VN - Ren'Py - Hooked! [v0.4.5] [BlenderKnight]

Overall 5/5

Currently on my list for the best games on this site. What stood out to me the most was the unique artistic and stylistic design of the game. Its eye catching and appealing enough to sell a new player into the game almost immediately. What I like about this game is that seemingly follows a Rags to Riches narrative structure, and that is something that players in this community often tend to lean into. The MC has flaws and he is a fisherman with no life direction, until he seemingly stumbled upon an advert to change his life around completely. This premise is INTERESTING, and he is relatable for most people who often seek for redemption or change of pace in their own lives.

Although the characters are few, their personalities and looks are so diverse that you feel satisfied and easily grasp their traits. Each character is uniquely designed with distinct backgrounds, motivations, and appearances, making them memorable and engaging. The interactions between the characters are well-written, adding depth to the relationships and making the player's choices feel meaningful.

The game's pacing is also commendable. It balances moments of tension and action with quieter, introspective scenes, allowing players to immerse themselves fully in the story. The dialogue is sharp and well-crafted, avoiding the pitfalls of generic or clichéd exchanges. Instead, it feels genuine and helps to build a connection between the player and the characters. Overall, Hooked is a standout title in its genre, offering a unique blend of artistic design. It's a game that is still in development, and yet it not only entertains but also resonates with players making it a must-play for fans of visual novels and adult games.

Been watching this since it came out, super glad it's been getting traction.

The game's full of character and charm without detracting from the main premise—which of course is very well done.

The writing gives a very dynamic feel which lends itself ever so slightly more to the depth of the scenes, showing a bit more of the characteristics that individualize the main cast. Lets them be more than immediate fap material.

It's so good I might even pay money for it.

beautifully rendered characters, equally gorgeous models, and some surprisingly good yet lighthearted writing, I wasn't expecting much here and I definitely wasn't expecting it to evolve past the first iteration, real talk if this gets abandoned somebody will die

good game interesting art style and looks 100% better than it looks on the previews. I like how it only focuses on the characters from 0.1, till hopefully the end product, so no filler BS will be added. Dialogue is fun and not too boring or taking itself too seriously. good sound, animations are very VERY good. mc is NOT annoying so that's a pleasant surprise too! Not very piniated so easy to self insert.

I really like it so far, tho it's a bit short for time being. but since it's still work in progress and production value is quite high I will just look forward to next updates. Game itself contains decent story premise, likeable characters, really great artwork and couple or animated scenes and backgrouds. Entire presentation has unique charm to it, which really works for my particular taste.

Very promising title which I can easily recommend.

Hooked doesn't have that much content in it so far but even just three chapters are enough to make an incredible impression on me. All of the characters have plenty of characterization and great chemistry with one another, the writing isn't too serious and is actually pretty damn funny at times, and the naughty parts are well-animated and very hot. I also appreciated how a lot of the choices you can make actually do matter, including the direction of a scene and affecting some dialogue later on.

The game only takes around 1-2 hours to complete right now, so if you enjoy a low-stakes story, hot women, and some good laughs, I absolutely recommend giving Hooked a shot.

What a vibe!

Enjoyed every second of it.

There are so many details that go above and beyond what you'll find in most VN's.

The dialogue is fun and lightweight .

Good sound and fitting music in the background.

Smooth animations with nice angles.

It's a near perfect little package.

Lots of potential.

Renders/Animations: Even though i didn't particularly like the "cel-Shaded" look, it's nice to see a diffrent style other than Daz/Honey Select. The animations are well done.

Story: The story is the weakest part of the game so far, it isn't bad, there's just not much there.

Characters: The Characters are interesting so far but without much content it's hard to comment on them.

Sound: The background music could be better.

Writing is good, it's self aware enough to be fun and really gets you that turn of the century feel.

Characters gave some depth to them and the mc isn't an insufferable superhuman.

Animation, art, UX, all of it top notch. 9.5/10, worst sin it commits is that it's in early stages, with all the baggage that comes with early stage games.

Incredible work, amazing job on the dialogues and character traits, mixing in some funny moments with sexy ones is an hard task but the dev is making it work spotlessly. I also really like the art style which is unique and the animations are top notch.

While Hooked! it is quite a short experience in it's current state (a few hours if you go back to see all dialogue trees), it is has a lovely art style, fantastic character design, legitimately funny dialogue, and the girls actually feel like real people instead of sex-dolls whose sole purpose is to get boned by you.

This is honestly the first time I've felt motivated to support a game's creator because it is very clear there is a lot passion going into the game (most of the other games I've loved were at the Patreon-milking stage of non-development).

In short, I am indeed "hooked".

P.S. big fan of the autism representation with Max, she is best girl.

Review of version v0.3.5

Though very short and not a lot of hardcore action there at the moment this one is very good!

I like almost everything about this game:
1) Very unique designs of the characters for girls and even secondary men characters which is surprising
2) Animations are top notch! Very fluid and hot
3) Backgrounds and scene design and SFX are awesome too! A little bit of voice acting is present for grunts and such.
4) Very smooth perfomance for a RenPy VN on Android devices!
5) Writing is good, I'm not a very good writing critic myself but i have no complaints about what I've read

The only thing disappointing here is that we have to wait for more content. However I'm 99% sure that when this game finally finishes development it will be one the greatest game on this site.

9/10

Best graphics I've seen pretty much ever and an actually engaging story. Girls are really hot too!

The pacing is also really well done with a good H-Scene balance

Can't wait for more content, and hopefully more games to come

You must hate your life if you give it less than 5 stars. The game is really a masterpiece. Art design, sounds, engine usage, character designs... everything. I'd be really surprised if it's only 1 person doing all of it.

Never rated a game before, even after playing hundreds of renpy games.

It's just that good.

The style of the VN is a breathe of fresh air, the mc, girls, and even the side characters have their own personalities. 10/10!

Looking forward to see how the story unfolds between the mc and the 3 girls!

Although drawing style is somewhat unusual, the game itself is great! I like a lot the way how well the characters and their interactions are developed and thought through.
Looking forward to see how the story evolves!

really great animations, definitely a work of art
nothing much to be said about the story so far but already loving the setting and characters
all in all, it's extremely well done

can't wait to see where this goes

Great game design, great animations/art style, the characters have fun and distinct personalities, and the dialogue is pretty fun and natural too
Definitely the work of someone who knows what they're doing and is having fun with it

Absolutely loved it !
Custom models and animation, lighthearted story, loveable characters, the game has it all. It just needs a bit more time for more content.
The others comments already said anything so i'm not gonna expand too much.
Just give it a try.

As a general rule I prefer melodramatic AVNs in most cases, because creating tension and emotion in a plot that has no meaningful drama is really difficult to pull off.
If you can't offer drama you basically need to outperform in two other categories: Humour and art.

Happy to say that Hooked does just that. I rate the novel as five stars because I wasn't bored during any point of my playthrough (version 0.3.5). As the bio says, everything is pretty lighthearted and the stakes are rather low. But the protagonist and the three LIs are all such lovable individuals. Even when they get naughty they are endearing, situations that would make other plots depraved and corrupted turn out alright and just erotic in this one.
The art is unique and the accuracy of facial expressions and body animations makes everything flow. Nothing feels wooden or artificial. The dialogue is chill and sprinkled with subtle comedy. And each love interest has a unique personality and low stakes boundaries that you may or may not cross, but it never feels out of context or degenerate. It's just lived sexuality you could say.

The MC is a man I find very appealing. He has the right level of human decency, shyness and kinkiness to be someone you want to spend time with. His portrayal also gives the vibe that he is someone you can rely on if you are in trouble. His goofiness only adds to his wholesome character. And you can feel that the LIs see exactly the same in him. The way they enable his sexual advances clearly shows that he is not threatening at all. He is a big, naughty teddy bear with a Big Rodney.

I'm not sure if there is any low stakes drama planned for this novel and there are some minor hints that something may or may not happen that the protagonists have to overcome. I would love it, to be quite honest, even if the stakes are low, some tension would enhance the experience.
But even if the developer decided that's just not the point here, I fully appreciate my time with Hooked and I'm glad I tried this out. You may think a plot situated in the porn industry had to be cliche - and you would be right to some extent - but you cannot help but root for Helen, Max and Hannah to succeed. And to lift each other up.