Ren'Py - Finding Cloud 9 [v0.4.1] [Onyx Decadence]

"Finding Cloud 9" is an enchanting visual novel that masterfully weaves a tale of love, friendship, and personal growth. Set in a picturesque town that feels both familiar and dreamlike, this game invites players into a world where every decision shapes the unfolding narrative.

Story and Setting
At its core, "Finding Cloud 9" is a story about the pursuit of happiness and the intricate paths our lives can take. The MC, a relatable and deeply developed character, embarks on a journey to uncover what truly matters to them. The narrative is rich with emotional depth, exploring themes of love, loss, and the importance of following one's dreams.

The setting of the game is beautifully crafted, with lush visuals that capture the charm of a small town surrounded by nature's splendor. Each scene is painted with attention to detail, making the world of "Finding Cloud 9" a place where players can lose themselves.

Characters
The characters in "Finding Cloud 9" are where the game truly shines. Each character is thoughtfully designed, with distinct personalities and backstories that make them feel like real people. From lifelong friends to potential romantic interests, every interaction is meaningful and contributes to the protagonist’s development.

The relationships you build in the game are genuine and heartfelt. Whether it’s a tender moment with a love interest or a deep conversation with a friend, the dialogue is natural and engaging. The game’s ability to capture the nuances of human connection is remarkable, making every character interaction a highlight.

Gameplay and Choices
"Finding Cloud 9" excels in its interactive storytelling. The choices you make throughout the game have significant impacts on the story’s direction and the relationships you cultivate. This branching narrative ensures a high level of replayability, as different choices lead to various outcomes, each offering a unique perspective on the protagonist's journey.

The game balances moments of introspection with lighthearted scenes, keeping the pacing dynamic and engaging.

Visuals and Sound
The visual design of "Finding Cloud 9" is stunning, with art that brings the characters and settings to life. The use of color and lighting creates an atmosphere that ranges from warm and inviting to melancholic and reflective, perfectly complementing the story’s emotional tones.

The soundtrack is equally impressive, featuring a mix of soothing melodies and poignant compositions that enhance the game's mood. Voice acting, if present, is delivered with sincerity and emotion, further immersing players in the narrative.

Emotional Impact
One of the most remarkable aspects of "Finding Cloud 9" is its ability to evoke a wide range of emotions. The story is crafted with care, allowing players to experience joy, sadness, love, and hope. It’s a game that stays with you long after the final credits roll, prompting reflection on your own life and relationships.

Conclusion
"Finding Cloud 9" is a triumph in the visual novel genre. It offers a captivating story, memorable characters, and a beautifully crafted world. Its thoughtful exploration of themes like love and self-discovery resonates deeply, making it an unforgettable experience.

Whether you are a longtime fan of visual novels or new to the genre, "Finding Cloud 9" is a journey worth taking. It’s a game that reminds us of the importance of cherishing our connections and pursuing our dreams, all while delivering a touching and immersive narrative that will leave a lasting impression. i love it.

Massively unfocused free roam game with horrible navigation. Navigation is such a chore in this game that it renders all other positive aspects like renders moot.

Bloated sandbox but extremely linear anyway as you have to follow every event in exact same order to progress. So the sandbox is just a myth to prolong gameplay by making it tedious.

This game is strong on all fronts. Refreshingly, the character writing is really strong. All the characters have depth because they all have motivations and back story. In particular, the girls are more than just props to act as sex toys for the MC.

Moments of passion feel real and organic. This gives the player much more emotional investment and enjoyment when hot scenes happen. There is usually an undercurrent of sexual tension too between MC and the girls, which also adds to the enjoyment.

If you are looking for a game where the girls will hop into bed right away, best look elsewhere. The girls are crafted so they need an emotional connection to the MC first.

On the artistic side, the girls are all cute/gorgeous and the hot scenes to date have been well animated.

Kudos to the creators - it's great to see something where the creators have a clear, artistic vision.

As a game it is good but as an adult game it is on a very low par. Two chapters with one breast flash and one shower scene, not really what one would expect from an adult game. Story is pretty good and there is a plot here that slowly is unfolding. Question is whether or not a player is willing to wait it out. the intellect in me found this to be a good read and can see the developer is developing something here, but the adult game player in me found it hard to stay tuned in.

Nice renders. Well written I mean there is actual story there. It has game aspects but I wonder if story branching is successfull. If it is this will be one of best ones arround and if not it's still has potential to be great.

You know, it's kind of hilarious... and sad at the same time.

As of v0.2.2, here we have another prime example of one visually very polished basis for a 4-star or 5-star game with...

[+] good quality renders,
[+] attractive LI's,
[+] features like a gallery/special renders, a quest tracker & an index/glossary/stats overview,
[+] a well-implemented UI
[+] music, atmos & fx sounds.

Apparently, the dev has gained some good experience of quality presentation and visualisation. Neat so far!

[o] Sandbox. Not the grindy one, but still.... Some may like, some may hate it. If the "free roam" sections are going to give the player exactly the intended freedom eventually, then the sandbox will be more a plus for me.
[o] snippet voice sounds, like "aha", "haha", "uhm" etc. I personally hate them, so I mute them. Unfortunately I had to mute all sounds because those voice snippets were falsely assigned to the fx track.

Now to the mentioned sad and/or hilarious thing: the reason why this game is also a prime example for scattering its own high potentials and efforts:

[-] The Writing. As polished as everything else is, the writing is certainly NOT. And I'm not talking about the plenty spelling errors.

Dialogues are sometimes kind of awkward, stilted or even forced "coolish" and make desperate efforts to sound casual. But they don't come natural. Beyond, there's a bunch of annoying nonsense chatter most of the times. Makes me feel pity for the intellect of the characters. Narratives aren't strong either. It does not really help any immersion to write them from the 3rd persons' perspective like "He (the MC) is doing..." instead of "I am doing..." as well.
In short: the dev seem to have much less experience and skill in writing , contrary to their visual ones.

But - sadly and most surprisingly - every story is only as strong as the writer and their skills to tell this story in an engaging and compelling way. What's hilarious for me with this game here is that all the apparent solid work efforts are very much undermined needlessly by the sloppy and unexperienced writing.
A huge issue this game shares with many other stories / games here unfortunately. Too many!

Due to the bad writing I couldn't enjoy all the positives of this one.
Conclusion: as of now this is only 2,5 stars instead of its potential 4 or 5 stars. And as of now only worth a recommendation for those who like to skip the story/dialogues and enjoy the renders solely.

What a fantastic game at least for me, the story is nice the renders are also good, first I had doubts about sandbox but when I played the game the sandbox was not much of a problem it was very simple and non confusing if we compare it with other sandbox games, the quest system is also very good you won't get stuck as long as you follow the hints in quest log there is no hidden quests or hidden requirements that will create any problems for you which nice because sometimes such hidden quests can take a very long to figure out and it's frustrating. Now regarding the story it may have been inspired from 'breaking bad' and it's execution so far is good and it definitely has potential to become one of the top games in this site, well I do appreciate that this game not the exact copy paste of 'breaking bad' but i wouldn't mind if the add Los Pollos Hermanos in it XD. Good luck.