The following review is based off my personal experience with playing this Game/Visual Novel... I try to be as brutally honest and detailed as I can, and these are my own opinions and thoughts, from one or more play throughs...
(12/07/2017 - Original Review - v0.3)
This is definitely one of the better visual novels I've tried thus far... It has a lot of well written dialogue and inner monologue and the story seems to be progressing in creative ways with out huge amounts of choices, but choices that seem to flow well and come at the right moments, taking you in the direction you want the story to go... The visuals of the characters are not bad, although the apartment looks like a high price home inside of one owned by a single woman living from paycheck to paycheck, so I'm guessing they are re-used visuals from some source other then author crafted ones?.. I could be wrong...
The fact that the main protagonist is a woman is a refreshing touch on what tends to be a male dominated genre... And I love that you sometimes get to see from the perspective of the other characters and make a few choices for them as well... That is a nice touch... Now there were a few moments when I couldn't tell if the choice you made was being played out or ignored, but when I scrolled back I found that in some cases it was you saying something with an immediate response rather then seeing a repeat of the choice you clicked portrayed, prior to the response... That was different as well, which was nice...
The script was well written, and felt like it was written from a woman's perspective rather then from a man trying to portray what he thought a woman would be thinking and saying... I don't know if that was intentional or if the author is indeed a woman, but regardless it felt like a nice touch... I would love to see more visual novels like this one with a non-over sexualized woman's perspective as the protagonist...
I am hook, line, and sinker on this one... It's still a work in progress... Can't wait to see how further development goes and hope it stays on the same trek it currently is...
(12/29/2017 - Review Update - v0.5)
Day 4 and 5 are done just as magnificently as the first 3 game days... The story telling, the dialogue, and the monologue are fantastic... It's turning out to be a great love story (at least that's how I'm playing it out with my choices)... I'm a sucker for a good romance story... Can't wait to see what the author's do next with this one... I'll definitely check it out more, once a few more updates get released...
(01/21/2018 - Review Update - v0.7)
Day 6 and 7 are pretty good even though there are a lot of twists thrown into the mix... Some I like, and some make me worry... The event that happens to Lisa is not bad and allows the sisters to interact a bit more... But the eviction nonsense is a very big twist in the story... Will it work out in their favor? Will it somehow damage their blossoming relationship? I hope the hell not, because I was really enjoying the love/romance story, and I hope this wrench isn't gonna screw with that loving feeling I had through all the prior content... It's a pretty big twist for a story that was evenly paced up to that point... I don't know if any prior choices I made led to that issue, or if it was inevitable regardless of the choices... I'm hoping it was the later, and not the former?
As to the 8 days to move out? That is a bit far fetched and unrealistic, as most state laws require at the minimum 30 days or longer before someone can be legally evicted from their home... Plus, how can the agency claim she will be awarded damages but yet still require rent from her before damages are paid? It just seems there is a HUGE leap of faith being asked of the players/readers for that whole situation to be realistic... I understand it adds drama, but the whole story has been very realistic up to that moment... Technically she could sue the owner/company for even attempting to evict her without legal documentation anyway... It almost makes me think that the sisters are being scammed by the renting company as well as the original landlord... I just have a hard time with this situation, as it is so out of character from the prior content... This sort of event could make or break this vn/game if not handled with some care...
In any case, the visuals are still pretty good, although the font change is a bit hard to read sometimes... Especially with the name color blending in too much with the text box background color (red on pink)... A rethink on that may be needed... And the hazy effect on the backdrops looks a bit overdone, and adds a bit too much blur the pictures... I understand the need to give a more dreamy feel to it, but it's a bit overdone in some pictures...
I will definitely revisit this one again once it's further into development, and I hope it has some happier events coming, as the eviction thingy is a big wrench, that has me worried... I was really truly enjoying this VN/Game with the creative touches, but now I'm beginning to feel a bit concerned after this update...
(03/04/2018 - Review Update - v0.11)
This update only includes 2 game days worth of content, which means the version numbers no longer match the amount of game days, which was bound to occur, hehe...
In this update we get to see the school that the protagonist will be working and living at, and which her sister will be attending for her last year of High School... Now I did have some issues with this being a High School, because dorms are usually a college or university thing, not a High School thing... Also, typically pets are not allowed on school grounds, unless it's some sort of special pet, like a seeing eye dog, or epilepsy warning pet, etc... Plus, in the art class, the club leader was drawing a full nude painting, which would be unheard of in a High School... College yes, university yes, but not a normal High School... There was mention by the protagonist that she would need to find out more from Nico, but that never occurred... Parents would be screaming bloody murder if they found out their kids high school allowed that sort of art to be drawn and/or displayed... That is probably the first instance in this VN/Game where the immersion gets a swift kick in the nether regions...
The remaining new content includes more interactions between the primary characters, which include taking their relationship to the next level... This includes more romance and their admittance about their true feelings for one another... There are also some new characters introduced, one of which has sexual preferences that match Sophie's... What will that mean going forward? I really hope that NTR will NOT be introduced in this VN/Game, as that would be very bad... I doubt it will, but you never know these days...
Overall, the new content is good in my book (beyond the paining thing)... And there looks to be a lot more developments as the story progresses with the changes that are occurring in the protagonists life... I will catch up with future content a few more versions down the line, and we'll see how it plays out...
