I played my first VN maybe a year ago, and have since enjoyed probably 50 of them. This one is my absolute go-to.
There are no animations here. There are VNs with far more realistic renders. There are VNs with more engaging plots overall. So why is this game better?
1) The render poses are well done and realistic. There is no poorly posed kinked hair, joints out of whack etc. More important than flashy animations and hyper realistic reflections etc. is making sure you're not pulled out of the moment. You don't say a book sucks because there are no animations, right? No animation is much better than bad animation.
2) The facial expressions are beautifully emoted for humor, arousal and feel-goodness. The expressions are not grossly exaggerated either, which is something off-putting I've seen in some other VNs lately.
3) It's a fucking WHOLESOME IC VN
. There was maybe a span of one update or so where the wholesome back and forth got a bit repetitive and overly much, but it's just right most of the time. The reasoning why IC porn has had such a meteoric rise and is a kink for so many is a bit of a mystery I think, but perhaps this VN has tapped into some of the underlying reasons for it and focused on so much wholesome love and connection, not just taboo deviance.
4) It's minimally stressful. No, there's not lasting conflict in the plot that spans multiple updates. Hell there's hardly a conflict that lasts more than a scene. Some reviewers say that means the VN lacks depth, personally I say it means the VN is just laser focused on what's important--love (not just sexual love) and banging. I can't stress enough that this is a FEATURE for many, not a drawback. For instance, I don't play horror games because they're stressful AF. It's stressful just WATCHING people play Resident Evil, for instance. This is a world you can escape to and know you'll feel good after your visit--even if you left your cock in your pants, haha.
5) The variety (and sheer number) of LIs is staggering and... well, again, wholesome. Most marginalized groups are represented here, and respectfully so. Most shapes, sizes and races are represented. Off the top of my head all I can think of that's missing is maybe a vitiligo character. Yes with so many characters it has the potential to be frustrating when you find one you really like that's a minor character so you don't see as often *cough* cop Sandra *cough*. But if there's only one character you like in this VN then I pity you. In fact, expect to discover characters/relationships/situations that you had no idea you were into.
6) The most reliably regular updates of any dev I follow. There's no intentionally stringing supporters along to try to milk more money out of them. Hell Grandma's House is FREE as long as you're willing to wait a couple weeks post-release for updates. That means the supporters are people with expendable income they're able to earmark for supporting this project, not people being forced to pay for admission. Everything is so wholesome, haha.
7) It doesn't take itself too seriously, and is often hilarious.
8) It covers a wide variety of fetishes and kinks, and it's easy to avoid those you're not into. Maybe I'm just lucky, but even the most devious of kinks I have are included, and the kinks that are too far for me aren't even an option. It pushes the boundaries exactly as far as I like them pushed. Wait no, lactation doesn't do anything for me but I still include that content because I'm a completionist, haha.
One thing I'd like to see is complete gallery scenes. There are several scenes that are missing content if I replay through the gallery, but I can see in full if I go back and load instead from a save point (one that comes to mind specifically is the Xmas 'gift unwrapping' scene in MCs bedroom w/2 characters). That means you're forced to have tens if not hundreds of saves if you want to quickly visit a favorite scene that includes all the content you want.
That aside, this VN is just enjoyable AF. If you want stressful plot devices and focus on conflict, go play something else. MoonBox has a masterpiece here as far as I'm concerned.