Pivot of Hearts: Everything We Know

If at all you’re feeling constrained by the world’s rules on romance, you can always jump into gaming for a chance to explore limitless possibilities. Pivot of Hearts defies traditional romance for a special take on non-monogamous relationships. It intends to spice up the romance visual novel genre with a fresh perspective that just may revolutionize the space. But what do we know so far about the upcoming game? Tag along as we explore everything we know about Pivot of Hearts so far.

What is Pivot of Hearts?

Pivot of Hearts is an upcoming romance visual novel. It aims to explore modern romance, with a Demo already out now. Although the romance visual novel has been explored in the past, the new game intends to showcase a fresh perspective on love and identity. Moreover, you can steal a sneak peek of the game so far at the upcoming Steam’s Visual Novel Fest. 

Story

At times, falling in love within the confines of traditional expectations can be suffocating. However, Pivot of Hearts wants to let you fully explore love and identity without the restrictions of conforming to what’s expected of you. Set in Sao Paulo, Brazil, you’ll control a Taiwanese-Brazilian protagonist as they navigate the complexities of romantic relationships. 

Pivot of Hearts promises a rich story that centers around navigating non-monogamous relationships. More specifically, the protagonist will be a game developer named Wen Xian whose second chance at love brings surprising outcomes. You’ll stray from the norm to find true happiness in the unexpected.

After coming out of a long period of isolation, you reignite your relationship with Etsuko, someone who meant a lot to you in the past. You also develop a special and unexpected bond with a new colleague called Caua. These will unfold via a card-based gameplay system, where you explore non-monogamous relationships in a visual novel.

All in all, Pivot of Hearts will explore themes of diverse relationships, sexual orientations, gender identities, ethnicities, and body types. As a result, you can look forward to an authentic narrative experience seldom seen in gaming. 

Gameplay

Pivot of Hearts will mix visual novel features with a simple card game. It’s a tabletop role-playing game that will take you on a wild adventure exploring Sao Paulo’s vibrant culture and richly detailed world. You’ll attend fictional heavy metal concerts, discover magical dreams, and enjoy nostalgic anime/game references while also going through everyday young adult troubles.

The deeper you go into non-monogamous relationships, the more you’ll begin to reexamine your old notions of love. If you play your cards right, though, you’ll stand a chance of finding true happiness.

A more elaborate breakdown of the key features you can expect is highlighted below.

• Roughly eight hours long 
• Unlock four chapters with five different endings and over 100,000 words
• Infused with a tarot-based card game 
• Discover healthy non-monogamous relationships 
• Enjoy original soundtrack by Livia Maki Yoshikawa
• Original illustrations by Raviolivs
• Supported languages: English and Portuguese

The developing studio’s decision to add tarot-based card game mechanics is so that you can feel empowered to choose your own path. Meanwhile, the narrative will sync with the card game, exploring non-monogamy in ways that will surprise you.

Moreover, Livia Santos, Art Director at Dragonroll Studios, reveals that the game intends to lean on familiarity, whether it’s the characters you can identify with or places and activities you’ll enjoy. International players, however, will find most designs brand new.

The game, for instance, will feature a Brazilian celebration called Festa Junina, where romance will thrive. 

Development

Dragonroll Studio, a Sao Paulo-based indie studio, is currently developing and publishing Pivot of Hearts. With development underway, you’ll be happy to know that you can catch a glimpse of what the studio has so far at the upcoming Steam’s Visual Novel Fest taking place from March 3, 2025 to March 10, 2025.

Furthermore, you can play the updated demo version of the game, which features more refined animations, sound effects, and gameplay elements. 

In a press release, Wilson Kazuo Mizutani, Lead Developer has this to say about the game: “We’re super excited to share during the Visual Novel Fest what we’ve been working on in Pivot of Hearts.

It’s a very small team working hard and with so much care since 2019 in this debut project… And now that the finish line is becoming visible we can’t wait to let everyone know what the game has in store for them.”

The lead developer further promises a breath of fresh air into the visual novel genre space, both in the game’s format and theme. 

Trailer

Dragonroll Studio has put out a teaser YouTube video focusing on Pivot of Hearts’ demo update. It showcases the improvements and new scene added to the Demo, alongside giving you a glimpse into the content you can expect in the final game.

It’s clear from the get-go the aim of the game is to question traditional rules on romance. Etsuko asks “Isn’t it normal to have many special people in our lives? Is monopolizing the only way to cherish someone?” setting the visual novel narrative in motion. 

The characters seem like the adorable and quirky bunch. The music, too, is pretty exciting, instantly bringing a smile to your face. It’ll be interesting to see how conflicts pan out.

Will there be any “antagonists” to the idea of pursuing non-monogamous relationships? Will some of your romantic interests become jealous? These intricacies in the characters’ background, personalities, motives, and behavior mimicking real-life people are what might make or break the final game.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

According to Pivot of Hearts’ Steam page, the game will be launching in the second quarter of 2025. Feel free to add it to your wishlist to receive a notification when it drops. You’ll be able to download the game via Steam and itch.io. However, editions are unclear at this time.

Still, feel free to keep track of the development updates and any new information via the official social media channel.