I imagine the version number is unintentionally deceptive. The current version is 0.8.1 but it's more like a 0.08.1. That's just how version numbers work I guess, and starting with version 0.10 I guess it might more accurately show how developed the game is.
Anyway let's talk about my low rating! To start with, the artwork is really impressive as everyone says. Definitely above-average, but I feel like the game needs more sort of intermediary art pieces to illustrate what people are doing in scenes. The scenes of the protagonist running through the park and the lead-up to meeting Asami are good examples of this, but aside from that I feel like more needs to be done to match the average VN.
Story-wise there's definitely a huge pacing issue, everything happens too fast. The story plays out like a normal VN which requires you to navigate a sandbox map to go to the next scene. The typical flow is: the protagonist thinks of somewhere he wants to be, you go there, the protagonist does his thing, the protagonist thinks of somewhere he wants to be... The good thing about the whole story is the premise isn't bad, at least. It's clear that this isn't just a "protagonist trying to live a happy life" story though, he's aiming to make some serious changes to the world around him.
For the adult scenes there's not much to them but one still or animated art piece. As said above, it's lacking in intermediary art to make the scene more appealing. If the scene isn't well developed with multiple art pieces and good dialog/narration, then the game is losing a competition against porn artwork sites that have hundreds of thousands of art pieces of the same quality as it.
Currently the negatives I've seen so far for this game (even considering how early in development it is) is below-average story writing and pacing, below-average artwork variety, and too few sandbox elements that make the sandbox style a detriment to the gameplay.
I don't want to be harsh, I'm just trying to point out the game's shortcomings when compared to the average VN or sandbox game before it gets too far in development to easily address these.
Anyway let's talk about my low rating! To start with, the artwork is really impressive as everyone says. Definitely above-average, but I feel like the game needs more sort of intermediary art pieces to illustrate what people are doing in scenes. The scenes of the protagonist running through the park and the lead-up to meeting Asami are good examples of this, but aside from that I feel like more needs to be done to match the average VN.
Story-wise there's definitely a huge pacing issue, everything happens too fast. The story plays out like a normal VN which requires you to navigate a sandbox map to go to the next scene. The typical flow is: the protagonist thinks of somewhere he wants to be, you go there, the protagonist does his thing, the protagonist thinks of somewhere he wants to be... The good thing about the whole story is the premise isn't bad, at least. It's clear that this isn't just a "protagonist trying to live a happy life" story though, he's aiming to make some serious changes to the world around him.
For the adult scenes there's not much to them but one still or animated art piece. As said above, it's lacking in intermediary art to make the scene more appealing. If the scene isn't well developed with multiple art pieces and good dialog/narration, then the game is losing a competition against porn artwork sites that have hundreds of thousands of art pieces of the same quality as it.
Currently the negatives I've seen so far for this game (even considering how early in development it is) is below-average story writing and pacing, below-average artwork variety, and too few sandbox elements that make the sandbox style a detriment to the gameplay.
I don't want to be harsh, I'm just trying to point out the game's shortcomings when compared to the average VN or sandbox game before it gets too far in development to easily address these.