Bare Witness is one the most polished "harem" games out there and well above average in all respects, with lovely women all around (both teens and some older ones) and a good story that catches you from the very beginning. Bear in mind, however, that this intends to be "realistic", so though you can initially engage in several relationships at once (some of them kind of forced on you, btw), it won't be long before you have to pick amongst them which one are you really going to pursue to the end. So be prepared to feel a pinch for being a complete jerk at times and turn down some awesome women. Oh the other hand, this means you can (and definitely should) use those gamesave slots to replay it several times and see how things develop should you were to pick a different LI.
There may be the odd ren'py crash at times and some animations are better than others, but OTOH I'd like to applaud the level of "intimacy" achieved in some scenes, like when you see only the head of your partner and her expression of bliss and happiness as you are pounding her. It feels like you're really close to that person and you're truly making love to her, not just fucking someone to have a good time. As I said, it's a very polished game with a lot of care after it, and it shows.
So far I have only played it once and I'm hoping we get to see some hot action with mom eventually
I guess I should have read the game better, it plays all of it's cards in the opening scene. The dialogue is full of cringe and missed shots at funny, and your choice for Zenda is to compliment her or to flirt with her. The game operates on the assumption that you want to jump every girl, and is basically hostile to the idea that you don't find some of them appealing. Even when they are nothing-burgers, and that's the best case scenario. Most have "antics" that are off-putting or predatory, or both.
Both cougars are way too forward and not pretty or interesting enough for me, the bar scene is actually uncomfortable and I was amazed that the game thought MC should ever come back there.
Sadie doesn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation and tries to date her cousin. In her defense MC does a 180 in the span of 5 minutes and goes from a mild panic attack to taking her to a date, so I guess it's just me that cares about the witness protection plot here.
Heidi comes off as an awkward creep. It felt like MC was violated when she decided to barge into his room, get on top of him, and stay to watch him change. This is a tropey porn game scene, but everything is off. Give me the option to throw her off, or to call her bluff and take it "too far" if she thinks this is ok. Even giving an option to confidently strip in front her would have changed the mood completely. Instead it looks like MC is uncomfortable and he cups his balls as he shuffles to get his pants.
The context also works against this scenario. MC has some real problems and his introduction with Heidi has him actually scared that he might not have a place to live, because of a bad joke. Then you learn that the previous tenant was a creep and the girls almost got a restraining order against him. But disregard all that, there's a grill in your room, all is great.
Date with Zenda was mostly nothing, until the "choice" was sprung. I don't know what planet you are from if you think that not interrupting means I'm going to sit alone for 30 fucking minutes. The song ends and if she's not back at the table I'm miffed and will probably confront her, but I'm on my way out of there already. I don't like these kinds of games or girls that play them. She might bring it back with "I was waiting for you to return" or "I was hoping you'd interrupt" and playing it cool, but that works after one song, not after half an hour. Lecturing the MC on confidence after this disaster is delusional.
So that basically leaves Mora, which works because I'm a sucker for a read-head. I was assuming "playing" a tabletop rpg in a group of 2 was an excuse for a make out session, so that went well, but I was hoping she wasn't actually into the game. Things get worse when she reveals her problems, but oh well, I've seen worse plot devices. At least she seems cool, just hurt. She gets way less cool when she breaks down twice more in the next two scenes. I was kinda hoping we'd get a reveal that she is a manipulative bitch but no, Tyler was gay all along, who would have thought. The scene is actually not bad, except for Mora storming out again. I can almost believe this is a scenario that could happen, it's stretched beyond how people act to shoehorn the MC into the group, and I can live with that. Anyway, girlfriend/boyfriend words get dropped and this plot point is "resolved".
So Athena and why I finally dropped the game. I don't have anything against the girl, I will humor her "I'll kick your ass" for a while. But apparently trying to be friendly with your housemate was too much for the game's choice structure to handle. She gets injured, you act nice, she tries to kiss you after a while. MC takes over and kisses her back, while the Mora plot is still happening in the background. I knew the game would not let the characters talk about it like adults, but I thought I turned her down afterwards. Instead, immediately after the scene with Mora where she calls us her boyfriend and we call her our girlfriend, MC went home, run into Athene, kissed her and declared that as far as he is concerned, they are "together". You guys do you, I'm apparently not in this story.
I guess there's a "right" way to play this. The girls are pretty enough, the writing is not my cup of tea but not the worst I've seen. There's some intrigue, MC almost slipping up during conversations in chapter one was enough to keep me interested. So I guess it's not that weird to see high scores for this. For me it mostly fails at setting up proper tone. It pretends to be serious, expects you to act carefree, and gets really awkward when you treat is seriously. The choices boil down to "I wanna smash" vs "I don't want to have any fun". Nope for me.
The model quality is really good, especially the eyes. I love that there's some emotional weight to the story like the characters actually have emotions and your choices feel like they matter. I actually got a little bit choked up when I was the reason
I'm not a big writer, so the rating will be short. But this game is masterpiece. This game has everything. In only 5 chapters, you have everything you need. And endings? Not one of best ending, but totally best endings of any VN game I have ever played. I played over 150 games, so for me, it means something. And probably it's my first F95 game rating (no it's sadly not, but nevermind). Because I had to tell others, what masterpiece you all in AlterWorlds has made.
Now, when I go through all of my games I played, I can't think a game which is better than this game. I only found 2 or 3 games, which are on same level, but not better.
It's not a game. It's an Art. And I thank you I can play this art.
And totally looking forward to Heaven's Door.
P.S. You made the most beautiful, most caring, nicest MILF I have ever seen. Yes, I feel in love with Val.
This game story wise is good, really good and the amount of paths and endings it has is nice as well, the story is engaging, you can play this game monogamously which made me enjoy it even more, there is some character that just wanna get straight into your pants, but you can avoid them in a way, the model are good, the clothes physics ain't as good however, and there is some points in which i thought there was an Uncanny Valley feeling, overall i enjoyed it alot, mostly story wise, but there was some scenes that were really impressive as well, some minor errors here and there but it's normal.
4.8/5
+2
The Harem is handled extremely well including the sex scenes easily top 3 at least of 3d sort, that alone makes it worth +2. (too many anime ones I never played and in existence to know)
+1
beautiful and well animated and variety of looks and emotions all well handled etc... etc...
+1
A pretty great story that is serious and makes it more then just porn game. Even if I felt at times a bit put off like when they time jumped immediately after a massive event happened, but then as time went on it felt like it made sense to not put time and effort into that and make it longer with that content.
+.8
Works great, a mod exists to boost it further, handled very well.
Its been a while since i have completed this game but i felt the need to give a review for this game. So i completed all endings except Zenda's route, and all i can say is that when i think about things IRL i also think about each girl in this game and miss them. all their stories are unique and you feel love for each character and especially that one ending(
1. Story: Average. I didn't like that the main plot was pretty much resolved in 5 minutes (maybe less if you read fast) and in such an absurd way, It felt rushed. It was bland. I was never engaged to the story. The writer needs to learn how to make a story interesting.
2. Characters: Loved the girls and their designs, most of them were somewhat interesting, being Heidi my favourite. MC was average.
3. Music: There are tons of songs in this game. It was great.
4. Renders: Beautiful renders. In fact, one of the best renders I've seen.
5. Animations: At first they were bad, but got better afterwards.
6. Others: Sex is kinda "vanilla" in this game, I prefer an AVN to be a bit more kinky, or better, give us the option so we can choose how the MC behaves. Also the "anticipation" was not built correctly in most cases.
So, Story and writing aside, everything else was great actually. However, IMO story is quite important in an AVN, so I'd give this game a 7.5/10.
The narrative is straightforward yet enjoyable. The characters, both in their visual representations and distinct personalities, are appealing. The animations are well done, and the soundtrack adds a nice touch.
However, I found the transitions between scenes occasionally abrupt. Towards the middle it feels like weeks or months go by really fast, jumping ahead in potential development and making it seem a bit rushed. Also, some decisions feel a bit forced, but it is mostly okay.
The game offers numerous routes for all girls so you don't really have to have a harem at the end which is nice if you don't care for some of the girls, which is definitely a positive. While I don’t plan on replaying it myself, I really enjoyed the fleshed-out ending, especially Valeria. It just felt really well developed, with many renders, and shows a natural progress that was nice to see. I think this is the only completed VN that I feel the ending was satisfying to see. Other VNs here just end abruptly, but this one develops what happened after the climax, obviously, it can't go until old age for our MC, but I think where it ended at least for Valeria was perfect.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend giving this game a try and even supporting this amazing developer.
Game is far from perfect, but for a first-time effort by these Devs, it's quite good.
The Good
Renders look very nice, ladies are gorgeous.
Animations are pretty good as well, nothing to complain about here.
Writing and dialogue are good. While the overall story is not great, the delivery is well done.
Characters are well developed and unique with each path offering something different, and the endings are mostly excellent.
Music is also very well done, though it should be supplemented by more ambient noise and background sound effects.
If you like entertaining characters, branching paths, and lots of romance with your sexy time, you will probably like this one.
The Not so Good
Criminal lack of anal options with most of the girls. Pretty clear someone does not like anal content, though a few scenes are thrown to the player, they are not great. Val and Sadie especially needed some love for their gorgeous booty.
No erotic sounds in the lewd scenes. These greatly raise my enjoyment of lewd scenes.
All group paths start and end with Heidi. Nothing against her, but she is not my type. I enjoyed her solo path OK, but that there are no multiple girl paths that don't include her is a pretty big bummer. That the Harem is really her harem, and the MC is just along for the ride, is played for laughs but it feels true unfortunately.
First time in a game like this that I have enjoyed the solo paths quite a bit more than the group ones. Though all the paths are a bit of fun and have great romance.
Would have liked more dialogue and narration, especially in chapter 5. This is more of a personal preference, and while there are a lot of words, the image to dialogue ratio is quite unbalanced in the endings, and in a lot of the lewd scenes. Would have enjoyed more dirty talk and more interactions between the girls on the group paths.
Some inconsistencies and errors between the narration and the images in a lot of the lewd scenes, though this only became noticeable to me on multiple playthroughs.
Overall game is lots of fun, and well worth a play and a purchase on Steam. Looking forward to more from this team, and hopefully they can overcome their aversion to anal content.
This is a hard one to review in a way. It's the devs' first project and wanted to consider giving them some slack but... it's just a mess.
Personally I like to think there's a distinction between an Adult Visual Novel and "Porn Game", and this something that shows the promise of being the former but unfortunately ends up in the latter.
A great example of this is that of Val. (SPOILERS)
Every character seems to one moment have some deep-seated historical issue only to then act completely opposite to that, a prime example that of Heidi. This is a woman who kicked out a previous male housemate for supposedly being a stalker towards her only to then on the first night you're there deliberately attempt to have you stumble into watching her and another woman have sex without that other woman's consent and later on just straddles you while you sleep and expect the main character to strip in front of her.
But honestly, the biggest problem with the writing is that every character in this game, despite superficial differences, is the same basic 2000s Sci-Fi nerd in the worst way possible. They all know the same movies, they all know Firefly, and every single conversation will feature at least three references to the most generic of fandom cliches or quotes.
It's a shame because while the visual fidelity itself is of a pretty great quality, the writing is so one-note that you could probably just turn on "skip unread text" to just get to the sex scenes and not really lose anything.
This game is really good, it's the first game in awhile that I really enjoyed all the way through. Brought myself a copy on steam with no hesitation at all. This is why I like adult games, no matter how much trash and shit you have to sift through, it's all worthwhile when you find a game like this, one that makes you enjoy it for the story and the sex scenes, and believe me as someone who's been on this site a long time, that's hard to achieve. So with all that said, this game gets my fullest endorsement, and I hope those that enjoyed it help support this game on Steam, you wont regret it.
PS. Sadie an all time perfect waifu
girls are hot and there is lots of lewd scenes.
the greatest point of the game is the music, it is awesome.
the story are not interesting, but good enough.
few times feel like a little bit boring.
i found only 1 bug. one of the endings just change the choosed girl to other girl.
there is a little humor what is good, but the game dosnt enough strong in it.
So, I love the story... but watching some of those endings are like watching the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Several endings have 10+ natural ending points, but every time you think it's about to end, the developer looks at you and cajoles, "You're almost there! Just a few more renders! Just a few more!" The story actually consists of five chapters, but one of those chapters is more like an epilogue as it is simply a collection of the multiple endings. No significant choices are made at this point. Only one choice happens, and that's to decide whether you fight or you run, and both options lead to the same outcome.
A quick rundown, (spoilering off major plot) due to witnessing the attempted murder of his father and the murder of his father's colleague (cue the title, Bare Witness; clever, no?) by The Outfit (yes, that Outfit), your MC--real name Shelby--is now in the Witness Protection Program. At the beginning, you get to choose a name for your MC because Shelby is far too uncommon and would be tracked down in about 20 minutes and are set on a train ride to Plattsburgh, New York, to attend college at the fictional Plattsburgh College of the Arts (PCA; likely based on School of Arts & Sciences - SUNY Plattsburgh); your character is into graphic design. Originally, the MC wanted to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), however WitSec outright rejected it because Chicago is where the witnessed crimes occured; pick any other school and they would vet it. Rather than stay at a dorm, your MC has chosen to apply his room and board budget to stay at a house where two other tenants are looking for a third to replace their recently graduated roommate.
The MC, well... the developer played with the sliders, left more than a bit of intelligence on the table to give the MC more in the way of strength, stamina, charisma, and... size. Real stat min/max'ing from the dev. For as much as he might have given the MC strength, he took the charisma and stamina up to 11... and MC's happy stick up to 12. Makes your favorite male pornstar seem pathetic. Needless to say, every woman in this game loves him and wants to be with him. He's a pretty one-dimensional Gary Stu. No, he's not rich, no he's not a genius... but that is what the women bring to the table. I guess if you're going to do it, this is the most appropriate way to do it.
The LIs themselves have great personalities, and no two of them are remotely alike... except they're all squirters, every single one of them; to a ridiculous degree. Feels like they should be dying due to dehydration and fluid loss. I digress. One of your roommates, Athena, is a bartender that's not afraid to whip some ass if someone acts up in the bar and she drives a motorcycle, but she's also a gamer in her spare time and is a romantic at heart. The other roommate, Heidi, is the resident smol and an infinite ball of positive energy, just as likely to prank you as she is to fuck your brains out. The girl who's juggling two on top of classes because she can't afford her lease payments (her fucking ex; it's a whole thing) while going to school? Yeah, that's Mora: she's a story-telling, tabletop playing sweetheart that got fucked over, but she always puts up her best face for the people she serves and goes to school with. The one you rode into town with on a train? Zenda, a posh socialite from London, doesn't spend a lot of time in one place because her wealthy family are always on the move; better be on your best with that one. Ironically, your cousin Sadie--that's right, one of them is your cousin (!) because WitSec fucked up and put you in the same town as your fucking cousin despite the fact that you aren't supposed to have contact with anyone from your old life--is going to school at PCA because she wasn't what SAIC was looking for. Did I mention there's a hot MILF in this game, twice the MC's age with emotional life scarring that has seriously changed her outlook on life (for good or for ill remains to be seen)? Yeah, that's Valeria--or Val for short--and based on the script file (because it didn't get buttoned up nicely into a compressed and encrypted RPA file), she gets one hell of a long and fleshed out ending. Maybe a little too long, but you get my meaning. Speaking of endings...
There are 11 possible endings, with 10 of those endings having a post-credit clip at the end depending on if you make one decision during the course of the game. One of the endings cannot have that post-credit sequence because that decision you make is actually front and center as the major contributing factor in the building and locking in the remaining ending.
Of the 11 endings, six of them are traditional binary relationships with two people (one each for all six LIs). Four more are polyamorous (two throuples, one quad, and one quint; not really a true harem as the quad and the quint contain a pair that have fun with each other instead of focusing 100% of their attention on the MC). The remaining ending is a--spoiler alert--solo MC ending.
Finally--of the six LIs--four LIs can be a part of a polyamorous relationship with the MC. One will absolutely reject it outright--because she is a one-woman show--and for you to continue with her, she will insist you break it off with anyone you've been intimate with. The MC likely infers that the other LI rejects it, even though she never implies it: Her issue is with the specific sexual partner who informs on your dalliance, that she's the competitive type that just wants to "win" and would rather gloat than have a healthy relationship. In either case, neither of those two woman will end as part of a polyamorous relationship.
Graphics are phenomenal. Lots of small details in each environment, the render quality is excellent, the LIs all have very unique looks. For instance, one LI was a fat kid, and she starts this game in the same way; she has noticable stretch marks, and her diet largely contributes to her acne (most prominent on her forehead). She loses weight as a result of working out with the MC and actually trying to restrict her diet to get healthy, her acne may almost entirely go away, but some of those stretch marks do not go away. Animations are excellent and plentiful.
Music is pretty much the top of the spectrum when it comes to AVNs. So much so, I've read that the developers are going to have to pull it for the Steam release; pretty standard thing to do really. Can't necessarily commercialize some of the music in this, but if you get it from here or from something that isn't Steam, you're probably fine there.
All told, you're going to love this. Easily one of my favorite VN's to date and I've been playing them basically non-stop for five years now. Five stars.
I'm giving it 5 stars but overall it's a 4.5 for me.
The story is simple but decent.
The girls are nice both in renders and different personalities.
There are good animations.
The music is a very nice touch.
I think sometimes the jump from a scene to the other feels a bit sudden.
The game sort of "bugged out" on me, toward the end I break up with Athena and Heidi to tell them that I'm going exclusive with Mora and then a few scenes later the endgame starts with Heidi as my one gf.
Seems like the game has a lot of choice combinations to change things around which is definitely a plus. I don't think I'll replay personally but I'll likely check the scenes I missed through the gallery mod.
This is the best Harem VN ever I have seen. Even the individual endings are great. I also enjoyed the lesbian sex from the beginning of the story. Apart from these the models and renders are A-class.
Now, the story itself is not super dramatized or action packed but, I thought, it was more concentrated on MC's love life. However, it was good enough for keeping interested. I also liked that the title Bare Witness really represents the whole story and its enigma.
Gameplay
Sex scenes are animated. The renders are of very good quality with shadow and lights.There is also some background music that change from one setup to another. What I like is that the game is not set to be a all harem game, but actually make you choose from few presets.
Story
We actually have a story. Something to look into between the sex scenes. There is some traume that the MC had and we discover that as the game progress. Something to be liked here is the ending that is not rushed. A lot of other games on this website suffer from this issue: they start well but end to early or they are rushed to be finished. Here the ending is a reward for a well done journey.
Girls
All of them are lovely. The fact that we are able to discover them a bit more as the game goes on adds depth to them. MC has the chance to get involve in some threesomes (Heidi & Sadie / Zenda&Medie / Athena & Heidi) which I find very good
The graphics is improving through the game and in the end is very good. The characters are quite attractive. The storyline is not great not terible. The game has decent flow and is quite entertaining but I am missing something extra to get 5stars
It's not that this game has problems per se. It's well made, overall. It's complete, what a rarity. It's not buggy. The dialogs are in human language, The models are a bit off at moment with the anatomy and the texture are a bit too invasive (too many fucking frecless!) but the girls are mostly cute.
So, why not 5 stars? Well, the story is so fucking boring... It's about a hot guy who move to college and being hot and with heavy caliber cannon all girls want him and they don't sweat if he builds a harem.
