VN - Ren'Py - Hillside [v0.16] [DarkBlue]

Played at Episode 11.

I'll be honest, the first time I played the game, I didn't like it because the female characters, honestly, are not that attractive according to my profile that I like the most (girls with more curves, bigger breasts and butts), but leaving that aside and going to the main of the game, it has a mysterious and immersive story around the characters in the story, making it keep us drawn to understand what really happened in their past.

some criticism constructive! we know that others man in the game is not important, but the Dev can do the Make the extra men very different from the MC. Emma's School Guard and Charlotte's Helicopter Pilot look pretty much the same, and they still look like the MC! surely he should have made these two with different hair and skin tones, it would give more immersion in the game, small details always improve the aspect of the game.

If you're after a game just for the sexual content, this is the wrong game for you.

Now if you want an interesting game with an excellent story, you've come to the right place.

Story: 5 / 5.
Character appearance: 3.5 / 5.
Renders: 4 / 5.
Sexual Content: Not yet.

2 hours in I realized I hadn't hit one H scene yet, and I didn't care at all. Good, tight writing with grounded character growth and situations make for a fun story. Good renders that don't try to overdo it with a reasonable cast keep things moving.

My only criticism is that the character Emma is likely going to be dateable, and I think that's a mistake. I won't pretend to know the exact rules for crowdfunding sites are, but I think making Emma 16, in high school, and off limits would serve the story better, but its a small gripe in the wider scheme of things.

Really wanting to see what's next from the author in this story and future projects.

This is going to be a contradictory opinion:

The game is very good, very good quality, good renders, quite different from the rest and a solid, hard plot that makes you get deep into the story, that's why I give it 4 stars.

But I can't play this game, it's so raw, it accumulates a lot of rage in me, the impotence of not being able to kill those bastards... that the characters don't let themselves be helped makes me mad as hell, when I play I feel like I can kill someone.

Obviously this is my problem for getting too much into the plot, that's why I give it a good rating even if it's not for me.

If someone can assure me here and now that the game allows you to take revenge, I will hold out as long as I can to take that revenge, if it is not in the current content and will not be in the future content, sorry I can't play it.

got bored tried game for the 1st time.
cons.
their was zero sex just some sexual abuse portrayed poorly.
way to much blue balling and teasing.
mc seems actually dumb considering he has military background.
story had to many holes and felt like a high school drama.
angry daughter,good naive dumb daughter,mom with bad past, slutty aunt.
overused set up.
character development would be better if the daughters were younger to match persona.
teenage moron smarter then mc somehow.
predictable villain twist early in story.
not much action for mc.

pros.
likable development for some girls.
being from LA their take on Hollywood is very accurate.
good story passing till ending update so far.
good bonding an wholesome moments.
good image quality.

overall mehh

v0.11

Holy shit!

So I just finished v0.11, and this game is awesome. First of all, the story is amazing. This isn't your average "fuck all the girls" game. In fact, in my playthrough, at the end of v0.11, the MC hasn't had sex with anyone. I know there are different love interests, so there may be sex on other paths, but I found myself playing more like I would actually act in the MC's position rather than playing like a horndog who's actions have no consequences. But that's how good the story is; it sucked me in and made me care about the characters more than getting my rocks off. In all honesty, I would compare this more to an interactive HBO show than a porn game.

The renders look great. So much so that you can see the nuance in the characters emotions. It's not just a set of rotating facial expressions, but have the nuance of the different situations the characters are in. But like I said, in the "good guy" playthrough, there is no sex as of v0.11.

I will be following this game closely and adding my financial support to it. If you love a good story with interesting characters and more of a slow burn love story, I highly recommend you give this a look.

It feels kind of odd to be evaluating this as a sex game, because it's really not (as of v0.11). There's nudity, sexy women, and sexy situations, but this is a graphic novel, first and foremost. And it's a damn good one, tackling the issue of corrupt men in power in Hillside (seemingly obvious parallel to Hollywood), and the ways in which they wield that power to physically and psychologically abuse not only vulnerable women, but women of all social tiers. It can be heartbreaking at times and there's certainly plenty of tears and trauma that is parsed out. Luckily, you're a traumatized detective who is handsome, capable, and ready to knock these sons-of-bitches down a peg. There is plenty of catharsis to go around. Highly recommend this one.

Really enjoying this one. Had an earlier version sitting on my hard drive and finally decided to go through my back log and had to download the update as soon as I finished. Characters are fleshed out and the story is well written, love the dynamics being built here and I'm excited to continue the story from here. Keep up the great work.

To be honest I came looking for some sort of sexual content, but I stayed for the story. The story is really well written and the visuals are great. The story in particular is very close to real life. Real life being that Hillside is like Hollywood, where rich fuckers get away with a lot of shit. Kinda like what happened to Harvey Weinstein. But all the shit whats happening in Hillside really makes you infuriated. I really just want our MC to kill those mofos and get away with it cuz those bastards deserve it. All in all 9.5/10. I know that the story needs to be developed first and the relationships for the sexual content to come in, but I just wished we could have gotten at least something, so many episode in.

Update 0.11
The game shows very little skin, but that's my only complaint. At it's current stage there's already hours upon hours of content, and the story is the best writing I've seen in one of these kinds of games. It's a slow burn, but the payoff is worth it.

I went through the current version (v0.11) without seeing any sex. These were my options as I was enthralled by the story and did not want to break (my) character just for a sexy scene.

One of the best-written games I found on F95 to date.
The characters are all very well made, each with their own personality and highly complex past that builds into their current selves. I loved the story and the characters involved so yeah 5/5 from me for that.

The renders are great, I would hazard to say among the best I have seen in a while. As mentioned above I did not see any sex scenes but I cannot fault any of the renders I did see. Good choice of characters, all of the women are gorgeous and fit in their respective roles, nothing forced with maybe one exception: Suzi appears a bit too old to be Charlotte's daughter IMHO. But you can dismiss that to my subjectivism. Still giving it 5/5

I can't wait to see how things unfold which is rare for me. Great job so far devs, awesome game, fully recommend it.

I'll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible.

What a rush, this is such a great story.

Lots of "Feels", so I started to care for the characters the MC protects.

I love to hate the "bad guys", also the side characters feel "fleshed out".

This is not a "quick fuck" title, but lots of sexy ladies (think High society, Fashion and Movies circles) with exciting closeups.

If you want to be a capable guardian/protector MC in a story with lots of exciting action (combat, kidnapping) look no further.

Highly recommended!

I can't let people say the story is dull nor that it's predictable.

From the beginning there are many suspects as to who was sending the messages. At some point it becomes predictable who is behind them, right, but for me the suspense lasted long enough.

Maybe I'm not objective due to the fact most VN stories on here are clearly bad, but this one was more than correct, and has great main characters

Also love the renders !!

I don't even mind the slowburn that much even though I'm playing since hours and still haven't done anything remotely sexual with anyone aside the sister, because I just like the story

What I'd say is lacking is development of side characters

This game has great art but a very predictable and dull story. Chapter 10 already and the MC only gets to bang the emotionally damaged sister of the supposed main love interest. And no, you haven't even been able to kiss the main love interest, which begs the question as to why anyone would play the game or wait on the months' long interim between updates. I am left wondering if the dev is aware of the player expectations for these sorts of games.

Additionally, I find it misleading that the game features imagery of both the mother and the younger daughter - which in practically every other game within the bubble of Adult Games suggests that a romantic/sexual relationship is more likely to happen with them instead of the ones less featured in the marketing imagery. The only unpredictable thing about this game is how folks might be expecting one type of game, and end up with another.

This isn't really a sex story; it's a Lifetime network series with the occasional softcore sex scene. In other words, 'meh'. Anyone doubting that assessment only needs to note that, in over two years of releases, he hasn't even held hands with the supposed love interest, much less had any sexy time. That's not a slow burn my friends; that's a poorly-made arson attempt.

For a sex game, it sucks. For any sort of game, it sucks. Monopoly and Candyland have more interesting plot twists. in spending all their time on the artwork, the dev forgot about the story.

And the artwork is the only reason this game received two stars. If I could give it negative numbers, I would do so in a heartbeat.

Despite this being a slow burn game the content and premise is actually really good along with solid writing and character development. Very good!

Only little suggestion is, that Emma is a bit too immature.

For someone who can compromise over the renders if the AVN got decent enough plot, this one isn't for me.

The story is so artificial and run of the mill that after a while the whole plot is easy to deduce.
The graphics and character renders are good. Not much world building.
The characters lacks depth in their motivation, which may seem superficial but as the story progresses die down pretty easily.
It's a slow burn as far as sex scenes are concerned but wouldn't been a huge deal if not for the boring-predictable plot.

One of my absolute favourite VN's and I have been a patreon since Hillside began.

It is a slow burn romance rather than a sex game so if that's not your speed then your barking up the wrong tree here.

The characters are good and well developed
Renders are of high quality
The story has a bit of who done it but so far you don't need to solve it, choices are based on relationship points

A solid 5 from me Good job DarkBlue

Nice renders generally, fine concept.

My issue with this game is the awful dialogue. Besides the occasional inner thoughts, this VN is almost all dialogue and that dialogue is written robotically without any sort of flair or artistry. All the people in this VN seems to have the same personality type, male or female.

The plot is really boring. The drama is some very tropey bullying, the mother's distrust of men, irrelevant stalker, "scandalous" sister, just a bunch of tired stereotypes. I feel zero tension and the writer does a poor job of making you care about these character's minor issues. Even old tropes could be fun if executed well alas.

And as usual in these porn games, even though the writer tries to present the main character as an upstanding professional/white knight, the fact that this is a porn game where you're literally creeping on a teenager kinda ruins the whole thing. There's no cohesion between his actions and the narration, and the guy just ends up being annoying. If he was just a bit more self aware then he would be tolerable.

This would be 3 stars if not for the fact that it's a straight-up VN with a fantastic achievement system, UI, and available walkthrough mod that restores the textbox and without any grind or bullshit. I give that a +1.

To be honest I was not sure I would like this game at all. I thought it was going to be another big protector game where the guy sleeps with everything that moves and ends up with brain n dead characters.

I could not have been more wrong, as not only are the characters well done, but they are relatable. Not going to give any spoilers, but you really do find yourself caring for the people in this game. Something that is only accomplished by a skilled writer. The decisions are hard to make sometimes as you know what you might be giving up for what you want. I love a true romance-and it feels this game certainly has that element.

the main character is awesome. He is relatable, strong, passionate, caring, emotional, and has that persona of someone who is truly a good person. This is a nice change from the corrupting guys that are all to common.

graphics are great as well as the scenery. It’s fitting for the glitz and glamor of the great Hollywood life and it’s dark side.

the story is wonderful both emotional, passionate, realistic, and explores many issues we have all seen or dealt with. This is a five star game and my new favorite.

This VN is a gem. Wholesome and heartwrenching all at once.

Emma must be protected at all cost. She is such a sweetie. Few characters have ever tugged at my heart like she did.

Normally I would groan at the trope of the "clueless 18 year old girl that is too pure to logically exist", but with context and knowing what the Mother; Charlotte, went through, it makes sense for Emma to be as sheltered as she was.

My only slight complaint would be that Emma seems to warm up to the main character a little too quickly, I feel. But even that can be logically explained as her not having any male figure around, therefore gravitating toward the MC.

Also, fair warning; Some of the subject matter could be a bit triggering for some (stalking, and sexual violence) so if those things upset you, then this isn't the game for you.

However, I would implore anyone that can handle such topics to give this game a try.

So, so great.

5*

Hellside (spoilers)


I steered clear of Hillside for some time because I expected little more than an attempt to piggyback on the success of another well-known bodyguard themed VN.
I'm glad I finally gave in - and Hillside a try.


Visuals

The renders are tasteful and nothing short of amazing.
The dev seems to be a perfectionist who pays a lot of attention to detail.
Posing, facial expressions and gestures are on point.
Clothes, jewelry, furniture and locations (like Charlotte's house) are carefully picked and coherent in style.
Everything about Hillside exudes class and elegance - you really get the impression you are in fancy Hillside.
The production quality is simply top notch.


Sound

While I usually like some (unobtrusive) music I'm actually glad the dev abstained from using any in Hillside.
Instead we only hear some sparse sound effects (knocking, phone ringing), which emphasises the classy and understated atmosphere I assume the dev was striving for.


Characters

The character models are very unique, the LIs attractive.
The main protagonists show diverse personalities and character progression.

I like that the MC is a decent man in his 30s with a good amount of life experience and a troubled past.
I only wished he would look a bit more attractive and less like a bouncer (mostly "thanks" to his croppy hair).

Charlotte is the main LI and an absolute stunner - I can't think of a more beautiful woman of her age.
Considering her traumatic past experiences it's hard to believe she's still in the model business - or at least didn't think about hiring personal security before.
I like that we have to work hard to gain her trust (I have a soft spot for love stories with obstacles).

Emma is the younger, rather naive and overly sheltered daughter.
She clearly behaves like an underage girl, so I assume she's "18" only for legal reasons.
However, she's also supposed to be a fashion designer creating very revealing dresses - which I think is rather implausible.
I highly doubt that a girl who's too shy and self-conscious to wear anything but jumpers would design such daring outfits.

Suzi is the older daughter with some serious anger management issues. She's a kick-ass.

Lucy is Charlotte's bubbly and sexually proactive sister (we later learn there's a reason for her behaviour).

Steve is MC's best friend and serves as a comical relief of sorts (always gossiping and talking about sex).
I didn't really like him because of his somewhat creepy and shallow personality.

Kaylah is the hot blonde supermodel who tries to seduce the MC.

There's also a bunch of rather one-dimensional antagonists - which is especially odd regarding Zak, who's only 18 (?) years old and almost seems like a villain straight out of a James Bond movie.


Writing

The English is almost flawless, at least in the first 8 chapters.
Typos are way more noticeable from chapter 9 on and especially in chapter 10.

Hillside is set in a parallel universe of Hollywood in the light of #metoo and Harvey Weinstein.
This is a very sensitive topic and using it as a story premise for a VN with explicit content is a balancing act.

The writer is pretty good at writing believable dialogue and creating dramatic suspense to get the reader emotionally invested in characters and story, but this often comes at the expense of credibility and depth.

In the end Hillside isn't only set in Hollywood - it also tells a typical Hollywood story (for good or worse).

There's the good guy (MC), there are the damsels in distress (Charlotte, Emma, Suzi), the lascivious girls lusting after the MC (Lucy, Kaylah) and the (comically exaggerated) villains (Zak, Johno, the actor, Harry).

During the intro there is too much exposition in Emma's inner monologue (reflecting on how her mom's past experiences have affected her upbringing, calling herself shy and inexperienced).

Sexual harassment in Hillside is displayed in a very exaggerated Hollywood-esque manner.
Women get harassed, molested, beaten up and (almost) raped, often in public.

You get the impression the writer calculatingly (ab)uses these scenes for the sole purpose of creating drama - similar to tabloids reporting on crime and disasters with feigned indignation ("Would you look at that. Isn't that awful?").

Just like James Cameron's Titanic isn't overly interested in the Titanic disaster (and its victims), but merely uses it as a dramatic setting for a corny love story, the writer of Hillside doesn't seem to be overly interested in #metoo (and its victims), but simply uses it as a dramatic setting to tell a touching love story.

This becomes problematic as soon as the writer starts casually switching between flashbacks of sexual harassment and scenes showing half-dressed women of the Lloyd family, which were clearly intended for entertainment purposes.

It also happens after Kaylah almost got raped: Mere hours after this allegedly traumatic experience she's already shown half-dressed and frivolously seducing the MC, which seems rather inappropriate considering the recent events.

How little the dev genuinely cares about #metoo becomes apparent in the reception scene in which Harry Wolff gropes Charlotte's butt.
The dev turned this scene into an actual animation - which makes it crystal clear it's not meant to be repulsive, but titillating.
By watching this animated groping scene we not only become witnesses, but rather accomplices of Charlotte's harassment by Harry Wolff.

I found this scene rather disturbing and disgusting.

All in all I expected a bit more sensitivity and tact by the writer.
Sexual harassment isn't fun and it shouldn't be depicted as such - at least not in the context of a story about #metoo.

I was also annoyed that characters are constantly keeping secrets from each other for dramatic purposes ("I can't tell her because... reasons").

I also think that at the end of the current version the MC's relationships with both Charlotte and Emma were progressing too fast:
Charlie has become almost too friendly and affectionate (kiss). She's even considering a romantic relationship - all while the MC and Emma call each other "sweetheart" and "dad". *cringe* Sorry, not buying that.

What I liked is that on certain occasions both Emma and Charlotte literally "let their hair down", signaling that they feel more comfortable around the MC. That's some clever use of metaphorical language.


Choices

Choices mostly influence relationships (standings with different characters and if you want to initiate a romantic relationship or not).
Other than that there aren't really any meaningful choices - which is fine with me.

It would still have been nice to see some consequences in case you fail to improve (or even hurt) relationships with certain characters, especially Charlotte - resulting in a potential bad outcome / ending.
Instead almost every scene plays out in the same way.


User Interface

Just like the renders the UI is very classy and stylish.
Exception: The (default Ren'Py) settings menu looks rather cheap and out of place.

The dev refrained from using a text box - the font is still (mostly) well readable.

There's a codex with character infos and also a gallery.


Conclusion

As much as I enjoyed the story of Hillside I wished the dev had shown more tact by not only using #metoo as a dramatic setting for a typical Hollywood love story, but also by treating this serious topic with due respect.
Casually mixing up aspects of sexual harassment and entertainment seems rather... questionable, to say the least.
Still, highly recommended - one of the best looking and written VNs right now.