Certainly anyone who has dabbled with titles from Marvelous Games will know that, a lot of the time they tend to place a lot of emphasis on fun, lewdness, and plenty of action to keep you satisfied. This is exactly what you’ll find in Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! as it closely resembles the playstyles of the popular Senran Kagura series such as the tearing off clothing, exposing big breasts and just about every lewd concept you can conjure up in your mind. It’s purely made for entertainment which is a great thing because it doesn’t try to be something it isn’t, it simply sticks to the formula and it’s executed very well. If you enjoyed the action packed style of Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus for example, you’ll certainly find Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! to be right up your alley. Plenty of ecchi, oppai and stripping for all fans to enjoy! Now with the full version out in the wild, we've got some updates to share with you all, so please look forward to all the details down below!

Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! comes with an assortment of features ranging from the original story mode, then it takes you into lewd territory with its store, where you can purchase clothing and other accessories for your character to don. There’s never a moment of boredom since the story provides enough playtime for you to immerse in, while trying to aim for SS rank every chapter will have you coming back to accomplish that every time. As you dive deeper into the game you’ll unlock more items which can be purchased, and also by visiting the Dining Room you’ll be able to build stronger bonds with the cast in the game. The deeper the romance between you and each girl, the more likely they’ll aid you in battle should you choose to use them. With an online mode under the hood as well, Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! has plenty of fuel that will continue to burn even after several hours of gameplay. If you've managed to tackle all of the various modes and now want to test your skills, then the online battlefield is where you'll be able to duke it out in numerous online modes which we'll cover more in the gameplay section.

There seems to be a mysterious virus being spread throughout the land known as the A-Virus, which infects young women and transforms them into weapons known as 'Extars', or those that control 'Extars', 'Liberators'. This doesn’t seem to be the case however for the curvaceous Valkyries who’ve been infected with the VR-Virus, a unique type of virus which allows them to take on either role at will. This poses a challenge to these girls and so, they are dispatched to Bhikkhuni Island for quarantine where they’ll be looked after and can perhaps dig a little deeper as to who’s behind all of this and what secrets lie ahead. The four pillar gods are determined to train these Valkyries by having them engage in combat against one another, so that they can strengthen both body and mind to allow them greater control of the Virus. You must now choose between the path of Chaos or the path of Order, but that is up to you in this battle for freedom!

As we stated in the earlier paragraphs, Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! plays very similarly to the Senran Kagura titles, which place a lot of emphasis on hacking and slashing your way through hordes of enemies, and using special tools to assist you in battle. The only major difference however are the characters and how they battle within the game, so getting used to each Valkyrie’s playstyle will be paramount to your success. The game combines a visual novel experience with its humorous story, which lasts for about 24 chapters. Each chapter is split up into two sections, the A side and the B side, and you can go back to them at any time should you feel the urge to gather every item and rack up the points for the SS ranks. The story flows smoothly and doesn’t steer you in any strange direction, it’s very clean cut and straight forward which may be good or bad depending on your own perspective. Games from Marvelous tend to have a linear approach to them and Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! is no different, and that’s perfectly fine because you know what you’re getting in the overall package.

The dialogue is quite lengthy and pretty much explains the whole premise of what’s happening on Bhikkhuni Island, but it also gives you an introduction into the personalities of each Valkyrie and what their own motives are. Rinka and Ranka are the two passionate sisters who will always devote themselves to protecting one another, Momo is your tsundere type as usual, while Mana gives off this impression of a kind soul but there’s something we don’t know which lies deep under her beautiful exterior. As you dive deeper into it all you’ll start to see some twists and turns, which only add more thrill to the gameplay over the course of time. Speaking of gameplay, Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! has a very easy battle mechanic which is all about pressing buttons in succession to land hard hitting combos, which helps to fill up your special gauge and go into Drive Mode.

You start off with a single Drive but as the story progresses and you level up each girl, more Drives can be unlocked which only add more thrill and hype to the battles you engage in. As with any lewd game there’s plenty of bouncing breasts everywhere to entice you, and so as you continue to deal massive damage to the enemy, parts of their clothing will start to tear off revealing very eye catching lingerie (which you can change and purchase through the store). The battles aren’t really too difficult however which is perhaps the only draw back from playing, since the AI don’t really seem to have a mind of their own and it becomes quite easy to formulate a strategy to beat them without taking damage. Once you understand the patterns, it simply becomes a game of dash dancing around the enemy until you discover an opening, and then pummel them into the ground.

Personally, this type of approach is nothing new since playing Dynasty Warriors for years has already ingrained that sort of playstyle into the brain, so it’s actually a total blast to watch attractive girls attack one another and strip off clothing in provocative ways. It certainly is more fanservice than anything but Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! certainly caters to anyone who fancies a nice hack and slash adventure, where you don’t really have to strain yourself too much. If you wanted a challenge then the Survival and Challenge Modes are where the real fun begins, and once you complete the story they’ll become available for you. Online Mode is another great feature that allows you to take your favorite Valkyrie and Liberator into battle against other players, and duke it out in the arena to see who takes home the best prize. The online mode is definitely where a lot more of the action will occur, and with its very Super Smash Bros. Brawler style implemented into its gameplay, everything feels fast paced and exciting. When you jump online you'll get to choose from 3 types of matches which come with 2 types, FFA (Free-For-All) or Team based, along with being able to select your favorite battlefield among other options.

You can choose from Strip Battle, Liberation Battle along with the very fun Melee Battle, which pits you up against 3 other players as you all swing your sword wildly praying to knock your opponent off the platform. While the action is very frantic and brings back memories of our competitive Smash days, the controls felt a litle stiff while we attempted to dodge attacks or land special moves. Visually everything looked fantastic as you'd powerup and go into your Valkyrie Drive, but framerate issues came into play when more than one player unlocked the drive simultaneously. This made playing at times a little clunky since moves would take a little longer than usual to come out. Despite that, we had an absolute blast with the Strip Battle and we suggest players to really have fun with this one since there's plenty of skin exposed, which only adds more appeal to the overall exprience. We spent some time with the challenge mode and while it certainly did give us a run for our money, the online modes really just stood out and you certainy get your money's worth out of it all. Survival mode is just what you'd expect, as you must hack your way through hordes of enemies without dying, and rack up the points over time. It does get progressively harder the longer you play, but once you start to develop that keen eye for when enemies attack you it all becomes a walk in the park.

The overall consensus is that, Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! is a game that comes packed with a lot of ecchi goodness out of the gate, and doesn’t disappoint with its story and overall lasting appeal, especially the wild online mode features. There’s plenty to learn as you play through the game such as understanding how to maximize damage with Phantom Drives, successfully hitting your counter attacks, along with dodging and weaving around projectiles to avoid taking big damage from boss battles. It’s a simple concept that allows for deep exploration should you feel the urge to fiddle around with it all, which we encourage because it truly makes playing Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! very satisfying.

There are some gripes that we have and that was with the camera, which has always plagued Marvelous and their titles for quite some time. When locking onto enemies the camera would sometimes shift in the wrong direction, and create this awkward positioning which prevented us from seeing the enemy. Fortunately you could just turn off the auto lock and it solves the problem, but auto lock plays such an integral role at times so we found it to be a little irritating. The level layouts were designed nicely but we would’ve liked if there were more enemies to fight since there were occasions where things felt a little dry. We mentioned how the online appeal was great but due to some framerate issues, it crippled the gameplay at pivotal moments such as being able to land special moves and take out the opponent.

The story overall may take you around 12 hours or more depending on the speed which you decide to go with, but we recommend taking it slow since you’ll be able soak everything in and really enjoy the overall experience. The game already comes with Japanese voicing and English subtitles straight out of the gate, which is a major plus for anyone who admires the Japanese voice acting or perhaps those who want to level up their language skills. You can also change the entire game to Japanese, which again is a huge plus if you’re trying to maybe study the language. That’s perhaps the charm of Marvelous, they always provide these little extra features that really add up in the end and make playing an absolute blast. There are 7 Valkyries in the game and out of all of them our favorite was Mana because well, her breasts were the biggest and her lingerie options in the store were the apple of one’s eye. Be sure to visit Echigoya’s dressing room to really spice things up and use your Bhikkhuni points to buy all the best prints!

The final verdict is that Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! is worth every penny and if you’re a fan of the action style hack and slash approach, then this is certainly a no brainer. With enough lewd action taking place within the story, it serves up a nice plate that’s flavorful and even after finishing you’ll want a refill because there are so many perks to unlock. We hope you found our full review to be insightful and informative! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to follow us on social media to know when Honey’s Gaming goes live and streams! We just may play Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni-!! for you all to see, so be sure to ask us any questions when that time comes. Follow us on Twitch and hop into our Discord server to chat it up with the Honey’s Gaming community!

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