Man, I've been on this site for a decent amount of time, and I've tried every game that interested me thus far, which makes it hard to find new ones to sink into, so I was pleasantly surprised – and a little shocked – when I realized I hadn't tried this yet.
Now look, I'm not claiming that this game is perfect as is, but man does it have potential.
~ Art? 4/5
Just great, solid work. Everything is high quality; the different locations all look unique and well thought out and are pleasing to look at; the only complaint I have, and the reason it gets a 4, is that each location – namely in the city – feels very lifeless.
Now I don't make games, so I don't know how easy or difficult it would be to do so, but if the author could add in more background characters (they don't have to actually do anything, just stand there) to make the city feel more full of life, that would be amazing. Especially in the scene where Ain almost gets kidnapped, it felt a little odd that no one was around.
~ Character Models? 5/5
This was definitely one of the easiest 5's I've ever given. Zahra, Shani & Ain are so fucking gorgeous that even if they were the only three girls you had access to, I wouldn't complain for a second. To a slightly lesser extent, but still gorgeous is Emilia, Kateryna, Ivy, Merneith & Asani. Same with them, Asha & Kyra are a-fucking-mazing. Twin-tailed, psycho raider sisters, each of which loves to be put into their place by a strong man? A million times, yes.
~ Characters themselves? 5/5
I'll say 5 for now because while I don't have anything, in particular, to complain about, I feel like we don't really know anyone as of yet and thus wouldn't have anything to dislike, which is one of the only things I felt was lacking from the game thus far. I hope the author can add in some more personalized dialogue with characters when you visit them in their rooms, where we can learn more about them and their opinions on things.
~ Sound? 4/5
The game has music, something that a lot of authors overlook for some reason; more so, the music is actually nice to listen to and fits the setting perfectly. I'm only giving it a four because there aren't any other SFX in the game, sexual or otherwise.
~ Animations? 2/5
I would say this is the only area of the game that is particularly lacking. Animations are present, which is good, but they are rare. A lot of the game's 'animation' consists of just different images being recycled, an example being during a blowjob with Asha after you head to Adira with Kyra.
During the scene, it will cycle between a couple of images, one where her mouth is barely on your dick, and another where more of it is in her mouth, thus giving the appearance of an animated blowjob. And don't get me wrong, this isn't horrible; I mean, it's better than nothing, but when you have a game that's as fleshed out in every other aspect as Desert Stalker is, more so, when you have girls as gorgeous as the ones in this game, you just want to see more.
My only other complaint regarding the animations, and it ties in with the X scenes altogether, is the shortness of it all. I feel like my character will be getting blown for ten seconds, and he'll already be ready to burst. Same with sex, we'll thrust a few times, bust, and that'll be it. There's also no mention of the woman ever cumming. I hope our MC isn't a selfish lover, lol.
I feel like the author needs to add more interactive sex scenes with more positions that we can cycle through to make the scene feel longer and more realistic. Maybe give each girl some preferred positions and different reactions to them?
~ Dialogue? 4/5
I'm going with a four because, again, while there isn't anything specifically negative about it. I just wish the conversations were a little more robust and more options were given when talking to other characters. It just feels like there's not ever much to say, and what the characters do have to say is very brief.
~ Story and Worldbuilding? 4/5
It's super interesting thus far. And I'm really impressed with how well thought out everything is. The book in your library gives a brief history and summary of everywhere you go and everyone you meet, which really helps add to the believability and immersion of everything.
As for the gameplay itself, cave spelunking is never boring, and I look forward to seeing what locations we get to experience as a Stalker and the treasures we can find while also interacting with Zeta, Old Cairo, Adira and the Bunker, and the politics we can push, the story decisions we can drive through them.
~ Final Thoughts...
A couple of quick notes about some of the fetishes before I end it. I'm SUPER happy that swinging was added, but more so that we are given full control over it. I'm a big fan of the fetish, but most authors who give you a choice over whether or not you want it in the game don't also give you full control of which swinging scenes you see, and some will be forced on you, which is never a good thing.
Secondly, I'm a little disappointed by the lack of any foot fetish/worship content thus far, as I feel like it was being set up pretty perfectly. You have the femdom tag and a female queen who clearly loves being in control and flexing her power. Each time you meet her, you are given choices that either make her more dominant or submissive with you. Also, during the second meeting, she even has a couple of servents present at her feet, one of which seems to be doing some light worshipping.
I don't know how the author feels about the fetish or if there are plans to include it, but I would really love to see it, and I think it would fit perfectly as some exclusive content you (and maybe Shani) can do with the queen.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on the game. I really love it thus far and can't wait for more!
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