VN - Ren'Py - Defending Lydia Collier [v0.17 Beta 1.3] [White Phantom Games]

That's a nice game we have here, with lovely ladies and a more interesting story than 90% of the games on this site. I'm really looking forward to finding out wtf happened to him.
Many different choices and paths, all of them with different flavours. I love the variety of choices we get. It's amazing.

Art is good. Not the best you'll see but nothing looks off either.
All girls are particularly tasty in their own ways. Different ages, different body types, different personalities.

CONS:
Apart from the lack of music (which is a minor complaint) and animations (which is OK with me in more modest devs; I prefer still renders to crappy loop animations) I'll have to make two objections:
- So far (v.0.6), Steph gets disproportionately more attention than any other girl. Not only the last update was heavily focussed on her scenes, but the one before that did too. Her scenes are longer and by far more satisfying. For example, I get things have to move more slowly with Vanessa, but why was there nothing but oral sex with Lydia if you chose her? That's ridiculous, she's forward and naughty. She invited you into her room just suck your cock?
- Spelling and punctuation. I mean, writing is extraordinarily good, the story advances at a good pace and the language sounds really natural and well-chosen. But that spelling and punctuation... I'm not a native speaker and still it sometimes hurts my eyes. There are mistakes everywhere.

Well there is something going on with the game. The story and setup is quite intriguing, the characters are realistic. However it is kind of average on a lot of aspects, mainly on the technical ones which prevent me to rate it higher.

What I liked is the fact that your relations can go really different according to your choices, maybe even the main story might change according to your choices. Without a walkthrough you will be pretty blind of this aspect as the choices you missed does not appear.

For me the possible repeatibility of the game is something which lacks a lot in most VN games, but not here. Good job on that

The chara design of characters is not very attractive, but it adds to the realistic vibe that this game is trying to go. I understand the choice (if it is on purpose), but for a Porn Game it is a bit disapointing.

The story while being mysterious and quite well written (with some typos though) is not transcending. The background atmosphere with explanation of court/law process and such was pretty interesting, I did not skip those parts. I don't know how exact those were, but you can learn some stuff, which is always nice.

Regarding sex scenes...it's a meh.
No music is always a let down in my opinion but it's a very subjective point.

---- Characters personalities :
---- Renders/Graphisms :
---- Story/Writing :
---- Background/Atmosphere :
---- Animations :
---- Sex scenes :
---- Gameplay :
---- Contents/Updates :

=== Conclusion ===

Normally with that quantities of smileys, I should rate it 3 stars, but I will go with 4 stars considering the little dev structure and because somehow I liked the approach, the daylife, and the choice impact of the game.
Now with cuter girls, better animations and sex scenes, a bit more work on the interface, some music, a bit more pace on the story, it could lead to a great game

This is a really solid game, which explores a genre that I love. Legal and crime stories are a personal favourite of mine and this is shaping up to be pretty interesting. Whenever someone asks me for a game recommendation for something they won't have heard of before, this immediately springs to mind. Give it a play, you won't regret it.

Honestly underrated. Solid storyline,
Linear enough for the player to actually enjoy the plot but also keep a mysterious aura around it.
The characters are all likable too.
Kinda wish in future updates they give a backstory to the characters. I feel like the creator kinda just throws random characters at you sometimes, such as the mc's ex .

This one caught my eye right from the start.
Can't fault the game for much maybe just the legal realism but it's not like major TV shows do any better on that front. Hence, for what it is - a porn novel, it gets a 5/5.

What a little gem I have just discovered!!!

I just have played the game and I have enjoyed it enormelly!!

It´s a shame that this game don´t get more attention. It will deserve it definetivelly.

Has a story that it´s good and beliable. HAs nice graphics, with no anatomic imposibilities. Has good characters.

The only but, it´s a bit short of content. Nothig that some patience can solve.

This is an exceptional game. The renders are crisp and well done, the story is entertaining and easily kept my interest, and there is a large amount of diverse LI's that I can comfortably assume every person would find at least one they enjoy. On top of that, the dialogue and writing is clever and mature for the most part. No cringy or unrealistic lines that break immersion.

I would definitely recommend trying this game and there really isn't anything major I can complain about. There is a lot of branching though so I felt obligated to use the walkthrough but it easily can be played without.

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.

Well this was a very pleasant surprise! For me the story drives everything in any game/VN. This is a wonderfully presented VN with a great story, excellent writing, interesting characters and stunning renders_ there is no down side. Excellent work Dev. Great from start to finish; can't wait to see where the story goes next.

My Rating for this game is:

Pros:
+ Great Story
+ Story makes Sense
+ Lots of Different Sex Scenes (No Boring Spells)
+ Fantastic Renders
+ Crime Story

Cons:
- Nothing whatsoever

Conclusion:
Overall I fell in love with this Game,and i,m burning for the Next update,and that doesn't happen often....
Nice Story like Law & Order.

tried version 0.3
Yes, this game has a very promising start for the story.
Of course it's too early to make a final recommendation, even animations are missing completely, but as for the story it might be a game worth to play in future. As for my part i will wait several updates from now and start a new replay once there is more story content. As this game's most interesting part is the story itself, i can't fully recommend it to play right now and maybe wait until a later version.
Would have given 5 stars when there would be some animations, but this is the only reason not to give full 5 stars right now.
Nevertheless i recommend to keep this game on watch - at least i will do so.

Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, the story telling is amazing. For the sexual side, not much yet though that's understandable as it's a story based game. Wouldn't mind having some fun with Fluair though.

Second game of my favorite dev.His first game had some flaws; third person narrative scenes, too many routes so little content each update for each save etc.
With this game first game's weaknesses are fixed and it's good parts stayed so this is a great start.Girls looks great, there is a real story and in 0.2 there is already two different approach to the case.
Now the wait for v0.3 starts, can't wait to see what's going to happen in court and start dating these hot women!
Edit: There is 3 different approach to investigation, that's really nice even if it wouldn't matter much later on.That's one of strong points of his games, you see a new scene each time you replay.

I really enjoyed Shadows over Manston so was disappointed to hear it is on hold. So I was delighted to see White Phantom Games had released his latest endeavour. Although relatively short atm (being a first release) the story looks excellent, graphics (especially the girls) are fantastic as well. I thoroughly recommend you check this one out. Especially as one of the characters in the game shares my passion for a certain North London Football club COYS. TTID

Overall this is a very impressive start to a story and I cannot wait for more

PROS:

The models aren't just copied and pasted from other games
This game has a unique premise with interesting characters
This game contains (for the most part) good English with a few mistakes in there
It's a option/consequence game which I personally like more than games where excessive clicking is necessary to accomplish goals
It's a rather long 0.1 version, which is nice

CONS:

There aren't any sex scenes in 0.1, but this is probably because the developer is trying to build up relationships instead of going straight to sex
I do not know how good the Ren'Py will be in this game as there are no scenes containing it

CONCLUSION: 5/5 This game looks really promising. Hopefully the developer puts a lot of time into it. And also because there is a dog in it, which usually helps bring up the rating. (If the dog continues to be in the story, I'll rate this game a 6/5)