Review as of chapter 9.
TLDR: Interesting but unpolished game I would have given a 3,5 if possible, but as that cannot be done and the game is still in its early stages, I'll give it a 4.
EDIT: have added somethings to my review since my first review based on the game as of chapter 6, the score remains the same.
Pros
TLDR: Interesting but unpolished game I would have given a 3,5 if possible, but as that cannot be done and the game is still in its early stages, I'll give it a 4.
EDIT: have added somethings to my review since my first review based on the game as of chapter 6, the score remains the same.
Pros
- Music. Not that it matters too much, but still a nice addition. Not all games have it.
- Sex is animated. Nothing special though and considering this version of Honey Select, to be expected.
- Male MC or Futa. I play the futa version and it does feel as if it is taylored for the MC being a futa and not just something thrown in for good measure.
- Real futa, cock and pussy. Subjective, but for me personally a plus.
- Choices matter a lot. Affects variables mentioned below, but can also lead to completely different scenes with different characters and affect which characters and factions the MC will develop his/her relations with.
- Many different variables, that keep ticking up and down depending on the MCs action. So far it's kind of unclear how they will matter, if at all, but that might become evident as the game progresses. EDIT: Confirmed in chapter 9 that having high enough dominance means certain options/alternatives are no longer available (presumably submissive options). Hopefully, high stats not only means fewer alternatives, but also that certain paths unlock that otherwise is unavailable.
- Deep world building.
- No Engrish, but sometimes grammar mistakes.
- MC takes initiative and makes moves on the LI. A low bar many games struggle to clear.
- Men taller than women. Once more a low bar many games struggle to clear.
- EDIT: Explanation for the harem. Once more a low bar most harem games cannot clear. In this case, it is connected to the Isekai world that the game takes place in, where "alphas" (both genders) can have multiple partners in a harem.
- EDIT: Jealousy among the members of the harem. Also something that should be common in harem games, but is not. Makes it more believable and gives it some tension and nerve. How it is handled isn't perfect though, see below.
- Men are evil, stupid villains, women are wonderful. Lazy and boring harem trope. Considering the secretive Isekai-world they live in has five women for every man, it's even more ridiculous that there are so many male bad guys running around and virtually none of the bad guys are women. Can't the game at least give us some female rivals/enemies? The MC doesn't have to fuck everything with a vagina. Or, even better let that be an option even with the enemies! Can spice things up! Just because someone is an evil bitch doesn't mean she can't be fuckable. Anyway, boring and low level effort by the Dev in this regard.
- Loredumping. All the time. So much time is spent explaining the world. Fitting to some extent as the MC is new to the secret Isekai-world (nice excuse to lore dump a fantasy setting), but it's still too much.
- To much background info on new acquaintances. Like the loredumping, it's too much, too early. Unlike the loredumping, there's really no good explanation for why virtually everyone tell the MC their life story after just barely having met him/her.
- Lack of erotic tension, flirting and build up. Rather common in porn games as many porn game devs suck at writing dialogue, but still annoying. Is not made better by all the lore dumping and background telling. What it leads to is a lot of rather dry conversation that is suddenly interspersed with sex out of the blue. That in turn leads the sex to feel "meh", at least to me.
- Dev inventing the story as he/she goes. Evident in the middle of chapter five where the MC in a fit of reminiscing about lost lovers tells a story of a lover he/she had like seven years ago who just disappeared without a trace. That same old lover of course turns up at the end of chapter five (like a day later in game time), reveling that she was an avalonian all the time (avalonians being the denizens of the Isekai). With a little forethought, the dev would have had the MC muse about the old lover in chapter 2 and then have her turn up in chapter 6 or 7, so it wouldn't feel so forced and on the nose.
- Lack of agency in critical situations, despite the abundance of choices. For instance in chapter 6, the MC forgives and welcomes the old lover who turned up at the end of chapter 5 after like three seconds of scolding her for disappearing without saying anything. And that's despite the game keeping track of things like negative diplomatic ability and dominance. A character with high dominance and low diplomacy should be able to tell the old lover to go fuck herself, or at least demand that she make it up to the MC (in fact, any game with decent agency should have that as an option, but especially a game that tells you that you can play as a dominant and socially blunt type). But no, the MC will simp and the player has no agency over it.
- Sex interupted. Things start to heat up. Then something or someone interupts. This is *not* a way to create erotic tension, it's just annoying.
- MC making moves, then apologising afterwards. Happens multiple times. Once more, if we're supposed to be able to play the MC as someone who is dominant, then why are we apologising left and right? Can't we at least be given the option if we want to do that or not? If you're making a move on someone (kissing for instance) and then apologise immediately afterwards, you come across as terminally horny and lacking in impulse control, not as assertive and dominant.
- EDIT: Social situations as well as central fetishes/fantasies handled clunkely. This ties into what I have already mentioned about the lack of erotic tension, lack of critical choices and the MCs tendency to make moves and then apologising afterwards. I probably should have rewritten those paragraphs and worked this into it, but I'm too lazy, so here goes: The dev doesn't seem to get all the human interactions and fantasies that supposed to go into the game. Meaning, good ideas, not so good execution. I have already mentioned some above, but I will give two more examples from chapter 9:
- Jealousy induced anger disapating too quickly. In on instance, two LIs find out the MC has been fucking both of them. They call each other "bitch" and start talking about fighting it out. But it quickly goes from a physical fight to a magical duel to a game of scrabble. It's a bit to silly and the mood shouldn't have changed so quickly. Furthermore, in a best case scenario, the player would be given the choice of A) trying to calm them down and mend their relationship B) doing nothing and C) fanning the flames of their jealousy and rivalry, even though I understand that most players probably would go with A).
- Being dominant, but not really being dominant. In one scene, a LI from anouther house, who the MC fucked in a previous encounter, flashes her hairless pussy to the MC as she, her husband, the MC and another LI from FurrHouse is having a conversation. The MC can respond by ignoring the LI or giving her a fucking sign with his/her fingers. Doing the latter will increase the MCs dominance score. Regardless of how the MC reacts, the husband and the LI from FurrHouse will remain in the room negotiating, while the LI from the other house takes the MC for a tour of the house. But she cuts the tour short and brings the MC to her room, where she undresses and pushes the MC down on the bed before having sex. So, how is giving the fucking sign an act of dominance? Especially when it is not followed up with any action. Rather, it should have given points in Lechery (also a stat). Then, as the tour begins, the player should be given the choice of having the MC push the LI up against a wall, tearing her clothes off and ramming herself into the LI as punishment for teasing him/her and sexually arousing him/her in an inapproriate situation. Or, if that is too much deviation (and therefore to much work), the player should be given the choice of having the MC be the one to declare in no uncertain terms that there will not be any tour and that they instead will go to her room, followed by the ripping of clothes and ramming in her room instead. And yeah, when you have a cock as big as the MC, ramming into a pussy like that will *hurt*, even if said pussy is well lubricated. Which would be the point. THAT would be how a dominant character would/could act in a situation like that. Instead we have a MC that acts more submissively to the LIs dominant behaviour and once more, we are also not allowed to tell the LI to fuck off.
