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Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star similar games & best alternatives

Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star

PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Linux • 2015

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Quick resume

The loveable birds of Hatoful Boyfriend are back in the remastered holiday-themed sequel Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star!

Global score

93/100

Genres

Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel, Role-playing (RPG)

Similar games

    Pros

    • Engaging and emotional story
    • Unique and creative characters
    • Strong fanservice and lore expansion
    • Beautiful art and soundtrack
    • Humorous and surreal tone

    Cons

    • Very linear with minimal player choice
    • Shorter and less complex than original
    • Some technical issues in hd port
    • Missing music and minor typos
    • Not suitable without playing original game first

    Analysis

    A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Autonomy, Strategy, Experimenting, Competence. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Fellowship, Expression. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Idle.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Motivations

    • Autonomy
      -3

      "Gameplay is mostly linear with few meaningful choices; player follows a set story rather than directing it."

    • Competence
      -2

      "Minimal skill or challenge; mostly reading and occasional choice with instant fail or progression."

    • Competition
      -5

      "No competitive elements or comparison to others; purely single player narrative experience."

    • Continuation
      3

      "Fans play to continue experiencing the world and characters; some mention replaying and extended content."

    • Cooperation
      -5

      "Entirely single player visual novel with no cooperative gameplay."

    • Creativity
      3

      "Creative storytelling, character development, and worldbuilding; some fanservice and alternate universe content."

    • Domination
      -5

      "No elements of dominance or power over others; cooperative and narrative focused."

    • Escapism
      4

      "Players use the game to escape reality, enjoy absurd humor, and immerse in emotional storytelling."

    • Expectation
      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily out of love for the series and characters, not out of obligation."

    • Experimenting
      -3

      "Linear story with limited choices; little opportunity for novel experimentation."

    • Exploration
      -2

      "Mostly familiar settings and characters; some new side stories but limited discovery."

    • Expression
      2

      "Includes character humanization art and some customization in side stories, allowing some self-expression."

    • Fantasy
      4

      "Strongly imaginative and surreal narrative with birds as characters and fantasy elements."

    • Fellowship
      2

      "Strong community around the game and shared fandom, though gameplay is solo."

    • Growth
      2

      "Players gain insight into characters and story; emotional and narrative development."

    • Health
      -5

      "Sedentary visual novel gameplay with no physical activity."

    • Idle
      -4

      "Requires focused reading and attention; not a casual or background game."

    • Intimacy
      3

      "Emotional connections to characters and story; some players report strong feelings."

    • Leadership
      -5

      "No leadership or group management elements; purely single player narrative."

    • Progression
      1

      "Some progression through story and unlocking side content; no item or power accumulation."

    • Relaxation
      3

      "Generally relaxing reading experience with moments of emotional tension and release."

    • Sensation
      2

      "Enjoyable art, music, and humor provide sensory and emotional stimulation."

    • Status
      -4

      "No social status or ranking systems; focus is on personal narrative experience."

    • Story
      5

      "Strong narrative focus with emotional, humorous, and surreal storytelling."

    • Strategy
      -4

      "Minimal strategic or problem-solving elements; mostly linear reading."

    • Thrill
      1

      "Some suspense and emotional tension in story, but no gameplay risk or challenge."

    • Value
      3

      "Generally considered good value by fans for story and content, especially on sale."

    • Violence
      -3

      "No combat gameplay; story includes some dark themes but no player-driven violence."

    • Survival
      -5

      "No survival or threat mechanics; stable narrative environment."

    Where to buy

    Come talk about it on Discord!

    Last update: 29/04/2026