Not one, not two, but three new otome titles were announced by Voltage Inc today – including the dark and mysterious Project Code: Kaleido Tower; the vibrant and gritty Project Code: Neon Mafia; and the action-packed angst-fest of Project Code: Vampire Hunter.

With only three brief teaser trailers, we’re offered a mere tantalising glimpse at these exciting new titles, but even with such few details, we’ve managed to paint a picture of what we know, and what we hope to see from Voltage’s latest projects.

Kaleido Tower

Project Code Kaleido Tower seems to be an angsty, tragic tale with themes of greed, despair, and corruption. For each positive word is an opposite one reflected beneath it, so I have a feeling Kaleido Tower will explore all of the kaleidoscopic, multifaceted human condition.

Which comes as no surprise to someone who is a huge fan of Ushio Ayane’s work (writer of Norn9 and even if TEMPEST). One of the things I love about her stories is how she dives deep into the minds and hearts of her flawed, yet loveable characters, examining who they are – and why – with compassion and open-minded curiosity.

Her characters are some of the most complex and intriguing that I’ve come across, and I can’t wait to see where she takes this mysterious premise as we discover more about the game in future teasers and announcements.

Theme Song

The theme song for the Kaleido Tower trailer was composed by DUSTCELL – you can check out their other music on YouTube or Spotify!

Deciphering the Video

Throughout the trailer, various words and phrases flash across the screen, which can be a little tricky to decipher, even on multiple watches. Thankfully, the dedicated otome fans in our Sweet & Spicy server were on the case, and we have a decoded list of the ‘hidden messages’ that appear throughout the video (special thanks to Kurona for her hard work on putting this list together!).

♥ Hidden messages decoded ♥
0:16 “the world is our enemy” / “convention”
0:17 “punishment” / “no one understands us anyway”
0:18 “curse” / “consensus”
0:19 “rumors” / “Humans are more interesting when they’re greedy”
0:21 “A doctor who offered his own flesh
A devil who calls the winds of destruction
A wandering failed marionette
A humanist killed by love
One who hunts twilight”
0:26 “I’ll happily respo – so long as -“
“I want the kind -“
“The misanthrope is human?”
“I love you, but you’re the one I trust the least”
“People are attracted to beauty and wallow in the unseemly”
“I’ve been suffering since I met you”
“Let’s put an end to this, if that’s your – “
“Can you actually tell the – “
“- wonderful way to deny yourself”
“- end, you–“
“love me (cherish me)”
“caress me (gouge me)”
“save me (expose me)”
“embrace me (unmask me)”
0:36 “of the real and the vacant”
“A panorama”
0:40 “performed by hope and despair”
“A melody”

The messages at the 0:21 mark sound like hints at the love interests – if so, I’m most curious about the “wandering failed marionette”, and the “devil who calls the winds of destruction”. The “doctor who offered his own flesh” is also intriguing, because I’m a sucker for the self-sacrificing types. I want to know what “hunting twilight” entails too – so needless to say, these drip-fed details have me dying for more.

☆ Game Name: Project Code: Kaleido Tower*
☆ Developer: Voltage Inc.
☆ Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Digital Only)
☆ Genres / Vibes: Otome, Romance, Tragedy
☆ More info: YouTube, Website, Twitter
☆ Expected release date: 2024

*”Project Code Kaleido Tower” is the name of the project and not the official title of the game.

Neon Mafia

Oh no, I love them. I’ve barely met the love interests of Neon Mafia, but I’m already simping hard. Sun Maslo looks like a clingy, quiet cute type, Zhang Hiyok gives me deranged (affectionate) delinquent energy, Sodyk Mun is an absolute specimen of a man (and described as “scheming”, so I love him), and Gante Lowd is one of the prettiest love interests I’ve ever seen and I’m calling it now, he’ll be my favourite.

And not to mention the best character we’ve seen so far – MC. Liu Kroa (name changeable) is described as a “Mastermind who Transports Fate”, and she’s depicted in haphazardly draped clothing, with wildly flowing hair and a pink gun in hand, adorned with a rose.

Her facial expression and lackadaisical attire suggest a slightly more spirited attitude than we might typically expect from an otome heroine, and with the line “We’ve waited so long to welcome you here as our boss”, it seems highly likely that we get to play as the mafia boss this time – and I can’t wait!

Speculation

While the entertainment district, mafioso premise sounds like it’ll make for a gritty drama – like Piofiore – the writer for ‘Neon Mafia’ is the same person who worked on Cupid Parasite, which suggests to me that there might be more of a bold, lively, vibrant tone (which would lend itself to the “neon” part of “neon mafia”) – and maybe even some of the signature comedy that made Cupid Parasite stand out in the first place.

There’s a mention of a “declaration of war” which indicates that perhaps not all of the love interests will be our subordinates, or even our allies. Personally, I’d love for a rival mafioso as a love interest, but it’s too soon to say where the men in the trailer’s allegiances lie.

Other than that, we’ll need to wait for more information to cast any more aspersions as to the game’s story, cast, and overall experience. I already have my eye on Gante, but I’m curious to see what else will be revealed in the coming months. Both Neon Mafia and Kaleido Tower have been slated for 2024, but considering we got love interest reveals and names for this game, my prediction is that Neon Mafia will be the first release out of the three announced titles.

☆ Game Name: Project Code: Neon Mafia*
☆ Developer: Voltage Inc.
☆ Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Digital Only)
☆ Genres / Vibes: Otome, Romance, Drama
☆ More info: YouTube, Website, Twitter
☆ Expected release date: 2024

*”Project Code Neon Mafia” is the name of the project and not the official title of the game.

Vampire Hunter

I cannot wait for 2025. I’m a sucker for anything involving vampires, and you’re telling me this time we get to play as a badass vampire hunter, hell-bent on revenge? Sign. Me. Up.

This is the title we have the least information on out of the three announced today – which makes sense, considering the estimated release date is for sometime in 2025, so we have to wait over a year to slay some vampires and fall in love. We get a glimpse at an unnamed male character, and other than being cute and having impeccable fashion sense, we don’t know anything about him.

We have several theories floating around the Sweet & Spicy server about who the guy in the trailer is, but my favourite is that he’s a vampire love interest, and our vampire hunter MC is supposed to kill him (enemies to lovers: vampire edition, anyone?). He doesn’t appear to have any weapons on the character sprite we get to see, but he also doesn’t have fangs or bite marks – so it’s too soon to say what his role is in the story at this stage.

Deciphering the Video

This trailer also contained several words and phrases flashing across the screen, and once again, the lovely Kurona has taken the time to decipher these ‘hidden messages’ to help us catch a better glimpse of this mysterious game.

♥ Hidden messages decoded ♥
“I won’t let them take anything else”
“even without resolve, you better keep fighting if you don’t want to die”
“just forget about the humans that’ve died”
“if only this moment could last forever”
“this game won’t end until one side is destroyed”
“you’re better off not knowing the truth”
“I can fight alone”
“if we fail here, the world will fall into despair”
“you did this to yourself”
“Sometimes dying is better, not that I can die”

“Sometimes dying is better, not that I can die” is perhaps one of the edgiest, coolest, hottest things I’ve read a character say – and I’m not even sure who says it. Revenge arcs always bring an abundance of angst, and from the few poses we got to see of MC, it looks like she’s going to be both angsty and feisty. One thing’s for sure, she’s a fighter, and with the backdrop of some kind of “game” (presumably a death game), I can’t wait to see this badass slayer in action.

Theme Song

The theme song for the Kaleido Tower trailer was composed by 9mm Parabellum Bullet – you can check out their other music on YouTube or Spotify!

Speculation

Project Code: Vampire Hunter has the same writer as Shuuen no Virche -ErroR:salvation- and Paradigm Paradox, which seems like an interesting mix of titles attributed to the same person. I’m curious to see how much of both of these games are reflected in the storytelling of Vampire Hunter, since it doesn’t look quite so heavy and despairing as Shuuen no Virche, but the overall colour palette is darker than the technicolour, magical girl vibes of Paradigm Paradox.

Considering the credit for the soundtrack, I have high hopes for the music in this game. Yamato is listed on the website, and according to the research conducted by the otome fans on the server, his previous work includes music for, Free! STYLE FIVE BEST ALBUM ~Timeless Blue~, THE IDOLM@STER MILLION THE@TER BEST (and various Idolmaster albums as well), and ENSEMBLE STARS! ALBUM SERIES PRESENT -Eden- [Limited Edition].

☆ Game Name: Project Code: Vampire Hunter*
☆ Developer: Voltage Inc.
☆ Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Digital Only)
☆ Genres / Vibes: Otome, Romance, Drama, Gothic, Dark Fantasy
☆ More info: YouTube, Website, Twitter
☆ Expected release date: 2025 😦

*”Project Code Vampire Hunter” is the name of the project and not the official title of the game.

Final Thoughts

When Voltage said they had some otome news, I don’t think any of us expected them to announce three new titles to be released over the next year or so. I’m pleasantly surprised – and unbelievably excited – to get teaser trailers that already have me dying to know more.

I’d love to give a ranking for which games I’m most looking forward to, but there’s something to love about all of them. I’m a huge fan of Ushio Ayane’s work (even if TEMPEST and Norn9 are my two all-time favourite otome games), so I’m looking forward to playing another game written by the same author. Neon Mafia looks like it’s going to be a wild ride and so much fun, with an MC who I can’t wait to play. And, as I said, I’m a sucker for anything to do with vampires, too, so Vampire Hunter is well and truly on my radar.

We’ll have to wait for more information to be released to make any more predictions and speculations, but for now, I’m just basking in the excitement and waiting with bated breath for more news.

A special thank you to the Sweet & Spicy discord server for helping collect the details mentioned in this article! Simping with you all over the new releases motivated me to put all the information – and excitement – in one place ♥

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