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

I've never reviewed anything on this site, as I've seen a few people say normally I get bored and skip every dialogue until the next scene. This was not one of those, I read every single line, and for the first time ever chose early on to be loyal to Megan, normally I'd go for many eggs in many baskets.

I actually cried at the end. It was phenomenal. Being a DIK is a great game so I played this one, and for me it just blows it out of the water. It took me 2 days to play the whole game, and I'm not even slightly bothered by that.

There is only one score for this game 5*, to convert a horny person like me into being so invested in the story I purposefully skip scenes should be all you need to know.


5* 5* 5*

The last update who ended the story, was 2 years ago but the game did not get old at all. DrPinkCake showed class as usual and how games should be made, very pleasant and multi-threaded plot, many endings, well-written characters. The only downside on my part is poorly made animations.

Version 1.0.2
The story and gameplay elements deserve 4 stars, but the sexual content was not that great.(Note that I have read all variations of the endings before posting this review.)

[Story]- Before we start, it should be made clear that this is a novel, and not an adventure. You have no control over your character's feelings, as your character is an actual character, with his own persona, and certain events are set in stone. Your choices will dictate which girl you end up with, but you will not be able to change the flow of the story.

The story is pretty large, with 7 large variations for the ending. There are story scenes that depend on your choices throughout the story, which gives the choices more impact. The way that these scenes transition are fairly well done.

This is a very dramatic story, and may be a turn off for people that do not like SAD stories. The plot is enjoyable if you are okay with that. The twists at the end is what makes the story good(or VERY BAD if you don't like SAD stories) It is not a harem, and you can only end up with one. You've been warned.

I would recommend following a guide for this game, as your choices HEAVILY influence the outcome of the story, drastically changing the experience depending on which ending variations you achieve, and you can also save scum several endings in one playthrough if you want.

[Scenes]- The dev opted for a 1st person pov, which raised a lot of issues with the scenes.

I'm not 100% sure why, but the dev did not want to show the face of the MC. My best guess is that it was for immersion purposes. It was blatantly obvious that this was being done. It looked really tacky and was a turn off.

Half of the kissing scenes showed the chick close up with their face puckered up, which was not sexy and was a turn off.

Most of the oral scenes looked really nice. Especially male on female scenes.

Meanwhile, most of the other sex scenes were terrible. The bodies had very little articulation like the oral scenes had. The animations were not good.

The models were decent.

Great game, but bummed out by the ending but I'm guessing everyone who played it felt that way. The writing in DrPinkCake's games is quite something. The story just sucks you in and you get invested in every character of the game.
Definately worth a playthrough!

Just wiping the tears from my eyes before writing this. I don't know what to write except that I gave it 5*. This will not be a good review in the the way a real review should be written. All I can say is that I loved the story, even for the sad parts. I laughed a lot and I cried a lot too, all that I need to make me satisfied. I'm an emotional man and they were really flowing here.

So, all in all, 5*.

What's there to say about Acting Lessons that hasn't already? Despite a turn for the melodramatic, it's an excellent game.A bunch of gorgeous characters, an actually great "best friend" character, and some very sexy sex scenes.

The premise is okay, the writing was okay, the models are okay (a little weird looking sometimes), the animations are okay. It just felt very slow moving and didn't really come together for me or hook me to keep playing.

I believe this is the best narrative out there because the writing is excellent and the acting is unforgettable. I was really amazed with this one because I normally get bored after a few hours and start skipping text to get to the next sex scene, but I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't care about the sex. The sex animations are quite fluid and enjoyable. The characters were fantastic, especially Liam, who is one hell of a bro!! Guys, this is a must-play. Trust me when I say that this is one of the VNs that you must play before you die.

Wonderful game.
+++Great Characters
+++Great story
++Good scenes.
++Unexpected Twist

--Wishes desperately I didn't have to make *THE* choice.


I laughed, I cried.... oh boy did I cry. After playing through multiple endings, each time having to return to my cannon one with Melissa to wipe the sad tears away to replace them with happy ones.


Immediately went to steam and purchased after finishing it. Thank you for a wonderful game.

Definitely up there as one of the best games I've ever played.
The story is just SO BEAUTIFUL <3
The characters were extremely real, deep, and you can really feel the reason behind their actions.
This game made me laugh, crazy, smile from ear to ear and extremely hard.
Can't wait to replay the crap out of it.
10/10

Maybe the best (completed) Story game out there. This was the first adult game I played and will always have a place in my heart. This is not a game you play just for sex. This game has such a strong story and is overall just perfect.

This has to be among my top 5 games on this site. It’s very balanced in (almost, I’ll specify in spoiler) every way. 100% quality, high replay value and one of the best devs in business atm, the one that others will only try to copy (if you know what I mean).

About a year and a half ago, I created an account on F95 to post how much impact Acting Lessons did to me. Having zero to none experience with other AVNs, I did what most players probably would: tried to bang every girl, possibly getting a "harem ending" and trying to unlock as many gallery scenes as I could on my first playthrough. As you could imagine, I got one of the worst endings which hit me so hard that I was stuck thinking about it for weeks before I had the courage to replay it.

At this point, you can tell how great of a writer DrPinkCake is. The story is overall great, the main character (aka Jonas) have a believable backstory and traumas, the three LI's are well developed and LIAM IS THE BEST FRIEND YOU COULD EVER ASK FOR.

Recently, I decided to replay it, trying different outcomes. Even though I stand by my original opinion that everyone should play this game and that it's one of the best VNs available, there's a growing uncomfortable feeling inside me that I couldn't get rid of, caused by the inevitability.


TL;DR:
This game is a must play, and you should look forward to future content released by DrPinkCake.
Beware of the inevitable bittersweet ending, though.

4/5

Took a long time to come around and rate this game, but felt it deserved that repect as a work of art.

Short and sweet. Personal Top Five game ive ever played. (I personally think its DrPinkCake's best game. )

This game on paper shouldnt be this good.
Don't recall a game that had taken it upon itself to effect my emotions without consent, so effortlessly.

I don't know DrPinkCake but i felt he put alot of raw (maybe personal) emotion into this to create a base for a game, that is both bitter sweet, and much needed.
Appreciate that

I'm still not nor will I ever be the same after I was done.
This game wont leave you long after.

Just play it.

This has been a...unique experience in which I cried for my friend and enjoyed the bromance as much as the romance. I would recommend playing it when you're feeling into giving it some time and not just hastily skimming through it.

I freaking love this story and game. I have played it 3 times and I love the characters and the dude peeking through the banner image . This one punches you like a train at full speed just amazing. I love all the characters but especially Melissa why oh why?

Brilliant game, but for me it have too dark endings. I expected a happy end but got a very sad game. Strong story, good characters, but ending ruin everything for me. Author do it too much, too dark, this is not good for erotic VN, script is too serious, It good for serious drama movie. Sexual content is good, but not necessary, animations looks weird sometimes. I think it must be a censored version without nudity - and it would be a good VN for everyone, even for your mom. I can recommend this VN for people who do not take too much to heart, if you are too sensitive - don't play.

Before Acting Lessons, I never really took part of discussion on F95. Then this VN came along. I remember first time playing 0.4 back in mid 2018 and it blew my mind. I played many VNs before and many of them are either mindless dating sim fap or some devs tried their hand on making slice of life story but they don't really have the skill to do it. Of course nowadays there are many story and narrative driven VN but I believe Acting Lessons was the first that succeed at making rom com/slice of life/tragedy VN

Great cast of characters. Nice simple plot with excellent use of slow building a romance vs fuck-them-all type of game. Liam by far the best character in the game. Only gripe is most of the character models arent my type so the temptation to cheat aspect was lost on me.

[After playing v1.0.2]

I enjoyed it. In this case we have a standard visual novel (meaning there's no really many gameplay elements) with different paths. Good story (room for comedy and tragedy there) and characters and sex scenes are very nicely done. It works in many aspects and it's not exactly too long.