VN - Ren'Py - Fates Collide [v0.4b] [KatanaVN]

Girls are pretty, plot is predictable highschool teen show with inspirations from other VNs for a bit of originality. Dialogues are uninteresting, skip button was my bro. All things considered the BJ scene we get is above average but there are so few scenes for so many girls that it doesn't elevate its score that much. It is one of the VNs that I could follow while pressing ctrl button. Male models are stock HS which is not acceptable for me. Sound design was good. You can play this game when you exhaust all the other good content on this site and want to pass some time, other than that don't get your hopes up.

Summary: So far, a rather simplistic “Starting at college with intentions to turn a new leaf” story, where the main story takes the backseat. Instead, the characters development becomes the focal point with roughly half the time spend on the daily slice of life stuff and the other half on the individual sub-plots of each heroine.
Some of the LI’s and side characters know each other in advance from their former school. We, the MC and some of the other LI’s join in and thus we have the social core around which most of the slice of life content is centered. As for the slice of life stuff, MC and most LI’s are college freshmen. We get to see them attend a couple fairly generic classes, which is certainly better than other AVNs where the MC’s are students but where the writer pretty much ignores everything related to MC actually attending an education.

In the played 0.4 version there exists a couple of allusions to a grander plot as well as a number of plot holes. These hints and holes have since then been slated for removal with the remade 0.4.5 version. This remaking process will also addresses other issues like clothing and personality inconsistencies, as well as the initial versions giving some LI's very little screentime. Still, 5 or 6 of the LI’s get enough screentime to come across as attractive and reasonably multifaceted and unique. Fates Collide is stated to be a non-harem game, so I wonder how that will look later in development, as you so far are able to pursue several LI’s at a time and get high points with at least 3 during a single run.
As it stands, Fates features an MC that is neither wimp nor Gary-Stu. It has 7 main LI’s with 2 sidegirls so far, all of whom seems well written and believable as characters. Relative to most other AVN’s I have tried, FC excels with its inclusion of male side characters in the roles of allies and not just the trite goon, villain and clown roles. Maybe being a non-harem title allows for readers with low self-confidence to not perceive them as immediate threats? As the initial 3 versions are in the progress of being moderately rewritten, I will end the summary here and continue below.

Pros:
- Male side characters are handled well. They are well rounded and not one-note characters. They are integrated into the plot and have interactions with you as well as the LI’s.
- A fairly neutral MC who doesn’t stray into the disliked archetypes of “wimp”, “Gary-Stu”, “White Knight” (maybe a little bit, depending on choices made) or “Alpha”.
- The choices you get to make allow you to both shape and define the MC you want to play, within fairly tight confines.
- Choices so far seems to have a good amount of influence on what options you will get later on. Some decisions have obvious outcomes. Most of the time you will only have a hunch as to what might be best, usually if you are good at remembering details.
- LI’s are unique in looks and personality and have a nice range of clothing seen over the comparatively short duration that FC currently has.
- Pretty rad soundtrack so far. The usage of certain effects, visual and audio, as well as pop cultural references are done well and most importantly, not overused. At least not yet.

Mehs and hit/miss:
- While it reflects real life somewhat accurately, I found that you occasionally had to make choices that seemed unintuitive or counterproductive to your goal of gaining points with a specific LI.
- The LI with the least screentime also suffers from inconsistent looks and is the most unlikeable of the bunch so far. Plans to fix her story sections are in place, but this as well as her current personality makes her stand out in a bad way.
- The earlier parts contain a couple creepster decisions. I didn’t check them out myself but it’s worth mentioning. They are however also planned for removal or at least to be edited into more socially acceptable actions with the ongoing reworking process.
- As Fates Collide is not going to be a harem title, I would say that 7 LI’s may be a little too ambitious for its own good. The strength and attractiveness of the harem genre, beyond the power fantasy itself, is that the writer doesn’t have to write X number of individual routes but only the one combined route, once all active LI’s have joined the ranks. A 7 LI harem will likely take the same amount of effort as 4 or 5 individual routes, depending on how much influence each LI has on the core harem story and how much of her own story has been resolved in advance.
- It’s a little unclear to me what makes certain renders eligible to be included in the gallery. For the most part they are lewd in nature, but a few aren’t at all. The gallery seems kinda inconsistent in this regard.

Cons:
- IDK, MC’s haircut was fixed for 0.4, not that I considered it an actual CON to begin with. Hmmmm. Maybe the antagonists of this story seemed a bit too much like generic cartoon styled villains in the way they were presented? They haven’t had that much screentime as of yet.
- Fates Collide would probably benefit from getting some sort of calendar system implemented, at least some sort of time-passage screen each time one day ends and another begins. Currently, it wasn’t always clear what day it was and how much time would need to pass before a planned story-event was going to happen. “Oh, so tomorrow I will go running with LI 4 and the day after in the evening I will head to a party together with LI 1 and 3 and join number 2 at the party.” Just creating a better sense of where we are, temporally speaking.

Also, where are my manners:
Levy = Serena > Avis > Koko = Raiko > Valentina > Eiko.

As of 0.4b.

-Pacing is great not just a mc fucks everyone first update type game but also not a 10 updates without one lewd scene type game.
-Music is good, found myself more than once listening to the main menu song on repeat.
-Render quality is good and with the rework the earlier parts should be as good as the recent parts once that releases.
-Characters have work put into their backstories and personalities.
-Storyline seems good so far and the upcoming rework should fix plotholes from early in development.
-Dev is very nice and is active in discord a fair bit so we know whats going on and all that.

Probably some stuff I missed in this review but overall a great game and excited to see upcoming updates.

Amazing game. The character and relationship development are great. The quality of the renders and animations are some of the best. I love all the non-lewd scene animations they really bring the game together. I also love how you show every single facial expression change instead of just using one render for a whole convo. Excited to see what's next!

Surpassed my expectations. The dev put his heart and soul into making this.

All the girls are likeable but Avis's backstory is just peak writing. I only hope the other girls get as much depth with later updates. I'm confident that Katana will deliver.

Not long discovered this one and just finished with the recent update. Really enjoyed it, good writing, interesting characters, I loved the artwork, the sound was good, more so in the last half and the animation were great.

Surprised it hasn't gotten more attention. But I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future updates.

Sooo.. I kinda stopped writing reviews because they are kinda time consuming but for Fates Collide im gonna make an exception.
I really love this game. I already started at when chapter 3 was out and i started it again some days ago for chapter 4... and i gotta say FC is really REALLY fabulous and a real hidden gem.
Unfortunately im broke and cant support the dev but hell, this game will become huge for sure.. the quality is amazing and there are also no girls i dislike so far (unfortunately im not too into Avis (nose ring etc) while she has the most content so far but WHATEVER.
I will root for you KatanaVN and wish you all the luck for this game and you!!!
Did i already mention that its a great game? ye? GOOD!

Fates Collide is a well-illustrated tale that has many high points. The HS illustrations are better than most, despite a few locations we see in many games using HS. Each character is different and will draw you in, in their own ways. It's refreshing to have an experience where there are so many different personalities at play, each with their own qwirks and charms.

The game states it's not a harem game, but it doesn't punish you for trying. It feels like there's a lot of story to come, yet, and foreshadowing suggests there are decisions ahead. But the story and events we do have are very well written, witty, and engaging. A big plus is dialogue and character choices that subtly influence the story direction. Fates Collide does this more than average, and it's refreshing.

On the whole, Fates Collide is a great experience that will leave you looking forward to the next update. Hats off to the dev for the experience.

Good game with tons of potential.

The character writing is enjoyable and each girl has their own individual personalities. The story flows pretty well, but there are not sex scenes for every girl yet in ver 0.4b. UI is made well and gallery can be used to see previous scenes.

For folks t hat like making impactful decisions, there are plenty of choices to choose from but they don't seem to lock you into a single girl's path so far. There are "Likeability" points for each girl which may play a bigger role later on, but I played with a multi-mod so unsure if multiple playthroughs are required when this game gets more content

Great game. Well written and designed girls that just scream quality. While they admittedly are tropey I don't see a problem with that. There are tropes for a reason and that's because people find them entertaining, myself included. And while they might have a part of their personality that follows a usual trope, they honestly still are unique in their own ways. I found each girl entertaining and gladly will go down each of their respective routes assuming they game continues to be structured this way.

Each character is visually stunning and unique enough for everyone to find their favorite. Often times with HS games they have poorly designed characters and they just don't look very attractive but this game nails each girls' aesthetic. The renders are clean and have personality which makes the game so gripping.

The 'story' isn't really a story, it's just a dude living it up in college and while that's so common nowadays this one feels special and feels more natural. Some might consider it too slow, but I enjoy the dialogue, I enjoy the witty banter or the feely bits and due to that slower pace, the classic college theme doesn't feel overtly repetitive. Not every girl immediately opens their legs for MC, it takes time for them to fall for him and not every girl follows the same algorithm. Sure, that makes the sexy bits slower but I'm always going to be a reader to enjoy the plot more than the 'plot'. There's also some degree of mystery but so far, it's been pretty tame and not really a massive plot point.

My only real complaint is that the choices are just odd. Girls get -1 points for things that seem like they'd get a +1 based on their dialogue and it seems pretty arbitrary. To me, it feels like a walkthrough is required if you want to stay around top points because those positive responses are not very clear even after reading the characters' response to it.

Even after said complaint, it's an easy 5 stars from me. This game is almost exactly what I'm looking for in a VN and those come so rarely that this deserves every last bit of praise from me. Give it a go but don't go in expecting lewd scenes 24/7. Just enjoy the ride.

I mean, as soon as i saw Avis i knew this is gonna be a 5 star game
visuals are pretty good and the characters are very unique. Oh and how can i forget, the random CoD or meme noises that play at certain times are golden. I laughed my ass off.

Good story till now, with each characters having some background and story and not just all the girls jumping on MC's dik. Really looking forward where the story leads to, my only complain in the story is that MC does not play a significant role till now like whether he is there in the story or not it doesnt matter much.

[Review as of v0.4b]

I'm not really into traditional dating sims so I might just not be the audience here, but it's just... dull. The writing is subpar, the plot is nonexistent, the characters are uninspired, the setting is nonsense. The art is... fine, which I've increasingly become convinced is a terribly low bar for 3dcg games. But I honestly don't see what anyone sees in the VN overall.

There's a certain brand of writing that I like to call "VNglish." It basically originates from poorly translated JVNs and is filled with things like the word "that" being italicized. I get the impression it comes from folks who mostly only have reading (& writing) experience with VNs and don't really realize that nobody actually talks or writes that way. At least for me, it totally takes me out of what I'm reading, because it sounds so absurd—doubly so when I know that what I'm reading was never actually translated from anything. Fates Collide unfortunately uses that sort of language in no small quantity.

A lot of VNs also make the mistake of substituting vagueness for an actual plot. You're given characters, possibly even an MC, who know what's going on but refuse to share. They have no real reason not to share, they just don't. I'm not sure if this is meant to build suspense or just a stall tactic for when there's no actual plot behind the curtain, but either way, it always feels really weak. Fates Collide is terrible about this. If there's any plot, which I'm not convinced there is, the VN certainly goes out of its way to hide it.

Fates Collide seems to want to be a tropey high school story, but presumably avoids this both to give its characters more independence and also because it doesn't want to walk the problematic age line. But somehow the university it's set in is something like a tropey high school and certainly nothing like a university. I've run into this a few times and every time it's just perplexing. It feels as if nobody involved has ever been to a university. For a historical or sci-fi setting some degree of liberty with reality can work, but for a grounded modern setting this just robs the story of any sense of familiarity that it's trying to rely on.

There's barely any porn content. If the VN has other redeeming factors then this can be fine, but here there aren't really. Going all-in on the porn can save a VN with no great plan for plot and such, but Fates Collide tries to lean on its other strengths despite not having any. The scenes that exist are both few and far between and also not inspired in any way.

It's hard to say much about the characters. They're bland and taken to extremes. The only woman with normal-sized tits is super insecure about that fact, because we need that trope every time for some reason. The shy woman is absurdly shy to the point where she functionally has no other personality. Two characters have a rivalry based in secrecy and not talking to each other which makes no sense and would be solved by a normal conversation. In general each character either feels like a trope taken to an extreme or just a pretty face with absolutely nothing behind it.

At the end of the day, if you want a university slice-of-life story written as if nobody involved has ever been to an actual university it might tickle your fancy. But other than the visuals (and, for 3dcg VNs, decent visuals are basically the bare minimum) there isn't really anything here. The characters are bland and hard to believe, the writing is rough, the setting is nonsense, and the plot is nonexistent.

Didn't expect much but was a bit surprised about how engaging it feels. Pacing is kinda slow but for me it wasn't that bad because of the writing and characters, like that girls have different personalities and that's really noticeable, plus now I'm Avis fanboy. Graphics might be not the best in the league because of HS but that's fades into the background pretty fast. It was fun to play so waitin for the next updates.

One of the best AVNs out there and definitely one of my favorites currently. I like pretty much everything about it: the main girls are awesome and most of the side girls too, the MC is likeable, music is good, animations are smooth and the writing and pace are great. But most important of all, Raiko is just so fucking adorable!

There's also plenty of content for 4 chapters and the choices all seem meaningful so far, which is also great.

HS games are always a bit difficult to approach because a lot of them use simplified anime tropes or are just not that exciting in terms of visual presentation. But Fates Collide is one of those games where you should set your prejudices aside.

The developer is going the extra mile when it comes to representing facial expressions, especially involving eye movement. Every character seems mapped out with different layers of personality, secrets, back and forth. Nothing is rushed here and no simple porn logic applies.

The story is offered in bits and pieces, the reveals come slow and while it can drag a bit at times, there is enough meaningful (!) filler content to keep you hooked. The pacing is pretty well done and works because most characters are quite intriguing, you just want to learn more about them, gain their trust, explore their intricacies. And when you manage to break down one of those barriers it feels very rewarding, slow paced and meaningful. Several of the LIs are very memorable and I especially liked the fierce characters that won't take no bullshit (Avis, Eiko,...), but also Raiko who is pretty much the shy girl trope but still very lovable. I think introverts will maybe understand some of her actions better and can relate to her more. So, it's not just superficial cuteness stuff.

Overall, instead of melodramatic "wow"-Moments, you get lots of tiny "Hmm"-Moments and since there are many of them, it's just a very rewarding progression imho.

The art-side of things starts out as a bit wonky, especially with some of the hair assets and gets better over time.
The music is partly generic and parts of it are really well chosen.
Some tiny animations make scenes feel more fluent and alive.

All around, I'd consider Fates Collide definitely one of the best HS games right now. You will also find cameos of other games in this, but I won't spoil it. Thoroughly recommended.

Honestly pretty good, best thing you can find in case of dating sim or maybe I am biased, since some girls really hit my preferences

They added some kind of gang or yakuza theme thing or just straight up drug n thug shit, although I don't really see mc fitting into the theme
unless his parents are some kind of hidden boss or some shit, personality wise though, mc does not fit the theme but sure, dev seems capable and skillful, I'm sure he can work it out

Great story, great looking characters. Fun dialogues with a lot of good references and jokes, characters feel really humane to be honest. Great game overall, remembers me of eternum. I am definetly looking out for this one.

Fates Collide is one of those adult games that are fun to play. MC has lots of different friends and there are many humorous moments, as could be expected in this kind of scenario. Developer makes large releases, so be prepared for that but they have all been good, so far. This one will become a favorite for most players, without any doubt.

What a great VN so far. I've been busy with my own dev stuff but finally had some time to check out KVN's project. I see some mentions of the long wait between updates. But with all the choices and various branches he's put into this little gem, you just can't knock him for that. I know how long it takes me to just get a single branch completed (which is why I chose to do a kinetic vn first).

Anyway, FC has beautiful HS2 characters, choices (that really do matter), and a nice mix of drama, comedy, and a decent plot. Each girl has a personality that is clearly seen and fairly well written. The branching choices are very well done (I know the work it takes to do that... well done Katana!) I really enjoyed making (MANY) saves and going back to see the different scenarios fall into place. I normally favor VN's with the 'harem' tag, but still loved playing this.

As a fellow HS2/renpy dev, I am looking forward to more updates to this to play between my own work. Keep up the good work!