As of writing this, the demo for Knee Deep!: In Love has officially been released on Steam! Big congratulations to Comfort Kuma Studios on the launch! I hope many yandere enjoyers will get to experience this nerve-wrecking story. Previously, it was only available on Itch.io. For my experience, I accessed the demo through the latter. I will try to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, but keep in mind that viewing the trigger warnings may reveal some events that happen in the story.
This game contains mature content, please exercise discretion if you choose to play it.
The developers describe the content like this: (Extracted from Steam page)
This game revolves around romancing yanderes (love interests who are violently obsessed) which means there will be depictions of violence including kidnapping, drugging, manipulation, physical violence, animal cruelty, strong language, abuse and murder, blood, poison, and suicide. The game uses a stylized art style with cute aesthetics that contrast with the dark themes.
There weren’t many disturbing descriptions overall. But if you want to avoid most descriptions of violence, ill intent, and animal cruelty in the demo, I highly suggest skipping the scenes where MC pulls out her phone to read social media posts.
For those who haven’t watched the trailer, here it is!
Estimate demo duration:
Prologue: ~45m
Each route: ~40m each (read out loud)
Meet the yandere heartthrobs of KDIL! (Images from the Knee Deep in Love Steam page)
My short review of each love interest’s route thus far is written below their descriptions with some trigger warnings (highlight to reveal them). Full Demo Playthrough video can be found at the end!
Save, FREQUENTLY!
At the end of the prologue, you will be asked to choose one of four options. Any of the love interests, or none.
TW and SPOILER if you pick ‘none’:
A bombing occurs
MILO
Route TW:
Stalking, harassment (texts, showing up unannounced), imprisonment/lock-up, descriptions of animal cruelty and ill intent (SNS posts)
The closest otome equivalents to Milo are Toma from Amnesia and Caleb from Love and Deepspace. These characters share a common trait: caring to the point of being overbearing. Milo is the most expressively volatile of the 3 love interests, and regardless which route you choose, he lingers to haunt your decisions. In Milo’s demo route, the player has little control over how MC treats him, so all you can do is sit back and watch both of them become increasingly unhinged.
The classic childhood friend trope is one of my favourites because the love interests are often able to push the boundaries a lot more than a stranger or new friend would. The intimacy-turned-dangerous escalation is steady, which allows you to foreshadow that something bad might happen, but the internal tug-of-war between trust and distrust keeps you in suspense, so you constantly feel like you need to be on guard. If you like banter and tasty tension, Milo’s route delivers it most intensely.
RYLEE
Route TW:
Suggested voyeurism, drugging, kidnapping, descriptions of animal cruelty and ill intent (SNS posts)
Sweet, sweet Rylee. When you first meet him, he’s oh-so shy and a nervous mess. But the more you get to know him, he gets bolder. If Milo’s violent tendencies are a see-through slow cooker, Rylee’s is an opaque pressure cooker. He is gentle, respectful, and almost too eager to please. His facade barely shows any cracks throughout your time with him, which is when why he explodes, your walls have already come down far enough to bear the full brunt of the impact. Where Milo is a chaotic but steady rollercoaster, Rylee is a complete derailment difficult to see coming.
He is incredibly sweet though, and I had a beaming smile on my face for the most part of Rylee’s route.
ANTHONY
Route TW:
Suggested gun violence
Anthony, in my opinion, fits neatly as a mystery or thriller character over being a yandere. There is not a doubt he’s got skeletons in his closet, but he looks out for you in seemingly healthy ways throughout the demo. That said, my vision of healthy could have been thoroughly messed up by the time we got to Anthony, since we played his route last.
Given he is also a dandere, it may take a while for more of his true colours to show. I would compare him most closely to Sylus from Love and Deepspace. Where you need a breather from the craziness, play Anthony’s route! His route made my heart flutter and want to continue to find out what’s going on when he goes missing from the dorm.
Full VOD:
Thank you so much for reading this review! If you desire some m/m yandere stories, I suggest checking out the games by Night Asobu! We interviewed them last year and tried the demo for Fearbonding, which is not a dating sim, but a thrilling visual novel to experience.