Based on the (as yet) unfinished v0.05c
My usual disclaimers when writing reviews on here are that A. I am here for the "plot" not the plot and B. I am very picky with visual novels and think broadly they can be very subpar. So, take both of those into consideration for my review when thinking about this game.
Pros
- Intriguing setting – A sort of cross between Fallout and Mad Max. It’s post-apocalyptic, although the nature of the apocalypse has not been defined precisely. There are towns/factions/mutants/gangs that drive around in pimped out muscle cars. It’s also set in Egypt so that they could get the desert vibes and also add in some Ancient Egyptian-themed clothes and culture. The latter bit in particular can be a bit silly, but it’s still actually pretty cool overall and I appreciate the imagination on display.
- Violence is the answer – The game is shockingly brutal at times… I fucking love it! It’s actually pretty cool to see a game that’s ostensibly set in a harsh and cruel world and then not shy away from violence and death. There are cannibals, decapitations and then a few murders. Quite simply it’s great to see a game that wants things to happen in it beyond moody and angsty melodrama and arguing.
- Choices – Fucking finally dude. A game that seems to be unafraid of you making large and important decisions that (MAY) have serious lasting consequences. Beyond just “do you stick your dick in the girl?”. There’s loads of them too, including in dialogue, which is precisely what you want from a game (interaction is key). Of course, the game has barely gotten started yet, so we’ll see if these things actually do have any longer-terms consequences because it’s too soon to tell that yet.
- Holy shit that’s hot – Desert Stalker whacks you right in the face with what it’s trying to do in the first few minutes. There’s a mix of two sorts of “themes” of kinks on display. One is an ALMOST (but not quite) free-use theme where “the strong can take what they want” and that includes women. So as you are someone strong, you get to just grab women when you see them and do whatever you like with them… That’s hot as fuck. The other main theme is a domination/force thing where, along the lines with the other bit, when you grab a girl and just start using her, usually they quickly get into it. This, obviously, will not appeal to some people (and also may not be the most realistic thing ever devised) but godammit if it doesn’t appeal to just about some of my favourite kinks and leave me really hungry for more… Sure it uses porn logic, but I’m never one to complain about that. Also sharing is totally optional! Wonderful!
- UI is great – nothing much to say here, but the “dating-sim” sections where you have control over where and what you do, the UI is very clear and crisp. Just quite nicely done and there’s obvious room for expansion.
- Hot girls – All the character models are super attractive and there seems to be some genuine effort to make unique-looking girls in more than a few places. This isn’t something I personally place a huge deal of value in (given that I’m perfectly happy with honey select) but it matters to some.
Mehs
- Writing – A lot of the writing is more than a little wobbly. Sometimes there are some pretty cool moments and on a very broad level there’s some obvious competence on display. The English seems to be very good, dialogue flows naturally (mostly), there’s some interesting set-ups and individual scenes. However, this is countered by scenes which also seem a little out-of-place with confusing interactions and responses, stuff like being allowed into a shifty/somewhat-enemy faction base and just being allowed to wander around. Or introducing a new character out of the blue and having them dump tonnes of exposition on you with your (supposedly alpha) character not arguing back whatsoever. By turns as well, some of the dialogue can be a bit stilted and awkward, but hopefully this is something which will improve over time. All in all, I’m willing to forgive some of the more awkward aspects because it’s balanced by a few better moments and I’m interested and invested enough in the actual broad direction of the plot.
- Animation – While the girls are hot as hell (with perhaps some slightly disproportionate body types) the animations in the game are currently all extraordinarily basic. Little more than few repeated stills. Not a problem essentially, but nothing to write home about.
Cons
- Relationship with the girls – In the game you have a wife who is more than happy for you to go around impregnating and dominating other girls. That’s great. You ALSO live with two other female main characters: Ain and Shani. The default relationship of these girls is “step-daughter”. Okay, so far so good… But their default relationship to your wife is “step-mother”. Which is… Odd… Who are their real parents? You also very happily go around treating Ain like a slut (hot as hell) but then get extremely bent out of shape when you stare at Shani’s butt (because you shouldn’t be looking at her like that). What is our relationship with these girls supposed to be?!? Are they MEANT to be daughters and “step-daughter” is just a way of getting around Patreon’s incest filters? Are they actually meant to be adopted daughters? Are they not meant to be related to each other? What is the situation here and why are we treating them differently? I want Zetan to sit the fuck down and explain: these are your daughters, and we call them “step-daughters” so I can sell the game. AND THEN I want him to have consistency with that in the game itself…
- Setting quibbles – I actually personally appreciate that Zetan has not dumped huge levels of exposition on us right at the start and is allowing us to gradually explore and discover things. However, I’m finding myself repeatedly more and more confused by the MC’s relationship with different people, who the factions are and their relationships. And then also just basic information about the world. For example, when a “Zone” appears, it would be rather nice is someone could possibly explain what the hell a Zone is. They’ve appeared before, sure? But are they some kind of weird anomalous local weather conditions or radiation zone? I think the solution here would be an in-game glossary/codex. Highlight certain words and let the player decide if they want to get a bit more information (or not) about some aspects. Basically, I need more consistency and more information about what’s going on. Edit (as of v0.08c): I've no idea if Zetan himself saw this but almost the update immediately after my review introduced a glossary, which rather nicely dealt with my complaint here.
Desert Stalker is going to be an absolute pain in my arse now. You might notice that I’m reviewing version 0.05. That means it is extraordinarily early days for a game that only came onto the scene late last year. I also then got absolutely hooked on it.
I love the fact that it isn’t shying away from rougher kinks and sexy stuff. That alone would be more than enough to make me follow its progress and desperately want more (personally I think there’s far too many vanilla games out there and not enough that let you grab a woman by the neck). I also really like that it’s incorporating sort of Fallout wasteland levels of violence. Basically we’re talking super hot fucking and intense action and so it won’t just be step-mom drama and arguing with your sister… All in all, it has tonnes of potential.
And it’s also only about an hour long... That was a pretty heart-breaking realisation. The free-roam segments currently only have three repeatable events which are fairly basic. A lot of the major plots have only just started. Many of the major relationships and girls have basically only just been introduced with very few actual scenes.
In short, the Zetan has fucked me over by getting me invested in his bloody game at a point where it’s years away from being at a point where I get to binge the whole thing… Fuck!
I’ll say it again, the writing is definitely a bit shaky and weak at times and the whole “dominant porn logic” might well put some people off, but for me this game has the potential to break the top 5 of all games on the site for me if it keeps going the way it is. I’m just more tolerant of these things when I am presented with an interesting story premise and then lots of actual hot fucking.
I’ll admit there’s refinement needed here, I mean why the heck is it set in post-apocalyptic Egypt but seems to have totally brand-new Pyramids and ancient Egyptian architecture? But again, I can handle the silliness.
Plus, can I say, that the game seriously deserves a gold star for apparently actually wanting the player to make decisions and be involved with the dialogue rather than just have a billion lines of text between us clicking the “sex scene time” button.
Looking forward to coming back in a year and seeing what progress has been made!