From Madness with Love Review – A Bizarre Tale That Gleefully Defies Expectations

With bright, poppy pixel art and a fully voiced story, From Madness with Love is a visual novel that recently debuted on Steam. As a high school romance parody, this game charms readers with its four incomprehensible bachelors and its self-aware premise. The delightful premise teases players with more beyond its surface, Jamsanpoid’s first video game title is an enjoyable tale from start to finish!

▍A Surreal High School Romance 

The plot of From Madness with Love takes its own approach to romantic stereotypes through its own brand of humor and nonchalance. The player takes on the role of a 17-year high school transfer student, starting the new year after escaping a bombing attempt at their previous school. After you arrive at Koshian Karameruin Private Academy, it isn’t long until a major problem occurs; you try to speak with anyone at this school is going to be a challenge when nobody makes any sense, let alone trying to get a boyfriend! With only one year to start a romance, it’s up to the player to make sense of the school’s population and create some unforgettable memories.

As most visual novels pride themselves on creating coherent, intriguing stories to attract players, the decision to create communication roadblocks is an intriguing twist that executes well within the game’s setting. Each bachelor has their own quirk that makes romancing them a challenge, and the game isn’t afraid to take a weird turn to keep the player on their toes. Fully voiced Japanese dialogue emphasizes the jarring conversations, especially when dealing with the more chaotic members of the cast. 

Here is a typical conversation you can expect in From Madness with Love, and you will understand how difficult communication can be! (Volume warning!)

Picking the correct response and gaining the bachelor’s affection is a goal many players will share when trying to reach the best ending possible, but thinking outside the box is required when working with the insane dialogue in From Madness with Love. Aorta himself would be a trial to romance just through dialogue text, but checking the chat log reveals a nervous side of the student council president. 

On the other hand, the visual novel does an excellent job of showing that there’s something not quite right at Koshian Karameruin, and observant players will notice quite a few hints sprinkled within the story that warns the player of what’s to come. Players who have completed Hatoful Boyfriend will feel right at home with this visual novel’s atmosphere, but From Madness with Love hides just enough to surprise savvy players.

▍A Charming Cast that Gets into Your Heart

Aorta is a perfect example of how he subverts player expectations. The academy’s student president is in a position to be a calm and snobby perfectionist, with a drive towards academic success. Spending time with the bachelor instead reveals Aorta to be a humble yet overly innocent individual, and being dragged by the protagonist into the crazy antics of Koshian Karameruin brings out Aorta’s cuteness for the reader to fawn over! Giving the student council president a set of crayons draws pure sincerity from the bachelor, and his smile towards the juvenile gift is one that the player won’t need a translation for. 

Arakawa is another bachelor who can catch the player off guard with his witty comments. The man can spout pure nonsense in one moment but then recite medical facts at the drop of a hat, and the seahorse in his hair is just another quirk that draws the reader to him. The visual novel sprinkles some comments that hint at the nurse’s wild side, but no player can really prepare for what comes out of his mouth when exploring his path. 

From Madness with Love has a short playthrough time compared to other visual novels and has a few instances of railroading, but the game is like a fever dream in its presentation; a weird, over-the-top adventure that finds a way to endear readers to its small cast of characters. 

▍Dark Themes Fall Flat With Childish Visuals

From Madness with Love wastes no time in setting the tone of the story, intentionally looking haphazard to show the reader that it isn’t taking itself too seriously. Alongside the protagonist’s occasional 4th wall-breaking, the player can feel tempted to relax when dealing with the game’s hijinks. 

While this game is a romcom at its core, the disturbing aspects of its story can unsettle the reader through well-placed visual effects. They never overstay their welcome, catching readers off guard without straying far from its dating sim mechanics. 

However, the visual novel relies a bit too heavily on shock value to get its spooky moments across to the reader, which can seem abrupt with little buildup across the entire route. The surrealism is well executed in comparison and would fit better with the uncanny elements in creating a more complex story.

▍Tempting CGs Turn Up The Heat

No visual novel is complete without character stills, and there are plenty of risque moments in From Madness with Love that take advantage of these high-tension moments. Whether it’s a Sports Day at school or simply a walk on the beach, the innuendos are on full display for the player to enjoy. 

Collecting all of them might seem like a chore, as only one CG can be obtained from each decision if the correct choice is made. Thankfully, From Madness with Love allows players to save and load their game at any time, giving the player the opportunity to experience each event and bookmark important decisions for later. 

From Madness with Love also has a streamer mode option that censors the more provocative art, using a chibi sprite to cover part of the bachelor when previewed in the gallery. Nothing explicitly sexual is ever shown throughout the game either, so there’s no risk of a jump scare that can cause discomfort. 

▍From Madness with Love Is A Strange Yet Satisfying Tale

Jamsanpoid’s visual novel takes cues from Hatoful Boyfriend and combines them with enough meta humor that leaves players engaged. The story behind each character can be powerful enough to create a strong emotional response, demonstrating the effectiveness of its storytelling despite the short length. Unfortunately, lacking any sort of epilogue is a missed opportunity to follow up on the game’s nonsense, and elevate it beyond an interesting gimmick. 

From Madness with Love isn’t perfect and has a few minor bugs that don’t ruin the experience, but it’s clear that the developers enjoyed every moment spent creating the visual novel. As far as visual novels go, this title delivers a simple, well-executed plot that can get casual readers invested in its characters, and its status as a Steam game makes it accessible for any player willing to embrace its quirks.

This review is based on a Steam code provided by the publisher. God of Rock is now available on PC via Steam and DLsite.

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