Updated Review for v0.05
Dungeon Days was already promising when I first played it, but these newer updates have more than solidified my feelings towards it. This game rocks
What initially caught my eye was the character designs. I think I've grown used to seeing Koikatsu being primarily used for school-based games, so it really sticks out when the love interests aren't a bunch of random schoolgirls. Though even among the more diverse Koikatsu character designs, I think this game has really nailed that aspect.
The characters themselves are also just very well put together. Full of life and charm, dynamic, intriguing, etc etc. You can feel the dev has put a lot of thought into them and it really does show. The dialogue in general is fun and full of humor, while also being interesting in the more plot-centric moments.
What I really want to praise though? The intra-harem relationships. The fact that there is plans to have the girls form and develop relationships with each other alongside the mc (and yes the lesbian stuff is confirmed optional if that bothers you) alone is enough to make me love the game. This is an aspect I wish more harem games did. Even ignoring the sex stuff, it does so much to make the characters feel developed and connected. The game has used the words "family" to describe the group a couple of times, and I think that will be very fitting as the game and characters develop.
Perhaps it was the Koikatsu graphics throwing me off, but what I didn't expect was seeing a group of adventurers get brutally murdered right off the bat. There's some surprisingly dark shit in this game. It's an interesting mix when much of the game outside of that feels more light-hearted and comedic. Those dark moments are mostly comedic in nature as well, but I still wonder if the story is going to take a dark turn at some point.
The few sex scenes were very well put together. Lots of good angles accompanied with good dialogue. The most recent one has animations, and definitely feels like a good step forward. I will say while the animations were good, it had less angles than the previous. I would not mind seeing more of a blend of the two different scene styles, where there's more static renders/angles mixed in with the animations to give the scenes that extra something. Still, all very good at the end of the day.
Really, everything about this game is good at the end of the day. I'm more than invested now, and with continued development I'm fairly confident this will become a long lasting favorite of mine.