VN - Ren'Py - Completed - City of Broken Dreamers [v1.15.0 Ch. 15] [PhillyGames]

This review is as of the Chapter 11 release. General spoilers ahead.

When I had started this game, I had good hopes for it. It had high ratings, and an interesting overview: an elite fighter gets drawn into a city-wide flare up over a unique girl, while trying to discern who is an ally and who is an enemy while we get a glimpse into all the ways in which the characters in this world can be shaped and damaged by the nature of the world they inhabit.

For the few early some chapters, this overview is a decent characterization of the game's seeming trajectory. However, the game eventually seemed to degenerate into merely exploiting a simplistic structural plot mechanic within itself covered over by a deluge of adult scenes reminding of an endless milking of a lazy cash cow.

Atmosphere:

By far the strongest and most redeeming point of this game is its atmosphere: the renders of the environment all do a good job at capturing the Cyberpunk dystopian aesthetic, especially considering the resources that are actually practically available for the limitations of production here. The music is also well used in immersing you within the general environment of the game as well as of particular scenes and sequences. The non-adult-scene animations are also nicely done and help bring better scope and life to the world and the characters in the game.

Characters/Relationships:

The character models are passable, although they look somewhat strange.

The characters are effectively developed in a manner that is purely functional. Namely, they are more or less just bare-bone instantiations and developments of archetypes with Cyberpunk aesthetic, with the rest of their screen-time being generally gratuitous adult scenes.

Many of the relationships between the characters already come off as more or less pre-fixed in a manner according to that of their archetypes, with little substantial change in these relationships over the story.

That being said, this is not categorically the case, and where there is significant change or development in the relationship between the characters is where this game has its other strong point.

Story:

This is by far the most underwhelming aspect of the game. In essence, the story boils down to a combination of playing out the protagonist as a with the Hitman with a Heart and Heel-Face Turn tropes in about the most simplistic manner possible.

In terms of the overall plot, after some early chapters, which were more or less exposition and build up for the rest of the story, the story's chapters boiled down to this basic and rather mechanical formula: one slow move in an ever drawn out cat-and-mouse game interspersed with generally badly built up and robotic adult scenes that seem to largely exist as pointless filler to create the illusion of substance. This is rather ironic considering this game's genre.

Summary:

Overall, COBD does a good job at implementing the general aesthetic elements of the Cyberpunk genre, considering what can be realistically implemented for the kind of game this is. Its attempt at telling an interesting story with the elements of that genre, however, mostly falls flat.

3/5. Considerably better than most games on this site, but nevertheless quite lacking in a number of elements and not particularly memorable.

I was loving and adoring this game in absolutely every way, that is until chapter 8,..I wasn't even going to write a review, but I'm going to do this more to vent about what ruined it for me...The character Sonja.

I am really hating how she is literally being forced down my throat. She is one of the people responsible for Henry's death, she ruined Katie's entire life's work, she shot/tried to kill my character on several different occasions, in one of these situations Ellen almost ends up dead as well, and now, just because she dragged my character out of the mess she HELPED to shove me into when she was shooting at me with a Sniper.... I am being OBLIGATED by the game to be kind, understanding and defend her,...I am obligated to defend her at every opportunity when my teammates, with all the reasons in the world are pissed at her, but no, she is not to blame, she is a misunderstood angel, it doesn't matter that she fucked up all my friends' lives and was directly involved in the death of one and almost took me along, "they're being unfair to her", "it's not fair that they say that", "trust me she's on our side", gee, it's making me terribly angry because the game doesn't give me the option to keep my distance, it doesn't give me the option to be cold, it's forcing her into every scene and this is ruining my experience because i don't want in any way to relate to her, much less be a white knight to her....
But I am not having that choice.

"Sigh.", otherwise...The game is great, great animations, great story, great characters, great graphics, but being forced to swallow a character I don't like and being forced to defend her from my companions when I agree with everything they say...It's being annoying, very annoying and frustrating.

Yeah its my first and favourite cyberpunk game.

Why couldn't cuberpunk 2077 have been more like this? Amazing sex robot, amazing sex mutant or whatever she is, only game with a muscle woman love interest or ex wife, only game with a psychic powered girl you can corrupt - so many good character choices and the backstory is excellent.

Even manages reasonable action scenes where lots of other games just don't look that great doing fights or things.

A+ content.

I found this to be one of the better looking, and certainly very engaging VN's I've played in a long time. The models are very attractive, the ambiance of the environment is amazing, and the stroyline is pretty darn interesting. Highly recommended!

I'd say more 4.5 stars, but damn this game is good.
v1.11.0

The game has stunning girls, incredibly high quality models that feel realistic (except in some parts where the light makes them slightly plasticky). The story is dark and mature, without engaging in excessive drama nor stupid jokes.

PROS
+ Fantastic girls. The girls are all bombshells and offer a variety of kinks. They are all pretty much individuals, though not all of them are fleshed out as they could.
+ Gripping storyline. While nothing extremely new, the plot plays well into the cyberpunk clichés and crafts a very interesting story that doesn't waste time.
+ Interesting characters. While some are basically cyberpunk stereotypes, most are fleshed out with their own personalities. I think two main girls are especially well done.
+ Amazing soundtrack. It's eerie, topical and evocative. It sets the mood perfectly and there's enough variation. It's just a top tier tracklist.

MIX'D
+ Controls are fairly standard for a VN and there isn't much to say about it.
+ Main character is a bit bland. It's obviously a self insert and he does develop during the story, but giving him a bit more oomph would be nice.
+ Animations, especially early ones, are a tad woody, though they do improve.

CONS
+ Kinda slow development. Nothing more to say about this.

The game is one of the best on this site and personally, it's in my all time favourite list. If you like the genre you're in for a ride. High quality models, stellar soundtrack and atmosphere for a VN and an interesting story will keep you interested between increasingly high quality sex scenes.

Wanted to give this a 4.5, but since you can't do that here, I'll give it a 5. The game has beautiful renders, great story, god-tier soundtrack (it's derivative, which is what the people want), but man, I have to say, there are few and far inbetween updates, that aren't very long to begin with. It's a great game, but there are many other developers working with only a fraction of it's budget and giving more content. But we are in a pirate site, I did not forget that, of course, so, judging the game by itself? It's very, very good. Worth a playtrough, easily. One of the top 10 games in here. A lower 10, but a 10, nonetheless.

I've been following this game for a while and for me it's one of the best it's also one of the reasons it's because it's a very easy game to play it's not complicated it has great animations in good interact with the npcs and the mc's love interests are several with one character more interesting than the other. For me it's a game that deserves a 9.9 rating.

Pros:
+ Very easy to understand
+ Great renderings
+ Easy to play

Hope the developer continues with the game, it looks promising. The way the game is forwarding and one more thing the game has some fetishes "I RESPECT EVERYONE'S TASTE EVERYONE HAS THEIR CRAZY FETISHES I'M ONE OF THEM" lol NO WONDERFUL THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES ON THE F95 ZONE SITE this is a game that everyone likes. Let's see what the future holds for us in the game

Better than Cyberpunk 2077!

One of the best of this type of visual novels. Fantastic animations, engaging story, right balance of sexiness and text. Great music, too. There really isn't much to complain about.
Thankfully the character faces are improved from the dev's last game (which I couldn't play...)

An amazing game with wonderful writing, stunning graphics, a really engaging tale, and a skilled and personable protagonist. One of the greatest games I've played so far in terms of narrative and mood. The characters are complex, realistic, and engaging. Continue your excellent work.

One of the top 5 best games on this site!

Pros

• Excellent renders and visuals
• Excellent soundtrack
• Excellent character models
• Excellent and unique story
• Excellent writing
• Good character development
• Unique characters
• Good sex/lewd scenes
• Smooth animations
• Perfect blend of story and lewd content

Cons

• It isn't finished
• Nearly all females in the game have the same body type - thick/voluptuous. Could use more variety.
• Some of the female areola is colored funny/poorly in the first part of the game. This gets fixed in later renders.
• Some animations suffer from either too little penetration or a lack of back and forth movement during sex - some scenes look funny and awkward because of this
• Most of the animations are slow and steady. The game needs more variety here and needs some rough sex animations with deep penetration
• The game has a lot of sex scenes. The problem is that, after a while, they all blend together and look very similar. I can't believe I'm saying this (as I love lots of sex scenes in games) but the game would probably have been better off with half as many so they don't all look similar. Either that, or the author needs to do something to keep the sex scenes new, fresh, and exciting! The author overuses the same sex positions with the same slow and steady animations
• Game could benefit from sound effects during sex
• Some expressions by the MC are overused such as "Fuck me" - it made me cringe after a while
• Sex comes too easily during the first part of the game almost to the point of the author forcing scenes just to satisfy players
• No jealousy between the many exploits the MC has with all the female characters. None of them care.
• The MC fucks just about every female in the game but he never gets walked in on by his many female companions. He lives in a shared space most of the time yet enjoys complete privacy
• Game could benefit from some group sex or threesomes
• The game could use some depravity when it comes to the sex and lewd scenes. A few rape scenes would have fit in really well with the story but the author chose to keep things mild.

The game is a near masterpiece. The author does just about everything right which is very rare. This game deserves a 5 star rating!

I highly recommend this game!

Oh boi, using the best girl as bait by not giving her a proper path and ending, that's a letdown. the endings feel rushed as always in this community. so many years the scene already exists and you can count the games that actually were good from start to finish on one hand.

I am going to admit right off the bat that a large part of awarding this VN 5 stars is due to the soundtrack. I fell in love with it. Philly really did a great job in choosing tracks for the ambience and dramatic moments in this visual novel. When you have tracks like "Doves" or "Violent Delights" by We are Astronauts, you are on a winner.

The plot is engrossing in this Cyberpunk tale of a washed up elite Merc tasked with capturing a young woman with dangerous powers.
The Milchers are mutating humans deemed a threat by the corporate powers that run things.

Yes it has similar Blade Runner plot vibes but that's good, because lets face it, Blade Runner rocks.

The characters are all unique in their own way, from the shy, naive doctor Katie...the rebellious young brat Chandra...the acerbic, provocative Ellen...to the innocent yet deadly fugitive, Gloria...they all come across as believable people.

The visual effects are striking. Lots of Cyberpunk type imagery that helps build the futuristic world around these characters and it's hard not to get invested in them and their struggle to survive and see justice done.

There are plenty of lewd scenes for those that are looking for it.
Some are pretty steamy too...with some rough bdsm type stuff available.
I go for story/atmosphere in these types of games and I was not disappointed.

Overall, it's an epic audio and visual feast that leaves you wanting more.

Phillygames is on a winner with COBD. Give it a try!

The Opening of Misty Beethoven
Most Cyberpunk movies that are not Blade Runner
Mass Effect
chocolate cake

This is a short list of things that City of Broken Dreamers is better than. No, it's not just like any of those things. It is, obviously, just a visual novel, with limited interaction dotted throughout an otherwise linear story advanced through prose and computer generated illustration.

But the art and art direction is so good that it might as well be a fully animated feature film. It certainly captures as much atmosphere and sense of place as anything in any AAA action rpg. At a certain animation heavy point about halfway through the series, the sense of grandeur and suspense--of plot lines and characters coming together for a climactic reckoning--is unparalleled in computer gaming. Bioware wishes it could tell a story this well, make its players this invested in its characters.

I would say that I hope the author produces a de-pornified version so that a bigger audience can experience this, but the game is so good that the sex feels intrinsically linked to the storytelling. Like any good sex scene, each one here tells its own story, fleshing out the characters involved and their relationships.

I teared up twice playing this game, not because of anything tragic happening in the story, but because it is so so good. Really, the talent involved here could change the industry. I'd all but given up on both traditional fiction and gaming as a narrative art, and this game restored my faith in art and literature. And porn.

i could write a 15 page essay about this but i will cut it short.
Music 5/5 ;
I usually mute everyting and play my own music during any VNs, even with the good ones. But this one is damn, it fits so well.

Story 5/5 ;
Deep lore and all that. Really fine ass utopia building out there.

Renders 5/5 ;
no nightmare fuels like some games do often

Girls 5/5 ;
I m personally not into S&M shit (no judgement) but even i, liked all the girls they all have unique characters even tho some girls has that copy paste look, they feel different.

My only complaint would be, there is no indication to show how much points you have with the girls unlesss you are using mods. It would be a nice addition but not terribly important.
Keep up the good work PhillyGames.

Serious cyberpunk vibes. This game builds atmosphere so incredibly well, and I adore the characters. The writing is sublime. This is currently my number one game on this site. I would absolutely recommend it. No two dimensional booty calls here, there is always another layer to unravel.

[Reviewed v1.11 Chapter 11]

One of the best games in active development. So much well-developed content, beautiful girls and renders, and engaging dialogue amidst a gripping sci-fi story. PhillyGames, between this game and his last one, has to be considered one of the very best in the genre.

The Good ()

• Gorgeous models -- hyper detailed and beautiful
• A number of love interests and paths that don't necessarily exclude one another
• Creative use and inclusion of sci-fi elements
• Amazing execution in the cinematography and visual storytelling
• A very original story that draws from many sources of inspiration but still feels entirely fresh
• The "framing" of the H-scenes is incredibly erotic -- where characters are positioned, the camera angles, the body movements all heighten the experience
• Hours and hours of content
• An end is in sight -- great in terms of creating meaning for the narrative as it continues on

The Not-So-Good ()

• This far into the game, it is hard to keep track of some of the plot lines and some of the stakes seem to be moving around
• Over time, all of the girls seem to morph into having similar submissive personalities

Overall, an outstanding title with so much care and consideration for the story, renders and dialogue. Can't recommend this enough!

One-line review: all-around excellent, better story than most SyFy originals and better porn than most porn.
Great writing, the girls don't feel repetitive, the sci-fi elements are compelling and would be an interesting story on their own without the porn, but then the actual sex scenes are themselves a cut above.

I found this to be an extremely stunning visual novel. Nearly every scene in it pops out with vibrant graphical fx. The little animation scenes are all excellent at setting the mood too. I love cyberpunk themed games and this one drew me in and captivated me with the storyline.

The soundtrack is just to die for. It really sets the mood, and the developer has made excellent choices. I could just listen to the haunting main theme over and over, it's that atmospheric.

The story is engrossing enough to hook me in and get invested in the characters. I felt sad for the milchers and also became quite protective towards gloria. It did feel a bit slower in the last update which seemed more focused on the lewd scenes. I guess the guys need their quota of flesh

Some minor critisicms:

There are plenty of lewd scenes but I found that the weakest part. Sometimes the model proportions looked a bit strange from different angles and some of the scenes felt a bit "samey". Maybe it's just me though. I could happily play it without any of the erotic scenes. The dialogue also seems a little bit unimaginitive and stilted in later updates, as if the dev was struggling to find variety for the scenes.

Overall though a stunningly stylish game that is clearly a labor of love.

This one definitelly deserves 5 stars. It was actually first 3D VN game I played and it definitelly convinced me to try more. I quite like the plot, the whole 'cyberpunk' setting is very intriguing, characters are very likeable and have wide range of different personalities, and also there is the whole glossary thing, so you can find more background info about the game world, that was very good idea. And of course renders quality and graphics level really blew my mind, it's simply amazing. Character models, environment, lightning.. everything feels so perfect. Well maybe percentage of female characters with huge busts could've been a bit smaller, but besides that I have nothing to complain about.

Possibly the best cyberpunk type game on the market thusfar. Intriguing story, decent enough characters with a couple outstanding ones who invoke a good bit of emotion. Beautifully rendered images.

Solid music, lighting and atmospheric design are this game's absolute strong point in my opinion. I would rate this a solid 9.5 out of 10. I cannot wait to see more of the story unfold.