Hey  Blerdy Tribe!! Happy New Year! The dumpster fire that was 2020 is officially behind us and with it the promise of better things in the new year! This is the very first Monday of 2021 and what better way to kick things off than with some melanin friendly games! If this is your first time here at Blerdy Otome, welcome!

Every Monday I spotlight video games that focus on stories surrounding more diverse casts of characters—for folks like me looking for a bit more representation in their games. Video games are for everyone, so shouldn’t their stories and characters be just as diverse as the people that play them? So I created this series to celebrate games that strive to tell much more diverse stories centering on Black and Brown individuals. 

If you’re interested in seeing previous melanin friendly games posts, click HERE. This week, I’m spotlighting the queer positive Esports visual novel, High Elo Girls, from Split Fate Studios. 

Play as Rafaela, a college dropout seeking direction by trying out for Momentum Gaming (MMG), an ambitious team of five high level players come together to compete in a once in a lifetime competition, The Targon Invitational, for entry into the closed League Championship Series (LCS).

– High Elo Girls | Game Synopsis

I admit I’m a complete novice when it comes to Esports and I vaguely remember spending hours downloading League of Legends only to not play it. But, that didn’t stop me from playing the demo for Split Fate Studio’s upcoming visual novel, High Elo Girls. In the game you take on the role of Rafaela, a college dropout who has made a name for herself playing League of Legends online. Her skills attract the attention of amateur female Esports team, Momentum Gaming who are looking for some fresh talent to help them compete in an elite League of Legends championship!

Meet the ladies of MMG—Internet famous cosplayer and MMG Top Laner, Toya; MMG COO, shotcaller and Jungler, Grace; Internet famous pro-streamer and MMG Mid Lane, Daphne; Certified loose canon and MMG AD Carry, Kae; and Seneschal, the team’s Support and the member who gives the best hugs! You can choose to befriend, romance, or antagonize your teammates as you navigate the ups and downs of the Esports scene. But, don’t worry, if like me you’re not really big on LOL or Esports, High Elo Girls provides a newcomer-friendly experience. You get to choose between five different team roles to play in, each of which effect not just your roll within MMG during competitions, but how your relationship develops with each of your teammates. 

High Elo Girls promises a much more immersive gaming experience than your run of the mill visual novel—the game features a fun League of Legends simulator and your choices there directly effect the course of the story. As someone that isn’t super familiar with LOL the system is simplified to choosing between specific actions you can make during matches. Wrong choices effect how your team does, while correct choices help your team secure a victory. In the demo you’re still trying out for MMG so if you screw things up for the team you’ll trigger a game over ending. 

MMG is an all female team and each of the members have their own unique personalities and online personas. Toya is a bubbly internet cosplayer and the team’s Top Laner, while Daphne is the wildly popular pro-streamer, Vermillion. There’s always been this notion that gamers are all the same types of people, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth and it’s great to see such a wide range of gamer personalities among the main cast. As of right now you can only pursue Toya, but final release will give you a chance to get to know all of the ladies of MMG. Most of your interaction with the characters happens via Discord chats and DMs which is a fun way to immerse you in the world of the game. 

High Elo Girls is definitely an interesting VN and while a lot of the LOL stuff kind of went over my head, I did appreciate the attempt to make LOL and and online gaming a bit more accessible to folks not familiar with that scene. And I’m ALWAYS going to take notice when I come across any games that focuses on a diverse cast of female gamers, we need more games like this!! 

You can play the game on Windows and Mac!

Thank you for reading and supporting Blerdy Otome! Have you played High Elo Girls? Share your thoughts! Got a Melanin Friendly Game you think I should spotlight? Send it to me! 

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