
Under Maintenance
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android
An everyday dramedy otome game that begs the question: When one game goes down for maintenance, can another game begin?
Story
After a rough day at work, all you want to do is settle in with your favorite otome game, only to realize it's gone down for maintenance. How will you pass these troubling times? Risk going to a watering hole to drown your sorrows in a beverage of choice? Begrudgingly scroll through a dating app to meet your love for the night? Either way - adventure, shenanigans, and hot singles in your area await! Disclaimer: heartache probable - choose wisely.
Features
- A nameable protagonist with configurable skin and hair tones;
- Partial voice acting;
- ~65 000 words;
- Four routes with multiple endings;
- A floofy cat;
- In-game texting, including with your BFF (who you can name too);
- Accessibility options - OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts, two text sizes to choose from, darkmode and lightmode textbox options.
CW: Strong language, suggestive/sexual themes, and mentions of alcohol/alcohol use.Also Mark.
Ending Walkthrough
Ending Guide v. 1.0
Achievement/Ending Guide: v. 2.0 (courtesy of Deiru from Steam!)
Love interests




Side Character

Team
Art
- Centibel- Sprite, CG, and Promo Artist (Discord: Centibel#5104)
Co-Created and Written by
- Eishelin- Code Witch, GUI Mastermind
- RitaRemixed - VA Casting/Director, Sound Engineer
- Bryth - Sound Designer, Effects Specialist
- TsukasaYuki - Social Media Manager, Mark's #1 Fan
Voice Actors
- Daniel Francalanzo- Tristan
- Sean Patrick - Luca
- Demarco Rodriguez - Theo
- Abram Torres - Mark
Special thanks to
- Our wonderful beta test team - bokbok, in.citem (Em), Jade Castle, Magma, Marcy, sealilyyy, Stefanina
- CC asset creators (see more in the Extras -> Attribution part of the game)
This game was developed for Otome Jam 2022.
Questions for players
We'd love it if you let us know in the comments:
- Which character was your favorite? Why?
- Did you manage to make all the guys on the main screen regain their color?
- What's your favorite moment in the game?
| Status | Released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android |
| Rating | Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars (446 total ratings) |
| Authors | Hearty Soup Studio, Eishelin, KitsunePlush, Tsukasa Yuki, Bryth*Writes |
| Genre | Visual Novel |
| Made with | Ren'Py |
| Tags | Dating Sim, Female Protagonist, josei, Meaningful Choices, Multiple Endings, Otome, Romance, Slice Of Life, Story Rich, Voice Acting |
| Average session | About an hour |
| Languages | English |
| Inputs | Keyboard, Mouse |
| Links | Twitter/X |
Download
Install instructions
Choose the file that's labeled for your computer's operating system, unzip, and click the icon labeled 'UnderMaintenance' to start the game!
If you're on MacOS, you may get a warning that reads: "'UnderMaintenance' cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified." Instead of moving the file to trash as the pop-up window suggests, you can allow the app to run in the General tab of your Security & Privacy settings.
More on how to do this here under the "How to open an app that hasn’t been notarized or is from an unidentified developer" header.
Development log
- Under Maintenance PostmortemFeb 23, 2023
- Under Maintenance 2.0 now live - featuring Mark route and more voiced linesFeb 14, 2023
- Full Steam aheadJan 29, 2023
- Happy holidays and a small update!Dec 22, 2022
- Happy 5000 downloads!Sep 15, 2022
- Android release and QOL improvementsJul 09, 2022
- Thank you for 1500 downloads!Jul 07, 2022












Comments
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This game is awesome, I am waiting for more games from you
I love the humor in this game, and the art style is INCREDIBLE, almost made me forget how mean Mark was XD!
Es el juego completo?
1. Which character was your favorite? Why?
Mark surprisingly Xd. I related a lot to him; his insecurities, his struggles in life...And he was just such a sweetheart.
2. Did you manage to make all the guys on the main screen regain their color?
Yess, my ranking would be: Mark, Tristan, Luka, Theo
3. What's your favorite moment in the game?
Mark's ending! Very adorable and vulnerable moment when he gives the video games to MC
ESTÁ EN ESPAÑOL?!
Fun game.
OMG I LOVED THIS GAME SO MUCHHHH!!! , especially my cute nerdy Tristan!!💋 Like he's the sweetest man everrr husbandu material 🤭, too bad the game is short and there isn't a fandom.. 😭
ugh i literally adore this game especially the lore and character development + the variety of different endings! the different personality traits for the mls are very inclusive too
I was really enjoying the game and found the MC relatable until the snarky, political Covid reference. Real world politics are not something I personally want in my games so unfortunately this was an uninstall for me. :( At least it came out before I got too invested.
really? i haven't installed the game yet im curious, can you elaborate what part is a political reference?
here in 2025 and upset w how underrated this GEM is!!!!!
like i wasnt interested in all of the MLs at first, but now i like them all, even mark.... bro this game is so GOOODD UHGHHH
The lack of love for ma boy Mark is insane. HE IS THE BEST, HE IS SO CUTE!!!
Hey!
I just played through all four characters, and wanted to tell you, that I really liked the game. The game-play, the design, the dialogue, the various characters...Great work!
I really liked Tristan and Mark's route, they are both very cute and it was a lot of fun doing their routes too.
was cussing mark out the entire game [i played luca>tristan>theo>mark] but he was so sweet in his route. my favorite still got to be Theo though, he has such a wholesome personality. tristan was cute but so so pathetic, if I was richer he would be perfect (plus he comes with the cat so thats a plus!) and luca uh... he's cool but i keep thinking gojo lmao amazing game and really hits deep with the realism!
loved
Been Looking for a Good Dating Sim, and This One Hit the Spot!
The MC was so relatable and honestly refreshing to see. I don’t come across many like that, so it made the whole experience super enjoyable. The plot and writing? So good!
My favorite character was definitely Tristan! I had so much fun navigating his route, even if it was a bit harder to get all the bad endings compared to the others. Also enjoyed how some of the "bad endings" aren't really baad ahh
Favorite moment? Tristan’s entire route, hands down. But I also really enjoyed discovering more about Mark too (like a loot)
Here’s my ranking from favorite to least favorite:
Tristan
Mark
Luca
Theo
[SPOILER?] I did expect more from Luca since he seems to be really popular and sweet. While his route was enjoyable, I was absolutely shocked at how easy it was to get THAT 'bad ending'. Like… he jokes about messaging some random girl at the end of one route? I made a small comment about how he probably shouldn’t flirt with a stranger he doesn’t even know... especially in front of the girl he’s been going on dates with? Then he suddenly cuts off communication like we meant nothing.
Honestly, I’m kinda glad he’s the one who ends up stuck in that end, lool. He gave off some lowkey f*ckboi energy; maybe even more than Mark, because at least Mark was upfront about what he wanted. Not that I’m excusing Mark (he was a jerk), but you get what I’m saying. Might just be my bias talking though, Just wanted to get that off my chest, cause I wanted to share that with someone! loool
Amazing game! :))
Honestly, all the guys were unique in their own way. I really loved Tristian. He's quirky, unapologetically himself, sweet and just a dude who's working through life.
Theo felt easy to talk to and I love how he established his boundaries, despite the fact that he had some trouble actually communicating what his 'hang ups' were. He's also really sweet.
Luca is just waaay too charismatic and if this wasn't a game, believing his intentions completely would be hard, but he beat the odds and I love him for that.
Mark......i'm sorry. Since I ended up doing his route last, I had already grown to dislike him by the time I made it to his route. I literally only did his route to 100% the game. It's the "theres more than there seems" trope and "a guy just needs someone to understand him" trope and while I get it, and it does work, I just couldn't fully engulf myself in his path like I did with the others. I'm sure that if I did his route first, i'd feel differently.
1. My favorite guy was a tie between Tristian and Luca, and unfortunately, Luca ended up taking first place. He is just so easy going but sure, and adamant about what he wants. I will say though, Tristian definitely had me kicking my feet.
2. I did mange to get all the guys pictures to turn colored
3. My favorite moment(s) are either when you can just keep walking until you walk out of his life for or act like Tristians manager to help him with the customer, and he just automatically is obedient, or when you can tell Lucas mom that you're his fiance and its immediately a game over. Those were hilarious
Tristan and Mark gave me second hand embarassement, but I still LOVED the game! THEO MY HUSBANDDDD ARGHHHH
They were all so cute ;n; It was such a fun time to do all of their routes <3
I loved this game SO much, thanks for making it!
1. It's hard to pick a fave but I think Luca was my real MVP. So respectful, considerate, and smooth. He made it tough for me to focus on the others. (Honorable mention to Mr. Steal Your Girl! ^•^)
2. I just finished a happy ending for each fella (and a few bad) - I wasn't expecting to like them all, but I did. Even my bestie seems like a catch.
3. Surprisingly, my favorite moment was probably "riding the Mark-Train."
i love you mark
Hi!
This is by no means a criticism, just a gentle request.
Please can we have curly hair for the MC?
Darker skin tones are great but my hair would never look like that and I felt quite disconnected with her every time I saw the sprite pop up.
Ok, I downloaded this ONLY because I saw a cat aptly named Mr. Steal Your Girl. I wasn't expecting much(Because I'm usually only into yanderes). What I was not expecting was an adorrible romance game where all four of the LI are cute and so sweet and I fell in love with all of them. I loved them.
Loved this!
Are you able to play as a male mc in this? Have not installed the game yet, someone please tell!!
No
always my biggest question with these games bruh
honestly! there are already a lot of "boys love" games for you, there are much fewer visual novels for girls these days. moderate your libido, girls are people too
this game was so fun! I loved all the other options but Mark...Mark really did it for me..
I really like the game, Theo was my favorite romancable.
Tristian is my wife LMAO but also mark... gods mark... such a beautiful character. loved this game so much <3
TRISTIAN MY BELOVED ;v; kudos to his VA I loooooved his voice and the route and sdijiasdjoisajdiosa feeling him in my mid-20s life crisis oh my god
edit: ALSO I demand more spicy kisses for this maaaan (if not in game, at least pass some to him from me)
edit2: MARK NEEDS TO BE PUT IN A BOX AND SHAKEN!! GOD! his little HEE-HE gets me every time i cannot-
I signed up for itch just to make this comment:
Love the new Mark!
He didn't rub me the right way before, but giving him the full route just upped him to my fav! Thanks :*
Normally I dont mess around with sagittarius but Mark might be different. Giving him a chance since I liked the idea of traveling to different places to live a new life, which is what I'm currently doing atm. 2nd favorite is Theo as he's a wholesome family man that sacrificed his hopes and dreams to keep his family afloat. Btw can we have a sequel to this after all the good endings for all LIs please? I wanna know how MC is doing with them (especially after Mark's good ending, I'm biased.)
I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH! This was the third visual novel I've ever played and it's honestly so good. All the endings are so fun to get, the guys are all so interesting and endearing-- my best friend is funny, I'M funny-- overall a really great game. Took me around 2 days to finish but you can probably finish this in like a couple of hours.
Loved this so much! Fave was Theo - with him being happy where he is and how dedicated he is with family, adore him. Yes, brilliant touch with greyed out menu art that gains colour with their good endings - bravo! Fave moment - loved all choices, the CG moments and programming side panning and full size view of CG was lovely interlude to gameplay. Well done to Centibel for sprite and CG art - lovely! Very cool writing and choices - especially in real life with the bar, as well as via dating app. The scope and choices are so wonderful. Well done on a brilliant game!
This game is ultra cute! I bought it on Steam recently and don't regret it. I played one of the routes and am working on the other ones next. There was soo many different personalities it was hard to decide who to choose! Appreciate the art-style too. Thanks for making this game <3
can I date MC instead? I love her, she's the best <3
I played through this game in one sitting and ahhhh it was so good, no regrets. My favourite Luca just because I appreciate a man who is open and honest. We love a man who communicates and isn't afraid to put himself out there.
My second favourite is Mark, which like..................ya'll don't even understand the whiplash I went through. I played his route last and he kept appearing in the other stories like my brother in otome hell can you not pick fights with my dates??? So by the time I reached him I was stressed. The first chapter deadass had me taking deep breaths like don't back out, we can get the good ending, just keep going DON'T SHUT DOWN BE STRONG-
AND IT WAS WORTH IT. He is so cute and vulnerable, AND HE PLAYS OTOME GAMES W/ US baby we have no choice but to stan.
I was wondering if anyone knew how to get Lucas romance ending I have tried twice now but I keep getting the normal ending of letting him follow his dreams?
hi there! If you scroll up on this page, there should be an ending walk through! That should help!
I'm playing on my HP windows laptop but the screen keeps flickering grey every time I click an option. The game seems really fun but i can't play it due to the grey flickering
is there a way to fix it?
Hi, thanks for reaching out.
Could you give more information about your system? E.g. your operating system, more specs of your laptop, and your graphics drivers?
One thing I recommend doing is pressing Shift+G when in game and testing whether any of the graphics options there change your experience. Sometimes screen issues are due to incompatibilities between your screen drivers and the game engine.
I was trying to figure out how to get Mark's route and even the good ending to his route but the steam layout was quite a bit confusing to me, it seemed a little jumbled in my half awake brain, is there another walkthrough or anything that includes Mark's that may make more sense to me?
hi! There is an ending v. 2 on this page if your scroll up!