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

Reviewing Ch. 1-3. Probably my favorite game being developed right now. The renders are great, there's buildup without boring grinding or exposition, and there's an appropriate focus on doing the sex scenes well. I like that Petal is the one doing most of the seducing, especially given how many corruption games are out there.

4* for now, could go up, could go down

I love the mix of sweetness and kinkiness in this one. I just wish the writing was a little bit better when it comes to introducing some sexual innuendo and sexual scenes because sometimes it doesn't feel like two people talking.

Otherwise, the experience overall is... Sweet ? Yeah, that's the word I guess. It's a sweet game, often makes me smile in how cosy it can be.

I wish there was more foot fetish, but that's personnal I guess.

Review as of Ch. 3

I'm a bit surprised by all the five star reviews, honestly. Although I'm a fan of this type of setup, the characters and dialogue don't hold up for me. The father/daughter dynamic here isn't all that convincing and the dialogue is too on the nose at times, leaving no room for tension to build.

If I were to try and be helpful and give a more specific criticism, I would say that the two characters feel too similar in age and temperament, like two twenty-somethings that are role-playing together rather than a true father/daughter relationship. This is especially jarring considering how young the daughter looks. And the MC isn't quite assertive enough to seem like her dad, which I can respect might have been intentional as a way to avoid him seeming like too much of a creep, but I think for me he's lacking a bit of conviction.

In fairness, I'm aware of how difficult it is to write a convincing father/daughter story, and I think there is potential in this premise, but for me there isn't enough subtlety in the way the relationship is building so far to catch my interest.

WOW
The amount of work that has been put into sculpting the characters to make them relatable and lovable is just unbelivable .the writing is also top notch.
as for the incest , it's just the icing on the cake.

One of the best I've played this year. I'm not the biggest fan of father-daughter incest tropes but it didn't bother me as much as I'd thought. The dynamics between all the characters is perfect. All the scenes have great atmosphere and the dialogue makes it even better. The writing is just so great and enjoyable.

Review as of: Chapter 3

H. Scenes: Flawless
Pacing: Slow Burn
Story: Good
English: Excellent/Native
Branching: Kinetic. Choices do allow you to avoid some scenes (e.g. Footjob) if they aren't your thing.

The Good
The story, the renders, the character development, the slow burn build of sexual tension.

The YMMV
This AVN is a mixture of 'rush' (it occurs over one week) and casual pacing. There are choices, but they don't seem to do much other than let you change out or avoid a few things along the way.

This is a standard Ren'Py AVN with most of the attention paid to story and renders leaving Ren'Py to do Ren'Py.

The Bad
Closest thing to a 'bad' (probably more a YMMV) would be that some of the scenes have a recurring theme. That happens enough that it is noticeable. LI pushes them a step further along in the relationship. MC holds them back from going further. Later on, a new situation and the theme repeats just a bit further around the bases. This dynamic is used to set the pacing and build up of tension.


Summary
Solid, well written and well rendered. Progressively building sexual tension on a journey of discovery between the MC and innocent LI.

If you want to get straight to the naughty bits, this won't work well for you.

If you want to get into the characters and read what's going on between them as they move inexorably forward and into their steamy relationship, then this will hit the bullseye.

First of all, the models are great and the animations are pleasant to look at.

I really like the way the dev starts off the incestuous father-daughter-relationship. It's wholesome and caring and takes my mind at ease, so I can indulge in these hot fantasies without remorse. Thank you!

I'm playing chapter 3 version and I'm eager to play the update when it comes out!

This is hands down my favourite game like this. It has beautiful renders, great and genuinely funny writing as well as a touching story. Lockheart is a master of buildup, making the eventual climaxes all the more enjoyable. The only downside is that, with this most recent update being chapter 3 out of a planned 5, we're over halfway done. I wish Petal and her dad could stay in that cabin forever!

Excellent. This game is really good, lots of teasing, very nice renders, but we get some action too. I can't wait to see where this going and other games announced too. Brilliant. Excellent. This game is really good, lots of teasing, very nice renders, but we get some action too. I can't wait to see where this going and other games announced too. Brilliant.

Tbh i'm surprised with the high ratings of this game. For a story about a taboo theme such as incest between father/daughter, it's very, very, very forgetable.
The renders are fine to my standards, but it's all the game has to offer. Repeatable scenes with different dialogues, pretendious "life lessons" instead of admitting "i'm just a creep" which i would prefer if it would make the story a bit more interesting than this snooze fest.

That's just me though, others might enjoy it.

Some complaining that the story is slow and then they don't like this. It's ok, but for me is this one of the best thing with this game. The tension between MC and Petal slowly building to a climax that's just inevitable is what makes this so great in my eye and mind (and somewhere else).

Then Petal, oh Petal, is so sweet and sexy. The background story of how she feels makes her even more loveable. I just wanna hold her and make her secure. I also like the MC and his jokes, they are my kind of humor.

The graphis are great and I also like the small details in both the story and the renders. I liked Avalon but this one is better in everything.

I never had any interest in my Mom, not in my big sister or not in any of my three daughterss, still I really like to play stories with incest! I have had a thing with a cousin, kissed, groped and stuff like that. In Sweden is marriage among cousins legal so that's not incest for me. (I laugh when it says incest and they are cousins, as in most countries and even in nearly 30 of the states are cousin sex legal!)

Petal... An amazing name for an amazing girl, both in appearance and personality. Seriously, kudos to the dev ... it's like he brought the best daughter I could possibly think of to life... she's like sweetness overload, while simultaneously being a believable teenager girl with personality. The MC seems to be a well-thought-out character as well. Unlike most games, this game doesn't hold its punches - you get to see both sides of the relationship between petal and his father - both the affectionate and the sexual side. And the sexual buildup is intense. The dev knows exactly what he wants to portray and he's doing an incredible job at it. This game certainly wouldn't work you would replace father/daughter with landlord/tenant because the game doesn't shy away from the fact the MC loves Petal as a daughter first but yet wants to be physically close to her. This internal conflict is intense and that also contributes towards making this game interesting. Amazing job dev.

(Reviewed: Chapter 3)

A father-daughter incest story that commits the cardinal sin of being boring.

You join the story as the father and daughter begin a vacation together in a holiday cabin. They develop an attraction to each other, each discovers that the other feels the same, and progress through the familiar 'slow burn' progression of closer and closer intimacy that will, presumably, resolve with them fucking and then living together happily ever after.

It's a familiar formula, one that can and has been done well in many games, but here it is laid out so dryly and mechanically that there's nothing to hold your interest. There's no tension, sexual or otherwise. There's no chemistry between the characters and neither of them have any inner life to speak of. The father feels airlifted from the developer's previous game, and the daughter just sounds like the same person speaking in a higher-pitched voice.

With nothing at stake, you end up with soulless scenes that may as well have been generated in Daz alongside the graphics.

Father: Ah! Daughter! I see that you are scantily attired!
Daughter: Yes, father, I am. I also notice this has given you an erection.
Father: Men get erections when they are aroused by attractive women.
Daughter: I appreciate that you get aroused, even though you are my father.
Father: I am glad because even though you are my daughter, I get aroused. Let me make a bad joke, then hang a lampshade on how the joke was bad.
Daughter: That joke was not funny, but I laugh because you are my father and I love you. Shall I do something with your erection now?
Father: Yes, but not too much more than last time, or we will have nothing to progress to next time.

And scene, repeat.

The renders are well done, and it's not like it's a bad game (hence the three stars) but if you fast forward through the dialog and just watch the pretty pictures you'll not miss anything, and possibly end up better off than if you'd stopped to read.

Review Ch. 3

Although the basic setup of the game (father-daughter romance) has been done often before, I think this game may be one of the best of them, if not outright THE best.

Why? It is mainly due to the pacing of the story. The dev cleverly added a plot device of a father and daughter spending a week of vacation together in a cabin. Quite early on, there is some beginning romantic / sexual attraction between them and they agree to explore it, but by mutual agreement only up to a level which can be considered socially acceptable for a father-daughter couple (touching only non-sexual parts, only closed mouth kisses etc.). Of course that goes horribly wrong and in the chapter reviewed, things do get already quite steamy. But the plot device of being alone together for only one week does add urgency to the story.

The daughter is also quite adventurous and has her own desires and hang-ups. This makes for a nice atmosphere which I found not creepy at all, contrary to some other games in the same genre. Instead, the dialogue is excellent and fitting to the situation. The kinks and hang-ups of the daughter, and to a lesser extent the father, also break the standard "stairway to heaven". They do things at their own pace which I found to have a very natural feeling effect.

Compared to the dev's other games, this one has a much more serious and realistic setting, which I think works really well.

The renders are pretty good. Not groundbreaking good but nothing to complain about either. I found the animations pretty well done. One of the ones I really loved was the daughter breathing heavily after working out together. Details like that really enhance the realistic atmosphere in my opinion.

If I had to name one negative, the story feels a bit kinetic. There are choices, but I *think* they mainly influence certain scenes / fetishes and not the overall story. But I like the story and where it is going so I'm not really complaining.

This is a great game in all aspects . Renders , dialogues, model, setup all are top notch. The dev knows how to create tension and forge a hot scene. Hope this project is continued as most F-D good games are left unfinished. It is way better and mature than DOD or Parental Love and the contents are good for a V2. Thumbs up!!

Amazing VN so far (Ch 3), the slow burn will put off people that just want a quick release but I have to say it is one of the best written VN I have played in years.
Very refreshing to see a developer that has a clear goal and story in mind, there isn't a dozen side stories that will never see closure.
The renders are great and I am excited to see where the last 2 chapters will go.
Easy 5 stars, keep up the great work.

Review based on Chapter 3:

This VN is amazing, great pacing and build up, a non complicated story we have seen before but with some great characters that have unique and interesting personalities, gorgeous looking models and a good amount of content for being so early in development. I cant wait to see more of this one!! Only negative I could find was that I think the texture for Petals body seems a little low res, not in a way that it takes you out of the experience but enough so that you see it if you are looking for flaws. Still a 5/5 game.

This game is the next DmD.

Another great one by Lockheart..... the story is well written, has some interesting thoughts and feelings. The graphics are good, the amount of content per chapter is decent and with the story at about 60% seems to be going along nicely. Can't wait for the next installments and future games by the developer.

Interesting story and character development. Well written and easy to read so far. Great quality and clean renders. Definitely keeping an eye on this one. Here is to hoping this project makes it to completion!

Another hit by Lockheart. Petal is absolutely adorable and hot. Dad is just the right amount of horny.

I loved Avalon, and didn't mind the heavy story, but this is even more fun as it is much lighter and more playful.

The build up is amazing and incredibly hot! Pacing is just fine, we all know where we want to end up, but getting there this way makes it so much nicer.

The renders are super. Great lighting, posing and scenes. Really good eye for detail!

Just don't spoil it by adding side chicks just to give us perverts a fap scene, That trope has spoiled too many games already.

Bonus points for not going for a horse-cock like too many devs these days. (Sure, it's big but at least we don't have to worry about puncturing her stomach in the future).

Can't wait for the next episode!