S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH is a text-driven visual novel with typing game mechanics. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Review Overview

What is S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH?

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH is a narrative-driven adventure that brings its story to life through engaging keyboard-based interactions. Set in the fictional city of Castor Yard in 2011, you step into the shoes of Miki, a part-timer who manages online conversations for clients. Along the way, you'll encounter diverse characters and explore the world where humans coexist with Cyber Life; advanced AI that possesses personalities. Every keystroke shapes your journey, allowing you to craft unique memories in Castor Yard through a series of meaningful choices, both big and small.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH features:
　⚫︎　Instant Messaging simulator gameplay
　⚫︎　Multiple romance options
　⚫︎　9-12 hours of gameplay
　⚫︎　Text-based adventure
　⚫︎　Dozens of collectibles

Steam

Wishlist only

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Actually Immersive Gameplay Setting Alone is Thought-Provoking Experience Social Distress First-Hand	Rough Localization Pacing is All Over the Place

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Overall Score - 82/100

Visual novels often rely purely on audio and narration to draw their readers into the game. S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH, however, borrows from text-driven typing games to create a physically immersive experience. Its mechanics blur the lines between you and the game, letting you fully appreciate its story and audiovisuals despite the separation between you and the protagonist.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Story - 8/10

If there’s one thing to complain about in the game’s story, it’s how it tends to drag out sections that aren’t instrumental to the plot while leaving less room than necessary for the ones that actually matter. Oh, and the localization is pretty rough. Still, S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH delivers a very compelling story that’s as subtle as it is deep.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Gameplay - 9/10

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH isn’t your traditional VN. The game combines choice-based visual novel elements with typing mechanics that demand real-time attention. It breaks away from the usual slow burns of old VNs, giving the experience a unique urgency that simulates real-world socialization.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Visuals - 9/10

This kind of visual style will always hold a special place in gaming. Pixel art done well is like stumbling upon a modest town in the middle of a desert. Sure, it’s not an oasis, but that’s the charm. It’s still somewhere you want to be, even if it’s not what you expected. Honestly, the only criticism I can give here is that the automatically scrolling text often moves too fast to read it all—and that’s a pretty big deal for a story-driven game like this.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Audio - 7/10

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH’s audio is missing a lot, like voice acting and an engaging set of SFX to match its instant messaging simulator gameplay. However, the excellent background music and the few SFX it does have are more than enough to give it a good score in this category.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Value for Money - 8/10

Don't let the "mere" 9-12 hours of gameplay fool you. For a visual novel, that is indeed rather average. But consider that this game comes with actual mechanics that don't just involve clicking on the screen to scroll hundreds of lines of text. There's even multiple "endings" for you to pursue, as well as some hilarious routes you can take by absolutely butchering your work in-game. It's well worth the money.

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Review: A (Physically) Engaging Visual Novel

We’re opening up 2025’s list of visual novels with a rather unique entry into the market: the immersive simulator-slash-visual novel set in an alternate 2011, S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH (I, too, was confused about the name).

Why this game, you ask? Well, I saw the thumbnail, and it immediately caught my attention. That's basically it. And after playing the game, I don’t regret it one bit.

Now, before we talk about the hows, let’s take care of the whats first. S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH is a visual novel about living in a society where an advanced form of AI called "Cyber Life" has been integrated into everything tech-related. Cyber Life is similar to humans in many ways, such as having individual personalities, talents, and even opinions. For example, the Cyber Life in charge of the local vending machine dislikes cheap beverages, so you will never see one among her stock.

She also has very strong opinions about waifu games… I don’t think we’d get along in real life.

Anyway, Cyber Life is also in the business of graphic design, content creation, architecture, and the like. Essentially, they can lend a hand as long as there’s a computer involved. But that also means that the line between real people and those only present in digital spaces is incredibly vague, especially online, where identities are far less trustworthy compared to face-to-face interactions. Relatable, for I, too, struggle to identify if I’m talking to bots whenever I’m in the YouTube comments section.

So how does S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH tell its tale about a world where labor value is crashing due to advanced AI technology?

You play as Miki, an architect with barely any dreams in life. Due to the increasingly difficult job market, she has all but given up on any larger future prospects and simply aims to save enough money to pursue something else. However, doing so with just her day job is extremely difficult, so she is forced to take on a side hustle as a hired mouthpiece. Her task is to put on the digital shoes of her clients and deliver their messages without blowing her cover. To put it simply, she pretends to be her client to perform certain tasks over the internet.

This is where the game revolves around: your experience as a mouthpiece, juggling that with your responsibilities for the company, and your own personal life in between.

The Gameplay Is Anything but Boring

Let’s get this out of the way first. S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH is a visual novel. However, it’s not just any visual novel. Even those who don’t consider them as games would be hard-pressed to define S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH as anything but one.

You see, this game doesn’t just make you sit on your gaming chair clicking on the screen to scroll through thousands of lines of text while occasionally forcing you to make a decision between two or so dialogue options. S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH actually has "gameplay." Specifically, it has a kind of Instant Messaging simulator that accounts for the vast majority of its playtime, as well as the more traditional visual novel gameplay with added point-and-click elements.

Ignoring the latter, which honestly isn’t very groundbreaking or anything like that, the game’s Instant Messaging simulator, which thankfully makes up the bulk of the experience, is a very fun element to play with. The game even tries to make use of your physical keyboard by making you "type" in your replies manually, instead of just making you click on dialogue options.

Do note, however, that this isn’t The Typing of The Dead. The game just asks you to press buttons on your keyboard, and it will automatically fill in your replies. For example, you can just type in "sdfawdw," and you’ll respond in-game with a proper sentence, whatever it is. So it’s less of a typing feature than it is an immersion mechanic.

Anyway, unless you’re a professional or a genius actor who regularly pushes the boundaries of roleplay, acting as someone’s mouthpiece isn’t a particularly easy job to do. The people your client interacts with will likely sniff you out, especially if they’re close enough to call each other on a first-name basis (that’s how it goes in these kinds of games, right?). So not only do you have to learn how to pretend to be someone else, but you also have to do so while trying to accomplish their goal without getting busted for pretending to be them.

It Even Simulates Ghosting Your Contacts

As you can imagine, that’s quite difficult, but it doesn’t end there. Your work as a hired mouthpiece is, after all, just a side hustle. Unfortunately, you can’t really dictate when clients need your services, so sometimes it occurs alongside your day job. That’s where the game makes you multitask—in real time.

That’s right. Unlike other visual novels, time in S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH passes in real time. In terms of what can happen in the game, the people you talk to can and will complain if you take too long replying to them. Certain replies are available only within a short time frame after one of your contacts sends you a message. If you’re too busy talking to someone else, you can miss that opportunity, which may or may not be essential to achieve a specific outcome.

On the other hand, there’s a particularly funny feature in the game where you can share social media posts with your contacts. Most of the time, these elicit standard responses, like triggering a short line to show their reaction. But there are also posts you can share that will get some particularly funny interactions. For example, if you mistakenly share a picture of one of your friends’ gothic attire with your boss at work, he’ll react appropriately, resulting in your character getting flustered and apologizing.

If There’s Anything That Will Hold You Up, It’s the Narration

Now, the game’s Instant Messaging simulator is fun and all, but there are some problems with it. The developers might have had way too much fun with the system, as your side hustle for clients—who you’ll rarely interact with again—takes up an inordinate amount of time compared to conversations that actually advance the plot.

I kind of understand what they were going for, though. The themes for each of your clients are as wide as they are intriguing. You’ll have to deal with situations like divorces, confronting cheating boyfriends, telling off superiors engaging in blatant sexual harassment, and more. Doing all this while pretending to be someone else, taking care not to ruin your client’s life, is a tough gig. However, there are times when it’s palpable that your side hustle takes so much time that the effectiveness of its narrative suffers.

Oh, and there's quite a bunch of jokes that really don't read well in English. It may be funny in its original language, but the attempts are obvious.

Absurdly Immersive, Despite the Theme

Despite that, it’s not as if all those minutes spent reading alarming text and role-playing as a distressed citizen are a waste of time. Each interaction serves to imprint the struggles of ordinary (and extraordinary) citizens onto you, the reader, who has to pretend to be someone pretending to be someone else.

This degree of separation from the person you’re "playing as," however, is promptly broken down by its typing mechanics. Barebones as it is, having to actually "type" your replies instead of just clicking on a list does wonders for immersion.

The discrepancy between how the story is narrated and how the game is played makes for a wildly engaging time. At the end of the day, I think that’s part of what I enjoyed most about the game. It makes you take a step back and think about what it means and how it feels—a habit you might eventually extend to the different cases you handle in-game, each with its own fair share of lessons and messages.

Is S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Worth It?

Most Definitely

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH opens the year with a bang. As far as text-based games go, it’s certainly up there with hits like VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, albeit taking on a more puzzling and less intimate approach. But that doesn’t mean the game lacks intimacy. It more than sufficiently depicts the kind of profound personal connections that can be developed in a life full of uncertainty while still being fun and engaging.

So, do yourself a favor and get the game.

Platform	Price
Steam	Wishlist only

S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH FAQ

How many characters are there in S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH?

There’s over 20 characters; 4 of them are romanceable.

How long does it take to complete S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH?

About 9 hours for the main scenario; 12 if you’re looking for every achievement.

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S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH Product Information

Title	S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH
Release Date	January 9, 2025
Developer	U0U Games
Publisher	GCORES PUBLISHING
Supported Platforms	PC
Genre	Simulator, Romance
Number of Players	1
ESRB Rating	TBR
Official Website	U0U Social Media Page

Alfonso Majarucon

Writer of things from game, anime and manga reviews to news and webnovels. Hopelessly addicted to story-driven games, especially cross-platform ones. Favorite games include Punishing Gray Raven, Arknights, Limbus Company, Elden Ring, Touhou, Soul Nomad and the Disgaea series (except 3 and 6). Avid..