VN - Ren'Py - Artemis [v0.6.2b] [digi.B]

[SPOILER ALERT]

Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Well except this game isn't close to Blade Runner or something, but still it's a game about androids... an android to be exact. When I started this game, its synopsis reminds me a little bit with that old movie called "The Count of Monte Cristo". In that movie, the protagonist .Basically Aiden Pearce Andrade, the main protagonist of Artemis, went into deep depression for three years because his former girlfriend Cassandra, fucked him over badly by signing a scummy contract while he was drunk. He should've been up in the moon with her if he hadn't sign that contract. Three years go by, he's still a broken but also a better man. Sadly after those many years, Cassandra is still doing him a dirty favor. But it all changes when he meet his former high school friend, Kindra Kappuletti (weird surname but I kinda dig it). She asks him to be her secret "coworker" to help her finish her late parents' super secret work, with the codename "Artemis". Just like the movie I just mentioned, it's all about a dude who got fucked over and then try to rise to the top by using a "hidden treasure" to get his revenge.

Okay let's talk about something else this time. First, I want to talk about the graphics and animations in this game. All I can say is.. wow damn. I've been digging for games that has such aura as Being a DIK and Chasing Sunsets and this is one of them. The UI is also the most beautiful and unique compared to other AVNs.

Second, the story. Since I just explained a brief summary about this game, I don't think I'm gonna talk about it further. This game is closer to Detroit: Being Human with some mix from the first Watch Dogs. You're probably fitter to be Raymond Kenney compared to Aiden Pearce because in this game, you're building a beginning for the future. Well, instead of building a digital information system like ctOS, you're bulding Artificial Intelligence for companies. The setting in this game is also a little bit futuristic but it also does not remove normalcies in this modern day era. So yeah, just like Watch Dogs and Detroit: Become Human, more advanced than us but everything else is still in place. To be honest, I love the fact that the dev made it like that instead of went full futuristic. Also, this game takes place in a fictional smart city called Central Pointe, located in California (ugh what's up with most AVNs nowadays? most of them take place in the West Coast). At least the dev didn't stray away from real life references, hell they even got the Californian vehicle plate right!

Lastly, the choices and consequences. Artemis has a lot of choices and longlast consequences, so this game can be replayed as much as you want. "But hey, what about the women?" oh man, there's a lot of women in this game so don't worry about it. This game also has so many hours to play. I think I played it for more than 12 hours. By the way, If you're looking for quick sex in this game, you're in the wrong place my friend. Everything stars veeerrryyy sloooowww but don't worry, just like I said Artemis' story is very interesting and engaging so you won't get bored by it.

So, five stars out of five for Artemis? JUSTIFIED

Oh by the way, I actually named my main character Aiden Pearce, very fitting with his line of work. Dude knows how to code, shoot, and fight, except this Aiden is goofier than his counterpart from Chicago (https://imgur.com/a/oHkrplI).

This review will contain minor spoilers. I will keep them to a minimum, but there are things that kind of have to be said and it'll talk about the story.

The developer can write. And they can animate. It's pretty great actually. The main menu, I wasn't fan of the opening animation but after you've completed enough of the content to see Artemis there, looking around. The model is great, but the way she looks around her surroundings, mirroring herself is just one of the great examples of the animations. You can see the curiosity in her eyes. Unfortunately, sometimes there are just too long animations or montages and you can't really fast forward them, just skip entirely. The story however, isn't for everyone. It's a slow burn and starts off depressing as hell. The main character shows trauma and it's not an easy read. It's well written, which is why it isn't easy. The humor, mostly is a miss for me. I do appreciate some of the jokes, but some of the memes are just plain boring. Also sometimes the girl's humor feels identical, lacking that personal flavor. They have their distinct personalities, but sometimes their humor just doesn't feel personal, but instead a developer self insert.

Most of the characters are well fleshed. Sometimes I just feel that a character is there for sexy content. But the fleshed characters feel real and alive. June, who has her share of burdens and history with MC has a real human like feeling to her. She's really a person with her past and things. I'm not the biggest fan of her, but I love how the developer has approached her for example.

Now for the "biggest" spoiler; the title of the game. Artemis. Absolutely adorable. Best girl, who you get to only meet later on in the game. Absolutely loving following her and she's the reason I will keep following this game.

Speaking of sexy content. I am actually disappointed. The developer can animate beautifully. The renders are beautiful. And they can write well. But the sex scenes are basically a few animation loops and you get to click blowjob/cowgirl/cum basically. It's really rudimentary and not actually exciting. I feel like this game would be better with less or even no sexy content. It just doesn't really add much, except in case of June maybe. With her, the content serves a purpose. But the content itself is still boring and plain. Which is surprising, because there are other, great scenes where you go trough and the developer has it working beautifully. Characters talking, small movements in hands, blinking, it's really superb job. Some of the best you can find on this site. Which is exactly why the sex scenes are doubly disappointing.

The game also features mini games and open world segments, both which serve basically no real purpose to the game. It also has easily missable content if you aren't paying attention during these. Getting into fight, picking Attack/Defend/Third-option isn't exciting or engaging in any way. And the result is that you either get the casino right and be rewarded, or you miss some stuff. Terrible design. The free roam sections at least are in reasonable places and they're okay, they're serving their purpose but they do not add to the experience, maybe even detract from it.

That being said, the writing is seriously one of the better ones here. It's not perfect, I really don't like the whole corporate segments most of the time and the ooh big bad selfish capitalist assholes. But the developer has talent. Watching MC conquer his traumas, watching some of the relationships evolve, watching Artemis learn(!!!!) are exquisite. The areas where the dev is clearly comfortable and likes to write about are nothing short of excellent.


In short, it's not for everyone or without it's flaws. But where the game shines, it shines brightly.

- Mostly great writing
- Most relationships feel organic and great.
- Artemis is absolutely adorable. (And so is blushing Zelda)
- Sex scenes are mediocre, at best, and sometimes feel like filler content.
- Not a fan of some design choices, i.e. minigames.
- The writing is seriously great when it hits.
- Great, beautiful renders and animations. I wish they'd use this talent to expand on the sexy scenes more. The rest of the gameplay is beautiful.

I wouldn't rate the game exactly at four stars but it's still way above three. 3,75 or so; so we'll have to go with four stars.

The best +18 games (personally, of course), are the ones where you are not playing a porn game. You are playing a game, with porn in it.

And that's it. Besides, top notch humor, gorgeous art and cool concept.

"Artemis" is a hidden gem that took me by surprise with its captivating story, far exceeding my initial expectations. This game immediately grabs your attention not just with stunning visuals or polished animations, but through its compelling narrative delivery. The dialogues in "Artemis" are witty and will leave you chuckling more than a few times. It strikes a perfect balance between casual banter and deep conversations, blending humor, warmth, and heartache seamlessly.

Each character introduced in the game comes with a rich backstory, making them feel refreshingly unique and avoiding the pitfalls of generic stereotypes. While I'd love to delve into each one, I believe it's best for you to discover them yourself and form your own opinions. However, I must mention the childhood friend and bartender, who are sure to win your affection.

Speaking of characters, let's talk about the quality of the game's renders. While the first two chapters may suffer from some blurry or pixelated images, the creator provides a fair warning at the outset. Fortunately, this minor setback is overshadowed by the game's stellar storytelling. Moreover, the image and animation quality witness a significant improvement as you progress through the middle of the game.

Don't let this deter you; the developer has done an exceptional job of bringing the game's visuals to life. Each scene feels vibrant, with characters expressing a myriad of emotions. "Artemis" sets itself apart from other visual novels by avoiding the use of repetitive images for scenes, creating a dynamic and cinematic experience akin to watching a movie or series.

Another delightful surprise is the game's music. While it may not feature popular tracks, the soundtracks complement the game's atmosphere perfectly.

So, why waste another moment reading reviews? Dive into "Artemis" and experience it for yourself. The only regret you'll have is not discovering this VN sooner.

Really awesome. Lighthearted humor but with a story that has some depth to it. There's clearly thought and passion in it. Emotion and reason for every action and reaction. Kind of silly at times but just enough to get a good laugh at it before the serious topics come in again. Easily one of the best AVN out there.

Pretty poor yet not the worst I've ever seen

- Story 5/10 (way too slow and unrealistic)
- Animations 3/10 (the few times they actually show up they're way too short and poorly done at that)
- Characters 2/10 (the MC is a super ultra chad and the main love interest is a mary sue, that brings down the overall cast a ton)
- Renders 4/10 (they get better later on but not much to be honest)
- Music 5/10 (I don't think these music choices are the best for the scenes they're in)
- Enjoyability 4/10(even if these points were higher it's still too slow to be enjoyable, get to the point)

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!! This game is SOOOOO amazing! The animations are top notch! The writing.....oh god THE WRITING!!!!! One of the best games I've encountered in terms of dialogue and character development!! The humor is top notch! This game could literally be turned into an amazing series on Hulu or Netflix or w/e and I would renew my sub for both just to watch it lol. This game has few peers in its execution, dialogue, character development and animations. I tip my hat to the creator @digi.B . I don't WANT more updates............I NEED more updates! I can't wait to see where you take us on this journey!!

Amazing game.. The story is amazing, characters well developed, writing is nice. Probably a first game where i did not mindlessly skip through the text. Classic "came for the porn, stayed for the story".

Choices actually matter which is a big plus for me.

Not a lot porn content for my taste, but honestly doesnt matter. When you actually get to the porn content, expect amazing renders and pretty impressive animations, that are not just simple loops.

Kindra is one of the best characters ever.

Keep it up dev!

excellent, excellent game. one of the best on the platform, with a crazy amount of development for 5 chapters. The game pushes beyond the still-image based VN experience - there are a billion small animations, changes, and new renders to reflect changes where you'd see almost all other devs, including massively wealthy ones like BaDiK, recycle things. I can't believe I have missed this game for so long.

This amazing Artemis project just amazed me!

Beautiful and slightly life-like stories, the main character suffering from the past and how, with the help of old and new friends, you get back on your feet! A great life lesson, but that you shouldn’t give up.

The creation of each character's facial expressions is very cute, especially Kindra and her changes in behavior... all the characters are good in their own way, H-scene, I'm also a fan of sexual content, but this is the only game where sexual content didn't really bother me, but H-scenes really looks beautiful, especially if you take the latest updates, there was high-quality animation!

Training Artemis was very beautiful and watching her is like a cozy atmosphere I give it a solid rating of 10!

Artemis [v0.5.1]

Pros:
+ Overall story progression is very interesting and also engaging (especially how you interact with Artemis)
+ Character personalities feel fairly fleshed out
+ Character development is well done, but some more than others
+ Animations are great, especially in later chapters
+ Music and sound effects are fitting
+ Can be humorous at times, but doesn't overdo it

Cons:
- Writing can feel a bit wordy at times
- Choices don't feel as impactful as some other games (subject to change)
- Story can feel fairly linear (which may be a good thing to some)
- User interface felt clunky at times
- Though interesting, doesn't pull out a variety of emotions

This is another one of my top 5 favorite ongoing visual novels. The story is interesting and I feel character interactions are great, especially anything involving Artemis. Looking forward to future updates and I feel this is worthwhile for everyone to check out even in its current state.

Overall Rating: 9.0/10

Oh boy...I dived into Artemis since like its first version and god damn...let's just say I REALLY dived in...(as in I went through all the Artemis, Kinda, Reina, Paige, and Zelda content in one sitting).

Fuck me for not listening to everyone recommending it, though to be fair I wasn't a fan of what I played in its first release, but now with its remastering and additional Chapters; by far one of the best VNs.

Zelda I wish had more content, fuck me sideways she's got looks that could kill. She ticks practically all my boxes for looks disregarding proportions. Her vampiric kiss had me vibrating in my bed. Sadly her persona isn't the best in the game, but alas, that could be due to lack of content.

I despise everything about Naomi. Authority bleh, hard ass bleh, looks bleh, I mean fuck, she even likes spicy food. May be someone's type, but not my jam.

Zoe is bland, again, could be due to lack of content but even from what I've seen she just seems a little TOO spirited with lack of anything to relate to. Looks also not my type.

Paige I wish also had more content, whenever she's on screen she lights up the room with her quirky and huggable energy. Her looks are CRAZY too FUCK; the tatts REALLY do it for me. But what I love most about her is how she can code switch from loveable to calm, or even professional with an easeful twist.

Reina is a bit odd for me. She is LITERALLY the physical embodiment of a human Lola!
But instead of a fucking fish, she's a fuckable tatted up demon! That all being said, there's a lack of personal connection so far, which can be remedied with time of course but for now, there are better options from a relatable or loveable standpoint if you aren't lying to yourself.

Jude UGH man...where do I start with this gem? The cons I suppose; the ONLY thing I wish she had was her ORIGINAL look (for which I won't spoil), but she was better in the flashback than how she looks now (redhead). Anywho, I love her sarcasm and as far as her proportions go, she's up there for me. Her backstory was also one that stood out for me over the others, and her connection to you as the player. She's got a bunch of screentime too so that helps.

I don't even remember the therapist's name, not interested. She's nice though.

Fuck Cassandra.

Kindra is a WIFE material, dear god in heaven! It's obvious that the Dev favors her the most; from the sheer AMOUNT of screentime, to the subtle animations and renders dedicated JUST to her quirky aura, she's just got it all. She lacks serious demeanor unless it's from her own nerves but that part makes her cute. I love that she also lacks a sexual filter UNLESS it becomes intimate, in which case she's shy which I adore. I dunno what else to say...her backstory is amazing connecting with your MC, how she carries herself with other characters both friends and enemies alike. She's without a doubt the Cece of Artemis.

Coooo! Artemis is my favorite VN character hands down, there are no debates.
Waifu? Check
Protecc? Check
Cute? Check
Adorable? Check
Feisty? Check
Beautiful? Check
Curiosity? Check
Emotion? Check
Expressive? Check
White hair? Double Check
THICC?! DOUBLE CHECK
...
When she's introduced she makes Kindra let alone the rest of the cast look like CHILDS play...MC included I seriously don't understand how ANYONE could unironically pick thr "Firm" Route with her, if they do you're either:
A. Lying to yourself.
or
B. An actual despicable excuse of a human being.

I'll do a detailed write up later.

This is a very rare gem, where the story and the characters are entertaining and engaging enough to make the story great and you actually take the time to read most of the dialog.

Enough sex scenes to make it entertaining as well, so far I am enjoying the hell out of this VN.

Absolutely a masterpiece! Story keeps you very engaged and I love all the characters. You really get invested in them all, I can't wait for the next update!! There were some occasions where it seemed someone was chopping onions nearby and my eyes would water up... not sure what that was about Keep up the outstanding work Digi.B!

This is a tale of two games. One game has spectacular visuals, very capable writing, and a relatively interesting premise.

The other game is inconsistently plotted, had incredibly perfunctory sex scenes, and never translates the premise into an engaging well paced narrative.

On the balance I would still recommend giving the game a shot, I think a lot of people will find something to enjoy here, but it left me feeling a little bit unsatisfied when I concluded the current build...kind of a 'sizzle but no steak' type experience.

I do genuinely with the dev the best with their project. It feels like a lot of talent is present, maybe needed a bit more planning.

To keep it short - the game is just pristine.
Good selection of scenes and renders, neat animations, an entertaining story, good humor - to just name a few. People should just try it and see for themselves. Great work! and its def in my Top 3.

Review as of Chapter 5:

Let me start by saying that I've played a lot of VNs, and have never written a review before this, but this game is simply too good to not write one.

Story: The story is good, like really good. It is extremely well-written, with a healthy balance of serious topics, such as trauma, betrayal, mental health issues, etc, but also comedy, that doesn't feel cringy or forced. The actual sex scenes themselves also don't feel like they've been hammered in just for the sake of being a porn game, they're well done and weave into the story.

The actual main storyline itself, is quite interesting, the MC starts off in a pretty rough place in life, without a job, evicted and not in a great place mentally, but as the story progresses, we can see actual character progression with the MC and his troubles, which is something I quite like.

I don't want to get too deep into the premise of the storyline, as to avoid spoilers, but it follows a somewhat sci-fi theme, as while it is based in current times, it does heavily involve technology that isn't currently available IRL.

Characters: The love interests in this game have been done extremely well, too many times in these games are the female characters all the same unrealistic person obsessed with the MC's magical dick in different bodies.

In Artemis, the LIs actually feel like different people, each with their own unique personalities and problems, their own lives away from the MC. Not every girl immediately wants to hop on the MC's dick at first sight of him, which is quite refreshing.

Renders/Animations: The renders and animations in this game are extremely well done and high quality, and I especially like the fact that animations aren't just used exclusively for sex scenes, but also for other parts of the story as well.

Other: Another thing worth mentioning, is the use of SFX and music, both of which work great to add ambience and atmosphere to the game, so it doesn't just feel like watching a slideshow.

Conclusion: All in all, Artemis is an amazing game, and well worth trying if you enjoy VNs.

P.S: If you've made it this far, Naomi best girl idc.

Great game. Basically in every aspect. Story, graphics, animations. All great. I mean yes, first chap had some blurry renders, but it was because of dev eye condition, not because of bad quality.

The only thing that I find kinda lacking, are sex scenes. And not scenes per se, but lack of dialogues. As I already said, animations are awesome, but while many games has more verbal descriptions of what is happening and bits of dialogues, in here you only watch the animation, 5 seconds and done, let's move on with the story. It's such a pity, because those are awesome, but shorteness makes itfeel way worse. Well, there are signs iof improvement in latest scenes, but it's still not the level it should be at.

TL;DR Look, this is a "great personal accomplishment of a game" for the dev, who is cleary incredibly talented in many ways. It is not, however, a "great game" for everyone playing it. With more emotional maturity, life experience, and mentoring/coaching/studying to improve creative writing, I'm confident digi.B can become an S-tier content maker that would be rivaled by few.

(To the dev: I hope you take this review as constructive criticism, not as a personal attack. There is plenty of praise for the game in other reviews. Another praising review won't show you anything you don't already know. Hopefully there is something of value to you in the below...)

Renders are gorgeous, especially in later chapters after digi.B improved their vision, which I'm very happy to hear! Truly A+ models, which I would rate 5/5. The scenes are more like 4/5 with some places a bit too bare or weird furniture etc, but I understand there's a cost associated with having more assets (though it gets in the way of immersion a bit)

The porn is probably 2/5. There is very little of it. The little that exists feels childish, generally lifeless and over quickly. It feels like it was 100% written from a young male's perspective, and one without significant experience in how to please women. There's more about sex than just plowing hard and I'm not sure the women here are ever really *pleased* with the sex. Lots of women don't even cum with penetration, and those that do, generally require a good amount of "ambience" or preliminaries to do so. Women are way more emotional than men when it comes to sex, and that's lacking here.

The plot is the weakest point of the VN. I'm sorry but NONE of the story makes any sense. I love the premise of Artemis (the android) as a concept, but people can't be inventing AGI left and right in high school, while also being the daughter of Tony Stark himself with a side-hustle as the female reincarnation of Tiesto. It's too much. See https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InexplicablyAwesome

Any of those 3 is too much, to be honest. You'd need to pick 1 and tone it down significantly for it to be anywhere near realistic.

It feels quaint and middle school-y to write all these literally incredible (as in "impossible to believe") plot points that ultimately create no tension in the story. Look up the concept of "deus ex machina" in storytelling. It's a very unhelpful trope. More mature viewers will struggle to willingly suspend disbelief. See https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief

And then the dialogue itself is too lengthy. See https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLawOfConservationOfDetail -- as someone else said, if the plot is about AI and robots and high stakes corporate competition / espionage, why do we even need a sorority house? What service does it to do the main plot? None. It's hard to argue they're there for eye candy since there's hardly any porn there other than some nudes.

*Because* the dialogue is lengthy, "nothing that happens matter" and then viewers don't really care about the story anymore. If on minute 2 5 sorority girls were watching the MC have his cock sucked and that had zero repercussions, why does it matter that his cock was sucked? Stuff that happens on the plot needs to have *impact*. That's why Andor is great and Ahsoka is terrible (See this video for a much better explanation and please bear through the slow first 10 mins as it will surely be illuminating to hear the full thing)

Finally, more controversially, the MC is waaaaay too weak minded. Dude sobs for half of the story, has nude girls literally throwing themselves at him and all he does it feel bad and sad and masturbate. People read stories to feel related to inspiring characters that show development, growth, maturity and overcoming great odds. The only real "great odds" here are whether he can get over getting fucked over, but I swear any guy that was fucked over and found himself living with Kindra, with several sorority girlfriends, and didn't have to worry about money would be banging the shit out of all of them and having a proper blast. I appreciate this is hard for some younger people to accept these days to believe in because they were so thoroughly indoctrinated by media and schools into becoming a pushover male because the world hates men now, but trust me, that is NOT what healthy-minded people want from you.

Long story short, please take some time to work on the creative writing. This could be a GREAT VN if it had more polish around the writing. Overall a really comendable project -- very people could have pulled this off. I just mourn the fact that it could be easily 10x better with a better story and script.

Some further reading:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArbitrarySkepticism

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SuperIntelligence

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneManIndustrialRevolution

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReedRichardsIsUseless

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OmnidisciplinaryScientist

Holistically one of the better games. However, there are some logical errors that keep from giving a story driven game such as this 5 stars, as well as gameplay decisions that are not user friendly. I was tempted to leave 3 stars, but the production quality and effort from the developer is too good to get rated that low.

The biggest problem IMO is that large aspects of the story just do not make any sense, and it takes you out of the story for how unbelievable it is. For instance, most of the characters live in a sorority house while they simultaneously own and operate a publicly traded company. One of said characters is mentioned as being 27 - what are they doing hanging out in a sorority house? I also do not get why every single character in the story is an Einstein level genius.

There are some polishing issues like spelling mistakes (especially in the newer chapters) but they are relatively uncommon and its not a major issue. The phone feature is missing the stats for several of the characters. The mini games are not that bad if you choose to play them, but I do not like that you must play the mini games to get certain outcomes.. The game itself is a good mix where its heavy on VN with some sandbox thrown in.

The hidden object aspect is terrible. It is not clear that in any given scene you may need to click a small object, like a hat, in order to get scenes unlocked full chapters later.

Overall its well written, some of the characters are very well written, but for most of the characters it lacks sense. The majority of the characters are first introduced as flirty and sexualized ( ) and yet they quickly do a 180 into relatively prudish characters, a couple of whom expect exclusivity from the MC even though they are not dating the character nor have even kissed the MC.

The main plot is advancing at a great pace, what is worrisome is the pace of development in the MC's relations with others. There are simply too many LI in this game for their paths to get flushed out in a meaningful way while retaining the production quality the developer is going for. We are now 3 years into the story, and only a couple of the LI have a relationship with the MC that is recognizably different from when the story started, no matter the choices a player makes. Not a good omen for paths getting completed.

With all of that said, it is definitely worth playing. The writing is good overall, it has an interesting plot, and the graphics are good. The MC is also not a raging asshole which is refreshing. The amount of content that is out relative to how long its been in development is acceptable on the lower end, I would guess there is about 6-8 hours of unique content.