VN - Ren'Py - Echoes: The Lies We Tell Ourselves [Ep.2 Public] [Oldcat]

The dialogue flows well and connects emotionally.
Juno is a bit too over the top, needs toned down a bit.
Mina not understanding the very basics of masturbation and her own body was nonsensical. Trying too hard for the pure good girl archetype, and it comes off as impossible.
The inner monologue is less prevalent in part 2, which helped the flow.
Flashback/backstory was believable and impactful. Having the former friend return felt rushed, and has me questioning what the tone will be going forward. Much rides on the various character's reactions to the former friend and his behavior/attitude.

I like the character design choices, and having the MC use his emotional history as a source for creativity is realistic and fits the story.

I worry in the long term that the film making side of things will either be pushed aside or become the primary driving focus, which would make the various LIs more or less important to the story depending on which ends up happening.

Overall, i quite like what's here and hope it improves its shortcomings, but worry that it will emphasize the wrong things.

Looks very decent for a first episode. The renders have improved from the dev's previous works but what I'm more surprised about is the dialogue - it has improved immensely. This feels like it's going to be a really good story.

The only real downside I could see is that there's way too much internal monologuing. I get that the MC is in a depressing phase trying to turn the page in his life, but he's stuck in his own head for way too long and way too often, even when directly interacting with another character. Maybe tone that down a bit and let dialogue between the characters flow more fluidly and it'll be great.

Christ, so much internal monologue, how is that possible? The dialogue is 97% internal monologue and 3% conversation, an option to disable the internal monologue would be a blessing.

When I started the game, the dialogue immediately caught my attention, this has always been the biggest problem in this dev games, but here the dialogue is so good that I doubt the dev is the author, the difference is enormous, and this dev already has several games we can compare it to.
Of course, the internal monologue is terrible, but apart from that, the dialogue is much better than in this dev other games.

The style of this game is very similar to another game by this dev, whoever liked that game will like this one, I abandoned it halfway through, but still, I decided to give this one a chance, I like Honey Select games, so as long as it doesn't have the cursed tags, I always give a Honey Select game a chance.

The protagonist here is terrible, we have a failed cuckold who lost his wife/gf to his best friend (something that, according to the inner monologue, happened a for long time), and was forced to distance himself to give them space, even then, he refused to move on, he still kept photos of them, the author gives the player the option to move on and forget them, or continue being a cuckold, but it doesn't seem to have any effect, the episode ended with the "friend" who stole his wife/gf calling him, so we already know he can't escape this cuckold past, is he going to answer the phone to hear them fucking? I'm not sticking around to see it.
The protagonist leaves the lovers to share a house with a girl and another guy, this is already the basis for a cuck story, will the protagonist catch them having sex and will stay there watching?

This loser has completely changed his appearance, this is the new character we'll be playing as, so at least we're not forced to play as a complete loser (although he is one), he's trying to change, trying hide who he really is.

The "romance" is cheap, it lacks development, you're simply presented with options and decide whether you want it or not.
It was the "nail in the coffin" for me, I wasn't enjoying the game, but I forced myself to continue, I just wanted a distraction, but I was very disappointed with how the "romance" was handled.

The game is still in its early stages, I can't say I like it or would recommend it, my problem is with the protagonist and the endless internal monologues.

In this dev games, the protagonist is usually a badass, but here he's a sad cuck, could there really be someone else writing the script for this story? Considering the huge difference in dialogue compared to this dev other games, that could very well be the case, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Who are you and what you had done with the dev ? Seriously thought, my entire expression reading this game is "The dev can actually write now ?" The story and writing is a massive upgrade from My Real Desire (I take a shower, I eat, I sleep) and Myth of Slayer. All the girls has depth, even the ones with little screentime., and they are more than just stereotype. The graphic is good, though the eyes puff is a bit much imo. And the interaction, man oh man, it feel more real and emotional than the dev's other work. I will wait for the next update but right now, 4.5/5

Echoes: The Lies We Tell Ourselves [Ep.1 Public]

Pros:
+ Excellent writing quality, inner monologue breaks up any monotony
+ Character quirks and overall personalities feel diverse
+ Main character feels fleshed out and relatable, not just a blank slate
+ Great and memorable introduction to all of the game's love interests
+ Character models are all attractive
+ Clean, simple yet effective UI and character info menu
+ Animations are solid
+ Roxy is hot (personal bias)

Cons:
- Not very much content so far but expected of an initial release

I don't often bother writing reviews for initial releases, and although I don't think that the game was particularly groundbreaking, nor has it given me some new, profound meaning to life, it doesn't have to. It was a great start to a potentially fun and interesting journey to come.

The game does an excellent job as a first episode in introducing us to a unique cast (particularly the story's love interests), as well as showing us their unique quirks and overall personalities. Some more than others but I'm fully confident that their stories will flesh out more as the story develops. The key thing about their introductions was how memorable they were. Most of them left an quite an impression.

That being said, I think where this game excels is the writing of the main character. We still don't know everything yet about him, but the inner monologue does a great job of painting the picture of the man whose story we are following and directing. It also helps break up the monotony of reading from one conversation to another. It's refreshing to see rather than a blank slate, and even relatable at times. This might not appeal to everyone but overall, I think it was well done.

There isn't much content yet, as this is only the initial release, but I think it does a good job of setting up what type of characters you'll encounter and the type of story you'll be navigating through. For most people, I would say to wait for more content, but if you have some time, check it out and see if it's for you. I think the first episode alone will be enough for you to get a feel for the game and find out if it's your cup of tea or not.

Overall Rating: 10/10

I really like this game!
Here is a brief summary:

• the girls are really good looking and slim - I feel like I am surrounded by supermodels;
• the story is really good and it looks like some mystery would be involved too;
• the dialogs are smart, witty and funny - plus I really like MC's internal dialog which is really sharp because MC seems to notice a lot of things about different people (I wish I would be like that );
• this game makes you think - sometimes you need to really decide what you want (vs mindless clicking "Next", "Next", etc).
• the music in the game is really good too - it really adds some good vibe to the game (vs. often just some background noise in some other games).

This game is one of my Top Five games for sure!

PS. If the game develper @Oldcat (Lyk4n) reads this review - I expect nothing less but another Masterpiece (consider yourlself warned ).

I think there's something here but at the moment this is an overdescribed mess. The MC is just so depressing, with the constant inner monologuing, it makes for a very hard read. What's worse is there no real signs of anything changing for him or enough detail as to why he is like this to give us empathy and understanding for the character.

We are 'hearing' too much repetition of his own thoughts for it to be a pleasurable. The MC has to be fixed or too many readers will give up. The principle is fine but the way its being done isn't working. The MC needs to be sent to a shrink for help and to give us an explanation as to why he's like this or to quickly be in relationship that helps him feel better and starts him living back in the real world, rather than his head. Preferably the dev needs to rewrite the character and tone it down. Please stop the 'in the role of director' and 'I'm an actor putting on a performance' crap. It's goes too far. One reference in a light-hearted way is ok; the way this has been done, the idea is pushed too far. I get that something has happened to him but this is comes across as a serious mental health issue, where the MC is referring to that part of himself like a different person. The only conclusion if this is deliberate, is the MC going insane and about to go on a very dark path, killing the people he meets. I found myself skipping text to look for him talking to people rather than himself, hoping for a lighter tone.

Everything looks okay with nice spread of LI's but we find out too little about them, as the MC is only interested in himself and what he thinks, rather than what they think. The quality of the text overall is much improved over My Real Desire with far fewer moments of 'that's been mistranslated' as you read, however if you compare the first episode of My Real Desire to this, this is miles off.

Depression / Mental health issues can be done well, with thought and care in a VN, such as in SG but you have to give the reader hope of a brighter future, that things will/could get better or give us an 'anchor' character who knows, understands and helps them. Too much thought and not enough talk.