VN - Ren'Py - Friends in Need [Ch. 9 v0.59b] [NeonGhosts]

Premise of the game is the MC is an older dude lucks into big bucks because of crypto, starts up a charity and alot of decisions can be made in the game around being a helpful nice rich guy or bit of an asshole creep to women down on their financial luck. Other than that, nothing much to the story.

The main feature of the game is you can patch it and make extra sadistic, rape choices in the game. It also unlocks incest options as the MC seems strangely obsessed with his sister.

The MC is mostly a blank slate, whose thoughts are influenced by the decisions made in the game. So players get to decide what's driving the motives of the MC.

What's also good is the choices do have an effect on the relationships and scenes that unlock in the game. There's effort put into variations in the conversations, even unlocking topics or outcomes based on player decisions.

For example, the nice vanilla routes have characters exposing their real thoughts and secrets, where the asshole route would have it uncovered through the MC using his money to find out secrets to blackmail characters.

I experimented and you can be rapey with some love interests but then have a change in personality and the writing actually covers those situations, which I thought was interesting that it covered that permutation of choices.

Ultimately, the vanilla choice is the better route and I don't think the story really puts enough characterisation into the MC as to why they'd do the patch rape choices.

There's no animation and the game also lacks music or sfx. The renders and the design of the love interests are ok. No gallery or anything either.

3.5 stars

Pros

Writing:
This games writing is excellent.

Every character has unique personalities, with unique quirks and their own way of speaking. How one writer can write so many distinct personalities is beyond me.

This game has managed to make me care for every single character regardless of whether I find them attractive. The writing is simply equal to any other great and greater than almost all of it's peers.

Writing part 2, the MC:
Even the MC has great writing. He gets upset with LI's when it's natural to do so. How to react further is up to the player, but he reacts in a normal way. He doesn't suck up at all times afraid to lose goodie points. He's charming, nerdy, dorky. His dialogue tells you so, not someone calling him those things.

Choices:
The choices are really well implemented, the fact you can treat one character one way, and another character a different way without being railroaded into your character acting the same way in every situation is a breath of fresh air.

Cons
The writing being so good kind of carries the game though. That's good as being an excellent writer is a great starting point. However, there are some elements that definetly could be improved.

Lack of audio:
For one the game has absolutely no music or sfx.

Good music and sfx usage in games are very underrated. It can not be understated how big of a difference it can make for a game. It doesn't have to be a big chunk of the development time, but decent sfx and music can elevate a good game to a great game. Some well chosen music could elevate some of these moments to new heights.

Also moaning sfx during sex-scenes to me elevates them a million times over. But that's subjective I guess.

Naming savefiles:
Another small fix that would be incredibly helpful is the ability to name the save files. This game branches a lot, which is amazing. But that makes me desire this feature.

Visuals/Graphics:
Finally, the last con is as mentioned by a few the visual quality. This to me is less of a con than audio, as it takes longer to master great renders and animations. Which means I feel more inclined to lower my expectations.

The graphics are serviceable. Thanks to the great writing they can be both spicy and appealing. However, it's still a decent step away from the best out there. The animations are very short, and there aren't that many of them. However, the visuals seem to be getting better with time. I root for the developer to improve.

Other positives on the visuals, I really like a lot of the character designs, the variety and some renders are worth admiring.

Final Thoughts

Best wishes for the game:
My hope for the game is that audio gets implemented and save file naming and animations and renders keep improving over time. And of course that the game gets finished. With audio in a future update I will bump rating to 5 stars.

Best wishes for the developer:
My hope for the developer is that their next game uses the skills they have aquired, making this one to make an even better game than this one. They have the potential to be one of the best devs out there.

TLDR
Amazing character writing, with improving graphics weighs up for lack of audio and makes the game a reading experience (with plenty of meaningful choices) truly worth experiencing.

Marvelous VN! I'm enjoying it a bunch!

The writing is simple but witty. You're not just being good or evil, the writing displays the reasons to be one way or another, shows you the possibilities of taking either path.

The writting carries you well. If you wanna make a good decision, it makes you doubt.. same when having to make bad ones. Good, evil, neutral path all are worth trying.

So it's easy to connect with the MC. You're building your character and thinking about your actions, having second thoughts and pondering yourself, be for good or bad. Not just searching for different scenes.

And of course, the girls react different according to your past behaviors.

The way you meet new characters is perfect too. Feels natural and harmonious. Since you have free time and lots of money to explore new projects to get into.

Honestly, I was never bored reading this. It has a good pacing and the dots are well joined when progressing the story.

Yeah, sometimes the setup is very convenient.. and it looks like you're the only male that can be a good guy in a city full of trashy guys. The visuals aren't good at the beggining and some music/ BGM could be nice too.

But the game exudes passion.. and I'm interesed in all the girls. I love the little details they may have, be in their looks or way of talking. And I'm truly worried about their problems and eager to fall more for these ladies.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Uncomplainingly ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

I didn't really liked it at the beginning, partly 'cause i can't really relate to MC being "dad age" man. I'm 26 myself so i'm not quite there yet, and i was really close to deleting and moving on but decided to give it more time. Glad that i did, 'cause this is an adult novel in all senses. From porn to writing, it's not much different than watching a good TV show.

You shape MC's personality, you can be a creepy fuck, a rapist, a good guy or neither. I like to be neither, not really into rapist creepy fuck attitude, but i can be an asshole sometimes if i think someone deserves it. I'm glad to help out when i think i can without sacrificing my own well-being, and you can do that in this novel. MC's a rich dude, which opens up a lot of possibilities, either to help or abuse someone. I took a look at some of the darker sides of this novel, and oh boy it's really fucked up, if you're into that kind of shit you'll like it. As for the romance stuff i'm pretty sure you can do that too, there is an option to date a girl, so far i've only seen that you can date one but maybe there's more.

Renders aren't the strong side of this novel, but the story delivers. There are also only static renders, no animations. I've only searched for AVNs with "animated" tag, don't know how this one got into my bookmarks, and i have to say that this one changed my mind. I'll be searching for AVNs with no "animated" tag from now on. Definitely recommend it.

What a suprise game this is, for the first time i cant really think of anything bad about the game.

It has a proper relatable MC who is actually smart(praise the lord) that you the player really controls, everything from his actions to his thoughts you can change depending on the choices you make and not only that but because of the players actions it changes the way the women react to you(as much as you could possibly expect from a VN).

The story is simple but provides plenty to keep you interested on top of simply making the girls available to you.

There is a great selection of women who all feel like unique characters with there own personalities and they react differently to the MC depending on your choices, the body types are again all unique and have somthing for just about anyone.

Choices are the best part, there is such a huge split in choice to how the MC treats the women, many games have good and bad choices but the tone of the game always leans heavily one way or the other i.e. the creator wants you to play it as a good person but added bad choices as an after thought, happily there was no sense of that here and even better you can treat one woman really good and another really bad(if you want to) without being forced to pick a side.

The sex scens are well done, not too long that they got boring but still a good length, they could use a few better camera positions but thats just my taste, there are the start of several fetishes(treating a woman like a cow i.e. petplay, mild BDSM, etc) that are all optional and personally i hope will be expanded on in the future.

Story 4/5 Just right for the game
Art 4/5 Very good
Sex 5/5 Often and well done
Fetishes 4/5 Lots for the size of game
Choices 5/5 Practically perfect
Characters 5/5 Lots of realistic characters

Excellent gameplay, interesting characters, and good variety of backstories and characterization of the love interests. Eagerly waiting for the stories of the characters to be further flashed out in future updates. Been really promising so far.

one of the few with true nc content that is a proper VN as well. very glad i found this and hope to see more of it in the near future. story is fine, scenes are great... looks like dev is pretty active in working on it as well which is a huge boon compared to many other devs/games

This game ticks a lot of boxes for fantasies you may have.

I enjoyed the story as it was pretty intricate. I found myself replaying some of the parts to see if there was a different outcome, in many cases there was.
I think though that the developer might have a hard time moving the releases forward because of the sheer number of branching pathways this might make through the story, but I'll tell ya, I'm here for it.

The animations for the scenes could perhaps use a little polish but they aren't bad, ore a minor annoyance or critique, but the inclusion of kinks, the ability to be good or bad, the story for the girls is all pretty good story development I feel. I am curious to see where a lot of the relationships go and even though I have played through the game (as of version 0.4) there is enough here I could easily replay the whole thing perhaps a couple of times and still have new content for each girl! Replay-ability is a 10/10 on this one, and I really appreciate that.
The actions the characters take in response to your choices feels pretty real which is a big plus, too often characters get developed in a story and it's really poor writing so you get detracted, but not here!

If you are pretty kinky and not some vanilla looking for a romance I feel like this game will be great for you. If you aren't kinky and are looking for a romance... well I am fairly sure it has that too, I just didn't play that way, so have at it, maybe tell me about it in your own review.

Try the game though, it's good. I look forward to the updates, I wish I saw them more frequent, but to the dev, if you are reading this, you can do it, I know it can be a slosh to get through sometimes, but you are doing wonderful, keep it up! You got this.

This is excellent! I've played both the "nice" and "cruel" (patched) paths for each character (although there's a few in-between ones I've not tried yet) and I'm really impressed by how well thought out they all are. For so many characters and so many paths for each the game is very good at adapting scenes to reflect your current relationship both with that character and other characters.

Both the highs of being nice and the lows of being cruel (basically evil at times) are brought out well and all the renders and models look good.

The only downside in its current state is the number of characters meaning most only get 1/2 proper scenes at this stage (with varying levels of content depending on the relationship path you go down). It seems like there's at least four still to be introduced as proper characters too so that's now going to ease up anytime soon. But again, what's there for each character right now is great even if limited and I'm excited to see the stories develop.

One of the best games I've ever played, without a doubt. The female characters are quite attractive, but what especially appeals to me is that Mc can treat the girls like master-slaves. Forcing them to have sex to the point where they cannot resist. This is crazy. 5 stars for this game, hopefully there will be more interesting content for us to look forward to.

One of the more interesting games to follow, it does stand out, but it's not quite there yet.

The story is fresh and its pretty immersive, I think the MC does a great job of being a fleshed out character in his own right and not just a self-insert.

Graphics leave some to be desired, but they have been improving so nothing really to complain.

The love interests are MOSTLY great. Mostly. Lots of people hate on one of them, but I personally only found two interesting and I don't like the path the game took with one of them. While I'd normally chalk it down to subjectivity, I don't think her path does her character justice and I just don't think its that interesting. As of writing this review, I just think a lot of the main interests leave a lot to be desired with the direction they're being taken in.

But the game keeps getting better, so I have a feeling it'll get rounded up and become one of the best ones here.

review for v0.4.
This is best game I have ever played and probably ever will. And this is the only review I will ever write for a VN on this site or any other, because I think I am spoiled by this game, this is too good.

I started playing VN adult games only from July 2023 and have played around 20 games by now, and I have always craved for darker stuff, inclining towards full blown brother-sister incest or forced sex path, and I tried a few games like blackheart etc. but they are too dark for me with their constant murder and torture spree and poor tormented mentally unstable main characters. This game, on other hand, has perfect blend of great characters with eye-pleasing visuals and stunning girls.
Here the main character is your average guy who got rich by fluke, and it is done in a believable way, instead of undeservedly earning infinite inheritance money. there is no waking up after 10 years of coma or losing father/uncle like it is done in every other adult game.
MC uses his money in appropriate manner, the amount is also somewhat believable and in the realms of reality, which is rare. There is no time travel or memory loss shit which is annoying for me. MC interacts with his surrounding girls and develops relations on basis of their background and his own actions.

I have played the darkest path as well as nicest guy path and I like how you can treat each character differently regardless of the chosen path and there are some consequences too for dark choices (poor viola). People often complain about no music or no animations but I think the beauty of this game is in its story, character and plethora of choices available, each with different results and possible future implications, here choices do matter which is a rarity.
Even a few times the dark path is too much like in case of Viola or Ashe (I enjoyed those scenes too) but it still isn't a grim torture porn or something much worse and gruesome. I like this game a lot, I cannot wait for Cassie (sister) to appear, I will go full dark on her. And certain characters are just annoying like gabby and mason, who are a lot popular on this forum, personally I dislike her/him and want nothing with these two creatures, nontheless. I'd like to bang madison, bonnie (ashe's mom) and carolina asap and risa too in next updates and probably go dark on risa and carolina and maybe alex the bodybuilder and romance path with brittany.
If I had $100 or as much money as MC had in this game I'd donate a few thousand bucks for the creator to finish the story quickly. I'd like to have 3 probable endings for this game - MC dies on darkest path or rots in jail alone, MC gets romantic harem with at least 3 girls of his choice and Harems in dungeon with sex slaves. Neonghosts is an amazing story teller and game designer who has as dark of a mind as I'd like to have in adult games, not too much and not too less - just the right amount.
The dark path is too good and the nice guy path is too wholesome and both are rewarding in their respective manners, there are middle paths too which is what makes this game special as it is re-playable any number of times.

Absolutely love this game.
Story - 5/5
Characters - 5/5
Choices - 10/5
Girls (looks/body) - 5/5
animations/music - not required

Decent writing, not that much cringe, and givin the recent rise and fall of crypto seems come somewhat grounded in reality. CGs start off a bit crude but have improved with every update. I am keeping an eye on this one. Looking forward to more.

"So, yeah. You're gay. *guitar riff sounds*"

This game certainly has something. At first I kinda cringed out, but it seems that developer's skills improved drastically over time. And this version is worth checking out with what content it has. And I think it's great.

Why 5/5 then? Well, because... this VN is kinda clever. Your choices matter in context of MC personality and his relationships. You may look at screenshots and set some expectations, and they will be met.

Good one. Hope to see future updates.

Played the Nice route, and found it a lot more wholesome than expected.

Some minor inconsistencies in art and some overly plasticky/empty locations, but overall a great, soothing experience.

I'll come back for the later chapters!

Friends in Need is really delivering a great story filled with very interesting characters.
The writing is very good and gives life to the situations.

But what impressed me so much with Friends in Need is how very differently the MC can be depending on your decisions/choices :
- a true saint
- a good guy
- a manipulative bastard
- an absolute evil piece of shit (though this one require a mod/patch)

with the story actually acknowledging the type of MC you're having and flowing accordingly.
And making the MC into being a good guy or a saint really provide a lot of "feel good" moments.
5 stars top AVN !

Here you will find a story carried well by it's complex female characters and it's abiliy to shape the protagonist according to your own will.

Rated as of Version: "v.0.4"


For me this game is another positive examples, that the sites games slider works. Let me start by saying I played this game on what I believe is the 'good' route rather than the 'evil' one, so my view of the game will reflect on this route.

This game, like the most successful games on this site brings a focus on story and on characters. Similar again, to some of these successful games, the focus on the protagonists development may at times feel secondary to developing the romantic interests in the game. And the characters that are developed are indeed something. They are, almost exclusively, complicated characters. So yes, the LIs are complicated people, just like real people are. Wishing for more simplified characers discards the reality that stories thrive by reflecting reality. That is how a story becomes immersive. That is how a reader can understand and identify with a character. All through entertainment you will find that successfull characters are not simple characters. That even the most escapist comedy shows thrive by confronting us with the flaws of it's characters. So while I concede the point that this story's characters are flawed and complicated ones, I would argue this is a writing choice that makes the story come to life in the first place. However, this also means that not every character might for everyone. And it is also a difficult path to tread. Flaws can help develop characters. Supporting these characters can build relationships. But moving forward relationships solely on the basis of a one-sided supporting relationship will, with time make characters grow insipid.

Arguably the only character in this game that is the least confronted with difficulties is the protagonist himself, resulting in a kind of savior that one likes to play, but as of this point is still struggling to communicate who he actually is and what is broader goals are. You can, to a much higher degree than in other games, shape the general behaviour of your protagonist, though this will be limited to a relatively binary distinction between good and evil, with both paths diverging significantly.

The graphics are quite good, especially once playing past the first chapter, though I'd argue it is not the main selling point that this dev is going for. You will find good renders and well crafted sex-scenes, but especially if you are looking for well animated scenes I might try my luck elsewhere.

If you are intruiged by the ability to shape your character, for better or worse, or if you are looking forward to engaging with complex female characters, give this game a try. But don't be dissapointed if you end up not liking some of the characters. I wish lots of luck with the further development.


Gameplay: 4.7/5 | Art: 4.5/5 | Story: 5/5 | Writing: 4.6/5
OVERALL: 4.8

This is a quality immersive game that gets better the more you start playing it. The renders are excellent, gameplay is fine with plenty of choices that suits to however you want the MC to interract with the female characters. Also I didn't expect the game to actually have some emotional moments but we see that with the first LI and it was written well. Some of the models are really hot as well, and the writing has been solid for the most part. The first LI Nicki went from unlikeable to likeable once she started living with the MC, so you know the dev is capable of giving decent character development to his characters. Dev himself is very friendly, engaging and active on here.

The only reason this isn't a 5 star for me is the lack of animations, music, and sound effects. I am assuming the Dev might implement this once the game is finished. We do see animations much later on in the game, but it's not enough for a perfect score. If I had to rank, it would be a 4.5, instead of a 4, but sadly that isn't a option in this rating stars rank.

Looking forward to more updates for Friends in Need

4.5/5 game.

Beyond the renders I have almost nothing positive to say about this game.

Admittedly I stopped playing before all the LI's where introduced, but the first 3 or so where enough for this to get the Alt+F4, delete, empty recycle bin treatment.

Starting with the first LI. The game starts with her and the MC working together, he's likes her but is too much of a coward to make a move. (yet later he became this super dominate guy and on dark path rapes women, yeah right.) . The LI then hooks up with the new guy at the job and gets into a world of trouble resulting in her coming to the mc and prostituting herself to him to get money. At this point she realizes she loves the MC but still goes home to her trash BF and later runs away to even worse conditions and eventually comes back to the MC when she's hit rock bottom and looks like a cliched washed out porn star. Why didn't she go to him right away? I would have had more sympathy for her then, than 6 or 8 or however many months later. All I wanted to do was slam the door in her face, but sadly there is no option for that.

The next LI is some stupid bitch spoilt brat. Again as much I tried to ignore her she kept turning up like a bad penny you can't get away from.

The 3rd LI was decent, but being forced to deal with the two previous ones despite having no desire to interact with them at all, she couldn't make up for it.

Devs seem to forget we play these vn's for escapism. If I wanted shitty flawed people, I'd go outside, there are enough of them there. It feels like the dev actively tried to make each LI as crappy as possible so we wouldn't feel bad about hurting them on the dark parth and thats what he was trying to push the player towards.

As a harem romance game, this one fails terribly. As a dark rape sim, it might be your cup of tea, but not for me.

great game, great renders. great story. the story with the girl you love but her ex abuse and the money part really gat to me as something similar happend to me in a way. she did come back. i forgave her and she went away agian. she said i let her slip out of her hands to tell it bluntly. and short version. so i can relate to the story. great feedback of the DEV love a good dev that takes q&a and asnwers and take notice of us small peasants.

cant wait for future updates. hoping for a steam realease at some point? <3 keep doing a great job NeonGhosts your having a great game with amazing renders and good story