Hatoful Boyfriend

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 97 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 97
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 97
  3. Negative: 22 out of 97

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  1. Zomgman
    Jan 2, 2015
    10
    First of all, this isn't a game, it's a visual novel, if you consider VNs videogames, then so be it whatever.

    Anyways, it starts off as this funny game where you date birds and woo you date birds and lol you date birds! And then you realise that the game as actually so SO much more than that. And then you go through and get to the final ending because you liked the game because    First of all, this isn't a game, it's a visual novel, if you consider VNs videogames, then so be it whatever.

    Anyways, it starts off as this funny game where you date birds and woo you date birds and lol you date birds!

    And then you realise that the game as actually so SO much more than that.

    And then you go through and get to the final ending because you liked the game because it's more than just a dating sim with birds!

    Aaaaand then you finish said final path and find that this one of the strangest, yet best experiences you've gone through.    … Expand
  2. the_blueprint
    Apr 23, 2015
    5
    It's very difficult to put a rating on this as this game is for a very niche crowd. The thing is, apparently it's supposed to be funny. After I finished the whole game I saw videos of people playing through it and apparently everyone finds it hilarious. I expected to find it funny as well but the humor of it just goes above my head I think. I didn't laugh a single time.
    The good news is    It's very difficult to put a rating on this as this game is for a very niche crowd. The thing is, apparently it's supposed to be funny. After I finished the whole game I saw videos of people playing through it and apparently everyone finds it hilarious. I expected to find it funny as well but the humor of it just goes above my head I think. I didn't laugh a single time.
    The good news is that the story does get interesting.... but you'll have to finish the game (and repeat a LOT) 14 times to get there. That's about 7-8 hours of repeating something that's not very interesting in the first place.
    I endured and yes it does become good after that. But not THAT good. It still drags on far too long, the plot overreaches and without spoiling anything: the most important plotline does not get explained. Other plotlines often get ridiculous explanations. Again, this is probably meant to be funny again.
    In other words I could not tell you if this game/visual novel is good for you or not. Chances are you will either love it or hate it, and I expect most people to hate it.

    Oh one last thing, this game is a visual novel of the purest kind (no puzzles or anything involved). It is now a dating sim however. It's being advertised as a pigeon dating sim but that's just not what it is. You want be doing much dating I can assure you.    … Expand
  3. CSM
    Jan 10, 2015
    10
    Simply the greatest visual novel on pigeon dating ever made. Don't confuse this is for a one-trick laugh pony however. This animal goes a lot further than simple **** and giggles. Expect to be surprised if you ever reach the final ending.
  4. DanteDM
    Sep 12, 2014
    5
    It's just not that good. Why do people love this game to much. It has four ten out of ten critics. Be real, don't just put the maximum because the game has some moments that make you laugh.
  5. Sethanatos
    Oct 7, 2014
    10
    Remember that this is a "visual novel" and as a novel, you have to read it completely before you can judge it.
    At face value it looks like a silly, not-amazing dating sim. Believe me, keep playing.

    Go for every ending and as you learn more about the world and characters, you will not regret your purchase and you will recommend this title to all.
  6. RightEOThen
    May 25, 2014
    10
    As my father said to me on his deathbed, "Son, I love you but if you learned anything from my massive waste of life its that you need to play more video games with bird sex in them". He then molted to death at the tragic age of 7 years old. My father was a blue jay. Don't make his mistake.
    Everybirdy needs to hear this message and seize life by the wings. Hatoful boyfriend is a game about    As my father said to me on his deathbed, "Son, I love you but if you learned anything from my massive waste of life its that you need to play more video games with bird sex in them". He then molted to death at the tragic age of 7 years old. My father was a blue jay. Don't make his mistake.
    Everybirdy needs to hear this message and seize life by the wings. Hatoful boyfriend is a game about love, acceptance and the ability to be hit on by pigeons. Is Hatoful Boyfriend perfect? No. But is it perfect? Yes. To say that Hatoful Boyfriend is a turning point in the dating sim genre but in the technological advance of civilization itself is not hyperbolic of a statement enough. I think of Hatoful Boyfriend both when i cry and when I make love. It is a wonderful piece of art that is better than any other work I have ever experienced. Also, fair warning, you might make a cum in yourself.    … Expand
  7. Rainbow-Dash
    Sep 25, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So sad to see all these tasteless people who don't realize this game is gold. I doubt they even played far enough to access any of the surprisingly complex storyline, basing their hate off of the fact the game looks silly. What's even funnier are the people who scream "BEASTIALITY" at the game without having even played it. I think the basement-dwellers who rate this low are just mad you can't molest high-school girls.

    Idiots, aside, this game is hilarious... and it gets dark real fast. lolol    … Expand
  8. nevershark
    Aug 26, 2014
    10
    Forget the clearly and regretfully uninformed reviews. This game is a shining example of what's possible with the visual novel as a medium.

    Ever think too hard about something funny and realize that in order for it to be funny something else terrible had to have happened? Well, Hatoful Boyfriend is basically that, but in game form. Of course, it starts out hilarious and outlandish.    Forget the clearly and regretfully uninformed reviews. This game is a shining example of what's possible with the visual novel as a medium.

    Ever think too hard about something funny and realize that in order for it to be funny something else terrible had to have happened?

    Well, Hatoful Boyfriend is basically that, but in game form. Of course, it starts out hilarious and outlandish. But when the backstory rears its ugly head, it takes its seemingly kooky world, and meticulously and horribly explains how it came to be the way it is. And it isn't pleasant, not one bit. Sometimes you'll still laugh, but more often than not you'll be crying. Over birds.

    Probably one of the best written games I have ever encountered, without exaggerating - such a shame that it's so difficult to talk about without spoiling. If you're familiar with visual novels and/or like good plot in your games, give it a shot, but make sure you unlock Bad Boys Love. And get the tissues ready.    … Expand
  9. RabbitVip
    Sep 12, 2014
    10
    Everybirdie needs to play this game and find their avian soul mate! This was a joy to play the first time and even better the second time! I love knowing there are more endings to be had and definitely plan to get them all! The writing is hilariously great and in combination with the strange soundtrack (Little town of Bethlehem? HAHA) this game will keep you smiling right to the end.
  10. Dmytros
    Sep 6, 2014
    10
    Forget those HATOFUL reviews from those reviewers. That game is so pure not only in gameplay but very good in dialog, when I played it seemed like I really was in a relationship, the characters are so vivid, full of personality that it makes you feel like you really are someone in the game and not just the protagonist.
  11. DanySK
    Nov 1, 2015
    2
    Really: what the heck is this? A girl going to a school for birds and trying to seduce one of them. The thing is pretty hilarious, and somehow funny. It is good at making the game initially interesting. I have made a single playtrough, completed the "game" with one possible ending, and that was pretty much enough for me. The reason is that the game is simply boring. Maybe is funny to someReally: what the heck is this? A girl going to a school for birds and trying to seduce one of them. The thing is pretty hilarious, and somehow funny. It is good at making the game initially interesting. I have made a single playtrough, completed the "game" with one possible ending, and that was pretty much enough for me. The reason is that the game is simply boring. Maybe is funny to some very small audience, to me is not.… Expand
  12. SirCrimsonFox
    Jan 23, 2017
    5
    Since this is on a game site, I am rating this as a game. The first playthrough...actually the first few playthrus I could not even get through this. The main reason I bought this was how much fun I had with the similar looking "Long Live The Queen". But this isn't much like that at all. There just is barely any game here. I see this touted as a visual novel....well there really isn'tSince this is on a game site, I am rating this as a game. The first playthrough...actually the first few playthrus I could not even get through this. The main reason I bought this was how much fun I had with the similar looking "Long Live The Queen". But this isn't much like that at all. There just is barely any game here. I see this touted as a visual novel....well there really isn't much story either. Dialogue is so generic. It's mostly a lot of awkward pauses and people being rude to your character. Reminds me of your most people play tabletop roleplaying games and what they say to NPCs when they do.

    The stats you have and build on....don't seem to do anything. You get to select what class you are taking as an elective a lot and each time that choice determines which of 3 stats go up (unlike the 18 that LLTQ has), But your stats really don't do anything. They need to DO something. THe elective choice really determines who you spend more time with. As each of the other characters in this seem to ONLY spend time in one place the entire game....thus making the world seem unrealistic.

    I like that you CAN steer yourself toward relationships with certain people and that is easy enough to do. After one playthrough I got the hang of the goal...."end up with someone". But a lot of time that goal isn't actually finished. BUt at least they wrote an ending for each person and that is satisfying. And your choices DO have effects on other characters. That too is rewarding. But there really needs to be much more of a story. More weaving and intertwining of characters. Since there really is no gameplay there needs to be more goals. Other games add collection type of goals...like Batman even amidst the fighting, has riddles to solve and question marks to collect and plenty of achievements to do. This game needed more achievements and other little things to accomplish on a meta level to go along with the story and that would have easily produced more ideas for sidecontent. But as is almost all of the achievements are which endings you get...aka who you end up with at the end.

    The bizarre idea of being at an all-bird school as a human is just so weird but cool and makes wyou want to just start dating birds. But that part of it is really underwhelming. The biggest problem is that almost all of the birds are white. So it's like...oh who's that bird? isn't that the other one? Haven't I met him before? Oh wait this is someone else. Is this a woman or a man? I have no idea. I thought my roommate was a girl. YOU CAN'T TELL! IT'S A BIRD. Making things more complicated is that it uses all Japanese names. Why? It had no reason to. Maybe if the whole bird idea was dropped and it was just a human dating sim story, but there really is no reason for that. Because having Japanese names mames it harder to distinguish if it is a boy or a girl (I almost typed bird or a girl). I guess that's just picky since it is FOR anime fans so I could let that slide but it does complicate matters. The other thing that completely subverts the whooole bird idea is that it provides the option of giving you a portrait of each bird AS A HUMAN. It does this when you meet each one. WHY DOES IT DO THIS? This completely ruins the immersion of being in an allbird school. Why bother with birds then? The thing is....the dating birds thing is the ONLY hook this game has and then it ruins it with that idea. And even while it is breaking the bird immersion it does it poorly because not only do most of the birds appear white but their human potraits look mostly the same too. Thin anime characters with different colored hair. I only used that feature once and never again because it was so wrong for the story and the game.

    I did like the characters and their simple stories. I wanted more from ALL of them. If you are going to make a dating sim...why not allow you to go on MORE THAN ONE DATE. Why not let you date multiple people. It's like once you go on one date, then you find out a brooding secret about each person and then that's the end. And therein lies the only actual satisfaction. Trying to get each ending. And it is fast enough to play through the entire game very quickly until you get to a part you haven't seen before. And this is the best gameplay feature. With the simple click of the mouse button (or keyboard type), you can skip through the current bit of dialogue that's scrolling on the screen. That is SO IMPORTANT. Great. So just multiple click through the parts you've seen before! Hold on! there's an even BETTER button. They have a fast forward button! Click it and it zooms through whole sections until you have to make a choice or until it reaches a new chapter. That is so WONDERFUL. They need to use this format to make another much longer and more intricate story because that gameplay suits this kind of game perfectly. However, the amount that is skipped thru just to make your FIRST choice is very telling in how few choices you actually make.    … Expand
  13. Lyons
    Jun 19, 2015
    9
    I went into this game expecting a fun, yet cheesy experience. I thought it'd have a bunch of one dimensional characters, and that it would get dull rather quickly. I was very wrong.

    What I got was a surprisingly deep and well written game. So well written, in fact, that I chose to explore each and every ending. With each playthrough, I discovered something new about a character. The    I went into this game expecting a fun, yet cheesy experience. I thought it'd have a bunch of one dimensional characters, and that it would get dull rather quickly. I was very wrong.

    What I got was a surprisingly deep and well written game. So well written, in fact, that I chose to explore each and every ending. With each playthrough, I discovered something new about a character.

    The writing is clever and the dialog frequently made me laugh.

    The correct decisions of each playthrough are logical.

    It took me 7 hours to complete everything, (and yes, I mean EVERYTHING)

    Essentially, the developers set out to make an extremely absurd game and somehow also managed to make it good. It's cheap and fun so I would highly recommend it.    … Expand
  14. Overvulture
    Nov 9, 2015
    8
    It's a pigeon dating sim. And it's everything you could ever want from one.

    While highly self-aware of just how ridiculous it is, and embracing the sheer silliness of everything, there's a weird sort of sincerity that makes it less just a throwaway joke and more of an actively enjoyable running gag. Though the premise is pure comedy and much of the dialogue is humorous, it never gets    It's a pigeon dating sim. And it's everything you could ever want from one.

    While highly self-aware of just how ridiculous it is, and embracing the sheer silliness of everything, there's a weird sort of sincerity that makes it less just a throwaway joke and more of an actively enjoyable running gag. Though the premise is pure comedy and much of the dialogue is humorous, it never gets tiresome and instead actually becomes quite intriguing as you dig deeper into the bizarre fantasy world of pudding-obsessed pigeons.

    Also one of them is a serial killer. So there's that.    … Expand
  15. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    10
    Best game of ALL TIME - everybirdy needs to play this game at some point in their life. It's truly an experience like no other. ----------------------

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 35
  3. Negative: 4 out of 35
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 9, 2015
    70
    After a couple of hours this pigeon dating sim (yes, you date pigeons) turns into a psychedelic post-apocalyptic horror with gore elements. Is any other encouragement necessary? [13/2014, p.67]
  2. Gamer.nl
    Jan 6, 2015
    80
    Hatoful Boyfriend is a memorable visual novel. The birds in this dating sim are surprisingly interesting and have big personalities that unfold in a story that is deeper than we would have thought. In the base Hatoful Boyfriend is a funny game which will make you go WTF?! pretty often.
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  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Nov 15, 2014
    76
    I have always liked birds, but I have never dated them so that's the main reason why I wanted to play Hatoful Boyfriend. The game is a dating sim where you control a teenage girl who eventually ends up in a relationship with a pigeon, dove or some other type of bird. Although everything about it sounds like a big joke, the story is surprisingly deep and has a lot of replay value. I personally didn't like the fact that the game doesn't offer much freedom, because you have to follow pre-defined paths, but I guess that's part of the genre. [Nov 2014]
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