Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ [Review]

This year I decided I would dip my toes into more Otome games, on the search for more spicy games to add to Gaming After Dark. While I love a bit of spice, I also love a bit of sweet. And that’s exactly what I got with today’s game review. Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ was my gateway game into the world of Otome, and I don’t think I could have picked a better first game! If you’re interested in seeing what Otome games are coming up for reviews, take a look at my post about the 5 Otome games in my backlog!

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• Age Rating: T [Teen]
• Genre(s): Drama // Romance // Steampunk
• Developer: Idea Factory
• Buy it: Amazon* // Digital
• Rating: 4/5 Stars

Venture into a reimagined steampunk version of 19th century London. Follow the adventures of the poison-skinned maiden Cardia, the men trying to help her, and the mysterious organization intent on capturing her. Experience a visual novel adventure brimming with literary and historical characters including Victor Frankenstein and Abraham van Helsing. Will Cardia find love, or destroy those she cares for? Her story is in your hands.

This game contains blood, mild language, violence, and suggestive themes.

I gotta start this one off with a disclaimer: I have only played through two of the character routes so far in Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~, and I will go into the “why” of that later. I haven’t experienced the entire game or unlocked the last character’s route. His route can only be unlocked after you get 4 endings, and I only have 2. Now that that’s out of the way…

As the blurb above says, our story takes place in an alternative, steampunk version of 19th century London. Not only is the location historical but so are some the characters like Queen Victoria, Van Helsing, Frankenstein, and Saint-Germain. There are also some literary-inspired characters like Arsène Lupin and Impey Barbicane. We play as the main heroine Cardia Beckford, a woman with a poisonous body. One touch of her skin can render a person dead. Her memories only go back two years, and she is hoping to find her father for answers.

I went into Code: Realize knowing that this was highly recommended in Otome gaming circles, but otherwise I had no idea about the story, the characters, or the main heroine, Cardia. I honestly prefer going into games blind; no expectations mean I’m less likely to be let down. However, with so many people recommending this one (and its sequels), I did have some expectations that this would be a good experience. Spoiler alert: it was a fantastic experience.

The story setup took quite a bit of time but was worth it. Steampunk London was pretty cool and I enjoyed discovering London through the eyes of this game. Having an untouchable heroine was a new one for me, but I was ready for whatever this game was ready to throw at me. The game itself is quite a long one. It takes about 12-15 hours for the main story, and it takes quite awhile before you start spending one on one time with the love interests. I’m not sure if this length of time on top of multiple play throughs is normal for Otome games but I did find myself wondering when we’d get to the romance! I was super curious about the men in Cardia’s life which all had some mystery surrounding each of them…

Code: Realize has 5 love interests: Arsène Lupin, Impey Barbicane, Abraham Van Helsing, Victor Frankenstein, and Saint-Germain. They tend to follow some typical character tropes but overall, I found all of their characters enjoyable and unique in their own ways. I still plan to finish out everyone’s individual route, but I’m pretty content with the two routes I have finished so far.

My first route was a bit confusing. I couldn’t figure out why Lupin was never an option. After a bit of Googling, I found out that Lupin’s route is the last to be unlocked for Cardia. Once I realized this, I decided to put my time into Victor Frankenstein. Victor was a chemical researcher for the government before he became a wanted man. He ran into Cardia just in time to save her from Twilight, a secret organization inside the British government. He quickly joined their group after that, vowing to find a way to help Cardia with her poison.

What drew me in to Victor was how sweet and gentle he was with Cardia. Out of the two routes and the couple of instances I spent one on one time with other characters, the interactions we get with his character are probably the most romantic I experienced in the game.And of the two routes I’ve finished, his ending was my favorite.

My second route was dedicated to Saint-Germain. I was so curious about him; out of all the characters, we get the least amount of backstory on SG. Not to mention that we meet a mysterious suit of armor in the early chapters, and it’s literally never brought up again unless you go through his route. SG allows our group to stay in his mansion and participates some of the hi jinks we end up getting involved in like a steampunk blimp race!

Saint-German’s route is very different from Victor’s in many aspects. The romantic moments between SG and Cardia are more subtle until we get towards the end of the game. Without spoiling anything, it was an emotional roller-coaster to play through his route, and I was very surprised about the direction it took. Overall, I was satisfied with the ending for SG and Cardia.

Playing through two routes allowed me to see more clues into Cardia’s story, so I’m interested to uncover more secrets through Impey and Van Helsing. Once I’ve completed those two routes, I am very excited to dive into Lupin’s route as I believe his route is meant to be the “true” ending. By then, I should have most of the connections figured out and more of the picture of Cardia’s life pieced together. Fingers crossed.

That being said, I was very thankful that the game offers a skip, fast forward, and rewind function. I took advantage of all three of these while playing through Saint-Germain’s route. I wasn’t kidding when I said it took a long time to get to choosing who to spend time with of the 5 love interests. I plan to use these when I continue on through the other remaining 3 routes as well.

Now, I can’t write this review without discussing Cardia, our heroine and protagonist. Many times, with games that allow a player to step into the shoes of the main character, the protagonist can often feel like they don’t have much of a personality or individual thoughts. Cardia does start off much like a doll with very little emotion and going along with what other characters want, but this is all by design.

Once we get into later chapters, Cardia comes into her own. She develops her own personality and convictions. While the men around her and personal unfortunate circumstances slowly mold her into the person she becomes, Cardia makes her own decisions in the end. We love a strong female lead, and Cardia delivers in the best way. Poison or no poison, Cardia will steal your heart.

All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed my first official Otome game Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~. Cardia is an amazing protagonist and the harem of men that accompany her have (so far) been a delight to get to know. My biggest qualm with Code: Realize is how long it takes to get from chapter to chapter as well as how long it takes to get to the romance of it all. My fingers are crossed that once I get to Lupin’s route that all of it will be worth the time spent.

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