VN - Ren'Py - Defending Lydia Collier [v0.17.0.2] [White Phantom Games]

PROS
- The highlight for me is the non-linearity. You can play through actual character routes and experience some varied scenes. Most games would kinda just throw everything into a common route, but I like how the developer made an effort to branch everything.
- It has an actual overarching storyline, it not your typical 'bang your family members' game with badly written English. It's a bit of a murder mystery with an underlying conspiracy plot. I like all political factions and corporations that seem to be entwined in this plot and the way you can get additional background info by reading the ingame articles. I found myself actually interested in the plot and curious as to the fates of Charles & Lydia.
- The development of the characters is pretty well done. They're not mindless sex dolls in a harem to be simply banged and will succumb to your every wish. They can get jealous, they can have conflicts with your choices, they can like or dislike some of the other characters leading to some interesting scenarios. You can even change a character's appearance or behavior to your liking. MC as well isn't some perfect Gary Stu from your typical harem game, he has problems and the girls aren't gonna just fall into his lap for no apparent reason. You want him to be an asshole, you can play him that way. You don't have an obligation to select all the morally ethical choices or be a hero.
- If I made this review a few versions ago, I would complain about the lack of audio but the dev has recently introduced a lot of sound effects, music and even voiced lines which has really made me feel a bit more immersed into the game's atmosphere.

CONS
- The laptop & phone gameplay can be frustrating, especially affecting replayability as it would interrupt you when skipping already-seen dialogue. The phone would forcibly pop-up excessively during the early stages of the game, even when there is nothing to do on the phone. I feel like you should only enforce phone usage when there is something story-related to read, else keep it on the corner of the screen. If you get a text or something, you can use an exclamation mark/envelope symbol/ingame sound/whatever to point that out (this is how most AVNs deal with the phone mechanic).
- Sex scenes in the early-mid game seemed to be a bit rushed/quick and the dialogues were a bit awkward. But I think this is something he fixed thanks to feedback in the late stages of the game. Regarding animations, there is a couple of premade animations thrown in here & there but no custom animations unlike many other modern, popular AVNs. Are animations really worth the time investment though? I'd rather have the dev spend several hours of his dev time progressing the game's story than animating 1 sex position that can be easily skipped with 1 click. I think this is a very subjective topic though.

My intended rating was 4-stars but I honestly think this game is a bit underrated and deserves a bit more support. I wish him the very best. Please give DLC endings deserving of its quality.

v0.13.7 Bugfix Public

Meh.

The models ans animations are alright,
The blonde cop you meet is okay too.
Those are about the only things I liked here.
The story and the gameplay were both so mind-numbingly boring that I had quit playing because it was starting to feel like a chore.
Normally when the story bores me this much I'll bare with it by just hitting the skip button, but this one also requires so much random clicking with the phone and home/work PCs to progress that I lost all motivation to even do that much so i just uninstalled it.
Not sure how this game is so popular tbh, but to each their own I guess. Definitely not a game I'll be coming back to for a second playthrough.
Dunno what else to say, hard pass.

5/5 but flawed, very intruiging plot overarching individual storylines with 3 different main LI's. Uniquely done story with news articles and a who-done-it murder plot you unravel as a lawyer.

Pros:

- Written well, English is done well, things are soewhat logical and realistic.
- Girls are attractive and varied (not just massive boobs for every girl)
- Choices matter in most cases
- Decent chunk of the game complete
- Different fetishes
- Multiple routes
- Interesting story

Meh:

- Sex scenes can be good but they're static renders and overall they just didn't grab my attention that much, not bad though.

Cons:

- Some of the dialogue is just pointless time wasting, talking about what you're going to order and chit chat with the waitresses etc.
- Not fully complete

Overall, definitely check this game out. It's one of the better games on here.

This game has a great storyline and a lot of compelling characters in it. I honestly almost gave it 4 stars instead of 5 but that's only due to the fact that several scenes are mutually exclusive. You have several love interests in the game but you have to make choices as to who you'll pursue early on. That's normally a negative for me but honestly, I'm using it to understand Ren'py better to move from branch to branch.

The characters are also well realized. Each main branch (Steph, Vanessa, Ellie) haves something unique about them. Choosing between them is the foundation of the game, even with the wholly separate narrative around actually defending Lydia. There are also side and complementary characters/LIs as well.

In terms of sex scenes, again without spoiling the storyline, Steph starts off as easily the most explicit, however, characters that I initially thought were more vanilla have scenes and scenarios based on their lives that touch on several kinks and fetishes including cuckqueens, rimjobs, public sex, cheating (MC having sex with someone who has boyfriend, there's no NTR). I was pleasantly surprised at how some of the story progressed. Some seemingly wholesome characters actually are pretty depraved. There's political intrigue, assassination plots, and even voice acting in later sections.

Check the walkthrough if you're okay with spoilers. I would recommend only using the walkthrough to help make decisions, not reading ahead. The reveals are actually pretty well thought out and worth seeing cold. This is true for the sexual scenarios and the main storyline.

Again, I initially wanted to give this a 4 because of the branches but I realized I'd spent hours playing the game. I loved the story but hated the branches, however, some people love replayability and it's been fun personally modding the game so I can do all in one playthrough.

The care involved in telling a complete and believable narrative should not be overlooked. You are quickly invested in the outcome of what happens with each character.

The story, writing, and scenes are easily worth of 4 stars. What gives it the final star is that each branch, taken on its own, would be enough for a full playthrough without feeling hollow. That there are 3 fully realized plots in addition to the main storyline is a credit to the developer. Also, anytime rimming is in a game, I'm happy about it. If you're interested in a game with an interesting plot and a wealth of sex scenes to suit you, definitely pick this one up.

Overall: Extremely good game with great story, charecters, lots of content and hot girls. Easily N1 on the site. It's worth at least 3 5-star games.

This game is extremely well-made. First of all, the story. The author did a great job by creating a wide and intersting alternative London. You can read a lot of news pages and actually learn something about a real political system in UK. The detective story isn't boring at all. It's like you are reading a detective novel by Boris Akunin. You can also choose not only the girls but the story-line too. Although there aren't drastic changes, it's for the best (about it later).
The girls are HOT! But at the same time they look and act like real humans. most of the charecters (including side ones) have a unique charecter (how to say that differently?). And even the same girl can have several paths (love and sexual). There are a lot of paths, so you will probably start a new game 3-4 times even with a walkthrough (or decompiled renpy).

Version 0.13.4 or 5

This game is absolutely amazing. It is one of my top 5 games at all. In general I am looking for beautiful girls with big boobs, blackmail stories, kinky sex like BDSM, water sports, whipping, breeding, toys, male domination and some light abuse of the girls. This game fits my taste perfectly fine:

Pros:

• Beautiful girls. In fact Steph is one of my alltime favourites in lewd games at all. The tits in this game are delicious.
• Kinky story. The Story of Steph shines here as well and is one of the best you can expect in this genre.
• Different paths to play the game with different kinks and completely different girls. So your decisions have a real big impact.
• I really like it when you can mindfuck, blackmail the girls. This is possible in some ways (could be more imo).
• Big amount of content and therefore motivation to replay it often to see all paths.

Cons (if any):

• The non sexual part of the game is quite big. So I tend to skip lots of it, when I replay it. However, it is a part of the atmosphere as well. A little bit more sexual content in relation to the rest would be nice.
• Some of the women look a bit too old for my cup of tea.
• Many beautiful women are introduced in the story but you are not able to fuck them (or only in a short dream or something) no matter what decisions you make.

Suggestions:

I really enjoyed the side quests where you can fuck some random girls. Imo those side fucks with no to little impact on the main story could be implemented more often. The pizza delivery girl for example would be a nice opportunity for example. I think some nice conversations / returning jokes could be developed from this as well. For example “why do you order pizza that often?!”

So yeah be able to fuck more girls in this wonderful game would be nice. Anyway 5 of 5 without a doubt!

I give this an average rating, because the game is just that. The visuals are pretty good, but the writing seems very after the fact to me.

It's as though the story was built around the fetishes in the game, which on a positive note, there are a lot of them, and good ones at that.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but this just didn't grab me the way I thought it would. I liked the idea and you can tell the developer puts in time on the images. The lack of quality in the writing is what really lets this game down though.

YMMV, it's definitively not a bad game, but it's nothing special either. This is of course only my opinion.

Revised after the last update v14. This is starting to get a little boring to me. I don't feel the story is going anywhere, and the writing it slipping a bit in my opinion.

I'd give a 2.5 if I could, but it's not worthy of the three I game if before. Maybe things will turn around and I'll revise this again, but as of now I cannot give more than 2.

I've followed this game since pretty early in the process and it keeps exceeding my expectations. The renders are good, the story intricate, the sex scenes are satisfactory (so to speak). The only downside is that the English is not always correct, but patches come quickly and thanks to a lively community of fans most errors are corrected before general release.

If development keeps going the way it is, this is easily S-tier product. Multiple, well thought out relationships which move fast enough to stay interesting but not so fast that it's jarring. The amount of kinks not just present, but that are ELECTABLE without ripping out large content swathes is amazing. Paths you really didn't see coming open up, and I rub my hands with glee.

I'd like to highlight how the author uses side plot devices really well. For instance, you can get a handgun, or say no. This opens RADICAL new choices, both bad and good, in certain scenarios. Hell, at one point, you can get an STD, and it can seriously impact your relationships. It's amazing how a genre based on sex never seems to have STDs play any role.

So why 4 instead of 5? Well, 2 reasons. One, you have to use your phone and laptop as 2 different info sources, and frankly, there's no reason for it. Second, while the section of the game where you manage a team is interesting, I never really felt like I knew what the goal was, and having pop ups asking "am I sure?" just tends to slow things down.

I really am looking forward to see how this ends, and for the dev's next project.

PS Game is set in London, and the dev does a good job of making it feel as such. Good set and background choices.

This game really surprised me. So may games out there are just more of the same. But this game.....WOW! SO many choices. I felt in control. I also felt challenged in having to pay attention to what's going on in the game world to make the best choices. There are really interesting things going on. Things I felt a part of and not just drug through without any input. The ladies are just as lovely as the writing! The MC feels like a real person and not just some brain dead teen boy who does the stupidest shit he can think of. I'm an adult. Playing an adult game. Thanks for letting me act like an adult for once! Last big kudos for Steph. I'm actually in love with her. I'm constantly being reminded of an ex I really cared about by being Steph's BF in in the game. Just reminds me of this one girl I used to date (So I may be a bit biased) She just feels real. I feel like I'm dating her. Not many games can elicit actual feelings or get you to feel like you're actually part of the world. Anyway this is probably my second favorite adult game i've ever played and i've played like 30 now. SO glad I found it and cant wait to play the devs other game.

Version: 0.13.7
Renders are really good but I don't really care much for them as there are many games that have the same if not better quality renders. This game really shined for me due to its story and that is the reason why I decided to post my first review on this site.

You can find many games that have multiple choices tag but I have never replayed them more than once, this is the first game where I tried to choose different choices, for the first run I didn't really pay that much attention to the story, in the second run however I made different save points and read all the ingame news articles ( which for an adult game are very detailed) got a lot of the story context and tried to choose different teams.

My only gripe is that the Ellie story line is kind of unrealistic, however for the first run when you get a choice to snoop through her computer which I didn't really care for, in the second run I decided to do so and boy I was surprised her chat really showed how much invested the author of this game really is. This game has so much 'lore' that I genuinely want to see what happens in the story next.

P.S: Sorry for my Engrish and please know that this is my first review.

Outstanding render quality, beautiful girls, a well crafted and executed story. Overall it's a home run.

A lot of times games with avoidable content just means that you're missing out on the bulk of the content as often the case is that was really what the dev wanted to focus on, as a result when you choose to avoid something you're losing content because it isn't replaced with anything and a whole scene is just skipped. That isn't the case here. The tags you might want to avoid are tacked onto the scenes you do want to see so when the time comes to see something or not you really aren't losing anything because the main thrust of the game isn't built around those tags, it's built around it's story.

The women are sexy and come in all sizes from petite to bombshell and everything in between, scenes aren't just 2-5 pics of a pseudo animation and really have some variety.

There is a lot of reading, but worth it for the scenes,lot of contextual clues, things you have to find out through investigation, all handled well for a adult game. Actual plot with twists and turns and meaningful choices. Highly recommend

(review for v0.13.06).
This game is a gem, in the sense that deals with a lot of adult themes -- and not all necessarily sexual! Not only the characters are all adults (with the exception of some really young females), such as the MC himself, the story develops as a murder mystery but also as a political thriller.
More of a VN with multiple paths than a true "game", the fact is that that our choices will impact paths and possible endings. In turn, this also makes it possible for multiple re-plays of the game in search of alternative realities according to our choices.
The companion official walkthrough PDF is a must and will show the several ways the story can develop, and also shows the correct answers to some really tricky legal advice dialog!
A very well written game (this is not one of those that you just want to skip dialog and running for the next sex scene!) only let down, IMHO, for some rushed sex scenes.
Although sexy and well baked into the story, most of the sex scenes seem to be too quick, almost as if the author felt obliged to pay fan service, so he just can continue to write the rest of the thriller.
Although not heavy on animations and with the sex scenes caveats, I still feel it deserves a 5 star rating.

(Version Reviewed: v0.13.06)

Defending Lydia Collier (DLC) has one of the most interesting stories among the AVNs that I've played. With good art to complement it, DLC makes it into one of my favorite AVNs to play. Something to complain about would be the framing of the scenes, but that has been steadily improving in each version. The kinks offered are note-worthy. Pretty much one of the few games that offer such a wide variety of kinks without sacrificing on the story content. Also, Steph is pretty much one of my favorite AVN LIs. Great game all around. Definitely suggest playing it.

5/10 Overall
4/10 Animations
5/10 Story
6/10 Character design
6/10 Character development
5/10 Quality

I really liked the game, it has a unique story with more than one path for it, pretty interesting

Now this is a quality game! First of all, it is interesting by itself as a game, which is quite rare. Secondly, it is diverse in characters and playstyles, not forcing anything onto the player. Lastly, it is simply excellently done from the point of view of graphics, sound and everything else. The easiest 5 stars I gave out.

This one is hard to rate...

Story - Very interesting so far (that's the mainreason for me to recomment it to anyone)

Renders - average, not bad not impressive, just average.

Models - yeah, have to be carefull about what i say here - let's say, I didn't like 99% of them at all since they all look like bimbos/botox aliens to me - ofc that doesn't mean they are ugly per say, depends on taste.

The only 2 female models I kinda liked never had a big appearence in my playthrough since I got locked out of the policechicks path for not looking at her ass in the restaurant and the second woman hasn't much content yet (danielle).

Over all that means I sure did miss a huge portion of the sidestorys just because I didn't find any girls attractive or appealing at all - worst sadly is the one we are suppose to be defending wich makes it really hard to want to play again and try other paths or outcomes.

I would rate this VN somewhere between 3 or 4 stars, but since it isn't the dev's fault that I have clearly another taste in woman, and there is clearly put much thought and work into this project, I will give it the higher rating.

4/5 - good read, best of luck for the future updates and projects.

Cheers

When I first saw the renders I thought it was going to be another good render bad story game...man was I wrong game has great renders and a great story too and well worth the support on patreon. Beep boop 200

White Phantom is one of the best devs out there. Been a fan since the first episode of Shadows... Defending Lydia Collier is my favorite game. Fantastic graphics, great story and the most beautiful British babes in gaming. This is a MUST have game. If you are able please support this dev. He brings you the very best this medium has to offer!
P.S. Spent three years in the U.K. Missing it a lot

This is my review for Defending Lydia Collier by White Phantom Games version 0.13.2.

The good

• Renders are looking really good
• Characters have different personalities
• Music
• Writing
• Gameplay
• Big amout of content 5+ hours
• Story is interesting
• Big updates

The bad

• Some bugs with laptop UI
• Phone and laptop UI could be better

In conclusion, 5 stars worth playing.