Union Max: The Kosmos, The Voice, and The Stereotypes (Review)
Good day everyone! I'm back, and I recently finished playing through Union Max and I thought it would be interesting to do a review on it like I used to.
Union Max is a game centered around Max who finds himself stuck with a job he feels no passion towards, no real connections to other people, and a penchant for self-sabotage. His only reprieve from his dead end life is his love for BL and he finds himself stuck in the classic stereotype of the salaryman. All this changes when he encounters a book about the Kosmos, written in a language he can't understand and he's suddenly transported into the universe where he meets the Voice. The Voice instructs him that he must reclaim the four sparks lost to the universe, namely: Desire, Romance, Angst, and Happiness. And as this is a BLVN, all four of those sparks involve him in a flirtmance with 4 attractive men.
The Voice instructs him to travel to each of the 4 worlds and reclaim these sparks, and only after will the Kosmos finally find peace again.
Now that the basic premise is done, I'd like to talk about the game itself.
General stuff:
Right off the bat I'd like to compliment this game's visuals. While BLit's titles before have always had great art, the level of polish and attention to detail in the backgrounds and the quality is amazing. I'd also like to compliment the sound design in this game, the music feels particularly adventurous, meeting the theme of grandiosity it wants us to feel. The voice acting cast is phenomenal and should be complimented as they matched each character quite well. It also runs a lot better than Camp Buddy ever did for me, and mechanically, it's less confusing, this is also likely because the mechanics are extremely barebones as visual novels go. I will compliment the writing for how they tied Max's character to each of the four realms' storylines, I think it's rare for MCs to get self-reflection in BLVNs.
There are always four choices given to the player, a total of 7 choices to make for each route. Each choice corresponds with each of the aforementioned sparks, regardless of which realm Max is in. There is also another value in these choices that decide whether the love interest is a top or bottom. It's the same system they had for Camp Buddy but much cleaner and there isn't as many to make. I think this a good way of balancing choice optimization as Visual Novels are more books than they are games at the end of the day.
The world building in this game is rather flimsy. It's very wishy-washy with how the realms work. For example, in the Romance realm, Makoa mentions how they have visitors like the draykin or the cloudwing, however it's not really explained how this works. From the realm choosing screen, the game makes it look like and implies that these are 4 separate worlds and The Voice themselves mention how Max is special in his regard of traveling between them. Maybe I misread a line or two, but from the way I understood it, the different realms are separate worlds that have no physical connection. Maybe it's implied that all four realms actually inhabit one planet, and yet I find that hard to believe as well because the game never delves deeper into the worlds it creates.
Another aspect of flimsy worldbuilding is the fact that every race seems to speak English except the Jakari, which is a strange choice. They specifically make this important in Anwu's route and Max is spelled to understand and speak their language. I thought they were going to do something more with this in the route, but they really didn't. So I just find it weird that we introduce the fact that Max can't speak/understand the Jakari's language and yet he can understand all the other races? There's also the matter of potions and spells, of which there is little examples for each. The potion for waterbreathing and surviving underwater that the merfolk have and the spells that Sett uses to heal and teach Max. I find it interesting that we introduce magic and potions without really doing much with them and they're really only used for erasing any issue Max may face like the language barrier and the water barrier.
The different paths:
I went in the order the guidebook gave me, Desire-Romace-Angst-Happiness.
Desire
So Xignis first. Xignis is a draykin prostitute, the most popular prostitute in the city, and he has the strongest pheromones of all the prostitutes. Xignis is portrayed as a character that once enjoyed sex but now only sees it as his job, no longer finding it as enjoyable as he used to. He's extremely jaded and doesn't care much about his own wellbeing as well as relationships that aren't transactional/don't involve sex. He also puts on a persona that makes him look enticing for other people.
Since I did Xignis' realm first, I got a taste of classic Blit's writing and pacing that really set the tone for the rest of the love interests. Xignis' story is a very common storyline given to prostitutes in stories and it's a stereotype for a reason, because it's a very human experience. Sex in general can sometimes lose meaning to us, as cliche as that is, and it's easy to see someone like Xignis losing that enjoyment out of it. Xignis wanted to be popular, so he turned to "Desire" as his route to popularity and he reached it, so much that it consumed his entire life and he lets himself get abused because he believes that its the only way he matters.
I think they did his storyline as tastefully as they could, is it the obvious thing to do for storyline focused on lust and carnal desire? Yes, but they did it well enough that it doesn't bother me as much as some of the later paths do. I also think they presented Garrett (his boss) in an extremely realistic manner despite how over the top evil he is. The romance aspect of this route was extremely believable and made sense, the relationship naturally progressed through the time they spent together.
Romance
Makoa is a merfolk, he scavenges for seashells for a living and sells them in his shop as crafted materials with his ex-boyfriend Habagat. The story mainly starts with the mention of the "Binding Lights Festival" that's the ultimate form of romance in this realm. And once upon a time, Makoa adored this festival, up until his break up a couple of years ago that is. He and Habagat made this shop together, built a life together, but unfortunately, some things don't last forever. They continued cohabiting and running the shop together since both are afraid to move on, especially Makoa. Makoa does not believe in romance anymore.
Again, Makoa's storyline is a very classic romance scenario. And again, this is a classic for the same reason, it's grounded in human experience. Breakups are a normal part of relationships, but I'd liken this situation a lot more to a divorce. These two thought that they'd spend their lives together but unfortunately, their feelings faded and they found themselves unable to move past it. Despite knowing that they should, its very easy to go back to previous habits and it's very difficult to accept change. It's a very human experience the way Makoa loses faith in romance in the face of such a big breakup, most people end up experiencing the same.
I think as cliche as this storyline was (all of these storylines are cliche), I think they managed it well. They integrated him being a merfolk well with a large majority of the story occuring underwater with Makoa.
However, I think this route suffers a lot from how short this game is. For someone like Xignis, it makes sense that a whirlwind romance would affect him so easily. But for someone like Makoa who's stuck in the past, it's very difficult to believe how easily he moved on, all it took was a pretty stranger who shared his bed and his bath for a couple of days for him to get over his breakup that he wasn't able to move on from for years up to that point. I think this would've benefited from a few more days. The game even openly mocks stories where the characters fall in love in under five minutes, and it's kinda ironic when that's kinda what happens for most of the cast.
Angst
Anwu is a Jakari. Anwu's story revolves around him isolating himself from his brother due to the cursed relic he found that's slowly killing him and killed his family. We find him injured in the desert and rescue him while Max ogles his penis. We bring him to his brother and we learn that he's cursed and has a lot of self-loathing. He quickly leaves once he recovers, believing that the curse feeds on the people he forms bonds with. Max continues to stay close despite this until Anwu can learn that he doesn't have to bare the burden on his own.
I think Anwu's storyline is the weakest out of the four, it's also the shortest, and the amount of onscreen time we spend with him is the shortest. It's very apparent when there are two choice screens appearing mere minutes apart. I think this route was very rushed, it's also weirdly glitched as the date on the top right did not change from Day 4 to Day 5.
Unlike the other three routes, Anwu's story isn't very grounded in human experience. He got cursed. The game does point out that this only happened because of his desperation due to his family being poor, however, it does nothing more with this theme and focuses a lot more on the curse itself. There are also hints of the socioeconomic issues the Jakari face and yet they don't touch on this very much. Xignis focused on the meaning of sex and desire, Makoa focused on the difficulties of ending a relationship and moving on, Raffy focused on the struggle of choosing yourself over what's expected of you. Anwu gets cursed. Yes, we can view this as a metaphor, but when the other three are very real and very human experiences, it takes me out of it.
And unlike the last two and Raffy, his animal features has nothing to do with him or the story or anything at all. Truly, this felt like a tack on to his character to make them all have animal-like features even though it did not matter. We also didn't really explore much of the environment like the other three, which is another knock for this route.
I also think the resolution for the conflict was too rushed, this is already a game with short routes, why is he getting particularly fucked in the ass by how short his is? I really wish this route didn't have the curse aspect because it's an easy out for the topic of "angst," it would've been just as easy to make the stereotype of a jaded man that's never thought for himself and dedicated himself to his family or any other reason for himto be depressed. Making it because of a curse feels so uninspired compared to the very human issues the other three face. It's very easy to relate to the other three's main conflicts, but Anwu's is a curse.
Happiness
Raffy is a cloudwing. He is under the mentorship of his very abusive elder, Lanciel. In their culture, elders take on "squires" that they teach everything to and they form a partnership with. This is the way their culture works, a very collectivistic, peace-focused one. And there lies the main conflict in this story, Raffy isn't happy with this arrangement but has never thought of anything otherwise as it's the norm for their culture. It's just the way it works. He wants to go along with what's been taught to him despite this not aligning with his own goals and wants, simply because it's expected.
This too is a very human experience, going along with what your parents want instead of what you want, your ideals not aligning with your cultures. Heck, being gay in a lot of cultures is taboo and a lot of people hide it just to fit in because they're taught it's abnormal. Raffy's situation is something a lot of people face and it's caused mainly by the culture he grew up with. Its very easy to delude yourself into thinking that you're in the wrong simply because the majority says otherwise, it's very easy to do something out of not wanting to disappoint or be an outcast.
I think Raffy's route is well done in what it set to do, as cliche as it is. He chooses his own happiness finally, not just because Max is there, but because he wants to. I also think this route is the only one that isn't hurt by how short it is, we spend ample time with him, and it's all very realistic. Raffy was already not questioning, all it took was the one person to show him that it is an option.
Endings:
I think the endings of this game are really dull and boring. There are two types of ending for each character separately, a union and a max ending. A union ending happens when the choices you make in a route don't necessarily match the realm. For example, if you always pick a romance or happiness option in the desire realm, you end end up with the "okay ending" for Xignis where you choose to be with him but its open ended. The max ending happens when you match the choices to the realm, you get mostly Desire for Xignis for example.
Basically, Union endings don't matter. Max endings are all the same. They end with your love interest of choice joining you on Earth and they become human. That's it. They also have a spiel that each character makes about how long they've missed Max and how much time has passed since Max left them before ultimately being happy to be with Max despite abandoning all they know.
Another issue with Max endings is the fact that there are no new CGs for achieving them, just a rehash of the same kiss CG but with human clothes. I find this incredibly boring considering these are different characters and yet they all end pretty much the same way, hitting the same story beats of "i missed you and looked for you" "im okay with being human" and "im excited to spend my life with you" and none of them really miss their own worlds, even Anwu who loves his brother easily accepts it.
But of course, the Max endings are just that, there is still the "True" Ending where you collect all the sparks and travel through all the realms. Once again, they hit the same story beats of them all becoming human and joining you on earth, only this time they're all there at the same time. It does end with a special CG with the full cast and a foursome.
That's fun and all, but what about the Kosmos? We don't really get a reason why these four are special for the four aspects, and what it means for them to have lost their spark. And there's no repercussion to you abandoning the mission and settling with a Max ending with one of the love interests. To me, it made the short game feel even shorter, and the rushed parts even more rushed. Why is there no new CG for each of the Max endings? Why is it so easy for these four to just accept that they're all dating Max now? What happened to the overarching plot?
Other thoughts:
I think the biggest issue with this game is it's reliance on stereotypes and overdone tropes. The femboy is the weakwilled one that struggles with agency and his own happiness, the dude with giant dick is the one that struggles with sex and desire. This aspect of BLits' character design has always been an issue for me, they are so obviously their stereotypes. I also do not understand the need for their dicks to be the size of their forearms, and of course, they made the one short dude have a tiny dick. And why is Xignis the only one who has body hair? Why is the tiny femboy so hairless? Why is the default path bottoming for the femboy? Why is the short dude the most cutesy and feminine one? Why is the big bulky dude the most freaky? Why is the short dude always the inexperienced one?
I understand the conventions of drawing male characters in a porn game, however, it's come to the point that all of BLit's works are like this. Like not even looking at Camp Buddy, in Jock Studio, there's only one character that has a small penis and one character that has body hair that isn't just pubic hair. Its gotten to the point that it's formulaic in terms of design. Like, every character in JS has giant cock except for the short dude, just like in Union Max. In Camp Buddy, its less atrocious, but also Hunter is shortest and has the smallest dick and the one character with body hair has the biggest dick. I'm not arguing that the art isn't good, but why is it the same thing every time?
Also, the body types rarely differ? I know it's normal at this point but two are just really muscular tall men, a buff even taller dude, and a tiny twink. There's not much differentiation from body types. Like Habagat had the most unique body type and everyone else was just the conventionally attractive, stereotypical BLVN characters.
This game would've benefited from being longer, because as the game itself mocks, it's not really believable or realistic to fall in love and make life altering decisions for a dude you just met not even a week ago.
I also found the audio mixing for the voices to be weird. Max's voice was always loud and clear but the rest of the cast was always quieter than him. There's also a bunch of moments that they fluctuate in volume that has nothing to do with the scene thematically. Like Makoa screams at Habagat at some point but it's quieter than Max's speaking voice.
Conclusions:
This is how I would rank the routes:
Xignis/Raffy/Makoa>Anwu
To me, Anwu's story was not only the weakest, but also the shortest and most rushed. The other three were pretty much on par in terms of writing and storytelling. The story also didn't integrate his Jakari lineage at all unlike the other three's races being very prominent in their stories. And that disappointed me a lot because he has my favorite design, he was the only non-extreme looking one out of the four.
This game ultimately suffers from it's length and how flimsy the worldbuilding is, but it also suffers from overly relying on easy writing conventions with the 3 of the 4 values. It also relied a lot on classic character design conventions and personality tropes that BLit's has relied on before. The same with the endings all being same-y and lacking new CGs and the true end being a harem route and everyone easily going along with it.
That's not to take away from the good parts of this game. I think the voice acting is amazing, the backgrounds and the music is great. Max as a character had more personality than most despite still being fairly generic. I also found that despite them relying on classic tropes and not really doing anything new with them, they still did them well. I enjoyed that three of the four love interests' conflicts were very relatable to our own experiences as people. And for how short this game is, the amount of love and care put into the writing shone through. I still enjoyed Anwu's route despite my misgivings, I still liked Xignis and Raffy despite their very stereotypical BLit's designs.
I would give this game a solid 6/10. The same score I gave Camp Buddy five years ago, but in all honesty, Camp Buddy deserves a 3/10 retrospectively.
For what it's worth, this game was more worth the price than Camp Buddy ever was. 20USD is still a lot considering how short this game is and how rushed it feels, but compared to Camp Buddy's 60USD and it being worse in most aspects? I'd say its a step up in the pricing.
Do I recommend this game? It's okay, it doesn't delve as deep as titles from pil/slash or nitro+chiral do, but it was still fun and cute.
Would I replay it? Not really. There's not a lot of replayability for BLits titles after you've 100% them, especially a short game like this. Each character has two sex scenes and its pretty easy to optimize getting them without fully replaying. Also, since Max endings don't really differ much from each other, doing the entire run-through and getting the harem ending means you basically never have to replay.
Here is the link to the BLits store for Union Max: https://www.blitsgames.com/product/union-max-pre-order/
(I mainly wrote this review because I miss playing BLVNs, and the last ones I played before this one was LKYT, paradise, and Slow Damage. All phenomenal games and stories but that was like 3 years ago. The releases have slowed down so much and it makes me sad. I'm currently playing through Nie no Machi and plan on playing the new translation for Hadaka Shitsuji's sequel, LuckyDog1, and Friendly lab. I'm also looking forward to finally touching Sweet Pool and Lamento. But I am starved of new BLs. Nie no Machi's official translation not having r18 content is really annoying since it changes the story of each character.)