I feel obligated to give five stars by the simple fact that this is the only game I’ve been consistently interested in and fascinated by.
That said, a decent chunk of my interest has been in the same way people watch a car wreck. Every update, I immediately wonder whether Geeseki has managed to find a new way to mess up the game. They have not yet disappointed.
So as a fair warning: Expect bugs. Expect missing or incomplete art. Expect entire features missing or at least not triggering. Expect a misleading hint system. Expect misspellings. Geeseki apparently does not play-test the game before release, and in v0.36a, for example, long-completed art is still missing, dialogue does not display, and the very last scene of the Lashley route plain does not trigger.
That said, there are quite a few positive (or at least unusual) elements in the game:
1) The Characters
Way too often, games have one-note, generic characters, whose only defining traits are being "beautiful", being a specific fetish-fuel, and inexplicably lusting after the MC and him exclusively.
In ATU, every character feels like an independent and unique actor within the world. The MC often has a special place in their life, but they don’t need him.
NPCs, both waifu and non-waifu alike, respond to each other in dialogue to each other, mention each other when talking to you, and generally feel like they have some depth beyond being just another vehicle for a fetish.
As a downside, these characters often have what I consider huge negative traits. Many have deep insecurities, and tend to lash out to the point of abusiveness. Consequences can often seem "realistic" but un-intuitive. Offering help may be responded to with a rude "Don’t put pressure on me!". In several situations, there are only dialogue options which worsen your relationship with the person.
All in all, the characters make the world seem alive, but it is often not a nice world. There’s a frequent debate on what counts as NTR for a reason, despite the mods explicitly stating that there is no NTR as they count it. Many characters shit on the MC. Especially some women often dismiss him overtly or subtly.
In a way, the fullness of the world makes the MC, and as such the player, smaller. Often, you just witness others interacting with each other. At some places, it feels less like playing a character and more like a voyeuristic game where you have to visit each attraction without participating.
The dialogue is often cited as one of the high-lights of the game. In my opinion. While I agree, it is also a mixed bag. At times, it can seem overly "quirky", so your mileage may vary.
2) The Gameplay
For most part, it is a simple and generic Renpy visual novel. Move to location X, then read the dialogue and click some dialogue options. There is only a single minigame and the routes are for the most part linear. (Technically 2 minigames: Ask 20 questions and rock paper scissors. However, the second doesn’t do anything yet.) [EDIT: The dev added more minigames, but they were so broken that they have been removed again.]
The world is further enriched by a handful of little optional scenes. They are rare and non-obvious enough that you could easily miss them. For example, you might randomly encounter a character jogging in the park. Some characters’ dialogue options which appear only on specific days, like a character you can catch smoking pot once a week. They may appear as a welcome surprise and help make the world seem a bit more alive even though there are very few.
For several scenes, there are alternative reactions, outcomes or options depending on your various stats and dialogue choices. However, these outcomes rarely affect anything beyond the scene itself and maybe a mention in a later dialogue option somewhere if Geeseki bothers to implement it.
Speaking of logic: The implementation and interaction between various routes is very mixed.
As a positive, playing one route to a certain point may affect another, or elements of the main story can be revealed within some side-stories. However, some elements of this don’t mesh with each other at all and consequently make no sense.
As the biggest example, the progress in the main story is completely independent to how the side stories play out and vice versa. You may just come from a double-blowjob from two characters in a side-story and then the MC seems surprised that they are acting sexual towards him in the main story. You may learn that a character might be replaced by an evil doppelganger in the main story, but the MC will have no idea in a side story.
I’m attributing this very messy and mixed implementation to how Geeseki does the whole game: Haphazardly and randomly. One scene may make sense when it is implemented, but then it does not account for progress made later in another route. Some scenes have straight-up been half-done for years before the story they should be logically appear in was even written.
And I mean "half-done". Instead of choosing the next scene in a route and then completing it, Geeseki sometimes does a handful of not-even connected scenes partially, and then just wanders off to another place for the next year. Even later scenes in the same route might be completed before Geeseki goes back a year or two later and finally completes it.
For example, there is still missing dialogue in the sexworld despite it having been written into the code over a year ago, as far as I know. It is just not implemented. The sex world scene itself has existed for 3+ years.
3) The Art
The art is very mixed. Often, it is whimsical and quirky, with various small details in the background. However, some CGs feel very awkward and ugly. Animations are extremely slow.
Geeseki stated a plan to re-do many of the animations, but who knows how many years that might take?
4) The Story
Despite 5 years of development, much of the story has only been hinted at so far. Additionally, the MC has shown no recognition of even some of the more blatant hints. Progress has been positively glacial with a 10 month gap between the most recent main story update and the one before that.
That said, the implementation displays some of the strengths mentioned above. Hints as to what is going on with the mysterious sex-world are scattered throughout. For several characters, their backstory relates to it in some way or another.
At this point it is all very mysterious with very little payoff. One of the oldest complaints about the game is that the Sex World, despite being the big special thing Geeseki tells you in the description, cannot be interacted or visited again at all. For roughly 4 years now, people complain that it is basically a big tease and nothing more.
That said, elements of the sex world creep throughout the game, but usually not in a good way and often not in a sexy way either.
All in all, it is a fascinating game hampered by slow and often poor development.
That said, a decent chunk of my interest has been in the same way people watch a car wreck. Every update, I immediately wonder whether Geeseki has managed to find a new way to mess up the game. They have not yet disappointed.
So as a fair warning: Expect bugs. Expect missing or incomplete art. Expect entire features missing or at least not triggering. Expect a misleading hint system. Expect misspellings. Geeseki apparently does not play-test the game before release, and in v0.36a, for example, long-completed art is still missing, dialogue does not display, and the very last scene of the Lashley route plain does not trigger.
That said, there are quite a few positive (or at least unusual) elements in the game:
1) The Characters
Way too often, games have one-note, generic characters, whose only defining traits are being "beautiful", being a specific fetish-fuel, and inexplicably lusting after the MC and him exclusively.
In ATU, every character feels like an independent and unique actor within the world. The MC often has a special place in their life, but they don’t need him.
NPCs, both waifu and non-waifu alike, respond to each other in dialogue to each other, mention each other when talking to you, and generally feel like they have some depth beyond being just another vehicle for a fetish.
As a downside, these characters often have what I consider huge negative traits. Many have deep insecurities, and tend to lash out to the point of abusiveness. Consequences can often seem "realistic" but un-intuitive. Offering help may be responded to with a rude "Don’t put pressure on me!". In several situations, there are only dialogue options which worsen your relationship with the person.
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All in all, the characters make the world seem alive, but it is often not a nice world. There’s a frequent debate on what counts as NTR for a reason, despite the mods explicitly stating that there is no NTR as they count it. Many characters shit on the MC. Especially some women often dismiss him overtly or subtly.
In a way, the fullness of the world makes the MC, and as such the player, smaller. Often, you just witness others interacting with each other. At some places, it feels less like playing a character and more like a voyeuristic game where you have to visit each attraction without participating.
The dialogue is often cited as one of the high-lights of the game. In my opinion. While I agree, it is also a mixed bag. At times, it can seem overly "quirky", so your mileage may vary.
2) The Gameplay
For most part, it is a simple and generic Renpy visual novel. Move to location X, then read the dialogue and click some dialogue options. There is only a single minigame and the routes are for the most part linear. (Technically 2 minigames: Ask 20 questions and rock paper scissors. However, the second doesn’t do anything yet.) [EDIT: The dev added more minigames, but they were so broken that they have been removed again.]
The world is further enriched by a handful of little optional scenes. They are rare and non-obvious enough that you could easily miss them. For example, you might randomly encounter a character jogging in the park. Some characters’ dialogue options which appear only on specific days, like a character you can catch smoking pot once a week. They may appear as a welcome surprise and help make the world seem a bit more alive even though there are very few.
For several scenes, there are alternative reactions, outcomes or options depending on your various stats and dialogue choices. However, these outcomes rarely affect anything beyond the scene itself and maybe a mention in a later dialogue option somewhere if Geeseki bothers to implement it.
Speaking of logic: The implementation and interaction between various routes is very mixed.
As a positive, playing one route to a certain point may affect another, or elements of the main story can be revealed within some side-stories. However, some elements of this don’t mesh with each other at all and consequently make no sense.
As the biggest example, the progress in the main story is completely independent to how the side stories play out and vice versa. You may just come from a double-blowjob from two characters in a side-story and then the MC seems surprised that they are acting sexual towards him in the main story. You may learn that a character might be replaced by an evil doppelganger in the main story, but the MC will have no idea in a side story.
I’m attributing this very messy and mixed implementation to how Geeseki does the whole game: Haphazardly and randomly. One scene may make sense when it is implemented, but then it does not account for progress made later in another route. Some scenes have straight-up been half-done for years before the story they should be logically appear in was even written.
And I mean "half-done". Instead of choosing the next scene in a route and then completing it, Geeseki sometimes does a handful of not-even connected scenes partially, and then just wanders off to another place for the next year. Even later scenes in the same route might be completed before Geeseki goes back a year or two later and finally completes it.
For example, there is still missing dialogue in the sexworld despite it having been written into the code over a year ago, as far as I know. It is just not implemented. The sex world scene itself has existed for 3+ years.
3) The Art
The art is very mixed. Often, it is whimsical and quirky, with various small details in the background. However, some CGs feel very awkward and ugly. Animations are extremely slow.
Geeseki stated a plan to re-do many of the animations, but who knows how many years that might take?
4) The Story
Despite 5 years of development, much of the story has only been hinted at so far. Additionally, the MC has shown no recognition of even some of the more blatant hints. Progress has been positively glacial with a 10 month gap between the most recent main story update and the one before that.
That said, the implementation displays some of the strengths mentioned above. Hints as to what is going on with the mysterious sex-world are scattered throughout. For several characters, their backstory relates to it in some way or another.
At this point it is all very mysterious with very little payoff. One of the oldest complaints about the game is that the Sex World, despite being the big special thing Geeseki tells you in the description, cannot be interacted or visited again at all. For roughly 4 years now, people complain that it is basically a big tease and nothing more.
That said, elements of the sex world creep throughout the game, but usually not in a good way and often not in a sexy way either.
All in all, it is a fascinating game hampered by slow and often poor development.
All in all 10/10 I would play this even if I finished the game and take hours.
