3.5 / 5.0
[0.8.2]
TL;DR – minor spoilers are hidden
PROS
+ Enthralling yet mostly lighthearted story full of humor along with mysteries and intrigues to be explored.
+ Writing in terms of language.
+ The story-driven nature of this novel implies semi-realism (with assumptions and simplifications) at least to a certain acceptable degree without typical power fantasies.
+ Basically relatable and likable non-creepy protagonist.
+ Non-linear walkthrough with multiple variations in the subplots.
+ High quality renders.
+ A lot of lewd scenes and they all are decently (not outstandingly though) animated.
+ Music selection. A plenty of licensed tracks that fit right in with the ongoing events and atmosphere.
+ Getting to the lewd scenes isn’t based on stereotypical porn fiction crap like blackmail & extortion, corruption & molestation, mind control, magic power etc.
+ A lot of male and female characters – everyone with different personalities. The vast majority of them do matter for the story and either contribute some value to the plot advancing or add joyful moments to your experience.
+ Definitely not related people getting laid with each other.
+ No grind. There is a simplified money function but you can completely ignore it without major consequences.
Mixed impressions
* The role play mechanics revolving around regular choices forging your "status" (behavior inclinations) and rare major decisions forging your affinity (basis of personality).
I appreciate the dev's effort and personally view it as a merit, but it turns out contradictory and unpolished: at times it leads to illogical or even weird outcomes, let alone the volume of content available: logic and common sense frequently become hostages of the in-game conventions. On the other hand, this karma model secures the great non-linearity.
* Humiliation content in Episodes 2-4 is rather over the top and unavoidable in most cases as it’s an integral part of the story beyond your control over the protagonist. The narrative could’ve justified this kind of coercive content in a more convincing fashion.
* Unbalanced screen time of the main love interests. Some heroines get a remarkably higher number of both lewd and non-lewd scenes (renders, animations and dialogue lines) notwithstanding your choices and current route. Although it might be an advantage if you are into specific lucky heroines.
* Free-roams. They tend to supply us with a bunch of fetch quests and grind opportunities. Occasionally they can be meaningful for the story and relationships advancing.
* Female characters outfits. Given we are in a porn fiction it can’t be called a shortcoming. But all those overly skimpy or provocative outfits, even on the staff members and women of relatively strict morals, might appear too unbelievable, incongruous and simply comical in a bad way even for an American Pie tier of movies, which in turn might ruin your experience to some extent. Very often a female’s manner of dress contradicts her own personality established throughout the story and this is glaring.
Perhaps I exaggerate with this one, but first off, it’s meant to be a story-driven novel in a slice of life college setting that is supposed to stick to its semi-realism.
* Mini-games. Some of them like brawling are quite worthy and interrelated with certain plot incidents or they just bring in fun and variety. By and large they are not rewarding enough. Since they are optional they can't be deemed a flaw.
* The way how the relationships are shaped. Broads fall in love with the protagonist way too fast for no apparent reasons. Unlike the dev’s first novel – Acting Lessons – and many other novels it's at least somehow disguised and has some grounds.
CONS
I won’t dwell on minor and out of plot flaws like the torturous free-roam navigation and unrealistically oversized or over-exaggerated (in other aspects) proportions of certain heroines.
- Limited control over the protagonist in the established circumstances.
- Forced content with a few main love interests outside of their routes that is not duly justified by the narrative and doesn’t feel plausible. You have to over-exploit your suspension of disbelief to suck it up.
- Overuse of caricature characters. Caricature means a one-dimensional and hardly believable character intended to be a comical relief. A small number of supporting caricature characters in the cast are fine – they bring funny moments to your walkthrough. But their number is rather excessive.
Worst of all, several major characters fall into this category too. Caricature nature of our protagonist’s rivals and antagonists belittles them as characters, deprives us of any tension and thus spoils impression from the story as a whole.
- Contrived and ridiculous drama for the sake of drama. Note that I don’t question its necessity for a college comedy adventure as well as I don’t mind drama at all but it should pull you in and get you to empathize with suffering characters. That happens when reasons for drama are convincing and ensured by compelling arguments. Instead, it looks like if the novel aims to engage teenage and emotionally fragile girls who are definitely not the dev’s target audience.
Unfortunately, a lot of drama arcs and scenes dumped on us are poorly handled from the story standpoint: they have a weak foundation and rely on such means like nonsensical inexistent laws, comical overestimation of commonplace problems, our lack of control over the protagonist or all together.
In result, you just don’t buy it and the drama causes bewilderment and alienation from those troubled characters rather than empathy. This side of the novel is one of its weakest spots. For instance, the laughable drama renditions we encounter in this novel are nothing compared to one abandoned curly girl’s drama in that glossy cyberpunk mercenary novel – a subplot within a totally different undramatic genre.
- Approach to the plot handling and direction. The dev deliberately keeps us in the dark, artificially entangles the plot and strips us of sufficient control over the protagonist – even against common sense – in order to prepare the ground for dumping plot twists and shocking revelations further as well as to subvert our expectations, which becomes an obsession – sort of an end in itself. Such plot contrivances are a putrid infection of this novel. In the end a good intention to set out a coherent plausible and appealing story gets undermined by such the approach.
Most of the plot ambiguities and secrets would’ve been already uncovered and explored if the protagonist could ask simple and reasonable questions or spent a couple minutes to find out whom he even communicates and hangs out with, what their basic background is. A candid conversation would quickly dislodge most of these contrived intricacies and wreck this artificial plot twists conveyor.
For instance: even a high school student would proceed with caution and ask relevant questions if he stood overnight at a married bombshell woman’s home – at a very minimum for his own safety’s sake. Same goes for the deliberate concealment of many characters’ surnames. That’s a cheap writing trick of keeping your story thrilling.
Notice that the plot entanglements in this novel along with your inability to pry and exercise caution are not strengthened by any appropriate plot points like, for instance, one redhead bombshell's mystery in that neon-lit mercenary techno-thriller novel, which is thought out from the narrative perspective and substantiated by valid points when the prying is an available option but it won’t even work out for good reasons. Unluckily, that is clearly not the case here.
- Writing in terms of distinctions of characters in wording and speaking patterns. Most characters speak like if they rooted from a same person with the same vocabulary and phrasing or like if they are entities processed by a same hive-mind. That is the case when a non-professional enthusiast outside of jobs that require a lot of communication (so to say – writers in the line of duty) takes on designing and scripting a large scale story with dozens of characters while staying a one-man team and neglecting third-party contractors despite availability of funds.
This novel desperately needs a seasoned writer who would diversify and enliven dialogue lines of many characters so you would perceive them as undeniably, distinctively individual personalities. The dev apparently underestimates it. Ironically, this side of the novel loses against the one in that notorious overhyped abandoned sandbox about a scrawny creep brutally revenging his ostensibly sinister teacher for her [non-] rejection, and there is no wonder because that creator doesn’t hesitate to hire an experienced third-party contractor.
Further notes
* Even though the dev states that the novel has been planned to be a lighthearted college comedy at its core blended with mostly off-screen and non-grave crimes without atrocities and tragedies, I recognize subtle indicators and portents that he is tricking us into thinking this way – the novel will appear lighthearted only by his own standards and not for the audience.
And his standards are no doubt cruel to put it mildly – to bypass spoilers and nausea I won’t mention one particular little-known atrocity in his previous novel, which the overwhelming majority of players neither found out nor realized.
* Furthermore, the dev asserts he designed and mapped out the story beforehand with only insignificant and cosmetic alterations adopted since the development start. This seems untrue because it means he on purpose set up a major dramatic subplot locked onto inexistent laws and an almost impossible situation.
Much more likely that his plot twist frenzy did him a disservice and led to a hilarious state of play: one of the patrons’ most favorite girls turned into the least favorite following his yet another “breathtaking” reveal but she still gets the most screen time including both renders and dialogue lines and this state is irreversible. This weirdness might’ve never happened without the dev’s addiction to plot twists for the sake of plot twists and in fact is the outcome of his miscalculation in the scripting caused by his misestimation of the target audience and his heavy reliance on unnecessary plot twists mindlessly.
Conclusions
* I recommend you to give this novel a go. Most likely it will draw you in, especially if you seek for a story-driven experience and not a sexfest. The story is indeed enjoyable.
* This novel is considered No.1 in the adult segment. I am inclined to agree taking into account its massive volume of content – in TOP 3 undoubtedly.
* Get ready for disappointments and subverted expectations.
* To dodge spoilers I also advice you to not play the dev’s first novel – Acting Lessons – until he completes this one.
That’s not because you with high probability will be frustrated and get an unpleasant aftertaste – the reason is that playing the dev’s previous creation gives you insight into his writing stunts and plotting tropes from inside so you can project them onto this novel and, of course, spoil your experience.
* I rounded up to 4 stars due to the scale and content quantity that shouldn't be disregarded. If the interlude episode is counted too then my final grade descends from 4 fading stars down to 2.5 collapsing stars.
[0.8.2]
TL;DR – minor spoilers are hidden
PROS
+ Enthralling yet mostly lighthearted story full of humor along with mysteries and intrigues to be explored.
+ Writing in terms of language.
+ The story-driven nature of this novel implies semi-realism (with assumptions and simplifications) at least to a certain acceptable degree without typical power fantasies.
+ Basically relatable and likable non-creepy protagonist.
+ Non-linear walkthrough with multiple variations in the subplots.
+ High quality renders.
+ A lot of lewd scenes and they all are decently (not outstandingly though) animated.
+ Music selection. A plenty of licensed tracks that fit right in with the ongoing events and atmosphere.
+ Getting to the lewd scenes isn’t based on stereotypical porn fiction crap like blackmail & extortion, corruption & molestation, mind control, magic power etc.
+ A lot of male and female characters – everyone with different personalities. The vast majority of them do matter for the story and either contribute some value to the plot advancing or add joyful moments to your experience.
+ Definitely not related people getting laid with each other.
+ No grind. There is a simplified money function but you can completely ignore it without major consequences.
Mixed impressions
* The role play mechanics revolving around regular choices forging your "status" (behavior inclinations) and rare major decisions forging your affinity (basis of personality).
I appreciate the dev's effort and personally view it as a merit, but it turns out contradictory and unpolished: at times it leads to illogical or even weird outcomes, let alone the volume of content available: logic and common sense frequently become hostages of the in-game conventions. On the other hand, this karma model secures the great non-linearity.
* Humiliation content in Episodes 2-4 is rather over the top and unavoidable in most cases as it’s an integral part of the story beyond your control over the protagonist. The narrative could’ve justified this kind of coercive content in a more convincing fashion.
* Unbalanced screen time of the main love interests. Some heroines get a remarkably higher number of both lewd and non-lewd scenes (renders, animations and dialogue lines) notwithstanding your choices and current route. Although it might be an advantage if you are into specific lucky heroines.
* Free-roams. They tend to supply us with a bunch of fetch quests and grind opportunities. Occasionally they can be meaningful for the story and relationships advancing.
* Female characters outfits. Given we are in a porn fiction it can’t be called a shortcoming. But all those overly skimpy or provocative outfits, even on the staff members and women of relatively strict morals, might appear too unbelievable, incongruous and simply comical in a bad way even for an American Pie tier of movies, which in turn might ruin your experience to some extent. Very often a female’s manner of dress contradicts her own personality established throughout the story and this is glaring.
Perhaps I exaggerate with this one, but first off, it’s meant to be a story-driven novel in a slice of life college setting that is supposed to stick to its semi-realism.
* Mini-games. Some of them like brawling are quite worthy and interrelated with certain plot incidents or they just bring in fun and variety. By and large they are not rewarding enough. Since they are optional they can't be deemed a flaw.
* The way how the relationships are shaped. Broads fall in love with the protagonist way too fast for no apparent reasons. Unlike the dev’s first novel – Acting Lessons – and many other novels it's at least somehow disguised and has some grounds.
CONS
I won’t dwell on minor and out of plot flaws like the torturous free-roam navigation and unrealistically oversized or over-exaggerated (in other aspects) proportions of certain heroines.
- Limited control over the protagonist in the established circumstances.
- Forced content with a few main love interests outside of their routes that is not duly justified by the narrative and doesn’t feel plausible. You have to over-exploit your suspension of disbelief to suck it up.
- Overuse of caricature characters. Caricature means a one-dimensional and hardly believable character intended to be a comical relief. A small number of supporting caricature characters in the cast are fine – they bring funny moments to your walkthrough. But their number is rather excessive.
Worst of all, several major characters fall into this category too. Caricature nature of our protagonist’s rivals and antagonists belittles them as characters, deprives us of any tension and thus spoils impression from the story as a whole.
- Contrived and ridiculous drama for the sake of drama. Note that I don’t question its necessity for a college comedy adventure as well as I don’t mind drama at all but it should pull you in and get you to empathize with suffering characters. That happens when reasons for drama are convincing and ensured by compelling arguments. Instead, it looks like if the novel aims to engage teenage and emotionally fragile girls who are definitely not the dev’s target audience.
Unfortunately, a lot of drama arcs and scenes dumped on us are poorly handled from the story standpoint: they have a weak foundation and rely on such means like nonsensical inexistent laws, comical overestimation of commonplace problems, our lack of control over the protagonist or all together.
In result, you just don’t buy it and the drama causes bewilderment and alienation from those troubled characters rather than empathy. This side of the novel is one of its weakest spots. For instance, the laughable drama renditions we encounter in this novel are nothing compared to one abandoned curly girl’s drama in that glossy cyberpunk mercenary novel – a subplot within a totally different undramatic genre.
- Approach to the plot handling and direction. The dev deliberately keeps us in the dark, artificially entangles the plot and strips us of sufficient control over the protagonist – even against common sense – in order to prepare the ground for dumping plot twists and shocking revelations further as well as to subvert our expectations, which becomes an obsession – sort of an end in itself. Such plot contrivances are a putrid infection of this novel. In the end a good intention to set out a coherent plausible and appealing story gets undermined by such the approach.
Most of the plot ambiguities and secrets would’ve been already uncovered and explored if the protagonist could ask simple and reasonable questions or spent a couple minutes to find out whom he even communicates and hangs out with, what their basic background is. A candid conversation would quickly dislodge most of these contrived intricacies and wreck this artificial plot twists conveyor.
For instance: even a high school student would proceed with caution and ask relevant questions if he stood overnight at a married bombshell woman’s home – at a very minimum for his own safety’s sake. Same goes for the deliberate concealment of many characters’ surnames. That’s a cheap writing trick of keeping your story thrilling.
Notice that the plot entanglements in this novel along with your inability to pry and exercise caution are not strengthened by any appropriate plot points like, for instance, one redhead bombshell's mystery in that neon-lit mercenary techno-thriller novel, which is thought out from the narrative perspective and substantiated by valid points when the prying is an available option but it won’t even work out for good reasons. Unluckily, that is clearly not the case here.
- Writing in terms of distinctions of characters in wording and speaking patterns. Most characters speak like if they rooted from a same person with the same vocabulary and phrasing or like if they are entities processed by a same hive-mind. That is the case when a non-professional enthusiast outside of jobs that require a lot of communication (so to say – writers in the line of duty) takes on designing and scripting a large scale story with dozens of characters while staying a one-man team and neglecting third-party contractors despite availability of funds.
This novel desperately needs a seasoned writer who would diversify and enliven dialogue lines of many characters so you would perceive them as undeniably, distinctively individual personalities. The dev apparently underestimates it. Ironically, this side of the novel loses against the one in that notorious overhyped abandoned sandbox about a scrawny creep brutally revenging his ostensibly sinister teacher for her [non-] rejection, and there is no wonder because that creator doesn’t hesitate to hire an experienced third-party contractor.
Further notes
* Even though the dev states that the novel has been planned to be a lighthearted college comedy at its core blended with mostly off-screen and non-grave crimes without atrocities and tragedies, I recognize subtle indicators and portents that he is tricking us into thinking this way – the novel will appear lighthearted only by his own standards and not for the audience.
And his standards are no doubt cruel to put it mildly – to bypass spoilers and nausea I won’t mention one particular little-known atrocity in his previous novel, which the overwhelming majority of players neither found out nor realized.
* Furthermore, the dev asserts he designed and mapped out the story beforehand with only insignificant and cosmetic alterations adopted since the development start. This seems untrue because it means he on purpose set up a major dramatic subplot locked onto inexistent laws and an almost impossible situation.
Much more likely that his plot twist frenzy did him a disservice and led to a hilarious state of play: one of the patrons’ most favorite girls turned into the least favorite following his yet another “breathtaking” reveal but she still gets the most screen time including both renders and dialogue lines and this state is irreversible. This weirdness might’ve never happened without the dev’s addiction to plot twists for the sake of plot twists and in fact is the outcome of his miscalculation in the scripting caused by his misestimation of the target audience and his heavy reliance on unnecessary plot twists mindlessly.
Conclusions
* I recommend you to give this novel a go. Most likely it will draw you in, especially if you seek for a story-driven experience and not a sexfest. The story is indeed enjoyable.
* This novel is considered No.1 in the adult segment. I am inclined to agree taking into account its massive volume of content – in TOP 3 undoubtedly.
* Get ready for disappointments and subverted expectations.
* To dodge spoilers I also advice you to not play the dev’s first novel – Acting Lessons – until he completes this one.
That’s not because you with high probability will be frustrated and get an unpleasant aftertaste – the reason is that playing the dev’s previous creation gives you insight into his writing stunts and plotting tropes from inside so you can project them onto this novel and, of course, spoil your experience.
* I rounded up to 4 stars due to the scale and content quantity that shouldn't be disregarded. If the interlude episode is counted too then my final grade descends from 4 fading stars down to 2.5 collapsing stars.
Looking forward for EP9.
