This review is based on the first release of the game, v0.1.
There's nothing to dislike and a lot to like so far:
- The writing: an actual story (not just some random slices of naughty life), good storytelling (almost everything is shown from the MC's POV while he investigates a gruesome murder and meets cute characters ^^), a nice cocktail of genres (mystery, supernatural elements, romance, horror, drama, comedy... This is gonna be a wild ride! ^^), the overall quality of the English (no obvious and distracting mistakes...), believable and well-written dialogues and inner thoughts (why is it so rare to get a smart MC who is neither a boyscout nor an irredeemable creep? ^^), a noteworthy effort on characters' development (even the characters that we haven't met yet, we've got a little preview of their persona
), a mysterious story that allows the player to make the craziest theories while playing and a sweet cliffangher that lives you wanting a lot more!
- The art: even if I prefer well-made DAZ renders over well-made renders done with Illusion games, I don't mind Koikatsu! graphics (plus it usually means more content for the player since making scenes is quicker with Koikatsu!). They don't feel out of place with this kind of story and allow to use some tropes that we usually see in mangas/animes (some cute SD faces to accentuate charcaters' feelings for example...^^). Also, kudos to the dev who managed to add his own style to the mix. Indeed, there is a uniqueness in the character design which is greatly appreciated.
- The gameplay: nothing much to say there. It's a VN with a few choices to make here and there. No sandbox nor minigames which is more than fine with me since that leaves the focus on the story and the characters. The only game mechanic that could have enhance the overall experience would be some "point & click" elements during the two investigative scenes where we are looking for clues (it would be more rewarding to find the clues ourselves [especially if there is a naughty bonus scene/pic to unlock] instead of clicking mindlessly on each given choice ^^).
- Some add-ons that make the game pop: a great soundtrack that compliment the writing perfectly, funny Easter eggs that aren't standing out too much (much better than a dev breaking the 4th wall and interrupting the flow of the story ^^) with one of them promising a harem path.
It feels like the dev has put in a lot of effort to make a really nice first release. Both in quality and quantity, we were kinda spoiled
Needless to say, the dev has set the bar pretty high so I'm expected great things from this game!
There's nothing to dislike and a lot to like so far:
- The writing: an actual story (not just some random slices of naughty life), good storytelling (almost everything is shown from the MC's POV while he investigates a gruesome murder and meets cute characters ^^), a nice cocktail of genres (mystery, supernatural elements, romance, horror, drama, comedy... This is gonna be a wild ride! ^^), the overall quality of the English (no obvious and distracting mistakes...), believable and well-written dialogues and inner thoughts (why is it so rare to get a smart MC who is neither a boyscout nor an irredeemable creep? ^^), a noteworthy effort on characters' development (even the characters that we haven't met yet, we've got a little preview of their persona
), a mysterious story that allows the player to make the craziest theories while playing and a sweet cliffangher that lives you wanting a lot more!- The art: even if I prefer well-made DAZ renders over well-made renders done with Illusion games, I don't mind Koikatsu! graphics (plus it usually means more content for the player since making scenes is quicker with Koikatsu!). They don't feel out of place with this kind of story and allow to use some tropes that we usually see in mangas/animes (some cute SD faces to accentuate charcaters' feelings for example...^^). Also, kudos to the dev who managed to add his own style to the mix. Indeed, there is a uniqueness in the character design which is greatly appreciated.
- The gameplay: nothing much to say there. It's a VN with a few choices to make here and there. No sandbox nor minigames which is more than fine with me since that leaves the focus on the story and the characters. The only game mechanic that could have enhance the overall experience would be some "point & click" elements during the two investigative scenes where we are looking for clues (it would be more rewarding to find the clues ourselves [especially if there is a naughty bonus scene/pic to unlock] instead of clicking mindlessly on each given choice ^^).
- Some add-ons that make the game pop: a great soundtrack that compliment the writing perfectly, funny Easter eggs that aren't standing out too much (much better than a dev breaking the 4th wall and interrupting the flow of the story ^^) with one of them promising a harem path.
It feels like the dev has put in a lot of effort to make a really nice first release. Both in quality and quantity, we were kinda spoiled
Needless to say, the dev has set the bar pretty high so I'm expected great things from this game!