The Gay Tag Review
Gay needle: 100% gay: the character has 9 potential love interests and they are all male, so no mistake about that. Note: the game isn't shy with nudity, so prepare yourself to see boobs, female pubic hair and the occasional heterosexual intercourse (although not in all its porny details -this is a tasteful game, thank you very much). Yes, also from people that you fancy. It makes sense in context, but so that you are warned. Note also that you have masculine/feminine scores, although they don't impact (yet) your appearance, it's just to determine how appealing you are to those love interests who prefer masculine or feminine qualities.
In a post-apocalyptic Earth, only the extreme north of the world -now habitable- has survived a botched attempt at solving climate change, and the few humans left have reconstructed a society based on Norse ideals, while dealing with issues like a corrupting phenomenon that makes pregnancies deadly risky and various overgrown wild animals (also a produce of botched experiments). You are Britt, a young guy who is conscripted from the relative security of the Alpines (where children and the elderly live) and starts his life in the main settlement in the valley. You'll soon discover that the situation is more complex than you thought and that you are no ordinary conscript.
This game is a gem. The worldbuilding is excellent -I've rarely found a world that is so immersive and addictive, even within professional games-, the story is totally absorbing and all the characters are very well-rounded and interesting. And hot, let's not forget hot. Graphically, it is also pretty spectacular, particularly concerning the rendering of the people. Music is great too.
The developers have taken particular care in showing how the Norse mindset can be different -even alien- from ours, and this will probably impact the stories, so the experience can be slightly disorienting, and people should not expect 'conventional' relationships. If you think that every game must end with you and your love interest in a happy-ever-after monogamous relationship, you might be disappointed (although that is still far away, as we're at chapter 2 and there are 9 chapters).
Beware though: this is not structured as a visual novel. The game mechanics are rather resource building, crafting and some light (but not too easy) puzzling. Each day you consume energy to do these things and you can have encounters with the various people (who can give you side quests) if you visit specific locations. Some people might find it grinding. I don't mind and I actually find the merging between the more "game-y" part and the narrative part a very original approach and quite seamlessly done.
And finally, the developers have the declared goal of introducing sex and all that jazz in a sensible and meaningful way. If you play just to get to the porn scene, this might not be for you (after two chapters, sexual interactions of the main characters have still been pretty limited). Although you would miss some very satisfying interactions.
The game will span nine chapter. Aside from the short prologue, the first two chapters are easily 6-10 hours each, so there's a lot of material already and the final game will be pretty big.