Well, after the first version I thought this game had potential, but now I'm sold. Just became a patron (lowest tier for now, but I figured every little bit helps, hopefully).
Full disclosure, the reason I'm happy probably has a lot to do with the fact that I love femdom, I got to make a few choices that felt submissive and got a nice spanking at the end, so I'm feeling more confident than ever that I'm on a path to experience some content that I like. Though of course, the reasons I feel like the content should be satisfying has to do with a few more subtleties than just that, so I'll try to list a few of the things I like about the game:
First and foremost, this is really well written. It reads well, it flows well, there's enough suspense to keep things interesting, the right scenes definitely manage to be erotic, the psychological aspects are described well and the emotional responses of the characters are believable enough and track well enough with my own that I can remain engaged. You know, all the stuff needed for writing to be good... The characters are very compelling, I love just about each and every one of them so far... In fact, I think I'll just do a quick rundown of them:
Mrs von Stern:
Wasn't featured so much in this update, but she does have presence. A commanding, authoritative one. Maybe even regal... She's definitely a good mistress of the house. (and I liked that evil smile at the end)
Young Mistress Isabella:
What can I say? I love bitchy sadists... I love that smirk that shows up on their face when they get their way, I love submitting and losing to them, and I love being humiliated by them and having them lord their superiority over me... So far she's been more focused on humiliating Heather than us, but I'm hoping the line near the end that stated she's now looking at us like prey (after being submissive and getting spanked) hinted at possibly getting some more personal attention from her in the future...
Young Mistress Elizabeth:
One of my favorite things is manipulation, especially by (cute) evil characters who masquerade as sweet ones. Can't say with confidence I already have her entirely figured out (not that I'm confident Isabella doesn't have other sides to her as well, I just love her bitchy one...), but I'm definitely getting good vibes from her and the way she can drop suggestions that lead to our ass getting whooped while still maintaining that kind tone and feigned innocence... I'm looking forward to seeing whatever she might be scheming, maybe get played with in a few of her... "games..."
Heather:
Well, she's a real sweet one. And my attraction to her is not just a character choice, it's very real... She is the one that had me most worried about the game, though; to apologetically invoke the Starless reference once again, that game (along with Bible Black and Discipline) was a mixed bag for me because while I enjoyed the femdom when it was being done to me, I found watching the other innocent ladies going through some of those things to be more painful and less gratifying... Of course, I understand that Heather's ordeal is an integral part of the story, and her presence certainly opens up options that I can enjoy (like maybe our caring for her being an exploitable weekness to make us more submissive), and not everything that's painful in a story is necessarily bad (especially when it comes to femdom), but I've just been a bit on edge, especially in the beginning, as to how exactly her part will play out... So far I'm good, I must say... And while I was very much wishing I could trade places with her during the "tea time" event, I have to admit I actually ended up finding it highly erotic the way it is...
I was pleased when I got the choice to align my MC's thoughts with my own, by wishing he could take the punishment for her. I definitely feel protective of her, and I'm hoping we will be able to take some hits for her in the future... I wouldn't mind having tea time (I think I'll spell it Tee Time from now on...) with Isabella myself... And she can still torment Heather by maybe making her watch... Maybe even forcing her to tie us down for it... The focus could be on Isabella showing Heather than the man she looks up to, the one closest to her and the one who should be her protector is pathetic and powerless, nothing more than her bitch... Or it could be on making Heather feel guilty that this is what he has to endure because he wanted to protect her... Or it could even be her trying to make Heather think less of the MC, say by showing her how he gets erect from drinking Isabella's piss, showing her how attracted he is to her bully, how submissive he is towards her... Or it could be any combination of the above...
Ah well, my imagination is running again. Moving on...
Anja:
She's also very sweet, in a perhaps colder, more calculated way. No, colder isn't the right word I think, she's not really cold... She actually seems very caring. While she would never betray the mistresses of the estate and their orders, she does seem to be working hard to ensure our stay there will go as smoothly as possible. And it doesn't seem to just coldly be for the sake of her job, she seems to have both the smooth operation of the estate and the well-being of the MC and Heather on her mind, and I don't feel like the fact that those two might coincide really diminishes at all from her kindheartedness...
She can also be a powerful authority figure, at least towards those who aren't her mistresses. I find myself wanting to please her, both because I want her approval, and also because I feel she's a good person, and if I can somehow make her life just a bit easier that would be nice... Taking the spanking in her place was satisfying on two fronts - I got to experience some very nice femdom from her, and I also got to do the right thing and save someone from needless punishment.
Alright, moving on to the renders - they're absolutely great. I already mentioned how attractive Heather is, but the others are no ugly ducklings either... And the scenes are very well set up. Definitely helps to have good visuals to accompany good writing. I believe the picture of Isabella placing her foot on Heather's lower back during their Tee Time was mentioned as being a compelling image before, and I agree. That one got to me too... It was both subtly erotic and powerful display of domination...
And of course, choices are a crucial part of (almost) any good erotic game. I remember getting a bit distracted during the shaving scene in the last version because it really seemed like there should be a way to get Isabella to win the bet but I couldn't find it... Only after cracking open the code (sorry, I had to know) I realized I just wasn't dominant enough to get that option...
Things felt a bit clearer here. Ultimately, a big part of why I'm satisfied with this release is because I feel like I could steer my MC into where I want him to be, which can probably be summarized as being kind and submissive. Of course, that's a matter of taste, but if we are given options to be helpful to those who need us, and submissive towards those who are pretty and wish to dominate us, I personally should be a happy customer... Of course if those who wish to dominate us tell us to be mean to those who need us things can become a little murkier, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it...
So uh, yeah, that was a lot of text, but just wanted to say I enjoyed the game, and as a femdom lover this looks like a very promising one. Keep up the good work, and I'll look forward to the next release.
Cheers!
