Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance Assessment

The subsequent time I’m requested what I do with my free time, I’m going to load up the Xbox Retailer, and say this, that is what I do: I overview video games like Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance. I’ll look them useless within the eyes. And that’s when it’s going to occur. Two different raptors will come from the aspect and intestine them. Intelligent woman. 

Sorry, that picture received away from us. However nonetheless, the purpose stands: this isn’t a sport we’d proudly present to show our pursuits – it’s a visible novel the place we get to woo not solely a velociraptor, however a rad velociraptor from the ‘90s. His title is Brandon, and he likes to skateboard and prank individuals, like Denver the Final Dinosaur (deep lower, ‘90s youngsters). Not solely that, however we will select another person as our accomplice, if we would like. We are able to select to flirt with a bigfoot, ghost or fairy as an alternative. 

It’s quite a bit to course of. It’s solely going to go one among two methods, proper? It’s both going to be twee and quirky, or aimed squarely at fetishists who, properly, like making eyes at dinosaurs. However, the factor is – and we’ve been doing a whole lot of this not too long ago – we now have judged this guide by its cowl. We failed to identify a 3rd path. Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance approaches its high-school storytelling earnestly and innocently, as a rite-of-passage visible novel. Assume Life is Unusual, chopped up into a visible novel format and with the odd dinosaur, and also you’re there. It’s neither twee nor weirdly sexualised. 

As a substitute, that is the story of Stella, a lady (human, no scales) who has not too long ago moved into the city the place she used to go to vacation camp when she was youthful. That element’s necessary, as she has an outdated buddy right here: a camp buddy who she stopped writing letters to, and is pressured to confront. That is the bigfoot, Taylor, and he has been carrying a crush for Stella, which simply provides to the awkwardness. However earlier than you get to satisfy Taylor, you get pranked by the native jock and horrible lizard, Brandon, and cross paths with a bookish however delinquent fairy known as Day. 

These 4 people type your love-quadrilateral, a gaggle of soon-to-be-friends with an ample quantity of sexual stress. You’re the catalyst for all of them coming collectively, and shortly you might be collaborating on coursework, touring to ‘The Lake’ for drunken trysts, and getting excessive at home events. That is very a lot a standard American high-school upbringing, however with added ‘cryptids’.

‘Cryptids’ is the neat catch-all time period that Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance offers its ‘uncommon folks’. Ladle, the city the place this all takes place, is a beacon for the outcasts of society, and that features antlered individuals, ghosts, bigfeet and all types of others. It’s a fairly well-handled metaphor for ‘otherness’, as Ladle is a spot the place an people uniqueness and queerness is hand-waved. In case you are searching for tales the place being totally different is well known, then Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance goes to hit onerous. 

The novel takes place over seven chapters (Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance tried to persuade us that these span seven ‘weeks’, however the timeline doesn’t really feel proper). Stella meets with the crew, builds camaraderie with all of them, and ends the day again dwelling, at a sort of hub the place she will be able to select to make some small, defining selections. She will be able to take into consideration a selected individual whereas sitting in a bay window (which helps the sport to know who you’re fancying proper now), after which telephone somebody to set off a dialog or a branching little bit of gameplay. 

The situation in every chapter is surprisingly cyclical: an thought is pitched, usually by the affable, extroverted Brandon, and the remainder of the introverted group grumble about whether or not they can face doing it. Lake-side jaunts, group initiatives and home events are all thought of, reconsidered after which ultimately agreed on. However through the occasion, somebody, usually Stella, will carry out a socially awkward feat and the outing will collapse in on itself – the group returning to their particular person houses. 

It’s our largest gripe with Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance. The chapters really feel an excessive amount of like templates. You may match the above method to most, if not all, of the totally different chapters. We’d have beloved for it to shake off the shackles, be bold and go for one thing extra freeform. There’s one part when Stella and Day break up off individually and make drunk prank calls, and it’s an enormous quantity of enjoyable. We are able to’t assist considering that it labored so properly as a result of Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance had stepped off its personal railtracks and tried one thing totally different. 

Our second largest gripe is that it’s all a tad maudlin. Everyone seems to be coping with their very own crap, which is totally comprehensible and acceptable. However completely everyone seems to be coping with their crap, on a regular basis, and really visibly. Wounds are on show, and folks maintain poking on the wounds on different individuals. Usually, Stella can return dwelling after a horrible night time with the gang, and we puzzled if these cryptids had been truly wholesome for one another. We’re nonetheless not fully positive. 

What we’re positive of, nonetheless, is that extra levity would have been a robust drugs. The sport didn’t should be so introspective and downbeat, actually when it has humour in its locker. Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance could be a very humorous sport, when it lets itself be. Let’s go additional than that: Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance is an especially well-written sport all spherical, however it could possibly drag and repeat, and with a greater editor or an understanding of its points, Rocket Adrift could possibly be standing atop the digital novel pile. Its peaks are that peaky. 

Even with the failings, we reached the top of Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance with a deep affection for its shabby, lazy, endearing little characters. They’re all straightforward to like, when you get to know them, and we felt Stella’s ache on the prospect of not seeing Brandon, Taylor or Day once more. In a relationship sim or coming-of-age story like this, you need each character to have one thing to hook onto, and Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance’s hooks are so sharp they could possibly be raptor claws. 

Don’t be delay by the gimmicky and quirky naming: Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance is a heartfelt visible novel, fantastically executed and with a soundtrack that might have tumbled out of Chloe Value’s document assortment. Should you’re drawn into high-school coming-of-age tales, then this will probably be your newest pageturner. Simply don’t focus too deeply on how the story repeats itself.

You should buy Raptor Boyfriend: A Excessive Faculty Romance from the Xbox Retailer