At time of writing there are almost a thousand reviews of this game, and a cursory look tells me they're almost all very positive. I have nothing to add to the fact that this is a great game, or VN - it has lots of elements of both. It's possibly the best constructed, highest-quality creation on this site.
Furthermore, if you know the dev team's previous work, and you paid attention to Jill's warning at the beginning of this one, then you know that there is very likely going to be a major plot twist that will have a huge impact on the tone of this game, and how people feel about it.
So, what I wanted to do is just talk specifically about the elements of this game that set it so far above the herd, in a way that other creators can consider how they can best learn and apply these concepts.
First, the artwork is great, but it's not alone at that level. Where it excels, I think, are in the little dynamic touches. An animation of a car window going down, revealing a beautiful woman inside. The way another woman slowly, reluctantly, but inevitably reaches for a man's penis in the sauna. Or, my favorite, the look Quinn gives the MC just before she leaves his room. A little dynamic moment like this can really spice up a string of static images. And these great examples of using images as elements of pacing, creating a sense of things slowing down, or speeding up, giving energy and dramatic focus.
Second, the plot. Great plot is character-driven, people do the things they do because of who they are. Here, all the characters are differentiated and have clear needs, concerns, things that drive them, and what they do tends to be consistent with that. So the plot moves forward without magic or ghosts or random wtfs. Real life isn't like that, of course (except for the magic and ghosts, but more than makes up for it in wtfs), but if plots were true-to-life then they'd be boring.
Third is tone. So, there are four moods that alternate in this work. The first is humour; a lot of the game is funny, silly funny, although some of the humour is PC-bashing, which isn't that funny or difficult. Second is companionship. There are a lot of friendships in this game; they give the characters depth and real stakes in the choices and actions people make. Third is tension. This is the dark undercurrent, the threat of nasty things coming up from the depths, and this is what keeps the game from just being "MC at Uni, try to fuck as many girls as possible." If you check the discussion thread, you'll see that there's a huge amount of speculation about what this dark thing will turn out to be. The fourth mood is the sexual one. It's great.
It's this variation of tone that makes this game seem so rich.
Fourth is characters. There are a lot of characters in this game, which is very hard to balance, but they are all differentiated, and over the course of each episode they get their opportunities to reveal depth. Sage is a great example. She's the hot Queen Bee, and most creators would leave her like that. But here, she's also an insecure young woman who finds escape from her personal demons through sexual ecstasy.
Fifth is dialogue. So, I think this is a weak point, but only because the other elements are so strong. But the dialogue is, for the most part, naturalistic and non-narrative. A lot of VNs use dialogue as a way to narrate the story, which is really stilted and dull. None of that here.
And, finally, the MC is not cringy. He's actually likeable. Yes, he has a magic penis, but, hey, what kind of game did you think this is?
Anything I don't like? I hate the mini-games. That's a design choice, and some people like 'em.
But yeah, you should definitely check this out. And if you're a creator, pay attention to what makes it work.
