• Price: $39.99 USD
• Developer/Publisher: Voltage
• Release Date: August 27, 2026

A review code was kindly provided by Voltage. We thank them for allowing us to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.

Content warning: rated T. Non-consensual kisses, intimacy under deceptive circumstances (disguised), attempted murder, mentioned sex work, bullying, domestic violence (not with Mayu), briefly mentioned animal abuse + death (past, not Robin)

I’ve previously reviewed the Temptation’s Kiss and Captivation’s Kiss entries in the Court of Darkness series, an otome series in which heroine Mayu Sekiguchi is unexpectedly transported to the magical world of Saligia. After romancing the princes (and one headmaster!) in the first 2 games, it’s now time for Mayu to court the handsome valets (“servants”) who care for said royalty.

Adoration’s Kiss expands on the Opening prologue books in the series by adding a third book. Book I is the same across all 3 games, while Book II is only included in Captivation’s Kiss and this game. Opening Book III is exclusive to Adoration’s Kiss.

In my review of Captivation’s Kiss I did note that it was somewhat confusing to go from these Opening “common route” books to the love interests’ individual routes. This is because the story in the Opening books is completely separate from the stories in the love interests’ routes.

The love interests’ routes start Mayu’s journey in Saligia from zero after finishing the Opening books. Her progress in her magic lessons – and her relationships – are effectively reset. It would have been nice if she could have maintained her magical progress after getting used to her new world in the Opening books. I have come to view that storyline as a more general alternative standalone story that players can enjoy and use to become familiar with the world before moving on to the love interests’ routes.

I think that the second Opening book may still have my favorite storyline out of the 3 books so far. The third one seems like it’s building towards something really interesting. Perhaps we’ll learn more if/when they release the next game in the series to continue on from where the love interests’ stories ended in Temptation’s Kiss?

Anyways, moving on to our new love interests, who once again each have a sweeter Magic Ending and a spicier Mischief Ending. As usual, I played in the order they’re displayed in on the menu, so I started with the extremely competent Jasper, who serves Prince Guy Avari. Throughout the series he’s been celebrated as the gold standard of a valet, with the other valets frequently asking him to teach them something.

In the first 2 games we’ve already seen that Jasper appears to be looking into things on the Isle of Colde, where the academy is based. The mystery surrounding his movements on the isle is highlighted in his route. Fenn’s valet Violet – who remains one of my favorite characters – likes to call him out for being suspicious, which is hilarious.

I’m usually a big fan of the megane/glasses guys; I do think Jasper is pretty, and I like him well enough. However, his route felt a bit awkward to me for several reasons. I’m not going to spoil the major reason, but Jasper’s pretty much unfailingly obedient to Guy, his master. Guy has also indicated his interest in Mayu for her power…

I don’t know if the development of the romantic relationship between Jasper and Mayu felt natural, and overall I didn’t find his route terribly romantic. Some of the trouble in his route could’ve been prevented if they all had better communication (although I suppose a lack of communication is to be expected with Guy around 😂).

We don’t learn much of anything about Jasper’s past compared to the other love interests, but I did come to appreciate the relationship between Guy and Jasper by the end. Some of their interactions were particularly entertaining!

Something I really enjoyed in Jasper’s route was that Mayu gets to use more magic in his route compared to the other routes. I was also intrigued because his storyline is connected to some of the routes in Captivation’s Kiss, and a name in Jasper’s story seems to have a connection to a name mentioned in Knight’s. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but I can’t wait to find out more at some point.

Next up is Lynt’s valet Tino, who is one of my favorite love interests in the series now. Throughout each storyline he’s always been such a sweet, polite man. I feel like he’d be a great guy to bring home to one’s parents.

Tino’s biggest flaw is his uncertainty and lack of confidence in himself. The poor guy gets so anxious and flustered that he can’t think straight. He’s a little awkward, but he means well. Mayu helps rein him in when he panics. 💖

I loved the way Tino confessed his love for Mayu, and a gesture he makes in his Magic Ending is so cute and sweet. While Jasper is apparently known for his coffee-making skills, Tino is amazing at making bread and other baked goods. I already liked him a lot as a person, but I’ve got to admit that his carb contributions were the icing on the (metaphorical) cake for me! 😂

I only had minor complaints about Tino’s route. For one thing, it didn’t seem like Mayu learned much magic at all in this storyline. And we don’t see any consequences for the major antagonist here (or the minor antagonists either), which has happened in other routes as well. Other than that, I had a great time with Tino building his confidence with some help from Mayu.

Toa’s valet Knight is the shortest of the love interests at 5’5”, compared to the rest of them at 6’1”. (Poor guy!) He can be a little bit tsundere at times, and I think he’s pretty competitive. But he’s actually kind of shy underneath that harsh exterior of his.

In my opinion both of Knight’s endings were kind of disappointing. However, I still liked a lot about his route. Knight is a cat person, which is a major plus for me, and I loved his frequent use of old-timey insults such as “cumberground” and “dalcop.” 😂

Mayu gets to use magic in Knight’s route, which is always nice. And he probably has the most interesting storyline with the biggest mystery. As with the other love interests, this seems to be the first part of Knight’s story, so hopefully they’ll publish the next chapters on Switch someday soon. I can’t wait to find out more!

Our final love interest in Adoration’s Kiss would be Grayson, who serves Roy and his sister Sherry, one of Mayu’s new friends. Grayson is the strong, silent type, so based on my experience with him in the first 2 games I had a feeling that he’d be one of my favorite love interests. (And I was right.)

Grayson doesn’t say much to Mayu at first (although apparently this changes when someone brings up his horse – hooray for love interests who love animals!). 🐴 Like Tino, Grayson has some major insecurities, but he keeps his emotions to himself a lot more.

The antagonist in his route is quite predictable, but I like how Grayson has an unexpected side to his personality. There’s a scene at a party with Fenn involved (😱) that allows this side of Grayson to come out. It’s so funny that his last name is Hotz because that adjective certainly describes him well (and yet he’s adorable in his suspenders).

Because Grayson is so standoffish, he and Mayu need some help to get together. I loved Sherry, Rio, and Thoma acting as their cheerleaders in this route. Additionally, while I complained about Mayu not using magic in some of the other routes, I appreciated that she at least learned to defend herself without magic in this one.

The first 2 games have 5 love interests each, so I was a little surprised that Rio’s valet Thoma wasn’t included (although I’m not sure how old he is; I can’t tell based on Anime-style portraits 😂). Nonetheless, I was still very happy with Adoration’s Kiss.

Knight and Grayson have the most interesting storylines, but Tino and Grayson are my favorite love interests in this batch. For the Court of Darkness series overall my favorite love interests are Fenn, Lance, Rio, Tino, and Grayson.

I think it’s pretty impressive what a wide spread of personalities they’ve got for the love interests across all 3 games, and my favorites are all pretty different. I haven’t outright disliked any of the love interests; Guy and Jasper had some issues for me but ultimately I still like them.

Something I’ve always appreciated about the series is that even with the conflicts caused by antagonists such as the school bullies and the real evildoers, Mayu finds herself some true friends in Saligia even though she’s initially reluctant to get used to it there. There are a lot of characters who go out of their way to make her feel welcome; even the characters who seem like jerks in the beginning often help her.

I also love how they continue to flesh out the magical world of Saligia with more information on its history and the way that history continues to affect relations between the kingdoms in the present. They came up with special events/festivals like the Familiar Royale and dances as well.

It was neat getting to meet more of the other royals in this game. There are brief scenes with the kings, queens, princes, and princesses in each kingdom – the parents and siblings of our princely love interests.

I’ve just always really liked the writing in these games. There are a couple of typos here and there, but other than that the localization is well done as usual. Mayu’s use of more modern slang continues to serve as a fun contrast to the “Victorian” formal speech used in Saligia (and the fun magical world expressions they come up with).

Mayu isn’t perfect; she can be overly optimistic and often risks her life or freedom for love interests she hasn’t known for very long. At the same time, I like that she is a strong-willed heroine who’s loyal and hardworking. Mayu stands up for herself and others, and she remains one of my favorite otome heroines.

I love how dramatic and “extra” she can be. She has some of the best quotes I’ve seen in an otome, too:

• “I wave my hands over the cup like some kind of televangelist, which seems apt because I’m praying right now.” 😂
• “He’s a fantastic kisser. He could kiss for the Invidian [kingdom’s] national team, for that matter.”
• (Deceived again?! Jail! Jail for one thousand years!)

The localization team really does a great job of ensuring that the text is more relatable to modern players. I’d argue they’re the best I’ve seen because I don’t think I’ve seen many other otome use a lot of modern Western slang in this way. They also use analogies and metaphors to great effect (one of the love interests: “Mind floating on an oil-slick sea of inferiority, I pass out” 😂).

Additionally, I feel like most otome I’ve played haven’t had portraits for the extremely minor characters (or if they do they’re all the same and/or faceless). The Court of Darkness games have a lot of different portraits for minor characters; I want to say there are at least 2-3 different portraits (each) for male and female students, with more for the adult townspeople. Some portraits are recolors, but I still find the amount impressive.

Again, there isn’t any voice acting, and they use the same music across all 3 games. But I actually really like the music, and think the tracks are very effective in conveying the mood of a scene. Unless I’m mistaken, there does seem to be a nice new remix of one of the songs in Chapter 12 of Knight’s route?

I do feel like I keep noticing new details in these games that I’d missed before, like the shrine for Mayu’s parents actually drawn in the background of her room in her world (before she’s transported to Saligia). There are some new backgrounds in this game, too.

From the way the characters and world-building are written to the art and the music, I think it all comes together in one great package (well, 3 if we’re discussing the games in the series so far).

After spending about 60 hours across all 3 games, I’m really invested in the world of Saligia. I hope to see the continuations of each love interest’s stories. It seems like the phone versions of this series have some vacation and holiday side stories, so I’d be interested in seeing those as well at some point! If you enjoy romantic stories with princes, magic, and a bit of silliness to lighten the mood, I’d recommend checking out the Court of Darkness series. 👑