Ren'Py - Hero Party Must Fall [v0.5.1] [Nitrolith]

I really do like the character developments. Thought I would do a simple quick run to collect all the CG and be done, but the conversation an writing are really interesting that I can't skip. At first I thought the girls are just innocent souls being corrupted, which is fine, but this is even...

I am reviewing version 0.4.3 of the game. To start, I want to point out my own particular tastes. I like games about defloration and games with dominant males, and this game has both. However, I absolutely hate games with submissive males and netorare. This game also has both of those aspects.

As someone who hates and abhors netorare, I can say this is the first and only game I have ever played (and I've played many adult games over the years, practically every single one tagged with Virgin on F95 that doesn't have hard turn-offs for me) where the netorare is a good aspect that makes sense, enhances the story, adds depth to the characters, and isn't just "X plot device makes me really horny so I guess I have to sleep with other people" like every other NTR game.

Even as incomplete as the game is, what is there is a shining example of gameplay that synergizes and makes sense for the story. It's a wonderful game where every aspect, at least every complete aspect, works together to create a cohesive, thought-provoking experience that is surprisingly emotional and intelligent.

I can offer no higher praise for the story than the fact that I stopped caring about my fetishes and started caring about the characters well before I was halfway through.

Now, in its incomplete state, I will say there are definitely issues (mostly, a lack of things to do at times which is clearly going to be worked on) and that several times I thought the game was over because nothing happened for a few days (the game isn't over until the devs literally tell you that, but several times you just won't have any direction or know how to progress the story). I hope the devs will continue to work on this brilliant game and flesh out these paltry issues.

Even if the game was abandoned today (which would be an absolute travesty), I would still highly recommend it to others. What is currently in the game already shines like a diamond, and what it lacks is merely time and work to continue the story and add in the missing parts of gameplay (which they seem to be working on).

To note fetishes, this game does have bleeding virgins (though not all virgins bleed and the blood doesn't carry through sex scenes) as well as, of course, netorare (so far, the MC does not ever get cucked and only is the bull), BDSM, dominance/submission (both male and female for both aspects), some Female-Female scenes, threesomes, hypnosis, mindbreaking, timestopping (effectively, in lore it's mind control), a harem aspect, a cuckquean, sadism/masochism (again, both male/female for both aspects), exactly 1 dark-skinned female, and anal play (both male/female anuses, though only 1 scene so far for male anuses).

Never thought I would like a Netorare game, but I guess only naive children deal in absolutes, as the game says. (Sera is best girl in the current version, fight me.)

goated game
good pacing with vn and point and click mechanics, art only gets better, and the story is close to some tropes but puts a spin on it to make it feel refreshing. honestly i like the music as well
overall a very well crafted game

Almost perfect overral, Each character are endearing and developped really well during the whole game. The story is pretty unusual which is a plus.
The MC is pretty much relatable and not just some kind of horny beast, most of his action are thoughtful (even it's still H-logic sometimes).
The art is just pure pleasure, lots of animation with a very original style.

Good story + good quality art + animation + netori = perfect game. After I played it the first time, I started struggling to find other games because no other game could give me satisfaction equal to this game. 10/10.

One of the best games I have played on this site.
The characters feels real and the writing overall is excellent! Also, the art and the animations are amazing!

The only cons I noticed is that some parts are feeling empty right now and there is no indication that there are new dialogue options

I tried playing this game a year ago and couldn't handle it. The idea of making the lives of these people living hell just really didn't sit right with me. After seeing the game on the front page, I caved and decided to give it another shot since I like the artstyle so much.

I went from jerking off to a mom debasing herself for the man who wants to ruin her son's life to crying like a bitch and feeling guilty about doing it because the milf is such a fucking angel.

This is 100% the most well-written and gripping take on generic fantasy anime setting. Hell it's probably the best writing in any porn game I've played period.

This game doesn't pull any punches, either. It'll make you feel like shit for being the villain at every turn. It'll beat it into your head that this situation is fucked up and not OK. It'll make you feel depraved as fuck for getting your rocks off to the situation it presents.

But you just can't stop. Once the nightly training with the girl is done and you get to know them, you become so interested in their character. Little by little, you get to know more about them and it's enthralling getting to know such multi-layered characters and see how their relationships progress as you inevitably drag them down into the muck and ruin them. There's a very twisted sense of intimacy the MC shares with the girls and it's captivating in a way I can't really put into words. They're not some plastic dolls to turn into fucktoys, they feel like real living people with their own goals, motivations, and reasons for why they are who they are. The priestess isn't some goody two-shoes healslut, in fact she's quite the opposite. She's a vindictive, petty, cynical, self-absorbed little brat but even with all that she means well and is trying to make the best of the situation for herself. She's a character you love to hate because she's fucked up, but it's hard to fault her when it would be so easy to do exactly what she does if you were in her shoes.

That's just one character and I expedited the shit out of her. Not a single character that they focus on is one-note or feels shallow. Not even the MC, who has to play the part of big dick gigachad stealing all the women is one-note. He's not some emotionless bastard who revels in the shit he does. In fact, he wishes he didn't have to do any of it. Yet he feels he has to as a means to an end. It's such a fresh and interesting take on a character archetype like his.

I really could go on and on about each individual character but I don't want to spoil too much. I'll just say this: If you want characters with real depth and intrigue to them, please play this even if you're not 100% on board with the premise.

I will admit, the 2 star review below mine is right about the very dramatic story shift, but I believe in the grand scheme of things it actually improves the story. I won't spoil anything but it's much more interesting than the original plot and compounds on the existing feelings and motifs the game already had.

On top of all that, the lewd scenes are fucking *chef's kiss* absolutely to die for. It's depraved and animalistic as fuck. The game really knows how to make shit kinky and taboo while not just resorting to a bunch of weird fetishes. It's also not saturated with lovey-dovey romance yet still feels like the act of sex carries a lot of meaning.

Alright so the writing is great but what about everything else? Well, barring the gameplay it's all extremely solid. Artwork is fucking spectacular, music is unique and fitting(pretty sure it uses Hatsune Miku for a choir lmao), and the UI is simplistic but appealing enough. It runs fine on potato devices but can lag for a sec during training scenes occasionally.

Pls play this game and be sad for such good waifus being put into shitty situations but also jerking off to said shitty situation. They're all fucking great and worth playing for.

Except for Cecille.
All my homies hate Cecille.

As someone who usually avoids NTR, this game is one of the exceptions. Nah, this is one of the good shit regardless of NTR. I was initially drawn to the art style and the plot seems promising despite the cheating and what do you know, it got even better after I played. Usually the the guy that's doing the stealing is ugly as balls for extra humiliation factor and that's the reason I stayed away from NTR. That's not the case here. Mars himself is actually hot and likeable as a character and I like how the girls themselves have reasons why they would cheat on the hero instead of stuff like "your dick is just too irresistible". Also, if the dev is indeed planning to feminize the hero. Please let him remain a guy. If the dev goes ahead with the potion or something to turn him into a girl (boring) please let there be an option for him to remain being a guy.

Quite literally the best Netori game out there.

And still pretty damn good even if you aren't into that sorta stuff.
Quality animations, art, unironically good story and some other
wild shit. Give it a whirl.

This is still a work in progress but I just want others to know about this one and thus the high rating...

Because wow. Just wow.

GREAT. NETORI. GAME.

I won't comment much now besides that but I would like to encourage everyone to play this and I hope they would like it too.

(Pretty sure my short description already explains what to expect so haters gonna hate).

I have never bothered to write a review for a game on this site, but this time I just had to. The gameplay is meh but not annoying, the art is on the okay side, but the writing is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. In a couple of scenes, I just couldn't help but smile at how good this is. A masterpiece and a must play for every NTR fan IMO.

It has a great story, the art isnt my favorite type but the characters compesate it with a lot of personality. While playing i have encounter some bugs that crash my game, like when i reach the the second sera curse, when i broke the curse and tried to exit it crash. It would be nice if there are some indications when you have more interation during breakfast or dungeon. By the way a i hate ceci, always save sera.

I've been ignoring this game for a long time since I wasn't liking the art style. Finally gave it a try and man I loved it so much. The writing is what made me keep continuing. The art slowly grew on me and and was eager to "fuck" and "corrupt" the female characters. . Truly masterpiece. Looking forward for next update.

v0.4.3

Story :

10/10

One of the best stories i have seen in a game in a long time, the story is just too damn good, i really was left wanting at the end of the update longing why did it have to end.

Characters :

10/10

The main strength of this game in my opinion is the characters, the 4 main people around who the story revolves around, there are other side characters who greatly affect the story, but the tale of deception amidst the 4 make the core of this game.

Art :

9/10

The art could be improved a bit especially the background art, there are only few templates of BG art which is shown through out the game, but the character art is quite good and makes up to this.

Dialogues :

10/10

The dialogues are good too, especially the ones of Mars which greatly emphasizes the way the story is told. It really makes us feel for the Hero, which really is a great thing, because this type of story telling hasn't been told before this good.

Overall a solid 11/10. Great game.
Please anyone seeing this review play this masta piece.

It's honestly ridiculous how well written this is, each character has their own personality, motivation and a distinct character. I could read this all day. It's kinda silly that it's a porn game but it's really that good. 5/5

TL;DR:
I struggled with this review. On the one hand, I was liking the game a lot until a certain point in the plot. On the other hand, that point completely undermined everything that led up to it and left me not wanting to go any further.
Sadly, I must give this a 2/5.

Reviewed version: 0.2.6-I think. The point where the former priestess shows up, whichever update that was.
I want to make this very clear: I didn't play any version beyond that. The reason for that is I felt the game was losing me with the direction it was headed, and held off. After seeing it got an update today I went over the changelogs since I played and found that none of the things listed sounded like they'd fit with the game I remembered, and I wouldn't care to see any of them.

Which leads me to "Why are you posting this review"?
And the answer to that is, honestly, I feel cheated. I spent all that time going through one third of a VN thinking it was headed one way, and then at the end of that first third the developer drops a bomb that shifts the narrative tone and destroys the coherency of the plot.
Spoilers beyond this point, I suppose, although they're spoilers only for an ancient part of the plot. The game makes a big song and dance about subterfuge. The protagonist is a lesser power, a half demon that has been charged with infiltrating the hero's party. It is also established that the Goddess is a force for good that will not tolerate the protagonist's attempts, and that she desires the demon king to be destroyed. A third of the way into the plot, it is revealed that the Goddess has no interest in the demon king being destroyed beyond maintaining the status-quo, she is not good or benevolent, she has deliberately chosen an impure and lowly woman as her priestess for her own amusement after her prior priestess was too "boringly perfect" and no, there is no need for subterfuge since she was aware all along of the protagonist's purpose, intentions and actions and doesn't mind them one bit so long as knifey-throaty-slashy happens on the demon king. Oh, and the hero has given almost all of their power to the impure priestess who then yielded it to the protagonist, so he's not much of a lesser power anymore.
Talk about upsetting the plot. This isn't a narrative twist, this is the developer saying "BORED NOW" and changing everything that has been established over hours of VN dialogue and that training minigame in very literally one scene; you speak with the Goddess and she just casually states that everything that has been established since the start of the game is wrong, and from that point onward the VN could've ended and a new one could've begun, because there is no relation between the two. The former priestess even shows up - apropos of nothing - and the focus of the game shifts from the two established girls to her as she chastises the protagonist and drives him away, only to be chastised by the Goddess herself within literal minutes and have to go crawling back begging for forgiveness - forgiveness which the protagonist naturally doesn't grant. The protagonist then spends a while breaking her in and it's all so very utterly depressing that I didn't have any inclination to keep going beyond that point.

A game where you play a sneaky, stealthy infiltrator and take down a superior force from within by stealing what they love most right from under their noses is something I might be interested in; the hero so self-assured and laser focused on bringing down the Demon King that they fail to notice you snatching their beloved priestess, and maybe they do kill the Demon King at the end, only to see you taking his throne with the priestess as your queen.
This game started that way, and for several hours led you by the nose saying "C'mon, here's that thing you like, it'll be fun, c'mon, here's a bit more" before changing its tune into something completely different.
Fair's fair, the developer can do what they please with their game, I just wish it would've been more upfront about it. It'd have saved me several hours I ain't getting back.

Breakdown of score:
-Up to the point I played, and looking at the changelog even at present, the combat minigame is broken and players are advised to skip it. Why's it even there is a mystery to me, but yeah, combat that the developer themselves admits is futile and broken (-1*).
-Plot destruction mentioned above (-1*). There are far more elegant ways to subvert audience expectations than "Hello! I'm the Goddess and everything you've read thus far gave you the wrong ideas. Let me set the record straight".
-Radical and jarring shift in narrative tone (-1*). In one scene you go from the underdog afraid of being destroyed at every turn should the hero or Goddess realize what you're doing to being the greater power capable of threatening the hero and with your actions sanctioned by the Goddess. In. One. Bloody. Scene.
-Misleading game description on the website (-1*). There is no question of whether you'll succeed; in fact, reading the changelogs, it is intended that you will go through all of the options where you will not succeed to get "hints" about the narrative, only to be dropped back to where you were before the choice. Not only that, the bad decisions are signposted with "(B)". So, to reiterate, there is no question of whether you'll succeed. Your "big secret" is also not a secret at all, and was known by your supposed #1 enemy from the beginning. And you're not a spy; you don't do any spying, you don't do any reporting, you're not gathering intelligence. You're there to corrupt the hero's party and make them submit to you via sexual training and humiliation, which is enabled by a rampaging plot device AKA a curse that the Goddess could have probably effortlessly lifted but doesn't feel like doing so. What absolute malarkey.
-Well worded (+1*). Look, plot coherency and narrative tone shifts aside, the actual wording is good. The characters express themselves in a consistent manner - the priestess is consistently proud and consistently a secret slut, the hero is consistently oblivious and an idiot, the demon queen's wife is consistently devious and slutty and so on. The game does introductions well, sets up scenes well, describes things well, and so following. If it weren't for the ham-fisted narrative turning on a swivel this might have been one of the best written games on this site. IF. As it is, it's still well written enough for one bonus point.
2/5.

This is slow burn corruption done right: with tons of assets and a good understanding of eroticism to sell every step of the journey as either a perfectly ball-ticking tease or a satisfying milestone of progress. Beyond the large number of quality animated assets is the writing: it's effective, unpretentious, and obviously penned by a native English speaker with a strong control over the language. The focus is absolutely on the sex and the girls, but the protagonist is far more fleshed-out than a bland self-insert or one note NTRguy you would usually expect. This makes the fucked up relationships he has with his corruption targets interesting even without the sex scenes. I'm sure you can find ways to poke holes in the story and characters, but you can't reasonably ask for more in a game this horny.

The biggest flaw this game has is the number of TBD gameplay sections, but really they're only noticeable by the signposts of where they're supposed to be eventually. I wouldn't even want the dev to work on them at this point.

tl;dr really good corruption/netori game. Props to the dev for working so quickly with one hand down their pants.

The game's writing is THE BEST that I've ever played. It actually succeeds in raising the story's stakes and make you care about the characters, whether it being anger, hatred, love or pitiness.

It feels a little bit off pace at times but that's mostly because the game isn't finished yet. So I'm still giving it a 5 star and as you can see the rest is just me padding out this review because of the stupid word limits.

This is genuinely a well written game. First 18+ game that I played were I didn't skip any dialogue and played for the story and characters. Artstyle was nice and the animated scenes were also good. There is a lot of content (dialogue and scenes) even tho at the moment it's only version 0.4.1. Must play game if you're into corruption imo

Didn't play the full game yet, but I have to say that this is easily one of the best I've played yet.
The slow corruption of the heroines, with the right reasons.
The writing and art are fucking amazing. 5/5 100%
Hope this games finishes soon