Review of v0.4
Every once in a while I try a game outside my usual comfort zone. I am not a fan of the bimbo fetish. In particular I like intelligent women and dislike obvious plastic surgery. Mind you I don't have a stick up my ass about it, I just think most women... OK fine pornstars... look better before than after. (I mean have you seen the early Playboy nudes of Pam Anderson? She was such a gorgeous girl-next-door!) Ahem. Anyways... I tend to really like real-porn twine games with straight male protagonists so I decided to give this a shot. I'm glad I did!
Bimbo Life Coach certainly didn't make a convert out of me, but it is an excellent game in a number of ways. By far the most notable element is how skilled the writing is. It takes a little while before you get to the more lengthy scenes with a lot of writing, but when you do you'll see what I mean. Hugo Games is a very skilled writer, and I don't just mean in comparison to other indie porn games. The scenes are filled with details that bring them to life and the occasional eccentricities of humanity that make you unconsciously smile at a character's actions or dialogue.
That the author has been able to construct a sensible story for what seems to me to be a ludicrous concept (at least in this PC day and age) is laudable. The subject matter is taken quite seriously, in fact. And even if I still don't like the kink, I learned to see it in a different light, at least. And I'm also thankful that the lack of intelligence often associated with bimbos is not accentuated here. The ditzyness, which is rarely found at all in this game's cast, is rather a side effect of a certain life attitude rather than lack of intelligence or education.
And, indeed, there is a surprising variety of personal characteristics among the game's female cast, in so many ways: background, emotional state, personal goals, lifestyles, and even body types. And somehow the author got me quite interested in a housing board battle! There is some significant choice and consequence in the game, often leaving me quite unsure if I made the right choice (and feeling guilty more than once).
The rest of the game is quite capable. The GUI could use a little firming up and exhibits some of the common traits of a new Twine developer such as uneven spacing between choices that make it look a little less professional. I'd also like to see more photos or videos for the sex scenes as they frequently only contain one or two. (Although I certainly do not want the visual components to reduce or otherwise impact the writing.)
The game is not without "grind" and the beginning is particularly a bit low on writing content (though for good reason), but it's worth continuing on until it picks up. As the game is incomplete, the same happens on the other side as many of the threads taper off while a few are more developed. There are also a couple of choices you have to make with, say, character A in order to continue with character B, which is somewhat unfortunate.
All said, if you have a thing for bimbos, you're going to love this, I think. But even if you don't care for that, you might want to give it a shot.