Ren'Py - Abandoned - Defense Against the Dark Arts [v0.1.1] [The Porn Writer Duck]

I like the idea of the game (Harry Potter parody), but the execution is VERY poor.

The only reason for the 2 stars is the beautiful and original artwork. However, despite the nice visuals none of the characters actually look like the original characters from the HP universe. Luna is blond, Hermione is a brunette and Ginny is a redhead. But that's as far as their similarities go.

The whole point of a Harry Potter parody should be to recreate the same feeling and atmosphere, but not only do the characters look different, they also talk about completely out-of-context and mundane topics (like building sand castles with Luna.... what?).

Lastly the game lacks any kind of structure or story. It's just a bunch of random memories that you can buy with money that you 'earn' by simply clicking a button. In short it's just a very simplistic game without any real choices and no story. The characters have the same names as the ones in the books/movies and they sometimes use terms like 'Nargles' and 'dark forest', but apart from that this doesn't give you a 'Hogwarts experience' at all.

This game feels like either a prototype for something bigger or the beginning of a very simple game.
Either seem surprising given this is the 5th release.
It does have enough to provide some insight into what it could be, and that's both good and not so good.

The good
• User interface is simple and easy to understand (no help required)
• The graphics are original and not bad.

The not so good
• In general, content is spars, and there's no real player agency.
• The text overall, and the sexual content text in particular, is simplistic and childish.
• There's two very short and (nascent?) 'character story lines', that leave you with the feeling of "And...?".
• Added to that, the core notion of one story line (Hermine) is plagiarised (from Akubur's Witch trainer).
• There's these simplistic 'battles' you can play, that don't do anything (other than waste time perhaps?)

That covered, a lot could be corrected by simply changing the opening posts.
• Saying "it's up to you what you will teach the students" is misleading.
- It's simply not the case, as you don't really decide anything
• And perhaps explain the development status?

Giving the above, 2 stars may be a little generous. However, it did take some work, and notionally could be developed into something of substance.

This game has amazing art and it has a lot of potential if more characters are added.

Good things:

- Art looks great
- Nice to see Bellatrix
- No grinding yet
- Events are fun

Things they can do better:

- What can you do with items in the shop?
- Quest log would make it easier to know what you should do
- More locations

Glad to see Ginny in this game and getting some focus on her, the game so far looks very good and it has some great art and some nice ideas like picking your house and wand, hope it gets used.

Art 9/10
Sex 0/10 none yet
Characters 7/10 needs more
Story 7/10 needs more
Ratings can be changed with more updates so this may not be my final review.

Currently on version 0.2.

It seems like a game with a lot of potential. It's not exactly the game with the most amount of gameplay, given how you don't really need to do anything for it to progress except click the girls numbers.

Pros:

- The art is great, and the almost paintinglike pallet gives the game a great atmosphere.

- The mc isn't a dumbass, nor is he someone unnecessarily rude or haughty. I know it's different from person to person, but i like playing as an mc i don't want to beat down.

- It has a lot of potential for development. More girls could easily be added and so could mechanics without it feeling out of place.

Cons:
- The phasing is very weird. We go from small accidental panty shots to almost a stick your dick in me scenario within like a single event. I would say the game needs to slow down and build a natural phase.

- The writing needs to take into account different things. Without spoiling, then there are 2 books you need to buy, but you can buy them before you need them. Even if you do that, the mc - in possession of said books - will have no clue what they are when student A needs them.

- A lack of actual gameplay elements. Maybe that's on purpose, but the game could do with some more things for the player to do - or alternatively just go full visual novel by cutting out buying the books.

All in all, i believe there are things that can be improved, but given its early stage, the potential (and art) carries the rating high.

actually really good ,i am excited to see its further development this game have a great potential. similar to one of few famous harry potter parody. and graphics art is pretty cool . hope it does good in further updates