VN - Ren'Py - Being a DIK [v0.10.1] [DrPinkCake]

This game deserves the praise heaped on it in these forums -- but it's worth calling out three things that it does uniquely well.

1. The characters are all well-rounded, three-dimensional human beings. There are no cliched types, simple heroes/villains, or princess/slut tropes. They are all believably human: flawed, but capable of great acts of kindness or empathy. The dev does a brilliant job slowly revealing their personalities over time, like peeling back an onion. Characters that seem simply 'evil' at the beginning can turn out to have altruistic motivations -- and seemingly kind people can do very self-centered things. They are so true to life -- including the MC! Which brings us to...
2. The fantastic morality system. At first I thought that the dev's Dik-Chick morality scale was a simple lightside/darkside, good/evil spectrum. It isn't: some Dik actions are indeed dickish (ogling various females) but they also include bravery and audacity. Chick actions mostly involve turning the other cheek... but sometimes they are more negative, including avoiding problems. These subtlties mean that it works exceptionally well with the shades-of-gray characters.
3. A free-roam system and mini-games that aren't annoying! I generally hate both of these devices, which often serve as 'filler' in porn games. But the dev has put real effort into making them interesting and connecting them to the story... so don't be put off by those tags.

One note of warning: the dev's excellent earlier title, _Acting Lessons_, rather brutally (and melodramatically) punished bad behavior by the MC in its final act. I suspect that we could be headed for something similar in BAD. That is generally a great thing: it invests choices and moral decisions with meaning... you can't just cheat and sleep around without consequences.

But beware: it means that you may _think_ you've succeeded in cheating without getting caught, or done the dirty without consequences... only to be punished for it an episode or two later. Consequences like this are never random or capricious in this game, though: you always know why you've gotten in trouble.

The bottom line is that this is a brilliant game with a first-class dev. Among the best on this site... perhaps even _the_ best.

This Dev is the golden standard to which I compare all others. Thus, I have been a supporter of his on Patreon. I loved his previous game, Acting Lessons, and I love BADIK even more. It is one of the few VN's that has a ton of originality, avoiding the cookie-cutter tropes that hundreds of other games suffer from. BADIK is full of interesting stories and genuinely humorous comedy. The icing on top is the QUALITY renders and animations. This game absolutely deserves the #1 spot.

Story 10/10 - Very well written, interesting, and genuinely funny moments

Graphics 10/10 - Gorgeous renders and silky smooth animations... plus Maya, Bella, and Jill... nuff said...

Gameplay 9/10 - Typical VN branching choices here... point deducted because while most of the mini-games are fun, there are a couple that are annoying. You can disable them though.

As for the adult content, there's plenty of them for each route. Very good balance between story and lewd scenes. Never too much text and never just a pure fap fest. Did I mention that I LOVE this game?

This is the best game that u can find here. Trust me. Overrated milfy city and summertime saga are few leagues below.

Music, visuals, story, everything is perfect. It's like a really good movie and You definitely need to patreon this guy.

The characters are unique, diverse, and attractive.
The renders are realistic.
The sex scenes are amazing.
The creator uses multiple points of view, giving the game a cinematic feel.
The story is engaging.
Relationships develop over time, but not too slowly.
Tybalt is the new Eric.
Dr PinkCake is a god!

Not sure if this is my second review but I needed to review it again. After playing through chapter 7.

Not many adult VN hold the same candle when it comes to Being A Dik.

The story is humorous, the characters are likeable, the girls are hotter than the sun. I have never seen so many music tracks in one adult game. Some of it is okay and some are just cosmic. I like that I can select the tracks during free roam.

The sex is through the roof. I mean talk about sex scenes that look so damn good that make great wallpapers lol. The replayability is great. There are several different choices and consequences.

I purchase this one Steam and also have supported on patreon. This game sets a high bar for adult VN games. Hopefully others can follow suit.

Having lurked around for sometime, I can honestly say this game is one of the best VN out there.

The music, the scripting, the content just screams excellence. Don't think there is any VN out there that can strike so much feels and appreciation for the character story line and building.

This is a must play VN, no regrets.

Being a DIK is my first visual novel and for me the perfect gateway to this nebulous world made of amazing renders and a story-rich atmosphere. As I started the game, I already fit with the main character and situations might echo loudly to your daily life (or your not-so-far daily life) and that's definitely for the better, as you are trapped even deeper into the story. I'm not a native english speaker, so there is some jokes that I'm probably missing, but this story is both captivating and insightful. The developer deserves all the credit for his unique style and his undeniable ability to provoke vivid emotions through his oeuvre.
Beware of the game brothers, since it is going to dramatically raise your expectations to a bar so few VNs can achieve.

It is a wonderful project.

"Acting Lessons" is a great game. And I liked it a lot, but BaD is something else. Interesting characters, good plot, mini-games are not annoying and a lot of content. Masterpiece.

Generally speaking this is the best game here. It's nowhere near perfect or anything, but compared to usual quality this genre produces, BADIK is clearly the top of the food chain. It's beautiful and the music is genuinely fantastic as songs really work well with the scenes.

The writing is at times atrocious, some decisions the MC makes make no sense in the context (admittedly some of it is due to the limitations of the genre) and completely break the flow of the story. However, at the same times it can actually soar sky high, especially when it comes to romance. Quinn's changing attitude toward MC, for example, is absolutely masterfully written, very subtle and emotional in its delivery.

All thing's considered, I'd give it 5/5 so far.

Giving this game 5 stars for what it is rather than how I personally felt about it. It isn't your typical porn game, with creator even providing a warning at the start that this game is more serious and written to be more like an actual novel versus what we usually find here. Like I stated at the started, for what its aiming to achieve, not to mention the great scenes and renders, I think they've done splendidly and well deserve the 5 stars. Even if I had decided to rate this game on my own opinion, I would've given it another 1 or 2 stars purely for the banger soundtrack it's got.

Now for my opinion: I play these games for mainly harem content. This game doesn't have that tag, but I took a chance with this one since there were so many good reviews. I got to around episode 6 before I stopped. Was quite into it at the beginning, however the emotional drama was something that turned me off later on. This game will not have a harem ending as far as I've seen posted here, so anyone coming into the game thinking that should note this. Again, overall I think the writing and the scenes were very well done, however I guess I got too connected to the story and was the reason I lost interest. Is the plot good? Yes, probably one of the better ones that can be found here. However, the situations behind all the girls just kinda make it a turn off for me. Without spoiling too much, out of 5 girls that you can pursue an ending with in this game, 3 (maybe 4) of them have what I argue are commitment issues, so irl I would've never tried to pursue a relationship with them. Why do I bring in irl reasoning to a porn game? Well, it's cause the writer does a pretty good job of placing you in the position of the MC, so I guess that may have backfired on me. I found myself in the shoes of the MC, and considering that situation, as well as the fact that I and the MC are very different personality wise, I just lost enjoyment of the game and decided to drop it.

Overall I think its a good game, not my cup of tea though, aside from the banger soundtrack, probably gonna add those to my playlist if I can find them. Props to the dev team for what they've made here, definitely deserving of the rating they've got for what they wanted to achieve.

I love this game so much, the story and the characters are so interesting, i feel really connected to some of them, i get really immersed on the game. I love Bella so much, can't wait for the next updates and to see more of her.

This Game makes me feel things i didn't even ask for. It makes me feel happy and sad but in a good way. Like you feel when you go through your first break up or love drama. I love the choice of the music so much i started hearing it even when im done with the game and when im done with the newest update i just let the game run in the background because i dont want to leave yet und wait for the next update.

Bella is my love :3

The game is a complete masterpiece.

It has some of the most relatable best characters in any virtual novel you will ever play.

You are doing a disservice if you don't play this game. It's too freaking good they should charge for this kinda thing should be a 60 dollar game.

One of the best (if not THE BEST) games so far!! DrPinkCake is excellent!

Renders: Awesome!
Characters: Interresting and beatufull
Plot: Rewarding and want to keep coming back for more
Sexuality: Through the roof!!!!!!

Keep up the good work!! Can't wait for the game to be complete... and why not... have a sequel!

Another masterpiece from Dr PinkCake. Great story, great artwork, great animations, great gameplay, great choice variation. If only every game was like this one, i would never leave my home anymore. I need a new episode ASAP

Just Three Words
Layering, Music and Twists.

All of the above, be it layering of the plot, the slow discovery of the depths of the characters, the absolutely masterful music selection and placement & finally the story twists and turns (both funny and endearing) are what make BAD the gold standard in VNs currently. Hopefully DPC keeps up the good work and we see how things pan out for everyone in this story.

One of the best Adult games I´ve played. Really liked acting lesson too. Dr PinkCake does not disappoint.

If you want good story, relatable characters, various choices and good looking renders. You should definitely try this out. If you´re here for the sex scenes, then it has that too.

Great VN but the worst part is waiting for new update and thought of this game being finished in few years If DPC keep on making 2 updates yearly. Hope he will get somebody to help him with it but not matter what I say this is best game made to this day that is on this website. Bella GOAT

The most well planned story in a game for me, there is nothing to nitpick, the story is really great, the models are beautiful and the gameplay is diverse with funny moments, drama and tons of sex. The personality paths you take from dik to neutral to chick play a role in what you are able to do with some girls. Overall probably the best game of it's kind

well this is gonna be my first ever typing a review on this site tbh so pardon me,
first of all when i found this game it was like Episode 3 or something and ngl i downloaded it just thinking it as the same as other VN,
but oooh boy i was completely wrong
i guess this is the first VN ever for me that came along with that quote "come for the porn but stay for the story"
i honestly never really pay attention to adult VN story because majority of them is just like those typical porn script or can make u cringe
but somehow this one hit me on a different level and i started to pay attention to the story and enjoying it
(eventhough the basic premise is college life but hey my college life is not even as close like on BaDIK since my country has different college system)
and since then i eagerly await for update on this game
until i saw the game was out on Steam then i decided to buy the game with i think the Season pass as well i forgot

but fast forward to Episode 7 so far,
the game made me even loving it more especially with how some small choices u made previously can really haunts and bite you in the ass literally and blocked u on ur path as the story progress
(i know some people can say just turn on the console to change it up but for me that literally read every dialogue line doing console would ruin it so i rather replay everything and play it again to see a different dialogue outcome as well)

so in my personal experience the pros of this game :

1. Story and the branching options
2. The quality of models and renders in the game
3. the College life story cliche (maybe because like i said my country has different college system and these typical Jocks,Nerds etc college life in BaDIK is just something i would see in movies because we don't have that here in my country)
4. Having a smooth animation aside from the renders are a plus as well in my book
5. The Music are on point and it was a fun experience playing with 100% volume throughout the game because normally on other VN i would change the sound to 20% or even not putting on my headset when playing the game

but with pros there's also cons but that doesn't change the fact i LOVE this game a LOT:

1. Update time between episodes, i don't really keep track how long the update comes usually per episode but that also why i chose to buy the game on Steam instead of pledging on Patreon, because i feel like it's taking a bit long per episode (i know it's not easy to create all these dialogue,animation and renders but it's just my opinion that the update time between episodes are a bit long)
2. English,Math and Gender Studies mini games kinda annoying after a several playthrough (i currently have 15 pages of saves for this game and still counting up)
3. Have i said how long the update time was between episodes ? oh yeah i did, i guess those are the only cons i have on this VN tbh

so the conclusion,

if you want to experience a really good VN game ?
play this, hell support the devs as well if you wish to,
even with a long wait for every episodes, the devs deliver it and it was worth the wait ( although i'm not gonna lie by saying i wouldn't want a faster update but at least the wait was worth it )
and i wish i could see the full Season 2 of this game done before 2021 ends,
goodluck Dr.!