VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Euryale's Gambit [v1.1.3] [deepglugs]

I've been meaning to write up a review of Euryale's Gambit for a little time now and only got delayed when the entry I started got knocked off by a power surge, so here goes.

Normally I do not play VNs that only have a female protagonist. I find girl-on-girl action only of mild interest, and am completely turned off by "chicks with dicks". That all said, I was intrigued by the connection to Greek mythology and fantasy in general. I love me some fantasy action, as long as the artwork is good, so I gave The Tragedy of Medusa a shot and I was hooked.

Now, this sequel proved to be a very satisfying excursion into fantasy-laced alternate history. The idea of a goddess fighting alongside of abolitionists was a great novel approach. Deep consistent (and conflicted) characters made Euryale's Gambit a joy to experience.

I never understand why deepglugs' games get so few reviews or even forum responses, but I'm in for the long haul. I think he is a cleaver and creative writer and his work is worthy of attention, which is why I am adding to his rating and reviews. I'm looking forward to Athena's Revenge, even though it is Athena upon whom I would wish the revenge to fall. I will also play Legacy of the Fallen.

........Ya ever pick up a book you've been reading and accidently open to the wrong page, get confused for a sec, then realize whats up and go to the right one? This game is like that, except finding the right page doesn't happen. I don't have a problem with "in media res", but this just feels like the dev wanted to chuck the setting for the first game, but didn't really set up getting to the new setting in the second. Btw, the first game is fine and seemed to be an opening chapter the dev was using to work things out. This just feels like the idea box got shook up and a massive jumble came out. Sex scenes are fine, and there's a decent mix of action, but its stuck in...here...wherever that is.

I was hesitant to give this game a go, but it was very much worth it. Don't mind the reviews and give it a try if tags hit home.
Now to the review [v1.0.16]:

This game feels like a book with 80% of pages torn out. You get a slice-of-life scene and then 2 months skip, then a conversation and 2 weeks skip. But despite how horrible it sounds, the story is actually very engaging and touching. Sure, it could've been much smoother, but at least it's completed.

H-scenes are kinda mid, mostly looped animations. Writing on top is good though, if it helps.

There is some voice acting, so you better adjust the volume if you don't want to shit your pants like I did. VA quality is pretty good overall. But it appears seemingly at random throughout the game, sometimes even missing lines in a single dialogue.

Objectively 4*. I'm giving +1* because lesbian female protagonist land is so dry.

Giving this a 4/5. It's got a fair amount of missing/broken content around the edges, most of which you would only notice if you activate the Elite features, though some of it affects all players--looking at you, Diana.

But it's not without its charms. It's got the wild lust, it's got history, it's got mythology, it's even got a lot of anthropocentric tugging of the heart-strings. As annoying as missing content is, the story on this one is pretty solid and it's got enough twist on mythology that it doesn't feel like a straight reading of some Greek epic.

Also, I won't take any points off for this though I probably should... the voice content kinda takes you out of the element. It gets better later in the game when less of the content is voiced (mostly only vocal effects, grunts), but early on it's kind of disjointing for every second or third line to get voiced and for the player to not really understand why it's even like that.

The idea behind a Succubus MC is fantastic, yet, the narrative and the artistic direction is just awful. It's a very unconfortable game to play. The sex scenes "animations" and the constant black screens plus the rusty dialog and the damn animated backgrounds (like the chat with Spoons at the bonfire for example) that made it very tiresome for the eyesight to keep reading just makes this game one that hurts me to have to stop playing because damned I'd be if I didn't wish to play as a lesbian Succubus.

Pros:
-Unique stories are always nice to see in adult games
-Models are gorgeous
-Bad ends are great
-AI voice is a great alternative for lower budget projects. Can be muted in settings if you're not a fan
-Dev is open to suggestions and feedback

Cons:
-Liquid graphics look a bit rough
-Gore was a bit sudden

I really enjoyed the game I want to thank its creator so much Thank you so much for making this parody of Lara Croft the most famous female character in the gaming world for me is the sexiest ever made I want to leave my positive comment here I liked the game very much pre- story is cool nice little game images are very beautiful also can't miss the animations also was cool i liked the game i found it interesting i can't wait to play it again i highly recommend and let more games come. a dream come true thank you msm

I might be able to understand something if I'd played the previous game. As is, the story is impossible to follow for me. The writing needs a lot of work. Maybe it would benifit from a disclaimer that you're supposed to play Catching Heat first. The voiceovers could use a lot of work, it sounds like poor text-to-speech, and I think it would be better without them. The first battle also barely works as a battle because you just lose after the first turn. Lots of room for improvement.