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

This game is amazing, rarely have I been this invested in a story in any VN ever! There isn't a lot of lewd content here yet. As a matter of fact I didn't encounter a single lewd scene involving the MC, just a short scene of another character masturbating. But the thing is, I didn't care at all. I'm super invested in the story and I would play this game without any lewd scenes at all. Having pretty much deepthroated the game's story and writing, I should probably mention that it looks really good too! It's seriously worth playing, my only complaint is that it's not finished and hitting that screen that tells you you're at the end of the current build really sucked!

Version: v0.9.1

I'll start off by saying the game is really good. Currently it has about 6h of gameplay, no sex scenes so far (except 1 masturbation with 2 frame cycle) but it doesn't mean you should skip the game.

The good:
One of the best aspects of the game, besides the clean and crisp renders and cute models, is the characters. They are full of expression and character and I really liked it. Every new frame they have a different render for their expression and it adds a lot for conveying the feel of the scenes. Well done on this part!

Another well crafted aspect is the premise of the game and the development of the story. It starts really good by planting in your brain few possible suspects for the antagonist which makes the cogs in your brain spinning and draws you into the game, well at least it works for me, by teasing your brain with the mystery and the unavoidable process of trying to fill in the gaps.

Some cool and small additions to the game are the achievements, which make you have some sense about how far are you in the game and if you missed some content.
Another one, for me, was that this game (finally) has some realistic body proportions and not some melons on the chest and on the behind.

The less good:
So the things that less impacted my game play was that there is no soundtrack and no animation, its a shame but not a deal breaker, especially not with some good writing and characters.

The bigger caveat is the lack of choice, or worse, giving you choice and then taking it away by throwing it to the garbage hehe. Straight from the get go, when you are given the first choice to make, you are given 3 option, pick any of them, but nothing of them happens. From this moment on, I had a feeling the game would keep on that track.
And down the line, as suspected, you face again with numerous choices which are empty most of the time, Even choices that seem important, like keeping a relationship with some girl are getting denied.

I can see and understand how those choices could ruin the buildup of the story and maybe push the player farther from the feelings the MC "should" have towards the main characters and by that the climax moments will be less impactful.

Anyway, I assume it will be changed and some action would be possible.

Great game so far, wish the dev good luck. You have a nice thing here.
Highly recommended.

This protagonist is a guard dog that rolls over too easily for his employers. Despite this, he is capable.

The dialogue was a bit over-the-top, but was far easier to read than certain other games. There's so little boot-knockin' that it should have the "no sexual content" tag. The glimpse of two very minor side characters fucking, doesn't count.

The game is very addicting. The plot is captivating and unique. The characters are sensual, pleasant and believable and it is natural to become attached to them.
One of the best revelations of the last year, it really deserves to be tried to get carried away in this intertwining of stories, emotions, actions and reactions.

This is not a porn game. It's a soap opera presented as a visual novel where you get lucky if you catch sight of A Boob. The renders are of excellent quality however.

There is no corruption going on, no building of relationships, the game started with have relationship points with each character but I guess the creator got bored of it and stopped after a few chapters. It's a competently written Visual Novel in the most pure sense of the genre.

Since this is not a forum where we gather to discuss novels but rather a place where we gather to check out visual aids to assist us in our nightly quest to kill as many of our sperm cells as possible, I can only give this a 3/5 at most.

Maybe the novel gets saucier later, but its gonna take a few years probably.

The game has beautiful renders and a nice story too. I'm waiting eagerly for every update. It has good quality writing and good content so far. Five stars for me. Keep it up DarkBlue! Going to suscribe on Patreon.

Here's what I think after playing Hillside v0.9 final

This is one of the best written visual novels out there, but I really hated the violence and sexual assault parts of it, I know that it is just a story but it still makes my blood boil thinking that those things are really happening to some women in the real world. I love the graphics, the women are hot especially Charlotte and I love Lucy's nipple piercings, also, there are no gigantic tits and asses here that looks absurd. The story is very engaging and well written that I almost didn't mind the lack of sex scenes. I like the pacing of the story, it makes it more realistic. I also like that the player's choices really affect how the story goes in terms of relationship with the other characters,

As of the moment of writing this review., there are no tags for graphic violence or sexual assault and blackmail for this game, I suggest that those tags be added just to avoid the negative consequences in case someone who is suffering from depression or trauma from the said events might have access to this game.

I am expecting for retribution on what happened to the characters in the story and I hope that the upcoming updates will start to feature sex scenes especially between Charlotte and the MC.

Based on how well the story was made, the great graphics and even if it has some minor setbacks, it is still a nice game an is one of the best out there so I am giving it 4 stars.

I'm enjoying this tale very much indeed. It has a strong and reasonably varied cast and storyline. Nothing is exceptionally stereotypical or cliched. The writing is bright, to the point, yet expansive. The characters are well crafted with gorgeous, perky, slim yet curvy and (my personal favorite) full-bosomed girls/women. The villains are callous, obnoxious and seriously dangerous while the mc is compassionate and unassuming yet highly capable, righteous and courageous.

The very warmest of emotions and intentions are gradually matching and hopefully in the best of traditions, will overcome the coldest and cruelest of emotions at play in this intriguing whoisdoingit.

As always, thanks a bunch to the creator, DarkBlue, for toiling no doubt long and hard to bring us so precious and refined a gift of enjoyment, especially in these difficult and worrying times.

It'll be very difficult to wait for the next update, but hopefully all good things, as they say...

Not a big fan yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic. The renders are for most parts excellent.

Seems promising, but the story is not progressing in a cohesive manner... interesting to see if the creator can turn out a good selection of possible endings.

OK i am in AWE of this game and how realistic it feels.
The story is amazing, it is a slow burn but it captures your attention so well that you don't even notice that you've been playing for two hours.
The renders and models are absolutely 10/10, the story is movie quality.
Watching this one closely.

If you are after a purely erotic game experience then you should skip this as it is a very slow burn. If you are after a VN with a good story, more based on realism, where your MC actually turns up to do a professional job rather than use it as an excuse to perv on or shag anyone who comes into his orbit then give this one a try.

I've played a lot of visual novels with great art but this game's graphics are next level - the character design and posing are incredible. When a game tells you that a character is supposed to be stunning, most of the time, the character doesn't look the part but you overlook it. Not in this game though, there a 2 supermodels in this game and they have to be the most stunning characters in any adult game ever. The character design is next level but their posing makes them peerless -some frames of the game looked so good that I kept staring at them.
The story isn't something weak either. It might not be groundbreaking, but the characters are very well written and their motivations are very relatable. There isn't any sex in this game but it never made me lose interest.

I give this game 5 stars because it is a good storyline. And something different.

It doesn't offer tons of x-rated content at every turn. What it does offer is a drama worthy or better than most TV series.

If you just play the professional good guy in this, the story is a lot of fun.

I wish the author unlimited success.

The storyline is well-written, fascinating and worth to be called "novel".
It is very entertaining just to follow the story.

However this makes the perfect framework for some of the most interesting and beautiful female characters.

I am looking forward to more of the story and of course more of the girls.

I got an hour in and it was all just violence and rape. I'm really not into that shit so I don't know why it's not listed in the genre more clearly.

I guess it might be building up to something, but it's mostly just poorly written abuse dynamics and the mother is scared of men. I don't get what's hot about this scenario at all. It's just weird to me.

The game has interesting characters, unique premise and lovely renders

At times the story seems to be dragged for far too long and derailed from the backdrop, I believe the pacing could be improved. For example, the original motive behind MC hire was to investigate Emma's stalker, but the storyline has taken a backseat from last few episodes.

Version 0.9 beta
A great game with good renders, likeable cast of character and great plot. By far the most captivating story in an adult game I have ever played. Keeps the player in suspension even without nude content.
The game has only still images and no animations. Hopefully they will be added in the future

This was quite interesting. (No sex scenes so far, btw)
Graphics is good, no music just a few sound effects.
Writing is OK, story is engaging, characters including MC are reasonably relatable. Some illusion of choice (but seemingly no large branching).

Some other reviewers mentioned a few problematic points:

The daughter looks and acts like 14, not 18. But that does not seem problematic to me: I assume she is *supposed *to be 14 (but this cannot be said for patreon or whatever reason). As there is no sexual contents with her (and I assume such content can at least be avoided in future) this is fine, the MC rather seems to act as replacement father figure.

Yes, the mother seems quite damaged (but I do not find it absurd or outrageous, as other reviewers did, that she did not leave her profession and move away). She acts quite unpleasant towards the MC. Again, the MC is not forces to have any feelings for her or pursue her, so I see no problem here.

Other daughter and sister are fun and feisty.

One thing I found a bit off-putting was the immediate violent-holy-rage-respond by the MC to the baddies. One would assume the MC as professional bodyguard has his aggression under control (not to say he would not want to take bloody revenge or whatever, but staring at people like a bulldog and clenching his fists seems a bit silly)

nice and interesting start.
mama thinks Mr bodyguard a thug and keeps thinking he's dangerous lol that's very hilarious.
girls are hot.
but after all those scripts no scenes at all?
huge giant blue balls ;(

This game is not a porn game nor erotic. Just a story of a bodyguard doing bodyguard things for his client. The story is cliché, simple, boring, nothing happens. The characters narrate events from the past and that's all, "this happened, then this and now we are here, SEE YOU IN NEXT UPDATE" lol
Renders are decent in the first couple of chapter but then something bad happened to the mother's face, she's ugly AF in the last chapters, the lady is not aging well
About the daughter: Only in one renders she looks 18 or older, then she looks like a child the entire game, it sucks.
Sad fact: The sexiest scene is an attempted rape