London Calling
I like immersive visual novels, that's why
Defending Lydia Collier with its believable characters, dialogue and story immediately caught my attention.
I also like the setting.
Playing as a detective or - in this case - lawyer trying to solve a crime never gets old for me.
Visuals
The renders are alright, but could be improved in many regards:
Posing, facial expressions, gestures, breast clothing morphs, weather effects (rain) and lighting (especially renders with Bilbo are way too dark).
While I like the point-of-view renders, which add quite a bit of realism, the MC seems to have a habit of keeping his eyes on the ground (rumour has it the dev tried to avoid creating complex public scenes).
There's also a boy named Zac who has the body of a kid, but the head of an adult, which looks rather creepy - or unintentionally funny (pick one).
Sound
Most music tracks are unobtrusive and fitting while a few others seem rather annoying and out of place.
There's also some immersive sound effects and radio broadcasts during car rides.
Characters
The characters have diverse personalities and are (mostly) realistically looking & acting.
Unfortunately, none of the main love interests is particularly attractive in my opinion.
Even various side characters (Marissa, Imogen or several girls at a restaurant / club) are better looking than the actual LIs.
I like the fact new characters are introduced without displaying their names (until they get revealed), which adds another layer of realism and immersion.
Writing
The beginning of the story is engaging and feels plausible - the writer has put a good amount of effort into realistically portraying the investigation (checking evidence, following leads, talking to people or reading newspapers).
Unfortunately, after a strong beginning the MC's (and writer's) focus is shifting too much towards the various relationships (and explicit content) - all while the main plot takes a backseat.
The story also gets more and more confusing and implausible with the MC getting involved into politics, leaks and espionage.
At the end of the current version there's a veritable small-scale operation ensuing in which the MC is commanding his troops.
I wished the writer had kept things more down-to-earth and the focus on the MC's work as a lawyer.
There are also several story inconsistencies and continuity errors like
- asking Lydia where she has been on Wednesday night when her car was stolen - and she starts talking about a date on Thursday evening,
- the MC being super helpful by paying for a complete stranger who forgot her money, but then not even offering a towel to his own assistant when she's soaking wet from a downpour (oddly enough she doesn't even bother to dry herself, but simply sits down at her desk and starts working),
- disjointed inner monologue while jogging and not asking Stephanie out on a dinner,
- "caught again peeking" even if you didn't peek before,
- Steph commenting on the MC being a nudist even if he put on clothes.
The dialogue is well written and believable, but could use quite a bit of proofreading (typos, mixed up words, weird syntax / phrasings).
The writer also seems to dislike punctuation (missing full stops).
Choices
There's a good amount of choices with meaningful consequences (mutually exclusive relationships, being able to screw up a date or ruin a relationship by cheating).
My biggest gripe are some debatable design decisions regarding choices.
After the interview with Lydia the MC is only allowed to follow one major lead (either her date, car or husband's girlfriend).
While you can still investigate the car later on, the other leads are mutually exclusive - if you want to check them, you'll need to do another playthrough.
The use of laptop and phone is also way too strict - why not let us use them freely without restrictions?
On top of that there are occasions where we don't have a choice at all - like staring at Ellie's boobs when she's soaking wet (at least try to peek without getting caught, dumbass).
I also have to mention lots of dreaded single choices like "Leave the room".
User Interface
(Black) font and (white) text box are alright, but I prefer "dark mode" - same with choices which are often hard to read (especially on bright backdrops).
Upon saving you always get asked if you want to name the save file, which is a bit annoying.
Bugs
At one point you can hear two overlapping music tracks at the same time.
There are also scripting errors (Jenna waking the MC, although she didn't spend the night with him / mixed up renders during the truck chase).
The UI for the group missions is a bit wonky (sometimes character portraits won't show up).
Conclusion
Defending Lydia Collier is an immersive visual novel with an engaging, but increasingly confusing story.
It also focuses too much on relationships and explicit content rather than the eponymous defending of Lydia Collier.
Still, one of the best VNs out there.
TTID