What Is an Otome Game?

Published October 20, 2026 · By the Otome Alta team

An otome game (乙女ゲーム, "maiden game") is a story-driven romance game made for women. You play a female heroine, meet several love interests, usually men, and your choices decide whose route you follow and which ending you reach. The genre started in Japan with Angelique (Koei, 1994), and today it spans console visual novels, phone story apps and 3D games like Love and Deepspace.

What "otome" means

In Japanese, otome (乙女) means a young woman or maiden. The Japanese dictionary Digital Daijisen defines an otome game as a kind of computer game: a simulation in which a female protagonist has a romance with the man she likes. Publishers describe the genre the same way. Koei Tecmo says it "pioneered the genre of games directed at female users", and Aksys Games, launching Hakuoki in North America, called it "a game specifically created for a female audience".

How otome games work

Almost every otome game is built from the same parts, whatever the setting:

Common route. The opening chapters everyone plays, where you meet the cast.
Routes. Each love interest has his own storyline. Your choices in the common route lock you into one of them.
Affection. A hidden or visible score that rises and falls with your choices and decides which ending you get.
Endings. Most routes have a good ending and a bad one, sometimes more. A "true ending" often unlocks only after other routes and reveals the main mystery.
CGs. Full-screen illustrations shown at key moments. Collecting them in the gallery is a big part of the fun.
Love interests. The characters you can romance, often called LIs, or capture targets in Japanese (攻略対象).

Because each route is a different story, an otome game is meant to be replayed: one playthrough per love interest, then the true ending.

Otome vs dating sim vs visual novel

These terms overlap, which is why people mix them up. They describe different things:

Term	What it describes	Who you play	Example
Otome game	Audience and point of view: romance for women	A woman; love interests usually men	Hakuoki, Mystic Messenger
Visual novel	Format: text, character art and choices	Anyone	Any genre, romance or not
Dating sim	Gameplay: stats, schedules and dates	Traditionally a man	Tokimeki Memorial
Galge / bishoujo game	The male-oriented counterpart of otome	A man; love interests women	—
BL game	Romance between men	A man	—

So an otome game can be a visual novel (Hakuoki, Amnesia), a simulation (Angelique), a chat game (Mystic Messenger) or a 3D action game (Love and Deepspace). What makes it otome is that the story is written for a female player stepping into a female heroine's shoes.

A short history

1994: Angelique. Koei releases Angelique for the Super Famicom, from Koei's Ruby Party brand, which makes games for women. It is widely regarded as the first otome game; Koei Tecmo calls it the "pioneer of romance games".
2005–2007: Otomate. Idea Factory sets up a women's brand in 2005 that becomes Otomate in 2007.
2012: Hakuoki in North America. Aksys Games releases Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom on PSP, billing it as "one of North America's first otome games".
2013–2015: Otomate in English. Idea Factory International is founded in California in 2013 and brings Amnesia: Memories to Steam in 2015.
2016: Mystic Messenger. Korean studio Cheritz releases a chat-based otome game that plays out in real time on your phone.
2021 and 2024: big-budget mobile. HoYoverse's Tears of Themis (on the US App Store since 2021) and Infold's Love and Deepspace (since 2024) bring big-budget, free-to-play production to the genre; Love and Deepspace now has more than 10 million installs on Google Play.

Kinds of otome games today

Console and PC visual novels. Complete games you buy once, mostly Japanese releases translated by Aksys Games and Idea Factory International. See upcoming otome games.
Phone story apps. Free to start, read chapter by chapter with daily tickets, like the Ikemen series. See games like Ikemen.
Chat games. The story arrives as messages and calls, like Mystic Messenger. See games like Mystic Messenger.
Gacha otome. Big-budget free-to-play games with collectible cards, like Tears of Themis and Love and Deepspace. See games like Tears of Themis.
Indie otome. Small teams on itch.io and Steam, many funded on Kickstarter.

The "trapped in an otome game" story

The genre is popular enough to have become a story trope of its own. In many Japanese light novels, manga and anime, the heroine wakes up inside an otome game she has played, cast as the villainess who is doomed to a bad ending, and has to rewrite the script. Some otome games now use the idea directly; our own Villainess at Midnight is one.

Where to start

On your phone: the best otome games on Android.
Without spending: free otome games.
If you already have a favourite: Mystic Messenger, Tears of Themis, Ikemen or My Candy Love alternatives.

FAQ

What does otome mean?

Otome (乙女) is Japanese for a young woman or maiden. An otome game (乙女ゲーム) is a story game for women in which a female heroine falls in love with one of several characters.

What is the male version of an otome game called?

Games aimed at men, where a male protagonist romances female characters, are usually called galge or bishoujo games ("pretty girl games"). Dating sims like Tokimeki Memorial come from that side of the market.

What is the difference between an otome game and a dating sim?

"Dating sim" describes the gameplay: raising stats, planning dates and building affection. "Otome game" describes the audience and point of view: a female heroine and, usually, male love interests. An otome game can be a dating sim, but most modern ones are visual novels.

Is an otome game a visual novel?

Often, but not always. Visual novel is a format (text, character art and choices), while otome describes who the game is for. Hakuoki and Amnesia are otome visual novels; Angelique is an otome simulation game; Love and Deepspace is an otome game in 3D.

Is otome the same as BL?

No. BL (boys' love) games are romances between male characters. In an otome game you play a woman, and the love interests are usually men.

Is Love and Deepspace an otome game?

Yes. You play a female Deepspace Hunter and build romances with male leads, which is the core of an otome game, even though it is presented in real-time 3D with combat.

What was the first otome game?

Angelique, released by Koei in 1994 for the Super Famicom, is widely regarded as the first otome game. Koei Tecmo itself calls it the pioneer of romance games.

What is the most popular otome game?

By Google Play installs, Romance Club has more than 50 million, though it is an anthology where many routes let you choose a male or female love interest. Among games built around a female heroine and male love interests, Love and Deepspace and My Candy Love each have more than 10 million.

What is a reverse harem game?

A game where one heroine is pursued by several men at once. Most otome games let you choose one love interest per playthrough; a true reverse harem ending, where she ends up with several, is rarer.