Idea Factory International announced otome visual novel Sympathy Kiss is coming to the west in early 2024 for Nintendo Switch. The visual novel will be sold physically and digitally at participating retailers and the IFI Online Store.
Sympathy Kiss is a new story that comes from Lover Pretend director Hiroe Aoki and illustrator Fujirito. In this visual novel, Akari Amasawa starts a new job as an Estario mobile app designer, but she’s not deeply passionate for her work. One year passes, and Estario has fallen behind other rival apps. Akari and her new co-workers must give their best effort to prevent the app from shutting down, and the protagonist will end up finding true love in the process.
A standard edition of Sympathy Kiss will be sold for $49.99 at the IFI Online Store and participating retailers. Moreover, a limited edition will be sold exclusively through the IFI Online Store. Pre-order dates and additional information will be revealed at a later date.
Here’s an overview of the upcoming visual novel release, via Idea Factory International:
Sympathy Kiss Comes to the West
About a year has passed since Akari Amasawa started her new job as a designer at Estario, a mobile app maker. While she doesn’t dislike her job, she’s not deeply passionate about it either. After her yearly performance review, she’s given the opportunity to join the Estarci team.
The company’s namesake app, Estarci is a news app that made a big splash when it launched, but has since fallen behind rival apps, including apps run by Estario itself. Management has decided to give the app one last chance before shutting it down for good, and Akari and all of her new co-workers will need to give it their all to save the app from the chopping block.
Will Akari find true love? Will she find what it is she wants to do in life? Will the app get shut down? Wait, was Akari only given this opportunity because the company was looking for an excuse to fire her?!
Business and pleasure mix in Sympathy Kiss, a thrilling office romance and slice-of-life drama!
Key Features
- #POV: You Are A Modern-Day Office Worker in Japan – Explore your career opportunities and work with up to six love interests. See through the eyes of a Japanese career woman and experience full immersion in a contemporary workplace setting where the fantasy can be found in the breakroom.
- Call or text if you need me! – Increase productivity, or dabble in some friendly office banter by maintaining contact with romanceable characters using the RiNG system. Respond to text messages and take fully-voiced calls from your favorite love interests.
- Wear Your Emotions On Your Sleeve – Some decisions require you to express how you feel through the Emotion Select system. Pick from two of a total of five emotions: Happy, Angry, Troubled, Sad, and Indifferent. Your selected emotions can influence future conversations. Your love interests will always remember to consider your emotions.
- A Happy Worker Is A Productive Worker! – Use the Love/Work system when making decisions to balance your work life and social life. Increase your Work Points or Love Points with each decision by choosing whether you will prioritize your career or romance. This will influence the outcome of your route and the ending.
