There’s a lot of new and exciting otome games announced for English releases in 2021 and 2022. I’ve compiled a list of some of the most promising ones based on experience or Japanese reviews! I’ve provided summaries as well as info on the Voice Actors. I hope you can check some of these out now or add them to your otome games wishlist!

Nekopara: Catboys Paradise

Although released in late July 2021, I’m including Catboys Paradise in this otome games list because it’s free. It’s an adorable little game by developers who usually release games about catgirls, not boys. In this short game, which feels almost like a sample of more to come, you play as the diligent granddaughter of a café-opener. Realizing the café needs more staff, you hire four catboys to come live in your grandfather’s mansion and work at the café. However, you quickly learn that these catboys want to view you as their owner and receive all the love and affection from you that a cat could ever want.

The artwork in this game is amazing, which surprised me given that the character design was done by a man more familiar with designing busty waifus. The game is fully-voiced and takes about 5-7 hours to complete all of the routes, depending on your reading speed. There are no choices in this game, but you can choose which catboy’s route you want to pursue after the prologue.

Sage – Yuuichiro Umehara: Canus Espada (Café Enchanté), Shingen (Ikemen Sengoku), Demento (Period Cube)

Lauriel – Kaito Ishikawa: Dante Falzone (Piofiore), Il Fado de Rie (Café Enchanté), Dimitri (Fire Emblem Three Houses)

Fennel – Komada Wataru: Iruma Jyuto (Hypnosis Mic), Nagusa (Olympia Soiree)

Dill – Junya Enoki: Chisato Tachibana (Collar x Malice Unlimited), Hansel (Ozmafia!!), Keisaiin F Ryuki (Cupid Parasite), Araki Mihaya (Paradigm Paradox)

Release: July 17, 2021 (PC, iOS, Android) [E]

Bustafellows

Arrive in New Sieg, a beautiful fictional town. Step into the shoes of a strong, smart and gifted journalist in this romantic adventure. You play the part of a young woman with the ability to leap in the past for a very short period in the bodies of others, which you use for data collection and helping people. After witnessing the murder of a crooked lawyer – she goes back in time in an attempt to save him. Thus, the journey begins as our protagonist goes back in time in the body of another person and tries to warn Limbo. It’s up to you to figure out how to save him!

Steam

I played this game for the romance and stayed for the thrilling story. As a big fan of crime fiction, this game gave me everything I (didn’t even realize I) wanted. You play as a 21-year-old freelance journalist with a refreshing personality. She’s far from lifeless, and doesn’t depend on her superpower the whole game. The game sometimes feels like a crime drama, with excellent pacing and episode recaps to keep you caught up. It’s not afraid to touch on deeper issues, such as those surrounding marginalized people and an unjust justice system.

The cast is amazing, with each different character combining to make the perfect team. Each of the five main routes was enjoyable, some light and pleasant and some getting into heavier topics. I would personally recommend starting with the lighter routes first before working into the heavier ones, and then wrapping up with the finale (which is unlocked after completing all five routes). This is the order I chose: Limbo, Shu, Helvetical, Mozu, Scarecrow, Main Story.

The game takes about 35-40 hours to fully complete, including unlocking a whole lotta extra content. It is fully voiced, and includes a very impressive VA line-up.

Limbo – KENN: Futo Asahina (Brothers Conflict), Minakawa Asahi (Gakuen Club), Jaden Yuki (Yu-Gi-Oh!), Shelby (Cupid Parasite), Urianger (Final Fantasy XIV)

Helvetica – Hiroyuki Yoshino: Heisuke Todo (Hakuoki), Heishi Otomaru (Norn9),  Debito (Arcana Famiglia), Sendo Kiyoharu (Vitamin X), Iwaizumi Hajime (Haikyuu!!), Yasutomo Arakita (Yowamushi Pedal)

Mozu – Jun Fukuyama: Vynn Richter (Tears of Themis), Ito Keita (Gakuen Heaven), Aido (Vampire Knight), Tokiwa (Dairoku), Tweedle Dee & Dum (Heart no kuni no Alice), Keiichi Shimizu (Kin’iro no Corda), Lelouch (Code Geass)

Shu – Yoshimasa Hosoya: Futomimi (Shin Megami Tensei), Julian (Black Wolves Saga), Loki (Kamigami no Asobi), Yukimura Sanada (Ikemen Sengoku), Doppo Kunikida (Bungou Stray Dogs), Fumikage Tokoyami (My Hero Academia)

Scarecrow – Shirai Yusuke: Eltcreed Valentine (Steam Prison), Watson (London Detective Mysteria), Amemura Ramuda (Hypnosis Mic), Miki Hiraizumi (Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome)

Release: July 30, 2021 (PC, Switch) [M]

Olympia Soirée 

Her entire clan wiped out years ago, Olympia has been isolated for much of her life. Now she must live in Tenguu Island, as the only person who can perform a ritual that will restore the sun to a land enveloped in darkness. The heads of each district there (Red, Blue, and Yellow) lead a society governed by rigid class structures.

Able to travel between the districts, Olympia discovers their wonders and weaknesses. She also finds an entire underground group of shunned “colorless” individuals who she becomes determined to help. If she can find a mate who will help her continue her lineage and save the world before it is destroyed, she will reveal to that special someone her heart and her true name.

Aksys Game’s Official Website

Olympia Soirée is a stunningly beautiful game with a fascinating and touching story. It touches on issues such as misogyny and caste discrimination, the latter of which plays a big role in the plot itself. The gorgeous art was done by Satoi, a popular otome games artist who has also worked on Diabolik Lovers, Ozmafia!!, and Norn9.

With six routes and a long story, this game will probably take you over 55-60 hours to fully complete. It’s a game that fully shows that otome games are not to be taken less seriously just because they’re about romance. Each of the routes is interesting, and I ended up enjoying even those that I didn’t expect to.

Riku – Nobunaga Shimazaki: Kazuha Kaedehara (Genshin Impact), Haruka Nanase (Free!), Shun Kaido (Saiki K.), Yuki (Fruits Basket, 2019), Shinichi Izumi (Parasyte)

Tokisada – Yuto Uemura: Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Tsukito Totsuka (Kamigami no Asobi), Kyosuke Sakurai (Tokyo Chronos), Ephemer (Kingdom Hearts X)

Kuroba – Tomokazu Sugita: Gintoki (Gintama), Gyomei (Demon Slayer), Gundham Tanaka (Danganronpa), Chrom (Fire Emblem), Yusuke (Persona 5), Ron (Norn9), Sauli (Bustafellows), Oda Nobunaga (IkeSen)

Yosuga – Yuma Uchida: Suzu (Jack Jeanne), Aoi (Toraware no Palm), Kyo (Fruit Basket, 2019), Yves (Ikemen Prince), Souma Kuze (Sweet Clown), Megumi (Jujutsu Kaisen), Kawaki (Boruto)

Himuka – Shun Horie: Okubo Toshimichi (Destined to Love: Ikemen Samurai Romance), Gerard (Angelique Retour), Aether (Genshin Impact), Linhardt (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Akaza – Yoshitsugu Matsuoka: Alice (Taisho x Alice), Kirito (Sword Art Online), Monshiro (Pyschedelica of the BB), Rin Okazaki (Spiral Memoria), Takuro Miyashiro (Chaos;Child), Inosuke (Demon Slayer)

Release: September 9, 2021 (Switch) [M]

Cupid Parasite

What’s love got to do with it? In this divine romantic comedy, play as Lynette Mirror, Cupid Corporation’s top bridal advisor and none other than Celestia’s Goddess of Love, Cupid! Determined to prove that love is more than bows and arrows, she meets her biggest challenge yet – the infamous Parasite 5.

Nintendo’s Official Website

In Cupid Parasite, you are Lynette Mirror, a bridal advisor who has been tasked with finding matches for the Parasite 5, five men who seem to be hopeless in love. She decides to have them live together and star in a reality TV show, Parasite House, about their lives. To help them prepare for the future, you’ll go on “practice dates” with them, all while working on increasing your Love Level with the character you’re interested in. Will they find love–or will you find love with one of them?

The game seems really cute, and Japanese reviews are generally pretty good, with 4.1 stars on Amazon (at the time of writing). Reviewers praise the main character for being an interesting and hard-working woman, and not lacking in personality like some otome games’ leads. Many also praise the humor in the game as well as the bright and stylish art. (Spoiler: There is also a hidden route!)

Gill – Ryohei Kimura: Ryouta (Kuroko’s Basketball), Bokuto (Haikyuu!!), Mukami Kou (Diabolik Lovers), Watson (London Detective Mysteria), Kageyuki Shiraishi (Collar x Malice)

Shelby – KENN: Futo Asahina (Brothers Conflict), Minakawa Asahi (Gakuen Club), Jaden Yuki (Yu-Gi-Oh!), Limbo (Bustafellows), Urianger (Final Fantasy XIV)

Raul – Taku Yashiro: Buzen Gō (Touken Ranbu), Edgar Bright (IkeRev), Tsubasa Kashiwagi (iDOLM@STER SideM), Yamazaki Susumu (Bakumatsu)

Ryuki – Junya Enoki: Chisato Tachibana (Collar x Malice Unlimited), Hansel (Ozmafia!!), Dill (Nekopara), Araki Mihaya (Paradigm Paradox)

Alain – Makoto Furukawa: Saitama (One-Punch Man), Miyuki (Kaguya-sama), Lugus (Psychedelica), Okazaki (Idolish7), Adage (Steam Prison)

Release: November 2, 2021 (Switch) [T]

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani

Ever since she could remember, Shino Akitsu has had the ability to see what others could not: spirits, apparitions, and indescribable creatures. As an adult, this talent leads her to join a secret government agency: The Occult Action Department. Her assignment is with the Sixth Special Preventions Office, and her job is to monitor the powerful beings who travel between her world and the worlds beyond.

From her office in Sakuratani, a town in a different dimension, Agent Akitsu meets several otherworldly individuals with vastly different personalities and abilities: a nine-tailed fox spirit, a mischievous oni, and more.

Aksys Game’s Official Website

If you’re a fantasy-lover, add Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani to your otome games hype list. Released in Summer 2020 in Japan, Aksys recently announced that the game is being localized this year. It’s received pretty good reviews on the Japanese internet, with many people praising the beautifully drawn character sprites, interesting characters, and unique setting. Some have enjoyed seeing these yokai, who are often associated with traditions and the countryside, being in modern Japan with cell phones and anime.

Akuroou – Suzuki Tatsuhisa: Yuma Mukami (Diabolik Lovers), Noctis (Final Fantasy XV), Ranmaru Kurosaki (UtaPri)

Hira – Kobayashi Yuusuke: Subaru (Re: Zero), Ranmaru Mori (Sengoku Night Blood), Yakumo Igarashi (Dynamic Chord), Su-Won (Yona of the Dawn)

Semi – Toyonaga Toshiyuki: Katsuki Yuri (Yuri on Ice), Mikado Ryugamine (Durarara!!), Claude (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Mozart (Ikemen Vampire), Takeru Totsuka (Kamigami no Asobi)

Shiratsuki – Sakurai Takahiro: Cloud (Final Fantasy VII), Ruki Mukami (Diabolik Lovers), Anghel Higure (Hatoful Boyfriend), Giyū Tomioka (Demon Slayer)

Shu – Oosaka Ryouta: Keiji Akaashi (Haikyuu!!), Ibara Saegusa (Ensemble Stars!), Bennett (Genshin Impact), Hanbee Takenaka (Sengoku Night Blood)

Release: December 2, 2021 (Switch) [T]

Variable Barricade

A member of a prestigious family and heir to a fortune, Hibari learns that her eccentric grandfather is determined to find her a husband. He arranges to house her in a luxurious villa along with four handsome, hand-picked bachelors and her private butler. As her suitors try to win her hand by any means necessary, Hibari endures endless everyday trials and temptations. […]

Through all of this, Hibari has two important goals: frighten off each of these marriage candidates, and absolutely refuse to fall in love.

Aksys Game’s Official Website

Variable Barricade is a game with an interesting cast of characters. Described by Aksys Games as “a loan shark, a gambler, a gold-digger and a gigolo,” the four men in the game seem a little crazier than most. Japanese reviewers approve of the heroine, who is voiced and has a clear-headed and mature personality. She is not afraid to point out the flaws in the four (unconventional) marriage candidates. The game focuses on the daily life of the characters with beautiful art and a unique dating system. If you’re a fan of unconventional and interesting characters (with very impressive voice actors), add this to your otome games list!

Taiga – Nobuhiko Okamoto: Asahina Hikaru (Brothers Conflict), Souda Manabu (Collar x Malice), Peter Flage (Cupid Parasite), Yang (Piofiore)

Shion – Kenji Nojima: Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon Crystal), Arata Minase (Gakuen Heaven 2), Eiji Okumura (Banana Fish), Naruichi (Liar! Uncover the Truth), Kanbee (Ayakashi: Romance Reborn)

Ichiya – Kousuke Toriumi: Saitou Hajime (Hakuoki), Azusa (Brothers Conflict), Shuu (Diabolik Lovers), Cecil (UtaPri), Mikuni Rei (Collar x Malice)

Nayuta – Hiro Shimono: Syo (UtaPri), Senri (Norn9), Connie (Attack on Titan), Zenitsu (Demon Slayer), Dabi (My Hero Academia)

Release: February 2022 (Switch) [RP/probably T]

Hopefully this list helped you add some new games to your list! If you’re looking for other upcoming (not otome, but super cute!) games, check this article out.