VN - Ren'Py - Friends in Need [S1 v0.95b] [NeonGhosts]

As someone who usually hates multiple paths and juggling saves, Friends in Need’s paths are worth it and massively enhance the experience. The dev has managed to design a lovey dovey path and an extremely fucked up rape path plausible, well thought out, and dare I say enjoyable. I haven’t had the time to also explore the blackmail/whore path, but all indications point to it would be time well spent for those into that type of content.

First, I’ll define what kind of rape and dark content I’m talking about because it is not for the faint of heart. A lot of games get rape wrong, as they more or less do some version of “press button for her to say no while the MC fucks her anyways.” In Friends in Need, the MC doesn’t just rape their body, he rapes who they are as a person by inserting himself into their lives in a way they can’t return from. I’ll leave you to discover what exactly that means.

As for the “lovey dovey” path, it is only in comparison to the others. The women MC (willingly) beds have a variety of kinks, some more hardcore than others. And sometimes it is worth exploring the path that normally leads to rape to see what else it can unlock if you don’t fully go that direction. It makes clicking on choices actually fun to mess around with. The walkthrough is only really needed if point grinding is your kink.

While some of the early renders need some work, the rest after the first sex scene steadily improve. Kind of an abrupt ending to a review, but there’s not much more I can say.

Friends in Need does what it does well and unapologetically.

the renders are good, they get better further into the game after chapter 1. some of the scenes are really well staged and have composition qualities of a particularly striking photograph. i like the agency of having different paths to treat the girls in different ways. not that i think i'll work up the nerve to actually treat nicki or gabby badly; they are sweet and have had their share of troubles. this game gets what modern media often gets so wrong (galadriel in rings of power, or rey in star wars) the main character doesn't need to be perfect at everything or a badass warrior. the main character could just be nice and help people. that makes them very likeable. the main character in this formerly had a mediocre job at a supermarket, and then uses his money to help those who need and deserve it. this makes him very relatable and likeable, in turn we root for him and get emotionally invested in the story. then because of that investment we are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt for little issues or flaws that may come up. it can be that simple. this isn't a perfect game, but i like it much more than a lot of games that may be "technically" better. a deserved five stars.

An actual game that isn't afraid to go into the rape territory and actually makes me feel like my fucked up actions may have consequences. Really blew my mind that I can be as evil as I wanna, or as good as I want.

That´s really a good game.

You play a guy that suddenly become millionaire. You can play as a more-o- less nice guy (who like it rough, but nice guy nevertheless), an asshole or, if you install the patch and is your cup of tea, as an asshole who deserves jail.

The 3rd option it´s too extreme for my tastes, but hey, it´s not forced...

The sex scenes are hot, and the author make a decent job of keeping the suspension of disbelieve working., and the game have a decent amount of branching.

The only but is the lacking of music. Something I hope it will be mended in futures updates

This game is really enjoyable so far, definitely like the whole premise and way the storytelling has played out. The variety of different choices from sweet to extreme is great. I've find myself going back through to try different paths between updates, which I don't typically do for what it's worth.

I actually enjoyed this more than I expected . I wish the chapters were longer but that's my only real complaint. The renders and writing weren't bad and I will continue following this game. Give it a try.

Hey,

The game is great, my favorite aspect is how the MC is physically dominant in sex.
No bounding, no tying and not restraining movement... Not using tools or devices...
He just bend them and have his way with them as he wants.

Unfortunately there's a lot of dark themed games that just stop after a few releases or simply change to a lighter theme after a while.
I like a lot of romance VNs too, but if I may say anything is: your game is great man, please keep doing what you're doing and please continue to let us be the bad guy.

We see the evil win quite a lot in fiction, it's ironic how the evil can never prevail if the main character is the bad guy.

While the first chapter visually wasn't very impressive, lacking in quality such as proper facial expressions and minimal, empty set pieces the further ones improved noticeably and I imagine will continue to do so.

The writing though is consistently good from the start, with characters behaving in a believable manner with some of the better-written dialogue I have read in these types of games. As well as having a number of progression choices for each character, from romance and corruption to plain evil all of which are completely optional.

If the quality of the game will continue to improve or at least stay on the same level writing-wise it's definitely worth playing and watching for future releases.

P.S. I recommend Installing the taboo patch as without it the game is cut in content, even if the kinks in it aren't for you.

This game is great. It has a pretty good amount of choices that matter. You can be an asshole, just a regular porn game pervert, or nice guy. The dialog changes depending on your choices too. Has good dark content with the patch. Pretty good looking characters, animation, etc.

Good games tend to have good renders. But great games have something more, be it advanced game mechanics or a good story. This one had the latter. Great writing, good characters, choices that actually matter.

I don't know how this one will evolve into, but what we have here right now at 3.1, is a gem.

This might be the most well written game I've ever played on F95! Excellent renders as well. No grinding or any time wasting stuff so far. I'm looking forward to the future of this game and any others that the developer makes.

For Ch3.1. Played the good route. Any time I ventured into the bad side...I backed out or went to a prior save. Things on the bad, or dark route are ...well rather dark, aggressive or being a shitty human, so I stayed away from that.

The good route had lots of content, and very enjoyable and lots of sex scenes as well.

Very well written, only a couple of typos. English is very good, normal sensible conversations.

Characters are very likeable, and real world situations. Its a fun romp with you as the MC getting a bunch of money, and well enjoying life but starting to help people, or exploit them.

Four stars as its just in the beginning, decent playtime for chap 3.

Hope the Dev keeps it up, well worth the download.

I was hesitant to try this one. The description sounded a bit iffy. But there were enough reviews mentioning the quality of the writing that I thought I would give it go.

I am glad I did.

The main thing to understand about "Friends in Need" is NeonGhosts can actually write dialogue, and he is capable of maintaining a character's voice. I think this is the most important element of all adult visual novels.

Every adult visual novel essentially boils down to conversations with different characters. This is what holds the series of images together. If the conversations are boring or poorly written then eventually every VN fails.

Sometimes really good stories or really good visuals can for a time compensate for poorly written characters and conversations, but sooner or latter they wear out their welcome.

"Friends in Need" doesn't have this problem. It is well written, and so far all the characters have had distinct voices and the conversations that I had with them were all interesting and believable.

In my opinion, this is pretty rare in adult visual novels. So I give this 5 stars on that alone.

In some ways, the way the game is set up is like a series of almost unrelated vignettes. The first and second chapter could be short stand alone games. In the third chapter things do start to get tied together, and by the end it is clear that there is an actual story that is being told here.

As the player you have a lot of control of how these vignettes play out. A lot. You can be a complete asshole or you can be a fairly nice guy (while still being the MC of a porn game). You can mix and match quite a lot. You aren't stuck on rails once you go down a path. There is a lot of nuance for you to experience.

However, I simple was not able to go down the darkest path in most instances because the characters are well written and mostly believable, which means there are repercussions for your choices. In some adult visual novels I have no problem being an asshole, but most of those are far more mired in porn logic than "Friends in Need." In this case the repercussions of some of the choices were too realistic for my tastes... at least for the dark path.

I think the semi-nice guy path was actually more impactful because I actually knew I could choose to be a total asshole. Also, I say "semi-nice guy" path because this path isn't some white knight path devoid of lust and hot sex. There is still plenty of sex, plus I find sex scenes to be more titillating when the characters actually want to have sex with me.

So I am really only reviewing the nicer path. I tried out some of the darker choices, but in almost every instance the outcome of these scenes was a bit too much for me. Ultimately, that is a compliment to the construction of those scenes. All the dark scenes I tried out were just as well written and fairly realistic, but that realism made me roll back to less dark choices.

There were also some "nice guy" choices that are actually too nice guy, even to the point where the women you are engaged with are a bit confused by your choices. I would role back from those in most cases as it was clear that these routes were for people that wanted to have nothing to do with certain characters.

Also, there are a bunch of times when you have several different chances to engage or disengage.

With that said, like all adult visual novels the writer is telling a story. A player's choices can only have so much impact on the story. So the global impact of your choices is limited by the reality of the visual novel format.

In the end I would recommend "Friends In Need" to anyone that wants to experience an interactive story in a porn fantasy that is well written.

Definitely worth checking out.

Great story with meaningful choices.

Each individual choices is meaningful not just in the scene but changing MC's personality and dialogue.

I see some negative review say the MC is dumb but he is not some criminal mastermind. He is a normal guy who came into a shit ton of money. Like if you just got a ton of cash and wanted to fuck a girl whats your first thought: " i know I'll hire a catgirl!" (smh idiot below) or "I'll pay her a lot of money". Probably B. MC on the dark path is already getting more depraved and creative and we can see his character develop so I'm sure he'll have more interesting ways to corrupt girls later on but so far it feels very real and well written.

The girls are also great. They are all written to be unique rather than just having the whole life revolve around MC (and yeah this means they have made mistakes in the past - Nikki- and some will continue to make mistakes in the future -wife ignoring her husbands a drug dealer) . Also sorry the MC doesn't have a magic dick that makes the girls instantly want to fuck him he's actually got to seduce/blackmail/force it (don't worry hes still got a huge cock ).

Renders are great no animations though but I personally feel like animations just slow down an authors development cycle so I'm fine not having them.

Game feels like it's missing some music but that's probably the only glaring thing.

Would highly recommend if you like a game with dark themes, real characters and an interesting slice of life story (MC can either be the knight in shining armour or a huge cunt).

Friends In Need offers a refreshing take on the Main Characters that you usually play as in Visual Novels.

You play as a middle age guy down on his luck who happens upon a financial windfall and becomes an overnight millionaire.

What does he do with said money? Initially, the usual play video games and jackoff. However, a chance encounter with an old friend makes him realize that he could either help other people in need or help himself to his darkest desires. How he interprets the encounter in question is completely up to you, the player.

Every character has at least two paths (romance or destructive) and the MC has a running inner dialogue to help keep things consistent (Positive actions, positive inner dialogue. Aggressive choices, perverted/dominant inner dialogue, etc etc.)

I have played all three chapters and I am currently a Patreon (just being transparent) but I really enjoy the dialogue between characters and the super lack of stereotypes. They all feel like real people and the MC himself while having some character himself, is still quite malleable by the player.

Sex scene renders offer plenty of angles on the action and the kinks aren't too crazy, so it makes the game in general easy to get into. Since choice is such a big deal here, you will want to play through at least twice to see everything.

I eagerly await the continuation of the game and thank you for listening to my TED talk.

What can I say about the story? Imagine the dumb guy without fantasy suddenly becoming millionaire and what he can do with such amount of money? What's basically what this story about. This is also diluted by the details of the personal problems of the heroines who come to him, but that's not the most important thing, is it? It's about the approach that the protagonist chooses to help them and himself, of course. And this is where the main problem lies.
Usually I'm trying to write detailed reviews about bad and good in games, but here I just make a list of things about this game.

• Writing is decent (do not confuse it with plot and character design)
• The graphic and renders vary from person to person, their general appearance is fine, but characters facial expressions are often not only, I would say, weird, but actually even ugly.
• MC is dumb and lacks of creativity. Instead of suggesting girls to work for him: as maids, secretaries, catgirls or whatever your perverted fantasy is capable of, he's going in the simplest way possible and offer them 1(!) simple sex intercourse, that lack any creativity, for tens of thousands of dollars! For such amount of money, even the prostitutes would have to work their ass off for at least a week of nonstop sex. The main character was at the bottom, and he of all people should be aware of the value of such large sums of money, by not giving them away just like that. It's just a natural thought that comes to your mind, if yesterday you would have to work for several years for that amount of money, today these girls can get it in one night. Besides, it would have been much more interesting to watch the longer sexual relationship, where MC can actually enjoy the power that money could give, rather than having a transaction and splitting up with heroines in one night. But what the alternatives this game present? There is one, you can rape them. Yes, that is. You can't kick them out (if you don't like them, despise them, or whatever), or ask them to do some really daring stuff, like fuck behind husband back, go on leash naked on the street etc. There are only 2 options: rape and some long term romantic approach. The whole thing with the MC helping these poor girls remind me of this fake porn videos where guys hook "random" girls from streets for thousands € /$ just for some half assed service.
• That stupid harem trope with girls being dating with other guys, but don't having sex with them for some far-fetched reason. In this story it reaches even the higher level with one of these girls. The first one, basically already stepped on prostitution path, and even had sex for money with the MC, but playing hard to get with other guys, who are literally paying her thousands of bucks just to make nude pitcures of her! There is another girl who is married, her story is not yet finished, but I won't be surprised if she also doesn't have a sex life with her husband. Seriously dev, if you're adding other guys in the story, have at least the courage to carry it through and make it believable! Harem players won't forgive you anyway (there are almost no things they can forgive), just because you even mentioned other guys besides the MC. Instead, it could have been a nice netori setup (сheating on the protagonist's initiative), but alas.
• Lack of choices and somewhat railroading. It's often no matter what you choose, the result will be the same.
• The MC don't think about security and ways to increase his wealth. He's starting his own charity organization, and I confess here, I didn't fully understand the whole story with this. Maybe I missed something by being inattentive, or it was so poorly explained. But I didn't notice the hero trying in any way to increase his wealth, to buy shares in companies, to rent a property, etc. He also doesn't even think about security! I'm surprised that with his behavior, where he openly advertises himself as a philanthropist, he hasn't been murdered and robbed in his own home. Ah, yes, he also doesn't care much when he rapes someone, he thinks everyone can be bought for money. Which is true in some cases... But the MC walks on thin ice, just because he does it too often, too open and without protection.
• Unlikable characters. Especially the first one, after her second appearing I was done with this game. Her terrible excuses just made me cringe. Other girls would have been thinking they found a gold ticket for life and wouldn't even complain, but she tries to play innocent, but in fact she is just as willing to sell herself to the main character. The only girl I truly liked was the stepmother of one annoying loli heroine.

I only give it more than 1 star, because the story idea was interesting and the writing, if we're not talking about plot and character development, is decent.

I think this is my new favorite game, the sexual enconters are really good, the fact that you can go the extra mile with the characters when the sexual act in performed is something only the best games does, the character interaction are really good and fun to read, the only bad thing is how some of the characters don't have a good desing, like nickie but otherwise this game is really good.

Above avarage renders. You can choose to be good or bad without building up some point score, which means you can treat every character as you want. Will be interesting to see if your actions will have long terms effects.

Things have changed a lot over the years, the story got a soft reboot, I grew as a person so my initial review don't really reflect my current views also as I said the story got a soft reboot.


But the writing is very good in some places. If you act like a piece of shit, the game will make sure to remind you.

This is absolutely one of the best VN's I've ever read.
You can be such an absolute asshole Harvey Weinstein would tell you to tone it down, and you can be a saint.
The writing is so good, that both paths are satisfying, well-established from character motivations that comes from the writers excellent understanding of human nature.
Content is also perfectly balanced, and just so damn satisfying.
Sex scenes are actually sexy, the whole package is just great.
The pacing is excellent, the story isn't filled with mundane bullshit because everything that happens supports the story and the narrative.

The entire thing is just mwah *chef's kiss*