VN - Ren'Py - Behind the Curtain [Ch. 1 v1.1.22] [Rauko]

Wow... I can only say wow!
Despite reading some complaints, I gave it a chance, and thank goodness I did!

Absolutely EVERYTHING about this title oozes quality. The scenes are great, the renders in conjunction with the lighting make the characters look real at times, the animations are some of the best I've seen so far. In short, the production of this game is top notch.

I saw some comments complaining that there are too many animations, (!!!!) Personally I think these are fundamental in 2024 to give life to a visual novel, so I'm not going to complain, in fact, I celebrate it!
Conversations are well written and do not feel stilted, overall it's a well written game.

There seems to have been some controversy with the Ironman mode. Let's see, I can fully understand the developer's vision in including this mode.
Since this way we will have to deal with the consequences of our decisions in the game without backtracking, making us have to think carefully about our next step.
What I didn't think was quite right is to lock the gallery when not playing in this mode. What I would have done is to unlock the gallery for everyone and add a separate achievement for passing the game in Ironman mode. As several games do, for example, when you pass the game on maximum difficulty. But well, it's just a personal opinion, I don't pretend to demand anything.

The developer's ambition is noticeable, and I don't say it in a bad way, but quite the opposite... To see that someone gives his all in a project is commendable, and that's why he has my respect.
As for the rating, I can't give it a 5/5 because of its reduced length (which is totally understandable since it's at an early stage of development).
but if it continues like this, I won't hesitate to give it the highest possible rating.

4,5/5

There's a lot of potential here but the first update is small. Don't let the download size fool you. The majority of that is made up of unnecessary animations that act as pointless "hold up, wait a minute" moments designed to waste the reader's time. I don't appreciate having my time wasted and while yes you can skip each one of these I kept expecting them to actually add up to some kind of importance in the story. Nope. Just skip the majority of them. They add nothing. So while I can see potential in this I have very little to go off of so 3/5 stars. Every review that gives this 5/5 at this early in the VN are easily amused or bot reviews. I'll be back to update this when there's more content. Maybe next year.

If this VN caught your eye consider giving the Dev some support in any way you can. I wish the best for the developer in this endeavor and I look forward to an update with some actual story and events. Cheers.

The first update was great
It was short, but it caught my attention completely
the graphics are great
The animation is great
The rendering is excellent
The writings are not boring and long
Two fmc are very hot
The story is original, not a copy
The story is not simple. Relationships are not simple. Anyone can have a relationship with another male or female depending on their choices. This is good. I don't like stories where we have a MC who fucks everyone and the other men don't fuck anyone.
And most importantly: the potential of this game is high

Safely ignore the dumb AI review that spurs a bunch of nonsense, or certain comments on how gameplay keeps the player from rushing through the game to wank one off.

There isn't much content because it's the first chapter - not sure how one would expect otherwise. Furthermore, the content itself is truly amazing. The characters and dialogues are extremely realistic and the choices, so far, feel meaningful (though we'll see with future updates if that's truly the case).

The intrigue builds up slowly, by introducing the characters and the dynamics between them. You can tell there's been a lot of work on the backstory already because everything is super tight.

The models and renders are especially stunning. The girls all look like real women and each have their own charming traits.

And if that wasn't enough, the production is absolutely top tier.

I can't wait to see where this goes. Rauko certainly delivered. After playing the first chapter, I went directly to his YT channel to subscribe in order to learn rendering tips from him.

The only drawback for me, so far, is that the game is meant to be replayed, but replaying it can be somewhat tedious as repeatable scenes, especially animations, can't be skipped.

I'm definitely a new Rauko fan.