Disclaimer: As part of Steam's Curator Connect program, the reviewer received a steam code from the developer for the purpose of writing a review for the game.
Succubi are fantastical beings that surely every guy has secretly wished to meet at some point. As demons that suck out men’s vitality through sultry dreams, they are a guilt-free representation of our wildest sexual fantasies. Be it a gentle caress, rough play, or some other combination of fetishes, they’re willing to adapt so as long as men can provide their essence to them. They are the epitome of a physical give-or-take, embodying pleasure so strong that it can literally send you to the afterlife. Such are the kind of heroines featured in Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell.
Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell (titled Mamiya Mami wa Iyashite Agetai in Japan) is Argonauts‘ seventh title. The first in their Iyashite Agetai series, it was released in Japan in 2022 and published by Shiravune for international audiences last December 2023, with currently two sequels since been released. The series features an episodic story split into three parts about a group of succubi who engage in “training” sessions with a human male for the sake of their reintegration into society. The first in the series centers around the sweet but shy Mamiya Mami, but the sequels shake things up a bit with the second installment doubling up with the gyaru Takanashi Marin and the Class President Kouzu Yuuri. The last installment focuses on the maid Oshino Ruka but leaves some room for harem hijinks.
Argonauts is an imprint of MOONSTONE, the company behind familiar titles such as the ImoPara series, Princess Evangile, and Sex Open World e Youkoso!, which has an upcoming English release. Argonauts is known for releasing short visual novels with multiple installments such as the Uchikano series and the Bishoujo Gakuen series. All three Uchikano titles were published in English by MangaGamer, while the Bishoujo Gakuen series remains untranslated.
Hirose Koichi has been living a life of nothing but suffering. After his first-ever girlfriend dumped him back in college, he’s been in a constant downward spiral. Dropping out of college and unable to hold on to a job for long, it’s been a struggle for Koichi to make ends meet!
So what happens when his latest job suddenly disappears overnight? He goes to Akihabara to distract himself from the despair! With no money, no job, and no girlfriend, he wanders the district aimlessly, hoping for a break from all his problems. Then, as if on cue, two beautiful girls reach out to him from the crowd to save him from his predicament.
Mamiya Mami is a succubus who is on the search for a suitable candidate for her school’s Nab-a-Man Project. Along with her friend Takanashi Marin, they scour Akihabara for males with high “mojo” to bring back to their village. With no one suitable in sight, they resign themselves to a long search throughout the metro. But as if by fate, one sad, dejected man comes into the range of their scanner and returns an unbelievable result. They approach the man, hopeful that they’ve struck gold.
With two buxom beauties beside him, Koichi now finds himself in a devilishly delightful situation. As the human male responsible for the Nab-a-Man project, he is tasked with helping young succubi reacquaint themselves with human males to prevent unsavory accidents due to their demonic nature. Will he help the succubi achieve their goal of reintegration into human society, or will he perish from their overwhelming carnal desires?
Let the succubus sessions begin!
VA: Kitaooji Yuki (Sairenji Aki)
The first Succubus Sessions features Mamiya Mami, the daughter of the succubus school’s principal. She’s a beautiful girl that sports an adorable demeanor which contrasts with her impressively curvaceous body. Awkward and shy, she frequently stumbles upon her words and, if she finds herself in an uncomfortable situation, she’ll try to laugh it off. Despite her timid nature, everyone around her acknowledges how strong her charms actually are. It’s only a matter of time until she discovers it herself!
What’s great about Mami is that even though she’s pretty reserved, she’s still a succubus through and through. She inherited great power from her mom that, if uncontrolled, can kill an average man with just a single touch. As a result, she’s not particularly interested in skinship with them despite having incredible talent for it. This contrast between her personality and nature, along with her face and body, makes for pretty nice gap moe.
But this wouldn’t be a succubus story without some sort of sexual elements in the story, right? Thus, Mami is thrust headfirst into the Nab-a-Man Project due to her relationship to its main proponent, her mother. The project’s aim is to help succubi learn to control their power by acquainting them with a human male. Of course, I mean acquaint them sexually! As the principal’s daughter, she needs to set an example for the rest of her fellow succubi. Overcoming the hurdle of her personality, however, is a tough one. Responsibility by its own isn’t enough to spur someone into action!
How about a familiar face? Good thing Koichi fits the bill!
This hug is as awkward as it gets.
Mami is very considerate of others. She expresses herself through sweet and tender mannerism instead of taking advantage of her feminine wiles. In fact, despite being a benefactor of the project, she continuously worries about Koichi’s participation due to the risks. And adorably so, considering she’s giving her body to him! Additionally, perhaps due to her shy nature, her actions feel like she’s holding back despite radiating affection. It’s a great way to tease the audience and fuel their anticipation! As the first heroine of the series, Mami does a great job of making the setting feel natural despite its fantastical elements.
But because she’s so reserved, she ends up being very sensitive about things she perceives as her mistakes. It’s pretty charming how she blames herself constantly when she feels responsible for someone’s suffering. It applies doubly for her because of the nature of being a succubus that can take someone’s life unknowingly. These kind of feelings are exactly why her participation in the project, while convenient, is in-character for her and knowing this only makes what follows better.
There’s definitely something else that’s about to burst here…
In a visual novel about succubi, intimate relationships will always be tinged with a hint of lust. Succubus Sessions integrates this sultry aspect of succubi well into its overarching narrative by reflecting aspects of their sexual nature in common personality traits. Take the example of Mami, who, while pretty conservative socially, exhibits traits of possessiveness due to her inhuman loving nature. She even has a womb tattoo to physically represent this! It makes for a very entertaining contrast between the Mami that people see in public and Mami in the sheets.
Through these traits, the visual novel is able to introduce a feeling of progression into Mami and Koichi’s relationship. Although the earlier sessions reflect her actual personality, you begin to see changes in how Mami carries herself as you accompany the pair. Initially a shy girl that blunders her words, she begins to manifest possessive and dominating traits, even taking the lead for some of their sessions. Thus, by the end she comes to terms not only with her succubus heritage, but also her relationship with Koichi.
While not exactly a novel feature, what stood out for me in Succubus Sessions is how it dedicates a large portion of its script to scenes that focus on Mami’s perspective. These scenes, usually prefaced by a screen that says “x character’s view”, usually center on Mami and her feelings about her relationship with Koichi, her sexual awakening, and the significance of their sessions.
In a high sexual content visual novel such as this, I cannot emphasize enough how much value having these kinds of scenes have on my overall enjoyment of the game. By introducing an additional layer of impressions via the main heroine, Succubus Sessions creates a relationship that feels worthwhile to be invested in. Instead of simply featuring the luckiest guy ever, the visual novel goes out of its way to show the heroine has a stake in their sexual relationship.
Although largely simplistic in how it’s used, being able to read her perspective makes Mami a more human character, all succubus jokes aside. What did she feel in the moment? What were her expectations? Did Koichi meet them? It’s an opportunity to break off from the “overly welcoming” stereotype nukige have for its heroines. It adds nuance to its erotica, making each scene feel like a give and take instead of a one-sided slog of a read. Hence, while still saturated with sex, it doesn’t feel like a chore to go through because each character has agency and goals that reflect within the scene.
Can I get a 2-in-1 deal!?
Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell features artwork by Argonaut’s main artist Yamakaze Ran (Princess Evangile, Sakura no Mori † Dreamers, Uchikano). Similar to their previous works, the art in Succubus Sessions is incredibly lifelike with their skillful use of lighting and choice of colors. As an example, the pastel pops out of Mami’s hair while managing to still be easy on the eyes. Heck, the characters feel like they have an aura radiating off of them!
The CGs also have an incredible number of variants. Instead of the usual 4 – 5, some CGs in the visual novel have more than 40 because of the incredible detail given to Mami’s facial expressions and actions. There’s even a heart-eyes variant for each of Mami’s CG variations! Overall, the visual novel has a healthy amount of CGs with numerous variations for each of them.
For the music, each heroine has their own theme, of which my favorite is Marin’s because of its happy-go-lucky feel. Mami’s is a close second because of how it reminds me of airheaded moments! For standout tracks, I think Devil on My Back is the most unique one due to how out of place it feels. It’s eerie and foreboding, which isn’t exactly what you look for in a visual novel filled with sex scenes.
Speaking of sex scenes…
Formally, VNDB tags Succubus Sessions as a visual novel with high sexual content. I wouldn’t say it isn’t a nukige, but hey, VNDB tags say otherwise. If you’re not interested in the nitty-gritty of its adult content, don’t open the following spoiler section. I’d be wondering why you’re here in the first place if you weren’t though!
I would like to be as hard as a Metapod repeatedly casting Harden.
Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell has a total of 21 HCGs scattered across 19 H-scenes. These HCGs have an amazing number of variations and sometimes appear in more than 1 H-scene. In a way, the visual novel uses some of them as a ladder step to indicate Mami’s progression up the intimacy level that culminates in lovers’ sex.
Staying true to its extracurricular theme, Succubus Sessions features a particular variation of sex in each of its H-scenes. The visual novel formally calls them sessions, sporting an appropriate title depending on what it’s featuring.
Of course, because of Succubus Session‘s narrative, penetrative sex isn’t an immediate thing. Rather, the game builds up to it using a step-by-step formula with the sessions. Eventually, it transitions into different variations of both vaginal and oral sex. Feet and ass fans, it’s an L for this installment.
Something else that I thought was very creative was their use of captions and speech bubbles within the H-scenes. Used in comic books and manga, they are ways of transmitting character thoughts and speech to introduce nuances in dialogue. Depending on the shape used, they can imply various feelings for both the main character and the heroine. They’re voiced too, so it’s incredibly hot to hear them while the action is happening.
Another nifty feature is their use of a “cumshot countdown”. Succubus Sessions implements this through the use of heart shapes that fill with color with each line leading to Koichi’s orgasm. So now you can practice edging while reading hentai! What about Mami? Of course there isn’t one for Mami! You’re supposed to make your partner climax before you do!
Now I can stop prematurely ejaculating before the MC does!
While all of these added features feel a bit extra, it makes a lot of sense for a nukige like Succubus Sessions. With a clear focus on maximizing adult content, it just feels right for there to be more features that help you get further immersed in its H-scenes. Think of it as a helping hand from a friend who wants you to have the best nut possible!
Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell serves as a nice introduction to the overall series. With its focus on the succubus Mami and her relationships, the visual novel effortlessly establishes its setting within the first game without having to tone down on its steamier parts. Fun, relaxing, and lewdly wholesome, it delivers on its promise of a sex-filled experience without sacrificing the potential of its characters. It’s a fresh take on what a nukige can be, and I hope it’s something that continues giving in its next installments, which shake things up a bit.
Taking these into account, my score for the visual novel is as follows:
Story: 6
Characters: 6
Art and Music: 7
Adult Content: 9
Total: 7/10
Personal Rating: 7/10
Succubus Sessions: Mami Mamiya’s Sweet Slice of Hell is currently available for purchase in English and Chinese. If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, you can buy it on Steam or on Johren. A free 18+ patch is available for the Steam version.
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