Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet (Nintendo Switch) Review

From the start it is clear that humour is a regular feature in this fun to read visual novel, which has a hand drawn style. Syrup is a very unfriendly person, which feels like the opposite of what a sweet shop maker and seller's personality should be. All the candy golem girl wants is to be friends with Syrup, but Syrup is highly resistant to friendship. However, events in the story force Syrup to be with her rival Butterscotch, and through mishaps, they both learn about each other which leads to interesting revelations. Syrup's assistant Pastille and Butterscotch's cat assistant Toffee both want their mistress to be content, and do all they can to facilitate that.

All other characters have pleasant character designs and have sweet-themed names as well, and the dialogue between all them is entertaining because of the opposing personalities which mix as well as oil and water. The candy golem girl is eager to please Syrup, even when Syrup tries to ignore her multiple times. The one issue that may take people out of the fantasy world the game creates is the fact at the start the candy golem girl is clearly naked. She does gain clothes after a few scenes, and none of the other characters have revealing outfits, so it's not meant to be a fan-service filled game.

It seems an unusual choice to make the candy golem girl's appearance so obvious - she is a golem and her hands hide her chest, but the other private area is in clear view. It feels out of place, and may make readers uncomfortable. Some games use a blurred style for this type of image, which makes it more acceptable, but Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet doesn't do that. The text box hides her appearance a little, but if the option to remove the box for screenshots is used then it is clear the candy golem girl needs clothes.

The options chosen by the player in the game make a difference as to which ending is experienced. Thankfully the internet is not needed to figure out how to reach various endings. In the options the criteria needed for each ending is laid out, making it easier to experience them all in future play-throughs. The game can be saved at any point, but is a short enough story that few saves are needed in an extended play session.