While it isn't the best adult game out there, it's not the absolute worst. The game itself is enjoyable, and the plot does seem to be moving forward albeit at a less than desirable pace. If the game does pick up speed in terms of more sex related content then it could become one of the better adult games out there. As it is right now though I would say wait a couple of months. July 2018, 4/5.
I've decided to edit my reviews from here on out as progress on games like this to reflect the changes from my initial thoughts. Thus the scores and dates they were posted on will be listed after each entry are to reflect this change. That being said on with the review.
As it stands right now, I can't say in good confidence that this game is worth following or supporting at the moment. It's still got some serious potential but things need to pick up speed. Because as it stands right now development has been seriously grinding to a halt. The near constant addition of new characters has created a backlog of content for the dev to deal with and as it stands currently they have roughly 20+ characters to deal with as of the most recent version. There is also the matter of sex scenes which are severely lacking for many of the characters the dev has made at this current point and time. I kind understand wanting to create a more subtle narrative for certain characters, so that when the main characters gets together with someone it actually means something, but if that's the case they can choose to focus on another character's sex scenes that doesn't require a lot of plot or dialogue. Now the game does have potential but things need to change, hopefully the addition of a new writer will help pick up steam. As it is right now I have to say for anyone interested to wait a few months before trying it out. Oct. 2018 3/5
With the latest update comes some issues that seem to be present in each update since v0.15 a lack of significant content. Primarily content related to sex scenes are still lacking overall. However, there has been some small measure of progress, albeit it likely will not satisfy the overwhelming disappointment felt by those who follow the game but it is a modicum of progress. These scenes could indicate a positive change. Whether this is the case or not remains to be seen and will have to wait until the next update. That being said though the dev definitely needs to pick up the pace of their development cycle. Adding several small scenes and 1-2 significant sex scenes could help to drive the narrative forward in terms of content. Overall I can't say this is a significant enough improvement but it this update might indicate a sign of things to come. Right now I'm looking at the game with some small amount of cautious optimism, hopefully future updates will be better from here on out. 3/5 Nov. 2018
With addition of this latest version v0.22b, another side story has finally been completed. Unfortunately, those hoping for more than a grandiose involving several characters this update will be disappointed. This update focuses on completing the sister's storyline which has been long overdue. The fact that there are limited scenes doesn't help beef up things in terms of overall scenes and content. However, to the game and dev's credit this final update regarding the sister's storyline was well done. I won't say it's the best but the level of intimacy between the player character and the sister during the final scene of her side story is rather touching. My major gripe is that the scene between the player character and sister can only be seen once at the moment. If the dev is able to get the gallery feature implemented with the next version that could improve things. As it stands right now the dev is definitely moving forward and if they're able to complete focus on a single character and maybe take three to four versions to ensure that their story is completed then I think that the game will improve as a whole. Now the downside to this is that due to the sheer amount of character within the story so far it might be better to relegate a scene or two for the character the devs wish to focus on for an update and have smaller more narrative driven scenes for one or two other characters. This would help with the matter of progression, and allow the player further insight into the characters of the game. Overall I think this update was a good update but that it won't satisfy those who have been following the game for a long time. That being said though if the devs are able to complete more side stories in a manner that satisfies both their players and themselves, then the game could improve drastically for the better. 3.25/5 Dec 2018.
As of v0.24 I can't even barely express the level of disappointment and ire this update has managed rouse in me. After four months of working on this particular version, it is full of barely any finished art, numerous placeholders, and several whiplash inducing head turns that I can only liken to being hit in the back of the head with a boomerang attached to a cinder block. I rarely like doing this because I like this game. For some inexplicable reason I can't understand or fathom I enjoy the premise that this game presented, and I've been wanting it to do something with that premise since v.07. Yet this update I can't even properly begin articulate how much it pisses me off. The main narrative is the primary focus of this update and it was a chance for the new writer to possibly stretch their legs and show that could write an engaging story. That somewhat happens here, there are some hints at some really interesting moments that seem like they about to head somewhere only to be cut off because reasons. This happens several times throughout this update and normally I could forgive it if it happened once but the fact that it continues to happen just weakens the overall narrative. I'm willing to forgive the occasional sign of incompetence because not everything is going to resonate with everyone but dear gods of blood and bone, nothing pisses me off more than when you have an interesting story thread or premise and then do 'fuck all' with it. Then there's the art and placeholders of which there are plenty. I don't mind having some scenes be unfinished but this reeks of poor time management. The art style does not seem that hard to copy or reproduce given that several people in this forum have shown that they can get pretty damn close to mimicking the style. So why in the ever name of fuck is it that hard to make the scenes necessary. I would be willing to forgive it if the developers had been dealing with a traumatic issue such as the death of a family member but this is just plain inexcusable. They took four months to work on this. Kingdom of Deception while it doesn't release as often as I would like manages to produce an amount of content equal or damn close to the amount time they spend working on it. Yet for some reason that's not the case here, with the amount of actual story based scenes in here the most it should have taken to get it all done is a probably a month to a month in a half tops. I want to go on longer but this just taking too much energy and I don't want to expend it on reviewing an update like this. All I can say at this point and time is to avoid the game for the time being and wait until an actual more solid and robust update happen. As it stands right now where v0.23 was a step forward this was four steps back. 1.2/5 August 2019
As of the last three updates things have been getting progressively worse, in terms of not what little content there is but also in the matter of the narrative. Rarely have I ever seen a game with so much bloody potential fall so far off the mark. Where do I even begin? The story which is what initially drew me in has been left to rot in a closet for almost a year at this point. It has been using the same placeholder art and assets for nearly a year. Again nearly a year and none of the missing CG's, sprites, or other such art, the very thing that makes a visual novel has been added in to deal with this issue. Then there's the fact that the narrative involving side characters has no bloody weight to them at all now. Side stories should and need to have a lasting impact on the overall narrative, they exist to allow protagonists a means to grow and become something more. Yet that does not happen here, an overabundance of meaningless dialogue and then sex. No true character growth, no impact on the world in some manner, these stories just exist and act as filler. Then there's the code, Odin help me, never have I seen a system that is well known for being relatively easy to learn bent over and fucked like something out of a low brow exploitation film. The coding has become such a mess that bugs appear in builds that should be release ready. Problems that were dealt with in previous builds routinely pop up again in subsequent entries. It's getting to the point that a person could time their bloody watch to it. The art something that is simple and relatively pleasing to look at seems to take months to create. For a style that rather simplistic in terms of other 2D games of this genre, it shouldn't take four months to produce and render three to four scenes. To add onto this point, the fact that the developer supposedly has someone assisting him with the art should speed up production not slow it down to a freaking crawl. This is a game I desperately want to see succeed, and be better because I know it can be. I just wish the devs, would recognize that as well.
March 2020 0.1/5
