Time and Love: The Retrospection of Tomorrow
In this episode, we sat down with Cherish Fan—the solo developer behind The Retrospection of Tomorrow, a time-traveling otome visual novel full of mystery, emotion, and branching possibilities. With a unique blend of sci-fi mechanics, dark narrative themes, and romance, this game has captured the attention of visual novel fans across the world. We talked about inspirations, character design, writing challenges, and what’s to come in the full release.
In this article
Backstory and inspiration of The Retrospection of Tomorrow
Cherish Fan: Hi everyone, I’m Cherish. I am the programmer, artist and writer for the game. The project’s, like the first idea of the project actually came up when I was in high school, but it was a very different story back then. It was basically a very classic dating sim. And then I went to university, I got too busy. By the end of university, I started reworking on the game and then that’s when the current story came to life and I have been working on it since then and that’s what you see.
Cherish Fan: Okay, I’m not sure if my inspiration actually is watched, but there are two main inspirations from the game. I am a big fan of time travel concept. The two main inspirations, one is Steins;Gate, which is a very, very famous time travel Japanese anime and visual novel. Love it. Yeah, it is. It’s canon. It’s canon.
Another one is a Netflix series called Dark. I think it’s a German series. It’s also about time travel, but it’s much more complex than Steins;Gate because it involves much longer time frames and also multiverse and things.
Cherish Fan: Yes, so first of all, I want to say that the story is built on a non-linear storytelling structure. That’s why in the brief you can see that the Faye, like the MC, sees Leon shoot himself and then is back to her memories from the past. That’s a way I tell the story—like experiencing something in the present and then also trying to connect what happened in the past.
So it’s like a jump back and forth, and in the end, you’ll find evidence to connect everything.
So the brief of the story in simple terms is: you are going to play as Fay, a normal girl. And then you grow up with her from a teenager to adult, and you experience all the weird things happening in her life.
You start to realize you have a time machine in your old bedroom, and you start to use the time machine to change things, and then there are consequences. While dealing with those consequences, more dark secrets emerge throughout the whole process.
Cherish Fan: So for the first question, time travel plus otome is basically my two favorite genres. That’s why I blend them. I love time travel. I was like a big fan of it when I first watched Interstellar from like the movie by Nolan.
And then otome is—I am a big otome player. I think it’s an interesting game form that firstly, it’s not hard to make like as a game. Second is you can explore different love interests and have different kind of story type in each route. I think that’s fascinating.
I think there are two things that are interesting. Firstly is why I think of visual novels or just general time. When you do the save and load it’s kind of like a time travel. You go back to that point and you make different decisions. I think that’s one of the interesting connections between those two parts.
Second is sci-fi mechanics with emotional core of the story. I think in a story, the moment emotional core is revealed is usually in very extreme circumstances—like you’re facing a fight or flight choice, or it’s a love or death choice. I think sci-fi mechanics can bring that circumstance to life in very different ways. Especially when you’re considering your time loop or time travel, you are making a decision that you learn from the error of your past, but then there might be more consequences come from it and then it creates a really nice plot twist. There are so many possibilities to make from this mechanic.
Cherish Fan: Okay, that’s an interesting question. I think I firstly designed the story as a campus love story—that you have your childhood friend and then there’s a transfer student. You have your very nice high school time together, you go to university and the university is together, and then there are weird things happening and your life is ruined. Things like that.
While trying to balance the campus life and time loops, I think the main point is to show how do you maintain trying to live your life and maintain a normal lifestyle while you have the ability to travel in time while others are not aware of it. I think that’s an interesting aspect and that’s why I kind of set it that way. Also, I think just based on the time and the age of the characters, they need to be on campus. I think it’s an interesting combination—like you’re having a double life basically.
Cherish Fan: Yes, that’s like the main course—the main thing—of her character development. I think there are two parts. Firstly, it’s interesting to investigate when you are experiencing the same event again and again, but then every time you have more experience, so you have different decisions and different thoughts about it. So it’s interesting to look at her change in thoughts when facing the same scenario throughout the time.
Second, I think character development is trying to find herself, to understand what she really wants through those time-reset experiences and try to actually make a decision that is effective. Yeah, so I think it’s a combination instead of a balance—because her inner driver is the main key that makes her do all the actions. So yeah.
Cherish Fan: Yeah, instead of otome, I think this is more a very story-heavy visual novel. So instead of just dating the boys—I mean, that’s one of the main parts of the story—you can also experience her frustration and her loss through the gameplay.
I think that’s the part where you can really resonate with Fay and step in her shoes to understand why she feels that way and where her determination comes from. Especially when you see, for example, your loved ones are dead and two days ago you were dating. So that kind of emotional driver is the key to make the player resonate with her.
Yeah, so how players will feel is definitely an emotional roller coaster. I heard this a lot from my players. There’s a lot of love, there are a lot of cute moments. Also, there’s a lot of blood and death and desperation. So it’s a very mixed feeling regionally. I hope it will bring this kind of mixed feeling—because it’s just like our life, you know? You have high points and low points and so much emotion going on, but you have to move on. That’s what I want to bring.
Love Interests in The Retrospection of Tomorrow
Cherish Fan: That’s a very otome question! So I think a lot of players say this is a very dark game, and it’s a very complex game, but in the end it is still a very classic otome at the core. So when I try to design the love interest, I still follow the route archetype for each of them. So Hendrix is the flirty, very passionate one. Edmund is the quiet, tsundere, soft-spoken type. Leon is like the cool, perfect student type. Noah is the baby boy, cinnamon roll, very sweet and also very emotional.
And then while keeping their personalities within the archetype, I also want them to have a lot of differences in the story and gameplay. So in each of their routes, you actually uncover different parts of the story. And also the mechanism is a bit different. For example, Hendrix’s route is more normal otome. Like you fall in love with him, and then you experience life with him. But Leon’s route is like full-on thriller. You are trying to survive with him. Noah is more emotional. You actually go through a very long period of time with him. Edmund is more about like family and social pressure. So I try to blend the archetype with the character background and narrative structure. So when you play the routes, it’s like you’re playing four different games in one.
Cherish Fan: Yes. I think some of the players are not very happy when they hear this, but yes. You need to finish all four of them to unlock the final route, and in the final route you have a chance to like reset the world. That’s how it works. So in each route you will unlock new information and also experience different timelines and then you connect them and you make your own conclusion about the whole story. I think I tried to make it so that every time you finish a route you feel like, “Oh I know everything now,” and then you play the next one and you’re like, “Wait a minute.”
Cherish Fan: That’s a great question! For Hendrix, I really liked writing his banter scenes. He’s the kind of guy who makes you laugh even when things go to hell. There’s a scene in the hospital where he’s trying to flirt while totally injured, and it’s like—why are you like this? But it’s funny.
For Noah, there’s a part where you have this long quiet moment together and you just know something terrible is coming. I won’t spoil it, but that silence hit hard.
With Edmund, I enjoyed writing the family confrontation. It’s so intense but grounded. He really tries to do the right thing, and you feel the pressure he’s under.
And Leon... I mean, his whole route is just insane. But the scene where he breaks down? That one was tough to write. It’s when you see that the perfect guy is really, really not okay.
Development The Retrospection of Tomorrow
Cherish Fan: Thank you! I’m the only artist on the team so I have to do everything myself. That’s why I’m not doing full animation or crazy dynamic shots, but I try to capture feelings. Every CG needs to communicate a change—something important.
I sketch a lot of versions before deciding. And I pick moments that are visually emotional, like someone reaching for another person’s hand, or someone walking away. Those small gestures say a lot. I also use lighting to reflect the mood—so warm light when things are hopeful, cold when it’s tragic or tense.
Honestly, I cry while drawing sometimes. That’s when I know it’s working.
Cherish Fan: Yes, each route will have two main endings—a good ending and a tragic one. Some of them might also have a third hidden ending. The final route only unlocks once you’ve finished the other four. It’s like the “true” route that explains what’s going on behind the scenes. That’s where everything comes together.
Cherish Fan: Yes! The game is already on Steam and you can wishlist it there. The full version will hopefully be released in 2025. I’m working hard to make sure it’s polished and worth the wait. There will be more CGs, more voiced lines, more choices. I don’t want to rush it because this is my dream project. It’s just me, so it takes time—but I promise it’s coming.
Cherish Fan: I think the main message is that life is complicated and there are no perfect choices. You’ll mess up. You’ll want to go back. But you have to move forward and keep trying. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts. That’s what Fay does.
And I hope people feel that—like, “Wow, that was hard. But I understand her. And maybe I understand myself a little more too.”
Before You Go…Download the Demo
The Retrospection of Tomorrow is shaping up to be one of the most emotionally gripping otome games out there—balancing intense personal drama, sci-fi storytelling, and unforgettable romance. If you’re ready for time loops, tough choices, and deep love stories, this is one to watch.
You can download the demo here and wishlist the full game on Steam. Supporting indie devs like Cherish means more stories like this get told—with all the heart, passion, and tears they deserve.
Thanks for reading—and as always: stay curious, stay brave, and don’t be afraid to look back… just don’t stay there too long.
You may also like this
Love and Deepspace New Promise May 6 Jul 3 – Event Guide
Love and Deepspace New Promise is here, and it’s packed with exciting new content you won’t want to miss! From stunning 4-Star Memories of Rafayel...
Love and Deepspace: How to Get Myth Shards
In Love and Deepspace, Myth Shards are your key to unlocking the deeper layers of each love interest’s story. These Myth storylines are rich, multi-chapter...
Sacrifice Maneuver: The Best Sci-Fi Story You Need to Experience!
We’re so thrilled to bring you a peek behind the scenes of Sacrifice Maneuver! In this exclusive interview, we talked with the talented team at...
