ename144
Engaged Member
- Sep 20, 2018
- 3,739
- 15,524
- 681
Not a bad start. There are a few bits that fell flat, but overall I think there's some real potential here.
On the plus side, I really liked the dynamic between the siblings. The characters were fun to watch and did come across as close-knit trio. Fred is a nice take on the classic wingman and Arianne could be great if the devs stick to their (apparent) guns and keep her in the older sister role. We even get a nice portrayal of a busy-but-loving mom. There's a lot of interesting, rarely seen stuff we could explore if the devs are so inclined. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
The rest of the cast seems workable as well. The LIs are all good looking, well written with some snappy dialog, and we get at a least a sense of who they are and were their arcs might lead. I'd be happy to get to know them more as the story continues. The plot is rather basic so far and the villains are entirely unremarkable, but there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple - especially early on. Tropes are tools, as they say.
There are a few things that make me nervous though. The MC constantly hitting on the receptionist got old fast, especially since she's the only one he seems to treat that way. The 'mysterious, emotionally scarring ex-girlfriend' routine always makes me nervous. It is to AVNs what Vietnam flashbacks were to 80s movies: sometimes effective, but more often a misguided attempt to inject pathos into a story that has no place for it. I hope this will be one of the rare exceptions that makes good use of it.
I also though Kiara's path progression was way too fast. The idea of the child of privilege who doubts her own worth is entirely workable, and I'd even be willing to stick with the old fake-boyfriend act as a way to get to know her (though the setup could have used another scene or two). But there's no way she's passionately kissing the MC after spending on the order of 6 hours in his presence, much less sleeping half-naked next to him. Conversely, I was very disappointed that if we don't kiss her the scene ends almost immediately with no chance to built a platonic rapport with Kiara. I don't know if this was a concession to get some T&A into the opening or what, but IMHO it was a mistake. If this game isn't intended to be a simple sex-fest, it's okay to go a single episode focused on characterization and intimacy without showing us some titties.
That's my take any way. Good luck going forward, I'll keep an eye out for future updates.
On the plus side, I really liked the dynamic between the siblings. The characters were fun to watch and did come across as close-knit trio. Fred is a nice take on the classic wingman and Arianne could be great if the devs stick to their (apparent) guns and keep her in the older sister role. We even get a nice portrayal of a busy-but-loving mom. There's a lot of interesting, rarely seen stuff we could explore if the devs are so inclined. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
The rest of the cast seems workable as well. The LIs are all good looking, well written with some snappy dialog, and we get at a least a sense of who they are and were their arcs might lead. I'd be happy to get to know them more as the story continues. The plot is rather basic so far and the villains are entirely unremarkable, but there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple - especially early on. Tropes are tools, as they say.
There are a few things that make me nervous though. The MC constantly hitting on the receptionist got old fast, especially since she's the only one he seems to treat that way. The 'mysterious, emotionally scarring ex-girlfriend' routine always makes me nervous. It is to AVNs what Vietnam flashbacks were to 80s movies: sometimes effective, but more often a misguided attempt to inject pathos into a story that has no place for it. I hope this will be one of the rare exceptions that makes good use of it.
I also though Kiara's path progression was way too fast. The idea of the child of privilege who doubts her own worth is entirely workable, and I'd even be willing to stick with the old fake-boyfriend act as a way to get to know her (though the setup could have used another scene or two). But there's no way she's passionately kissing the MC after spending on the order of 6 hours in his presence, much less sleeping half-naked next to him. Conversely, I was very disappointed that if we don't kiss her the scene ends almost immediately with no chance to built a platonic rapport with Kiara. I don't know if this was a concession to get some T&A into the opening or what, but IMHO it was a mistake. If this game isn't intended to be a simple sex-fest, it's okay to go a single episode focused on characterization and intimacy without showing us some titties.
That's my take any way. Good luck going forward, I'll keep an eye out for future updates.
