7 /10 1 Votes
Engine Ren'Py Developer Riva Celso Genre Visual novel | 7/10 Steam Initial release date 25 October 2013 Publisher Winter Wolves Mode Single-player video game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms Android, Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS, Macintosh operating systems Similar Winter Wolves games, Visual novel games, Other games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nicole is a visual novel video game developed and published by Winter Wolves for the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms on October 25, 2013. The game was also later released for Android and iOS.
Contents
Gameplay
The game features classic visual novel gameplay, with dialogues and many choices to make. The player can do various activities in order to collect more clues about the culprit or raise stats, which are needed to achieve a good ending with one of the romanceable boys. In order to improve Nicole's relationship with the boys, the player can buy items with in-game money and give them to the boys as a present.
Plot
Nicole has started college, but when she arrives, she hears about mysterious disappearances of student girls. She has to find out who the culprit is and along the way the player reads through scenes about her everyday life on campus while having several possible romances with different characters.
Development
The game was created with Ren'Py. It was first announced in the beginning of 2012. A Yuri expansion is planned for 2015, which allows Nicole to have a homosexual relationship with another girl.
Reception
The game received mixed to positive reviews. Nicole received the rating B+ on Technology, with reviewer Jenni Lada writing: "the developer has clearly learned from its predecessors Always Remember Me and Love and Order, resulting in a life sim/otome/mystery with a stronger story and more balanced stat building. It’s a very polished game with an interesting story to tell, even if one character does come across more like a modern day Wile E. Coyote than a human being." The Boar gave 3 out of 5 points, writing: "Nevertheless, behind the clutter does in fact lie a very competent dating sim, so by appreciating Nicole for what it is – a dating sim – and not what it tries to be, amusement can be gleamed from it." VNs Now! gave a rating of 5.0 out of 10.0, writing: "It is a bland, joyless drive that slides through only because when it isn’t trying to be what it isn’t (thrilling, suspenseful, etc.) it doesn’t insult your intelligence and just gives the raving, love hungry crowds what they want."