VN - Ren'Py - College Kings [Act 2 v6.3.1] [Undergrad Steve]

If you were a 2000s kid like me, I feel like this is the Nickelback of AVNs. Everyone's heard of it, and it's everyone's goto to put down when praising their alternative pick. And yet, they did have many songs full of catchy riffs, and similiarly, despite its reputation, this is chock full of fun gameplay.

Point by point -

Animations are mediocre, not a strong point, but typically you're involved enough at that point- it's an afterthought.

Renders are average on the whole - art looks a little dated at this point, however this is partially made up for by the fact that almost all the potential LIs are extremely attractive, and attractive in a way that you can imagine them as real world next-door neighbors.

So for average animations and art, why am I rating a 5? Simple. The 3dcg games with believable and witty english dialogue I can count on one hand. The gameplay is engaging, and it's long. This actually feels like a game-game, as opposed to so much of the [partially finished/pure novel/concept and nothing more] that exists amongst its peers.

This is the only avn I've played that had me actually cackling irl in my chair for 5 minutes. (europe club).

If you're at all interested in college-setting type games, or if you like characters that have more realistic proportions vs cartoon, definitely give this is a try.

This is a game that wanted to be more than just something average but fell short on almost every level and devolved into a clusterfuck where I can't even say "well, at least I'll still keep playing for this one aspect". Didn't even make it past the Europe trip.
The premise was already pretty nonsensical.

I mean I initially wanted to give this a higher rating because I appreciated the dev wanted to try for something more but the problem is you have a game that's overall mediocre and a story that has devolved into a chaotic shit show that makes it seem like there was no real direction for it other than "try to get as many streamers to play this so it can blow up and I make money".
I was willing to overlook all the other flaws but everything just got progressively worse and so inconsistent that I don't know if I can even finish this for the characters I actually even like.
It's as if as I kept playing the game, every reason to keep playing was taken away:

• Well the whole underground fighting thing sounds corny and unbelievable but the mini-game seems fun. Also weird that that the women get turned on by that but that alright. Just fight and get laid. Seems simple. - No, you won't actually do it that much and it quickly ceases to be the main focus after your first official fight. You also won't get laid because her mom just died in a car accident.
• Okay ... well at least I can still see scenes with the ones I like. - Nope, you will see the characters the plot says you will see and you won't be doing much anyway.
• Alright. Well maybe I can just try to pursue relationships with the ones I'm interested in and just ignore everything els-YOU WILL SEE WHO/WHAT WE WANT YOU TO SEE AND NOW YOU WILL ALSO SIT THERE WHILE SOME RANDOM DUDE IS INTRODUCED JUST TO PREACH TO YOU ABOUT HOW YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON (and undermines you at every turn while all those characters you were trying to pursue suddenly have their personalities change and turn on you while making you feel alienated and we're going to throw in a lot about women empowerment just to really drive home our marketability to those streamers)

Edit:
I'm just going to drop it here instead of playing long enough to see how it gets worse. The game, the story, and the characters all are having a serious identity crisis and I don’t want to stick around for it. Tried to make this review more concise as well.

Its a solid game and what can I say more? The wheel can not be invented twice and same rule applies for this type of game. When you see a College Based Porn game, feel free to tell me a story, in this setting, which has not been told yet. I dont know why people have so high standarts for this game specially.

It surely has bugs in it, but its not more bugged than other WIP Games. It's stable.

9/10

The story of this game is very interesting, and the characters are very distinctive and cute. I prefer the S1 mode for the fighting part. I hope to play it soon. Thank you very much for making this game, and I hope it will have many seasons.

I wish I could be more positive about this game. But unfortunately, I cant actually review the game because I cant finish the first 3 chapters. A game breaking bug with the in-game social media app halts any possible progress. I could skip the rest of chapter 2 but whats the point?

I guess the music is decent enough at times. Some of the characters are okay. The renders are...above average but they all have squirrel girl teeth. Other 3d games also struggle to render attractive teeth so Im not really gonna fault College Kings for it

There's no getting around it though - there isnt a real reason to play this game when....other, better made, and drastically less buggy college setting games exist

The first part is excellent. The second part many people expected a big update but the game had many bugs and was unstable. Now the game is stable and has a good foundation where you can continue the story

Overall the VN is mediocre, has a lot of potential , but went downhill fast .
The change sistem from "Season 1 to season 2" is awfull.
If u want a "chuckles , giggles and laugh VN Simulator" or a "generic semi porn college game " , then this is for you. (*laughs* and *chuckles*)
The so called story/plot does not exist.
The "phone applications" is only a big BUG.
The FIGHT sistem was something great and unique i guess in this game but they remove it.....
Renders: 2 out of 5 stars ....
I Can go on and on but... well this game isnot for me if i want a good VN i want a good plot and the dialogues to be at least FUN to read.... and CK2 is not even funny to read.

Full of quality content. Definitely deserving of a higher rating. Tho, I wish that there was a lot more consequence to the choices that the player is able to make. While, what you do does get refrenced, there's yet to be any real drawbacks to doing whatever you want, whenever you want. Sort of feels like a world where you just can't fail.

This is an excellent game, but not a perfect or complete game in many aspects. Let me explain.

Renders and sex scene wise, this is some of the best 3DCG content out there. The animated scenes are hot, and the build up to them is really solid most of the time. Choices can matter, and you really have to pause sometimes before you make a decision. College Kings nails these two things.

The thing holding back college kings from reaching masterpiece status is the unfocused nature of the game. Ideas are routinely introduced and abandoned, it just feels like that devs routinely say stuff to each other like Dev 1 " You know what would be hot bro? X " Dev 2: Fuck yeah bro lets put it in the game." every scene without connecting the scenes effectively so at times they don't make any sense. And when they come up with a new idea they just abandon the old one.

This game is def. worth playing to get off and for some of the plotlines. Just go in knowing alot of things dont make sense and ideas are all over the place.

I feel this games rating is way too low compared to some other games with way less quality and content, so I felt I needed to review this great yet unperfect game.

To be honest, I can't say College Kings is a bad game in any way, but it just didn't work for me. First reason is that it all feels too generic, there are too many college based games with very similair plots, characters and ideas. And the focus on the fighting side and frat competition and all that is certainly new, but I don't get to engage with it as it's a story I'm not interested in personally. The begginning is very rail-roady but that is common in this kind of games, so can't say how it evolves further down the line.

The other main reason for my disinterest is that I don't find the female characters appealing, either physically or personality-wise. Character models are meh in my taste with some very bland and generic expressions. Sound seems ok.

So, all in all, could be a great game for someone with different tastes and, though I wanted to like it, I'm afraid I ended up not doing so.

Despite the rating I give here, I still love this game for its graphics and character interaction, I'm sure most folks wrote all about it so I'll add something new.
The only reason I'm giving 3 stars is lack of a crucial tool that IMHO should be in any game as big as this. I'm talking about chapter replay. As of now I've seen it implemented only in ONE big Ren'Py game, it's on the first page of game rating by likes given, so I'm sure you're familiar with it.
Let's say I've lost my save/deleted the game/decided to replay some story episodes that I don't remember or feel like starting from this exact point. So I choose the chapter I want, set character points/relations and dig right in!
Too bad it's not there bc I'd really love to return to this one, but feel like I'll waste a day or two just to get to the new content.

College Kings was the game that got me into AVN's so maybe I have a particular soft spot for it, but after having played some of the other top tier 3D avns, I still think this game does something that other games haven't achieved. There is a volume of interaction with individual love interests that makes the relationship simulation aspect of the game incredibly satisfying.

Yes, there are other games with more polish, and CK certainly has its fair share of rough edges, especially in the early chapters: bugs, a meandering plot that picks up and drops college tropes left and right, and some non-native-English writing that doesn't quite capture the college experience. Early on, lighting and background detail are also a bit lacking, making it sometimes feel like you're looking at posed dolls.

BUT, all of that has improved with time. The writing seems quite polished in the later episodes, and the meandering plot has actually become a real strength. Going on a variety of dates and getting to do different types of activities with different girls becomes a kind of gameplay loop, unhampered by transparent relationship-point-collecting or reliance on minigames. The writing for the individual girls has improved as well, and I maintain that this is the most realistically attractive cast currently available. Each girl is rendered and animated beautifully, and the use of subtle animation brings each one to life. (Although I do wish that they had larger wardrobes).

And you can tell that this is where the energy of the developers goes--into the each girl as a believable fantasy. By Act IV, the sex is almost beside the point. There is a sweetness to the game that even the most beloved AVNs lack. The girls don't look demure and seductive by default, they are bright and cheerful, with warm smiles. Their stories are not loaded with melodrama, they are stories of young people looking forward to their futures, wanting to experience life.

So while those other games might drive the player forward through unlocking new lewd scenes or the forward momentum of cliffhanger plot points, momentum in College Kings is kept up almost exclusively through its affection for its female cast. And now in Act IV, all that time spent with the characters, all that affection, is really paying off as we start to get into each character's background and we start getting story beats about their family histories and conflicts.

Unfortunately, this love and care is not extended to the secondary characters, who do tend to drag things down. Especially because drama is not the game's focus, some fleshed-out, likable male characters would make the world feel richer. For example, there's a classic fun dumbass friend, but because he is only ever sex-obsessed an annoying, scenes with him feel like wasted time between more meaningful encounters. Even if he were perfectly written and was laugh out loud funny (which he is not), there still needs to be more for the player to want to spend time with him.

Still, everything released thus far has been still been really fun and satisfying, with the high points of the series coming most recently. The game manages to pull off big set-pieces in a way that doesn't interrupt the flow of character interaction and relationship development, and that is really commendable.

So don't come for the plot or the pornography, but do come for an immersive dating sim with a gorgeous, lovable cast that you can spend a ton of time with.

Renders are good but not spectacular, some of the girls are ugly af and weird, the stories also doesnt helps, its so bad that i dont know how this game could get so many pledges on patreon? dont get fooled by the 3 ladies on the banner, thats all i can say about this game.

Game started off strong didn't mind the kinda scattered events since it introduced people and the MC had some inner conflicts on what he wanted to do. Sadly it went down pretty fast after joining the frat it is pretty much all but forgotten in regards to most events and the plot seems to lose focus along with a lot of plot holes appearing the most egregious of this being that if you get into a relationship with Lauren which is the earliest girl you can really pursue she is pretty much forgotten in 90+% of the events when other girls hit on you. The MC will mainly just turn them down if you have the option and just give a milquetoast rejection to them never mentioning his relationship you can also just go along with them and do whatever and there seems to be only one girl that causes problems in your relationship which makes no sense. The overall story doesn't connect which I really wish it would and while I like the KCT system the story can make you feel like your choices really don't matter most of the time

Renders are pretty great ngl they are very well done even though sometimes like in a class room or other populated areas it is just empty besides named characters.

Fighting mini game was pretty fun kinda liked what they changed it into but for a fighting focused game you get into like 5 fights and I know at least 2-3 of them are avoidable and 4 of them are in the beginning and after the first arc it is pretty much completely forgotten. The training also makes no sense you see someone do something like an uppercut which wasn't even done right (wrist was bent good way to injure or break it) and then you now know it perfectly and can use it in a fight. The form is okay defense wise but almost all offensive renders really suck on even the basics of how to throw a punch.

MC has no development muscle wise he looks the exact same as when he entered college even though he never fought before and now is working out a bunch allegedly. (Spoilers Tom went from femboy to chad in the time between he really bulked up but the MC stays the same for whatever reason?) Also almost all the dudes are as short as the girls with the MC being shorter in most renders which I just don't really like.

The game seems surprisingly linear as the game goes on which sucks because I thought that with all the setup and different paths it was showing in the first few acts we would see branching paths based on whom the MC is interested in or pursuing multiple or singular. But you just kinda get the exact same thing with maybe 1 or 2 different events or options before it goes back to railroad.


Side note writing is really awkward most of the time especially with all the *Laughs* *chuckles* and having everyone in the room individually do that.

Overall I think the game has lost a lot of its potential like it could recover but then you would either need to rewrite a lot of the early scenes and events or play through them and be even more confused on why it all of a sudden got focused. The only way I see this recovering is reworking a lot of scenes starting from the beginning.

Wish I could rate it higher but it is just lacking focus it is good for shits and giggles just don't really expect it to make a ton of sense or have a direction.

Well,

overall the VN is great, it also has a lot of potential. A lot more than a certain other VN some people are comparing it to.

That said there are some major drawbacks.
The lack of a central focus is very damaging, for example as soon as the MC gets to college it's all about fighting an joining one of the 2 fighting frats.
However when you join one of them, pretty much the same things happen with slight variations and then the focus is shifted to the Europe trip a few days after the frat business is over.

While the trip is interesting there are many missed opportunities for character development.
There could have been more free roam events or at least more freedom of choice to do more things with characters people might want to do stuff with.
However the choices are very limited and many times there is no choice at all, for example when Chloe mentions the sex shop, I refused Ryan and didn't wanna follow Imre but the game still ended up doing that.


And from the trip the focus shifts to the presidential campaign and now you are the Campaign manager because for some reason both candidates know that they won't win without your help.
And what's with Riley, she was in love with Amber but after the trip it's like Amber never existed for her and now she is in love with the MC and Aubrey.
Why is she falling in love left and right?
Why did Emily not speak to the MC the whole trip and after coming back decide to leave?
What's up with Chloe? Why is she so busy? What is she doing?

Why do we not get a choice sometimes, like the one with following imre when he gets cat-fished and with Aubrey deciding to be in a relationship with the MC if you make certain choices at her parent's wedding.
Why not give us to refuse? And since she is Chloe's best friend should Aubrey's path not be locked if Chloe is the MC's girlfriend.

There are many more unanswered questions like that within the story and if I try to list them all the review would be extremely long.

That said there are some technical issues as well, scenes happening out of order, or in an order that makes absolutely 0 sense.

For example. Chloe waking up the MC saying that the teacher had some sort of Event planned but then Aubrey comes in takes Chloe away and the MC goes back to sleep, only to be woken up by Chloe again with the same dialogue that the teacher has some Event planned.


There are others that also happen in an order that makes no sense.

The old fighting system was better in my opinion and the new is not fun at all, however there is skip auto-win option so that is good to have for people who don't enjoy the new system.

I like the KCT system but it is heavily under utilized and frankly the traits make no sense.

You can be confident and still be loyal and if you are popular you have got to be at least somewhat confident and still loyal.

And my biggest problem is that the saves from Season 1 cannot be transferred over to Season 2.

Maybe they can but as far as I searched there was no way to do it and one had to use the path builder which disables achievements and trying to play from new game made the game always crash no matter what one chose.

However back to the choices, there is one in particular that bothers me.
I always ran after the guy who stole Nora's bag but in season 2 the cannon choice is that you checked on Nora instead of running after the guy to get the bag back.

I would understand if the story wasn't meant to be taken seriously then I would not have so many problems with it, but things with Nora and Chris, Josh, Aubrey and her parents, Josh and Amber with their addictions those are serious moments and interesting events which give the story more depth.

Sadly most of the potential this VN has is being wasted.
It has a lot of content but most of it doesn't have much depth.

Now I know that what I've said is mostly negative, however despite all that the VN is a good time.
There are many funny moments and interesting ideas which can still be enjoyed even if badly implemented.
I liked killing all of the people on the trip, spin the bottle was hilarious. Mr. Bruce Lee is always a laugh. And the campaign is quite fun, again even if it is not implemented in the best possible way.

I probably enjoyed it enough to give it 5 stars, but I cannot because despite my enjoyment these are still issues the dev needs to fix or avoid in the future.

Tried Season 1 (huge file, downloaded by Bit Torrent), and I enjoyed it some ways. Didn't care for the confident/loyal/whatever it was way of determining if a woman interacts with you (like kissing or sex). But when it came to certain free roam areas, it was not easy to find where to go. Would have been better if a map was available and you can click on where to go, or highlight the areas so much easier.
Not really interested in the whole fighting thing, just seems so juvenile. I did find some of the story interesting and made the game better. Would have continued but reading the later posts about it being so buggy was a reason not to download the 2nd Season.
The women were mostly interesting, and different looks, except all pretty much the same body. But when certain choices made it that a birthday girl didn't want sex (and it was implied previously that she did on an European tour), I just thought why bother. So I'm done.
Take how you want, but I'm going to waste my time on something else.

My first ero VN. Still very good even when I fund other also have very or more interesting story. Some character are changing of views from unexplained causes. Still good story. Changing writer aren't good idea, because there is not consistent level of writing. (I would like to give 4.5) I canot so I give 5.

I love this game and it has become one of my favorite updates. There are a lot of different paths to play through and the decisions all have consequences.

The erotic tension is definitely there for me, and there is enough to do in between scenes that you don't want to really skip through too much of it, but there isn't so much to do that it becomes annoying with mini games that take way too long or too much energy.

Looking forward to seeing how this keeps developing!

This vn started being really good but after act 1, CK went downhill fast; the change of writers affected a lot to the history of the vn. Its still enjoyble but with the messy code and all the bugs that it has makes this visual novel mediocre and sometimes even unplayable.

This is one of the best games i have plaid so far and I got so hooked that I dont know if I could find anything like this
The plot is not something mindblowing but it doesnt need any, the story is good as it is.
As for the characters there is depth to the relationship with every girl or friend you have and its pretty nice.
The renders are insane actually and well animated, not the best but they are far beyond average.
My actual rating would be 4.5 though because of the potential it has.