Others - Completed - Holy Road [Final] [peperoncino/Kagura Games]

So, this religious managerial/trainer really piqued my interest since the premise and the managerial aspect seemed interesting but sadly the content is disappointing, at least for me. This is the 2nd peperonchino game I've played, my first being Welcome to the Adventurer Inn! and what I found here isn't much different from that game. Interestingly enough this one is much less grindy than that game but the core aspects are still grindy enough to be annoying which makes the actual h-content which isn't that impressive very unsatisfying as a payoff. Not to mention the arbitrary game end conditions that you can never guess are also in this one like every other peperonchino game. There is not much to say about the h content. The unlocking part of these are very formulaic and uninteresting. Every heroine goes through the same Intro > Confession > bridal rape > preggo rape or torture rape cycle, the last part has a choice tree of two choices but these are just recycled CGs and worst of all every heroine has the same style of dialogue in all these scenes. The art is good but that's about it. Each heroine has recycled art for their scenes and even silly cosmetics, for example bridal scenes have a bride headwear drawn over their usual costume and it just looks absurd. The other issue is the scenes lack any emotion and ends up feeling very cold. I know all the peperonchino games are about objectifying, abusing, degrading and demeaning women but this one just feels a bit too real and creepy. Which is strange cause usually japanese eroges don't have that issue due to dialogue and scenarios being neutered to only have certain emotions reflected even when dealing with heavy topics and issues. I'm usually not bothered by these because of the massive disconnect between player and the content in these types of games but even I felt the game was too cold as I continued through this one.
I don't really know what to say regarding recommendation. Play this if you are enticed by this very specific premise and or the managerial aspect since there aren't many like this one but be warned that the H content doesn't make up for the hours lost grinding though the trial and error cycle in this one. This "interesting plot with grindy gameplay" structure is present across all the peperonchino games and sadly I don't think they will be fixing the "gameplay" aspect anytime soon.

I like this game, the best part of the game is the one where you manage the city, is not that grindy, but probably you would lose a few times before you get to the good parts. Also the art is Top Quality.

This games has new game mode+ so everythime you play, you start with more resources. So even if you don't make in the first part, you eventually would do better next time.

Good:
The art and management part make this game worth to be try.

Bad:
Because is primary a management game, the story is second place and you would probably skip it.

The town building/defending part is quite mediocre. There aren't many option for you to decorate your own city, you can't rotate most buildings so it doesn't looks good. As for the defending combat, at times my soldiers just decide to ignore the enemies altogether, leading to unnecessary loss. There's also a time limit.
Overall not very enjoyable.
H-scene is decent, and there's also this semi-hidden backstory too, so it's ok

Soo, first the important stuff.

H-scenes: Art is great, the girls are cute and the scenes were fine... BUT all the scenes were 2 scenes long and there is a lot of reused material, I'm not a fan of neither.

Gameplay: story is kinda fine I guess and the gameplay is not "that bad", it is a management game with nothing interesting besides the usual.

Overrall, a playable management game, with grindy h-scenes that aren't that satisfying. Imo, you should skip it.