[0.30] - overall rating: 2/10 (lowered from 3/10).
Gift-wrapped verbal diarrhea.
THE GOOD
The story has an interesting premise of infiltrating the crime syndicate that isn't explored as often as it should.
The music and SFX are decent.
The GUI in an upgrade over a typical one, so there's that.
THE NEUTRAL
The choices do not seem to matter a lot right now. The typical "good option" vs "bad option".
The GUI is, in fact, an upgrade over the stock, but the "puzzle" sections are completely redundant and needlessly annoying.
THE BAD
Let's start with something lighter - the renders.
They are, for the most part, pretty terrible. What hurts even more is the fact that select shots are actually well done and show that the artist knows what they're doing. Sadly, there are maybe a dozen genuinely good renders in the entire game.
Firstly, it's ironic that the developer decided to not render characters with their lips open for the dialogues, yet they are cranking out an enormous amount of shots for literally anything else, fidelity be damned.
Secondly, there are a lot of inconsistencies with how the lighting works across the game's scenes and the timeline. One moment the room is bright with sunlight, the next it's apparently close to dawn with lots of shadows.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the renders were made hastily and it shows. Whatever denoiser and post-FX the dev is applying are ruining the presentation. Character faces turn into shapeless, smeary blobs and the backgrounds are usually so pixelated and blocky that even the generous amount of blur cannot fix it. This, combined with the above two points, makes for an absurdly ugly viewing that sees little to no motion or action. What good are the 1500 renders the game has if 1400 of them are assaulting your eyes...
Alright, let's talk about the writing.
I have to give my praise to either the writer or proofreader for getting the grammar correct. You can tell they are proficient in English - punctuation is pretty much on point and so is the spelling.
I cannot say the same about the writing itself.
It feels like the game's author/writer has an identity crisis in regards to the characters they have created. There are multiple instances where the "sophisticated and wordy" presence that the narrator exudes spills over to the actual dialogue. The author opted for the "all-seeing narrator" setup, but forgot that the characters are not supposed to share the same knowledge.
Example: Diana, the MC, speaks to a young man about a girl involved in a rape case, but he says that the girl left and he has no idea where she went. The Detective then breaks into the man's apartment at night only to find the boy in an act with a girl. The narrator then tells us that this girl is the one that the MC was trying to find. Diana, in her thoughts, comes to the EXACT same conclusion. How does she know that? Was she shown a picture of the girl? And if so, why didn't WE, the players, get to see that?
The above is ironic since the game LOVES to hear itself talk. The narrator literally drowns us with the most pointless information in every single sentence. Did Diana just sit by her desk? Let's describe the texture of the paper and the smell of the pen that she's holding. Did Diana got involved in a fight? Let's add how it's her expertise in Krav Maga that helped her stun the opponent. JUST. FUCKING. STOP. Give us a room to breathe, please. How are we supposed to focus on the plot if you're piling unnecessary overexposed garbage right in front of our eyes?!
Lastly, the game's plot is going nowhere. The pacing of the MC being involved in a "deep undercover covert operation" is pitiful. I get that we are supposed to slowly but surely get closer to inner circles and workings of the mafia, but making the player go through yet another "MC stands butt-naked in front of the window and reminisces about the events and life in general" is extremely disrespectful. For a "trained veteran detective and police office" MC is surprisingly touched seeing one dead body. So much so that she needs to take a day off that she spends with her not-Son, but not really because he's one-dimensional and utterly boring.
Oh, I almost forgot about the sex scenes, but apparently so did the developer. No build-up, no sensuality, just a couple of static renders and job done. And lots of overdescriptive sentences. Lots.
Overall, this game, as fresh as it is, needs a major remake on all fronts. Stay away if you value your sanity.
Update: I finished the 0.30, after much suffering. Firstly, the game just abruptly ends with no obvious way to go back to the main menu. Secondly, the proofreading effort have definitely waned during the latest content (many sentences end with a comma for some reason). Thirdly, the plot flow makes even less sense with different events separated with a quick fade. Fourthly, the renders are still terrible. And to top it all of, the obvious plot holes and overdescriptive language spoiling every ounce of mystery or fun are more pronounced than before. Score lowered to 2/10.
