VN - Ren'Py - Banking on Bella [v0.08a] [Profile Game Studios]

Review v0.06b - Good writing, good renders, but there's just too much going on--it feels like eleven different plots thrown together. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

It is a chef-d'œuvre, plain and simple.

With great attention to details and much humor, veritable psychology and clever story line, it creates very immersive experience. The amount of girls and choices is perhaps unique. It seems that so many available options actually lead to not clinging to every LI (as it happens to me usually in adult VNs), but choosing only those I am really interested in. For instance, I didn't go with the twins, having decided to not stand up Gena. Then I let Gena go, because you know. And hey, instead of Gena, Mallory comes in. Wow!

Not all the girls there are equally beautiful, but some of them are just incredibly sexy. As of v.0.6, not many of them can be really romanced (yet), but I really look forward to deepen the relationships with Mal, Clover, Lana, Bella, Nicole... (And what a pity that Molly is just an actress in a movie! I wouldn't mind to meet her - one of the most beautiful beings in all computer games that ever existed).

It's not only their looks that attract so much, but their personalities as well. That talk between "Hayseed" and Bella in the café was so nice and endearing...

I would give this 6 stars, guys. Way to go!

I actually enjoyed playing this. Lots of girls, lots of options, able to be a jerk without the usual "fight three guys in an alley" trope many games resort to. Art is acceptable but not great, but still bonerific.

I was a little worried about the bank setting, but they really nailed the office politics and personalities. Even the banking stuff was interesting. Great story so far, with a lot of choices.

The visuals were great as well, especially in the later chapters. There were only a few coding errors (player name syntax showing up instead of the name a few times, using forward slash instead of back slash for quotes along with a few typos) but nothing that pulled you from the game.

Looking forward to what's coming next. Great work, devs!

Seems like a dull, lazy knockoff of High-Rise Climb for the most part, with the most distinct and memorable parts taken out, and a lot more money-management thrown in.

For one, they need to take out all of the actual business elements which are extraneous to the actual character-driven experience. For example, I am not interested in a detailed discussion where I have determine the importance of loan-to-value information in my decision regarding a loan appraisal. And there is too much like this, and the rest of the business scenes are mostly putting up with mega-jerk bosses.

There is too much money-management, where instead of deciding whether or not I should pursue a love interest because of the potential storyline, I have to budget for it based on costs I have no idea of in advance. In addition to that, I have to budget a number of different kinds of points based on things like charm, dark charm, reputation, and on and on and on. And since this plays mostly like a visual novel rather than a sandbox where I have an awareness of my choices and can plan a strategy, I'm mostly in a place where I have no idea what the consequences of my actions will be, as I don't even know when I am earning or losing various points during gameplay. It is just a giant complicated mess.

Strip out all of the management nonsense, include more likable characters to balance out all of the obnoxious jackasses, improve the aesthetics, and include more choices in the dialogues, and this might end up something good. As it is, there are other games here with a business setting that are so much better than how this game is now.

didnt like this one, you can clearly see the renders, as shown on the preview. and they arent bad by any means, however if you like a certain character then you might be out of luck as the game makes you go thought so much dialog and plathera of other characters you might not be interested at all in...

theres also office politics with black mail (done by an unatractive model) and work abuse in there for some reason... and idk about you but being here for a wank i dont give a crap about that... and theres so much of it...

is short you get alot of characters and unless you are interested in every single one then you probably wont be getting alot of sex screnes

i for one didnt get none because i was decided i would only go after the MCs sister/friend, but i guess that wasnt an option because as i was skipping thought the stuff i didnt care about i found my self at the end with the developer stating that thats the end of it... all i saw was the introduction sex scene and then a shit ton of dialog about the mc trying to do a good job and being black mailed by his higher up or whatever....

maybe i am the odd one since with 28 votes and final ratting being pretty darn high but i just cant bring my self to like it at all... Cant recommend it.

Few enough games let you play as an asshole when you want to. This one gives the genuine choice of moral degree from the getgo and there's hints even at this early stage that it will just get better. Can't wait for the next update

This review for Banking on Bella v0.05b
=== Writing ===
+ great dialogue
+ likeable characters
+ great pacing
+ mostly believable and grounded setting & premise (suspension of disbelief etc.; anything that's unrealistic is remedied with good aforementioned writing, so that it doesn't really matter)
=== Graphics ===
+ beautiful model renders
+ pretty decent environments
+ good atmosphere
- pretty lackluster animations; some decent, others pretty bad; very laggy on my end as well, don't know if just me
=== Audio ===
+/- neutral on audio, as I didn't utilize it
- overuse of record scratch sounds (which is main reason why I turned audio off)
=== Gameplay ===
+ tons of female characters to pursue
+ use of alternate specific fetish characters as well (gilf, milf, overweight, trans, etc.) for those seeking a little alternative to typical beauties
+ good variety of decisions and choices which are impactful
+ great genre content, some specifically avoidable (NTR, trans, incest, darker themes like rape and domination etc.)
+/- it's possible to miss some content either by focusing on too many women, running low on cash, or running low on charm/dark charm points; it's more believable, but also a little irritating; not too egregious in this version so far though and can be remedied with cheat mods
- slightly annoying minigames (there's only ~3 or so)
-- very annoying memorization 'challenges' early on in game that really get in the way and aren't appropriate for these kinds of games imo
=== Playability ===
- only one bug that I found: when Bella goes to restroom at coffee shop, game reports that "b_sub" isn't defined; assuming game tried to give her sub points, but couldn't

Really interesting game - I wasnt able to stop playing it!
All in all a round thing. Pretty and lots of girls, interesting plot, game mechanics that let us hope for more.

Can definitely recommend this to anyone and I am waiting for future releases.

So far there isn't a lot of content yet, just the first week (v 0.05b) so a lot of the game is yet to be developed. It has hinted at some game mechanics which look interesting, but hasn't yet gotten to a point where most of them are used, specially the position in the bank. Story can be interesting if well developed, and allows you to show no interest for some girls and do for others, which makes the game progress smoother as it focuses on those that interest you. There are some decisions which also feel impactfull but have yet to prove how they are used and what consequences they have. So it has a good base on which to build but time will tell if it does reach its potential or not.

Render quality is pretty high, to be honest, though there are too many childish girls for my taste. Then again, I can show no interest in most of them so they end up not taking much game time. Though, what's with the priest in the background in some images? He's both hilarious and creepy as hell. Music is decently chosen but there don't seem to be more sound effects so far. And animations start at a very low level but, as the game progresses, show some decent improvement, so they will probably be better quality moving forward.

So, as far as it goes, not much seen yet but its a good foundation on which to build. Could gain stars, could lose them, time will say.

-----------UPDATED 0.06a-----------
To be honest I'm dropping this game here. In the time since I played the first parts I have played other games that actually do better and I believe my initial impression of this one was over what it really deserves. Story is losing interest quickly, character models aren't as good as I thought now that I've seen more games, and game mechanics don't really add anything strong to the mix. So, all in all, this game is out for me now.

Review for 0.05b

Definitely recommend. There's an interesting mechanic about being both an asshole/jerk or a charming/suave guy where the game rewards both aspects. The best part is that the game incentivizes being both as they end up being a form of currency to unlock unique situations.

The good:
The story is actually interesting. The office dynamic is unique with multiple parties but as of now, hasn't been fully utilized but the potential is evident.
The game mechanic of charm vs. dark points is really fun to work with and leads to interesting dynamics.
The girls are unique and interesting in their own way.
The models are well made and the sex scenes are varied.
A fan of rimjobs so that's definitely a plus that it's there (optional).

The less good:
Some content is mutually exclusive (meaning you can see this scene with this girl, or a different one with another). Some people like the replayability of it, but I'm not a fan.

The MC can go from 0-100 really quickly if you choose the dark path sometimes. The tonal shift can be jarring and doesn't mesh as well with the rest of the story. There's a difference between being a bit arrogant and being a violent psychopath when someone doesn't return a text.

Overall, I'd probably say the game deserves a bit better than a B- (4/5) according to the scaling here on F95 but it's not perfect yet. I am greatly looking forward to more from the developer.

I didn't like the game, too much complexity for a VN.
Also, I work all day, the last thing I want to hear when i come home is about work, so the game's theme doesn't suit me. To tell you the truth I only tried it because of the high quality Renders and the "Futa" tag, if these things don't bother you, I recommend you to try the game.

Feel the magic, I feel it floating in the air…
This is a great fusion of financial services, office politics, romance, and debauchery with engaging characters and scenes ranging from serious to humorous to goofy.

First off, I love the game mechanics. The way the dark- and lightside points are gained, tracked, and used. How their meters are tied to reputation which in turn directly influences ones salary. It's such a great incentive to do well at ones job, which in turn depends on choices only rather than luck or grind.

The cast is very diverse both in looks as well as character, ranging form shy to outgoing, from petite to voluptuous, and covering a wide range of ethnicities. There's damsels in distress, an ex-'girlfriend' with commitment issues, foxes, minxes, and milfs. And the antagonists are just oh-so-antagonizing, I can't wait to see them being put in their places.

Some of the relations are fast tracked to fourth (and possibly fifth) base, others are slow burns, but the game allows one to fantasize about the ladies one has met so there's a bit of it for all love interests. The actual scenes also vary widely depending on whether money or either option of charm points are involved. I was quite surprised to see the night at the Foxy escalate… Money well spend. Speaking of which: money seems a bit tight at the end of the first week, but I'm confident about cashing in my first paycheck before getting evicted.

Very well done!
based on 0.05b patched

I like this game, especially gena. good luck to the developers, you guys are awesome. dialogue writing and story is also pretty, so it's all there, good visuals good story what else you need in a game?

An highly overrated VN
Sure the women look great and the dev know their way around DAZ rendering but there's where it ends.
I'm getting increasingly tired of trial and error for paths and options when there's no lead on what to do.
Which was confirmed when I decompiled the rpa.

I got here because of the pregnancy tag and it contains ONE fucking image!! A thought of a women he just came in which might be pregnant...
Some of the animations are smooth and actual movies but very short, the others are varied amount of images cycled.

Rated: 2/5
Based on: v0.04b

Loving this game so far; there are multiple relationships that you can pursue and you have significant choices that you can make with respect to the characters you meet. Lots of replay value by pursuing different characters or making different choices. I just know that that cleaner's mom is going to die and our MC will be looking after his cleaner and her little sister. Can't wait for updates. The models are terrific and the animations are more sophisticated than what I have seen in other games. Highly recommended.

Some great gameplay and good graphics. Still lacking some direction but certainly worth playing. Great variation with the models
Here we have a game with a lot of thought put into the gameplay. A great strategy, we have a clear and very functional gameplay,
things cost money and if you run out of money it's game over, almost like in real life. There are clean and dark charm points which you can
earn both of which can be used for different actions. There is not an immense amount of content yet, meaning you also won't be able to use
this system to the extent to the extent of it's potential.
The renders are classical DAZ but done with expertise and attention to detail. Strong variation among models makes for refreshing graphics.
Especially some male characters do have the classic DAZ plasticy vibe though.
Unfortunately the strategy that was put into the gameplay part is somewhat lacking from a story perspective. Writing is good but there is
no clear plot yet, the main thing driving the plot here is getting with the girls, which is fine for now but ultimately working in a bank
and trying to get with different girls will not sustain the game forever.

Gameplay: 6/5 | Renders: 4/5 | Story: 3/5 | Writing: 4/5
GRADE: 4.2/B+

I ve been playing for 2 hours and so far:

1 relationship with a drunken girl that consisted in openly harasing her into acepting sex to later have the option of raping her, just like that.
Later you are presented with options to pursue other paths. I tell you, it doesnt matter if you discard Janice , you will keep seeing her disgusting pictures every day as the MC goes through everyone.

Every day i get the option to jerk off to some fantasy, which aparently is the only thing happpening here: raping and dreams.

Later you get to get close to a girl to get cockblocked 2 or 3 times, as a result you spend the night with a dude who is a pain in the ass.

So i recapitulate:
Drunk sex, plus ass rape. A supossed sub path that i know is a rape path like evry other femdon game. You get the option to help a friend getting laid (with one of the girls)
And of course cockblock. the 90% of these things are part of the bdsm game pack.

Facial expression are something from a 60s terror movie. I will keep playing, but usually scores for these games dont change.

Gorgeous ladies, interesting plot, decisions to be made and Abby!!!! Yeah, Gena, Sofia and Abby can turn anyone's head. Who will you choose? Or will it be one of the others? Bella? Ah, such beautiful agony in the choosing... This is one you must try and please support the dev if you can. This is a worthy effort.

This is probably my favorite game on this site, right now, owing largely to the choices it allows you to make, and the way it deals with the repercussions.

Banking on Bella doesn't shy away from letting you be the bad guy, and make bad choices. But, it also doesn't moralize to you about the choices, giving you an instant game-over when you do something unforgivable. Instead it's treated more realistically - you get away with it, but people just avoid you after that. And it doesn't lock you into a certain path, based on one action. You can treat one girl with kindness, and another with cruelty, and it may just depend on how you feel about that particular girl, at that particular time.

I really enjoy the renders for this game. They're all a little split between looking realistic, and slightly cartoony. And they all work together to achieve a cohesive style. I could do without the animations, though. They tend to be laggy and a bit unnecessary. If the developer had to ditch the animations and it'd speed up their development time, I wouldn't mind a bit.

My only real gripe with this game, at present, is that the developer keeps introducing new girls as possible love/sex interests, instead of doing anything with the ones that have already been introduced.

In the newest update,
Overall it's still an excellent game, being rolled out on a fairly reliable schedule, while maintaining a consistent level of quality. I liked it enough to back it at the $20 level, just to give the dev some support. I'd just like to see the dev play with the characters they already have, instead of continuing to add more, and risk overextending themselves.