VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - Futagenesis Unveiled [v0.06.2] [TessaXYZ]

Updated review:
With the v0.03a release of the game the creator has added a secondary story mode to the game that removes the puzzle aspect completely. As this was my primary criticism of the game, I replayed it.

Without puzzles to break flow, the story proceeds with excellent pacing and good early characterization of both the protagonist and the women we meet. Relationships and motivations are clear, the dialogue is natural, and the circumstances are sexy without being porny. All excellent.

Now that there are two versions of this game I heartily recommend it.
Original review:
Adult games have an interesting problem: what exactly makes an adult game mechanic? The goal of any adult game is, of course, something sexy happening, but the methods they use to get there vary wildly. Management sim? Trainer? Sex-scene renderer? Straight-up visual novel with no mechanics at all? All valid. You know what isn't ever a valid mechanic? A fucking puzzle.

For absolutely no reason, this game chooses to break up all the story flow that it develops in order to make the player solve an overly-complex puzzle. The puzzle is in no way adult oriented. It does not tie in to the story in any way. It is as jarring and useless as if you, the player, tabbed out of the game every 5 minutes to play a round of Tetris, then tabbed back in. The intention seems to be to "reward" the player with a bonus scene for completing a puzzle, but all it did was annoy me.

I cannot stress how disconnected, meaningless, and out of place the puzzles in this game are. And it's a shame, because the storytelling and visuals - even this early in development - are good. That's the only reason it gets even two stars, though; I was pulled out of the story constantly and my immersion was broken to pieces.

The puzzle system must be abandoned for this game to be anything but frustrating to play.

As of v0.03a

Pros:
Great renders
Interesting plot to start
Author listened and created a Story mode that skip puzzles that add little but frustration to the game

Cons:
Little gameplay at this point
Nothing but fantasy scenes for the MC, and a lengthy masturbation scene
Puzzles that can be avoided, but if played, serve no purpose but to add a time sink to the game.

I do hope the game creator minimizes the amount of effort they are spending to create puzzles, and just sticks to the story. It looks like there is real potential here, and I hope they put their effort into plot and character development, and not puzzles.

[Reviewed: v0.02 with patch]
An excellent demo and introduction to the story. I recall no issues with the text and all the visuals are very good. There's nice background music and sound effects at appropriate points. Unlike most offerings here, there's no option to rename the main character (or anyone else). Moreover, there's (so far) no choices at all. If that's the long-term model here, it'd be more honest to call this a Kinetic Novel.

On top of all that, there are fresh puzzles that will likely give you some level of challenge.

The story itself introduces the main character, Jenny, a futa (with full "lady bits" as well) who has up to now managed to keep her "extra functionality" from all but a few people. But tonight, she's agreed to attend a casual sorority get-together with her friend Alexis. Naturally, they end up playing a strip game, risking exposure (literally) of our heroine's secret.

The puzzles are interesting, and must be solved to be able to see the lewder scenes. I'd suggest adding to the instructions right at the top that "a cell" is the smallest square and those make up the subregions and regions. For example, in tutorial #1, that each region is 2x3 holding 6 cells. Also, it'd be great to be able to identify a broken rule (even if several are not met) when incorrect, although that'd require a bunch more programming.

At the coding level, i'd also suggest a small simplification regarding the patch bits: Instead of "jump line#" with a matching "label line#return", use "call line#" with each ending with a "return" statement.

I've rated this 5 stars (excellent) as everything here so far is top-notch, and I'm looking forward to future updates.

One of the best debuts, with a futa protagonist I've played so far.
Art 5/5
Music and sounds 5/5
Story and dialogues 5/5
Sexual content 5/5
GUI 5/5

I even liked the puzzles. A bit hard to understand at first but after a while are quite easy. As a dev myself, I understand that some people are sceptical about them. But the dev was kind enough to provide hints and solutions too.

The only minus: No choices menu. The story is linear so far but the VN certainly's worth your time. Looking forward for more.

Wow a game with a futa protagonist after so long and the first thing the Developer focuses on is implementing mind numbing puzzles to unlock scenes. Just amazing. The game start is plagued in by some puzzle. ANd its not just a simple puzzle no it has to extra complicated bullshit just to unlock one scene. What is the solution for it? Don't worry we have a spoiler section for it but first ry the mind numbing puzzle and then as you bang your head, see the solution.
I thought with the literal rarity of Futa protagonist games, this new one with good renders may be among those rarities. But hoping for good things is hopeless.

EDIT :My initial rating may have been from a moment of instant anger. But I wish nothing but goodwill to the Dev because they are developing a Futa Protagonist game since most Developer won't even bother developing one. So good support is always required. As suggested by Orphanus in the thread, I may have been unnecessary harsh because of instant anger. But good luck to the Dev. May they develop a great game.