Piofiore: Fated Memories

 Switch
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
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  1. ShoujoWitch
    Nov 30, 2020
    7
    Not what I was expecting. That's pretty much my opinion on Piofiore. The art and music are absolutely beautiful, the latin sprinkled throughout is quite nice as well, and all of the characters are attractive. And that's unfortunately where my glowing praise stops. The game is a bit shorter than I was expecting (at around 7 hours per route), and each of the guys in turn disappointed. ThereNot what I was expecting. That's pretty much my opinion on Piofiore. The art and music are absolutely beautiful, the latin sprinkled throughout is quite nice as well, and all of the characters are attractive. And that's unfortunately where my glowing praise stops. The game is a bit shorter than I was expecting (at around 7 hours per route), and each of the guys in turn disappointed. There was very little romance to be found, and most of the guys ended up fairly unappealing, or very misleading. Dante was cold up until the last chapter, and half his route was with another guy entirely. Yang had some nice scenes sprinkled throughout, but the route expects you to pick disinterested answers, which left me feeling a bit conflicted, and some scenes were honestly quite uhh... horrifying. Nicola was a bait&switch, he seemed alright at first and got worse as the game went on. The focus was definitely more on the mafia story, rather than any thrilling romance which I had hoped for. Judging the mafia story on it's own merits, it's actually pretty alright. There was some fun plot twists, and there's lots of cool badass action scenes. If you're going to pick this up, get it for the art, music, and fun mafia story. Not for romance or for an otome. One other nitpick: there was a weird obsession with food. Pretty much a good 50% of the game involved the mc sitting around a mafia base talking about food. If these scenes were replaced with romance, I think all of my complaints with the game would've been resolved.… Expand
  2. tangledwings
    Oct 18, 2020
    8
    Piofiore is a darker and more mature Otome in many ways. It is a long game with a lot of unique content on the different routes.

    Setting The game is set in Italy in the 1920s, and I can’t help but feel like the developers did research by going to an Italian restaurant and ordering everything on the menu. The game goes into astonishing detail about the food that people eat, filling up    Piofiore is a darker and more mature Otome in many ways. It is a long game with a lot of unique content on the different routes.

    Setting
    The game is set in Italy in the 1920s, and I can’t help but feel like the developers did research by going to an Italian restaurant and ordering everything on the menu. The game goes into astonishing detail about the food that people eat, filling up the “dictionary” with pastries and coffee preparations. And then fails to give half the characters Italian names. Oops. Orlock the warlock! I mean, the church ninja. I mean, the disciple.

    Japanese games tend to make Europe feel like an alien planet and Christianity like a ride at Disneyland built by someone who doesn’t know anything about Christianity. The look of the setting is cool, the culture and dialog feels totally Japanese. I can practically feel the characters bowing through the screen. The crosses don't even look like crosses, the church has no priest, and adultery does not exist as a concept.

    Characters
    Ok so one day, our pretty, empty doll Otome protagonist will become a real girl. One day an Otome protagonist will be born with her memories intact, her wits about her, and an honest-to-god realistic personality that people can relate to. That day is not today. Who shows up in the middle of a gang war and gives a friendship speech? Liliana does!

    Liliana is far from the dullest main character I have ever seen, but she is still an innocent, naïve, pretty girl who gets passed around between the guys as a hostage for reasons having nothing to do with anything she says or does. She cooks, cleans, and smiles cheerfully at everyone. Guys fall in love with her mostly because she is around all the time. Dante’s story was particularly dull, because he goes to a safehouse with Liliana so she can cook and clean for him while he reads the newspaper like they are in a dish soap commercial from the 1950s. (How much training does it take to rinse a dish? None. The answer is none.)

    I like the characters; I just think the romances get sappy and generic in places. They have a lot of canned dialog that could be from any game between any characters.

    Plot
    The main plot is cohesive, relevant, and complex enough for the length of the game.
    You only have two routes available to start, but I like that because the first routes will tease information available in later routes. Each route has new plot info, which helps to keep things interesting. Whenever I got to a point where I was rolling my eyes at the characters, I continued playing for the plot, and vise-versa.

    There is sex in this game, but don't expect Liliana to say anything but "no" even when she means "yes." *Sigh*

    Routes:
    Dante- This is the "main" route, and while you get a lot of plot info; Dante himself is likable, but dull and serious. I found this route boring.
    Nicola- My personal favorite. You get almost no plot info on his route, but Nicola is a more complicated character with some darkness inside him.
    Orlock- This route has a nice mix of plot and character interaction. The "good" ending is very chaste though.
    Yang- Interesting and dark. Too dark for the good ending to be believably romantic, in my opinion, but still compelling. Yang was the villain in all the earlier routes. Very little plot info here.
    Gilbert- My least favorite. The romance is sickly sweet and generic, but you get a lot of plot info you don't get on other routes.    … Expand
  3. Dennya
    Jun 24, 2021
    9
    Best otome on switch so far. It has some flaws, but in general all routes are pretty good and full of emotion. It is easy to fall in love even with the darkest characters. Yes, it is a bit dark… it is about mafia, so don’t expect a Disney story. It has themes such as violence, torture and human trafficking. If you are overly sensitive or conservative, this game is definitely not for you.
  4. blisslovesotome
    Jan 4, 2022
    10
    Too bad for the Finale route, or else this game would have been perfect! This game is filled with nice exquisite little details.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. KeenGamer
    Feb 13, 2023
    90
    Piofiore: Fated Memories is an action-packed mafia otome with an intriguing storyline, handsome leads, and a mystery to solve. The art is beautiful, though it can become gruesome in the Bad Endings. The soundtrack is a delight and the voice acting is superb. The secret route, though short, is my favorite. Be mindful of content warnings as the game does not shy away from graphic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The misdeeds of the mafia are yours to have if you will accept their hand.
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  2. Cubed3
    Apr 12, 2021
    60
    Piofiore is a solid and enjoyable romance story, but one that falls a little short from some of the better Otomate productions out there. One thing that does set it apart though are its bleak story paths. There's torture, murder, rape. Things get awfully dark, much more so than the majority of these types of titles, and for those who enjoy such experiences, it certainly delivers. Stay with Cubed3, as it will soon be looking at more Otomate games coming to Switch.
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  3. RPG Fan
    Dec 14, 2020
    85
    Piofiore: Fated Memories deserves to be up there with the other otome greats such as Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom and Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~. I would even dare to say, with the unique storytelling structure, nature of its subject matter, and mechanic-related plot twist near the end, it begins encroaching upon Zero Escape territory. Sadly, the comparative lack of quality control holds it back. The fact that the game is fantastic despite these glaring issues is a testament to how strong it is, but it would be wrong to turn a blind eye to these errors all the same. Just as peace in the city of Burlone is tragically built upon mafia-inflicted violence, Piofiore’s errors are a bloody stain on an otherwise pristine experience.
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