VN - Ren'Py - Crimson High [v0.38.1] [Vertigo]

10/10 Plot,
7/10 "Plot"
If youre looking for something to substitute nhentai, no. If you want to be edging for 5 Hours, Yes. If you want to read an intriguing story by an adorable asshat who puts cliffhangers on every god damn update, Yes.

Giving it 5 stars for now. The character models definitely look way better than most koikatsu games, the characters are all decently interesting and unique enough, but I do wonder where a large majority of their development is planned to go, some already feel like they've peaked. I've heard the updates aren't super substantial so I might drop this to a 4 in the future if that's the case, but I only just recently played it and enjoyed what I did play

Edited at 0.31: Dropping it to 3 stars. The story is moving at a glacial pace and it's very odd how so much has happened within 11 days while also seeming like nothing has happened at the same time. The art is carrying this game, as there are still hardly any H-scenes OR worthwhile story updates that actually go anywhere.

I had a wonderful time.

Very interesting and incredibly engaging story.
The characters just wow, as always some better others worse, but even the ones I didn't like have an interesting and deep "past" and story to tell.
Graphically refined in every detail, I don't know how exactly the modeling of these characters works, but their emotions are wonderful, one of the few games where every click of the mouse forces you to look at the faces of the interlocutors and see if anything has changed.
The music is on point every time.

One more time thank you for a great "adventure" and wish you the best of luck in developing the game further.
ps.
The next game I check out will also be from you, good way with showing your other project on "TV"

This game is very good I was incredibly surprised by how much I love the story, the characters, and everything else. I mean for me it’s nostalgic with the art, and I could not help feeling a lot like I did when I played snow Sakura. Not that the stories are similar at all, but that the build up and getting to know each of the girls in a meaningful way. I’ll take a good story over a quick fap any day of the week. Each character is unique and has their own quirks. Not the typical jump into bed after five seconds of meeting. I was almost sad when I came to the end and did not want to stop playing and learning more. The main character is also actually a nice and believable person. I can actually relate to the main character and thought the way he comes to learn things to be believable too.

overall this is a very good game and I cannot wait to see where this goes. Definitely a creator to support.

Crimson High is excellent. Good soundtrack, good writing for an indie Visual Novel (not the best I've seen, but it's up there). It helps that the author knows how to write a mystery novel - there's enough that you can easily piece together and figure it out yourself, but there's also quite a bit that is a mystery even with the outsider knowledge being a reader allots us, and that you can't reasonably guess. The character cast is nice and diverse, with a nice dash of personal mysteries to each of the girls.

The MC is surprisingly decently written - he can come off as a bit of an idiot at times, perhaps too slow for a mystery VN main character, but that is understandable and the writing helps put you into the mindset that the only reason you as the reader can piece some mysteries together or find things out this quickly is mostly because you've the privilege of reading this knowing it's a sci-fi, imaginary work. If these things happened in real life anyone would be hard pressed to actually believe the existence of these things even when they're plastered on our faces, which makes the MC feel a bit less stupid. His willingness to accept it is perhaps a bit too fast though.

Good soundtracks to set the mood, and decent to good artwork (dude has a head that is too small for his frame in most of the shots though). The choices and flags feel nice to play around with and tend to become relevant in weird ways later on, which I particularly liked.

The VN loses points on one particular issue which I found a bit jarring and it's small pieces of the author trying to be quirky or funny or breaking the fourth wall that just don't sit right with me. Suzu doesn't need to say "At first I was afraid; I was petrified" while both she and the MC stare at the screen for exactly one line of dialogue right after telling me about her long and traumatic backstory that involves at least 3 different murders + homelessness. Come on, man. Other weird points like these were also sprinkled around, but this one particularly stuck out to me as being the most jarring; perhaps it's the author's way of trying to put some humor into the scene, but for me, it just falls flat and brings the quality of the whole scene and dialogue down.

Other than these points though, the VN is a very good read throughout, and definitely recommended.

Waited to dive into this one until 0.16.1, wanting there to be some real meat to it. Was not disappointed; despite misgivings about more supernatural aspects that popped up early on, the broad cast helped weave them into the narrative proper. Smaller animations are used to inject a bit of vibrancy to the characters where lesser games would call it good with nothing but static images, and even the more rote of characters are conveyed with just enough realism or sincerity to win you over.

At present, giving this one top marks. Suzu best girl, Jun best koala and goddamn those sneaky space hamsters are like the ninjas of the h-game world.

Crimson High is a VN about a totally normal human and the cute not-so monster girls he interacts with at Crimson High.

As a warning, it's not the type of game you should play for the sex. Crimson High leans much more aggressively into the mystery and psychological horror genres rather than pure smut. While sex and nudity does feature, it has been rare so far.

While the game is nominally a VN, don't expect much in the way of choices. There are occasional decisions to be made, but they're generally right or wrong decisions relating to getting close to the various girls in the game. There's nothing that determines the path of the game, or I missed it.

Nevertheless, I have greatly enjoyed the story and characters so far. While there are a few facts I feel like the MC is carrying an idiot ball on, the events which have occurred range between fun, dramatic, wholesome, and dark.

The characters are generally fun, with personalities deeper than your typical stereotypical harem girls. I personally get strong little sister vibes from the majority of them between their general youthfulness and the slight age gap with the protagonist. I'm honestly pleased that romance has been slow, because I'm worried it might feel a little squicky. Still, this is my personal feeling... and I'm getting the impression the MC might not have a choice anyway.

Anyway, between a good story, good characters, and more than good enough renders, I can easily recommend this game. While it might not be what everyone is looking for on a sex games site, it's a fun play in my opinion. I'm looking forward to more.

I love the game,a lot of nice characters especially Nagisa and Nene.
I also like a lot the small changes of expressions and what happens in the background as it makes it feel more alive.
The plot is also pretty good and the MC is very likeable.
Anyways 10/10 would recommend,if I wasn't as broke as I am right now I would definitely pledge on patreon.

Cute NPCs with interesting personalities/quirks, an MC who isn't an asshat, a refreshing take on mythical beings living among us, and enough mystery to keep it interesting. Some of the updates near the beginning were a little light, but nowadays things are moving along in interesting directions with every update. I'm glad I've been following this game, and I will continue. If I was in a position to patronize the game, I would. If they needed any text editing, I'd provide it gratis.

Having continued to play this vn through many updates, it continues to hold my attention. I continue to find it interesting, entertaining, and satisfying. The lack of H scenes is hardly noticeable with the engaging characters and intriguing storytelling.

version 0.36.1 edit
I recently installed this on a new computer without bringing over any saves and played it through again from the beginning. I can't explain how enjoyable I found it. I find the characters and their interactions charming and enjoyable to a degree that I may play through from the beginning again after a few more updates. This is my favorite game at this point. If I could give it 6 stars, I would.

Just a very good AVN. Characters are well constructed, with a nice over arching main story that keeps you interested. A bit heavy on the cliff hangers with each update, but somewhat expected from something still in development. The update timing has been consistent with about 1 month between releases, with each update roughly adding around 3 hours of gameplay depending on your reading speed.

Shows great promise going forward and everything already done is amazing.

Edit 2: Version 21.2
I honestly kept downloading updates after my last update and just refused to read them for a while before reading them one at a time yesterday to see if the way it's written changed at any point.
Rating up to 3 stars because the story seems to actually be trying to progress at this point but pretty much all of my other complaints still stand, the only one I can't verify is the lying about update length complaint from my original review as the word count bits seem to have been removed from the discord entirely, including old ones, in favor of a percent system on an image.
The progress tracker in the second link I posted is still clickable though and wasn't my own file, which prompted me to test and learn discord keeps images even if they're deleted for some reason and they can be accessed by anyone with the link.

Idk why I haven't gotten to this yet BUT here we go.

Story: 10/10
Okay so, Vertigo is a houdini when it comes to writing. That's also an absolute understatement. The story from the start immediately hooks you, because it starts off with a mystery. The WHODUNIT, if you will. Then continues to include more and more mysteries, while crumb feeding you the answers as to keep you hooked. ALL THE WHILE ADDING EVEN MORE MYSTERIES. The characters are all absolutely precious, which, isn't an easy thing to do without making some "carbon copies" so to speak, but none of them have any overlapping character traits which to me is absolutely wild considering just how many characters there actually are. Out of ALL the vns I've played, this game actually has some of my absolute favorites.

Renders and animation: 10/10
Everything has been done flawlessly here. Haven't seen any weird clipping or anything, which means he takes his time even doing renders, which is wild to me but I love it. Someone that takes their time and makes sure things are visually appealing and nothing's out of place (except the space hamsters lol)

Music: Everything in the game fits which means no complaints from me. Mood and all. I especially love the sound effects on the menu screen too. I always get at least 5 minutes of "wow" every time I start up a new update. Overall, there's nothing I could really nitpick other than cliffhangers, but he's gotta leave you looking forward to more so there's really nothing that can be done on that front lol.

This is a great vn and I love it, and I love that it actually focuses on the story and the characters story more than the smut. I know that it's an AVN but at the end of the day, I play these for the story and atmosphere more than anything, and even the sex animations are done flawlessly.

Edit:

A year later and things continue to only get better. Vertigo has greatly improved on character renders, storytelling and weaving stories together, and overall quality of the already good story. It's a bit of a slowburn as far as lewd stuff goes, but the quantity is certainly there. There's so much content to explore, and so many stories to put together and the world's really emotive, and I love that.

Honestly it's great the art, writing, hell the girls themselves. There is a cute girl for everyone's tastes. The writer adores cliffhangers so be prepared. Vertigo is also super nice to talk to and will discuss the game with you on the discord with a great community to top it off.

Well written modern fantasy narrative with engaging characters. This game is a bit of a slow burn, which the dev acknowledges is the intention. I generally either don't play those types of games or wait a while to play them.
This narrative and characters, however were engaging enough and for me to want to see how things unfolded. Some of the mystery does feel a bit forced, this may change if things come to light in the future, but there is a lot of "you aren't ready to know that yet" and "i'm not at liberty to discuss" It keeps the MC and the player in the dark but it starts to get a little weird when characters who have information don't share it when there appears to be no good reason not to. That minor nitpick aside the writing is good
The visuals are very good, the characters are all nice to look at and the game is clean and simple, in a good way.
There aren't a ton of sexual scenes but what is here is promisingly sexy. A lot of romance focused games, which this appears to be, suffer from boringly written and framed sex scenes. I suppose because for some reason the devs think kinky dirty sex can't be romantic, which is silly. The scenes and character interactions here seem to point to the dev being comfortable with writing scenes that have some spiciness to them which is integral to the game being a success imo.
Highly recommend to anyone looking for a well written modern fantasy; doesn't mind koikatsu models and doesn't mind a bit of a slower pace as far as the sexual content is concerned.

When I got randomly recommended this game; I was a bit reluctant since I hadn't heard of it before. The premise seemed good, and I've been straying from Koikatsu games recently, but figured I'd give it a go.

Aaaand couple hours later I pledge so I can get that juicy 12th update a week before it goes public. Like most games, the beginning feels a little rushed to the plot since no one (especially on a porn game) wants a slow buildup; but I like the concession made where there aren't immediate sex scenes. Maybe that's a minus for some people but honestly I prefer slow buildups, relationship and plotwise.

So far I haven't found a character that I wasn't at least slightly interested in, and the MC actually has a personality as well which is nice. Excited to see where this goes. Had it at 4 stars for a bit, but honestly when comparing to other 4 star games on this site, it still is a cut above imo. Really happy to have pledged for this one.

v0.11.1
Excellent writing, beautiful characters, Very good animations, these 3 things sums this game up, the character development for the LI's are done very well, the pacing is good too, And no need to tell about Miko. Thank you for this treasure and hope this keeps on keeping on for a long time.
5/5 It's a Masta Piece.

Excellent VN, by far what I liked the most is the story, it isn't overly complicated just for the sake of it, it does feel like a kinetic novel sometimes but I find that a good thing, I don't have to keep micro managing the relationship with the girls and the choices are quite clear on what they do.
Another thing I liked is that renders are not wasted, simple actions like walking, eating or looking around are reduced to a simple description, no need to make the game unusually big for a few seconds worth of renders, my only problem is the black screen that comes with these descriptions, I'd like to at least have the last render blurred in the background while there is a description of what the characters are doing.
Also worth noting is the teasing, while the game doesn't have a huge amount of sex scenes, it kinda makes up for it with the teasing, some girls send lewd photos to you, others keep hitting on you and there is plenty of hints that they like you.
This game is really worth a try if you are a fan of monster girls and don't mind reading a bit of story.

Really fun game so far, the characters are appropriately quirky and fun and the games takes its time to introduce all of them.

It's true that there isn't much sexual content so far, but the story keeps you engaged enough to keep wanting more.

It's got great music, an appropriate mix of humor/horror satisfying payoffs (so far atleast).

Give it a try!

reviewing v0.11.1

renders 4/5 - are really good, really inmersive

plot 3/5 - a bit boring but the lewd is there

music 3/5 - not the best, but not the worst either, it's ok

overall 3.33 / 5 - it's not a bad novel, you should give it a try and see how it works for you

to sum it up at the start, this game contains far too many walls of text for too little gain in terms of 18+ scenes. while the dev does warn you about porn being only one aspect of this game, and story being the main focus, i wasn't really expecting it to be so underemphasized.

the dev obviously thinks he has a cool story to tell (about "myths". now where did that come up? right, in a certain manor), which unfortunately is hardly original or interesting unless you're a twilight saga loving teenager or something like that. the inclusion of some meager lewd scenes very much seems to be an excuse to reach a wider population. we know how the "no sexual content" tag doesn't do wonders to a game's popularity, at least around these circles.

dialogs and especially inner thoughts of the MC drag on unnecessarily and we are offered an explanation to everything that goes on in the game from several different people at different times (plus the inner thoughts of course) in case we're too dense to get it the first few times. that of course means having to go through walls and walls of inconsequential, boring, unnecessary text.

as to the characters, with a few exceptions, they are mostly cliches. one character, jun, looks not one day older than 10 and acts like a 3 year old for a large part of the game. then at one point she has to tell about her personal story, her family, and suddenly starts speaking like a fully mature adult. duh! things like that never help with immersion.

graphics are ok, some girls/women are cute enough and many are not. the strongest point of this game for me is its music tracks, which fit the scenes they are played at and get introduced just at the right moment. yet for many, i can imagine this to be the least important aspect of an adult game. there are sound effects and effort has been put into them to fit the scenes too. so, the 2 stars i'm giving is more or less for the auditory aspects of the game. it has mostly been a disappointing ride for me, which btw dragged on for one whole week.