Finding Love and Chasing Dreams in Talents

Written by Devil Darling, Writer, Otome Enthusiast, Horror Lover

Published on January 16, 2025

Ok, let me set the scene. Imagine you’re stuck grinding away at a job you don’t love, but it pays the bills, so you stick with it. Yet, deep down, you have bigger aspirations—a passion for something more fulfilling.

For many, this scenario might sound all too familiar, as it is the life you might be living. But what if one day, an opportunity came along? A chance to put your real talents to work in the field you’ve always dreamed of? Would you take that leap, even if failure felt like a looming possibility?

Talents puts you in the shoes of someone faced with that exact situation, mixing in a cast of four romanceable characters, amazing visuals, stellar voice acting, and some interesting gameplay that breaks up the usual visual novel formula. After playing the demo, I can confidently say this game resonates on a personal level—and today, I’d love to share why.

Story and Characters

The story follows a team of talented individuals trying to start their own game development company. All of them are unemployed, and for some, this is their last shot at making something meaningful out of their skills. Having worked in indie game development myself, I found many of the story’s details relatable—like a point one character makes about how marketing needs to start early, not left until the last minute.

That said, you don’t need to be familiar with the industry to understand the struggles that come with chasing a dream while balancing financial pressure, teamwork challenges, and personal sacrifices.

Alice

In Talents, you’ll play as Alice Rodriguez (though you can pick her name yourself if you don’t fancy ‘Alice’), an aspiring writer with dreams of creating her own otome video game. By day, she works at a call center; by night, she pours her heart into her novel series. While content with her current routine, Alice has always yearned for something more. Her life changes when she reconnects with Kris, an old childhood friend, who offers her a chance to turn that dream into reality.

Kris

Kris, Alice’s childhood friend, is a former game producer at a major Triple-A company. After running into Alice by chance, he invites her to co-found a startup with him and three others. Kris is the definition of reliability, acting as the glue that holds the team together. He’s a natural leader, managing conflicts, setting clear goals, and keeping everyone focused. He’s someone I can completely believe was a top producer.

Souma

Souma is one half of a twin duo Kris brought on board. He’s brash, rude, and quick to escalate arguments, often clashing with others when things don’t go his way. But underneath his fiery demeanor lies a deep passion for the project, and he wants to ensure everyone is just as serious about the startup as he is. Souma handles music and sound production, putting that passion of his into every note.

Sousuke

In contrast to his brother, Sousuke is calm, reserved, and polite. He often steps in to diffuse Souma’s outbursts, acting as a steadying force on the team. Sousuke is the head programmer, having already developed a few indie games on his own. His technical expertise is impressive, but far from his only talent, as we first see him participating in an Esporting event.

Harry

Unlike Alice and the twins, He was specifically recruited for his incredible art skills and portfolio. His carefree and flirtatious nature sparks tension, particularly with Souma, who questions Harry’s dedication. Despite this, Harry delivers when it counts, proving himself to be a valuable member of the team.

Gameplay, Visuals, and Voice Acting

Many visual novels feature some type of mini-game and the one in Talents ties perfectly into the story’s premise. When Alice is writing for her stories, you get to do a word association game. The better you do, the more a bar on the right fills up, and that bar determines some very important outcomes. It’s a fun way to break up traditional visual novel gameplay.

While otome games don’t need voice acting to make the characters feel real, I can’t help but gush every time I do get to hear them speak. And VAs in Talents do an amazing job. Conversations feel real, arguments feel intense, and they all feel so alive. While only the prologue will feature full voice acting, the rest of the game will still have partial voice acting.

The character art looks great as well. It’s an anime style quite similar to many other otome games, so it does give off a familiar feel. There’s also this amazing 2D animation that plays during the intro for a few seconds, featuring the main cast.

Get Ready for Talents

I’ve probably gushed enough about Talents for now, but it’s hard not to when a game hits so close to home. It was a very engaging experience, especially once the whole cast assembled and you faced your first big challenge together.

You can try the free demo now on Itch.io or Steam to get a taste of what’s to come and don’t forget to wishlist the full release. Follow Izumi Games on social media for the latest updates and sneak peeks.