VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Acting Lessons [v1.0.2] [DrPinkCake]

I can't believe I never reviewed this game.

This game is an oldie but a goodie, the amount of divergent paths, the themes tackled in the game, and the girls involved, I loved it!

Obviously people are going to talk about the big decision and the twist afterwards, but I just replayed through the game with a fresh perspective and the game REALLY wants you to pick Megan the whole way through, Melissa is the 2nd choice, and then the other girls are afterthoughts, I played through the story with Rena this time and it was a lovely story, but the MC would refuse to break up with Megan or Melissa before the point of no return. Obviously, the author has gone on to create one of the biggest adult visual novels of all time in Being A Dik, and he has improved on the choice element, this game is a 5-star game through and through, and it's a hall of fame entry in the genre.

A good story. Complicated just enough. It keeps you on the edge of your seat just enough. The characters are well defined. There are moments where intense moments are told quickly and superficially. This is a shame. The animations are not that great but you don't read a story like this for the animations. It's a shame about the moments told with banality.

Great early game, horrible ending. Not that the writing is bad, or sad stories are bad. But making a game that claims your actions matter, then railroad you that bad into it's emotional twist in the end is bad. It's more about fulfilling the author's feeling of power over the players than for the players.

If you want a railroad ending, make a kinetic novel, or at least tell people in advance that their actions may have some small effects, but at the end of the day you are giving them 99% the same ending no matter what.

I've played many "sad story" games that pull emotional heartstrings (better than this does too), but I want to know that's what I'm playing going in - not be ambushed after hours of playing.

It has been a long time since I've played this game and... Well I guess you can say it stuck with me. Just not in a good way. I remember quite enjoying the story, the characters, the scenes in general. Those were enough to bring this up to two stars from the one star that the ending makes me want to give it.

Great story shit endings, and it starts up in a very shitty way as well, your barely started and dev thinks its good to force a sex scene on you by showing MC with hes ex-girlfriend? proberly one of the most idiotic things ive seen "here you go see this hot chick you wont have anymore content with" great right? fuck me...no skip option either....MC goes on thinking he can never forgive her, so why the fuck is he even thinking about to times they had sex if he hates her?

It also makes use of dream sex scenes that you cant skip, i mean why force shit on players it they dont want to see it, that only lowers the chance of getting any kind of support for the game and yes it still shows the shit if you have shown absolutly 0 interrest in a girl? why? thats even more idiotic.
For some weird reason dream shit is an on going thing doing the game and it just lowers the other wise good story by so much.

Its to bad dev dident trust him/herself enough to just let the story go on its own without forcing sex shit at the start, its simply just needed since story is good enough on it own.

Also the hole Leah thing makes 0 sense, i showed 0 interrest in her and at one point it said she wasent interrested in MC and then out of the blue you get a single choice to go on a lunch date with Leah? what the fuck? and first thing she does when she sees MC is kiss him??????? atleast you then get the choice to reject the bitch which i thought was clear from all the other choices i already made.....totaly poinitless scene.

MC is overall not that bad but he still gets boners from girls with all their clothes on, i guess its normal porn logic but i still find it very stupid, a few times he gets a bit to cringy as well.
He is a shimp though he cant fight for shit so he gets hes ass kicked pretty easy, which makes it a bit boring.

As for sex its pretty much 99% vanilla and dont recall ever seeing even a creampie, MC constantly pulls out to come in the mouth of the girl and nothing is left up to the player either.
Also theres not even a single virgin in this game even though it has quite a few girls and it has anal tag but i never saw it which is fine since i hate it but some dont, so dev missed out on alot when it comes to sex stuff.

So its really supprising game is this highly rated considering what it delivers in both sex stuff, story and endings.


As for the girls i liked them and theres a bit of diversity in builds as well so nothing worng with that part.

Animations are quite dated but they arent that bad.

Music is pretty standard background stuff but its ok.

Choices works great, but you can only get a single girl ending no matter if you get two to accept a 3-way relationship it will always result in a single girl ending which is a bit idiotic that theres no real happy ending.

Overall not a bad game but alot of things dident make sense as explained and adding endings its barely worth a playthrough, i do see the work put into it so ill give it 3 stars which is really being nice compared to all the bad stuff in this one.

One of the deepest and complicated stories in an adult game. Lots of choices with consequences that matter and you feel emotionally. The sex scenes are so-so but the character designs make up for it.

I came for the horny but stayed for the story.

This is a game I look back to once in a while. Story is very well crafted and interesting, yet not drawn out. And this is a rarity among these types of games.

Great replayability. Got through all the achievements on Steam on one go and it didn't feel like a chore, but an accomplishment.

Probably the most impactful and emotional vn out there. Fantastic characters with actual personalities, terrific plot, good character development. Realistic and well-written dialogue. Not much else to say, there's some minor critiques to be made but not enough for me to take away the five star rating. Oh, and Melissa is hot as fuck.

My review after finished my first playthrough:

I will try my best to minimize the spoilers as possible

Story

At first, I wasn't really interested with the story and some conversations in early chapter were a bit too long and boring but it got more interested as more characters are introduced. I also realized the pacing was also improved as I progressed into the next chapter. Overtime I eventually got invested in the story the longer I played. Branches/paths decisions in the game are kinda not consequential enough, at least on relationship wise, but there will be a tough choice to choose that will affect the ending of the game.

The story itself was excellent, very well-written. The are moments that made me emotional and unexpected twist that nearly brought me to tears. I would never expect that this game actually would taught me a real life lesson in the end.

Characters

The MC's characteristics can be really varied based on the choices you made for him. He can be faithful, an asshole, loyal, lust, all up to you. The MC's best friend Liam, is a very likeable dude as he likes to fool around and try to brightens everyone's mood and always looking out for the MC. He's the homie we all wish we had in real life. As for the women, I'm going to make it brief, mentioning all of them would take it forever. I really like the 2 main girls in the game, their story development throughout the story really well-made. Although can't say the same for some of the few side chicks. Only some that's actually acceptable.

Based on their looks and appearance, it's all right, though I do wish they added more mature women as most of the girls are all look like a freshwomen age.

The graphics and design looks a bit outdated, sex scenes weren't the best either but understandable as this game was completed several years ago. Can't really compare to today's AVN's visual.

Verdict

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this game, it was a roller-coaster of emotions playing it. This might not be the porn-oriented game you looking for, but if you like story-driven, this is it.

Final rating - 9/10

It's pretty good I think, Sometimes I want to play a game but I can't find that but this time I got the night choice, You can see everything here and you can know everything here, but you will choice. Everything here is tomorrow now and today but everything will be come in this game

1. Good Story (way more emotional than dev's other game)
2. Has replay value
3. Good character design and decent renders
4. Not as much lewd as dev's other game but it works good with the story

Overall enjoyed the game very much, not super lewd, so anyone hoping for some hardcore action, this is not for them.

It's like you were invited to a party and told that there would be a sea of beer and a crowd of beautiful girls... you came, but the beer was non-alcoholic, and all the girls came with their boyfriends... You weren't deceived, but this is not what you wanted...
The same thing here, you see the tag anal and pretty girls and you think that these girls will fuck in the ass, but no... I think I only saw one anal... They don't let me fuck bitches hard in the ass here, they tell me awesome stories...

I played this just for obvious reasons. However, What I did not expect was a heartfelt story, a group of relatable characters, and some beautiful endings. I played this years ago, and just remembered it and decided to review my first F95 game.

This game is my first game in AVNs, and I am glad that I was lucky to begin with this. Just a gem that needs no introduction, only praises.

I hope everyone, whether they are into adult games or not, gets the chance to play this, as a gamer, as a novelist. The best VN I ever played

From the bottom of my heart, I can only say one thing to the creators of this game: FUCK YOU. Damn. GOD DAMN.

I come here normally for fun games and some nice digital sex but if you let it, this story hist you like a motherfucking high-speed train. This is legit a very gripping narrative.

I do have one warning: DON'T play past act 5 if you're currently down or feeling sad. Just trust me on this one.

I would say great game for its age, yet i haven't felt any urge to replay it for some other ending nor felt much amusement from some of the decisions throughout the game.
Still have to recommend to play at least once, since who the hell am I to make decisions for you

I played Acting Lessons for the first time just recently, after finishing all the current episodes of the new DrPinkCake game.

Of course the game shows its age, but for its time I'd say the renders and animations were very good.
The story unfolds interestingly, the dialogues are hilarious. It's worse since the turning point in episode 6, where the escalation and resolution of the plot didn't appeal as much.

I didn't enjoy the fact that no matter how hard I tried and how decisions were made, the MC always chased and fell in love with Megan.

Anyway the game is still very good choice for everyone who loves romance and story.

Mellisa is the top!

I got the bad ending and I'm not interested enough for a second playthrough . I can't believe I got stuck with fucking Megan because I didn't think it was a good idea to kiss a highly emotional victim of domestic abuse. Melissa did nothing wrong and got murdered by a pink cake shaped dildo.
Twist had my eyes rolling, but then it got funny. I banged the cheerleader and read the room afterwards, so I got a hilarious scene where the stalker girl exposes all my terrible sexual excursions - I had a one-night stand before getting with Megan, then crickets.
Liam was a great bro most of the time, then an incredible douche in a few spots. I'd punch him after he got cancer free, but I'd cry with him for his chemo friend.
This is certainly something, but it aims way higher than it delivers. I mostly did not have a great time with it.

My first time rating any game on this site and boy oh boy was this one worth it. This game dare I say deserves to be made into a movie.

Megan and Melissa...how can you even choose. 2 of the best of best girls in all of AVNs.

And then there is Liam. Honestly, I was afraid of trying this game when I saw a huge black man on the overview picture list because usually in an adult game if you see a huge black man, you know how it goes. And yet here I am almost shedding tears for how much of a bro he is. We all need a Liam in our lives.

Honestly if you're just looking to fap like a horn dog, maybe this might not be the best, but if you want to experience something beautiful, tragic, wholesome, funny, and with some sexiness here and there, this game is it. 10/10.
P. S. I went for Melissa and got the good ending...and because of that, the line "My life changed when I met a girl named Megan" hit me harder. And yes, I'm a man, and I cried...to a freaking AVN.

I loved it

I had been putting off playing it for so long but right now after getting one of the endings i feel genuenly happy, it sounds stupid but i really enjoyed this game even when it touched some heavy themes (maybe especially then), it's really a worthwhile play.

Also there's porn in it or something wich is also nice