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

I'm going to rate this game as a person who sits down to play a game and not as a person who sits down to jerk off.
This game was as wonderful as it was difficult to digest. I really don't want to spoil much, but it made me feel so deep inside the story that I think it ended up hurting my feelings. Still, I have to rate it 5, because I really enjoyed that a game gets you so into the story that it can even make you feel bad. It really hurt.
I played Acting Lessons after playing BADIK and maybe that also affected my perspective on this game.
Dr. PinkCake, as I said in BADIK, here you have another fan. Your stories are fantastic, and the graphics and design team are too. Thank you.

This feels like a proper visual novel game. Great story and writing. Actual choices and consequences. Really good characters and dialogues. Really nice music. Real emotions. All of this is great and because of it the game is really engaging. You really want to play this more to find out what happens next. Definitely main focus of AL is story. It's a story driven game and it's really good in what it's doing. It's amazing VN experience. But it comes with the price.
This game is not a very good fap material. Renders, characters and animations are all very good, but they're not that many scenes in the game and sometimes story is getting so intense that you're definitely won't be thinking about getting laid. This game for sure can use slogan: i came for sex, stayed for the story. This is not a bad thing. Game is still excellent but for a porn game, porn here is definitely not the main thing. And this could be a little disappointing.

Alright game up to ep 4 or half of 5th, just do yourself a favor and stop playing there. Better to leave it in the middle then see it endings (no difference witch one)
Up to ep 4 Game deserve a solid 3+ or 4-

Edit: swaped rate from 2 to 1 cous i take in consideration the fact it supose to be a "pron game" and such plot twist destroy any even the slightest pleasure leaving you with just sadness or rage instead

I wanted to give four stars to this game because it's well-made, but this game is simply not "good porn" for me.

Ever heard of the difference between an eroge and a nukige? Eroge is a visual novel where sex is there but might be not the main focus. Some games even remove the sex scenes for a mainstream release. It's an extra, not the main appeal. Nukige is a subgenre in eroge where sex is the main focus and a central element.

Acting Lessons feels more like a traditional eroge. The story takes itself seriously. Very seriously. It gets very, VERY dramatic, especially towards the end. It almost doesn't want to be a porn game. It doesn't try to turn you on for the most part. The characters look great, but that's about it. It's not a pervert experience.

The story centers around you, a middle-aged man with a background in cryptocurrency trading, telling the story of how you met a girl named Megan during a life changing day. Megan is a young aspiring actress down on her luck and in desperate need for help. Will, you be there for her when she needs it the most and help her turn the tide? Will you be able to win her heart?

This is my first playthrough, I got an ending i consider good for me. From what i learn from reviews and other posts in this thread, there is no all happily ever after for everyone. From what i know, the developer achieved what he/she set to do with this without compromising his/her artistic direction. The endings and gameplay might not be for everyone in this forum. If you are looking for just a good fap, this game is not for you. If you want an amazing Renpy game with funny lovable relatable unique characters, good laughs, unexpected plot twists and heart wrenching endings and tragedies. You found the right game.

Gran gioco
Davvero emozionante
non credevo di trovare una storia cosi ben scritta in un gioco di questo tipo

Great game

Really exciting

I didn't think I could find such a well-written story in such a game

That ending was fucking great (I never saw it coming). The development of each of the characters was amazing, it shows that the developer was careful in this regard. The story always kept that intrigue that keeps you going until the end (a little cliche but different than usual for the most part). One of the best games I've come across so far, i was very impressed (can't describe it). 10/10

Renders were nice 5/5
Story 2/5

Had to give my two cents on this game.

Seeing as how good the ratings was and looking at the tags, I gave this game a go!

Unfortunately, this journey of a roller-coaster ride was a road to never-land. The game added in elements of real life consequences and action/reaction moments which was totally cool and realistic but I think that there has to be limits.

The result of no limits is the addition of the ugly human nature; which made the story go downhill.

I wanted a 2nd, 3rd play-through to see what other consequences I might have but upon thinking of making a choice about human life; this game is not for me.

Animations - 4*

Story - 2* (5* for the early episodes)

Gameplay - 4*

Total - 3*

this was my introduction to VN's and now I'm hooked, but this set the bar waay too high. I found nearly all the characters extremely endearing which was a huge surprise considering what I thought this would be so the writing is pretty great!

The good: Great characters and visuals, awesome writing and engaging story. I love that so many of your choices have major impacts on the story. 2/3 of the game was amazing and I was really excited to play it through multiple times and explore the various options.

Then shit fell apart. I don't want to spoil things too much but the story takes an incredibly dark turn and hit me with gut punch after gut punch. This is not what I want from a porn game. I couldn't finish it.

I know many people admire this game. But for me this is even not a porn game. No matter how good story is. Playing this game makes me feel uncomfortable. total boner killer. I couldn't complete this game and deleted.

Story= 4/5
Sex Scene= 3/5
Animations-Image Quality= 3/5
Gameplay= 2/5


TOTAL= 3/5 (AVERAGE GAME )

This is a very difficult game to rate properly, because the whole is significantly less than the sum of its parts.

The character work is outstanding; the characters are memorable, enjoyable and well crafted. The dialog is good. The music is fun. The gameplay is simple but offers a lot of variations based on your choices. The sex scenes are varied and enticing. The plot is extremely well crafted. A lot of work clearly went into every facet of this game.

That's why it's such a shame that the game is its own worst enemy. First, the story deliberately misrepresents itself. It wants to come across as a standard hook-up-with-multiple-women sex farce, only to drop the boom later when you face consequences for your actions. That, I think, would have been fine on its own.

Unfortunately, the game doubles down by having 'real life' tragedies intervene to ensure there will be no totally happy endings, then quadruples down by completely shifting focus in the final stages; it practically wallows in the misery it inflicts.

The final two acts of this game are literally the main character struggling to come to terms with the actions of an NPC that, from a narrative perspective, came straight out of nowhere.

The end result is that as much as I normally love playing around with alternate endings, I actively want to avoid playing this game again. The desire to see alternate sex scenes feels... almost exploitative given how utterly dark the journey to get them will be. The desire to see how my actions could change things is undercut by the knowledge that, in the end, my actions aren't the ones driving the story.

I can't help but feel this speaks to a fundamental failure of Acting Lessons as a game. I do not regret playing this game. But I'm pretty sure playing it again would only decrease my enjoyment, and I don't think I could really recommend to anyone sight unseen.

I'm giving it a final rating of Average, but this is anything but a typical game.

Wow.... Just wow.... did not expect to bawl like a baby.... but here I am. I'm guessing that no matter what choices are made that it will always have the same outcome at the end. I want to replay and see if anything changes but can't handle that right now. If you haven't played.... Download it now. By far the best VN I have ever played

What a rollercoaster of emotions.
This game had me on the edge of my food stained recliner.
DrPinkCake has created something truly fantastic here ,
A great story filled with nail biting twists and turns.
Don't even get me started on the ending I got.
Beautiful work
5 out of 5 tissue boxes for the sea of tears
I'm currently drying.

bro i just wanted to beat my meat not cry

in all honesty this is easily one of if not THE best visual novels i've ever played. the writing is some of the best and most honest i have ever seen. liam is officially one of my favourite video game characters of all time. i came in with expectations of another porn game to waste the hours with and ended up leaving feeling somewhat enlightened. 100% give this game a shot.

10/10 for story wise...

completing Rena's route in one go without any hints then my heart melts away (in a good way)

Truly satisfying by far..

6/10 for fap wise (but it's acceptable)

9/10 for character design (all of them are really hot)

I really recommend this game if you want to ride "the rollercoaster of emotions"

Just ended the game,
But damn, I understand what people meant by 'emotional rollercoaster'. Tried to do a 'perfect' playthrough, ie to get all the scenes, but somehow understood, at some point, that consequences would -really- come back later, unlike other games...

To be totally honest, didn't even care about the naughty stuff, I just wanted the story to go further.

Megan was great, Rena too, but Melissa, damn... I really have a soft spot for 'tortured souls/broken people', fell for her instantly, just wanted her to feel... I don't know, loved, cared for.

Oh, and Liam is awesome.

On a side note, is it me or are there similarities in some characters from AL and BaDIK, physically ? Like Rena/Jill and Ana/Josy ?

Anyway, the kind of game I'll probably only play once, but I sure will remember.