VN - Ren'Py - Hillside [v0.15 First Half] [DarkBlue]

The stated focus of the game is emotional connections and I think it achieves that, knocks it out of the park. I felt sympathy, frustration, joy, worry. The love interests are likable and very good looking. The story is good; I want to see how it plays out.

The thing that keeps me from giving it a 5 is the amount of lying/lack of communication between the characters. So many times I thought, "Ack, if they'd just be honest and talk to each other they could solve all their problems!". That can be really effective storytelling up to a point -and it is here. Past that point it can feel contrived. Personally I went from being invested ("I care about these characters, I hope they learn to trust each other") to simply frustrated. It's good to be frustrated at a character because that's a real human emotion. It's not so good if you get to the point of being frustrated at the game itself.

TBH I made it to chapter 8 and I had to express my thoughts. I'm certainly not quitting the game because I like it too much overall. If my view changes by the end, of course I'll adjust my rating.

simply the best adult game/novel I have ever played.
Best characters
Best story, the player is always focused
Best images, girls are designed at the top
Best everything

Please continue in this way. I wait for every update

(Version Reviewed: v0.13)

I loved playing Hillside.

The renders look great and the characters all look perfect for their nature and the environment they're in. There aren't any animations and possibly that is something that the game could improve on.

The premise as well as the story is excellent and quite grounded despite it being set in the in-game equivalent of Hollywood. The characters are well-fleshed out and they have their own growths. Their interactions with the MC have been quite well written.

There is no music in this game, so that counts against Hillside.

The game is a slow-burn especially with the main two LIs and since the MC spends most of his time with them, it is difficult for him to spend time with a girl that would love to have sex with him. The lewd content is quite limited despite it being three years since the game started development. But, it fits the story telling of the game and it's something that will pay off greatly when the story nears completion.

I must admit that I dislike Emma. She's so naïve that it's a turn off. She talks like a child most of the time and the drama surrounding her was quite boring for me. That being said, Charlotte is a great LI. I loved how she's slowly feeling secure about being around the MC after each update.

Overall, I'd rate it at 8/10. The only reason that it isn't a 9 is that Emma irritates me to a frustrating degree. The ones reading this review might not feel the same, so go in expecting a great game all round.

I've never written a review on this site but wow this game is top notch the story the models did i mention the story i was so wrapped up in it one of the best visual novels i think i have ever played.

I really like this game. Visually, it's a top-notch game on this website. The game has amazing models. the women are hot, although sometimes the models seem a bit off. Off the hook! It's a complex plot if you're into that. There are plenty of H-scenes, and they are very nice. A game not to miss. 200 Wow, reviews. It deserves more.

A SLOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW burn, with a ton of heart though. This game is gorgeous and you find yourself really caring for the girls and their shitty situations. This VN is excellent overall, but I think it could use 1 or 2 more crumbs of sexytime while it builds

This game is providing a very good story, strong characters personality and a real amazing rendering. I'm really waiting for more content in the future. But I don't understand why I need to write more than 200

Literally the best VN I've ever played, Shoutout to the dev man, I love slow burning VN's and the dev does it so well. Hell its a slight tear jerker too.
Renders are peak , story is peak, models are gorgeous. Can't fucking wait for the next update

TL;DR: Slow burn. Excellent story and characters. Not a lot of sexy time.

If you're looking for quick sexual gratification then this may not be the game for you. This game is more of a slow burn with beautiful visuals, excellent writing and believable characters. I became quickly invested in the story and can't wait for the next update. Excellent game. Well worth a download!

I just discovered this game and took me a while to catch up with the latest update. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions and there is a lot to unpack. The story is really nice and I like it being a slow burn and more focused on character development and less on the porn part.

That being said I cant help but notice that as I reached the latest chapters it kinda took a weird turn. The MC is shown to be a bit of dumb at some parts of the story but it was ok since we had some say in how to proceed.

But other than that I'm glad I gave this one a try and I really wonder how it goes from there.

Excellent movie slow paced development of affection and emotion. Some teasing comes here and there so the story always makes you to move forward. the graphics are good with face emotions and good luck to the dev team.

The graphics in Hillside are charming and colorful, with a beautiful countryside setting that perfectly captures the romantic atmosphere of the game. The music is also pleasant and sets the mood for each scene.

The game's writing is engaging, with well-written dialogue that helps players connect with the characters and feel invested in the story. The choices that players make throughout the game have significant consequences, affecting not only Amelia's romantic relationships but also her relationships with other characters in the game.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Hillside is the depth of its characters. Each character has a distinct personality, and players can explore various routes to discover more about them. This makes each playthrough of the game feel unique and provides excellent replay value.

[v0.12.1]

Promising start: pretty good looking characters, interesting set up and the whole concept sets the possibilities and potential for a good game.

But that comes crashing down really fast once the MC starts his job as the bodyguard. Girl he is bodyguarding, Emma, is supposed to be 18 year old college student, yet she looks, talks, acts, thinks and is even treated like an 8 year old elementary schooler. The whole school setup and plot around is also so bad and cringeworthy that it makes you think if the writer even knows what kind of people goes to college and what happens in there. Or maybe it's presented as such due to Patreon's guidelines? Anyway, what a way to kill a promising game with absolutely horrible writing.

The mother of the girl, Charlotte, is supposed to have so bad trauma from earlier experiences with men that she just simply "hates all men" and can't be around them at all. But oh boy does she get over these traumas easily just within a few weeks according to the script when this prisoner looking supposed to be ex military goon arrives. He indeed left his balls to the military, since he is being ordered around in the house "to go stay in his room" bu Charlotte like some young school boy.

Older sister is supposed to be stereotypical "bad bitch" that you have to tame, but she also just suddenly changes her attitude towards the MC out of the damn blue. Makes you wonder if all the family members are just retarded, because they act like that.

Charlotte's sister, Lucy, is this "easy chick" who just throws herself on the MC "just because" with no other personality than just a basic slut. This same concept happens with another model too, which is just ridiculous.

The game so far gets two stars: one for the renders and one for the original concept that it has. Unfortunately the whole thing just comes crashing down hard due to retarded characters and terrible writing which is the result of the fact that the developer apparently is just trying way too hard and trying to do way too much. Not sure if I will even play any of the later versions, as finishing this nonsense was already way too painful.

I really enjoyed the general plot of this VN.

Initially I was intending to give a full review about it, But fact that this is still an unfinished product, I will forgo pointing out what I believe you're already aware of IE: Bad expressions, the obvious bulk word correction used in some places and other basic unworthy criticisms. Because none of it will impact my rating of 3/5 stars. But I will point out why I gave it a 3/5 stars and that mostly rests upon the massive excess of "inner monologues" used. WAAAAYYYYYY too much "voices in the head" subtexts..

Beyond pointing that out, all I'd have to say about this VN is it's very intriguing. The character arcs all seem decent so far (can't wait to see how they develop further with the exception of Emma, a supposed 18yr old that behaves literally like a 12 yr old.. I'm still scratching my head about her character, but bleh, onward we go).

I like the originality of the story, and how 'lewdness' is kept to a very strict minimum (Not that I have a huge problem with it, it's just that many creators just overdo it in a shamefull way). This really gives a sense that there's an actual adult trying to publish a serious work, and not a flesh-fest trying to replace google-porn. So thank you for that!

Keep up the good work, I enjoy reading so if you need some help with proof reading stuff, I might actually enjoy that (Ok that's me trying to find a way to find out how it'll all end before everyone else LOL).

This is a real gem...I don't usually like the Male Protag power/pimp fantasy nonsense but you get to help the girls in this one so its cool...Like the story, like the characters. Amongst some of the more dreadful writing in these Novel RenPy Games this is REALLY GOOD quality. Thanks, not sure why this story hit the spot for me so hard but it did...ty. Art and Graphics are very good also. This needs to be a movie or a book or both .

[ 0.12.1 ]
Just finished and tbh I was painfuly to make it to the end... Plot is such trivial that I am amused it took so much episodes to present it.

MC. I get there is history behind him etc but the way he acts, he is cold, without any emotions, expected much more from character like that. I guess he left both his balls in military when he quit. He allows to treat himself like a trash all the time and is soooo naive. Dialogues are bad...

Charlotte is one of the worst mother types, wealthy parenthood-disabled focused only on the work one. Everyone else are worst but her, she is the most aggrieved by fate, not seeing own mistakes, making one of her daughter unable to live in society by her over-protectiveness and couldn't handle second daughter allowing her to yell and raging showing no respect without consequences. She is pathetic and at the beginning, when I got known her story I was pity her but she is so stubborn... She cannot use logic either, constantly doubting everything around, living in own bubble. I made her path because of the whole plot but I think overall Lucy is way better choice.

Emma retarded girl who has no idea how world and life looks like, she is such naive and defenseless that it could be described more as stupidity, Forest Gump was more aware than she is. FOR GOD SAKE SHE IS 18yo ACTING LIKE A 7yo AND TREATED LIKE SO. I'm surprised they even have fun bullying her, it feels like a cheating. The whole gameplay was so painful because of her...

Suzy is pretty much described in quote bellow. She seems to be good person in general, just another kid who had no problem with money and no parent to be raised and tempered by. She could definitely profit from some psychotherapists and anger control sessions because she acts like female version of Trevor Philips.

robrize2169 said:

Suzy needs to get laid in a big way. she has way too much pent up frustration and takes it out on mc since she has the hots for him.

Click to expand...

Lucy with the whole family is the most normal one. Enjoying her life as much as she can, always cares about sister and nieces, setting sister's career above her own family life. She is nice and fun, I guess she could be perfect match for MC. She is really attracted to MC and tries multiple times to get to him and he didn't even do anything. He does so much to Charlotte and she still treat him like a persona non grata...

Plot is meh to me. It does not deserve so much episodes, it is not interesting enough but I still wanted to get to end of it. All characters actions were sooo slow and unnatural it could have ended in one week game time, not months.

Overall I think Charlotte emotions were very well shown, I really felt her. It is nice story, good renders etc but I feel like it has more potential in it. Maybe there will be some changes in future? It is first VN I am not interested to play again tho.

At the end... "I shouldn't take this job".

PROS
>Renders are very clean and high definition. No grainy or pixelated renders here.
>A reasonable number of love interests. So often you would see a game with a absurd number of romantic interests but this gets hard to manage later on. As a consequence, each LI would have less dedication/content the more LIs you introduce.
>Writing is okay but I think character writing are bit.. overemphasized. But more about the writing later on.
>No harem bs (sorry to say. but if someone really liked you, they wouldn't share you).

NEUTRAL
>Dev is definitely a fan of exclamation marks heh.
>Some characters are written in a very exaggerated manner. Charlotte has an extreme case of androphobia. She is pessimistic and antagonist of most of the MC's actions. Emma is very innocent, idealistic and is extremely oblivious to sex though I guess her innocence/childishness is her appeal? Suzie is just a classic tsundere. Kaylah is the overly flirty friend, a promiscuous character trying to steal MC from Charlotte. I liked & disliked some of these traits. I thought Charlotte's androphobia was a bit overbearish and unreasonable at times, but liked the character progression from hating MC to trusting him. But admittedly, all this really depends on personal taste.

CONS
>No music or sound effects (not worth implementing if its gonna prolong update time even further, same reason I didnt mention animations)
>Updates are much more rare now than at the beginning. Sadly this is a universal issue with all devs, not just darkblue. You are much more motivated at the start but your interest and motive gradually begins to wane.

Best game on the site. I think the creator deserve more patreon followers. Excellent story and characters. Bringing in the dark sides of being a celebrity into such perfection unlike many fantasy story games with auch beautiful renders and quality. Just awesome..... ❤

There are some cliche moments (particularly with Zak and Emma), but overall this game is stellar. One thing I like is that this game handles trauma exceptionally well. Even though there are several women in this game that distrusts men, their reasons are valid and the author SHOWS you why instead of just telling you. And it's also not some dumb-ass silly reason like what's written in modern shows like She-Hulk, it's genuine trauma that makes the characters sympathetic.

On the other side, the bodyguard isn't all op and unstoppable like some male power fantasy nonsense. He needs help and is vulnerable at times just like everyone else.

Another thing I liked, was the mish-mash of mental dialogue that happens between characters simultaneously during a scene. Most authors reserve thought dialogue for one character that is pov, but the author for Hillside has thoughts occur between two characters concurrently which is like some anti-solipsism type writing... idk.

The author had to tightrope this subject matter so that it didn't come off as preachy or power fantasy-Esque, and imo did a great job of doing so.