Ren'Py - Campus Confidential [v0.27] [Campus Confidential]

Version Played: 0.27
Time Played: 2.5 hours, reached the end of all content
Gallery mode: No, but most sex scenes seem to be repeatable
Walkthrough: In-game hint system

To invoke an old cliche, if you were to look up "mediocre adult game" in the dictionary, this game would be the definition.
From setting (uni student), to graphics (old-ass DAZ3D renders), to sexual content (vanilla MF with oral, vaginal and anal with a planned incest tag! can't forget your MC's horsecock either) I struggle to think of a game more aggressively middle of the road.

That said, while familiarity breeds contempt, it can also bring comfort, as the game is a supremely "comfortable" experience.

Positives
+ MC is likable (though can be something of a doormat) and occasionally has a good quip
+ Some decent love interests
+ Sex is always consensual and the participants enjoying of it

Neutral
= Sandbox

Negatives
- Very dated renders
- Cliche plot and situations
- While not grindy in the sense of getting money or stats, you do have to grind out times in going to certain times of day or even days of the week, which is repetitive
- While there are some different body and facial types (including some, frankly traditionally unattractive traits), this is one of those games that bafflingly seems to think that every woman (including the girl from the ultra-conservative Islamic country and the naive childhood friend) shave that shit bare.

So, at the end of the day, there's no real hook here or outstanding feature that makes you want to come back for more. That said, I understand there is a certain level of comfort that comes from a familiar setting, experience and tropes and sometimes, you just want vanilla without any toppings. My enjoyment mainly came from the fact that the game wasn't asking much more of me than to click and enjoy the familiar faces and experiences that, at this point, are anything if not tried and true.

Note to devs: Where to start... Allow more agency in how MC can interact with the LIs. Less time grindy progression. Persian/Farsi is spoken in Iran, not Arabic.

IMHO, This game is far better than what others would have you believe! There's a good verity of girls & the MC is very likeable, also some good Animations! Not much grinding And an easy to use map, So all in all a very well crafted game, & the DEV even allow you to pay what you think is a fair price on their official site, So I'll be looking forward to future updates..

[note: this review refers to “Campus Confidential” version 0.13]

First of all: I agree with some of the previous review’s content, written by Aj Atkinson. If played by the book, this game becomes a solid pain in the butt — a nightmare of boredom.
When trying it for the first time, I understood that the Dev’s most profane (or stupid, or both) error was to block the player the access to the Rollback feature.

Further: there’s also a clear lack of information regarding the side mini-games that pervade the main story. From the top of my head I recall:

1. The Debating mini-game: a Question & Answer idiocy from where the player gathers the Charisma trait. There are 5 general-knowledge questions per debate, and the MC needs to nail them and win at least 10 debates to get the full Charisma trait. The debates occur during the evening, in the Geo auditorium at the Uni from Mon to Fri;

2. The Arrows mini-game : a Simon-Memory-Type game where the player has to repeat a building sequence of ups/downs/lefts/rights keyboard arrows by clicking on the correct arrows. When winning, the MC improves his Intelligence trait by one point, and again: ten points are required for him to get the full Intelligence trait. The Simon-Memory-Type game occurs in the Uni's Library during the afternoon from Mon to Fri;

3. The Gym Workout mini-game: the MC runs on a treadmill and the player needs to fast-click (somewhere around 20 clicks) on any area of the game screen in order to nail it. The workout helps the MC to gather the Strength trait, and at least 10 days in the gym are needed to achieve it in full. The Gym Workout mini-game occurs in the gym during the mornings, afternoons, or evenings, seven days a week. A note: a treadmill session costs the MC $50.00;

4. The Paid-Work (or Clear Away the Rubbish) mini-game: by clearing eight random objects — two water bottles, two broken bottles, two juices packages and two coffee cups (the rubbish) — the player gets a total of $40.00, or $5.00 per object. The Paid-Work mini-game occurs in the Liquor Store during the mornings, afternoons, or evenings, seven days a week.

There are other games that help improving the story; yet, these four mini-games are obligatory.

(My apologies if I forgot anything)

ABOUT THE GAME MECHANICS

It is mostly pretty straight forward. After playing the game once you should get the hang of it.

The cellphone on top-right corner of the screen holds girls’ messages as well the MC’s stats and the game’s hints.
There’s a Config area as well; this allows the player to unlock the game’s cheats.
I didn’t get any bug or exception while playing the game, so it seems solidly coded.

Now: Money and the Rollback feature are a must-have, otherwise “Campus Confidential” becomes boring and nearly unplayable.

In order to unlock tem, I used Ox52’s Universal Ren'Py Mod URM — which can be downloaded from this link.

If you do so, search for a couple parameters/variables — _config.rollback_enabled and cheats_locked — and change them to:
This shall allow you to change the amount of money you have — access the cellphone's config section and click on the “Get Rich” button to easily find an extra $1,000,000.00 in your pocket — as well as to Max MC’s stats.

save both as variables in case you want to revert their values.

ABOUT THE GRAPHICS

In general, they could be improved. There’s a flair of nostalgia imbued into them, as if the game takes place sometime during the 50s.
Some of the girls are cuties, some others are curvy, but I didn’t find any stunning hottie in the game.
Yet: if you like them young, there are some cutesy NPCs around campus, so I hope the Dev will make them available for fun in a future update.
The only sex so far — Vanilla HJ and Vanilla BJ — occurs with the Asian Masseuse in the Spa. But they come with a price: $50.00 and $100.00 each, respectively. And if you're a fan of masturbation, the MC can smack the schlong while laying on his bed.

ABOUT THE MC

The MC is a feeble and petulant dude who carries a horse-sized schlong and is definitely not cut out for College life. He resembles a 13 y.o. nerd who would do a lot better as a brainless Middle School kid or a moronic High School Freshman.

GENERALLY SPEAKING — TL|DR

I believe there’s plenty of room for improvement, but the game's main idea is there.
Despite this awful vibe I get from the MC — a feeble and weak douche — this is actually a fun game. If the MC grows a spine and gets into the panties of some of the Campus' girls, “Campus Confidential” should become a good experience.

Thanks for reading.

Despite the good story idea of the game at the beginning, the player is faced with many repetitive actions that are not immediately clear to the player. Not only the characters are drawn very unattractively, but also the interiors of the rooms resemble some post-war premises and not a student dormitory, it's a complete horror! The artist either has a very bad idea of how people live and learn, or he simply has a mental disorder that he wants to convey to the players!
If you don't want to "earn" 20 bucks in the game, but want to immediately add money in the game through the editor of saved games, then don't even dream - such a game will simply not load afterwards. The same will happen to you if you try to add money through the console. This immediately repels even those who wanted to give this "game" a chance... Let the author play himself first and bring the game to order.