Sometimes, we need the gaming equivalent of a warm hug instead of a threat of imminent doom. That’s where the slice-of-life genre comes in: stakes might be lower, but the emotional highs are just as rewarding. Akin to food for the soul, games such as Corona Borealis and Lover Pretend or manga series like My Love Mix-Up! provide heartwarming tales sure to put a smile on your face when you reach the ending. In that same tradition, Foxglove Games’ Trouble Comes Twice is a slice-of-life visual novel sure to wrap you up in fuzzy, welcoming warmth if given a chance.
Trouble Comes Twice stars fraternal twin college students Jace and Hazel. The two argue but are still very close and share many hobbies, including a mutual love of gaming. One night while playing a recent dating sim together, the siblings make a bet. Whoever finds a romantic partner for themselves first before the end of winter wins. Fortunately for them, there are four potential love interests already in their lives: Adrian, Jace’s best friend since childhood; Zoe, their neighbor and Hazel’s best friend; Cameron, an acquaintance of Jace’s with a bad boy reputation; and Stephanie, a sweet yet timid classmate of Hazel’s. Who of the twins will win the bet, and, more importantly, can love blossom?
Trouble Comes Twice begins by cleverly inviting the player into Jace and Hazel’s world as if you’re playing a dating sim in fabulous meta fashion alongside them. You get asked to pick which of the twins you want to play as before introductions to the four love interests. Then, you cement which of the love interest routes to play through. The game cleverly interjects Jace and Hazel commenting directly to the player on story events in continuous adorable meta-commentary, helping further shed light on the siblings’ personalities. Beyond these moments, the VN story plays out from your chosen protagonist’s POV in the same vein as a traditional visual novel, with you reading and advancing the story by making response choices.
Trouble Comes Twice is uniquely refreshing from other dating sim VNs in that, regardless of your choices, you don’t have to worry about stumbling into a game over or a terrible ending. There are two types of endings for each character route: a dramatic one and a romantic one. Romantic endings focus more on the romance with a fluffier feel, while dramatic endings lean more into the angst spectrum before ultimately resolving in a hopeful, romantically uplifting conclusion. Neither type of ending is “bad,” so you can easily slip into one without getting stressed that the result is going to be tragic if that isn’t to your liking. The game is quite forgiving in that regard, offering a warm respite. Once you reach the dramatic and romantic endings for a specific character route, you unlock a bonus epilogue scene for that route in the extras portion of the main menu. The extras menu also features the credits list alongside unlocked CG and chibi artwork.
Though there are only four love interests in Trouble Comes Twice, and reaching an ending for a given route takes roughly three hours, there’s still a wealth of content. Each of the four character routes has two distinct endings, after all. Plus, there are two different main characters to choose from. That’s sixteen different endings to uncover if you’re a completionist!
I give Trouble Comes Twice significant credit from a writing stance. It’s quirky and cute, capturing how endearingly comforting a well-told slice-of-life tale can be. I especially love Jace and Hazel as protagonists! It’s rare to find well-written twin characters in video games, and they’re two of the most believable ones I’ve seen. I see so much of my bond with my twin sister in their interactions; it covers everything from sharing hobbies (yep, we often watch over the shoulder as one of us plays a game to provide commentary!) to arguing or even having each other’s backs even when they get on one another’s nerves.
I like how Jace and Hazel are treated as unique individuals (again, not always typical in stories involving twins) and how their routes are handled differently, even with the same love interests. Hazel is more open with herself about being pansexual, while Jace has to come to terms with being bisexual in his routes with Cameron and Adrian, and it’s well-written. Co-creator Melli wrote Jace’s routes while co-creator Clara S. wrote Hazel’s, and it is a testament to how strong the writing is in Trouble Comes Twice that the storytelling is relatively seamless!
The four love interests are also fleshed-out and likable characters. My heart went to the always polite and patient Adrian, especially in Jace’s routes. Zoe is an incredibly complicated character with a domestic situation you can’t help but sympathize with, and I adore how her romance with Hazel develops in particular. Stephanie is a total sweetheart, but underneath her shy exterior hides a surprisingly unyielding will. Cameron is a prime example of how off rumors can be about a person’s true personality. I adore learning about all four of them through their respective routes, and I love whenever they show up in scenes, even when they’re not the love interest. Minor characters such as Stephanie’s overprotective older brother Royce, Cameron’s cheerful little brother Cyan, the friendly waitress Jun, and the twins’ doting parents (cleverly referred to as “Mom” and “Dad” even in the text boxes to help add immersion to playing as Jace and Hazel) help round out the cast while also having surprising depth.
Regarding gameplay, those familiar with traditional VNs should have no problem picking up Trouble Comes Twice. Features such as the standard history log and auto-skip help you speed through already-read text, and you can save at any point you’d like. The UI is crisp, eye-catching, and fits the game’s mood quite nicely. The UI coding by Pan gets implemented well, and I give props to the designers Faleso and kathaeris.
Visually, I love the graphical details in Trouble Comes Twice. There are several highly-detailed and vibrant backgrounds, courtesy of Creative Freaks and minikle. The spritework by Kappy is gorgeous and very anime-inspired. There are two types of CG artwork: gorgeous illustrations meant to propel the story forward in a pivotal scene and chibi artwork used to supply a bit of wholesome cuteness. The CG artists are Benti, Indigo, and Suda, respectively, and they did incredible work! While it is noticeable that different artists do the CGs, they’re tonally fitting for the game itself and don’t distract as in other games. The background music by Otologic and Ramine is vibrant and fits the story scenes nicely. Given how much text and dialogue is in each route, I also give kudos to the proofreader Crystal for doing a great job on ensuring the script remained relatively error-free.
As far as faults, there were occasionally times when a song might halt before looping again at specific points during a scene, and if you use the auto-skip feature, you might find it hard to figure out the exact text before a decision point pops up. But, honestly? There isn’t much to critique when it comes to Trouble Comes Twice. It does what it sets out to do admirably! At its core, this is a successful, feel-good VN with a romantic edge. VN fans who don’t mind the slice-of-life genre would do well to give the game a chance, as Trouble Comes Twice is soothingly comforting and the game equivalent of a warm hug.
