This Is What Happened When We Visited the Love and Deepspace 2nd Anniversary Pop-Up in NYC.
A week ago, Rachel and I hopped on a plane to New York City to attend the Love and Deepspace 2nd Anniversary pop-up, commemorating not only its second birthday, but also 80 million global downloads!
After a whirlwind few days in the Big Apple, we emerged, starry-eyed and dazed, with a ton of memories, a handful of new friends, a renewed love for our favourite otome, and bragging rights for life.
Read on to find out what happened (or watch the video diary below. Or both. Do both).
Love and Deepspace 2nd Anniversary
It was icy cold in New York last week, so Rachel and I were glad (and, yes, very smug) to be given early access to the event. We entered the venue at 10 am, two hours ahead of the fans who were already lining up halfway down the block when we arrived.
Inside, we were immediately drawn to the Fluttering Touch Zone, where a pantheon of Love and Deepspace characters beckoned to us from colourful arched recesses. One of the undoubted highlights of this zone was the fact that touching the models had the pleasing effect of making their heat-sensitive clothes transparent, revealing the chiselled abs beneath. It’s just a shame that our hands were too cold to fully exploit this miracle.
I’m also ashamed to say that I didn’t attempt to find out whether licking would have the same effect…
Let The Gooning Commence
Having spent more than our fair share of time at the Fluttering Touch Zone, we reluctantly tore ourselves away and began patrolling the rest of the event.
Each of the boys had their own dedicated space decorated with flowers matching their theme. These gorgeous floral arrangements framed a selection of official banner art and a life-size standee of each character’s myth outfit.
Look, I’m a Sylus girlie, but seeing Xavier’s myth so up-close and personal made me fall in love. His long hair and intricate details for his King of Darknight outfit are just too perfect.
Smash.
After being dragged away by the scruffs of my neck, Rachel and I next explored the Light Room. Somehow, this area felt more intimate than the Fluttering Touch Zone, no doubt because the surrounding projectors made us feel enclosed and immersed in the looping game trailer.
It was super nostalgic to rewatch the trailer, and it was so cool seeing the boys on the big screen.
What We Missed
While I documented plenty, there were still things I didn’t manage to record. They include a large tablet, approximately body length, playing different memory cards from the game, shuffling between each of our favourite pookies.
Next to this was a camera setup, with a projected backdrop of the five boys. I didn’t get a photo of myself here, but I watched as other guests picked up plushies from a scattered pile on the floor and posed, with the cutest smiles, before dancing away with their printed photos.
Those fun keepsakes bring me neatly onto the final feature of the event that I didn’t manage to document… the merch!
Located next to the Fluttering Touch Zone, the merch stand had a huge poster and a vast selection of memorabilia, including tinplate badges, art boards, and photocards.
The series featured on said merch included Heartful Moments, Daily Capture, Heart’s Glimmer, Misty Invasion, Entwined Shadow, Lingering Gaze, XSpace Echo, Fluttering Heart, Veiled Whispers, and, finally, Traversing Deepspace.
I won’t tell you how much I spent, but suffice it to say that my next payday cannot come soon enough. In the meantime, I’m really excited about festooning my ita-bag with more pookie pins. Hehe.
Why People Love Love and Deepspace
The main reason I attended this event (bragging rights notwithstanding) was to uncover why players love this game. After all, in the two years since it launched, Love and Deepspace has accumulated over 80 million global downloads.
The pleasant, shivering people I chatted with talked about the sense of connection that the game fosters, and its satisfying gameplay loop. They also spoke of the invitingly fair gacha system, which allows players to keep Memories and earn tons of free Gems.
The fans we spoke with also praised the sheer interactivity of Love and Deepspace, enthusing about how fun it is to do battles or spend quality time with your bias. They described the experience as “real”, which I think is a wonderful trait for a dating sim to have.
My own personal reasons for liking this game are pretty much the same. Love and Deepspace has got me hook, line, and sinker. I become more invested with each new content update, as the game acquires new interactions and deepens its lore.
Love and Deepspace’s place at the top of the otome tree is well-deserved.
Why Do I Love Love and Deepspace?
If you’ve read this far without knowing what Love and Deepspace is all about, here’s the lowdown: Love and Deepspace is the biggest otome game in the world. It’s a rich, intricately detailed dating sim that keeps me and millions of others logging in to complete daily tasks, check out content updates, and discover new lore with the ever-enticing love interests.
Sylus mains rise up.
I’ve never been much of a dating sim girlie, since I’m quite reserved and not romantically involved behind the screen. So, it says a lot about this game’s addictive and satisfying nature that someone like me can’t leave it alone.
Not only that, but developer Infold has worked super hard to bring the boys to life with highly polished cutscenes featuring characters who are… rather scantily clad, to put it mildly.
In short, this game is a fantastic and innovative spin on the saturated gooner genre.
Goodbye big-breasted women, hello big-breasted men <3!
Visit the official Love and Deepspace website to start playing!
