Cinderella Phenomenon Evermore Review

I’ve never been a huge fan of Otome games, or dating sims in general. They’re much more my best friend’s thing than mine. However, a few years ago, when browsing on TvTropes, I found a description of a game called Cinderella Phenomenon that actually piqued my interest. It was free on Steam, so I thought I’d give it a try, and I ended up falling head over heels in love with it. Desperately wanting more from the developer, I was thrilled when they announced a follow-up game entitled Cinderella Phenomenon Evermore, and after waiting for quite some time, it’s finally here!

I’ll do my best to explain Evermore without spoiling any of the details of the original Cinderella Phenomenon, for those of you who haven’t played it. However, I don’t actually recommend playing Evermore without playing the first game, as it won’t make a whole lot of sense. If you do play Evermore and then the original, well, you’ll have spoiled a lot of the plot for yourself.

Evermore picks up two years after the “Good” endings of the original, and you once again have five romance options – Rod, Klaude, Chevalier, Fritz, and Waltz. This time around all five options is open to you from the start. Each route has 7 CGs to unlock and both a “Good” and “Best” ending. The stories take about two to three hours to complete each route, depending on how fast you read and how much time you want to spend ogling the pretty graphics.

The routes each have different beats and themes according to protagonist Lucette’s love interest and how she evolved as a character on each of the routes in the original game, but they all deal with Lucette and her partner shouldering more responsibility as a result of the original story and maturing as people, both separately and together. Despite this, every route is quite different and they’re each satisfying in their own way, telling stories of love, depth, maturity, and personal strength, as well as coming to terms with one’s own past. My personal favorite route was Waltz’s, but he was also my favorite character in the original game so I am biased.

My biggest complaint about the game, though it seems odd to complain about, is the low stakes. Given that this takes place in Lucette’s “Happily Ever After” it’s a foregone conclusion that things will end, well, happily. No one is ever in any real danger and there’s never a chance that things won’t work out for the best. Even in storylines like Klaude’s fractured relationship with his brother, the worst note that it will end on is that they are working on trying to mend their relationship. While this isn’t a bad thing, depending on what exactly you’re looking to get out of the game, it makes it extra fluffy, both as a standalone and in comparison to the original.

Almost all of the characters from the original game are back, and we’re also introduced to two new ones. We have the thawed Ice Princess Lucette, sarcastic mentor Delora, kind King Genaro, grumpy Rod, protective Fritz, and all the rest of the love interests. Rounding out the cast are Sinna, the young and quite frankly rude heir to the Lucis Crystal who is having trouble finding his place, and Klaude’s brother Lance, who is more down to earth but still just as eccentric as his elder sibling. While it’s a well-rounded cast full of interesting characters with their own fleshed-out stories, it does lack the bite that real villains would add.

Just like the first game, the music and visuals are absolutely gorgeous. While the CGs are lovely in their own right, I loved the little details in the art like the characters’ subtle changing of expressions throughout scenes and the beautiful backgrounds. The graceful music that accompanies each of the scenes fits perfectly and the orchestral score sets the tone for every occasion.

Cinderella Phenomenon Evermore is a truly wonderful follow-up to an already fantastic game. While its lack of high stakes and villains means it doesn’t quite measure up to the original, it’s fun and fluffy for those looking to revisit some of their favorite characters in Angielle and conjures up the same magic. For those looking for an exquisite otome game, we recommend the original, but for those who just want more, Evermore is everything you’re looking for.

TechRaptor reviewed Cinderella Phenomenon Evermore on itch.io with a copy purchased by the reviewer. It is also available on Steam.