Back in 2024, there was a viral FMV video game that took the internet by surprise. It definitely didn’t hurt that the game featured five beautiful girls in a bonkers storyline. Like a lot of people, I played Five Hearts Under One Roof and had a lot of fun with it. Yes, the plot was ridiculous at times. Also, there wasn’t a lot of gameplay involved, but it was still an interactive experience worth trying. Well, after the success, most of the gang is back in Season 2. Yes, the story is still nonsensical, but the game does make some notable improvements.
This season on…
Yuman is back, starts the game getting hit by a car while saving someone else from that same vehicle. After being in a coma for six months, he begins to reintegrate into his previous life. But, as you would expect, he once again gets into some interesting scenarios. Two of the five girls from the first season still live in the home. One returns early in the game, and we get introduced to three more girls who all admire our main character.
The new girls include Yuman’s nurse. The second is a young student who works many part-time jobs. The final new girl is a wealthy socialite who doesn’t admit to it, but had some involvement in Yuman’s accident. We learn more about these three as we progress through the story. At the same time, we also learn a lot more about what’s been going on with the girls from the first season.
Like the first game, the story can branch in many different ways. As you progress, there are branching points. These scenarios dictate the next scene and impact your relationship with the girls. While there are six main girls this time, you do interact with more people. The cast has expanded a lot this time, and it’s possible to get into some wild scenarios.
More gameplay and fixes to the story
The first game faced a few criticisms from players. The first was that there wasn’t much gameplay. You only did two things: choose your dialogue and investigate some static scenes. The other problem with the first game was the strict progression requirements. The game had a specific plot they wanted you to follow. This forced you to replay sections to get the ‘correct’ plot and move to the next chapter of the game.
Gameplay has expanded with the addition of Quick-Time events. Some scenarios give you a timeline to answer. At the same time, we also have Quick-Time Events that need you to interact with an action on the screen. These moments do impact the story, but they are hard to miss. You will want to ‘fail’ these sections since they do open up new branches of the story to explore.
As for the chapter progression, this time around, there are no restrictions. The story flows regardless of how good Yuman’s relationship is with a specific girl. While you can play the story the way you want, the game does still have a main plot it would like you to follow. It also means that you can get to the end and not be able to get the game’s preferred ending.
This won’t be for everyone, and that’s fine
I can admit that there isn’t much of a game here. This is very much an interactive movie. I also encountered a few performance problems. While playing on my Steam Deck, I encountered many instances of freezes. Either a scene would stop in the middle, or the next one would not load. When these happened, I’d have to go back to the character map and start the scene over again. Most scenes are short, so replaying them a second time isn’t a big deal.
Also, the story is still nonsensical. Yuman gets into too many encounters that seem implausible. But that’s part of the charm of the game. I’ll avoid spoilers here, but in my first playthrough, I unlocked three ‘secret’ endings. Looking at the unlockable albums and achievements, this game has many bonus endings. But it’s also clear that there is a specific storyline the game wants you to follow. When you do reach these bonus endings, the game lets you know and tells you to retry your choices.
I did notice some issues with the translations and a few other oddities. They don’t ruin the experience, but feel like the devs rushed to get the game out by a certain time. If you’re looking to learn Korean, this and other games like it feel like great tools. The dialogue is easy to grasp, and the conversations feel like they would be normal. I only know a few words in Korean, but I was able to grasp more as I played. Now, I need to find FMV visual novels like this that are in Japanese, so I can get more practice.
We’ll probably get a third season
Like the first season of Five Hearts Under One Roof, Season 2 has been a success since launch. The game has quite a cult following. It’s safe to assume that we will get a third season. Again, this won’t be for everyone, and the game is still light on gameplay. But, for a fun adventure that will last about 4-5 hours, it’s worth checking out.
