Heroine for Hire

This game didn't really appeal to me much at all when I first happened upon it. But although I had reservations, having played 'Belle Automata: Chronicle I' by this same developer and still waiting on further chapters, I knew they were capable of excellence. So I picked this title up for a few dollars on sale and gave it an honest try despite my initial perceptions of it. And as it turns out... I'm very glad that I did. The characters are multi-faceted, complex, intelligent and likeable. The story is engaging and makes you care. The female protagonist has bunny ears because she's of a fictional race called bunnels, which I mention because from the trailer I thought maybe she just wore fake bunny ears everywhere. The knight is a charming swashbuckler with more to him than meets the eye. And the blacksmith has a wonderful personality as well. These days when a female protagonist is described as 'strong' it often really means she is without flaw, insecurities, or in need of learning anything that would make her develop as a person - for Lyre this is not the case. She is written to be a strong character, but she is not without her weaknesses. She works hard and perseveres through her…

This is such a cute game! Lyre's struggle to find a job that fulfills her is all too relatable, and I enjoyed both of the routes, although Fai's was my favorite. I also really liked the UI and character art, especially the pania.

Lovely story and characters alike! It has only 2 LIs BUT! Each routes has its own story development and it's really good. I LOVED IT. It is not 'we met, flirted and fall in love' or 'we hate each other but decided to love anyway because we're hot' story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those too. What I'am trying to say is this game focuses really on 'development' side of things. In terms of love plot pace side, I'd say this is a slow burn. It won't show the lovey dovey phase much. But there's lots of character building, I felt like we got to know a person and not just how hot and gorgeous they are. So if you are looking for something like this, I RECOMMEND. 9/10 (-1 for that style gap between CG and sprites)

There is nothing wrong with this game. But I dislike Lyre, the main character. She's impulsive enough to try to punch people just for being rude. She doesn't know what love is or feels like, possibly never even had a crush before? even though she and the people she's pursuing have to be in their 20s. Everyone is blushing and no one is being straightforward about their emotions. It just feels very cliche to a person who has read the romance genre for 25 years. If they were like, young teens in school high school, I could see why they'd act like this. Also, maybe I'm just lame, but it should be a bit odd to date your boss/mentor/trainer? More glaring on the squire route than the cashier for the blacksmith route.

Heroine for Hire is a sweet and short visual novel. The character designs are unique, and it was fun to see characters interact. However, some of the achievements don't work. I did find a guide on itch io, but it was only for Veris with no guide for Fai. You can tell in some part of Fai route that the writers cared a little more for Veris, in terms of exploring his character. I had high hopes, unfortunately this did not meet them. Edit: No email response from the dev about bugged achievements. I cant recommend this game until it is fixed

This was short but really sweet.