VN - Ren'Py - Completed - A Petal Among Thorns [v6.0.2-RE] [Lockheart]

Wonderful character work from Lockheart on Petal. She's quite the stunner! PAT has a great story with a really nice pace that builds to a great finale. There's really nothing to complain about with this title! Definitely looking forward to the sequels.

I am pretty mad I typed out a review and then accidentally clicked outside of it and lost everything I typed

So ill just abbreviate the main thing I wanted to say
lines are pretty fairly amusing and cute and at few moments kinda meta in a roundabout way
love the very uninspired appearance of Good Guy Greg meme uncle Chuck having not seen anyone make an appearance like that in any game

It's a good game worth playing.

The one thing I don't understand, not only about ApaT, but also about most other incest themed games, why build your game on this fetish of having a forbidden relationship, and then immedately squander it all?
In the early part of this game - the game only covers a timespan of a few days - it's handled okay, the MC is convincingly reluctant, but Petal quickly is willing to go further and further, and in the end she even plays the "I've lusted after you for a long time" card. On top of that, there's the uncle Chuck character, further normalizing the idea of having incestuous relationships.
As the cherry on top, Petal immediately leaves the door to a harem scenario wide open.

I do get the reasoning on some level, but after seeing this play out in a very similar fashion in a multitude of games, I also can't help but roll my eyes a little bit.

End of rant, the rest of the game doesn't really leave much room for complaints, the renders are good, the character models appealing, the few and short) animations competently done, writing is good and not overly verbose and the entire game doesn't overstay it's welcome.
Well worth playing if you're into the theme, but don't expect novelty.

Overall I'm satisfied with my experience of A Petal Among Thorns. It was short but I highly recommend this game.

Renders:

The renders was solid throughout gameplay. Petal is an extremely attractive woman, nothing was oversized at all, her body fit perfectly with what I'm looking for.

Animations/Sound Music:

The animations wasn't over the top, I find certain a bit obnoxious when it comes to animations. I know it may sound weird but it's okay to dial it back sometimes. The sounds made all the difference to me, not only were the visuals of making love the Petal fantastic but her moans, her breaths, that got me going. The music fit the story, it was lighthearted and nothing too heavy.

Story:

I couldn't ask for anything more, there was romance which is my favorite genre around. And the taboo of a Daddy-Daughter affair was icing on the cake. This game should hopefully show other creators out there that you don't need 5-8 different women in a game for it so be fulfilling. Focus on character building, personalities, mannerisms and make it feel authentic like Lockheart just illustrated.

I was sad that it was completed... until I found out that there would be another game similar to this featuring Bliss, let's see if it has that same magic.

Review of complete version.

I don't review often, but this is definitely a VN that deserves it. If I already wasn't giving it to them, I would tell them to take my money.

TL;DR: It's a slow-burn novel with choices that leads to a great many rewards. The story is incredible, and the characters relatable. If you want a great, fresh story, then this is what you're looking for. If you're looking for a quick fap, I'd still recommend it, but you'll probably want to look elsewhere to get you're jollies off right away.

I decided to try this one while waiting for updates on other games (on and off this site). I usually go for more varied kinks than this game provides, but the build-up and depth of the characters kept me playing.

Petal is a believable character, and the MC (or her father, or whatever you want to call him) with his reluctance to enter into a taboo relationship is a breath of fresh air. He's not a horndog that wants to fuck everything he sees, but considers the impact of their relationship on her future, as well as her psyche. Not many developers can write characters like Lockheart can, giving them deep personalities, wants and needs, and most importantly, restraint.

Petal needs someone to recognize her beauty, attractiveness, and loneliness. The MC (dad, or whatever you choose) wants and needs to rebuild his relationship with is daughters, in this case Petal, as he is lonely and depressed after his year-long comedy tour and separation from his wife.

Both find comfort and love in each other, as well as the MC discovering that he may be able to salvage his marriage with support from Petal.

I know that my words can't do justice to his creation, so do yourself a favor and try the game.

Lockheart is one of those underdog developers that deserves more support than he currently receives, and I am proud to say that I am one of those supporters.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Very well written story with some nice animation not just in sex scenes. I love the pace of this story. It is certainly not too slow or too fast. The story only covers several days, that is , less than a week so thank you Lockheart for not making this a slow grind. The progression of the actors relationship is perfect. I rate this 5 star. The author promises a sequel (A Moment With Bliss) and it’s sure to include relationship with his other daughter(s) and hopefully his hot wife. Can't wait. In the meantime I am going to have to check out the authors other completed novel called "Avalon".

You've rented a cabin to spend a week of vacation with your daughter. It's a simple plot all about the interactions with your little dove.


Some bullet points:

• Good graphics
• Hot dirty talk
• Fluid animations

Some (minor?) criticisms
Perhaps because it tries to be semi-realistic, it felt like the daughter was way too relaxed about her sexual advances. That downplays the taboo a lot. On the other hand I liked that the dad wasn't just thinking with his dick and took some convincing before caving in.

Secondly, the daughter's eyes are unusually far apart. Imperfections can make characters feel more real, unique and - funnily enough - attractive. However her eyes just kept distracting me and not in a good way. If the sliders for eye size and space had been turned up a notch more she downright would've looked like an alien.


I recommend this to those looking for a father/daughter story.

Best Daddy-Daughter game in this site without a doubt.

There were tons of content and taboo during the game, but the thing that got me was writing. Especially the part where Petal was amazing.

We played a lot of D-D games in this site but in my opinion the most important thing about these games are dirty talk.We all know you start with a little peeking, 1-2 touches kisses, handjobs and blowjobs but this game offers you much more. She sometimes does things you dont expect, an example
Renders : 4.5/5
Writing : 5/5
Story : 4/5 ( classic incest, nothing more nothing less.)
Dirty Talk : 5/5

Thanks for this amazing game, keep up the good work, expecting the sequel to come soon

I just finished and my thoughts are "I want more!"

It was made clear that it'd be just a prequel to a bigger story and I appreciate that and truly look forward to the continuation, being hit with it at the start really helps cement it instead of just in the ending, as it tempers your expectations, that being said:

The game is amazing, relatively long and would even work as a standalone. You get fleshed out characters, side characters that don't feel like NPCs, emotional moments and the build up is well executed,.

while it might leave some wanting more of the "good stuff" I can almost guarantee it'll play a greater role in the followup as well as introducing us to most of those characters that'll play a part of it already, instead of going "oh whoopsie, these are people you haven't seen before but they're part of your group now!" which is a touch I truly appreciate

A well made game both visually and narratively and if you want a teaser build up with promise of more in the future, this is a definitive must-try

I appreciate the dev starts off letting us know this is only part 1 in a series of upcoming games/VNs for this related story arc. Then at the end the dev also clarifies this 'part 1' is basically a prologue to a larger part 2 project.

+ Great intro to the characters and story. I'm hooked and looking forward to the rest of the series once it's developed

+ Without spoiling things, I'm already rooting for the MC reconciling once back 'home'...you'll know what I mean when you play.

+ Just the right amount of erotic talk, teasing, and corruption. I didn't feel like it was rushed nor drawn out too long.

+ I definitely want to know what happened with Chuck and Rose.

OVERALL:
An engaging VN for story and eroticism.

The game is very well made, Petal is fantastic and all the teasing is very sexy and realistic.
Despite all the games of this kind, the team was able to be very original.
Looking forward to the sequels, keep up the good work!

Ok this is going to be a very quick review.

1. The game is extremely enjoyable the model of Petal is very nice indeed.
2. The game builds slowly but teases throughout and you are eager to want more.
3. Great writing (yeah there are a few cheesy lines) but the story is good.
4. I am really looking forward to seeing the next installment.

Thank you for an enjoyable game and I eagerly await part 2

Hi Lockheart. Please don’t mind some bad or tiny reviews here. The dialogue wasn’t cringe at all. It was a showcase of just how much actually you can say for people to feel good and safe around each other. It was one giant metaphor for magnificent communication possibilities between all of your loved ones. It really made me feel like I learned things. An antidote to the world pondering about consent all the time. It’s not just a matter of asking if you can fuck someone so you don’t rape them. There are endless possibilities for unfolding everything through talking. Really looking deeply, fondly, closely at your relationship Discussing boundaries over and over again. Moving comfort zones. Pushing a little, pulling a little. Worrying, Indulging in self doubt. Uncovering every next step when it unfolds naturally trough the spirit of combined love and nurture for the relationship. All of this came back in the dialogue here. These are two people willing to open every last drawer of their capabilities (at communication and loving) to make the other feel as safe as possible. And then moving the line together, exploring all sorts of different dynamics to make everything as interesting as possible between the two of you.

I really believe that if this game could be a showcase of people in real life (more thinking about all of the openness surrounding Chuck and Wendy now) then the world could be going in a lovely compassionate kind free direction. Which actually I do already believe it is going in that direction. It was just so freakishly amazing to see so much emotional depth a game that is also just as aesthetically glorious as the soul of the game.

I can't even begin to wrap my head around just, how, you would be able to make this. This made me reconnect with my soul in so many ways. I really felt absolutely blown away by the deep, sincere level of "life" this game had. It was so moving. Chuck really did have a sadness to him. But not just a sadness, a kindness, something deep. How you managed to make his face look like that also reflects on every other part of the game. You can't just make an animated characters face like that without knowing what it's like to be him, or at least have a deep curiosity for his personality. Chuck and Wendy were wonderfully deep characters. The moment in that tent, was completely out of this world. The tent, the buildup, all of the incredible dialogue wrapping into each other. Wow. The emotional vastness of these kinds of moments. So mature, but also so disarming. Taboo breaking in such a loving warm kind way.

Sure it left much to long for. I really felt like there was such an overload of teasing. The last scene was really confusing to me. It still was beautiful but much less artistically profound as the game had been until that point. Being the sex crazed maniac she turned out to become with you, I'd sure had loved to see it unleashed a little. A scene without handcuffs, a little more wild side Petal, maybe in the shower once, and then still game over. As I really do appreciate that this is a Prologue and can't wait for the real game, I still feel like this came in a little anti climactic in the end. Also where was all of the hours of kissing they were going to do? What baffles me as well is that there is not one moment of you reciprocating anything to her. No foreplay for the penetration, no build up. I understand your decision of ending the game potentially “early” to leave a lot open for the next game, but I really felt like there was this huge amount of set up for all of the things Petal and you feel for each other and then the game was wrapped up a little too quickly. Unlocking more and more inhibitions and paving the way into both of your crazy sex maniacs sides. And then for it to be done with only one actual sex scene which also was over fairly quickly. The handcuffs were a nice touch, but did they really have to be on in the only sex scene in the game? Don’t get me wrong, still somewhat graciously landed on it’s feet in the end and had me extraordinarily curious for you next game. Can’t wait.

Just to be clear, what you did here, Lockheart, maybe you are a team, maybe you are a person, was wonderfully fantastically empowering to my soul. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me think, it really was a powerful story. I loved every second of it and could talk for hours about every little detail in every part of it all. The music, the writing, the voices, the sounds. The characters. WOW. Just, the most aesthetically pleasing visuals ever. The sweat, the wetness, the hair, the skin, the eyes. The shapes. Details like animated panting with sound from the workout was also very nice, powerful immersion.So perfect. Really amazing. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for giving out this experience. I'll think about this one for a while. Petal really struck a fire in my own soul as well.

I liked the game, very.But after the game ended and i cooled down, i came to a conclusion that this is an average game that could be perfect.And average in a good way.

Graphics are good, but sex-scenes are clunky, short and not satisfying.
Story is overall good, funny but a little confusing sometimes.(Some dirty talk and desires dont match vanilla setting that is there).
Good, but not good enough, but could be good enough, describes the game pretty right.

In short - You should play it, but don`t get overhyped.Make your own opinion.

This is almost exactly what i was looking for, it has father/daughter incest relationship, a slow burn game, romance, build up, hot scenes, beautiful daughter etc . Only lacking thing was a harem (i just like harem, what can i do) but the story wasnt meant to include it so its ok.

Next game supposedly should have something like that. I cant wait to play it.

I enjoyed this immensely.

The story was great
Writing was also great
Pacing is overall good enough
Among the most "realistic" F/D incestuous relationship
Renders are great
Lewd scenes are hot and exciting (even if vanilla mostly)
- (imo) very sexy daughter moans
Awesome love interest
MC is not a douche
MC doesnt have a horse dick

Having said that, its not perfect

I feel like the build up ... or rather, the way their sexual relationship developed/began could have been done better.
Its still among the best in this regard compared to most other games with F/D incestuous relationship but not perfect.

Animations were mostly mediocre. Not bad but not good either.

Almost no kinks. SOME pet play, very light bondage and ... I was hoping for some anal play or more elaborate pet plays and bondage.

Conclusion.

The game is amazingly good. This is a prologue to the next game and it does this job very well. Its not short but not long either. Just the right length for what it tries to achieve.
Its not perfect but much much better than most other games with F/D incestuous relationship.

Even tho it has some flaws in my eyes, i still give it 5 stars because i cant give it half stars. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 or 9 out of 10 if we had 10 stars to give.

I highly recommend this game for anyone looking for a proper father/daughter romance story.

I cant wait for the sequel. That thing is gonna be awesome!

One of if not the best daddy daughter "realistic" story.

Fun story that makes you laugh.
Erotic story that makes you really hot and horny. This girl says all the right things you want to hear and more.
Very realistic setup of how they get to it and how MC overcomes reservations.
Fun background. Really makes you wanna know how it goes on.

Great pics and animations.
Small impact on choices but good enough story that it doesn't really matter.

Good sound and moaning. (Or was that just me I heard?)

Fits his other stories in quality.

Good mix of laughing, wanking, enjoying this game while playing it.
15/10 can recommend and will play again.

A Petal Among Thorns [Final]

1. Image rendering fairly good
2. Story: Not bad
3. Approach about the forbidden dad-daughter relationship could have been improved

Overall, I think this entry fell short of the mark I had hoped it would achieve. I didn't really feel like it did a great job of the slow burn type of play - I had a hard time believing that things would unfold the way they did.

Felt like there were definitely some missed opportunities for more content as well. Overall, worth a run through but not an exceptional entry.

Lets comment of this game's final version:

First noticeable thing is the writing. Its too quirky, funny intelectual and academycally correct and elaborate for both of the main characters.
Also making the guy a comedian its a mistake. In my opinion he is awuful, i dont think a standup can even survive with those "jokes", it's not funny at all. Thats my opinion.
Expressions like "you are wearing your heart on your sleeve" said by a 18 year old is weird (unless he is a nerd in a drama club quoting some famous writer), it looks like some writer googled "expressions that make you sound knowledgeable".
This expression followed by the father figure saying "I miss the old Rose, the one that had pep in her step and a woundrous curiosity" (can't express how much my eyes roll, im literally seeing my brain). At this point I think they are quoting some book, cause this is pedantic as shit,im having a hard time liking it. The 2 seem to be the same person based on the formulas they use.

Special mention:
The moment where the MC tells "you are my petal among thorns" made me stop playing the game for 2 days, by sheer cringe force, my eyes did a 1080.
The moment where she confesses and the MC """"establish the boundaries""" totally sounded like the Dev justifying the upcoming blueball fest, it was like "now we are make the father reluctantly attracted so we can make the game 3 updates longer. Lets be honest without this the game would be over pretty quick, and its quite short already.

I dont particularly like the "She looks like her mother, so im attracted to her" cliche. Can't he just like her? Its these little things that I have already read in many other thousands of games and are repetitive. Its like wirters trying to somehow justify incest in aweird way?

Second thing to comment on is the initial music, which is a melancholic story building piano melody. I wouldnt say it sets the right mood since they are counterjoking eachother with the might of all the cringe.


The third thing is the setup cause its a cabin in the woods, with Pool, and a Gym. And also with subtle "plot guidelines" wich kind of makes the relationship staged, and artificially cointained, for the sake of profit.. Pool Gym and Yoga are number one cliches in 99% of the games.

Not quite a TLDR:
Everything is too staged for me, quite the opposite of whats normal for a new couple, which is touch each other and jump on each other in every corner, having sex like 4 or 5 times a day.

Writing is quircky for both characters and its hard to differientiate them, in ym opinion they are the same person.
Writing is exposition-y, you can even read between the lines game design justifications, for instance the MC "sexual tolerance level" guidelines.

These Guidelines are always enforced.Many of the "dilemma" choices only subvert your expectations since the outcome of the scene is set to be close to the conservative option, meaning the option that keeps the original game plan going, the plan that stretches the length o the game.

The game uses the same tropes and plot devices of other 100000 games, like Yoga, pool, massage and so on.

Rolling eyes is a thing in some parts.

Music works some times better than others.

Petal looks decent enough, but nothing groundbreaking from a design point of view. Other games tried to make clothing effects, body physics and stuff.

You have to skip foot fetish at least 4 times, even if you never picked it.

Sex scenes are not good enough, without even considering how (the opposite of spontaneous) they are, and also many of them are designed to subvert your expectations, for instance hinting a higher milestone but ending the scene in the corresponding one. You know the thing.

Thats why 2 stars. It looks decent at first sight, but it has too many relevant flaws. But if you are less picky than me go for it. Personnaly i would choose Avalon, cause succeeds where this one fails. My opinion.

I'm not really used to review anything, but this game is between "Good that was fuckin' genius" and "Why this sounded so dumb?".

First of all, I'm starting with the goodies:

Renders
The game is animated - just because of that, it already scored with me. Everything has colors and details. Even when it's kinda bright-y, the ambience keeps being good.

Skin and Bodies
Don't worry, you'll never going to be as fit as the people in this game.
MC is close to 40's and still muscular as hell.
Petal's body is something you would see at American Pie - she doesn't workout, by the way. Literally heaven's sent.

Petal has a perfect skin touch, and really feels like an angel. Funny as she often claims to "be ignored by everyone" whilst literally being perfect, pretty chatty and interesting. We can't relate, folks. No worries.
Writing
Yeah, I'm not even close to be an English expert - it's not my primary language - but sometimes, the writing fails heavily on being something natural. Others reviews pointed it out, so I'm just saying that even for a non-native person, the dialogue fails between robot talking and genially human.

If you ever talked to a woman before - I know, I know... You don't... - you could say that Petal's dialogue is incredible. The writer is someone really smart at creating dialogue between Petal and her Dad.

Petal
She clearly evolves between conversations, and you get to know her personality just by the way she talks. Sometimes she's scared and sometimes she's confident. Sometimes she just gives up opinions and mature around taboos and problems - like adults do!

Then we meet MC or Daddy

MC is her Dad - in case you missed the tags - and he's pretty rational.
Just a natural Dad who worries about his daughter and wants all the best for her.

Isn't that great? He's a lovely dad. Unfortunately that was just the plan. His real desire literally appears in seconds when he thought:

"Petal's body matured perfectly . She matches her mother's resemblance."
Translating to: "God! She's just hot as her mother. I would bang both."
Now, we know that he wants to fuck her, but... MC can't have these sex desires! But he does. But he can't. But he does!

Skipping right to the point, MC keeps repeating himself over and over that he don't wanna fuck his daughter. He has nerves of steel! Congratulations!

Besides the fact that he already touched her naked body, felt almost all her body fluids and keeps getting horny until she's on point and ready for him, then he can complain:

MC:
"NO! I'm your father and you don't want to have sex with me, ok? Sorry, we can't... am so scared of people knowing and society taboos... "

And Petal goes:
"Dad, it's okay. I'm a full-grown woman. I know all the emotional feelings that sex causes.
I'm ready for it. Please, just... love me."

MC answers:
"I want you to be healthy and safe (?).
I don't want to hurt your feelings, Petal.
Please, just let me pretend I'm not getting a bone every time I see you walking or breathing."

At this point, you probably understood why 4* instead of 5*.
Petal is saving it all.

She rationalize through emotions and feelings, knowing all the trouble of doing it with her father, and she can't help herself but love her dad.

Dad, however, keeps repeating the same line over and over.
She literally begs for any reaction - even Petal's writer notices it - and MC keeps pretending to be mature while desiring her.

This is ridiculous to the point of him saying that in the middle of a 'close-to-sex' scene.
TLDR:
Petal feels like a woman growing. A real person that gives up to her desire to be loved. Someone that you would love to talk with.

Dad looks like he should've kept being a comedian and died alone, as he can't deal with romance while whining about not being loved.

I'm really not into Dad and Daughters intimations, and I respect his behavior of trying to be her dad instead of a boyfriend, but in this case, I got pretty angry at Dad for not being acceptive even when he lost an argument that he didn't fight to win.