VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - Divergence: Beyond the Singularity [v0.20.1 Public] [Artifixion]

I won't waste too many words on this review since most things have already been mentioned below. In short: the game has huge potential but the gameplay is awful.

• Beautiful renders and design.
• Sexy and good looking models.
• An original setting.

• 7 chapters may seem like a lot, but each of them contains only 5 mins of gameplay which makes the story feel short and rushed.
• Each chapter ends with a 'sex scene'. Which is basically an incomprehensible and annoying mini-game with some naked people in the background. This setup kills all the suspense and sensuality. Sex scenes don't feel like a part of the story, but rather as a cold and mechanic interlude between two chapters. There is no build-up, no teasing, and no animations (which I found disappointing for a game with such good visuals).

In conclusion: what could have been great, based on the visuals and setting, ended up being terrible. The mini-games take all the fun and feeling away from the sex scenes, and the rushed story gives the player no chance to connect with any of the characters.

first of all: i like sci fi stuff.

1 point for some ideas and 1 point for the good renders. but thats it.

but the gameplay is just horrible.
fails every time for me, when i try to play this game.
the sex scenes are annoying and with this mini games are not skippable too.
also this point and click is not really my cup of tea.

nether plot and characters are appealing, because it feels very railroaded and forced at this (point ch 7). no to speak about the chapters which are very very short.

maybe i regret my rating. but for now this game give me a feeling that is going nowhere.

Easily one of the best-looking adult games out there. The aesthetic is fantastic, the renders look great, and the style of play is engaging. I'm not typically a fan of mini-games, but the couple that are in D:BtS make sense in the context of the story and are well done.

There are a few renders here and there that look slightly odd compared to the rest, but that's to be expected from a first-time dev. Looking forward to more of this game.

It is a great scifi experience based on a video game. This world is about the future and androids. Renders and girls are nice. Choices are interesting due to android concept. As I see audience is mixed about the mini games personally I liked it.

UPDATE: Build 6.1 fixed the mini-game issues described below after a Patreon survey. Added a star based on the much improved experience.

Huge potential in story and characters, but all of it is ruined by truly horrific mini-games. Initially they are not that bad, but by chapter 5 they make the game unplayable and your progress is halted entirely. They need a rework at minimum, if not removed entirely. With a much less heavy handed approach to mini games and adding animations, this game could be a must have.

Pros:
The renders are top-notch.
A sci-fi adult novel isn't something you see frequently.
Well-written, focusing on the lewd content and waste little time with non-lewd content.

Con:
Inserting a mini-game on a lewd scene is a dick move, you can't enjoy the scene, and the last part of the mini-game can only be achieved using an auto-clicker program, and I'm asking "Why?".

Just started this game and I find it disappointing. The 3 is for the excellent pics and for a story that is interesting with a lot of potential.

However, The dev is a little bit sadistic with mini games that are too difficult to complete. Especially the 2 introduced in ch 5. They would with an adjustment to either the time given or the number of clicks needed. There aren't enough save slots either. With only 12 slots makes it impossible to have solid saves. Renpy is set up to allow for many many many... more saves. This also very much detracts from playing this game. I will keep this on my watch list to see if the dev improves the gameplay so it is reasonable

Even with a 3 rating the game play and the number of save slots seriously makes this game unplayable and I cannot in good conscientious recommend this game at this time. Maybe later as the dev further develops the game.

This game annoyed me.

The images are really well done, and the writing is good but the interface really got to me. The dev tried to add on top of the standard Ren'py interface by first removing a bunch of features (skipping unread or disabling transitions, for instance) and changing some others (for instance, rightclick goes to a screen that only allows you to save, if you want to change settings you must press escape instead).

The first minigame though. Sigh.
When you're asked to select an action by clicking on certain parts of the screen, you can click the background and that selects one of those actions. It shouldn't but it does. You have three thingies onscreen in a minigame and you click in a completely other part of the screen, one of them is selected and you don't know which one. After a couple of failed attempts, the game allows you to try the minigame again and starts again. You can even hold ctrl to skip through these choices. The three clickable thingies aren't visibly marked as clickable, you only discover that by hovering the mouse over them. Took me a while to even figure out there was a minigame going on and I had to select something. At least tell the player what must be done.

Some other reviews calls this minigame intuitive, I call it completely useless.

Then I got to the next minigame and again I had no friggin' clue as to what I was supposed to do.

Also, don't make minigames in the sex scenes please. It takes attention away from the good stuff.

It's tragic how short it is, at just chapter 4....
one could hope each chapter would be longer.

that said, the art is gorgeous, and the setting is truly fascinating for someone with an interest in near-future scifi.

I wish there were a few more choices to make... the current short experience feels fairly linear, but the writing is done exceptionally well (minus a few typos).
And the polish for the UI not only feels appropriately "futuristic," but also shows a lot of skill in programming, to make it all work and look so good.

Lastly, the mini games, while not explained, are very intuitive, and clever.

I'm going to be watching for updates on this project closely!

EDIT:
I have to move this from a 5 star, down to a 1 star.
Minigames shouldn't be on top of sex scenes to begin with (they take away your ability to enjoy the scenes) but when the "minigame" is literally "click in these spots as indicated an unspecified number of times before the timer runs out," and the timer is brutally short, and you honestly can not get your curser to the targets to click fast enough, anjd so you're stuck and unable to progress, because apparently this chick can't masturbate without us clicking the screen during the scene?

I gave up. Of all the scenes to be unable to progress through, being stuck in a masturbation scene simply because you can not move your curser, fast enough, from one point to another, is insanity.

And while I found most other minigames "clever" and intuitive, the fact remains that they really are just dumped on us, without any explanation of what we're supposed to do.

The story intrigues me. The visuals are absolutely stunning. The minigames are fucking infuriating, block sex scenes, and are keeping me from being able to progress.

Yet another edit:
it is with some frustration that I amend my review, AGAIN, and put it back up to a 4.
The dev apparently heard what had people frustrated, and adjusted the game accordingly. And that deserves to be recognized.
With that said, past bad decisions have me feeling some trepidation with regards to how things will develop, going forward.
I am hopeful, however, that the dev will avoid making such mistakes in the future.

Very promising and very well done. But a bit short.

+ The "Detroit" atmosphere is perfectly recreated
+ The music is a perfect fit
+ The renders and models are nice
+ The clue system is nice but too easy at the moment
+ The story is mysterious
+ You can adjust the mood and the behaviour of the characters
+ The interface is NextGen

= The minigames are different but not really interesting
= The sex scenes are quite good but without real animation

- It is really short, the chapters are 10 minutes long each and I'm being generous
- I'm pretty disapointed to see we are still using Samsung Galaxy Tab3 or ipad air... in 2047

[VN] - [Ren'Py] Divergence: Beyond The Singularity [First Public] [Artifixion] 16.05.2020

Don´t expect very much content or a storyline right now - There are only few sections to play, enough to make a first impression what a complete game of that narrator might look like - and

it matches my personal liking of an adult porn game :

• a fresh user interface that is using details of the screen / scene and the place of the happening is the place of the choice
• very good graphic quality in general
• Interesting and pretty characters
• a kind of minigame that doesen´t keep you busy for more than 3 minutes

- i did not like this blue circle at the frontal bone - and thats it.

Good luck to this project, if the content to follow this built doesn´t drop away from the showreel, i might decide to support this.

Thank you.

This review was written after playing through First Public.

Detroit: Become Horny (I'm calling this game this way for obvious reasons) has been a fun parody to D: BH. There isn't much to say about the plot in such an early stage, let alone the characters. Instead, I will focus on my experience:

This game went out of its way to create a visually similar gameplay experience despite the limitations of Ren'Py, something I do appreciate as they make Detroit: Become Horny a more faithful parody and keep things from becoming boring. Music helped setting the mood in each story and made them more immersive.

Overall, this game has a lot of potential, but since I am unsure of what the developers will come up with next, I decided to remain cautiously optimistic in rating this game.

Pros
+ Awesome models
+ Each android feels different.
+ The interface is great.
+ Choice seem's to matter

Cons
- The first text isn't easy to read when tired, must concentrate to read it (time + backstory).

Expect a lot from this game

This intro is kinda short, but already has an H-scene. More importantly however, it showcases how much potential lies in this. The groundwork for this game is fantastic.
The layout and UI are great, the models are top tier and the game itself feels smooth and receptive. This first release shows us three pairs of humans/androids and introduces us to their characters. I am actually interested, how the story evolves. I hope there will be important choices, like advertised.
If the the quality stays like this for the whole, upcoming game, this has the potential to be one of the best games on this platform for sure.

Good start so far. Renders are good, characters are a bit hard to really put anything on. The content is to short to really give an accurate base. The models are different from what I've seen in other VNs, and that's a good thing. I'll keep an eye out for future updates to see where this project goes. Keep up the good work