Ren'Py - Completed - Ataegina [v1.0] [Kthulian]

I usually don't leave reviews but I gotta do it for this one. Love the different paths, the combat, the characters, the power and relationship building. Very few games can have so many factors and actually make it worth playing. Props.

Well, this review is too easy for rating for me, here I go;

Pros;
-Well writting
-Diversity of characters
-Great design of characters, u will love every one
-Great bg for the universe of ataegina
-3 paths with it unique characters and relationships (this means if u want understand the whole game u need to rerun 3 times, and see things that in the other path u missed)
-The choices it matters, its not like another VN where the choices illussions u with the outcome, here, its real, ur choice changes the outcome for our MC and the story
-Freeroam WITHOUT GRIND AS FUCK, it means, we have sidequest without grind like another sandbox repeating like idiots whole days for minimun scenes, forget it in this game, here u have real freeroam
-Personality of each character; well definied, also the MC has a great bg depending on ur choices at the start, because u can choose if u want hate every race in the game (except yours) or not
-The game offers u the possibility of use cheats at the start, is a good point because this speed up our way in the game for the hard battle for example
-Battles, posibility of learn more and more spells
-The dev is constant updating the game (1 per month) and always bring us some hd image and responding us so fast in the thread, very implicated with the project.

Con;
-Its not finished yet

Yeah, my only con is that is not finished and I cant enjoy the whole game, and when u try it, u will agree with me, try the game and support the dev, he deserves, for sure !

[v0.4.2]

This is a pretty good game overall. There is a fairly interesting plot, some nice lore and world building. Characters that have some semblance of depth. All of these aspects are pretty good, but just lacks that little bit of polish to truly shine.

As mentioned by the previous reviewer, the biggest problem is the pacing and the story telling. The plot is interesting, but the way it's told is quite scatterbrained. The actual writing ability is not quite there either. The dialogue is slightly stale and stiff here. Truly great writers can really bring characters to life through particular speech patterns and mannerisms, but the text in this game is quite curt and utilitarian. The characters are by no means just bland robotic dolls, but it just lacks something to truly make them memorable. Many of the characters do have depth, but it's told through exposition rather than naturally being uncovered through interacting with them.

I won't get too much into the graphical side, but the renders are passable. I think they do a good job portraying the action scenes. The models seem to be mostly stock assets with some modification, but I can't deny that they look good.

Now the gameplay aspect is where this game gets some high marks. The combat and character building through stats/magic is done really well for a renpy game. I think the combat mechanics are what sets this game apart from the others and wish they really went all in on it. More depth, more mechanics, status effects, better balance, unique enemies that can do more than just hit you every turn, more differentiation between spells, etc. There is no denying that what we currently have is quite fun though. The combat UI looks nice and the presentation is excellent. I am not the biggest fan of the free roaming parts where you end up just clicking on every room to see if there is something going on there. It's not a big part of the game yet and it doesn't get in the way too much though.

There are 3 alignment paths you can follow which is nice. The choices you can make are pretty blunt and over the top, but being able to shape the MC is always a nice feature.

If you read up to here, you can probably see that my opinion is that this game does everything pretty well, but comes just a bit short of being excellent in any category. The overall experience is still great though. The plot is indeed quite interesting and the game doesn't feel like a drag to play through.

Well worth your time, but suffers from a terribly poor pacing to make an otherwise interesting story and cast of characters truly shine.


Or, in more detail:

Ataegina does try, and for the most part succeeds, to tell a story that's noticeably different from the large majority of Ren'py VNs here.
Its fantasy world isn't cookie cutter "Good is right, evil is wrong" with a clearly defined "EVIL BAD GUY FINAL BOSS" and actually lets you pick your own path on who you support.

The cast is diverse enough, although most lack enough screentime as of 0.4.1 to really get their chance to shine, which causes a fair few of them to be seen once, maybe twice and subsequently forgotten about entirely.
Their character models are...okay. Not stand-out spectacular but not bad enough to detract from any scenes they're in.

The game does allow you to decline relationships with a fair number of the girls on offer, and, thus far, you don't seem penalized OR incentivized for picking who you like (Or just everyone willing to 'put out' for you).

It also has a combat system that's...passable.... I suppose. It's nothing groundbreaking and feels fairly shallow once you realize you can stunlock pretty much anything with the right spell combos, but I never felt annoyed if a fight popped up.


Its sole big flaw, as of 0.4.1 at least, is its terrible pacing. The game positively rushes from event to event, heaping tons and tons of exposition on you, without giving you any time to actually care about the people involved. So, the Roman Empire Slayers are attacking another country? Those monsters! Who're from that country again? Oh, just that one girl you talked to for 30 seconds in the prologue?

And that basically goes on, and on, and on. Event upon event upon event with you, as the player, not being given the time to actually learn about, let alone actually care, about the people affected by said events. Which is bad as those events and said characters basically involve the PC's love interest(s).

To give it a solid example; You have a relationship meter featuring a whole screen of characters whose love & corruption stats are tracked. Roughly two thirds of those characters either have less than a minute's worth of solo content OR have (almost) all their content be them being overshadowed by one of the main heroines of the story.

Now, that might sound all negative, but on the whole it's a positive. The characters are interesting, and it's a shame so many of them aren't given the chance to shine (yet).

The game tells an interesting story for what's essentially an indie porn game, it just suffers from poor pacing (And the occasionally clunky dialogue) but if the pace of the story slows down juuuust a bit in later chapters it's a definite recommendation for anyone looking for a decent enough fantasy read along with their waifu collecting.

Always wanted a game with a great story line, beautiful girls, and throw in some fantasy material. So after playing the game, I was surprised to get so Rpg fighting elements as well. There isn't much sex scenes, there are more nude scenes if anything, but that's ok. I keep coming back to this game just for interesting story that it brings. Great job on the developer.

Ataegina is an innovative , imaginative, and provocative game. My brief time of enjoying adult games had me mostly focused on games that were focused on some semblance of reality. The fan signature of a forum member who makes some interesting comments led me to check this out.

PROS:

1. The story. Although it might be borrowed from numerous influences, the story still creates and in depth and rich plot for players to traverse.

2. World building. The developers let out all the stops by creating their own charted world with territories for different races and cultures. Very nicely done and could be stolen for Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder GM/DMs.

3. The graphics are excellent. The women are gorgeous. The enemies look great. Even the spells look good.

4. The characters. Aside from their looks, there are some solid characters. Not all of them are great and some are so-so, but others are excellent. There is definitely some great humor and teasing that makes for solid dynamics.

5. The sex. The sex is pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but arousing none the less. That, and hot orc sex.... What? Next thing to knock of my fantasy list? Still, I am definitely hoping a couple more (maybe every) female characters we have been introduced to get some nekkid fun time with the main character.

CONS:

1. The sex. OK. I know I gave it a pro. What the hell am I doing listing it as a con then? Well, the sex does look great but it could use a bit more variety. Most of the scenes allow for blowjobs, cowgirl, tit fucking, and doggy style alone and some only give you a couple of the options. A few more positions would definitely spice things up.

2. The main character as a baby. Not a big deal and only seen for a moment, but what the hell was that?

3. Unresolved issues. What becomes of some of the folks and issues, such as the main character's school rival? Things just seem to drift off. Maybe some things will show up later. Who knows?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Wow! Hot orcish women, dark elves, elves, demon ladies, and more. Call me very impressed with getting so many fantasy ladies in one game.

The story might be a bit standard in some ways, but it still kept my interest throughout.

I am definitely interested in seeing where this one goes and wondering if the main character might get some little ones wondering around in the future based on choices.

Fans of sex, fantasy worlds, and VNs in general should give this one a go.

This game it´s a good one. And it´s a shame because has the potential of being a great one.

It´s a story driven, fantasy game, with magic, demons and undeads. The story it´s good, with interesting characters. You can play 3 paths, good, neutral and evil, with interesting diferences.

I give only 4 stars instead of five by two main reasons. The combat sistem and the overuse of Deus ex Machina/Saving in the last minute resources.

For a more detaille exposition,
https://f95zone.to/threads/ataegina-v0-4n-kthulian.20163/page-132#post-3526624

This game has great potential to become an interesting, immersive experience -- in comparison to other games here, its world-building is phenomenally deep and intriguing in its own. It also sets up an MC with a mysterious backstory and incredible magical potential (hopefully not that of a Mary Sue), and sets up choices as a slidebar between good and evil, the oldest yet most interesting of scales. A lot of content depends logically on the position along this scale that the player decides to inhabit, with several characters illustrating the pros and cons of every point along the scale.

At the current stage of development, the game leaves the player mesmerized and wanting more -- and not just because of its sexual content. (Personally, I wish there were more femdom and less vanilla, but the game is overall so good that this doesn't really matter.) This is certainly one to keep an eye on. And if the developer manages to finish his tale with the same level of care and depth that he has been shown far, the result will be ... very seductive.

Creativity pays. If you agree, this game is for you.

Well I'm not a huge fan of fantasy-themed games, but boy this game is such a nice game.
The renders are good,
Fights and the combat system is superb.
Story is a bit random at times, but it keeps you interested.
The dev is very active and always helps you if you face any difficulties in the game.

This review was written after the release of v0.3.9.

The story has been fun with sufficient varieties based on MC's character development. However, in this early stage there isn't much to go on. The world-building is nice (not exactly inspired or focused for the sake of variety, but entirely understandable), so immersing in this fictional world can still be entertaining.

In terms of characters, MC was obviously set up as a mysterious hero who can grow quite overpowered, so not entirely likable if you have an aversion for Mary Sue (Gary Stu/Tom Sue) characters. Some love interests are exclusively available on certain paths while others are made available by choice. There isn't much depth in the love interests for now and other characters can feel flat at times. Do expect this to change in later versions.

This game is overall a fun piece to speed through, but if you wish to play a solid fantasy story you may have to wait for a bit (and support the creator for obvious reasons.)

Interesting premis and intention but felt like story was all over the place, was hard to follow and gameplay dident add much to it all. graphics where ok but not amazing. overall just felt alittle random. some interesting characters but not enough depth to them.

[Rev @v0.3.9]

I like it.

Art's nice, character models are cute.

Writing is good. Plot's good, narrative's good, dialog doesn't make me wanna gouge my own eyes out or anyone else's. It's a tad verbose though, some of the talky bits drag on too long and the overall Tits-to-Talks ratio is just a bit on the wordy side.

Liked the porn, didn't see anything that squicked me. As an ardent corruption fan I have concerns with some of the foreshadowing seeming to threaten "don't be too successful at corrupting, or teh DEWM!" but I'll let that play out in future versions.

TLDR: found myself wanting more of this to keep playing, always a good sign. Watched~

The corruption and progression keep me here. Learning magic and specializing in a certain school is very engrossing.

There is a plot, but it's clearly written by someone that didn't want to pay a writer, as it's very juvenile. The grammar looks like a text from my dad, and the story is honestly just someone trying, and failing, to integrate an interesting plot into a porn game.

The renders aren't great. Though there are a few attractive ones.

Updates come regularly enough.

All in all, it deserves 3 stars

Not bad? would try this again after some more plot!
idea the 1st (mage like in old dusty books!)
story the 2nd (try all 3 route)
but have some troubles, with "good" storyline
And more mageschool cheks please (for greedy Munchkin ofc)

Heroic fantasy game with some sex, not the contrary.

In the early stage of the game, I was going to rate it no more than 3/4 stars eventhough we can see a commendable effort to create some gameplay.
The writting was a bit childish, overwhelmed by annoying "hahaha hehehe hohoho", and a plot that made me fear the worst. Also very poor animations.
However as the game progress, I changed my mind little by little, the story was deeper and more complex than I thought, the dialogues improved a lot, and the sex scenes... well not that much but it's not a big problem.

--- Chara Design : S-
They are quite unique in term of looks, be it humans or other races, lot of work on creatures as well, overall it is well made.
Regarding personalities, well...sometimes they seem dumb, and a bit too quick on sex drive. Most characters are superficial, but at least the important ones seems to have received a better work on their personality, especially bredita and anya. The devils are not bad either.

--- Story/Background : S-
Although it was very childish like at the begining, we realize quickly that there is a lot of work and research to create a fantasy background which makes sense. And the ataegina world is pretty interesting afterall. Good work. The writting is getting better with time.

--- Sex/Animations : B+
Not great. The renders are ok, but the animations are clearly not the strong point of the dev. Also the scenes lack erotism, the field of view is often not the best. Overall it is pretty mild...even when it is supposed forced/rapey

--- Gameplay/Contents : SS
A great effort to make a unique and complex gameplay for a game of this genre. It works well in my opinion. I tried both evil and good route, after playing one route, we can easily guess what the other route will be more or less but it is still a nice feature to enjoy a different approach even if it doesn't change everything (at least at v0.3.8)

There is still room for improvement for many things, but it is hard to not give 5 stars for the great effort to make a different game with real gameplay

My rating system : SS : 6 stars / S : 5 stars / A : 4 stars / B : 3 stars / C : 2 stars / D : 1 star

This game is very unique... I love my power fantasy stuff with a bit of story but this game does it right, the learning curve to learn magic and the customization you get for spells, the process to get more power I really just have to appreciate, and just for that reason it deserves a 10/10 from me. I hope other upcoming adult future fantasy games take notes from this game.

I don't usually review games, but this one is truly a gem. Developers have done an excellent job of balancing story, combat, and sex. I have personally supported the developer, and you should do the same if you like it.

This game is very interesting and has a lot of potentials. An interesting and well-written story with many other games references that I like ( Skyrim for example, one of my favorite games ever). I’m glad and grateful there’s no grinding for stats and money, no unnecessary free-roaming/sandbox, no repetitive scenes. Thanks!
Writing is good, It's understandable and simple, well done!

To be honest we need more games like this. It offers a way to ake the character feel like your own with skills and kama without the tedious grinding othere games have. I cant wate to see how it plays when it's finished.

Very good game and interesting concepts. Hope the creator continues in this manner. though confined to a renpy format, this game expands on it to give the player greater choice. Sure enough, one may enter the game for *cough* obvious reasons. but as you delve into it, you find that the game carries more and provides an actual story with cool characters and the like.