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

Truly one of the better games available on this site and offers actual replayability in the sense of choices and not only different sex scenes.
This game actually has a decent storyline and it also does not feel rushed like so many other similar games, offering an actual meaningful resolution by the end of the game.
Without giving away any spoilers, the game has many heart-felt moments, a little mystery and loads of great sex scenes - but these don't seem forced and actually help to move the story forward in most instances.

What can I say about this game ? It is a MASTERPIECE!
The game gives you a rather simple storyline at first who developes into a great and deep one later with unbelievable plot twists.
The animations are simple but yet sexy, the characters are all well-written but the story really is what keeps you playing this game.
I must say that if you got here just for a simple porn game to *ahem* "fap" then I'm afraid you won't like this that much but if you came here looking for a porn game with an amazing story then this is the right place for ya!

I must warn you that this game has some heavy content and I'm not talking about BDSM or anything sexual like this but actually emotional stuff...so be ready!

10/10

Reviewed at v1.0.2

I truly cannot believe how much I enjoyed this game. I thought I was going to play a porn game, but in the end I felt that the sex scenes were a secondary (but high quality) interest compared to my interest in the story itself. This is the first Virtual Novel to make me actually care about the characters, and I felt like my choices were truly my own.

This game deals with some seriously heavy themes -- but not heavy as in morally dark, like some other games. Rather, heavy in the way that real life can be heavy. These characters are mostly good people, and when shit happens to them they've been written to react in fairly believable ways. There are some stretches of the imagination in the plot, which I won't spoil, but to give you a sense of what to expect just imagine the kind of hijinks that have to emerge to generate a scenario in which a "regular guy" is potentially sleeping with a lot of different people. These divergences from reality didn't do anything to disrupt my immersion in the story, though.

The art is really high quality. Less time is spent on the sex scenes relative to other games you may have played, but they are exciting nonetheless. More impactful is the day-to-day interactions with the characters, as the modeling has been done in such a way to build your attraction to the girls while also making them seem more believable in your interactions. Their expressions change in subtle but readable ways that make it seem like they're really reacting to what just happened -- a level of talent I have never seen before. There was even one memorable moment without even a line of dialogue, where a certain memorable character merely looked at me out of the corner of his eyes that had me laughing out loud at his implied joke. This moment was possible because the art direction taught me early on to read their body language, to know their personality, so that when it happened I actually got the joke. Truly phenomenal.

The gameplay itself was standard in format, but superior in execution. You make decisions that affect your "score" with different characters. Scores and decisions unlock different scenes and endings based on your choices. The key difference here is that the choices were not bone-headed. Most of the dialogue options seemed reasonable, and I often felt conflicted about what to say next. And no, the author didn't pull the rug out from under you for trying to choose something sensible. I played without the hints, and I strongly recommend you do, too, because it was much more engaging to try to read the characters' reactions and try to learn about who they were so I could make more informed choices.

My only complaint is that in this sea of immersion and meaning, I occasionally felt forced to participate in activities that I just couldn't get on board with. The best example of this is the scene where the main character gets a tattoo. Until then, I felt like I identified with the main character much more than in other VNs. That episode broke that identification quite a bit, but thankfully didn't really interrupt the rest of the story for me. That said, those types of situations were much more noticeable considering how well the choices were delivered overall.

The game has a massive number of potential endings, but in the Fallout style they are different arrangements of outcomes for different variables. So, you get to find out how each character fared by the end, and the combination of each is what gives you that broad range. This is an excellent design choice for this style of game which others should imitate. That said, it did leave me with the one complaint, which was that I really thought I would have an opportunity to somehow get an ending with multiple girls. Since it narrows to just one by the end, I guess that's more realistic, but the pervert in me feels a little let down.

In the end, a touching, immersive, sexually invigorating tale about people I actually came to care about. The use of art in storytelling far exceeds the competition. The variety in scenes and my affection for the characters means I will be coming back to play this story several times -- and you should play it at least once.

Good story. (One of the most creative stories I have seen in an adult VN).
Excellent scenarios and the girls looks amazing!
Animations are not the greatest tho... (Main reason I'm not giving a 5 stars rating).
[PS: A minor turn-off for me in the sex scenes was the MC dick (#nohomo), it looks like an old man's penis, lol.]

Amazing game..loved it. Even the bad ending at the end left me feeling satisfied for the first time and the scenes were all well written and just throughout great story I haven't gone through many of these, but I have to say that this is really the best I've ever played

Reviewed v1.0.2

Simply delightful! One of the best games I’ve had the pleasure of playing.

Acting Lessons is a visual novel with a great cast of characters, beautiful girls and engaging narrative.

Renders are superb here, the models of all the characters gorgeous, stunning! The H-scenes are equally just as good, mesmerising and enchanting.

The gameplay is pretty simple, you read the story, make choices and live with the consequences. Simple and easy, what you’d expect from a visual novel. Those looking for more depth in gameplay should look elsewhere however they would be missing out on this splendid piece of art.

Story was definitely my favourite part of the game which is lifted up by the great cast of characters who all have distinct and memorable personalities. Learning about the ambitions, past and personalities of each character was great. I loved every single of the characters. The story was an emotional rollercoaster, so many emotions felt over the duration of the game and definitely had to sit down to recollect my thoughts after the ending of the game.

I played for the eye-catching models and H-scenes but stayed for the charming characters and immersive story.

Pros

• Immersive story and interesting characters
• Excellent renders
• H-scenes are nice
• Simple and easy to pick up gameplay
• Gallery present and accounted for

Cons

• You haven’t played it

I would strongly recommend the game for anyone looking for a story-driven H-game with beautiful models.

Suggestions

• Love to see what else DrPinkCake can come up with

The cancer part was a bummer but somehow made the game more meaningful. Also I choose Melissa because I kinda felt like she deserved a second chance after everything she faced. Overall a great game with a amazing storyline. I would definitely recommend playing this game.

Loved this game. The art looks great and the story was very compelling with some great characters. The theme is an original one and the way your character comes in contact with others seems natural. At very few times I didn't really care for the dialogues, but most of times they were fun and with a good variance in tone.
In terms of porn content, I didn't think it was very spectacular but certainly above the norm. Interesting that the developer went for the more real look. Not really my thing in these kinds of games, but in this case, it was a welcome change, Although I still had the hots for Smurf . Didn't go for her though, since the game was interesting enough to go for something else.

The animations close to the best what you'll find and I didn't run into any bugs or language problems.

Very interesting musical theme at the end btw. Never expected that.

The Good
-The rendering is the best I've seen.
-The story is great.
-It does branch but not too much to break the game.
-The gals, the girls in this game are pretty great all around.

The Bad
-The story is somewhat too real and it seems that it forgets what it is trying to be.
-The MC is very bland, not in great shape, not packing any heat, and no personality traits.

Overall I'd recommend to anyone who is interesting in a somewhat vanilla story with great renderings.

My opinion about Acting Lessons

Pros:
- Great story with great characters
- Good renders
- Soundtrack and SFX is on point
- Choices matter

Cons:
- Animations could have been a little better

Rating: Top tier VN. Play it. 5 out of 5.

Love this game. It emotionally got me connected to the characters to the point I was crying and getting mad in some scenes. Excellent story where the twist at the end totally took me off guard. The character animations were awesome.

This is a beautiful game. I never could have guessed how much I would actually enjoy playing it. Beautiful renders, great pacing in the story - and what a SURPRISE the story was! I enjoyed it 100% and will probably go for round 2 right after this review to complete the gallery.

As always, I appreciate the effort anyone puts toward making these games for our benefit. That said, the story is completely absurd, pointlessly violent, with deeply unlikable characters. Especially for something that is made for sexual content, it is bizarre the level of silly, distractive elements there are. The art is okay.

One of the best games on this site. Everything is perfect in this game. I love every character in this game. The game also has some kind of twists. Also every character feels realistic, their body and personality is another level. It's hard to find a game with such a great story. Do yourself a favor!

First of all - rich and engaging plot, and it's not a ligh-hearted game - story is emotional, so if you're ready for the "feel ride" then it's your best bet

There's obviously some adult content (duh!), but to be honest - this game would be perfectly fine without it. Don't get me wrong, renders are great, but the main value of this game lies within its story, and let me tell you, it's a story worth your every minute. On one hand you have streamlined plot that won't change THAT much based on your actions, but on the other hand you have over 20 endings... So find some time (like quite a few hours) and enjoy this without interuptions, it's like reading a great book or watching an amazing movie, that you can shomewhat shape to your own style. And even though it may not seem like it at first - overall story is really motivating to think and care about life and enjoy it, even if it would be easier to blissfully give up
Also - it's on Steam! if you enjoyed it as much as I did go there and spend these few buck (if you can afford it) to show some support for DrPinkCake

Cheers!
Ame

Void___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just wow, best VN i ever played. For better experience disable hints e play like what u really do in those situations and be prepared for strong feelings and lots of emotional stuff. This is the point, cuz adult games is pretty boring if is all about sex scene, like porn intro that u dont care what is happening.

Dr PinkCake made a masterpiece here, really thank you.

This game is absolutely off the charts good. I mean AAA 10/10 GOTY exceptional. The story, story-telling, writing, characters, graphics, pacing.. the lot are so good I almost feel bad that due to it being an adult game it probably will never get the mainstream recognition it deserves.

If you are strictly looking for a sex game / fap-material then look elsewhere. Don't get me wrong there's plenty of sex and hot scenes but sex in my opinion very much plays a secondary role in this game... and in the case of this game, rightly so.
However if like me you are an avid gamer outside of adult games then you are in for a treat.

Genuinely one of the best games I've played regardless of adult or not.

Amazing game. Honestly, I could have a blast just reading the screenplay of Acting Lessons. The characters are beautifully animated and fleshed out. (Literally). Everyone has a distinct personality. I genuinely cared about each of the characters, which I had expected going in (I had read the reviews), and by the end of the 5-hour journey they felt real to me. Dialogue is snappy, laugh-out-loud at points, and the drama never feels overwrought.

Tightest writing in the Adult VN circle.

Last but not least, Megan is adorable and best girl.

The story was phenomenal. I actually felt the emotions through all the characters. The characters also have great depth and backstories. The choices truly left an impact. Even choices at the very beginning changed the whole story.