VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - A.O.A. Academy [Ch.5 Gold] [TLGGAMES]

It doesn't matter how good the writing is or how good the renders are, if the player is constantly forced to restart the game and repeat everything after every update. Free roam is also something that devs should seriously consider avoiding, it doesn't add to gameplay or immersion, it's just tedious. The game may turn out good, who knows? This is a game where you should bookmark and wait for the final v1.0 release before trying it out, because any time before that is just not worth your investment, this includes both time and money.

The game started really good but now in Ch5 it just went kinda bad. The story is okayish?

I mean the MC is a farm boy that has 0 idea what a thong is (sure).

But all the bugs and typos are just ughh also the DEV is not active on his Discord or barely reachable.

The game as problems a lot of problems, like other reviewers already say the game has pretty renders but the rest is a mess, from gameplay problems to story problems.

Let's begin with the gameplay, it is pretty standard VN but in worse. It has different routes and most of the game can't be seen, but for employing such a route system it is missing the features or the writing to make it clear so most of the time you are walking in the dark. Add to that the "free roaming" which are just a waste of time, you walk around to talk to the girl aside from being filler there isn't any reason why it should be free roaming in the first place.

The story is nonsensical, disjointed and somehow get's worse with every chapter ( I played until chapter 5 when I gave up).

If you want lewd scenes they are very rare

If you want story, it is disjointed and badly written.

If you want girls they all have over dramatic backstories and little development because in most playthroughs most scenes can't be seen and little time is spent on each girl.

In the end the game is just a slog. Too non lewd to be arousing, too badly written to be a narrative driven game and too little time spent on each girl/ too badly written girls to be a game with interesting characters playing of each other.

The story is basically: coeval rich white girl offers to be PC's sugamama in college and invites him to live with her and some other girls. Then some more girls become PC's friends. They all seem to get along just fine and have a great life in general, therefore some bad guys need to exist so all the chars can do some heroic stuff together. And lo and behold, obligatory crime subplot that we're expected to care about because the dev can't think of anything else to drag out the rudimentary main plot and/or delay h-scenes.

Characters talk like eleven year olds on adderall. Random example: "there's not a lot of people here, feels so peaceful and calm."...."I agree."

Even though it's tagged as a harem game, there are different "paths" for girls and consequently scenes exclusive to each path. PC's sugamama is central to the plot, yet the player is given a "choice" to get with her or not at the expense of some of the other girls. He even has to choose between groups of girls living with him in the sugamama's household.

Why does this porno gaem introduce so many potential partners, allow having multiple partners, then limit the number of partners? Why are some of the potential partners seemingly more important to the plot than others, regardless of whether you "choose" them? The short answer is, the design formula of - lotta girls who all wanna sex the PC+a bunch of "choice driven" paths for romancing different permutations of said girls+dumbfuck subplot about exclusively male cartoon villains - seems to attract patronage. In fact a lot of porno gaem connoisseurs seem to prefer a never-ending process of development with a dozen different paths, choices and branches involving their fav 3d waifus advancing a little bit every 5 months or so, instead of a self-contained 3 act plot. Why? Don't ask me, I'm not really into edging/denial (gives you prostate cancer, look it up).

Anyway, gfx vary in quality. I'd say ranging 3-4/5. The most glaring visual issue is overexposure. Anims are smooth but not very "meaty" and vary in length/detail, in other words nothing special. Models are evidently based on two facial types but still cute/hot. In conclusion 3 stars for gfx and anims, -1 star for everything else.

I think this game is going to be great in 1-2 years, but as of right this is how I feel about the game:

PROS:
nice renders
story is kinda meh so far, but definitely better than most adult games
i heard that animations are good(cant judge myself because i havent come across any)
some characters have a nice vibe to them
music
CONS:
no content for most girls
something about the MC is off ( i cant really put my finger on it)
some choices are way to harsh/punishing
weird pacing

IF I COULD I WOULD RATE THIS GAME 3.8/5

Questo gioco ha molti pro e difetti...
PRO:
buona trama
Modelli e animazioni fantastici
Dumping a girl might break your heart too

DIFETTI:
Al cap. 4 ci sono troppe poche scene di sesso e MC è stato rimproverato più volte..
The plot is organized in a confusionale way, if u are in multiple routes it is a bit of a mess...

Most of the girls are pretty and i really liked it, however the gameplay is not something i really enjoyed, I hated it when being punished just because i was being nice for example i was on Jenny path but Rebecca has to overtaken her on some scene just because i was being nice to Rebecca as well? its kinda annoying and not to mention the game multiplies path was confusing as hell even if you play using the wlkthrough, the story not extraordinary and kinda bland too but i can went through with it if not because of the confusing multiplies path this game has.

It's an interesting game so far, I'm not really far in it, but the plot seems...... I dunno... bland? It feels almost safe, like it's not trying to do anything to make it stand out.

Oh look, the MC's going to school, what adventures will he have? There's no hook to draw you in beyond the underlying trope. It also has an issue where in the early versions at least it seems to give you a choice but a lot of the time the choice doesn't matter.

So you meet a lad in an office and he's in your grill. He basically insults you immediately. It's so over the top and it comes out of nowhere. Who does that? So you've got the choice to tell him to ram it, or ignore it. If you confront him you basically go to attack him and if you ignore it he keeps up until you go to attack him..... so why even give the user the option if both seem to do the same thing? And then when you do he's all muhah!! you've fallen for my trap, for attacking me I can now expel HAHA I'm so clever". It's such an absurd scene that happens so early in the game that it actively makes me not want to play cause if all the scenes are like this I feel I'll end up spraining something rolling my eyes. Don't worry though cause you're ultimately saved by some random lassie who defends you for like... no reason? Implied she wants to ride you or something, it is a porn game after all so I'm guessing that's how it will end up. So the guy leaves muttering about how it's "not over" and how he won't forget what happened. Like... son... what's going on? Forget what? Who is this clown? Why does he give a shit about a complete random? And he throws in a "You won't be able to get away with this forever" line for good measure Away with what? Who wrote this?

Not to mention immediately after the scene the woman who saved you basically dismisses the Dean, leaving the MC to wonder "why do I get the feeling she's beneath both Jenny and Adam".... while not 5 minutes previously you listened to them talk and they quite clearly stated they own the school. Like.... were you listened lad? Keep up.

Great visuals but the plot and dialogue needs work

Well, Nothing much to say. For me (I have just reached Chapter 2 - Where adam meets jason white) it is a rollercoaster of emotions. I did not find any flaws in any part of the game/vn. I will definitely recommend playing this game. It is a different type of game with totally different perspective, in a period where most of the vn/s involve incest and controversial matters. Thanks for sharing this game @TrueLoveGames

simply amazing. The plot could improve and there are some not so logical things in its chronology but the story is 10/10, one of the best VN's I've tried and I'm looking forward to having an ending worthy of this masterpiece.

I really enjoyed my time with this game (played the chapter 5 release)

I only played one route yet (rosa main with site focus on ash and jen)

the game is slow and I like that u don't get a shit ton of scenes thrown in your face and that's fine in my opinion because it makes for a better story

to make it short renders are awesome
the story is great (in my opinion)
characters (that I cared about are nice and well written)

don't play it if u want fuck scene after fuck scene it's not going to happen (and that's fine )
I highly recommend this game

What this game is:

• Blueball simulator
• Disjointed story - the author is trying to tell two different stories and they don't work well together, at least not the way it is implemented
• Excellent renders and character models (the main selling point)
• You have to play the game up to 6 times in order to see all of the content - no thank you!
• Key choices are made early in the game before you really get to know all the characters
• The author switches directions and focus throughout the game to the point of it becoming irritating
• Really good stories can make up for the lack of lewd content in some cases, unfortunately the story is barely above average with lots of plot holes and things that don't make sense
• Lots of stuff and events are happening in the game but very few character defining moments
• It is extremely easy to get locked out of content - the game almost requires the use of a walkthrough - bad design
• The prologue/introduction to the game is a teaser and doesn't reflect what the game will actually be like - bait and switch (big time)
• The author sometimes forgets what was said and what happened earlier in the story and creates new narratives that don't fit earlier story content
• Some choices aren't respected and flat out ignored - this is bad

Due to the game's many flaws I can't rate it more than 3 stars. It is a beautiful looking game, the rest is disappointing overall.

The game does have a few beautiful moments but you have to drudge through the swamp many times to get there... Oh, and you get blueballed constantly.

My goodness. This game easily is the BEST VN out there. Amazing graphics and animations. Captivating story and romance. Seriously, the best VN I've ever played. Lots of pathing, lots of outcomes. Cant wait for every update.

When it comes to Vns that actually tell a story they are a rare breed apart.. Luckily AOA falls into the upper rankings of those VNs that you can actually follow a story while falling in love with the characters and the relationships they bring to the game.
Music featured in the title is of the highest quality and only serves to help you feel even more engrossed in the story and events as they unfold, Animation scenes are also of the best around in this current VN hierarchy and the title serves as a great benchmark for others to aspire to when it comes to the ever growing College game genre..
TLG Games are also a humble team who aren't afraid to admit when mistakes are made and their patreon supporter interaction is a welcomed change from those that take your money and then expect you to sit back and be quiet.. A Very Worthwhile VN addition to any college or romance game collection

What a game...

My first word when i just clicked to open the game was "Wow..." the intro with the music, the girls.. Was a slap on my face honestly. Great great job here.

*I do like the relation kind of innocent you have with Ashy, and the other kind of relation you have with the others.
*Amazing renders, the girls look so amazing, and they all have a personal type i love that.
*the OST is put very well in the perfect timing. Nice choices of musics.
*the story... well, we can see the try to be original, but im a bit scary that it goes too far in the "drama" side. For now, i like it

This game is in my top 3 now, for sure, and if the game goes to the end, i will support the creator for the next one, cause i like when a work is well done, no matter the time it takes.

Congrats TLG... Very very good job.

This game has gorgeous renders but seems to think it's too much of an interesting crime thriller when it isn't. Don't get me wrong, I like the characters in games to stand out, have good back story etc. but some of these games just forget the balance between story progression and lewd content and have far too much of one or the other. This game has far too much text with multiple threads in which few are very interesting, it's just a bit all over the place. In all honesty I was bored, put the skip text on and after a long time still nothing happened. Even most the unlockable gallery renders are weirdly bland though technically nice which sums this game up succinctly.

One of the great VNs on this site. I think that poor reviews are mostly from ppl who are disappointed in relatively small amount of sex or girls having some other character traits than being madly in love with MC

But it's ok, there are some great harem games for those ppl and this game is more for someone who is looking for a good story and believable characters in the first place and sex is just an addition.

To sum up:
Pros:
+ great girl models
+ pretty interesting story
+ girls have different believable characters, there are lot of them for everyone to find something for himself (shy/forward/secretive etc.)
+ some of the girls have troubled past and its a great journey to uncover it and help them become happy

Cons:
- most male characters ale bald but it's fine since it cuts down on rendering time

To rate it on 1-10 scale with 1 game not working, 5 being average, 10 being masterpiece I would give it an 8.

Pros:

1. The girls look great.
2. Some moments in the game feel genuine (for example, Ashley/Sung Ji at the beginning).

Cons:

1. Typo. The "double period" is almost used as the standard way to end sentences and it's driving me mad a little.
2. Unrealistic. MC's first visit to Jenny's house (right after his arrival at the academy) is downright ridiculous. Adam's reaction of seeing MC for the first time is so over-the-top, it made me unable to take the game seriously.
3. Poor game design - using a guide is required. Traditional Japanese AVNs are typically designed in such a way that you keep choosing the main love interest of the playthrough (often literally choosing "go see A" over "go see B") and then going to her "route". This is very intuitive because you know that you can just choose "go see B" if you want to see more B content. Certain popular contemporary English AVNs use the "you can see most content if you choose to see it" design. This game is neither of those - certain choices block you from seeing content in unintuitive ways. Sometimes you have to turn down an invite from B to be invited to A's content, but sometimes you don't and can see content from both. For example, going to breakfast with Ashley on day 1 (which in my view makes the most narrative sense) blocks you from seeing most of the Rebecca content, but you can still see all of the Jade content and a lot of Valery content if you choose to. This level of trial and error / content blocking this early in the plot really distracts the player from fully experiencing the game - there needs to be character-defining moments for each girl before content blocking can occur. For me, I had very little idea about who Rebecca is before the pacing issue below kicked in.
4. Pacing issue. If MC was nice to Ashley, she confesses her love for the MC at the end of MC's first full day at the academy. The player can choose to reciprocate, or choose "I'm not sure" (which causes the player to miss a lot of Ashley content going forward). Making the player choose to be with or reject a main love interest this early in the plot is borderline ridiculous, when most of the other girls have had very little screentime.
5. Plot holes. They are all over the place. For example, the first morning at the academy, the MC wakes up being very hungry because he somehow didn't eat anything the day before, even though he got back to the dorm by 5-6 pm the day before. Depending on player choices, the MC either eats half a sandwich (which is really not enough food for a guy his size) at breakfast or don't eat at all and the "hungry" point is entirely dropped. And then in the first class, the teacher asks the class to move their desks into a group so they can discuss in a group, which point is immediately forgotten. It's like the developer just forgot what he wrote 5 minutes ago.

Love the game so far (Chapter 4). The story is captivating, the characters have plenty of depth and the renders are absolutely stunning. Only thing a bit off that the MC is someone the girls throw themselves at a bit too easily.

Ok so Hands down, the best Visual novel so far ive ever played, together with Eternum its easily one of my favorites.
The characters are just well ridden, each come with a story, a background that reveals itself over the advance of the chapters. It just feels like you really get to know the characters better and better that way which makes you feel like you are really getting involved in their lives and the story. All of them have an unique personality and they are all special in their own way.

The story is really well thought-out and gives you and easy dive into the events with a plot that keeps growing over time. As you advance through the story it keeps presenting you with the problems that come to the peaople you surrund yourself with. I dont really know if the Romance-choice you go with has a real influence on how the main plot evolves, but by the impression i got is that your choices do make quite the diffrence not necessarily on the main plot but on how it affects those involved in this story.

The renders are insanely nice, cant say much more about it but the game just looks beautiful.
If you do just look for a game with lots and lots of adult scenes, this might not be for you. You do get a lot to look at but espacially in the eraly state of the game, depending on your choices, the actual sex scenes can be quite easy to miss. You do have the choices to some threesome possibilitys with still having relations with one or two other girls to the side and well have to wait and see how that evolves through-out the 5th Chapter, which btw im really looking forward to.

So in conclusion, if you do enjoy a game with a well written Story, great and thoroughly developed characters, good renders and choices that actually make a diffrence this is just the game for you.