Hatoful Boyfriend

Hatoful Boyfriend is a Japanese dōjin soft otome visual novel as well as a casual, indie and simulation videogame. It was developed by manga artist Hato Moa’s dōjin circle PigeoNation Inc. and Mediatonic published by Devolver Digital. This is the successor to a Flash game of the same name she created for April Fools’ Day in 2011. Hatoful Boyfriend is an interactive text-based visual novel that follows a branching plot line, with the player’s decisions determining which of the game’s multiple endings they receive. The title is a pun on the wasei-eigo word hātofuru (“heartful”, also “hurtful), and the Japanese word hato (“pigeon”, “dove”), as the game features pigeons and other birds as major characters. The game is set in a version of Earth populated by sapient birds, and its main story follows the player character and protagonist is the only human attending St. PigeoNation’s Institute, an elite school for birds—as she finds love among her avian acquaintances. The player assumes control of the protagonist, a teenage human girl. As the game follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, at various points during gameplay the player is allowed to make choices that determine which character’s romance route the player will encounter. On weekdays, the player can also choose which classes to attend, which change one of the protagonist’s three stats depending on the activity chosen. Having certain stat values are required to obtain the good endings for each love interest and to otherwise advance along certain routes.