VN - Ren'Py - City of Dreams [v0.4.2] [vncityofdreams]

It's a quality game, but there is nothing special in it, nothing spicy, a girl and some sexual situations, but it's all kind of boring. There's no corruption, no kinks, no fetishes. A girl who gets more slutty, yes it's still hot sometimes, but not that much. No, it's not a game about corruption like some people write. She does everything by her own will and doesn't look naive.
It says it's AI CG, it looks really good. I think it's one of the best uses of AI in games like this, and it doesn't look like AI art like other games.

v0.4.2
I definitely like the character art. If you're just opposed to AI based art then, no, it won't be for you but if you're willing to give it a try I think it's pretty well done in this game. Seems like there are or will be a few different routes and a range of depravity to suit different moods/tastes.

My favorite part was actually the "cosplay" photos. I hope there will continue to be more options there and that it will stay a viable source of money. I'd personally love a "slutty influencer" route- not pure innocence of course but just slightly less corruption than the other routes. I'd also love to see some more interaction with the photographer. He seems like the least skeevy of the guys we meet but of course I could be wrong about him.

Anyway that's just a couple things I'm hoping for. I'll be interested to see how things actually turn out. It's definitely off to a good start imo.

So far [v0.4.2] this is looking really good.

The premise is simple and familiar: inexperienced girl moves to the big city with dreams of becoming a movie star; she finds that it's impossible to make ends meet just as a part-time waitress, but for a pretty girl there are always ways to make money…

What sets this apart from many other corruption games is the quality of the gameplay and writing. Basically, this early version manages to combine the best qualities of a VN with the best qualities of a sandbox.

Rather than railroading you into prostitution or porn, the game offers numerous different paths and ways to make money and pay rent, and if you play tactically and budget carefully it is (so far) difficult but possible to get by without compromising yourself (give or take some mildly risqué Instagram snaps). This feels a lot more satisfying, because by offering true choices, you have to make significant decisions about how to best pursue your dreams and what you are willing to do to get ahead. (In some cases even more options would be welcome; for example, if you agree to work in the Dream Lounge, you should be able to choose how far to go with the client.)

But you don't just choose an action, get some generic narration and replay the same scene over and over in order to grind cash or corruption. Each of the paths consists mainly of custom scenes, with well-written dialogue and interesting interactions that carry your relationships with other characters forward. Even something routine like working a shift in the café often has some custom bit. (A little bit more of this in for example the photo shoots would also be nice.) The storylines are also interesting in their own right, in particular the various paths for how to deal with your drug-dealing neighbor, from going into partnership to ratting him out to the cops.

Combining the freedom of a sandbox with the storytelling of a VN might easily make the game scope grow out of control, so it will be interesting to see if the game can keep a good balance and sustain a satisfying degree of openness and non-generic content going forward, without progress grinding to a standstill.

As for the graphics, they're mainly AI-generated, but it's well done and carefully cleaned up. The style is appealing, the renders are plentiful and well-chosen, characters/clothes/etc. look pretty consistent from shot to shot, and there aren't any very noticeable howlers.

the story so far is not good ( there is almost no story, just doing actions is not story.), we are just using usual troupes in such games. The sex scenes are too sudden for my liking. The side character is too bland , main character's backstory is boring. There is nothing new about the game except for good art . But I am not going to rate it for its AI art.

I don't want to sound like a school teacher. But I think not a lot of work was put into this game. I mean if the art is AI and you have not added anything on top of it , you have just added expressions and some how made sure that each pic has the right head. You could have added some motion to the scenes. There was much possible , but we did not. (this not criticism of the game , this is just a note. because final product is more important , irrespective of how it was made. I am adding this just because there is a part of human mind that is attracted to polish of the game and I am just justifying why I am not going to rate on polish of the art. I am not saying AI is bad , but perks of having AI were not used , which is more free time . Should have tried doing something new, tried some of those moving animations the high budget VNs have. )

So far it is a good game and story. Better then most games that are the same type. Still a little short but getting better each update. Hopefully the creators stick with it and move it forward.
I like the art work and the sort of open world feel, that will only get better. Takes a few play throughs to see all the content with different choices.

Not much content to speak of currently, but what's there is fantastic.

The art is absolutely incredible and genuinely the best out of any game I've played of this nature.

With the groundwork the dev/s have laid so far, so long as there is a consistent development cycle that keeps up with the quality of the present game, City of Dream will most definitely be a big hitter in the genre.

The game has been getting better with every update, and by v0.3.2 I can state that it is more than living up to expectations: great graphics, great writing (including some of the best dialogue work I've seen here), interesting characters, some mystery, and a lot of choice (though not with consequences yet). The only fly in the ointment is that the player doesn't get to make a lot of choices (at least early on) that one would expect, so as to develop the story (e.g. going with the neighbor for drinks, or going to the park at one point even without choice, apparently so as to meet that neighbor again). This is acceptable because it does fast-track the main story.

Amazing game although it's very short in its current form. Excited to see where this goes. Liking the apparent freedom and the potential this game is setting itself up for... now if it can only meet that potential time will tell

This looks like a project with a lot of potential.
Ren'py games usually have a linear structure, will this game have a non-linear structure?
I really like the concept of the MC's choices affecting other things.
Hopefully this project doesn't run aground and goes all the way to the end.

Only up to version .2 at the moment, but the art is great. Seems like a very standard corruption story -- lecherous landlord, cafe job, OF app, clothes to grind -- but the writing is very clean.

Best advice I'd give to the dev -- to keep themselves interested, as much as the readers -- is to do something surprising. E.g., there are already lot of stories about hopefuls doing auditions; what if in this story, she actually gets in right away, and the story is about the pressures of the entertainment industry? Or something really wild, like she gets involved with the mob or cops, who help her career so she has access to their targets.

Not to say that a standard story won't have its fans, especially with good art and clean writing. Maybe the biggest twist of all compared to other games would be to do fast updates and actually finish...

Good graphics, hopefully there will be a great story, the product looks promising. This is the developer's first game, hope his game will be successful. I wouldn't want the main character to become a lecherous whore right away, we will wait for more updates.

The version I had access to was 0.1, it didn't have much content in terms of history, but it served to give a context of what's to come, at first I'm very interested, it all depends on the developer from now on, but it looks extremely promising.