this game doesn’t try to paint it that way. If anything, the hero’s bumbling naivete becomes a major source of humor as the story progresses.

That story can branch out based off your decisions as well, although the short demo currently available doesn’t really show that off very well. In this demo, I was only given a few tiny choices—whether to take a bus or the subway to the date, what food to order, and such—and reloading to pick a different option didn’t really change much, except in one case. 

The final choice the demo presents can either lead to a “successful” end of the demo or it can lead to a very funny death sequence. If the gallery option on the game’s main menu is anything to judge by, Otaku’s Adventure will feature over forty possible endings, most of which I assume will showcase similarly over-the-top failures from the main character. I can already see myself saving and reloading regularly just to see if going down a different path might lead to an absurd and entertaining new ending.

The good news is that I won’t have to wait too much longer to try to find all of those endings. Otaku’s Adventure is set to release on May 17. In the meantime, you can check out the thirty minute demo for yourself right here on TapTap.