VN - Ren'Py - Dreamland [v0.4.0p] [Dokiden]

its just unfortunately really shallow as a vn.
Its at best a wallpaper/render galore, everything else is just incredibly below average. I mean your 'best friend' who loved you her whole life took one night to switch lanes after getting rejected or ignored.

Nothing is paced properly, its either you fuck on sight or wait for some transition to happen. Literally your friend and the stranger you guys meet decided to give you a handjob together after knowing each other for 1 car ride. Even by porn writing standards how does that work?

Apart from that this game took years to update and it still isn't the size of some VN's opening chapter

alright, so I kinda started this one on steam but deciden not to buy DLCs and just 'buckle up me hearties' this one.

That was a good decision in hindsight.

The premise was intriguing, the title girl was kinda cute, the synopsis was also mildly interesting.

but in the end - what a letdown

don't get me wrong, I still like the visual side, the models are cute and sexy, renders are decent - all of that somewhere between B-tier and A-tier (lighting and posing feel weird, thus not an S-tier).

but boy oh boy, this game crashes and burns in terms of character development, plot development and general pacing of the story.

Secondary characters are necessary to paint your story with the shades and colours that make your main plot points shine! Secondary characters are something you need to pay attention to.

Here, we have a case of side characters who do weird and nonsensical things - they do not obey logic and some cause-and-effect stuff, they do shit just because.

MC is not great too, lacks agency and some common sense.
Pacing of the story is extremely weird - inconsistent, incoherent, lacks direction.

Fart jokes are terrible, like holy fuck. It could've been beautiful...

2/5, one star for Lea model, another star for all other pretty renders
now I have more pretty wallpapers.

I really wanted to like Dreamland but it really isn't good.
Tried it a couple of times but this time was the last.

The writing isn't that good that your capable of telling story like twin peaks with twists and turns and still keeping the reader interested. Sorry but this just is not good enough for that intricate story.
Or if it´s more of splatter a la 90s horror its just not paced right.

Damn some times this game is so good rendered and the transitions are so damn on point and still they take forever. Sometimes the text speed slows down to a crawl by design and there is no way past it.

The Models are somewhat repetitive but still above average and that is completely fine for a VN.

It gets pretty quick tedious with all time jumping and the subpar explaining of what when and where in the story the reader is at that point.
This is one of the major reasons I'm giving this up.
Almost no one here on F95 are actually that good a writer that they can pull off a story with multiple time jumps and keeping the story alive don't know why they keep trying.

0.4.0 and that's it this wont become any better and the only thing saving it would be complete rewrite and I don't see that happening.
Renders are sometime better than top 1% here of games but that is mostly because of transition and effects are really well done.
If you make a VN don't hinder players from clicking the story forward in their pace just a suggestion.

This may be one of the best games on the site . I get that having so many different paths and options can be a bit confusing and annoying for some , as well as making the story a little complicated however i think its great and gives the game a lot of replaybility . Also the plot and characters are very interesting and multidimensional with the player constantly asking what their motives and plans are and its not clear who is good and who is bad. Most importantly though the characters and sex scenes are incredible and the game is really well made .

The game has good renders, good looking characters and a somewhat unique story compared to most AVN's nowadays. However the writing could definitely be improved upon. I enjoyed the overall experience.

Excellent renders and scenes, probably the best in this site. The story is nothing to write home about, but is serviceable and delivers the scenes very well. The girls personalities are entertaining, and the premise of horror is intriguing. That is all really.

The premise is honestly fantastic and set up really well, I enjoy the B-grade horror flick, it's fun! It also helps that the visuals are great and all the girls are very attractive. There's also branching paths that actually make a difference, which is pretty interesting.

However, the big issue really comes out that the longer the story goes on, the worst the writing gets. The first big hit is the fact that every girl is automatically into you, to a ridiculous degree. In the second chapter you get the chance to have a sexual act with 1 of 3 women (only one is actual sex). This, somehow, has each of them decide that they're actually in a relationship with you now. No joke, each of them go "you're mine now, we're in a relationship". Keep in mind that for two of them, you have known them for ONE DAY. You have been on NO DATES with ANY of the women. They just act in such a ridiculous way that you just can't enjoy the story. What's worse is that two of them literally DESCRIBE Dreamland as being about "free love" where you have sex with random people, and yet they'll also claim you at the first chance they get?? It's genuinely so insane. This paired with the dialogue that progressively gets less and less human, just makes it a slog the longer it goes.

Hopefully it gets better, but I just kinda lost all enjoyment when I had to deal with how unrealistic every single situation was.

Must be protected for footlovers, good renders+models, and the non-complicated gameplay. The main girls are all baddies in their own right and I hope I get to see this game to the end so please suppor this creator!

Renders, animations, girls are just chefs kiss. Strong HNG so far.

My problem is probably with MC, hes not the most interesting dude and kinda boring.

Im just playing this for the girls and the lewds, that shit is top tier. Writing is meh

#1. The story is horrible.

#2. The writing is real bad.

#3. The jokes are not funny at all.

#4. Very annoying unskippable transitions.

#5. Characters look okay but could be a lot better.

#6. Forced dirty foot jobs. (the dev has a big foot fetish)

#7. Don't know why, but the sex scenes feel boring.

Very nice renders and characters, very bad everything else.

Story doesn't make any sense. Characters switch their personality on a dime. Sex scenes are rushed as hell. Dialogue, while not horrible, is nowhere near good either.

This game has very high production value. Incredible renders. Incredible posing, scene setting, lighting, animations, just a sumptuous feast for the eyes (I think I'm plagiarizing an old movie review with that last phrase). It deserves 5 stars for how it looks.

It's also well written. I personally wouldn't chose to base a porn game around a horror movie theme, but they are pulling it off. Lot's of dramatic twists, and so far the horror story line isn't making the sex out of place. That is, they are managing to intersperse stressful situations with calm, relaxed situations, so that the characters might realistically think about sex without it seemingly like they should be too scared , or running for their lives. I hope the production team manages to continue to walk this line/keep this balance. It may get harder as the horror ramps up.

Notably, the artist loves feet. That's not my fetish, but if it's yours, you're eyes will bug out of your head and your dick will explode due to how lovingly the artist prepares the feet animations, or sets the camera to highlight a girl's feet. I wish they prepared the cum shots with as much care, but that's just me .

Looking forward to more!

Easily 5/5.

It's one of those thrillers... You know, a group of friends go on vacation, things start going wrong... The girls are mega hot, the story is never boring, the animations are insanely good. One of the best AVNs.

tldr at the bottom.

Let me preface this with the fact that very real effort was put into this game, and specifically in the visual department - it shows, but if this game didn't have the visual fidelity it does, by now it would likely have been dead, buried and forgotten.

Because if the writing was even mid, this game would have been a GOAT contender.

B movie horrors have better written characters and story. None of the characters are likable, the MC himself included. I'm not talking "they're flawed but they're trying", they are flat out unlikable as human beings with damn near no redeeming qualities at all, including the LIs. If that was the only problem, it would have been great.

But no, aside from their personalities, their actions are illogical and are more of a vehicle for shit to happen, the AVN logic being abused to the next level.

tldr: do not expect a quality experience that tickles the mind as well as the cock with this one. Its one redeeming quality - it's a feast for the eyes, this AVN has some of the most beautiful and flat out scorching hot models made out of pixels on a screen, as well as the sex scene animations are good.

But by god, I'm really sick of dogshit writing.

This was surprisingly great.

The models are really nice, the story is pretty dark and twisted, the scenes are all animated. If you're into feet, there's a fair bit of it.

One negative if you're a softy like me that doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings - you have to make choices, and sometimes those choices really end up hurting peoples feelings, and the MC can be very insensitive about it.

Like in one case, you can tell someone you will help them with something, then get an offer to go with someone else and take it. And when the first person comes back, you're a bit like "oh nah I'm going elsewhere byeeeee"

Considering how sensitive this guy can be during the rest of the story, it feels a bit out of character.

But otherwise I think it's pretty great. I'm going to do another playthrough to try get all the cards and unlock all the scenes, and I rarely do that.

The Animations look like good quality, the models also look very good, the story is interesting and mysterious and it even made me laugh once. I can only recommend giving this a try. I just wish i could play even more.

I hate this story. I really do.

And you're wondering why I'm still rating it 5....
Well its unfair for me to hate it and not rate it what it deserves.

The writing is solid, foundationally. It has Friday the 13th Vibes with constant twists and turns and probably even more misunderstandings that will make sense later, everyones just kind of on edge cause they assume the worst in bad situations im sure.
Note: (I didn't notice many grammatical errors, and there wasn't any weird feeling translations so idk. Seemed pretty fine to me, unless it was on paths I just didnt take personally. Writing seemed crisp to me. Its DEFINITELY ambitious though theres a whole hell of a lot going on.)

The models, graphics, renders, whatever have you are flawless. They are phenomenally good. The animations are gorgeous, but fall behind a little bit as they're just mostly loops (shorter rather than longer) BUT (again) theres alot that happens between each scene that keeps things pretty fresh, so its not just a stagnant single loop.
Another Note: (There is a lot of foot fetish in this game. Mostly dealing with Foot Jobs specifically. Think in the limited sex scenes I counted atleast Four or Five times feet were on the MC's sausage.)

Why do I hate this story? Because it makes me feel shitty no matter which way I go. I always hate stories that leave you in a constant consequence selection. Mei just confessed her feelings to you in the most romantic way ever, all the signs were there! do you turn her down? Well shit you're an asshole if you do, and theres a huge scene to make sure you feel it. Do you accept? Well, goodluck because she's gonna just up and vanish, potentially sabotage the car and go party at dreamland herself. Hah, sucker! (To be figured out WHY, but I assure you no matter what the WHY is, its bullshit lol)

Oh Summer and Lea mistook you for a perv, also Oh that poor girl Alice whose constricted by her family and just wants a friend that may potentially become more! Time to choose again! Be an immediate asshole and turn Summer down on the plans you JUST MADE or Turn Alice down for the plans you made RIGHT BEFORE she showed up. Granted Alice does have another scene but at another potentially huge fork lol. If you shoot Summer down you'll be guilted to high hell for it too!

We're going to Spring Break at this CRAZY PARTY FESTIVAL place. WHY THE HELL do I need to be guilt tripped multiple times before we even arrive

Needless to say I'm still gonna go through this story, I just hate the instant guilt tripping lol. Feels like no matter what route choices you go down you're either getting screwed, breaking someones heart or cheating on someone.

Dreamland is a technical marvel hampered by poor writing.

It is the story of four close friends who agree to stop off at a camping ground on their way to a spring break gathering.

During their journey the four friends, plus two tag alongs, discover mystery and potential foul play as they learn that a serial killer may still be stalking the camp grounds.


Pros:
1- A technical marvel, sprinkled with some very impressive renders. The scene of the face reflection in the window was stunning.
2- Very attractive characters.
3- Music was well integrated into the theme.
4- Sex animations were very nice.

Cons:
1- Poorly written. Too many bad lines and grammatical errors. Unsure if this was possibly due to it being a bad English translation.
2- Numerous farting scenes that weren't very funny. How do you mess up a farting scene? Farts should be funny.
3- Overly ambitious story, which often times can lead to disastrous results. It did leave me scratching my head at the end.

Final thoughts...

A technical and visual marvel hampered by poor writing. The game is in sreious need of a re-write and the story needs ot be less ambitious. .

Underated game which desrves more than 4 stars. Combines great renders and plot which is a rare thing. One of the best games i played the last 6 months. Congrats to Dokiden and keep up the good work. Cant wait for next update

Game is great so far, and I look out for every update. The graphics and animations are great, the story is decent enough, and I personally love the amount of foot focused shots and bits of scenes. Keep up the good work!