VN - Ren'Py - Heroes of Celtica [v0.5.5] [Slamjax Games]

This is one of the most unique games on here.

Taking stories from mythology and adapting them for AVNs is a fantastic idea, and gives a lot of personality and "colour" to the game. It also makes the fantasy sold by AVNs in general seem much more plausible. You're not just some random dude getting attractive people throwing themselves at you, you are an epic hero

It also feels strangely educational given how faithful it is to the original myths. More than once I've found myself curious about some character, looked them up online, and accidentally spoiled myself what was going to happen next

To start with, it's got 4 paths that are, so far, completely separate, with a shared premise and some overlapping events. It's a 4-in-1 deal where, if one storyline or its content doesn't tickle your fancy, there are others that will. This division also allows each one to operate on a different stat premise, tracking different behaviors or events.

As far as choices go, this one has some of the most consequential I've seen. AVNs are fundamentally about interacting with characters, and this one makes the presence of major characters depend on choices. One path has choices determine whether a major character/LI becomes your companion or whether you are going solo. Another path has you choose between 2 major characters/LIs to join you, with the other one going elsewhere and not being seen again.

Finally, the elephant in the room, the graphics. They are definitely older and worse than the average that what we can see out there nowadays. But weirdly enough it doesn't bother me much for this game at all. It gives the game a nostalgic vibe, like I'm playing an AVN from 10 years ago. The characters are still attractive and there is a stunning amount of visual variety in the assets. The last update had multiple colorful supernatural creatures that looked great.

Despite the aged look, it does not feel like there is any poverty of visuals.

All in all, when this game shows back up on the latest updates page, I'm ecstatic. That's why I give it a 5

Tldr: Have you ever read greek mythology and thought that the various gods and demi-gods going around fucking scores of hot people sounded appealing? This game lets you do this, but in Ireland

(Someone please make the Greek version tho, forreal)

I'm impressed.

The game looks positively ridiculous, the outfits, the literal application of celtic mythology, but it owns it and goes hard on it. It just works.

The writing is decent. The sex scenes are rarely animated, but they're okay when the dev takes it seriously. Renders are pretty bad.

It gets a 5 star for just being unique. It's prolly a 4 star otherwise.

Game is basically 3 different games made into one. Lots of paths and variables on how to choose your story. You ca. n be a brutal warlord, a good champion, a horny bard or a mind controlling druid.

Personally the warlord is my favorite path so far. I will definitly support this game

Absolutely excellent, great lore, great world-building, and extremely narratively rewarding, with 4 different branching paths, I am a little worried that the characters from the prologue might be forgotten, and that with 4 different branching paths this game might get too large for the author, but otherwise I am genuinely shocked at the content and choices. The models seem a bit dated but it also is a bit unique and adds charm.

I am sticking to the bard path for the moment, but I would love to see how every story pans out.

really great
The plot branches with 4 paths and many LIs appear, I don't know if the LIs we chose in the beginning will appear again, I don't hope they will.

Updates are also very quick. Hope you keep up the good work

For a prologue this is pretty well done and my appreciation goes to the Dev. The story is well-paced, pretty well written and interesting. The H scenes are sparse and pretty basic yet still interesting. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting much considering this is a prologue, so this isn't a drawback since it's so early in development.

My only "complaint" (and it's a very minor one considering how well done everything else is) is I don't care for how the MC looks and this is primarily due to some of the wardrobe. He wears skimpy leather strap armor in a few early scenes that you would see male strippers wear. I'd rather females wear this style of skimpy armor so I was a little annoyed to see the MC sporting it (don't get mad, I'm just being honest and I'll wager 85% of gamers would agree with me)

That being said, I like the fact that the MC is relatable to a masculine male, not some annoying idiot, a feckless wuss or a spineless degenerate. There need to be more games that aren't afraid to feature Alpha males as the leads instead of catering to the woke idea that masculinity is somehow "toxic" IMHO.

I applaud the LIs as well, as there are no monstrous fake beachball breasts and no ridiculous looking curves, just realistic lithe female forms with attractive enough faces. Bravo!

I look forward to more content in the future. 5/5

Actually one of the better choice driven stories I have played in awhile. Good pacing. Suggest doing the Prologue so you can see who really should be in the game. They do a have a fast option to pick your character type right away. I really enjoyed the Prologue story. So far, very well written and good amount scenes to keep you interested. no slow burn.

The prologue is fun to play through, though content-wise that's all there is right now.

That said, you can play through it with different options to get VERY different scenes... and different end results as well. It's a shame that half of the "classes" require keeping the sex score below 4... but I'm enjoying it a lot so far and looking forward to see where it goes. The potential is pretty high.

Is it early to be writing a review? Sure.
Does the game still deserve one? Absolutely.

I'm a big fan of games where the MC is mature and confident. Evil or Good, lustful or not, is a secondary concern at that point, so long as they don't have a pea-sized brain and don't fluster all over themselves at every turn, I'm happy.

Unfortunately, an MC like that is frustratingly rare, but this game definitely delivers. Not only can you choose one of four paths, but I like the MC in each of them, with the druid being my favourite.

Renders and animations are the weak point of this game, but at least they're not AI slop. They still look good—unlike those in stellar incognita, which tried to melt my brain—but there's definitely better to be found.

That said, the renders don't take away enough from the story or the sex scenes for me to deduct a star. Both are excellent, and the worldbuilding using Celtic myths is well done.

I'm looking forward to more, and I would recommended this game to anyone.

P.S. I do hope the developer doesn't burn himself out on the four different paths, but the fact he finished two games before is encouraging.