Studio Empress Nukige Review: Closed Game

Written by TheGrimLord, edited by Otaku Apologist

Closed Game, a hentai visual novel developed by Studio Empress. English localization released on May 27, 2021 by JAST USA. Download for $29.74. Available for Windows PC. Full Japanese voice acting. Uncensored genitals.

Please note, this review contains minor spoilers. Also, visit and bookmark our comic site for free hentai comics.

STORY

While Tougo was eating at a cafe with friends, a missile was launched, knocking everyone unconscious. Tougo along with his childhood friend, faux-bounty hunter Celicia, as well as sheriff George, are transported onto the playing field of the Closed Game. They wake up in a white room, reminiscent of the visual novel Euphoria.

You have three characters, the skiddish Marielle, aloof Cocona and even Earth’s most celebrated singer, Lacey Mallet. All of their clothes have been removed to be replaced by stylish sci-fi threads that show more skin than they hide! The tale is told mostly through Celicia’s route. Once you’ve experienced what that route has to offer, there’s little more to see.

The first stage of the game involves what looks like a city that had been annihilated by a nuclear attack. Not much is known about these ruins, but it can be discerned that society did exist here at one point in time, which may have meant that this was the original Caelum Urbs before something destroyed them.

A bracelet system is also introduced. The bracelets beep faster and louder with the approach of an enemy or another player. It’s impossible to know which, so everyone has to be on guard. Unfortunately, one player in particular is caught off-guard when a two-yard tall giant hornet appears with enormous claws and slices a good man right in half – and by good men, I’m referring to George. He’s not only the sheriff, but he is the alpha male that everyone else relied on. George had the skill and talent necessary to change many of the scenarios that happen within this game. But just like the class rep in Euphoria, he ends up eliminated before he has a fighting chance. His death is mourned and the stage is set for the hell that follows.

We’ve also reviewed Starless, another masterpiece from Studio Empress.

The first section of the game introduces the slime men, who I’ve got a lot of sympathy for. The reason for that is because these things die after they ejaculate. Though it may be true that this is their only purpose, they slowly evaporate after their poisonous seed is released. As we continue on the Celicia route, we’ll soon find her getting filled in every orifice with green Nickelodeon slime that causes her to lose control of her bladder and bowels. After this, she finds that she can’t move her body due to the slime man’s paralyzing poison. With that, the gimps that the party previously ran from happen upon the sexual opportunity! Be aware that 80% of the sex in this game is the rough kind, and with various monsters.

Celine appears through holographic projections to monitor the game. She pleasures herself with various devices. I’ll leave that for you to discover, but it would appear that she really gets off on seeing her sister in sexy situations with the gimps. They do little more than grunt as they pound into her various orifices, filling her with enough semen to impregnate an entire sorority of women. Plot twist, the gimps’ semen actually counteracts the slime man’s poison.

Remember, the object of Closed Game is to reach the safe zone in each area before sundown. Failure to do so will result in the entire stage being purged. The silly thing about this is that the Closed Game does so well in terms of viewership that Celine and Michiko wind up telling the players where the safe zone is, just so that the game can continue for another day. Can’t upset the fans, after all! You’ll go through several more days of this, each day throwing the characters into different areas like a forest, an abandoned carnival and even catacombs.

GAMEPLAY

Closed Game is an ADV visual novel, so it features many interactive choices that determine the path of the story. There is only one set “Game Over” ending, and around 2-3 “Bad Endings”. Although this is a “Closed Game” so to speak, there is no actual gameplay to be had here aside from the usual choice selection mechanics.

GRAPHICS

Without a doubt, Closed Game sports some of the finest visuals in an Empress title yet. The CGs are heavily detailed and feature quite a degree of variation. There are also many different facial expressions and poses for the sprites, which can be utilized for fun inside the game’s sprite viewer, unlocked after completing any route. Admittedly, some of the scenes work for me and others don’t. I generally feel that the more simplistic art of Starless and Dominance were better – Closed Game just feels a bit too flashy. Don’t get me wrong, there was definitely a great deal of love put into several of these pieces, in particular I enjoyed the suspension works, but they didn’t leave the same mark on me that earlier games did. Closed Game is one of those kinds of pieces where the art might look better from a graphical perspective, but something still feels off. Even so, there are still some rather striking pieces here and they are presented with the variety of unique angles that artist Seishoujo is famous for.

That being said, we have to talk about the monster designs. The gimps definitely look the part, with the female gimps causing me to question their nature up until the big reveal. I also like that Sei drew a humanoid slime man, even though he looked Pokémon-like. Speaking of that, everyone jokes about the giant hornet, calling it “Celicia’s Scyther”. It looks frightening and becomes even more so, when you see the sex scenes with it. The pig men are convincing enough, but I still don’t get why they have those spiky protuberances. I do like the fact that their collars say “Pig Man”. The tentacles are also well done, whether it be the pink tentacle dicks on the Pig Men, or the cool blue tentacles that Celicia experiences in her epilogue.

VOICE ACTING AND SOUND EFFECTS (SFX)

Celicia’s actress stands out with her notable voice performance, although several other VAs are decent and have their moments. However, there is one special part of Closed Game’s sound department that separates it from many other visual novels. That would be the monster noises. Seriously, hats off to all of these great voice actors who had to play the role of the slime men, the pig men. Someone even did the wheezing of the gimps inside their suits, the hornet and the worm and our lizard friends (which did not get enough exposure, in my opinion). Closed Game really didn’t have enough monsters and I think several of them were overused. At least some thought was put into the monster voices though, which I can respect.

MUSIC

The sound and music are both standouts in the world of Closed Game – not only are the lines and moans delivered with conviction (Celicia stands out notably for being a hot-headed hottie), but the music overall is just great! There is a rather bizarre selection of tunes ranging from bluesy guitar to pulse-pounding industrial rock (think KMDFM). Even soft piano pieces appear, as one synth piece in particular, clearly meant to feel romantic, comes off like something out of a nineties porn soundtrack with an electronic touch. It’s very soothing and works well for the game’s softer sex scenes. The more aggressive sex on the other hand is backed with equally aggressive tunes, which seem to not only fit, but raise one’s adrenaline levels.

HENTAI

The game contains a lot of scat. More scat than I have seen in any visual novel prior. Every single heroine’s path contains at least one scat scene, with Michiko containing the most – an unhealthy amount of it, with no filter either. Urination is also common in the novel, which is common in Seishoujo’s work. The scenes are in some cases extremely long, especially when they involve monster sex.

You’ll experience more hentai content in Closed Game than plot development, which might be a pro for some and a con to others. It is very much a nukige with just enough story to contextualize the anarchic fun. Though after that first scene with the slime men, the H-scenes start coming one after the other. The material is hardcore as it gets and will test your mental tolerance.

That being said, there are a few sensual scenes. Despite all of the monster porn, soft music and vanilla sex does happen in the game more than you would expect. Every heroine has her own unique sensual sex scenes, which are for the most part consensual.

CONCLUDING WORDS

In the beginning, I was among the people excited to see Closed Game get an official English release – however, I don’t think this was the one we needed. Many eroge fans admit that they weren’t all that interested. It’s one of the few games where most of scenes are performed by monsters. In my personal observation and opinion, I don’t think that Seishoujo fans in the west who mainly champion Bible Black, Discipline and Starless were ready for this. It’s a very polarizing title.

The problem is, while it is an interesting mixture of science fiction and monster porn, I personally feel that the plot fell apart towards the end. Note, Potential Ability, Closed Game and Fraternite all came out around the same time, which means Izumi Banya must’ve been writing the scripts at the same time! There’s no way the writer didn’t experience some level of burnout. Many plots are underdeveloped, like with Sadistic Blood. Maybe when he was younger and had more energy, he could hammer out classics like ‘MinDead Blood’ and G’ore Screaming Show’. Here, the writing takes a nosedive.

Here comes the hard part. In order for us to ever see good eroge like Sleepless get an official English release, JAST USA reps have officially said that sales of Closed Game must be sufficient. That’s a really rough ultimatum, understandable, but rough. Most people like Seishoujo’s human-on-human sexual art in the lieu of Bible Black and Starless, rather than monster titles, which are only popular with small niche communities.

If you like monsters banging hotties, download Closed Game today.