Ren'Py - Demons of the Hearth [v0.7.51] [Konvel]

DISCLAIMER: Review was written for version 0.5.1 - At time of writing, I am a supporter of this project.
As is standard for me, the review is going to be pretty long, as I feel it would do an injustice to call a handful of sentences a review, as they are too complex to condense this much information. Reader discretion is advised. But for those who want a quick verdict to base their idea around...

The TL;DR: This game is very well worth your time and might even be worth your support as it stands. To me, this game sets the bar for writing believeable characters that keep you completely spellbound and packs it up in a story that is layered with shades of gray and constantly keeps you thinking about it, even after you have played it. If you look for something with a truly compelling story and characters that actually feel human, then you'll not be disappointed and can expect to invest several hours of characters pitted against each other.

So, Demons of the Hearth. The game caught me by surprise and hasn't left me since. I had a bone to pick with it since I first played it over a year ago (at the time of writing) and it kept pulling me back into its grasp. At first I couldn't exactly pinpoint what exactly my "issue" was, but upon replaying I came to understand that the characters here feel so well written that they kept occupying my thoughts even after playing it, which is something I wouldn't expect an adult game to accomplish. If you are just looking for a quick fap, then you want to look in another direction, but if you want to have actually well-written characters to ponder over, I'll gladly take your coat. But to fully understand that we need to dissect this in smaller chunks, starting out with the Story and writing:

It is probably the biggest selling point to anyone who wishes to have their thoughts challenged. While the premise on the outset is nothing spectacular - with you slipping into the role of a demon lord, now in human form - it's everything that follows this premise that makes it so worthwhile. You'll quickly come to learn that there is a whole lot more at play than what the premise sets out, with factions following their very own agendas that do not necessarily align with any of the other players attending the hearth and paths intersecting in ways that make you question their specific intentions at every crossing, sometimes even with shifts that you may not have seen coming, yet the game hinted at when replaying. This shows some very well thought-out and clever writing across the board.

But those factions are also containing characters that you can interact with, so we should talk about those for a bit:

They are really well written - simple as that. Not only do they all have their own set of beliefs and morals, but they also act on those. Variety truely is the name of the game here and you'll have plenty of time to actually learn about them as people, not just as receptables for your fun bits. Not just that, but their beliefs are actually challenged, not just due to the interaction with the MC, but also because of interactions between each other - after all, each character came to the hearth for their own purposes and to follow their own agenda, those obviously do not have to align with the protagonists'. These characters don't exist solely for the reason for the MC to woo them, but their interactions between each other make them so believeable, moreso than most games I have encountered to this day. It's probably the biggest selling point to the game and some of the best written and most believeable character developments I have come across.

But both story and characters are for nerds, and we're here for the gameplay:

it is quite the typical sandbox arrangement of vising locations to interact with characters or visiting locations to move forward in the story. There's not a whole lot one needs to manage and nothing to pressure you. To me this is always a huge plus, as I hate missing something because of an arbitrary deadline or goal that wasn't made clear enough, yet the sandbox-y nature of the game does nothing to get in your way or to be overly obtuce. You're free to explore at your own pace and can also stumble upon extra events tangentally related to the story that can quickly shine light of some of the side aspects of the world and the characters. With no need to manage any resources, you are free to explore the characters and their events, while the story can be triggered in specific moments by you.

And a story needs to be seen. After all, it's "show, don't tell", so let us talk visuals:

Again, more praise to dish out, it's all quite well put together. You'll see many different places and faces and nothing feels absurdly out of place at any given moment. Despite there being assets you may have seen somewhere already, it is all nicely put into place and it's being worked in quite well. The interface is minimalistic, but that goes in the games favor, as there is nothing that would need to be kept track off. Instead, you have a journal that you can open up to tell at a glance what you'd need to do to advance a character or the story, even telling you if there's side events you can trigger, but only if you ask it to. On the note of visuals, one needs to be aware that there is violence on display and the game does not shy away from showing you that. This can be a point of avoidance for some, but I have personally not found it too weird, not to mention, even the other characters react appropriately to it. It's not just for the player to wonder why this needs to be seen.

But with the talk about the visuals, we might also want to tackle the sexual content:

What is out there is really damn good. The animations are well done and they feel fluent and natural. This is an important factor for adult scenes in any game, as nothing is more of a turnoff than characters whos animations feel stiff and wooden. The content itself is - for the most part - well paced out in terms of both the story and characters. While I could see some argue that the amount of sexual content is sparse compared to other titles available, I feel what is in the game to be perfectly adequate. After all, the story is the focal point of the game and overly massive boinking at every other opportunity would at some point just start to get in the way of that.

Well, with all of that, I still have to touch up on one point that I rarely ever bring up and that one is the music the game uses:

This is a topic I don't generally talk about for a simple reason - more often than not it is just painfully generic. So me talking about it could mean it's either horrible or exceptional. In this case, it is clearly the latter. Not only is each character associated with a specific soundtrack, but basically all scenes are using underlying music to convey the atmosphere or tone of the given event. The choices selected by the developer are all just exceptional. Not a single track feels out of place and I have actually come around to listen to some of the tracks the game uses even when not playing the game. That should give you an indication of how well thought out this is.

So, where does this leave us? Basically at the end of the review. I can safely say that this is one of the few games where I can actively say that I am glad to have played and that I can barely wait to see what will come next. This is one of those moments where I am fully confident in rating the game 5 stars simply because I can't exactly find any faults with it that were major sticklers.
To anyone that made it this far - thank you for your time reading this overly long piece of a review.

One line review: more story than porn, but not bad porn when it's porn

This is a dense story with extremely well-written character subplots. Each of the characters (even the ones you can't pursue sexually) have a distinct personality. It's a Ren'Py game so the "gameplay" isn't anything particularly noteworthy but that also means there are no confounding minigames that throw you out of the story. My only complaint would be that (as of 0.4.5) there doesn't seem to be a lot of variety of scenes for individual girls.

This has so much potential. I love the setting and the characters. I'd recommend this even if there was no sex scenes to be honest, it really surprised me.
I just hope this gets the attention it deserves and actually gets finished.

Had a blast playing this. It's major strength is the writing, there's a fascinating and original plot with intertwining elements, intriguing mysteries and a very engaging cast of characters. I've played several hundred of the games featured on F95 and the writing here makes my top 3 for sure. I can't wait to see how things play out.

Other stuff worth mentioning:

Not everyone likes koikatsu models but I do so there's no issue there for me. The dev has made sure to provide plenty of variety.

Sex scenes aren't great, they're alright but pretty short and cookie cutter. Like I said though, the actual story is so interesting I prefer it to the sex anyway.

I'm very impressed with the amount of content too considering that the game hasn't been out very long.

Conclusion:

All in all a very impressive game well worth your time if you like plot with your plot.

This game is really good.

In terms of novels, it goes a bit slow, especially if you care about quick and easy sex.

On the flip side, the game has a lot of interesting story and you have all the information you need at any point of time - meaning its easy to go further in the story or become friends with different characters in the game.

In many ways, the setting is traditional - you have amnesia, yada yada.
There is another person trapped inside your body, but they are really powerful, yada yada.
The nice thing is that you are attempting regicide, despite the fact that you don't remember anything. And commiting regicide to end racial discrimination is a pretty based concept.

The sex scenes are decent - but what really stands out, is the length and depth of the dialogue. If you have a little more time than just a naked tiddy, I heavily suggest giving it a spin. There is already a lot of stuff in the game.

Not a lot of VNs keep me hooked and interested as this one did. Certainly a good one for anyone looking for a VN to keep an eye on. The girls all look good and are very distinct from one another, which is also a major plus.

A solid game overall with quite likeable characters and tows the line between cliche and unique. There is a small grind factor but it's hardly painful just slightly tedious, and it's my only standing complaint. This seems to be part of a growing trend of games focusing more on the story and interpersonal connections rather than just the blatant sex. Currently this one and Greener Pastures stand as my favorite smaller underdog games in development.

Renders are good
Game is to much grind : to gain progess in the story of a girl you somtimes need to proges with another girl
I gave up because it takes to long to really unlock any non talking scenes

This game really is unique and though the scenes are scarce, it is good enough just for the stories itself. I love how each characters events ties one another and not just consist of a single character alone. And the characters all have unique personalities which makes them more alive rather than being bland. Looking forward for future updates for sure.

Great game, really. A bit sparse on the sexy times (actually, don't play this with sexy time as focus), but it has some of the best writing I have come across in any media. And I don't say that mildly. Many of the characters are multi-faceted, the plot is SICK!, character designs are awesome and I spent entire days fully immersed in it.

Totally deserving of all five stars. Gonna be looking forward to this one.

This is an interesting game, but one I find hard to rate. On the one hand, it is better written than the vast majority of games on this site. The characters are all unique and have actual personalities and motivations that don't just revolve around having sex with the MC. The setting feels like the dev cares about putting some more thought into it than just having a vague location for the game to take place in, and what we've seen of the world so far seems fairly interesting. The story is promising as well, involving all sorts of intrigue and power struggles in which there is hardly one single easily defined good or bad guy, and most sides are represented by and explored through one of the characters. It's not perfect, but I enjoyed it and kept reading for hours despite my next point.
The major flaw which a previous review already mentioned is that the eroticism in this game is really not very good at all. Scenes are very short and very simple, and lack any real build up or relevance to the characters and story that would make you care much. The characters' personalities also don't really shine through very well either, with all characters engaging in pretty much the same sex acts. It feels more like you're reading a manga and then decide to take a break and look up a porn webm of one of the characters before continuing reading.
So should I rate it highly because I found it an enjoyable read or poorly because this is a website for erotic games and this one is hardly to be recommended in that category? I decided on the former, but YMMV. In the end, this isn't the game for you if you're looking for a quick fap, but if you aren't in it purely for the lewds, I'd definitely recommend it.

A Thrilling and entertaining story, It's very hard to decide on a favorite girl since all of them are super lovable, in different ways. This is a game real gem and it's a real surprise that more people haven't played it. Well-written, filled with mystery, and super hawt waifus. Also, the updates are released frequently and contain a lot of content. Try it out today! 5/5

[v0.3] review

What it is:
Sandbox-style VN, filled to the brim with lore and then more lore. Some sex scenes are sprinkled in, but they feel more like "yea i guess I gotta add some sex to make this a lewd VN rather than a normal one", rather than a central theme of the game. The graphics are decent and the writing is above average, though that is far from enough to make up for this game's major shortcoming: a severe lack of eroticism.

I can't really enjoy this kind of production. The lewd elements feel like fan service and they completely lack build-up. No kissing, flirting or touching. No escalation at all and then full 0-100 fast enough to give me whiplash.
This is how it goes: (I'm paraphrasing) "hey we've been friends for a while, lets "have some fun"". And then they bang. Just like that.

It's like the dev felt forced to add sex to his game. It feels hollow. It's just the character sprites in lewd positions. I'm not feeling emotionally invested at all.

Then there's the matter of the lore. This is a game centered around lore, more than anything else. It's like the dev wants to really show off his nice world building and cool backstories, and that's fine I guess. But sadly, that's not at all why I'm here. If I wanted that kind of content then I'd go read some Tolkien or watch Game of Thrones. Which by the way is infinitely better than what this game is.

The dev is skilled, just not in the eroticism department. Which makes this one a pass. I can abide poor world building and bad writing if the erotic content is top-notch, but not the other way around.

If you don't care much for the lewd in your lewd games then give it a try, because the rest is definitely above average. It's just not for me.

There's very few games I wait as eagerly for updates as I do Demons of the Hearth.

Konvel has obviously spent blood sweat and tears on the initial release of this game, with the already massive amounts of content that was already provided for a first release. Forget 10 minutes, there was hours(Unless you skip everything for the lewd, -- what's wrong with you btw??)

The story, pretty unique among AVNs, has a large cast of unique girls, each with adorable quirks of their own. Upbeat, tomboy, girly, tsundere, kuudere, devout lover who worships the ground you walk on, onee-chans, there's all sorts. There's something for everyone to say the least.
Astrid, Chelsey and Lilac best girls btw (Fight me idc)

Anyway, the animations are great, the characters and artwork are great, the story is good, and there's tons of character in the characters. If that makes sense. The cast is amazing, Bazrel is hilarious and quite frankly OP.

You're stuck trying to piece together the world and make sense of everything, with a cast of girls that basically worship the ground you walk on. For better or for worse, you're a harem protag and these girls are dangerous. Dangerously sexy.

I consider good koikatsu games very rare, altho there's a handful of them around the website, but damn, this one was really, really good.

The story is VERY interesting to say the least and I do hope this is one of those story focused games (without skipping the H-scenes, though they should be a bit rare in order to feel like you "earned" them), because this is so far a really entertaining plot.

The writing is also superb with close to 0 grammatical errors and smart writing.

The H-Scenes could take some polishing, such as the girls not sliding back and forth on the bed (I'm looking at you, Bea)

Characters also have some very interesting design as well as captivating backstories. My favorite definitely is Astrid so far.

Rating: 4.5/5 but since I can't do 4.5 but don't think it deserves a 4, a 5 is definitely the better choice.

I sincerely hope this game grows and I can't wait to see how big it'll turn out.

EDIT: Oh, and the choice of OST is also great.

Game version 0.2


Another game "in the style of" Corrupted Kindom. That's not really bad, as CK is far from perfect.
What I like more about this adaption are the dialoges and the story altogether.
What I DON't like is the free-roam, which is boring, repetitive and redundant. All I do is to open the map and grind the women's locations again and again, until I gained enough points or whatever to trigger the next event.
A free roam game NEEDS a quest log, which isn't present, either.
I pure VN would have been much more accessible and easier to follow, in my opinion.
Then, there is NO gallery option, which is kind of annoying- almost EVERY ren'py game has to have its own modder, who is needed to patch one into the game manually- No idea, why the developers still haven't learned from it!
The lack of lewd scenes in the current version is acceptable, as long as there will be MUCH more in the future.

I do not recommend this game at its current stage, because of its lack of content and confusing progressing (> no quest log).

Actually interesting story and characters so far. Also has lots of content for such an early version. Few sex scenes but they were rewarding since most of the characters were built up first instead of just randomly fucking at first sight.

Could use a time skip/advance option since character events are time of day specific. Maybe there is one and I didn't see it after searching for it, in which case.. maybe make it easier to find.

Interesting characters, solid writing, and a mostly solid plot. There's also a satisfying amount of content for a first release, though it only has four sex scenes so far, if that's what you play games for.

The issues for me:

The game starts with an explanation of what's going on in the world from a neutral viewpoint and feels a bit expositiony, though I don't generally mind that in small doses. But said intro likes to drop names/terms without explaining them. For example, I spent a while wondering if "under the banner of Mastema" was referring to a nation, ruler, or diety and it took a handful of scenes to get the answer, even though it's relevant for the intro's context.

The reasons for the conflict and the characters and motivations of the human king and the demon lord aren't really delved into. I don't mind this, because I assume motives and reasons will be explored later, but it could be annoying if you dislike MCs that seem to act with limited information/reasons, as the main character doesn't have a stated reason to get involved. I don't mind this either because he's - put vaguely to avoid spoilers as much as possible - inhereted the will of two who do seem to have ample motives, and will very likely develop some of his own reasons as the story goes on. But I could also see that rubbing some the wrong way.

Navigation is probably the biggest issue. It feels like it could use a map (Maybe a map with areas that branch off into sub-areas, as there are quite a few exact locations), but the bigger issue is the fact that there's no way to tell where any character is at any given moment beyond memorizing their three-day schedule. A game where you have to find characters to see events needs a way to *find characters.* (Edit: As of 0.2, a much-improved map/navigation system has been put in that addresses both ease of getting around, and easily locating characters.)

I also hope some characters that are presented as major characters but don't yet have events will eventually share the spotlight.

Definitely interesting so far, and I'm eager for more.