*Long in depth review, no spoilers.*
Sentimental Trickster (ST) has a lot of great aspects going for it, but there are some things that are a little iffy. Let's start with the positives!
First, I was blown away by the depth of subject matter and emotional vulnerability. I actually cried when Haru had *that talk* (no spoilers?) with his mom outside the house. It was exactly the kind of reaction from your mom that you'd would hope for when having *that talk.*
Similarly, the story line and subject matter with "Mr. Teacher" was surprisingly intense and emotionally raw. Again, I was really pleased with how well the writers and developers handled such sensitive topics, especially with an 18+ game. Usually story and character development don't get priority when 18+ scenes are involved, but that's not the case with ST.
Now, onto the iffy things... Unfortunately, ST fell victim to what many visual novels fall victim too: a very unrealistic development of love. What I mean with that is Haru becomes SO in love with these men he's only known for a number of weeks, and nothing really ever happens that would explain why he fell in love so quick and intensely. Specifically, after several weeks of enduring all the dangerously toxic behavior from "Mr. Photographer," Haru was still SO in love, and it's just wildly unrealistic.
It's hard to ignore when Haru is making these super irrational decisions with nothing to justify or explain why he feels that way, BUT 80% of visual novels have this issue, so it's not a make or break situation.
All in all, I think ST delivered a very solid visual novel, especially considering it's 18+. 4/5 stars!