Visual Novel Review: Dr. Frank’s Build-A-Boyfriend by Heiden

 
 

Dr. Frank’s Build-A-Boyfriend is a silly, humorous visual novel / point-and-click game about a heartbroken scientist who decides to build his own boyfriend in order to get revenge on a man who used him and a university that wouldn’t accept his research.


Dr. Frank's Build-A-Boyfriend Logo

 

Official Description:

After being kicked out of both his PhD program (plant science) as well as medical school (Pathology), Dr. Frank had pretty much resolved himself to a life of solitude and science. That is, until a handsome stranger knocked on his door and swept him off his feet. Dominik seemed to be the perfect boyfriend- attentive, caring, and interested in Dr. Frank’s work.

Maybe too interested.

Three months into the rainbow-colored relationship, Dominik runs off with Dr. Frank’s lifelong research on resurrection to present at the annual prestigious Hindenberg University Conference, under his own name.

Livid, Dr. Frank decides the only course of action: Revenge.

Not only is Dr. Frank going to one-up Dominik’s presentation by presenting the world’s first artificial life form, but Dr. Frank is going to make said life form the world’s hottest, most beautiful boyfriend.

EVER.

Dr. Frank’s Build-A-Boyfriend is a comedy BL visual-novel mixed with point-and-click adventure elements.

GAMEPLAY INCLUDES:

– Visual novel of over 20k words.
– Building your own customizable ‘boyfriend’.
– Going through all the locations as a puzzle to find clothes for your monster.
– Several key routes and endings.

 
 

More Info:

You can get more info and download the visual here or here!

 

Long Review:

I decided to try this because it was free and looked fun, and it turned out to be a quick, funny, sweet visual novel/game. There’s a backstory and then a story throughout, but you get to choose what your Frankenstein monster boyfriend looks like, and there’s a section where you move around the house and the nearby church/graveyard to find him clothes, get him a replacement arm, and interact with characters a bit. So you have to figure out what to do, but it’s not hard, and you can ask your assistant, Iggs, for help. There’s also an alternate ending that can be unlocked (the clues for how can be found under “extras” in the main menu).

This game definitely had me cracking up at the ridiculousness. *SPOILER (These won’t spoil the plot, but they will spoil some of the jokes.)* Like the monster boyfriend’s nipples being made of pepperoni. And let’s not forget his 128-pack abs. Or the way he kept calling Dr. Frank “Papa.” Or the penis option “double trouble.” *END SPOILER*

Dr. Frank's Build-A-Boyfriend - Screenshot of Iggs
[Screenshot text, Iggs speaking: “Um, Dr. Frank, what were those penis options just now…?”]

I too am concerned, Iggs. I too am concerned.

(P.S. There’s also an option for no penis, and when Iggs brings it up, Dr. Frank admits he left it off because he couldn’t get it to look right but says his boyfriend is still perfect how he is.)

As you can see, this does have hilariously inappropriate moments, but it never shows any actual nudity or explicitness. If you’re going to play, make sure you go talk to Iggs and go through all the interactions because that’s where the options come into play, and it’s really funny.

Dr. Frank was… interesting. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him though, heartbroken over a guy who used him and a university that wouldn’t accept him.

Iggs was a mood. He was the only one with any sense or reason.

Monster: Papa is back!
Frank: Okay, while I’m out your job is to uh, train him out of that.
Iggs: Why me?
Frank: What else do I pay you for?
Iggs: For helping you run your experiments Dr. Frank, not for training your undead boyfriend out of his daddy kink.

Sylios suspiciously carried a shovel with him everywhere and wouldn’t let anyone use it. Rude.

The monster boyfriend was… well, he just was. We’ll leave it at that. I think it’s more fun to see him for yourself when you play, but here’s a picture in case you’re curious how mine turned out the first time I played.

Seriously though, this wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was cute and fun and made me laugh, and considering it was free, I enjoyed playing it!

 

Short Review:

– Ridiculous and fun
– Hilariously inappropriate moments, but no actual nudity
– Visual novel with point-and-click elements
– Cute story
– Overall great when you need a laugh!

Accessibility:

(May not include everything)
– Partially accessible for blind / visually impaired players and screen reader users with Ren’Py self-voicing mode (press V to toggle), but I wouldn’t recommend it if you can’t see the screen. Game text will be read aloud, but menus will not. There are also point and click elements and a section where you create a monster.

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you tried Dr. Frank's Build-A-Boyfriend?
If you were going to build a partner, what's one feature you'd choose? (I've always loved black hair!)

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

32 thoughts on “Visual Novel Review: Dr. Frank’s Build-A-Boyfriend by Heiden

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  1. Greg

    Ooh looks fun. I kinda like some of these visual novel type games! And building a partner? That… has possibilities. “a replacement arm” lol. Guess he’s a little incomplete huh?

    Okay as I read further… *spoilers* um two are better than one? lmao. At least the options are… flexible.

    The tweet might be the best though. RAR and Christy may have made me laugh… O.o

    1. Kristen Burns

      It was fun in a silly kinda way! Yeah, a replacement arm. Boyfriend had some issues lol.

      That was also Dr. Frank’s reasoning for the double trouble, haha. (And he apparently sutures on a two-headed dinosaur toy for that one. 🤣)

  2. Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

    This is so funny! Your boyfriend turned out… special. Does he have a napkin stuffed down his “fancy” shirt? I cannot. It’s cracking me up! I mean, if nothing else it’s incredibly entertaining hahah. Glad you had fun with it!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Special is one way to describe him lol. He has something in his shirt, I can’t remember if it was a napkin or what, but yes, that’s what makes it fancy 😉 It was an entertaining game, haha. Thanks!

  3. Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits)

    I’d not heard of a visual novel before so this is another whole new genre you’ve introduced me too 🙂
    I do remember those infuriating story choice books that were all the rage when I was a kid. ‘If you want to go into the castle, turn to page 174. If you’re sick of perpetually flipping pages and just want to Read A Whole Story, hurl this into a corner and pick up a proper book instead!’

    1. Kristen Burns

      I hadn’t heard of them until earlier this year! They’re fun when you find a good one 🙂 And they’re definitely like CYOA books, just more technologically advanced lol.

  4. Lola

    It’s nice when you can find a free game that’s fun as well. There are quite some affordable and great games around nowadays. It sounds fun that the player can determine how the boyfriend looks like. That’s good you had some fun playing this one even if it wans’t anything groundbreaking.

  5. Jane Ryder

    Well now I *have* to play! This sounds like exactly the kind of thing I enjoy spending time on, especially if it leads to true love for someone else — or at any rate a saucy playmate.

    1. Jane Ryder

      P.S. Have you encountered “choose your own adventure” erotica ebooks yet? I’ve only seen one, but it was a BLAST, and I was impressed at the variety of types of fantasies it encompassed. (Also, Stephanie Jane, the “choose your own” format is much much less annoying with ebooks.) The one I tried was Suburban Sex Kitten Adventure by Amanda Clover. I recommend it if you’re open to erotica, at least as a fun experiment a la Dr. Frank. 🙂

      1. Kristen Burns

        I think I’ve heard of one CYOA romance book? Which sounds amazing in a really cheesy, nostalgic sort of way since I used to love CYOA books as a kid, haha. I generally stick to sci-fi/fantasy, even in my silly reads (idk, it’s a thing, I can’t seem to convince myself to read anything else), but maybe I’ll give it a try at some point just for fun!

  6. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    So, I looked at all the spoilers because my laptop doesn’t need another game on it for me distract myself from blogging, The spoilers had me laughing though, this sounds like exactly the thing to play when you’ve got a spare few hours and want cheering up. It’s stupid and ridiculous and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and it recognises it’s a little ridiculous, how could you not enjoy it really? Who doesn’t want to build a dream boyfriend (although I imagine they’d be a little boring, too perfect).

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s why I included them, I figured some people might not want to play but would still enjoy a laugh! That’s exactly what it was, something fun to distract me and make me laugh for a few hours 🙂 But you looked at the spoilers, and did you see the tweet? I’m not sure perfect is the word to describe how the boyfriend came out 😂

  7. Olivia-Savannah Roach

    This sounds like a fun read! And it was free as well which is a plus. I love that it was able to make you laugh while playing and cracked some good jokes. I’m not actually sure what feature I would include! Maybe green or blue eyes. Or dark eyes with a streak of a different colour through them. Hmm…