I'll start off by saying that initially, I enjoyed the game. However, several hours in and by in-game Day 3-4, my interest in the game and how noticeable the lack of depth exists within the game and it's characters becomes noticeable and ruins a bit of the game for me in retrospect.
The renders and animations are very nice. Let's get that out of the way. If you want to see the MC bang lots of attractively rendered women, this game is for you. The UI isnt bad, and the font chosen is great, and having the option to easily name your saves is nice. The presentation is there, but that's all I can really say.
I'm just disappointed is all.
The overarching story and premise sounds pretty nice. You're a guy who is the blacksheep of the family and rather than joining in your father's white collared business, you choose to go out on your own to start a band. Your father is insistent that you follow in his footsteps and even tries to interfere with your plans, but ultimately it's up to the MC with what happens.
It's not exactly the most unique and outlandish thing thing in the world, but it's pretty interesting all things considered.
Thats the premise and initial outline. But how things play out is...quite frankly a bit boring.
It starts off with your father giving you a place to stay, and you're basically given an ultimatum: move out, on your own, and if you can't make this dream of forming a band and being a successful musician work without asking for any help from your father or your family, you come back to his company and take up the family business.
Of course thats what you do. But it all kind of just happens...very quickly and with no problem? MC already has a job lined up for being a bartender, and your friend with you in your band(former schoolmate?) happened to find someone to join your band. You need a vocalist and you need a...guitarist?
Those two characters are kind of just pulled out of your friends ass.
There really isn't a huge challenge to overcome here, which is unfortunate. You'd expect with a story like this that there would be some sort of challenges and difficulties for the MC to overcome, but the way the story and plot is set up there aren't really any apparent challenges in place.
I mean, your father gave you one of his flats, you already have a place to practice music, your friend magically finds two characters who can join the band are an immediate fit.
There really isn't much for me to talk on here, and I wish there was.
There isn't any tension building or anything gripping to the story. The game seems like it will make your father a villain to overcome in the story, but that issue is quickly resolved with a polite/impolite conversation a few hours in.
So you'd think, maybe the game will just turn into a slice of life? And perhaps the real depth with be with the characters you meet along the way?
Not really.
All the external characters you meet within the game are almost exclusively female and only exist for you to fuck them. No, I'm not kidding.
If there was one way I could describe playing through the game and interacting with the side characters, I would describe it as "A SFM porn gallery with extra steps".
The characters themselves have very little backstory, nothing complex or intriguing about their personality, and are soley there for you to fuck them.
You can boil down each female side character to a few things: Their profession and a physical appearance that conforms to whatever basic trope or stereotype their character is supposed to be.
You don't get to learn about their interests or hobbies, what their likes and dislikes are. It's not even explicitly mentioned or even suggested. The only character I can actually think of that has something that separates them from the rest is the vocalist from the band, and it's not very substantial. She's studying to be a designer. That's it. I'm not sure what kind of designer she want's to be, just that she's going to school to be one. I think that alone speaks volumes for what every other character is like.
It's kind of how most of the game has been. In-between this bland going through the motions of building a band, which doesn't seem to involve much effort from the MC at all as his band members seem to be doing everything for him as well as his dad, in your free time you get to go around and meet lots of women and fuck them after talking to them a few times!
I want to be clear. I don't think this applies to one of the first women you meet. You basically end up peeping on her naked from across the street and you kind of end up going over to her place for a stranger fuck. Quite the ridiculous situation indeed, but I think it fulfills a fetish and fantasy, and given that it's a video game I think its okay. This is something that happens within the first, I want to say 30 minutes to an hour of the game? You can get an idea of what her character is from her actions, and while the idea of motioning some random stranger from across the street to come over and fuck doesn't make sense in real life, it's a video game so I think its fine. It also caters to the horny players who want to see some sexiness early in the game. Gives them an idea for what to expect.
Anyways, I think it fits for this kind of character. It fulfills a fantasy. It sates a fetish. Its fine as a standalone example.
But thats the thing. It would be fine If it wasn't for the fact that basically every other character is like this. It's just...extra steps.
Its like a gallery with extra steps and useless choices. Perhaps that's harsh, but in retrospect it really feels that way.
Encounters may play out like this: You meet a girl, MC is a pervy bastard, you talk. You meet them a second time, you do some perverted shit. Third time, you fuck.
At first the game offers you choices of whether or not you would like to continue involving yourself with a certain character, but ultimately I dont think the choice really matters. I dont really see any consequences of saying no or yes to any of the choices available. At first, I was assuming that by saying no or yes, it might impact interpersonal relationships and how certain interactions between characters play out. That's what I was basing my choices around-- that assumption. However, going through the game it really doesn't feel like thats the case at all. It just starts to feel like those choices and decisions are just a way for the game to ask if you if you want to see a sex scene with this character or not. If you say no, nothing happens. If you say yes, you get a scene in your gallery.
Perhaps there are some inner workings going on that the game just isn't notifying the player of. Perhaps my choices will have consequences later on? I'm not entirely sure if thats the case or not. So far it hasn't felt as though the choices I've made have had any.
In fact the only time the game has hinted at potential consequences is when you are occasionally asked by one of the female side characters if you are in a relationship or not. If you are, you are given the option to say no. Whether or not that matters later on is beyond me. It just doesnt really make sense to say no unless you just don't want to see a scene with the character.
There are also other things that really stuck out to me as well. The game pushes a relationship onto you with the lead vocalist EXTREMELY early. Basically forcing you to make a decision on whether or not you want to have a relationship with them. You still know very little about this character btw and haven't exactly interacted with them much and the only real connection you have is that you both want to be in a band and play music.
Theres also an issue present throughout the game where the characters seemingly know things that the player doesn't know. Like you'll have a conversation in a coffee shop with one of the female characters that you took on a date after some spontaneous sex, but there really wasn't a conversation to begin with. Like after the coffee 'date' is over, it's like that was great! Lets go back to my place for some sex!
But, it wasn't really a date. There's basically zero dialogue or interaction outside of the date itself. It's like if the conversation was focused on "Hey, look at us! We're on a date at a coffee shop!". And then the subject will suddenly change in order to progress the story.
With the way the MC is progressing with these characters so quickly, you would think they must be having some engaging discussion amongst each other, but as the player we'll never know. It feels like the author had a shit ton of writing and dialogue prepared, but then just decided to cut it out and so the player is left guessing how things progressed. You're left to fill in the blanks for what must have transpired.
It might sound like this is all very vague, but I'm honestly trying my best given what I have to work with here.
The characters and dialogues and girls all seem to soley serve as a way to deliver information and act as a plot device to further the story and engage the MC in sex scenes with them.
They are not characters, they are complicated mechanical fleshlights that require a few hours of fenagling before you can get them to operate properly.
You're not secretly fucking your boss, you're secretly fucking an attractive female NPC labelled "My Boss".
There are so many potential fetishes that are present in the game, but none of them are capitalised on because with how quickly things are rushed in the game all the sexual tension and suspense goes out the window. You may as well be fucking a character based exclusively on their appearance alone, with absolutely no concern with who or what relationship that character has to the MC.
This really kills a lot of the enjoyment I have for the game. I already have several hours in the game already, and I can't say I'm eager to finish the rest of it. Become a Rock Star has already established these characters and let you progress with them to such a point that there really isn't a way to turn back the clock and fix these issues without rewriting everything and changing the pacing of the entire game.
Also, whats with all the female NPCS calling the MC baby? They aren't even in a relationship with them, but it seems like every single one of them refers to the MC by that even if all they're doing is fucking with what seems like no strings attached. Though, given with how fast the game seems to progress with what Im assuming is a ton of offscreen dialogue, maybe the female characters are really just that intimate with the MC despite only talking a couple of times? Thatd be consistent with the pacing of the game at least.
I dont know. Its just weird. I didnt mind too much the first time, but suddenly every other scene someone is saying it. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Even the MC says the same thing. It's like even the MC knows all the female characters are bimbos, so why bother calling them by their actual names. They're all the same anyways.
