VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - Connected [v0.2.5] [ChainZero]

I have a set of simple rules: Don't review on-going or abandoned projects, but for Connected I had to make a big and deserved exception.

Story: 5 Adamant-Hard Bananas out of 5
Connected offers a glimpse of an emotionally dense narrative, while still keeping it down to earth, a good example of how any story should be written: with passion.
I got hooked from start to finish to be honest, dialogues felt real, like real human interaction between family and friends, plus there´s no rush to reach certain points of the story... It feels like reading a good novel.
It's so damn hard to find VN Writer's that don't take the narrative shorcuts to move their story or manage to make mundane interactions feel interesting to read, and somehow the Dev managed to do both...Damn such a talent.

Characters: 5 Adamant-Hard Bananas out of 5
The girls look awesome, they all look like supermodels of course like any other AVN, but there's no actual abuse of makeup to make them look absolutely dashing, they look natural.
MC looks good and feels natural too; He's not a "nice guy" or a horn dog, he's just a guy, with thoughts and feelings, he even "zones out" when other people is talking, like any of us.
Also worth mention, characters on this VN have facial expressions, even the MC. This detail might be a bit subjective, but I'll state it nonetheless.
Usually speaking, animals like dogs and cats doesn't require too much narrative focus to actually awaken the reader's sympathy, making them an easy resource in the background, like another furniture just serving as a distractor, thats why its so refreshing when they are depicted like another character, with traits and a personality, this is Lola's case, and I'm damn grateful for it.

Mechanics: 5 Adamant-Hard Bananas out of 5
There's no minigames *Chef kiss*, only a few decisions due to current state of the project.

Content: 5 Adamant-Hard Bananas out of 5
Again, due to current state of the project, there's not a lot of content on this department, but narratively speaking, it feels well delivered.
Oh, and the music...I usually don't speak of the music at all, but it feels...Well placed here.

Ending: *404*
And yet again, due to the current state of the project, there's no ending...And its really sad, this IS a story with good potential.

Connected is a project that despite being abandoned and incomplete, left a mark in this forum and in a lot of us, and is still one of the Top Voted of all time.
Even though the dev declared the project 100% public, I completely understand why no one has dared to try to complete it: It's a real challenge to even try to fill this dev's shoes, and don't get me wrong, there are a lot of talented people out there, but I feel that many of them feel a enormous respect for this story, enough respect for it to serve as an inspiration in their own projects but at the same time preventing them from touching this story so as not to damage it or change it by causing its essence to be lost forever.

In a sea of mediocrity, works of art made with passion stand out like lighthouses, and some still incomplete manage to shine like a green light at the end of the pier, marking the course so that others do not get lost in the darkness.

Wherever you are Dev, I hope you come back one day, but for now...Thank you.

Connected v0.2.5 Abandoned

This a gem, sadly it's abandoned. Honestly there is not that much games like this. Where MC is not a big pervert nor asshole. Girls are not cock worshipping sluts. A slowburn story. Writing and narrative style is great. There is a lot to read. Models and renders are great. Wish there was more games like this but sadly not that much and this one is already abandoned. Even though it's abandoned there is fair amount of content. Good thing is that there is a chance maybe dev will continue this.

* Good renders and girl models
* Excellent narrative and writing
* Slowburn story

If dev will continue this this one will surely rise to top. If you like slow burn games with interesting story give this one a try.

Man I can't believe this was actually abandoned what a shame. I was blown away by the writing I think this is 1 of the best written VN here. The premise was quite interesting & all the characters were charming in their own way. Sex animations though few were just gorgeous. Not to mention the beautiful character models just amazing dev

Renders are incredibly gorgeous - true shame this got abandoned. Would have loved to see even more of this amazing style. Definitely one of the best rendered and animated entries on the site. If we're lucky, maybe we'll see more from them in the future.

There is an emphasis on the story, with some psychological stuff, so I love it. Lovely characters, cute girls. However, the MC is a wimp. For instance,

• for years he can't figure out his love life;
• meeting his biological mother he spends all time in small chat, not even trying to learn about her past, the story of his birth etc.;
• submissively takes blueballing and other shit from women.

I get it that he is young and inexperienced, so it's all understandable, to a degree; but being so devoid of curiosity and sense of justice he just makes me hard to identify with him.

Love this game a lot and I'm happy to see more of it, the characters are refreshing and the story is very captivating the renders are really nice looking aswell. Thank you ChainZero for this excellent game.

Beautiful game! I find myself engaged with all of the characters in it – that’s a very good sign. The story, while a bit slow, is rich. Great writing (a must with visual novels, in my opinion), beautiful renders... an all-round great piece of work. I LOVE Lola, too! Keep up the great work!

(reviewing 0.2.5)

It sounds a little weird even to me to talk about how a VN has great camera work like it's a movie or something, but first thing that comes to mind after reading through this is that the visual direction in this game is on fucking POINT. Like, top 2% of the games on this whole damn site good in this regard. Dev does an outstanding job with staging shots, using focus, facial expressions, and unique poses to tell his story and I added him on Patreon pretty much just for that.

(second thing that comes to mind is MC HAS A DOG MC HAS A DOG MC HAS A DOG LOLA IS 13/10 BEST DOGGO AAAAH but that's not particularly trenchant commentary. not that f95 reviews are some sort of bastion of great literacy but anyways.)

Characters are accessibly tropey without being retreads of the same old VN chars you've seen a dozen times before. MC works for me, not too flawed to be unlikeable and not too perfect to be boring. Designs are also better than average (and did I mention dev is great at directing them as actors?).

Still in the introductory part of the story so there isn't a lot to say about that (there are no significant choices or any branching thus far) but I think it's setting up pretty well for a slice-of-life type narrative that doesn't have to rely on supernatural hoowah or Top 8 Anime Episodes or A WILD FETISH SITUATION APPEARS! to drive a plot along. MC isn't one of those generic blank slate types so you won't be defining his personality so much as steering him through some major life decisions coming up for him.

Biggest downside is pace of development. This is not a slap-some-assets-and-render operation, obviously, and that comes with a time cost. Also, the dude is learning on the go as a lot of devs do and with that leveling up comes a gap in quality in the earlier parts. ch1 ain't bad, but ch2 is where I started being impressed, and so a rework of ch1 was probably always gonna happen. It is what it is. (also MC magically changed shirts soon as ch2 began, lol)

anyway the tl;dr for me is that I am unapologetically dropping a 5 star here because there is some serious fucking potential here that I rarely see in VNs and while project completion is never a sure thing I am hopeful that this one keeps on keepin on. There are only a few threads in my f95 watch list that I would be more pleased to see the title get a version update in than this one.

Gorgeous characters, a new and engaging story line, people with actual emotions that are far more realistic and meaningful than I'm used to from the genre. Even the music is well placed. I'm definitely interested in checking out the story as it progresses.

I really love this one, normal story, not oversized body-parts and boring clichees. If you look for a realistic game with very well defined characters, this is the right place.
Anya and sister are a true masterpiece, meaning looks, act, everything.
Mc is not a douche as you can see in most VN's , let's hope this one is going to climb up in the top as it deserves.
Well done ChainZero !!

This game has great potential. I Loved the story, the cast, Personalities and art. Since the lockdown i have been searching for games to escape with, this game hit a good spot, i was sad when it ended and am looking foreward to updates. Will def be watching and supporting this title.

Played v0.2.5 and i gotta say this is a very promising game!
Almost everything is great tbh:

• Top of the notch renders.
• Character models look amazing even secondaries.Doggo 10/10
• Story seems very interesting.Cant really comment about it since its too early.Can't wait to see what's next though .
• BGM is always a nice addition.And its not 1 song on repeat.
• Animations are decent and need some fixing and improvement.

The only thing i found out of place are the racial slurs which they dont add up to anything but whatever.Not really an issue just an observation.

Seems like a came-for-the-faps-but-stayed-for-the-story type of game which are the best in my opinion BUTT the faps are good as well with this one .About the slow burn that shouldnt be an issue if the unfolding story turns to be good.
Definitely worth checking.Personally i'd wait a but for more content because you'll want more by the end of the current version.Best of luck to the devs!

Warning to new players! This is one of those games you hate or adore!
Thats why you see so many 5 stars!
I gave this game a 3 star which is very generous(2 star at most) and I don`t want to discourage dev!

Renders are beautiful, period! Girls also, but...pretty generic and not unique. Also, most of the girls have crossed eyes especially the short haired one...(Ayana I think...) Its kind of cute... Few mature women also appear but totally plain and not appealing to me even tho I prefer MILFs...

Story is extremely boring and not worth the time. It seems like dev is opted for slow buildup and character making but I personally hate it so much...its so plain and non-imaginative... Absolutely no risk choices for almost an hour of gameplay! Ridiculous. No gameplay elements whatsoever(which I`m ok with, there are few game that I adore despite that but without risk choices???) and few choices that you have are totally generic...No buildup!!! MC is incredible ugly. Last scene in this update kind of makes up lack of excitement but nothing special, just fine...

So as of now, beautiful renders and lack of content(promises potential) is what keeps you wanting for more. I`ll wait at least 6 month to give it a second try...

Renders 5/5, They are not the most beautiful renders ever but each person in the story looks like a real person and the women are beautiful and sexy. Facial expressions also make a larger impact on how you read dialogue and that is a huge plus.

Story and characters so far 5/5. Each character is believable and feels like a real life human. The drama and relationships are well set up and supported. Though it is too early in the game to get many resolutions to the drama or relationships, the premises are set up well enough that I only have good hopes.

Writing 4/5. I really enjoy the dialogue here but some of the monologues could use some work. They are well done enough that they never feel like a drag but occasionally they repeat information without purpose or are just written slightly awkwardly. Not a problem of style but an editor could make it near perfect.

Rarely do I comment on the music, but it fits the mood quite well here and isn't obnoxious.

Scenes, there is only one at the moment but it is well animated and plays out both in character and is a treat for the eyes.

If I were to give any warnings it would be these. It appears to be a very slow burn, so stay for the story and not for the porn. It looks like this game is pretty heavily focused on a small number of girls and it appears like it may end up being the opposite of a sandbox style game. For me this is ahuge plus, but if you wanted tons of options with easy access to porn I'd look elsewhere. Otherwise this has the makings of a highly promising game where you can enjoy they story and characters as much as the porn.

Haven't played a game like this for a looong long time. It is literally perfect. Romance is spot on, renders as well. Story is awesome and flows nicely. The characters are so lifelike and behave real, which some people might dislike, but I love it. All in all I can't wait to see more and to see how this one will progress. So far I am more then impressed so I had to leave 5 stars!

Just played this game for the 1st time (v0.2.5)
And i have to say i was really pleasantly surprised by how good it is.

The Positives:~ The writing is really good, nice graphics & models. Honestly it is so great & appealing to the eyes to see new models & backgrounds that have not been reused in so many other games (I mean 95% of all games have the exact same clothes shop). I can see & feel how the dev was so meticulous (in a good way) about so many aspects of the game. Like how the characters eyes go up & down & when they pout etc, it melts well with the dialogue & atmosphere.

There aren't really any negatives so far. Game is still in the early versions.

The story is good with a slow and steady build up. Renders are amazing and the characters are very realistic. Personalities of the characters are also very consistent throughout the game making them very believable

It is difficult to find a story line that is somewhat real and emotional, with appropriately and detailed characters, emphasizing not only the body language, but the facial expressions and gaze as well. The visual is a great addition to a great, well-written story. Music is also an integral part of the mood and is the third main component after writing and CG. In my opinion, the liking of this VN will be determined by each individual's emotional capacity! For me, it's spot on.

Excellent character models and an interesting story so far. Plays off of the meeting the family for the first time story in a different way to most of the other games onsite.

The relationship between MC and Ayana is enjoyable to play through at this stage with the limited content. Interested to see where the developer takes the story and to see how much freedom of decision will be provided to the player.

May contain some spoilers!
Not played to the end (still in development)

Played for two hours for now & have to say - great game! The characters have a good amount of personality, the story is realistic and well told. The renders are great, as well as the character models. Some bodies look very similar, but all of them are pretty hot imo. The game is story heavy instead of lewd heavy, which is something I often dislike -especially when the story is trash. But In "Connected" the story progression feels very natural and believable to me, which keeps me interested to learn more about the protagonists and what is coming next.

What I love the most about the game is Lola (the PCs dog) - there're almost no VNs that feature believable pet/human relationships I know of atm. Lola helps to give every character even more personality and story wise also helps to introduce characters and having them open up to the PC which seems quite realistic compared to RL. I'd love to see more games doing stuff like this. Some ppl complain about the game beeing "too realistic", but I think that's not a problem of the game, it rather just isn't the right game for that person.

Lewd content is animated and looks good too imo.

I can't really tell if there are any problems with the game really.
One thing I noticed was that the first couple renders had a bad rendering quality, but since then every image looked really good. so no complains here.

Overall a superb game by a great developer which deserves to be supported more.