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

Potential spoilers below.

Potential spoilers below.

Potential spoilers below.


This is Mass Effect 3 all over again. At least with Bioware games you knew none of the choices would change the overall story. Too many people confuse deaths and atypical endings as "good" because they lack experience with non-vanilla storytelling. Or they're suckers for gimmicks, maybe. Either way this "Deus ex machina autistic ending"(accurate) is pointless and I'm not even interested in moving forward with the endings. Glad some of you liked the game. Shame a good thing had to go to waste.

Wall of text warning.
No, seriously.


Well, shit. Where do I even start with this one.

First of all, there should be a way to give a separate rating to a game, as giving "Acting Lessons" measly 5 out of 5, doesn't give it justice at all. Second of all, calling this a "porn game" is like calling a century-old wine "booze".

Now that we have this out of the way, let's get to the actual review of the game. In no particular order: graphics, writing, atmosphere, story - it's all there, and it's VERY good. One con I can think of is the music, as it was rather unimpressive, apart from couple of moments, it's pretty obvious it's mostly stock, free music, but it is mainly fitting to the events in the game at a given moment. And that's about it as far as negatives go.

I won't dwell on graphics, the renders are pretty good, maybe not the best I've seen so far, but it's pretty obvious the creator put a lot of effort in the female models, male - not so much, but I don't really have a problem with that.
As for the story and the writing, I can't commend it enough. Others might find the plot up to the "twist" uninteresting, but I think what we have here is a case of expertly done story-telling, where you get to know the characters and get attached to them before something happens. There's a lot to say about how relationships are done in this game, and I honestly can't think of any other way to make them more mature than they already are. On a side note, I'm so happy to see these mature projects get traction as opposed to "incest simulator 2000". One thing, which is sooo goddamn refreshing, is that the game doesn't reward polygamy, something you'd think other creators would do as well. Another point I want to touch up on, is how well done the bonds between characters are, to a point where you actually get attached to them, and really feel the notion that MC cares for them, again, something other games didn't quite accomplish (*cough* Depraved Awakening *cough*).

[BIG SPOILER ALERT]

So, to the elephant in the room, the "twist" in the game. I've seen many complaints about how it's out of the blue and ill-fitting in the game. 'Nuff said I disagree completely. I think it's a great conclusion of the bonding between player and the characters, something I mentioned before, it also changes the dynamic of the game completely, and brings us, players, to the closure.
And finally, to the ending itself. And, oh boy what an ending it is. Not only do you get variety but also so much quality. I have yet to play through all the possible combinations, but from the ones I've played so far, they're all fantastic, and I really would have trouble picking favourite. Curiously, I'm usually a fan of bitter-sweet and even bad endings when it comes to movies and games, but this one really got to me, and I'm not afraid to admit I had a lump in my throat by the end of the game. I'm certainly going to remember this one for a while.

[BIG SPOILER ALERT END]

In conclusion, I can now say without a doubt this game right here takes the spot as my favourite adult game. It has been an extreme pleasure to see it through and reach the finish line. And don't get me wrong, for how much praise I'm giving the game, it's definitely not perfect - but it's goddamn close. It really plays like a good movie and now that it's completed, it's a must for anyone willing to try this genre. I can only hope for the brightest of futures for the creator and his next projects.

I'm finished.

Played this game since the first time it was released and gotta say that DrPinkCake is a god. The writing for this game is phenomenal. At one point you're beating your meat till no tomorrow, then all of a sudden you're rolled up in a ball bawling your eyes out. The characters look great (especially Rena). I like the premise that you're basically only allowed to choose one girl when you're on their path or you get the bad-ish ending if you manwhore yourself out. Thank you DrPinkCake for this masterpiece and keep up the good work with your future endeavors.

At first I almost didn't download the game because something about the description didn't really appeal to me. Then I almost deleted it after finding out there wasn't a "harem" option and it would be more traditional and realistic about relationships. I do not regret backing away from those decisions and following through on playing the game. The great writing for every character, especially the friendship between Liam and the main character, really meshed with me emotionally. I went in expecting a pretty good porn game, and got a mediocre porn game but a brilliant kinetic romance novel. I admit that some scenes with Liam nearly brought me to tears, especially given how much I loved his sense of humor, which is a testament to the solidity of character development available.

Absolutely brilliant game, I believe it is the best one on the whole site, no other game hits you in the feels and makes you care about the cast like this one does, the game is a real gem, great writing, great renders, great female characters, and of course Liam .
I did not expect much going into it, yet it somehow brought me through a full emotional spectrum, from laughing out loud, to holding back tears, and when the game was over I had to process it all, in order to move on, which is quite a peculiar feeling in this kind of game, I do not do emotional, yet the writing, and the endings really touched me, the end poem was actually quite beautiful .
I really cannot recommend this game enough, this raises the bar very very high for any games that follow, and hopefully will become the new standard when it comes to making a VN, just wow, DrPinkCake you have delivered something truly special, and in so doing have taken the genre to a whole other level .

(Copied and paste from my post in the thread, almost the exact same thing)

God damn this story, I wasn't going into it thinking I'd be feeling this, crying over it, but here we are and that's how I am about it.

I don't really know why people are talking badly about the ending to be honest, it might not have been the happiest of endings, a somewhat sombre but happy ending if anything, but it wasn't bad at all, it was handled decently enough and gave enough details about how things panned out, I think emotions are getting in the way of what people thought about the ending.

But god damn if didn't bring out some emotions in me, things really got to me as it was playing along, from one specific point onward; I enjoyed it despite not really knowing what to expect, I went in mostly blind, I was just going into it thinking it was just something else to get off to, it still is mind you, it has good content for that purpose, but also a level of seriousness to it that not a lot of other adult visual novels have.

One thing I will say however, if you follow the story and feel emotions to it though, I don't know how many sex scenes there are after a certain point in the story, I can see 2 things in Episode 7 and there's 3 in Episode 8, the problem I'm having is, they're placed very strangely with regards to the story, I mean say you're getting emotional about it, maybe crying too, then all of sudden, sex scene, it's a bit jarring, feeling one thing and then being hit with something that makes you feel something COMPLETELY different, besides that the rest of it is fine, but those last parts seemed out of place.

I don't know how the other endings pan out, whether certain things are different with the characters depending on choices earlier on, like how it ends with one of the girls depending on how you approach the whole thing, what happens if you choose to just sleep with anyone and not really care? Do you end up being in relationship with one of the girls by the end or does it end with you being on your own? I think I could replay it from a solely objective stand point, playing it out a specific way to see how events pan out without letting my own feelings get in the way of the decision making, as I'm interested to know "how deep the rabbit hole goes".

It's a mostly solid story and I commend the writer for writing it as they have done, there's enough choices (though how many of them actually change anything is a question to be answered) to come back and find out what you could do differently, answer a question differently or choose another action, that kind of thing, it's enjoyable.

This is my first review on this site!
A well written storyline, this is the first game in which I have not missed any conversation with the characters.
Good rendering of characters, and the main thing is that they really have their own character.
















Sorry for my english, she is not my mother tongue.

Great story and full respect to DrPinkCake. He stuck to his guns and delivered what he envisioned. Caused a hell ofa lot of emotion and will have people talking about it for a long time to come.

Good work!

Best Game I played here.
This one hit me in the feels.
Made me cum, made me smile, made me laugh and made me bawl my eyes out.
I feel in love with Melissa (so well written and so fucking beautiful), feel in bro-love with Liam (lovable and so funny).
Some of the horrible things that happen in the game kinda feels like they come out of no-where, but they sure are effective.
When you play it, play it like you would in real life, not the way porn games are usually played, just some advise.

The author probably has some real-life problems it he let the story to develop into one particular ending. You can't even control it after the 1st or 2nd chapter!
One of the endings is so awful and un-controlable, that I hated this game after finishing it.

This games hits me hard, as i was also cheated by my ex. This is the best game I've ever played in my whole life. Not the best porn game, but the best game. EVER. So emotional. Never in my life would I thought that I will cry myself while playing A PORN GAME. Thank you for this wonderful game, DrPinkCake. You made me believe in life again. Will definitely become a patron. You deserved every single penny that you make and more.. Thank you thank you thank you

One of the best VN I ever played. Really good plot and nice girls. Renders of the girls are really good. It's fascinating what happens at the end of the game. Worth playing for all different endings. Thanks a lot!

this game is good and some scenes are hot and all. but i think it is a bit over dramatic for a h game.
props to the artist
i am looking forward to play his other games in future.
keep up the good work

Holy shit this game was a major downer. I came here for the lewds and spent the last few hours bawling my eyes out. The fuck man? You ain't supposed to be able to do that shit with a porn game.

Acting Lessons hit me square in the feels, hard. DrPinkCake has some magic scriptwriting skills. I cannot wait for whatever comes next.

10/10

I love this game so far. I played this all day long. This game filled with charming characters. At first I started this for jerking off, but how lovely the story is. Despite I'm not good at english(because I'm korean), but I couldn't help keep playing the game all day.

Incredibly compelled by the story. While the renders are beautiful, I see this game as more than something for you to get off too. I have never felt so much playing through a game like this. I recommend this game to anyone (that is 18+ obviously )

I junped in to this game hoping it was a porn game where you bang chicks per say... But it gave me so much much more. This game is truly a masterpiece, oscar worthy. I am know to be the one who doesn't cry at these petty things, but this game ...aww man .. I can't believe it made me cry. Amazing just amazing. Bravo!

If you want to see amazing 3d models, if you want to see really well animated sex scenes ... and if above all else you want to FEEL. Play this game. Now!

This game is awesome, playes in another league. Graphics fantastics and a deep story with a heavy emotional ending. Congrats to the dev. Love all the caracters, Lovely Rena and Mellissa and Megan but speciially Liam that is a God.

Realistic dialogues, awesomely written characters, beatiful art, difficult choices.... Downloaded the game because of Melissa's looks. Wasn't expecting what I got... It deserves 7 stars (1 for Liam alone) but loses 1 star for not offering one specific option, and 1 more because the rating only goes up to 5.