Ren'Py - Dissonance [v0.11] [L_Elyot]

I've played through all the content so far, and .. While I actually do like it, the pace is just .. Kind of off. Too slow, with nothing really happening.

I'll be comparing this game to a certain other popular game. I'm aware of the rules, but it's essentially impossible to not compare them, considering .. Well.. This is obviously inspired by that other Koikatsu game.

One thing these "clones" can't really copy is the writing, and despite the amount of (unwarranted) criticism thrown at Selly, he's just a much better writer than he's given credit for. His characters come alive, and I feel for all the characters involved in his game. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that his game has some of the best characters I've ever experienced.

Now .. Dissonance is a good game in its own right. Its biggest problem lies in the fact that it's clearly inspired by that other game, and it just doesn't come close. I'm just not that invested in any of the characters yet. Toru is a fine MC, but overall, nothing special. I actually do like that he, unlike another Sensei, seems to be a good guy. Or is he? Because unlike another Sensei, he doesn't seem to have much of any opinion about anything, except a few random thoughts, here and there.

Something LiL does so, so well, at all times, is making sure the reader knows that what is going on is bad. Dissonance kind of skips over this, and doesn't really make a big deal of it. Sure, Toru acknowledges he shouldn't, but apart from that, he doesn't seem to really care all that much.
All in all, it just lacks weight, and emotion.

Now, I've given this 3/5 which is just "average". I think it has the potential to reach 4/5, but that really does require the developer of Dissonance to up his writing a bit, and speed up the plot of the game. Because as it stands, it's just too slow. It's already kind of "long", but I still don't feel that anything has really happened for any of the characters.

Again, even if I'm only giving 3/5, I'll be watching this game, and really do hope they'll improve in the next couple of updates. If they don't, however, I might just forget I even started playing.

I tried to like it but i played for 5ish hours and nothing happened plot wise(except for 1 instance of supernatural) or porn wise. Its extremely slow, which may be the point, but it's not for me personally.
Usually slow burns have a hook to make you want to continue but even the events that have happened aren't particularly interesting, just they work here or are at this place at this time then have a disjointed convo whe you meet or find them there.
The Mc is fine but he doesn't even know who he is, which is fine but it means he doesn't really have a relatable character. The girls are fine, not super tropey but i see no reason why they would fall for the MC, which is maybe why it takes so long for things to actually progress.
I cant realy comment on the plot as nothing has happened other than MC being talked to by ghost/mythtical beings. who just told him advice for anxiety? But it was actually supernatural not his pyschee as time moved forward.

As a story, its really good, clearly has that denpa style and feels like a true VN where there is a true story being told, MC doesn't act like a douchebag and seeing what is happening in his head is interesting, alongside some cute moments with the others and a nice story overall with some good relationships building, maybe a bit slow on the story front, and I would expect that, art is fairly nice too even if it is from Koikatsu, I think the soft aesthetic fits fairly well and the variance in looks, expressions and such is good enough

From the erotic side though it really does feel a little monotonous and drags on, you will spend a pretty long while before encountering much that leans into that aspect - from one side that is absolutely understandable for a story like this, but on the other side, I think there are better ways to balance that rather than leaning 100% on the story and painstakingly pushing tiny things through, so there is an aspect to that, apart from that I like the writing, some 4th walling here and there with jokes and such, but really not overbearing at all and otherwise a nice story, though the lack of options does make me worry that this will end up being a game where you have to go through every single LI no matter what, not that I want them to be cut out completely from the story and still be friendly with MC, but there should be an option as to whether we want to pursue further with someone, and currently that isn't coming up, so I'm unsure.

UI is fairly good with the character menu system, but the text box itself is a little bland and takes up a lot of the screen, so could potentially be tweaked

And ultimately, this game screamed VN to me from the moment I started playing linear mode, I do not get why sandbox mode exists, unless this is the dev's way of trying to give choice (which I don't think is the way for this, it should be branching story like normal for a VN) and just seems like a potential development time sink

Apart from that, fairly good game so long as you are here for a nice story and are happy to wait for the erotic side to some extent.

I did kinda like the story part of this one but it is supposed to be an AVN notice the A meaning adult and man does it fail on that part, it blows my mind how this can have such a high rating when theres just nothing there what so ever? it means absolutly no sense.....

I dont mind a good slow burn but this......this goes waaaaaay past being a slow burn, theres a handjob, a kiss, a grind....thats all..not a single sex scene with anyone what so ever.

It feels more like this is ment to be a none sexual game.

Girls are cute and i like the builds as well, there is a bit of diversity in builds to but mostly aimed for smols which is fine by me since im not into big tits.

Its not animated either not that there would be anything to animate....

Music is standard background stuff.

As for choices there are barely any, you can try holding down skip from start to finish and you might see i dunno 5 choices in total, so game does feel very kinetic.

As for the sandbox theres just no reason for it other then wasting more of your time doing it that way, no clue why it was ever put into the game.

It's really amazing how much the MC can mix up a formula. Like him or hate him, Tohru is a character he's got thoughts, feelings, and most importantly goals. He's driven (to a reasonable degree), so when things occur as a result of his actions they feel earned and help to make him alot more interesting. It does reduce his ability to function of an expy or surrogate for the player though, and certainly reduces the denpa-ish elements of the game to more of a supernatural adversary, which at this point is a breath of fresh air in this space.

Game feels fairly uplifting with an air of mystery, visuals are pretty great, particularly lighting and eyes, characters are expressive in a non-tropey way and I love that. Pacing's a bit slow as advertised, but comfortable; cliffhanger-drama doesnt appear to be a major element atm so it's fine. Also Linear Mode is a godsend, never thought I'd be so grateful for standard VN mechanics.

4.5/5 at time of writing.

The only way to describe this VN is using every synonym of the words slow and boring. This isn't a slow burn, this is continental drift levels of speed of progress.
Every event is duller than the other, the characters are either not engaging or outright annoying, the very first one you meet is a nurse that should never be allowed near patients due to how she acts.
The "sandbox" has no reason to exist, its presence only wastes even more time, better spent staring at the wall.
Visually, I don't know the range of facial expression custom maid can output, but it's definitely more than the three used here, everyone constantly has semi tired smug smile on them, regardless of circumstance.
And most importantly, no sexual content, so don't expect to even bust a nut.
Horrifying waste of time, wish I could get those hours back.

Installed @ update 0.8

Still nowhere near finished so at the "slow burn" phase of the game. So far, it's interesting to say the least.
I'm definitely curious about the whole time event but I'm sure I'll get more answers about that soon. Bit of mixed opinions about the MC's attitude in general.

One of the girl's on her first event mentioned that she was interested in knowing the MC was doing naughty stuff with other girls and the guy just acted like it was the most normal thing in the world and didn't even reply to it but then there's no lewd scenes (up until prior to the festival at least) and it's already been a year since release.

Haven't been around for long but can already tell the updates come out rather slowly. While I do hope they pick up, I'd rather get quality content instead so for the time being, beggars can't be choosers.

Here's hoping that this game does picks up. Slow burn is good but when it's a little too slow, that's when people start dropping out. More and different music would also be nice, don't feel like the current BGM fits the game that well to the point where I sometimes just have other songs (including from different games) running instead of the game's music

v0.8

This is one of the top games in regards to story telling here.

The main aspect of this game is the story first and foremost, all the other things are secondary.

In addition to having one of the best stories, this game also has a plethora of cute and unique LI's.

The only thing which everyone playing this should mind is that don't come into this game expecting to see lewd scenes in the current version, cause there is literally only 1 scene which I found. I guess there is only that one scene for now in this game.

The Dev did say in the future there would be lewd scenes with the LI's but that is not a big drawback for me since the story more than enough makes up for that.

Even though this game has a dark supernatural undertone, the interactions and events with all the LI's are heartwarming and well made.

If you are really in need of a good read and have time to spend, play this for sure.

A future Master Piece for sure.

You can turn off sandbox mode. That shit is the single greatest thing on this site, and that feature alone deserves 5 stars. (seriously fuck sandboxes if your story can be told linearly.)

Story is slow, like many others have pointed out, but shit's good, with competent writing.
It's got that typical mystery element that most Denpa-like games have, but it's mostly in the background and focuses much more on the main cast.

The main character being a decent, normal guy instead of some psychopath or pervert is also a plus for me.

Great game with great potential.
Sadly it's quite a slow burn but writing is great and story is even better, leaving me to ponder for a day and a half after each update, which is quite a good sign in my book!
Hope it will grow into something great in the future)

This is a slow burn game, I am okay with slow burn kind of games and others might not be and that's okay. I think this game has a lot of potential the renders look good the story is interesting so far the girls are good and the MC is okay.

Disappointment

Review on 0.7

Other reviews mention slow burn, but you cannot just call 20 hours of gameplay "Prologue" because of slow burn. It is just an inability to move forward. It started well (a bit boring, but this is how actual slow burn works), but since MC discharged from the hospital, I did nothing but made a lot of literal laps in same circle. How am I expected to focused on some story arc, if there is about 20 events between each update on it? How am I expected to be excited by some character, if I met 10 other exciting characters since our previous meeting?

Just to prevent confusion: I played game in sandbox mode so I expected at least somewhat control on what is going on, but sandbox mode itself is a joke: the only thing I can decide is order in which i meet girls in a given cycle. Cycle which brings one to two events whith each of girl, which is essentianaly nothing in terms of character development.

And once again, it is not a slow burn. Character-wise it feels more like a rush, game just does not focus on characters. And honestly, I have no idea what it focuses on

Don't get me wrong, this game has it good sides: (some) interesting characters, strong vibes of loneliness, nice denpa trope, good graphics, hillarious sound etc. It actualy enough for me to keep going and take a look for next updates, especialy with promising 0.7 which actualy focused on certain story arc, but for now this game is almost nothing

really quite good. conceptually very similar to Lessons in Love but executed very well. its a slow burn, for sure, but it promises to pay off well as most characters are pretty well done, pretty cute, and most importantly, its not sensei overnight

this game is a REALLY REALLY slow burn, as in, no sex scene as of yet, and its apparently up to 0.7? The characters are great, setting is great, the writing is superb, reminds me a bit of lessons in love (tho that game made me shit myself, this one didnt), and the story promise is excellent. I agree with eroge shop guy tho, sex scenes are desperately needed.

All I have to say is what an amazing VN.
All the characters have unique personalities and very well made and are also pretty cute.
l also like the fact that it is a slow burn and you take time to develop the relationships with all the characters first,anyways 10/10 would recommend to anyone.
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edit: Just completely disregard kenny 1* review, he complains about the "sandbox" even though you can select a if you want linear story or sandbox, he also complains about it having no sexual content even though the dev explicitly tells you it's going to be a slowburn and if you want a quickfap to look elsewhere, just looking at his recent reviews he's just going around throwing 1* and 2* reviews with the most braindead takes so just ignore this guy.

An excellent visual novel with a likeable cast and even a likeable MC. It's quite similar to a couple other titles I'm familiar with but like them Dissonance has it's quirks that set it apart from the pack.

I don't feel like all the girls are filling particular niches, they are kinda but they are more down to earth and with greater depth then one might expect at first. Which is good I feel like I like them as the characters they're presented as and not the tropes they may represent.

The setting is typical of games using KK for visuals but the renders are all made with care. The wardrobe is handled well, a personal gripe I have with KK games. The devil is in the details and something as simple as making sure your models are wearing underwear and avoiding stuff that looks painted on helps make it look nice.

The soundtrack is pretty, it's been selected with care and works well with the content. No unnecessary sound effects, or over used tracks.

Gold star for 0 uses of the record skip sound effect, double takes are great but it's getting to the point where some games play that stupid sound effect more then they show tits...

Story's interesting so far, not sure what the hell is going on but in this case that's good. Looking forward to more, for sure keeping an eye on this.

TL;DR Good story, rare but really good lewd scenes, good visuals and music. This one doesn't (slow) burn, it smolders. In a good calming incense sorta way.

0.5

Definitely a very slow burn of a game. Don't expect any fast h-scenes at all, there's a lot of character building. It's well written, there's a layer of intrigue that kept me coming back and playing more, and I do appreciate a slower build-up than something too fast and immediate.

Characters seem cute as well (though all the models have this heavy-lidded expression going on that they all share, and it might just be me but it'd be nice for a bit more variety in that).

The game is essentially a kinetic novel. No choices to be made (outside of one), but this isn't really a bad thing. I appreciate the "linear mode" option for the story; sandboxes can be fun but when you start a game fresh, it's nice to not have to hunt for events in order.

It takes a good while to really start up, but I would recommend this game to people who like a slowly-building but well-written story. If the story and character development continue to ramp up and keep my interest, I'll likely bump this to a 5.

This game takes a lot of inspiration from a certain other (in)famous game, though it's managed to carve out its own personality despite that.

The characters are all pretty unique, and this game manages to avoid some the long-winded navel gazing that occurs at times with VN's of this nature.

You may have heard that this game is basically a kinetic novel and that's pretty much true, though i feel this is rectified by the option to select either linear mode or sandbox mode (which you can change once you reach the end of the latest update).

It's a game about self-discovery, is who you are a product of genetics or nature? Maybe it's a little bit of both...

Aside from that, the MC is not a walking plank nor is he borderline apathetic, he manages to show a lot of emotion at times and he even has (shock gasp) some self-control in regards to certain urges! Who'd have though!?

The only thing i'd recommend is a bit more variety in music and for the author to please be careful with mispellings (unlike some games on here, the author can clearly write in fluent English, which makes the misspellings clearly a product of hastiness).

It has a bit of a slow burn start but if you can get past that? You've got a (newly) discovered gem here.

v0.5
Visuals
I was first drawn in by the character designs, and they are a big plus in this game.

Writing
The writing is okay for the most part, but be warned this is almost a kinetic novel so far. In multiple hours of reading there's only been 1 real choice so far.
It is described as a "slow burn" but that is putting it lightly, the prologue is very slow, although things seem to be picking up now. And I don't mean only in regards to H content as this isn't that kind of VN, but in terms of plot advancement or character development. Felt like there were long bouts of time where little to nothing happened.
The mystery is done well and keeps you interested.

Mechanics and UI
The UI and mechanical system could be much improved, but the game is trying too hard to be similar to a certain other game. Inspiration ought to be used to improve on what is good rather than simply mimic.

MC is likable without being a power fantasy and flawed without being a selfish monster. Love interests are adorable and varied. The mystery and romance are given time to properly develop.
If you just want to skip straight to sexy times, this isn't the game for you. But if you want a well-told story, you're gonna have a good time.

Also I appreciate that the developer has added a non-sandbox mode, I think it fits this kind of story much better.