Omega Labyrinth Life
Omega Labyrinth Life
Game
Game2019
Punch Line
Developer MAGES. Inc.
Punch Line is a visual novel adventure video game developed by 5pb., based on the anime television series of the same name. It was published for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita by 5pb. in Japan in 2016, and was published by PQube overseas in 2018. A Microsoft Windows version was released in 2019. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
61 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 10, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
57
Mixed
28 positive · 21 negative
95% range 43–70%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 28 | 21 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
30 of 52 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
58% recommend · 29 yes, 21 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 50 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (56 of 82 positive).
Players praise the story as surprisingly deep and well-written, especially in the second half. [1][2][3] Many reviewers criticize the PC port for technical issues like unskippable cutscenes and controller problems. [4][5][6] Some players feel the game is not worth the price and recommend watching the anime instead. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
Bad port. Only available in fullscreen or windowed with no options to tune the graphics settings. In fullscreen it seems to be locked to 60fps. Now that would be a good thing if it didn't seem like the animations are tied to frame rate making everything look like it's playing in fast-forward. Couple of other bugs I encountered in my short time with the game. Not worth $50, just go watch the anime and save your money.
- [8]
Overall, I can't recommend this game in its current state. The characters are interesting, and the story itself is decent enough, but in this case it's better to go watch the anime instead (which in a rare event for anime and game adaptations, the anime actually has more story than the game does). While the anime does have a "go play the game" ending, and the game does have the happy ending that the anime is missing …
- [2]
Punch Line might seem like it's pervy idiocy at first, but it's not. While it is technically a game due to having some mild gameplay elements, it's more of a visual novel with 3D models and environments. It also has an absolutely fantastic story, plus the true ending of the story, which you can't see in the anime. This port is subpar, unfortunately, but that doesn't hurt the excellent plot and lovable characters. If …
- [10]
This game is overall good, but hard to recommend. I wanna start off by saying this is a visual novel at heart and if you're looking into buying this for the puzzles then don't. The major cons of this game are that the first half is very slow and the puzzles are just mindless trial and error. It's also worth mentioning that this game has a lot of fanservice, and while not necessarily a bad thing depending on your …
- [1]
I love it when I happen to prejudge a game at first, yet decide to give it a try and end up totally falling in love with it. That is exactly the thing that happened to me with [url=https://noisypixel.net/punch-line-review-pc/]Punch Line, a game written by the same creator of the Zero Escape series. The idea of panties mixed with a dark story in the tone of the Zero Escape series just didn’t sit well with me. So it’s …
Summarised from 34 of the 61 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Punch Line talk about engaging and complex story reminiscent of Uchikoshi's other works; those who didn't talk about poor PC port with technical issues. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Famitsu liked the uniqueness of the game's setting and premise, and found it fun to set up pranks and watch them play out. The game got "mixed or average" critical reception from Western critics, according to Metacritic. Most criticism was levelled at the game's more perverse elements, while most of the praise was given to game having a story, characters, and charm that extended beyond these aspects. Reviewers noted that many players will be put off by the game's more "offensive" material, a criticism that was also given to the anime it was adapted from. The gameplay was also criticised as being overly simplistic, too easy, too repetitive, and too "paint by numbers". CGMagazine was…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 61 · most liked firstIt really just wasn't worth the wait for me. The puzzles offered only a couple minor challenges requiring serious effort or forethought and were only really a present for the first half of the game. After that it became a very binary visual novel experience with either 'the right answer' or 'the wrong answer that leads to a bad end'. The final chapter of the game is basically just literally ripped from the anime. At 50 bucks it most definitely just was not worth it as a video game in my…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Going to preface this by saying that i played the PS4 version of this game and this review is copy-pasted from my thoughts after I finished that but my opinion remains pretty much unchanged. This version may have fixed small issues with the translation or UI since this is being released almost a year later and i haven't checked but that does not change this VN's problems as a lot of them would be prevalent in any version. Anyway my review: A lot of the game is cutscenes ripped straight from the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: IndieGems if you like and want to see more reviews like this one. Punch Line is a visual novel expansion on the anime of the same name. The game has been out on Playstation in Japan for several years, in Europe and North America since last year, but it recently released onto Steam. The price tag is a bit hefty. After all, the demanding $50 with the game time around 10-15 hours means that you really have to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love it when I happen to prejudge a game at first, yet decide to give it a try and end up totally falling in love with it. That is exactly the thing that happened to me with [url=https://noisypixel.net/punch-line-review-pc/]Punch Line, a game written by the same creator of the Zero Escape series. The idea of panties mixed with a dark story in the tone of the Zero Escape series just didn’t sit well with me. So it’s a good thing that it wasn’t anything like that. I think I am just a too big fan…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bad port. Only available in fullscreen or windowed with no options to tune the graphics settings. In fullscreen it seems to be locked to 60fps. Now that would be a good thing if it didn't seem like the animations are tied to frame rate making everything look like it's playing in fast-forward. Couple of other bugs I encountered in my short time with the game. Not worth $50, just go watch the anime and save your money.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Nice Fan-Service Game For Anime Followers!" Punch Line. It is a visual novel type adventure game based on the original animation(パンチライン/2015) made by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=MAGES.%20Inc.]MAGES. And this Steam PC Edition is a port from the PS4 (PSVITA) console version released in 2016. Last summer, global physical editions were released in Europe & NA by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32977561]PQube. Usually, the most exciting thing about such media…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely shameful these devs are charging almost 60$ CND for what is essentially a 10 hours or so Visual Novel that takes a ton of clips from the anime adaptation. This is a horrible port for what could had been a decent supernatural comedy anime game, all the inputs prompts use buttons from Xbox controller even if your using keyboard (which makes it extremely confusing remembering what key does what), you can press F1 at any time to see what key does what, but its still confusing, for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall, I can't recommend this game in its current state. The characters are interesting, and the story itself is decent enough, but in this case it's better to go watch the anime instead (which in a rare event for anime and game adaptations, the anime actually has more story than the game does). While the anime does have a "go play the game" ending, and the game does have the happy ending that the anime is missing -- and it is a nice ending -- I don't think it can really justify doing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Punch Line might seem like it's pervy idiocy at first, but it's not. While it is technically a game due to having some mild gameplay elements, it's more of a visual novel with 3D models and environments. It also has an absolutely fantastic story, plus the true ending of the story, which you can't see in the anime. This port is subpar, unfortunately, but that doesn't hurt the excellent plot and lovable characters. If you liked the anime, you'll love the game. And if you just like anime in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Full review (including score): https://youtu.be/Hwy0R0nYGPk Written review below! The rundown: Pros: + Fun writing Cons: - Tacked-on gameplay - Lazy storytelling - Fluctuating art quality - Atrocious PC port It took almost an entire year, but we finally get Punch Line on PC. As someone that watched the anime back when it was airing, I was looking forward to the game to see if it could expand on that story, to fill in some blanks. Unfortunately, it barely even does that and comes with so many…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Punch Line is currently 95% off on Steam A 3D mystery game by Uchikoshi Koutarou (Ever17, Zero Escape) about a ghost who triggers the end of humanity after seeing the slightest glimpse of panties.
neutral · AI labelView post →An epic man's quest to save the Earth by avoiding panties; ends up dying BILLIONS of times in an attempt to unknowingly recover his balls while becoming immortal; and is most likely going to have sex with himself. Nope. I'm serious. Can't believe I almost gave up on this game! Okay; slow start, do be warned. The story takes a bit of time to pick up, but after a while I couldn't leave it alone; I had grown endeared to the character and the story and mysteries of the series piqued my interest.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The weird urge to rewatch Punch Line because Uchikoshi's latest game is releasing soon and my brain was reminded that this anime existed.
neutral · AI labelView post →Introduction Punch Line is a PC port of a PS4 and Vita game. Developed by MAGES and published by PQube, it's been on my wishlist for quite some time! Before playing the game I knew very little about it, but that one line on the store page -- "If he sees underwear, humanity will be destroyed!" -- made me laugh with delight. I knew I had to have it. Punch Line the game is based on an anime of the same name. I haven't seen that, either, so I'll be restricting my comments in this review to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL:DR - just watch the anime. I wonder why visual novel isn't in the category. I wouldn't have purchased it if it was. Though I got it on sale, it still isn't worth it. Horrible game. Here's why from my opinion: 1. Unskippable intro song / ending song every chapter (of which chapters are not long) 2. Terrible camera movement (instead of using mouse to look around, they force you to use key like a dpad) 3. Gnarly tutorials (the cat guide tries to explain game mechanics to you of which you don't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →people are right about it getting good halfway through, but theres too much you have to put up with before that to make it really worth it. the puzzles are trial-and-error, the characters start off too generically, and the pacing is like if one piece was slice-of-life. there's a bunch of details that make things just that much worse too, like how you cant skip the anime opening and ending between episodes, the controls are labelled wrong for the controller, and the achievements are broken.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't let the lewd content fool you, this game has a surprisingly intricate storyline with a fun cast. The game is mostly visual novel mixed with occasional high quality cutscenes. Gameplay elements are minimal and not difficult until the later stages, but they are fun to play. There's also a lot of panties in case you were worried. Just try not to blow up the world looking at them.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A punch line without the set-up. It’s frankly amazing how little effort PQube has put into this release while asking 49.99€ for it. The Steam version is shipped broken. As soon as you launch the game from the launcher, Steam will mark Punch Line as not running and thus will not update your gameplay time, won’t show you the Steam Overlay, and most importantly, will not allow you to use Steam Input. Seeing as I was trying to play this with my DualSense controller, not having my controller…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is overall good, but hard to recommend. I wanna start off by saying this is a visual novel at heart and if you're looking into buying this for the puzzles then don't. The major cons of this game are that the first half is very slow and the puzzles are just mindless trial and error. It's also worth mentioning that this game has a lot of fanservice, and while not necessarily a bad thing depending on your tastes it can take you out of it. The pros of this game are that it has a very…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Turned out far better than I expected. The gameplay isn't the best for a point and click style game and the times you can pause/save feel incredibly arbitrary. With that being said the story makes up for it as absurd as it is (and if you're like me the absurdity is what makes it so great). There are also no achievements on the Steam version which somewhat makes me wish I'd have bought on PS4, but getting it on sale for as low of a price as I did made it worth it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sensual Haunting: The Anime? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Unfortunately, not quite. This is an extremely dull, conceptually deceiving visual novel mixed with some bland, linear, cumbersome "gameplay", if you could even call it that. Don't be fooled by the false marketing and user-defined tags; there is absolutely zero nudity in this game, and there is no sexual content of any kind, not even innuendo. If seeing a panty shot counts as "sexual content" to you, you really need to go out and interact with real…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kind of tedious to do. Have seen other reviews saying it's a not a great PC port, to which I agree. I would recommend the anime over the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i don't really care about a pc port or pervy game core i like it really good story and songs with boring gameplay maybe 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR : I came for copper, but found gold. Very recommended for Visual Novel lover. Story at first seems like a dumb love comedy, but escalates quickly into something very serious. You should play this fully knowing that this is basically a VISUAL NOVEL. The minimum gameplay it has is basically just mini game. The game is kinda goofy, but if u can get past all that, its pure golden. About the complaints in the other reviews, I can address some : 1. Controller not detected : you can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →punch line dares to be one of the 8 Uchikoshi games that ask the question of what if we did ever 17 and remember11 again but this time it's completely incomprehensible and ♥♥♥♥♥♥
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can confirm, there is a punch line at the end. 10/10 The game delivers on it's promise.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →0/10 got in a bundle and not a single $0.01 of mine went to support this game 🖕 - insane price - awful default controls - cant rebind any keys - cant use mouse of anything but exiting the game the kind of game you know jeffy eptain would love into the hidden game abyss
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This #RandomGameSaturday I went back to the Playstation Vita (VITA MEANS LIFE) section with PUNCH LINE. What is this game? Why did I buy it? I just don't know!
neutral · AI labelView post →I could list the negative and positive stuff, but It`s basically the anime in a video/game form. There is more to it but I won`t spoil it. Know that you have to buy it very cheap. If I had to give a reason for buying it, buy it if you are a fan of the punchline series, but don`t get your hopes up. So in conclusion I would rate this game 35/100, and that might seem low but it might also be a wake up call to the game developers. They had the opportunity and an ok nice anime story, and they blew…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The port issues and such are all there. I'm not going to talk about those and, in all honesty, this is PROBABLY not the platform for this game. So if you're here and have the option to play on another platform, I recommend it. But I didn't have any huge, issues. Yes there's a bunch of little annoyances here and there and the first half if bad enough to where you just want to stop. I doubt anyone who liked this game would hold it against you, honestly. The second half, however, is where it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short version: So, the good part is -- they have a skip dialog button. Long version: I don't really like visual novels, however I stick to reading if there are a good written plot and texts not boring and repetitive. It's not about this game, so after an hour of reading repetitive and boring dialog texts I was tired because there were no gameplay yet and started skipping. The bit of gameplay I was able to get, after 1.5 hours of "playing" it, shows potential and overall game is well executed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Punch Line presents itself as a wildly eccentric visual novel, beginning with a premise so absurd that it almost feels like a parody of anime conventions. The protagonist, Yūta Iridatsu, unexpectedly finds himself separated from his physical body and forced to exist as a spirit inside a house populated by several young women. His objective is to regain his body, but there is an unusual complication: becoming overly excited by seeing panties can eventually trigger the destruction of humanity. It…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a wild ass game, LMAO! Punch Line is so funny and nonsensical, but I didn't expect it to also be chill. A surprise, indeed! Raided into Charlottexbear's stream for Dino June games with Turok as well as her partner anniversary! Follow her: www.twitch.tv/charlottexbear #Twitch #Vtuber #Turok
positive · AI labelView post →Starting up the new game tonight and you all have NO IDEA what I've got cooking tonight. Time to figure out the "punch line" in, well, Punch Line live now! www.twitch.tv/sneaky_maldron #Twitch #Vtuber #PunchLine
neutral · AI labelView post →Punch Line (PC) - 2016(JP)/2018(US) It's hard to say much about this game without spoiling anything. I wasn't sold much at first, but it went on to exceed my expectations. Gameplay wasn't the best, but everything else was fantastic. Uchikoshi made me cry to the panties game. 8/10
positive · AI labelView post →Not compatible with steam deck. I know it’s old but pleaseeeeee fix it :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Basically a vita adaption of an Anime by the same name that has been ported to steam. It does not have the best graphics but it is a thoroughly enjoyable lighthearted story with bubbly music that sets the mood well. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31309147-South-Coast-NSW/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's a fun and compelling story here if you are willing to put up with the 'puzzles' and bad UI. There are also a few additions including a short special that provides more closure than the anime version. Also the ending differs from the anime version in one key detail - a much happier ending IMO . The puzzles (which take place in the first half) do not respect your time or intelligence. It can be summed up as look around and click on things to see if it works. Combined with some poor…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →would not recommend game will not save.have to start from beginning each time
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah, as much as I love The Punch Line, Minutemen really stepped up their game with What Makes A Man Start Fires.
neutral · AI labelView post →Figured I would share Punch Line for Random Game Saturday. It's such a fan service filled visual novel with a plot that has you becoming a ghost after your body gets possessed and stolen. If you see something that "excites" you, the world gets hit by a massive astroid and blows up. lmao~~~
neutral · AI labelView post →#bartendertales #HashtagGames #Punchline So he says to me, "Do you think I wished for a 12 inch pianist?"
neutral · AI labelView post →Schedule for this week! On time this time, ooooooo! Finishing up Punch Line and heading into a past game I never got to stream properly: Kill la Kill: IF! www.twitch.tv/sneaky_maldron #Twitch #Vtuber #PunchLine #NiNoKuni #KilllaKill
neutral · AI labelView post →I finished the Punch Line visual novel game yesterday. 19 hours reading/watching the game's take on the anime. It's been a long time since I watched the anime and overall I thought it was decent. Would I recommend it over the anime? Dunno, but if its cheap then feel free to check it out.
neutral · AI labelView post →Broken Game . Controller is not supported . You cant save . You cant do anything if you alt tab ... Avoid
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Achievements don’t work. Not a terribly interesting game. Definitely works better as an anime. Glad I didn’t pay even close to the standard $50 price tag or I’d really feel cheated.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Achivements won't work, animations go 2x+ speed in fullscreen and lot of other issues. Buy PS/vita version
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →28. Favourite game developer ~ Kotaro Uchikoshi I don't like companies. I do however respect how weird Uchikoshi's mind gets. Sure there are some games that are better than others, and some I don't really want to play (Punch Line, Hundred Line) but I'm still generally most excited for his insanity
neutral · AI labelView post →Very underrated vn that has quite a lot of interactive elements. It plays in 30-60min episodes so it's perfect daily bedtime substitute for books.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I watched the "punch line" anime and it great, however this game have a lot of bug. Auto-mode is too fast. Sensitivity of clicking is also too fast. HOW can the company that make "steins;gate" approved game with this poor quality. Pls fix it MAGES.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game was fun and challenging, Also its like you're watching a anime. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i saw the panties and now the world will burn
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a game, it's not worth $50. I would probably only start considering it at half the price, and I did get it at a steep discount. But for as dumb as it is and panties aside (no pun intended), I love it anyway. I will proudly publish this multiple paragraph-long review of an eroge with one of the dumbest premises I've ever heard. I already watched the anime I think twice at this point, but coming back to it in visual novel form, it still affects me, if not even moreso due to the interactive…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is definitely the worst Visual Novel I've read in my life (so far, at least). I really think that Punch Line is an utter piece of garbage that one should only read to see the train wreck. Things I hate about it: The visuals and presentation look like trash and are extremely inconsistent. The 3D models of both the characters and the environment look bad, there are "fake" cutscenes that are just screenshots of the anime but they have the characters moving every few lines, and there's the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intrigued by the story but as a visual novel it did not do it justice. The visual novel structure was not what I was expecting. The first half was simple detective mode like game play by clicking on the right stuff on the right order. The first few times it take a bit to understand the mechanics then it becomes easy for the most part unless you don't notice one that you really needed. The second half becomes a visual novel but you quickly figure out that there are only two routes. You quickly…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty fun games! Relive the anime is amazing fun ! I hope more of this fun games in future. Those mixed in thought don't know to see it awesome yet! Great pick up game for sure!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ending was worth it (on sale)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"If you see underwear, the world will end". Hey, you already had me at underwear, you don't need to sweeten the deal with an apocalypse!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Uchikoshi never fails to disappoint
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →don't buy this if you expect much like "many" interactions in game you can only buy this when you expect visual novel style of games...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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