Thank you Aksys Games for sending us a review code!

In 2020, I had the pleasure of reviewing Piofiore: Fated Memories despite it having some story elements that de-legitimize Christianity.  If you have not played the original game, I highly recommend doing so to be familiar with the heroine (Liliana Adornato), Burlone mafia families, church members, and police officers that reprise their roles in this sequel. I’m happy to report that there are some backstory text and video replays from the previous game to jog your memory of significant events in the previous game.  

Like the previous entry, Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is an otome visual novel meaning that there are several bachelors attempting to win the affection of Liliana.  As you read through the various routes/chapters, the decisions that you make will determine your ending.  One wrong choice may yield an instant game over, or you may get an alternate bad ending instead of the desired good one.  If you want to unlock all of the character art and dictionary entries, you’ll have to play through all possible routes and endings.  There are online guides available to help you make the right decisions.  

When you first launch the game, you can play through the routes for Gilbert, Orlock, Nicola, Yang, and Dante in any order.   There is an advent calendar section that has mini-episodes and when you view them all, Episodio Alternativa unlocks.  This episode has routes for each of the characters, so there is a good amount of replay value here.  To save time, you can skip through previously read text.  After the first route is cleared in the Episodio Alternativa, Henri’s story route becomes available.

While each of the character’s routes are unique, there are several overlapping themes throughout them all.  Fascist politicians are coming into power and aim to overthrow the mafia influence in Burlone.  Each of the mafia families has to decide what’s best for their future and Liliana does what she can to assist in this transition.  It’s interesting to see how much of a help she can be and how she alters their future in each route.  I found it a little jarring to see characters killed off in one route being alive and healthy in another.  

The Catholic Church has a lot of influence in two out of three of the mafia families.  Unfortunately, they are not shown in a positive light as they have underhanded methods of resolving conflict and have no problems breaking the 6th commandment to murder people as they see fit.  There’s a sacred relic in Burlone that’s protected by a mafia family.  In the previous game, it’s revealed that this relic disproves Christ’s rising from the dead, which is quite blasphemous.  

Since this game has heavy mafia themes, it should come as no surprise that there are depictions of kidnappings, murder, and torture.  Blood splattering across the screen happens often as there is a serial killer on the loose in Episodio Alternativa.  Foul language is rampant and every curse word in the book is used.  

Sex outside of marriage is inferred through most of the routes.  While some mafia bosses are more passionate than others, there is only one love interest that seems to practice abstinence.  Given how many romps are alluded to, I’m quite surprised that Liliana didn’t get pregnant in any of the routes.  Last but not least, there are references to drugs and some of the characters consume alcohol.

The voice acting and artwork are top-notch, just like the previous game.  My only technical complaint in this sequel is that I saw multiple typos that got past the beta testers.

If you enjoyed Piofiore: Fated Memories and don’t mind the moral concerns, Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is a great sequel that will keep you busy for many hours.  I spent thirty hours focusing on the good endings.  Completionists will get even more value for their money with this title.