Title	My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! -Pirates of the Disturbance-
Developer	Idea Factory
Publisher	Idea Factory International
Release Date	Nov. 28, 2023
Genre	Visual Novel, Otome
Platform	Nintendo Switch (physical and digital)
Age Rating	Teen
Official Website

I heard a few things about the series a while back when it was just a light novel series. I didn’t really get into My Next Life as a Villainess until the anime began. For those who aren’t familiar, it features a character who is reincarnated into an otome game called Fortune Lover. She recovers her memories and realizes she is now the character Catarina Claes, who in game is the main antagonist and for most endings is killed or at the very least exiled. From there Catarina does her best with her limited skills to change her fate.

This game is a new story that is set after Catarina believes she’s avoided her death flags. Catarina and her friends end up on a voyage on a luxury ship called the Vinculum. What seems to be an enjoyable trip ends up going awry with pirates boarding them, but also other plots are in the works. The new development reminds Catarina of an old fan book and a fan disc she never had a chance to play. While similar to the scenario, things are still quite different. It doesn’t take long for Catarina to realize she might have more death flags to avoid, and she doesn’t have the advantage of knowing as much as she did about the base game here.

As the main protagonist, Catarina is just as simple minded, gluttonous, and oblivious as she ever is. These traits do reflect in some of the choices that come up, which are are funny at times and may differ from some choices that might typically be seen in these games. If you are not familiar with the light novel or anime, it might be worth noting that Catarina is a pretty dense character who can compete with the best for not noticing romantic signals. While the current Catarina is different than the original, I do like the moments where she embraces the villainess attitude. If you are not a fan of the series, this could be an area you might not appreciate as much from your own tastes though.

Bakarina never changes.

It’s probably not that big of a surprise that this is definitely for the fans. It is a new story that does feel like it would belong in the series. All the the characters are voiced with the voice actors from the anime returning for their roles. That being said, I will say even if you are not familiar with the source, you won’t be too lost. The game does a good job recapping the main points worth knowing. At a few points there will be a flashback to the past, usually once from Catarina’s memory and the perspective of another character. If you are new you might have trouble figuring out which choice to make for some characters to build affection. Then again, that is also why they have auto-save.

Who to go for?

Routes in these games usually have several chapters, though some routes can conclude within three. The first two chapters for any route will play out more or less the same as Catarina and the others board and enjoy themselves. At the start there are four suitors: the princes Geordo and Alan, Catarina’s adoptive brother Keith, and Nicol, the brother of Catarina’s friend Sophia. Once you finish one of these routes, two more open up for the new characters. These two are original characters named Rozy and Silva. Rozy is an engineer on the ship who quickly befriends her through food and Silva is the head of the Weiss Pirates that take the Vinculum. The two are interesting, though unsurprisingly Silva gets quite a lot of time due to his role. Rozy has fewer parts overall unless you go for his route, which is a bit of a shame. While the scenarios they go through have some similar motions, there are some differences. They can range from what actions are taken, what characters appear, and what details are revealed, among other things.

While there are about six main routes to choose from, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! -Pirates of the Disturbance- boasts a total of 25 different endings. These endings include different ones for each route, another ends, and doom endings. The game features a number of galleries and libraries like most games in the genre. Unlocked endings, music tracks, CG scenes, and cutscenes can be viewed from the special menu. The CG scenes look pretty good and the music is also pretty fitting. If there is anything that I would say as a negative about the music is while the tracks are nice, none really blew me away personally. Another thing to collect along the way are memory scenarios. These are unlocked as you play through, and may also depend on what choices you make. These scenarios are not available as you play through a route, but are accessed through the special menu. While they don’t really do much for the main scenarios, they explain some past events and memories of the characters. They are not really important to the overall plot, but they are nice to have.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! -Pirates of the Disturbance- is a game that is very true to the series. The story, setting, and new characters are not something that would be out of place in the original story line. With the series taking place in a world of an otome, it’s only fitting that the game is a solid example of one also. The characters are unique and each route differs enough from each other to keep things interesting. If you are a fan of the series I can definitely recommend this, and if you are not but are looking for a more light hearted otome, then I would say this isn’t a bad choice for you either.

Review Score
Overall

Review copy was provided by the publisher.