Welcome to Manchester. Hope you’re a fan of soccer because while Offside does feature a groovy slice of yuri dating sim and a grand ol’ mystery to solve, Linda Broadmarsh – its protagonist – can’t really avoid the sport, her father being a famous goalkeeper and all. But will that leave enough room to potentially fix her ailing love life, not to mention, the strained relationship with her father?
Seeing how I have yet to play Offside, the answer to both questions, and whether “one of the highest profile cases in all of Manchester’s history” will end up solved, is an unknown factor to me at the time of writing. What I do know, however, is that the visual novel features some rather lovely art, a football-themed minigame (penalty kick, I believe), and a choice-driven narrative leading players through/to one of many romantic routes/endings. So far, so – GOAL! Ahem. Good. Not goal. Good.
All that said, it seems there’s actually a bit of a ‘shared universe’ thing going on, as according to this review on Steam, a character from Life Can Be Amazing (Steam, itch.io) makes an appearance in Offside. Interesting. Why the developer neglected to note this tidbit anywhere, provided it isn’t simply the words of a misinformed customer, I do not know. Rather puzzling, to say the least, as cross-over stuff like this can be undeniably useful in getting players interested in previous releases, but… oh well. Hit the field, get the ball rolling, and find out exactly what’s what, in Offside!
Offside is available on Steam and itch.io, carrying a $3.99 price tag.
