Love Starts Again Review

The beginning takes a similar approach to Hello Love: 18 Again. You are working late in a soulless corporate job and pass out, only to be transported back in time five years to your university days. Initially you save an unknown woman from a delinquent (unlike in your past) and start to change other small things which brings six women closer to you.

The game is structured well; each chapter features a primary love interest, but there are plenty of scenes with the others, along with group encounters and branching choices. Generally you will be well acquainted with those who feature in the later chapters, although it would have been nice to see just a fraction more introduction for the earlier ones.

The best feature in Love Starts Again are the diverse character personalities of the six love interests. They all have great quirks and the actresses portray them authentically. Two are shy, two are outgoing, and two are harder to read. But even the outgoing types are reserved, the shy ones gather courage, and the aloof ones open up.

They all have great manners and show respect which makes for warm and grounded interactions. Even when you pick the ‘bad’ choices, most act surprisingly friendly, albeit disappointed. So because of their actions and responses, they are all capable of winning your attention. It might just come down to timing, player personality, or character actions.

Choices and branching paths build affection, as normal. And with enough, you unlock a love interest’s climax chapter. Although not quite on the level of Hello Love: 18 Again, the endings are similar in that you run through a few basic exchanges and answer questions to confirm the relationship. This leads to good, bad and maybe even a few open endings.

It will take just over 3 hours to run through one love interest to their finale, and 8-9 to see all scenes. Several branching paths did not register as being seen (especially in finales) which led to missing achievements and needing to rewatch parts. It does not seem that affection is tracking perfectly either. There is nothing that will prevent enjoyment, but it will create some frustration for those looking to 100% the game. The video quality is unfortunately a major weakpoint, with obvious blockiness in dark areas. Audio is all live recorded and clear. While Love Starts Again will never get the attention given to most Chinese dating sims, it deserves just as much respect.