VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Dating Joyce: a Deckbuilding Game [v2025-02-07] [Omshinwa18]

Gets 5 stars simply for the fact it genuinely surprised me with its act 2 plot twist. The fact that even your style of cards change is fantastic. Heres a quick list of the many pros and few cons.

Pros

1. Art is really good. animations are fluid and even things like the plant in your room have so much charm. Not studio ghibli level but charming and nice to look at
2. SFX, from music to moaning sounds great
3. Cute, pretty well written dialogue
4. Unique gameplay that actually requires you to think. Is surprisingly fun, although not super detailed.

Cons / Nitpicks (PLAY THE GAME FIRST ITS WORTH YOUR TIME, THEN COME BACK TO THESE)

1. I feel as if the tone after the big act 2 twist seems off. Im pretty sure you can
   Spoiler: spoiler for act 2

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   , (EDIT. YOU CANNOT, BUT MY ARGUMENT STILL STANDS) but still, it seems a bit jarring to go from act 2 - 3. I think it would of benefited from 2 branching paths after act 1, with one being more femdom oriented and one being the other way around, rather than the mix of the 2 we got
2. I don't want to go back and replay the entire game just to unlock the scene for ejaculating in the gallery. I shouldn't be punished for beating it first try
3. I wish you had 2 separate decks for dating and sex, it made my deck feel very bloated and a bit luck reliant to pull my date related cards while on the date and sex related cards while having sex. (might just be a skill issue idk)

Overall, one of the most unique and surprising games i have played in a while, scratched my femdom itch. Underrated and totally worth a play!

It may look like some usual shit at first. Finish the second act and you will not regret.

Great thanks to author, one of the best degenerate game with best story so far.

Story 10/10
Gameplay 8/10 (I was hoping for more new cards in later acts)
Visuals 7/10 (no AI)

p.s. : it maybe working better for those who don't like femdom

Great game witha ver enjoyable card deckbuilder. It is a really good game with great animations as well.

Recommended for everyone who appreciate good deckbuilders and porn with a twist.

Challenging to find the good mechanics, and good puzzles

This game surprised me in several ways. On the surface, it presents itself as another adult visual novel built in Ren’Py, but it tries to go beyond the usual formula. The deckbuilding system, while not particularly deep or innovative, at least adds a layer of interaction that distinguishes it from pure kinetic storytelling. Unfortunately, the deckbuilding itself is not very interesting: strategies are limited, and after a few rounds it becomes repetitive. Still, the simple fact that it works without major bugs is reassuring, and everything runs smoothly as expected.


The use of Ren’Py is noteworthy. Instead of relying on the usual minimal structure that so many adult projects default to, the developer made an effort to twist the engine toward something more interactive. This makes the overall experience feel less like a static slideshow and more like a game. Combined with the mix of action and strategy, the title encourages the player to think, plan, and engage. It’s refreshing to actually reflect on decisions rather than mindlessly clicking forward.


On the artistic side, the visuals are better than average. The character artwork is appealing and polished, clearly crafted with care. While the style might not reach the heights of professional studios, it carries charm and identity. I personally appreciated the design and found it immersive enough to keep me engaged through the short runtime.


In the end, the project is not flawless — the deckbuilding needs more depth, and the story feels brief — but it shows promise. The combination of Ren’Py innovation, functional systems, and decent art makes it stand out from the crowd. It’s the kind of experiment that, with more refinement, could evolve into something genuinely memorable.

"I used a writing tool to help me express my ideas, since English is not my native language."

Review of Dating Joyce: a Deckbuilding Game [v2025-02-07] ...

... as a game:
* Great story. The story evolves as you progress in the game and has some interesting plot twists.
* Good dialogs.
* Has music and sounds but no voices.
* Beautiful art style.
* No bugs, perfect performance.
... regarding its erotic side:
* Character design is great. Only one character, your date Joyce, but she is hot and you know her personality through the game.
* Scenes are good. All scenes are dates so their design are related to the story.
* Great animations.
* It has music sounds and moans (no fully voiced).
* Has Gallery mode. You have to unlock it through achivements.

A very pleasant surprise which I found randomly here. It mix a great story with a more than decent lewd content plus a good deck building game system. Honestly, if you don't dislike deck building game, I can see people saying this is the best game "as a game" of the site.

As you can see, I could't find any flaw to the game. Yes, you can ask more scenes, more dates, a second part with more girls... but the game actually is pretty solid.

Great game for someone looking for a decent deck builder mechanics. its a good 20-30 hours of play despite its simplicity and small size. The art work seems to be simple yet great to look at. The puzzles section was quite challenging... all in all probably the best game I have played in a long while

My new favourite game here. I will avoid spoilers because yes, there are a few.

First of all, the game actually has decent gameplay. But if you don't enjoy the puzzly kind of deck building it has, you probably won't enjoy the game.

Secondly, both the story and the mechanics keep being surprising throughout, each act significantly changing both the mechanics and the tone of the story. This keeps things interesting, and I was always looking forward for more. And finally, the game doesn't overstay its welcome and finishes while it's still good and not a chore.

I especially enjoyed the slow buildup in Act 1, getting to know a bit about Joyces habits and personality. We get sexy hints about her naughtiness, with mild but slowly escalating porn stuff.

Act 2 kind of turns the gameplay upside down, which was fun. The sex gets explicit from here on, and I enjoyed the weird mild humour which starts showing up. It lightens the tone, which is needed for spoiler reasons.

Act 3 mixes the two gameplay styles from the previous acts and is a nice challenge. The story culminates in a sort of a full circle. The final act is basically an extended ending, with more relaxed, easier gameplay. (Or was it all act 3? I don't remember.) I enjoyed how it contrasts the plot from previous acts and provides a kind of closure to the characters' relationship.

I’m genuinely blown away. I’m a huge fan of NSFW games and have played a ton of them. But for the last three months, not a single game I tried clicked with me. I was starting to think this genre just wasn’t my thing anymore. Then, by some stroke of luck, I downloaded this game. At first, it feels like just another dull Ren'Py visual novel with art that’s not exactly top-tier (not bad, just not the best). But holy crap, this game opens up fast with its cool deck-building system. I’ve never been into card games, but this one hooked me hard. Sometimes you’re stuck for ages, puzzling over how to get past a tough spot, thinking you screwed up your build and need to restart. Then you figure out the right move, and it’s such a damn rush. The story’s pretty solid too, no spoilers, but I dug it. The art grows on you and ends up feeling plenty hot. I freaking loved this game, binged it in one evening, and now I’m hyped for whatever the dev drops next (if they ever do).

One of the unique adult games that has a strong gameplay element.

If you enjoy slay the spire of TCG single player card building type of games, this game is up your alley.

The gameplay is significantly better than the story; the story is a bit average to the lower side.

The sex scenes are enjoyable and feel well rewarded with the game loop

Great gameplay, unique art, solid scenes/content. However, the story makes little sense and the characters never get any substantial development. You will enjoy it if you are looking only for a good game with sexy content, but if you want story/characters to care about, find something else.

Gameplay: By far the strongest point, which is great considering it's a proper deckbuilding game. Even after only one playthrough, the levels present many unique challenges that require you to change your deck around.

Art/Content: The art has a distinct and compelling style, which already makes it more memorable and interesting than the vast majority of H games with anime/cartoon-style art or overused 3D models. There's solid BGM/SFX as well, although it's not an especially strong point. The writing of the texting/dialogue is well done, building tension and keeping things moving.

Story/Characters: A major weak point. If the game as a whole wasn't so well executed, I'd dock a point. It would be fine if it was just a generic hentai plot -- the game is really apparently hentai-inspired -- but everything kind of falls off a cliff at the end of Act 2. The writing in this sense was handled in an incredibly disappointing way. It could've taken a much darker turn, with MC plotting a true revenge, or it could've explored proper BDSM/roleplay with consent and boundaries. MC and Joyce could've been fleshed-out characters with real reasons behind their fucked-up actions and relationship. Alas, the potential was wasted.

Awesome gameplay and story, really well done and underrated!

I love slay the spire, so this sort of deck building gameplay is something I really enjoy, and it’s crazy to see it well implemented in a visual novel.

The art style is also really nice, a refreshing change from Daz3d for sure.

The gameplay was different for me from all other renpy games. I played this because of the female domination tag and the male domination part to the last wasn't something I was expecting. Still liked the ending and enjoyed it overall.

Another diamond in the rough kind of game, what starts off as a seemingly basic dating story turns into something way more wild by the end. Even though there's only 1 character in the story, she gets all the love with pretty good scenes. The artwork is nice too, nothing I can complain about.

Once you get the hang of it, the deckbuilding aspect is fun too. There's two different aspects of the deckbuilding you have the manage, one regarding the date and the H scenes themselves. Overall, well made game 5/5.

Very good game. In terms of fun, this is by far the best lewd game I've played. The story is amazing too and the lewd scenes are very well done, but if anything are a bonus to an already fun to play card game.

One of the best of all time. It feels too small because of good it is. It dwarfs most because of how captivating the plot it. The animation and scenes are amazing. It's fun to play too.

I was skeptical of the high rating but I quickly got very surprise of how fun the game was, and the scenes are very good too.

it was surprisingly fun, I finished the game without even masturbating
didn't mean that as a negative, it's just that the game mechanics were quite alright for a porn game that is
if you enjoy deckbuilders (think slay the spire) and wanna look at erotic art at the same time, this is the game for you
the story's twist and turn were kinda funny as well

4/5 I guess, would have preferred a free mode without the card game part after clearing the game

Overall this is an excellent game. It manages to both balance the deckbuilding mechanics, story and of course sex scenes.

It starts slow, like a dating game, but further on you'll be amazed how situation changes in Act 2. And then again in Act 3. Thus requiring from the player to change strategies and deck for each act so there is no meta to finish the game with some op deck.

The graphics are not that great, but the art style is pretty neat.
Highly recommend.

This game is great!

Incredibly well implemented deck building mechanic. Even tough the concept is simple and has only 3 basic states, the mechanics go deep and keep it intrestring.

Unlike most Ren'Py games, who are usually boring, this game keept me on my toes. One of the best Ren'py games out there.

Covers a range of fetishes. But nothing too extreme.

v. 0.5
What a fantastic little game.
The idea of deck building is very fun for a dating sim and it challenges you to do re runs to try new strategies.
Also the story is very nice, unpredictable and with lots of twist. I was it was longer and with new situations to put the two mcs in.

The game combines deck-building, erotica, and strategy. Unexpected twists and turns in the game are a joy. The mechanics in the game are simple but enjoyable. Drawing is the reason why I initially paid attention to the game. But after playing a little I realized that it attracts me with everything. So people who like cards, a little thought and spicy situations - I advise.