Gaming After Dark: Celestial Crowns [Demo Review]
*Disclaimer: Welcome to Gaming After Dark, a series just for games best enjoyed after dark. Games featured in this series are NSFW (Not Safe For Work), contain adult content and explicit themes, and are not meant for those under the age of eighteen. The reviews for the games may also feature content that is NSFW and is intended for mature readers only.
*Disclosure: Min at Harlevin reached out to me to review the demo for Celestial Crowns. The review is my own and is based on my own gaming experience. Special thanks to Min for allowing me the opportunity to play the demo before its release to Steam and itch.io ♥
I am so excited to add a new game to the Gaming After Dark series! Y’all are in for a treat! I was over the moon (pun not intended) when I was asked to review the demo for Celestial Crowns in time for its kickstarter release. After taking a look at the overall premise and how inclusive the demo is, I had to play it and give it a fair review for the blog!
- Age Rating: 18+
- Genre(s): Romance // Drama // Fantasy // Indie
- Developer: Harlevin
- Play The Demo For Free: Steam // itch.io
- Support the Kickstarter: click here!!!
Set in a world where they worship the stars, play as the newly crowned Ruling Monarch of the kingdom of Lauté. In ancient times, the Royals were masters of the elements with the ability to spellcraft that made people believe they were gods. Nowadays, the ability has faded with misuse, and the only Royal left known to have this ability is King Aalam of Andromeda. With your kingdom on unsteady ground after your father's recent assassination, this dangerous King with magic beyond comprehension has an offer you can’t ignore: Accept his hand in marriage, or go to war. CELESTIAL CROWNS
I went into Celestial Crowns with no expectations and no real knowledge of the story other than the summary provided by Harlevin, and let me just say, I wish I could go into more games like this. It really gave me the chance to absorb the story first hand and get a feel for the characters in real time. Don’t get me wrong; I love that social media like tiktok has helped indie games explode in popularity, but seeing a one minute clip of a character interaction versus experiencing it on my own first, really makes a difference in how I connect to them. And that’s exactly what happened during my playthroughs of Celestial Crowns: I connected to the story and all of the wonderful characters.
When playing otome and BL as yourself, it can be hard to self-insert. When I go into these games, the goal for me is to put myself into the main character’s shoes. I want to be immersed completely in the story. Most otome will allow you the change the main character’s name, and I always do to help with this immersion. But sometimes, it’s just not enough. Speaking as a white woman, I have not had as hard of a time with this type of immersion so when a game like this presents more options, it gives me hope that more games will follow suit!
Because of the level of immersion I personally enjoy, I was honestly very excited over the idea of being able to not just choose the main character’s name, but also their appearance (masculine or feminine) and pronouns (he/she/they) in the demo. Also, additionally you can choose the title you wish to go by (Your Majesty, My Queen, etc.)! There are more additions for character customization coming if certain Kickstarter goals are met as well such as additional skin tones! Harlevin really did so much to make Celestial Crowns one of the most inclusive games I have ever played, and I thank them for it!
Now I need – NEED – to talk about the storyline of Celestial Crowns before I get into the art and love interests!
As stated in the summary up above, we (the main character or Terra) are the newly crowned monarch of our kingdom Lauté due to the assassination of our father. Thrust onto the throne in the wake of the King’s untimely death, we are reliant upon the people we surround ourselves with to help us make a decision that could lead to a life changing decision. Do we leave the kingdom as well as everyone and everything we know to marry another monarch? OR do we start a war that could tear our kingdom apart? At the heart of it all, is Alaam, the King of Andromeda who has the long lost ability to spellcraft. Do we take his hand in marriage for a new life in Andromeda, leaving our kingdom and birthright behind? Or do we go to war and end the tentative peace we have had with the other kingdoms? Or is there another choice that could help us find a middle ground?
While that may sound intimidating to some folks, trust me when I say the story is easy to follow along with while also giving the player the full experience of becoming apart of this beautifully crafted world. Through conversations with the characters and events, the story is easy to digest. When the ambassador from Andromeda arrives, we get a peek at court life in Lauté as we go through our monarchly duties during the day and then partake in the nightly entertainment. We learn about the worship of the planets as Lune walks us through our nightly prayer. We learn about spellcrafting in the library with Sahi as he gives us the cliff notes of the history of spellcrafting and celestials. Instead of several paragraphs to read through to build the world that is Celestial Crowns, we are allowed to slowly experience the world as the main character, creating a connection that doesn’t always happen when the player has to quickly understand all the rules and lore behind the story before even stepping foot into the game.
The game will also feature NSFW scenes hence why I have included as part of my Gaming After Dark series! During the five or so times I replayed the demo, I did not run across any spicy scenes or dialogue so I believe the spice is being saved for the full release! But as a disclaimer, I very well could have missed them upon my excitement while playing the demo.
In addition to a gorgeous and rich story, Celestial Crowns also boasts numerous story choices! All of these choices not only affect the outcome to the story, but also your character’s personality which I find intriguing! I haven’t run across many games who let you shape your character’s personality quite like this. You do have the option to turn off seeing your character’s stats, but I liked having them viewable so I could watch as my choices affected them.
There are three categories that will affect your character’s personality: Strengths, Flaws, and Rule Styles. Each of these have three corresponding traits with planet icons. These planet icons can be seen next to most choices in the game, letting you know what state you would be raising. If your stats are too low for a trait, future choices might be blocked! What a cool trait system that actually affects the story! It’s also a great opportunity to give depth to the main character without making the player feel overwhelmed with too many options.
During my first playthrough, I leaned mostly towards witty, naive, and gentle I think! I had to make sure I switched things up in my later gameplays so I could see what the Love Interests seemed to respond to. This was a lot of fun and lends itself well to replay-ability! I had a hard time trying to pin down one of the LI’s, but other than that, I think I got the hang of the system fairly well and enjoyed watching how my stats played out during the demo.
Now let’s talk art.
The environmental backdrops for Celestial Crowns are simply phenomenal. Every time I was graced with a new background, I loved looking at all the beautiful details that give the scenes so much more life and realism. For example, the main character’s bathroom (pictured above) has my heart in a chokehold. I want this bathroom SO BAD. It’s gorgeous! All of the colors throughout the game are cohesive and really felt as if they were all in the same castle. I imagine that other locations will feel the same with their own color schemes and carefully crafted details so you know where you are.
The characters have a unique artwork style to them which I really appreciate. We see a lot of the same art style over and over again for otome and BL, and the art style being used for Celestial Crowns makes it stand out in the best ways. The character facial expressions definitely had me feeling a certain type of way, and I’m not mad about it. Rift has this really cocky grin he gives that just made me melt. And Lune… my favorite emotionally unavailable Advisor rolls his eyes. He had me on the floor laughing the first time it happened (and this does happen more than once; he just couldn’t with me).
We can’t talk about art and not mention our main character. We do see them in cutscenes, but mostly we get to know them through their little portrait picture in the left bottom of the screen. I love that we get to see the character portrait’s facial expressions change! Even the little ear tug/scratch of the side of the face is a lovely quirk of our character. Not only did their facial expressions give life to our choices and dialogue, but I was also pleased to see that we also see some outfit changes via the portrait as well! Like when the main character was getting ready for bed, we can see the top of what looks like sleepwear and their crown is stowed away.
Alright, alright. I know what you really came here for. You wanna know all about the love interests right?
Rift
Let me introduce you to the cocky and flirty Rift. Sent by King Aalam, Rift is on a mission to make our character take his King’s hand in marriage as we have been (rightfully) dragging our feet to respond to his proposal. We love a confident LI, and Rift is bursting with it. In fact, the way he commands a room is a bit… unique… to say the least as someone who is an ambassador and not royalty. Something isn’t quite adding up. We need to keep an eye on Rift here.
Sahi
Ah, our childhood friend, Sahi. Sahi is the general for our kingdom’s army, and we grew up alongside each other. I think Sahi probably knows us the best out of everyone in the castle. He’s a total sweetheart and stole me away on my first playthrough. What can I say? His protective and calming nature got me. And in case you couldn’t tell, he is absolutely head over heels for us. It’s plain as day, but of course, our character doesn’t see it. *lovelorn sigh*
Lune
My emotionally unavailable Lune. Why must you make it so hard to penetrate those impossible high walls around you? Look, I was hoping for Lune on my first playthrough but Sahi was right there, so I took the easier path. I still am not sure if I got to Lune’s route after playing several times, but you know I’m gonna be trying my damnedest once Celestial Crowns comes out fully. His sarcasm and bluntness makes me want to both smack and kiss him. My favorite kind of character, hah!
To wrap up the demo for Celestial Crowns in a pretty bow, let me reiterate how much I love the rich story that Harlevin has woven for us. The characters are so easy to connect with. I fell so hard on my first playthrough and continued to do so throughout my my time playing the demo over and over again. The game is truly unique, and I cannot wait to discover more once the full release hits Steam and itch.io. Which means we need to give Harlevin our support on their kickstarter or share their tweets to get the word out!
Bottom line: you should 10000% back Celestial Crowns on kickstarter so we can all experience the complete story (and so I can play Lune’s full route – gimme gimme gimme!). If my review has piqued your interest, check out the demo on Steam here or on itch.io here!
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