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

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!

Review for v2.02.2

I usually wait for a game to have several updates before giving it a go, but when I realized this little gem was from the creative team behind “Avalon” I couldn’t resist and had to give it a try. I am glad I did!

Just the set-up of the story: A winter vacation, in a remote cabbing (log mansion?), where the MC & LI are semi-isolated was intriguing, exciting & unique. I love the fact that there is a clear timeline (seven days) where something has to happen. I feel like there’s a clock ticking down, spurring on the story whilst allowing for the possibility for the story to continue if the Dev team wants it to.

The game is visually striking and beautiful, Petal is just adorable.

I love the roleplay games between the MC & LI, it’s playful, cute & charming.

Dialogue is refreshingly original, well thought out, funny, and immersive.

The teasing (which I didn’t think I’d enjoy) is so masterfully executed it leaves you yearning for more…rather than frustrated. Bravo!

In short, this game checks off all the boxes for me, some boxes I didn’t even know I had. I am happy and proud to financially support this Dev team and their continued progression of the game.

Currently reviewing up through Chapter 2. I've played many games on here and this is the first I felt compelled to write a review for. This review won't contain direct spoilers, but if you want to go in completely blind as to the experience, then it will spoil some of that 'feeling', as I am attempting to sell it.

This review is long, because that's my style. If it's TL;DR for you, then there are plenty of good reviews below this one (and likely will be more above) that are more succinct. I'm trying to give a full picture!

EDIT: I have now played through Avalon (one path), and can definitively say that this game is starting out much better. If you were a fan of Avalon (Dev's first game), you will love this, particularly if some of the Avalon attempts to be funny were hit and miss for you: the dialogue in this game is done much better. It is not nearly as "heavy" as Avalon, either. At least not as of the end of chapter 2.

I do want to be clear, this game will not appeal to everyone, but everything about it hit home for me. If I could give it 6 stars, I would, and I imagine on average it will sit comfortably around 4.25-4.5 stars because of a few stylistic choices the devs made. See below for a non-exhaustive list of these. But those that are looking for this style of game will absolutely love it, and the lower score will instead likely come from people who disagree with the style, not the actual quality.

This story tries to set itself apart from other F/D VNs and games by actually having a mature, intelligent daughter who knows what's going on. She is sexually inexperienced, not sexually oblivious, in other words.

The conversation in this game is witty, snarky, quirky, and cute. If there was a single strength this has over others of this genre, it would absolutely be the dialogue between the characters, and just how big their personalities are. A lot of love is going into the writing. It hasn't let up in chapter 2, either, it's still just as fresh and fun.

There are a few potential turn offs for certain users, though. As with anything in life, the dev(s) cannot please everyone. These are what I see people potentially complaining about:

• Slow Burn. This will be a longer work.
• Barbie Anime Eyes. Lockheart seems to do this for all his works, and it can be a huge turn off for people. I've always been attracted to beautiful eyes, so this hasn't been an issue for me.
• Romance. This isn't a quick fap. There is a sensual, romantic tone to the entire story, and while the sexy stuff is surely coming, that is not the main theme of the work. The sex will always come secondary to the story.
• Linear VN style story. It gives a few choices here and there, but so far they've had zero real impact on the story.
• Some dialogue will be seen as cheesy or expositional. The only reason I include this is that the story attempts to be very real, with cute dialogue and dramatic turns here and there. Because of that, the 'mistakes' will stick out a bit more than in a work you're not required to take as seriously.
• It seems to be strictly Male Dom, Fem Sub. Not in a heavy way, but the daughter definitely takes a submissive role, at least in the first 2 chapters, and I don't see that letting up unless it's done through "role play" in the story. To many this is a positive, but to some it will be a deterrent.

With that said, I'd also like to talk about the great aspects of this VN that should appeal to almost everyone:

• The music and sounds. There are a few sound effects that play ONCE to get your attention, and then there is very romanticized, soft music that plays in the background of most scenes. The music and SFX actually enhances the experience, rather than just being included so they can say they included "sound".
• The dialogue. I can't stress enough how well the personalities are written. Exposition exists but so far it's been kept mostly to a minimum.
• Petal (the daughter). She's adorable. Even if you disagree with the physical aspects (the anime eyes), I don't think anyone will complain about her personality. She's so damn cute.
• The renders. You can see that in the pic examples. It's not just the models, either, though, the background and objects are also rendered pretty well.
• A wide array of customizable fetishes. We haven't even gotten to the meat of the story, and the devs have already teased some fetishes in a VERY creative way (I won't spoil it).
• Customizable "titles" for each other. If you want her to call you "poo face" during sexy times (which is a different title than normal times), you can absolutely have her do that. And you can set up her 'sexy times' title as well.
  • My only complaint with this is that it'd be nice if the devs added a 'nickname' as well as a 'relationship title' for the MC. That way if you want to use "Father" for the relationship, you could also have her call you "Daddy" or whatever else when she's talking to you, rather than 'about' you. Or if you run with "Guardian" you can have her call you by name, instead of awkwardly calling you "Guardian" at times.
  • I personally had "Daddy" set as mine, and while it usually worked fine, she refers to "my Daddy" to someone a few times and it comes off awkward. I'd like to see her referring to me as "Dad" or "Father" and calling me "Daddy" instead.
  • It would require an extra tag to call out in the story (and some of the current dialogue tags would need to be modified), but overall I feel like it would be a huge addition to the story and wouldn't require much more programming. Lockheart if you read this: please consider adding this in!
    • From Xianne's Quirky Intro, changing it to (in bold): "Your name is [first name] [last name], Petal is your [relationship], you are her [MCRelationship], she calls you [title]..."
• It doesn't make you feel "icky" while playing it. This is the story that other F/D wincest games and VNs, I think, were trying to tell, but failed because the author lacked the creative juices to build a story that felt believable.
  • You're not banging a harem of supermodels behind your "she's definitely 18 years old I promise" daughter's back that magically happen to all be bisexual and turned on by your relationship with your daughter, while also being written as "the good guy" despite objectively being a creep at best, and a lying, cheating sexual predator at worst.

The buildup and feeling is more "We really, really, really, REALLY want to fuck each other's brains out because we're intensely attracted to each other, but that's fucked up because incest is bad. How far are we willing to go, while also being able to maintain a safe moral high ground if this all falls apart?" This game is truly "not like the other girls", so to speak.

And it's so refreshing. With a second chapter having been released that's just as good as the first, from an apparently trusted developer in Lockheart, I highly recommend giving this a try. If it's not for you, then it's not for you, but this story left a profound impact on me, and I wanted to share my experience in the hopes that someone on the fence reads this and decides to check it out.

Not sure how much the choices matter at this point but the story line and imagery are excellent and very provocative. Looking forward to seeing more. I hope that as the story develops we get to see more fetishes. Optional ones of course. Creampie, Water sports, pregnancy...etc.

Lovely game so far. Sweet, cute, wholesome. I loved Lockheart's other game Avalon and it seems this is going to fall into the same category. Awesome. Renders are great, writing is great, and Petal is just absolutely adorable. Can't wait for the future.

Great game.
As I posted in the thread somewhere:

I love the pacing in this game. It makes sense. He is nervous about it being inappropriate, but has really hard time controlling himself because he does see her as a woman more and more. She is mature enough and sure enough of herself to know what she wants and does take charge when she sees an opportunity to do that. Feels like she is far more in charge of the whole thing than he is as she feels less inhibited by the taboo and just wants to explore everything.
P.S. I am not a foot guy, but her toeskies really are adorable.

Click to expand...

The game just feels natural. Sorry that's the best description I can come up with at 4:30 in the morning.

I had her call me Daddy. Mommy seemed weird. Penis and all that. I want to play with Petal. Give me more Pet Play please! Give me spanking and BDSM. I LOVE the direction this game is taking. Hurry up and give me more! (BTW freeloaders I support this game and you should too.)

Its customizable unlike so many others, I find it interesting story. Wish it continues. Leaves me questioning are there more characters or disaster happens they excursion leaves them trapped?

Currently there only 2 characters and Story unfolds as progresses it paints a different picture.

Here I was thinking Rose was dead but I got further to end Hero and wife are separated because falling out love, and bored in bed which is proceeding to divorce.
Find out further Wife aka Rose likes rough sex/Rape fetish.

Hero/Rose's husband dislikes this fetish, it probably made wrench into marriage in first place. Doesn't excite him. He has force himself be mean. Which was unnatural of him.

To me makes me think Rose like revisit her first rape over and over again? Relives it by having rough sex with her husband? I think that just really out there I think she sodomized the relationship she wore the pants.

Great story so far, and from an author who knows how to tell a story, make hot scenes, and great characters. The MC is a failed comedian, but he is still funny IMO. Petal is a sexy little minx who knows how to get the MC's blood flowing. Can't wait for the next chapter!

The slow burn writing in this VN is fantastic, the premise is great, the visual model for Petal is just cartoony enough to bypass the uncanny window. Perfect.

Nothing is sexier than good banter and innuendo in a taboo setting, and this game has it in spades. The part where Petal is teasing the MC with pet-play talk, knowing full well that it is driving him up the wall... damn that was good. I hope that when Lockheart gets to the more explicit parts of the game he can keep that level of drawn out playfulness going. I would like to see Petal imply, suggest, cajole, and even beg for everything naughty and nasty to be done to her, and have it take a long, long time...
and then I hope she really pushes her limits and gets happily dominated, bound, punished, exposed, humiliated, etc ... and remains playful and cheerful and sassy throughout. Is that asking too much? Lol
Good luck with this one - it's a great start!

What an excellent beginning. Plenty of avenues to open up the relationship between the first two characters we met here. The Dev plans on introducing more girls, to give us a variety. The models are well done, and the dialog feels real. This game gives us a somewhat slow burn.
EDIT: Lockheart has a way of inhabiting these characters so well, it almost feels like this story isn't fiction. As with LH's previous VN, AVALON, I found myself tearing up during a scene--it felt so emotional and raw and beautiful. LH has hit another dimension here. There is such a fine art to making your characters believable and real and including sex. This Edit is for Ch. 3.

Excellent writing, really good content for a first release and the graphics are just top notch. I will sub to this. It was a really nice surprise.

I cannot wait to see how this one progresses. So much potential..

Amaizing start for a great VN! Storytelling is just great, moddel is great and visuals are great! I am defenatly going to keep an eye out for this one, maybe even supporting if it keeps this appeal. We dont have to be woried about is being abandond becouse the developer is preaty active and made a lot of fast progress in other VN's

Well I am a sucker for anything that says Lockheart on it, so it was a no brainer to try.

Very good start and just can't wait for future content. Has a simple, but good basis to build on. As with most Lockheart releases, the story telling and dialog are what always grabs me.

Lockheart never disappoints, as a big fan of his work this again is a really great start to a wonderful story. I really look forward to what comes next as this develops beyond the vacation when they get back home to the other sisters, should be a great time =)

Really cool first update, I'm a big fan of the whole innocent young girl who wants attention and is willing to try all sorts of things with her big daddy. The wincest always hit different for plots like these. Really excited for the next update and since its a Lock game, I know its gonna be good. Petal is super adorbs and really pretty! Keep up the good work!