Love Ribbon

I think it's quite rare to find media that tackles incest with care and nuance. Most media, that isn't say from AO3, always seem to depict incest as only fetish-y or just bad in both senses. Maybe it shows that my yuricest knowledge is lacking, if so I should fix that, but something like Citrus instantly comes to mind. Love Ribbon treats the subject with care however. I won't act as if I truly know the experiences of those that are in these relationships. I don't know the struggle and fear people must have in keeping such a thing secret. But I do believe that LR shows that fear well. Very well. I will avoid major spoilers but seeing as the main couple often struggle with the fact that they are related, even while together, feels incredibly real. How the scrutiny they face and the social pressure they hide from feels real. The mental and emotional toll between them feels real. I genuinely feel that this would probably happen in reality to a budding incestuous relationship. I'm glad they weren't widely accepted, I'm glad they were written to be full blood related siblings, I'm glad they showed it wasn't easy for them, but through it all they made it work and lived happily. I…

★★★★☆ / “Some taboos are cheap. This one at least tries to bleed.” I downloaded Love Ribbon the way most bad decisions begin, casually, late at night, telling myself it was ironic. You know the premise. Two sisters. Forbidden love. The kind of setup that makes one half of the internet clutch pearls while the other half reaches for lotion. It sounds like shock value in a sailor uniform. And sure, there’s some of that. But beneath the headline-grabbing taboo is something stranger: Tenderness. This game doesn’t play the material like a joke. It treats desire the way real life often does — inconvenient, messy, badly timed, and immune to common sense. These aren’t cardboard cutouts built to service a fetish. They feel conflicted, needy, selfish, loving. In other words: human. The art is soft and polished, all pastel innocence wrapped around emotional landmines. The music hums like a secret you know you shouldn’t keep. And the writing, while melodramatic at times, understands the oldest truth in romance: wanting the wrong thing can feel exactly like wanting the right one. That’s where Love Ribbon works. Not because it’s outrageous, but because it understands shame, longing, and the…

very good

A difficult topic handled with dignity and sympathy. Highly recommended.

“Love Ribbon” is a very well written story that focuses on a very sweet romance between two sisters who never knew one another growing up. And there’s not much more to it than that. A pleasant and easy read with a limited number of choices. (7/10) The game is set in a culture with a heavy focus on academic excellence. As a result, the high school scenes might come across as stilted if you’re used to a more relaxed educational environment. The game also features some outdated assumptions. For example, the idea that cooking is important for a woman who wants to be a housewife is joked about, and there are a few times when Zoey touches Iris intimately without clear consent, against her older sister’s mostly playful protests. I wouldn’t call it coercive, but it’s unfortunate that the developer chose to frame it that way. Finally, like most games with this theme, it has not escaped payment processor crackdowns. Because of this, the original patch is no longer available on Steam, although determined players can still find it. But I wouldn’t recommend it, as the ages are intentionally vague. The girls are in high school, which implies they are eighteen, but Zoey seems to be a yea…

nsfw