Prologue

I promised myself this would be the last time. I said the same last time, and the time before that, and the one before, but I can’t stop. Not now.

This must be the seventh time this day that I’ve played through “Silver City Angel” (or SCA for short). SCA is an otome game set in a futuristic world, where technology has advanced to the point that almost every medical issue can be cured. However, as medical treatments improved, so did human enhancements. Humans with illegal augmentations, or “auggies”, run rampant in Silver City. Our protagonist Marina Hayes, a young officer, finds herself the prime suspect in the disappearance of her partner. She suspects foul play from an auggie group called The Untamed, and has to work with the love interests to find out what happened to her missing partner, and who is the real culprit.

The game is good, yeah, but I wouldn’t be playing it so much were it not for the latest news out of the fandom. A few days ago, a rumor spread throughout the official forums of Silver City Angel. Allegedly, a former developer of the game made a post mentioning how unusual it was that no one had found the “secret route” with the “secret love interest,” even after a year had passed since the game’s release date. I say “allegedly” because the post appears to have disappeared since then. Only screenshots and hearsay remain of the legendary post, who’s to say it was even real in the first place?

However, otome fans all around the internet took this rumor and ran with it. If this route really existed, they would move heaven and earth to find it. Many of them hoped that their favorite non-romanceable character would be the one in the secret route, and with a motivation like that, there’s nothing that can stop an otaku. My friend Mona, one such crazy fan, pulled me into the search. Overall, it’s been a good experience! I’m enjoying the sense of community, and the excitement of possibly being the one to find the secret route, but this game… This darn game…

To say I “like” or “dislike” SCA would be too simplistic. I have played it so many times that I somehow feel like I know this world and its characters well, but the more I play it, the more bitter I grow towards its failings. The setting has so much potential; the writers created such a wonderful world, with gorgeous character designs, and yet… The protagonist is too bland! The love interests try to act cool, and they say they love her, all while hiding information that could help her clear her name! And perhaps worst of all, the endings suck!! She never finds out what happens to her partner in any ending; she just escapes alongside her lover in some endings, ends up in jail in some of the bad endings, and even dies in some of the worst ones! Maybe this is why everyone is so desperate to find a new route, because the game just feels so… Incomplete.

I stopped playing because I actually felt bad for the protagonist. I just can’t think of the love interests the same after playing so much, after knowing they conceal important information from her while telling themselves it's for her sake, all while actually harming her chances… But Marina doesn’t know that, does she? I restart the game, and she’s back to square one. I only know these things because I’m a player who can see all the routes, choose every option…

And still I haven’t found the secret route. I’m caught in a vicious cycle. A cycle where I play through this infuriating otome for hours on end.

Stage one: I start the game with optimism, thinking that this will be the time I finally find it. Stage two: I choose a combination of options I haven’t chosen before, hopeful that those will unlock a new path. Stage three: I keep reading through text I already read, and panic starts to set in. Fourth stage: I skip through dialogue frantically, just hoping to reach the end. Stage five: The End. Yet again, I find myself at an ending I’ve already experienced.

This game has kept me in its clutches for way too long, but I just can’t drop it… I also have a favorite non-romanceable character that I hope is the one! If it were him, I would be so happy… Can you imagine? I would be the first one… The first… Yes…

It happens slowly. My body slouches while I play. My eyelids grow heavier with each option chosen, with each dialogue read. The last thing I remember before falling asleep is the game’s dialogue box. On the screen, my favorite character is saying something to Marina. I remember it clearly because it’s an important moment in the game, the last time the player talks to him. He tells her:

“Take care, Marina. I’ll see you soon”.