VN - Ren'Py - Friends in Need [Mini-Sode: Blue Valentine] [NeonGhosts]

This game is definetely not my cup of tea. Most of the content is focused on the violence and raping, blackmailing and so on. The characters look quite bad and overall graphics is poor for the game from year 2022. The story is bad as well.

Friends In Need (Ch. 10)
In a capitalist society, money buys you a lot of power. Potentially the power to change lives. But how will you impact the lives of your friends in need? Neon Ghosts created a power fantasy that lets you change the city.

STORY
Guy Harrison is the stereotypical average worker until one day he wins big, transforming life for good. Quitting his job at the convenience store, he decides to retire and aspires to use his newfound wealth to improve the world. Soon enough, his direct environment learns about his prize and Guy’s life of accumulating drama really starts off. Who will you help? And what are their motives?

A first disclaimer: Friends in Need is lengthy and the first chapter is currently the roughest part. The game starts out as an average AVN and gradually turns into a story of intrigue and possibilities. At the time of writing, developer Neon Ghosts is reworking the first chapter - which would greatly help people get to the latter portion of the game. Decide if you want to try it before the rework, but if you can wait a bit longer - I suggest you do and enjoy the improved start of the story. Either way, it’s worth the effort required.

Once the game picks up, a lot of opportunities are introduced and Guy is overwhelmed by options. Luckily, he’s blessed with a best friend that aids him regardless whether he adores or ignores her. The game really pushes you to do good, as the vanilla game centers around building connections. However, hidden within the game are some very graphic and story-heavy taboo scenes, unlocked with a taboo patch you can find online.

For Patreon-subscribers, there’s also ‘Friends Indeed’, a Patreon compliant version that removes the ‘bannable’ content that would otherwise hurt the developer. Fun if you’re looking for a lighter experience, but the meat is in the full, weighty package.

Like ‘The Student Loan’, the minute-to-minute writing is fine and far better than average novels. The overarching story is interesting, although some things feel a bit silly. If you take events with a grain of salt and focus on the general direction of the story, there’s a lot of story in ‘Friends in Need' to be enjoyed.

Sometimes, the storytelling can be a bit too overbearing. Characters have a tendency to ‘over explain’ into subplots that thereafter take quite some time to come back into focus. Content with one character might be interwoven or hidden by another character. Just remember you will have to look deeper than face value if you wish to see everything this game has to offer.

Let’s quickly discuss the dark routes from the taboo patch. You feel the vanilla game wants to ’go places’ it can’t - and the patch opens the floodgates. Some information you can’t learn unless you go dark and things get painful. Extortion, abuse and molestation are more than possible… Let’s keep it at that. It’s far from my kink, but it’s done with a lot of heart and fans will love it. It also adds to the believability of the universe, serving as a warning to foul behavior that actually happens out in the world.

Aside from FiN itself, the universe has various sub-games and side-stories to explore further, which cover things like Spicy Sapphire or Viola’s or Ashe’s background. These are worth experiencing if you enjoy the story or are into the character. You can find these on the developer’s Patreon, although the developer has expressed desire to offer the stories in a more elaborate way.

The characters are the strong part of the universe. Stuttering Mason, struggling Viola, rebellish Gabby and bubbly Ashleigh all play their part - but none like Nicki, the ‘friend’. There is an actual developer-made patch to dismiss her if can’t find a heart for Nicki, but it’ll also mean you’re down on (wo)manpower. It’s these things that give FiN it's charm.

Overall, Neon Ghosts does a great job at building a world with many characters that’s deeper than most AVN’s today. If you don’t mind things getting chaotic sometimes (in favor of choice), you should play this.

PRESENTATION
While the game starts out rough (and Chapter 1 is being worked on, as stated earlier), Friends in Need looks great from chapter 2 on. The developer has a good sense of art direction and both camera angles and render amount are gracious. It’s not the most eye striking game out there, but the style fits the story very well.

Because of the many story branches, this game features a large amount of renders, especially with the taboo patch. Most of the locations are recognizable and each chapter tries to introduce at least one new location. Characters are recognizable and sometimes surprising, with Neon even throwing in special renders of other non-romanceable characters.

Somehow the MC sometimes visually just doesn’t cut it for me in relation to the story, but that’s a minor gripe when you have elsewhere to put your eyes. He is the most featured character in the game however, so make sure you get comfortable with Guy’s questionable visual choices.

As you play through FiN, you feel the developer learning new skills and putting them to use in visuals. Certain angles or sequences in the latter part of the game are great, some instant wallpaper material. Then again, when working with such a diverse cast - from Chinese and African-American to Caucasian and Indian - Neon did provide himself the opportunity to cater to a big audience.

A few more things: There’s animations in the form of three consecutive frames in the game, so more of a slide animation. Sound isn’t really a thing for this game, but it doesn’t really need it as well. The story and pictures are where the meat of the game is at, and it’s actually nicely presented. The game could benefit from a gallery function, but can easily be added after the game has been completed.

GAMEPLAY
Story choices matter in Friends in Need. You’ll generally follow a main story, but your inputs decide how light or dark the story is. It could be a tale of romance or a descent into depravity, depending on what you like. That said, it takes both roles very seriously and will mix things up along the way.

This is a Ren’Py choice-based visual novel, but you can get locked out of certain scenes or situations by your choices and one or two playthroughs won’t let you experience it all. Not everything is for everyone, and you can mostly opt out of things that don’t suit you. To find what you want isn’t always easy, so a walkthrough or mod might become mandatory at some point.

OVERALL
If you are into storytelling, you should play Friends in Need. The characters are fun, pretty and memorable - plus there's a ton of things to explore. Guy and Nicki need to be up you alley, but the way friendship can stretch in this game is interesting. There’s a clear direction and style to the game, which enhances the storytelling in a fun way.

A rough start currently keeps it from standing next to titles like ‘City of Broken Dreamers’ and ‘Become A Rock Star', but if an update clears the startup while adding to the backstory, I’m sure it will be similar in quality of experience. Friends in Need is a fun game if you want to be friendly enough to have friends. But if you're one to mistreat your friends at times, you could easily add +1 to the score.

Developer: Neon Ghosts Studios

Man, i like this game a lot. It starts out a bit slow and quite rough on the presentation side, but it gets better, a lot better.
The writing is one of the best i have seen in these type of games, every character feel quite different, with their own personality and the main character is also quite competent, smart and deliberate with most things he does. Its one of those games where i dont mind when characters talk to each other because it feels quite natural. There are a few annoying characters when you first meet them but the writing manages to make them likeable after a few deeper dive into their detailed personal lives, which is quite impressive to me. The story also takes a few surprising twists, which also helps to expand on the games world.
The presentation, like i said, starts out rough, but the further along you get the better it gets, both in facial expressions and body language and environments. Love to see it
Overall its a definite recommend, and i eagerly wait to see where the characters and stories go. Excellent job, keep it up!

boring sugar daddy simulator where all the Lis have the most fucking tragic backstory ever.
mc can be a simp captain save a ho or a fucking rapist lmao.
boring game and some nice renders. a lot of options but the core of the story doesnt change a lot.

I honestly wasnt expecting much, but I went off a limb due to the ratings and the screenshots in the download section. Great story, great scenes, great girls. The tags also helped because they all are ones that interest me.

Finally the game I've been waiting for, the game that finally gets rid of wimpy MCs and morality, and dares to ask the question, what happens when you mix unlimited money with an evil MC ?(or at least a really fucked up one since I go for most taboo options), you get an untouchable sociopath. You get the power fantasy I've been wanting, not a game where you mind control characters, but a game where your actions have real repercussions on others. The only other game that has allowed me to do things with relatively no consequences is Desert Stalker and that's my favorite game, so great work dev.

Honestly, one of the few games that makes me happy whenever I see it on the latest update page. The more of these 'games' I play, the more nitpicky I become... yet this one somehow didn't lose me.

Visuals: 5/5 ⭐
The character's design is so good; every LI was unique and has a realistic body. The scenes look good, although sadly nothing is animated.

Story: 4/5 ⭐
As far as porn logic stories go, this one is fine; the game starts off with you being filthy rich due to some crypto luck to insane limits. The MC has no chance to struggle or have a hard time with any choice, leaving you picking the choices knowing there will be 'almost' no consequences. Choices range from happily patting LI's head and giving her money to whacko BDSM out of nowhere and getting away with it... brings the bad out of you, lmao.

Gameplay: 6/5 ⭐
This is this game's best feature. It's a simple VN, but unlike many others, choices have a consequence in the story. The way you act with an LI on the first meeting will affect your relationship going forward, and the more your moral compass is fucked, some of the nice choices will disappear. Even the nice path and the bad path sort of split at certain points depending on certain choices...

My favorite thing is the number of choices there are for each interaction; it's not just a good/bad choice or interested/uninterested. If you want to see all scenes, you obviously will need multiple saves.

Sounds: 0/5 ⭐
Sadly, none... this game would have been 10 times better with sounds since it's already missing animations; any music or moaning sounds would've made the scenes more immersive, but alas, an argument can be made to play music or sound on a different app...

Overall excellent game; if I had to nitpick, my biggest criticism would be the lack of sounds/music and the increasing amount of LI. I hope more focus will be on who we already have.

Phenominal. I have played heart-warming games and dark games before, but this game is of warmth and darkness. (You can choose how much you want of each, although the themes are more inclined darker ones). The OP banner can mislead someone into thinking this game would have too many characters without actual "character" in them, but by the end of the latest update (v0.71) I found myself being able to link every face with a story, a trait, and a kink. My only problem is that I have to rely on the walkthrough to ensure I am on the story path I desire to be in.

There are miracles in this world. One of them is the fact that a story about a loser guy who gains wealth and gives himself a sex-fuelled power-trip can be so mature.

Usually, when a writer tries to explore something serious in adult VNs, it comes at the expense of some things we appreciate. First thing to go is, usually, flexibility. It is difficult to tell a meaningful story, juggling ten branching story-lines. The seconds thing to be left behind is, well, sexual encounters. It is no small feat to integrate choices and consequences with telling something meaningful, and it is twice as hard to put a lot of sex in it, while not breaking the general dynamics.

Here we do not sacrifice neither. And this fact is a miracle and another testament to the proficiency of the developer.

The game offers roughly three distinct relationship paths for each girl, with some choices having lasting consequences (at least seemingly; while we're deep in the game, it hasn't unfolded yet). Those paths can be roughly labelled as: a good path, a taboo dark path (install the patch for it), and a middle ground.

The 'good' path is surprisingly touching, especially considering the protagonist's potential for exploiting his newfound shit-ass wealth with women down on their luck. Some moments verge on creepy, but this is strangely fucking mild, given that we play an AVN. Then, there is a taboo path which gives most of rapey games on F95 a run for their money. It is dark. Given the rules of this site I can't compare it with particular games in this review, but I will say that it is almost as dark and sadistic as a famous game about a mental case coming home (still, three times less silly) or a well-beloved title about the eyes-wide-open-shit happening in bordello where women debase themselves for money. I think you know these ones.

I have no idea how someone can be so compelling in writing the darkest possible scenarios as well as something good-natured and even noble for the very same characters.

Now I will tell something personal. I decided to play "Friends in Need" for the dark path. I enjoy maledom, and I like when it is harsh. It is not my sole fetish, but is is a strong one. Sometimes I feel bad afterwards, but such stuff gives me genuine kicks. I can't quite understand it. I despise violence in life. I kinda get the appeal of gore videos and extreme stuff like that, but when I see actual, living people suffer, I always try to help them, almost on an instinctual level.

So, I was preparing for a shamefull wank when unpacking "Friends in Need". But very soon I found out that in this game I simply can't go down the darkest routes. I have too much sympathy for the characters. When I understood it, I, with a sign, decided to play this game with two hands. "I kinda find the story enjoyable, so let's play it like that, paying no mind to the sex scenes", and all that jazz.

And, oh boy, was I mistaken. When I was five-to-six hours deep in this game, I unexpectedly realised something about myself. The deal is that I'm a pleasing person, but I can't please everyone. This happened in my family, this happened later in life. I feel that some misogynistic streaks that characterise my sex-life (to be frank, mostly my wank-life, because those are the things I'm ashamed of) are driven by this feeling of not being good enough for women.

Strangely enough, this game gave me a feeling of finally being good enough, and feeling power in being noble, and feeling good about being generous. Have I experienced something like that in my real life? Sure, but when you play a tightly wirtten AVN, it is more evident.

And the fact that I'm still so damn horny for the girls in this game, including the ones that I didn't find compelling before I learned more about them, is so fucking unexpected.

For that alone 'Friends in Need' is one of the most profound narrative experiences in my life. It's not like I'm gonna change something radically just because of that, but I understood something about myself - and this knowledge will surely stay.

How the fuck did that happen?!

I didnt finish the game because the characters are getting more an more boring. Dont wanna know their awful life after them all, its not very interesting the whole story, some characters look off, dont know why, And Nicki sucks the most.

Although no game is 'perfect', in the land of the blind, the one eye man is king, and Friends In Need does so much that other games don't that it deserves some praise. Before getting into the good, let me start with the bad.

The lack of animations and audio is a big bummer. It probably saves the dev a lot of time, but it could enhance the experience. The lack of a gallery is also a shortcoming. I remember a mod created that added a gallery, but don't know how often it's updated or if it's maintained.

Okay, moving on to the good, as for the basics, this game is well put together wrt to scenes, lighting, etc. The LI models are gorgeous and none of them look 'stock', a problem I see in a lot of AVNs, and that includes the male characters. So many games phone it in for even the MC, it's just disappointing.

Also, this is one of the best branching AVN's I've seen. If you add the patch, it enables a bunch of darker routes and the variation of what path you can take for each character is really amazing. Having the ability to get kinky with Ashe as a boyfriend, all the way to using and breaking her provides an outstanding range of choice. This also applies to a bunch of different LI's too. This is a double-edged sword though, so as the dev adds more branches, the more complex the game will get and the harder it will be for them add new content.

Branching aside, the story is well written and deals with realistic themes of wealth access and how people can use and abuse people when they have the money (and power) to do so.

All I can say is I'm looking forward to how this game develops.

One of my Favorite AVN i've played in a while, Good writing and it feels as though decisions have an impact but not so much that it ruins what you have. If you have not given this game a try i would highly recommend it as it has everything I could want in a story!

Well taught out paths and characters, that seem to provide options for a variety of tastes. Feels like attentions has been paid to the flow of the game where no illogical jumps happen. Be the knight in shining armor or delve into your dark side, it's all in there. I like the wide range of character types and feel like there isn't a hard bias in the game. One of my personal favorites.

Found this game using the dark themes but when i started playing it, the story was actually decent enough that you will start to immerse yourself in it and care for the characters. Also while the premise of the mc getting lucky millionaire might seem boring but the story actually branches out in interesting way.

I'll start with the only thing that I really liked about this game: renders. Yes, sometimes there's weird expressions or bad lighting, but overall the quality is pretty good and consistent.

Now for the cons.
The main cast is too big. Seriously, how many girls are there? 10? 12? It's clearly visible that author tries to focus on each one of them, but due to their sheer amount he has to limit himself and after all these years of working on the project he's still yet to meaningfully unfold the plot. There's a reason why most major titles only focus on 5-6 girls. Quality beats quantity.

The main selling point of this title is dark/corruption paths. Aside from them, there really is nothing outstanding about it. Generic characters are featured in generic interactions leading to generic outcomes through generic dialogues. There's a bunch of other games on this site that either tell a better story or do it in a much more creative way.

Conclusion: if you're not into rape/blackmail, don't bother downloading this game.

P.S. Sorry for bad English.

Still playing this game, but needed to stop to write this review.

Admittedly, I picked this game up because it seemed like it would be 'darker,' and that I could do whatever I wanted without remorse. And it is. For the most part, you can make the choices you want to. No matter how cruel or dark.

That said, where this game is surprising me is where it's making me choose to not make the cruel / dark choices. I believe the biggest success of this game has been in making me care about the characters. They're well-written, the dialogues hit the right spot, and the game is the perfect mix of moving the scenes along without being too wordy, while still also being able to develop the characters and make you care.

You will not be disappointed if you pick this game up. Definitely one of my all-time-favorites.

A solid AVN that really stands out for its realistic dramatised story and how much freedom it gives the player. The characters feel genuine, which makes it easy to get drawn into the story. The choices you make actually matter and let you play the game the way you want, which is a big plus IMO.

I'd say it's a 4.5 instead of a 5 solely because of the lack of animations, but the scenes I got were satisfying anyway, because of the characters and the way you can choose to treat them (I've been sticking to the good guy/leaning towards dom when it doesn't mean being a dick to people).
The premise of the game wasn't super interesting to me when I first read it, I imagined the execution would boil down to throwing money at the ladies' problems and getting some action in exchange, but it goes deeper than that. You get a whole bunch of people in shitty situations; sometimes, it's about the choices they made, sometimes it's about circumstances they didn't really have any control of; and then there's you, with the ability to help, but (I'm talking only from the "good" route perspective, which is what I tend to pick) your help comes through giving people means to pick themselves up. It kinda got me emotional at times, there are characters that I really want to rise above the shit they're submerged into. Hell, I don't think I fucked even half of the ladies you currently can, because I don't want the sex to feel like a payment for my help (that and the game appears to be taking a more realistic approach to how relationships work, so yeah, sticking your dick on every available lady may affect your chances at landing a long term relationship, or maybe not, it's currently unclear from my experience).
The writing has been great, even some annoying/"evil" people like Jamie or Brent get some "villain's backstory", to the point where you don't really forgive them but understand that maybe they were well intentioned dumb fucks, and at least in my case that made me want to give them some pep talk and try to push them into a better direction. Does that mean every bad guy will get fixed? Probably not, people can choose to be evil, and while the game gives us the chance to be good, it hasn't forced me to be stupid (looking at you, Lucien and Brittani's mom).
Tl,dr: game's great, I'm invested in a bunch of characters, a fair share of "let me fix her" (in a good way, I believe), Nicki is best girl (Nickizilla may or may not be threatening me)

TLDR: Gets a bit preachy on topics relating to trans people and the police.

I was contemplating whether this should be a 4 or a 5 star. But after finishing the recent update I'm pretty sure this is a 4 star.

It gets a lot of things right. The story is okay, the dialog is okay, the facial expressions are good. But.. there are no animations and no sound effects. It's especially noticeable in the x scene with Risa. Where MC gets on top of her in the missionary position. But MC and Risa are both spread out like a star fish. It honestly looks like when you take 2 toy figures and press them into each other. If you're not going to have animations you HAVE to make sure that at least the posing of characters is right.

The other reason I can't give this a 5 star is because of the preachy nature in which this game adresses trans people and the police. Like I get it, people make games and want to convey their own thoughts on certain issues. But if the Issue demands more attention than the game itself it stops being a game (that is fun).

There is another game (which I can't name for rule reasons). That game has a MC that is a self proclaimed alpha male (see my reviews). And it's so incredibly preachy about topics the developer cares about that it literally messes up the game. The dev purposely put in less flattering Li's. Forced LGBT interactions and other non sense. Even had the MC's dad be santa clause (I kid you not).

Anyway, it's a reminder of how a game can go from good to completely dog shit. And luckily friends in need is not dog shit. But I hope they don't get too preachy which would make it dog shit.

For example, the police station scene. Where you attack the police officer and the police officer puts his knee on MC's neck. Really dude? And then you have Gabby the black character say "He can't breathe!". What point are you trying to make here dev? I really don't get it.

4/5.

I love how the author of this game allows the player to get aggressive in all the right ways. It's up to you where you go with it (within reasonable boundaries). This is one of my favorite games for that reason.
The story is ok... its a guy with money who has a lot of girls around him that need financial support, and how they earn it is up to you. This isn't going to keep you around primarily for the plot twists. That said it's more than good enough, and the action scenes are very good.
Highly recommended.