VN - Ren'Py - How I Became a Hero [S2 Ch.11] [Naughty tales studios]

This game is really great so far. Not perfect, but really nice experience overall.

First of all the game looks very nice in general. The renders are good quality. No weird expressions or terrible animation to detract from the visuals. The characters look good and there is actual variation in their looks which is nice, as opposed to just 28 instagram thots with different hairstyles walking around.

The one major criticism I would have is the english translation is not great. There's a lot of weird syntax and bad grammar. You can still get a sense for the intended meaning underneath the bad english, but the dev should really think about getting someone to help edit the translation.

Past that, the writing is pretty good. A lot of lighthearted adventures, and the characters feel very genuine. The sexual scenarios are interesting and don't feel like an afterthought (unlike a lot of these games). Its a nice experience that feels positive and interesting.

I haven't played a game like this in a long time. The visuals are great, as are the animations; the writing is good, although there are some spots that don't quite hit but not enough to take you out of the story; and the story itself seems to be an actual story, and you can see little plot points coming together, which is really nice to see.

Review for Ch.5

I read before playing that this game started as a sandbox, but then later got converted into a more standard visual novel. Well, you can definitely tell. And that's not a good thing.

The game feels like it doesn't know where it's going. It's very clear the dev had created a bunch of random events to put into a sandbox game, and since that got axed, is now just trying to sew them all together. It feels rather disjointed and random because of this.

It doesn't help that the writing isn't that strong in the first place. Translation problems aside, the game just isn't interesting beyond the initial concept. Playing as a blind MC who suddenly gains vision sounded pretty unique for a AVN actually, but then the game does absolutely nothing with it. What happens when we suddenly gain vision for the first time in our life? "Wow the sky is blue and the grass is green!" That's it. That's all we get before the MC moves on to becoming the very bog standard nice guy who occasionally throws in a swear word.

Characters failed to make an impression on me, the story quickly begins to go absolutely nowhere, and the overall writing just isn't that good. The renders look fine and its got some good character models, but that is not nearly enough for me. Probably not a game for me at the end of the day.

This game has potential, I think other reviewers have touched on both the positives and negatives but this game could be higher, removing the sandbox was a great idea, sandbox games require the sandbox element to be meaningful and even still I'm not a huge fan of the premise of said games, so the author made a good choice there.

However, if you look at my previous review history, you know I am critical of the main character, and I can't believe people are still picking models like this for a human male 18-year-old boy. Don't get me wrong, some people look like that, but it is such a common theme in many games that it doesn't set them apart from the many other games in this category. I always dislike when the MC is either too small or jacked and shredded, I think making them just an average, good-looking dude is the way to go in terms of character design usually.

I drop another star because the choices don't matter. At least not really, I feel like I get railroaded into having sex with people even if I don't necessarily want to. I get it, it's a porn game, but great porn games allow us to choose how it is played. You can act a little differently so that's great, but they still result in the same outcome so what's the point?

It's hard to change the model of the MC so I probably won't play this game more. I find it hard to place myself in the MC's shoes as well, but I do think the writer/creator has a good setting and solid writing, but the lack of meaningful choices or an MC I can relate to drags it down, but I would love to play a different game from the author if is more up my alley, because they did a great job of the renders! This game is closer to a 4-star than a 2-star, probably a 3.5-star if I could do it just based on the quality of the characters.

Chapter 4:
Renders and animations (the few that are in the game so far) are alright. Characters are very diverse, interesting and likeable. Story is so far doesn't blow you away but is interesting enough.
There really are almost no choices, it's pretty much a kinetic novel.
I would really like for the dev to add some text to the lewd scenes (dialogue, descriptions, thoughts), just anything to give them a little more spice.

I'm gonna be brutally honest here.

The game is fairly pretty. The renders are nice and the character models are solid and have some variety. The animations are okay, fluid enough, but not posed exceptionally well or anything like that.

The writing is pretty subpar. The dialogue is fine (kind of impressive actually since I think the Dev is Italian?), but the game feels simultaneously bloated with constant conversation and endless filler scenes, but also empty. Nothing happens. The main concept, falling into another world is great. The MC's angst about not getting to go home is great. But its waaaaaay underdeveloped.

Is this story Peter Pan trying to escape Neverland or the Witcher trying to put his mark on a cold uncaring world? What is the point of the first chapter with the family if all those characters are just abandoned? IMO, This game needs a ground up rewrite.

A. Change the main plot. You want incest? Fine, do incest. Have the MC at first gleeful about exploring a new world (this already sort of happens but make it last longer), only for him to grown despondent when the elves tell him he will probably never go home again. Chapter 1 therefor needs to be about 50% longer to end on this note.

Then Chapter 2 is him adjusting to his new reality, months pass, he finds ways to fit in, learn about the world, try to make a place in it. Only for another twist at the end of Chapter 2 to be....HIS SISTER ends up there too and she is captured by the orcs, not the elves. Suddenly the 'gift' of him getting to travel to this new world feels more sinister, even frightening. Will his whole family be forcibly relocated here? And can he keep them safe if he doesn't know how they are being transported, when or even why?

Chapter 3 he rescues the sis, develops some relationship, blah blah blah, the story basically writes itself.

OR

Cut out the entire first chapter. Instead our MC is found in his new world BY an old elf as a baby. He's possibly the last of his kind. Then continue with whatever story is currently in there.

The problem is HIBAH currently wastes a TON of time and scenes on stuff that isn't even going to be in the game after one chapter. The dev needs to be economical with his stuff.

I played the previous sandbox version and had an irresistible impression: what is it for.
I see that author also and he removed this unnecessary element.

The story itself is interesting in second world, it develops nicely... But I totally don't know what this long introduction was for in our world.
I would understand the meaning of the two worlds if at beginning it was shown abandoning a child by someone traveling between worlds ... But it's totally unrelated, so why 2worlds?
Ok, it would be nice if MC would come back from time to time to his world - a clash of a sighted person with a blind person, showing if time in his world passes 1:1 with the other, etc.
... but so far I don't know what the sense is in this two-worlds.

But the game is nice for watch and reading and worth recommending - pure VN (no choices that affect the gameplay (except the giantess for now)...)

The graphic quality and the script are very good. There is a lot of art in this novel. The characters are very diverse and although the environment in which the protagonist moves is very clean, both the mystery and some characters and the erotic moments make reading pleasant. get into the plot. I wish to read other chapter soon..

This game is really nasty. If you into those kinds of kinks then its definitely for you.
Renders are decent but they feel old, like where the heart is type old.

Fortunately if you're into anything but vanilla sex then this is the game for you guys. If not stay away from it, the human world characters are just there you basically spend 90% of the game with the fantasy ones and you have no say in who you bed or meet.

I like the graphics. The premise works and the story has room to grow.

There are two big issues. The first is the lack of choices. You get none until chapter 4, and they are all related to pursuing characters, but in no way branch the plot.

The second issue is the MC. I understand being a bit sheltered and inhibited from his disability, but he comes across as naïve, a bit dumb, and too quick to just say things without a filter that no person would ever actually say. Both before and after he shifts worlds.
He feels like playing an overly nice 12 year old, without a filter, doing his best to act like an adult.

I don't want to be harsh. There is real potential here. But it's like walking barefoot down a gorgeous country path, only to keep stubbing your toe on rocks you didn't see until you walked into them. The path would be nicer if someone got rid of the damn rocks. The game would be worth 5 stars if it gave you some meaningful choices and had an MC who acted more like an adult.

I usually like this kind of story but in this game I must say it fell flat for me.

The MC is a kid with a handicap who goes to a fantasy world through some generic plot, that's the story so far and the last chapter CH4 barely gets the story off that premise. In terms of personality he is innocent and kind which isn't half as interesting as the writer seems to think quite frankly it makes the MC kinda boring and very difficult to relate to. The MC is also quite naive in part due to his handicap but that alone can't explain this level of naivety.

The renders are good but there is a very limited amount of sexual content as of CH4. For those obsessed with animations there are some and they are good as well.

As mentionned in another review the game is essentially a kinetic novel so far as there are 3-4 choices in the entire game.

I wouldn't write it off completely yet, I think the writer is young and needs to polish his writing and given the pace of the story which is pretty slow maybe by CH10 with some more experience and time the story will start to get interesting, which is why I'm giving 3 stars so far.

Well this one went under my radar somehow, but what a nice little surprise to stumble on.

The story is pretty good, even if a bit slow.

The renders are very decent, and as far as I can tell, each character has been worked on to have some individuality on their physical appearance as well.

Fap value wise, the game isn't very high up on the ladder (as of CH4), but, it's not entirely void of it either.

The story so far holds itself rather well. It's some sort of Isekai, but we do not yet exactly know what the MC' specialties will be. We only know of but a couple, which could have some interest over time, but are not ultra over powered either. Note that so far, there's been no fights at all, and as such, but no sign that the game would have fights or stats either.

For now, it looks like the game will be purely a story, with some choices. For now, the choices are only regarding some kinks, and potential sexual encounters, but there does not seem to be any choices linked to the actual story. As of CH4, there's no grinding, no open world, no choices linked to the story as far as I could tell.

Just a nice story with some sexy time for now, which is all fine with me.

Super-good game! Renders are top-notch, but the characters were the main reason I enjoyed the game. The MC is really likeable (with a very interesting hook to his background!) and you get to interact with a large cast of awesome women. In future releases, I'd like to see more choices given to the player and a few more sex scenes...but these are only minor criticisms. The game is a winner! Cheers to the dev!

Beautiful renders and a good writing but apart from two or three choices, that you encounter late in the fourth chapter, there isn't much to do so it is closer to kinetic novel rather then visual novel.
Good luck with the game but kinetic novels arent for me, unfortunatelly it never mentions anywhere the lack of choices you can make...

Just finished Chapter 3 and am really enjoying this game. I want to learn what happens next, which is the sign of an engaging story, all too rare in adult games. I don’t even mind that there has been minimal sex so far, as you can enjoy the build up.

I like the real-world beginning leading to a fantasy world. It will be interesting to see how the dev works with this as the game develops.

Nice mix of short-term activities and longer-term plotlines.

Sandbox? Well it isn’t really; the whole map thing seems pretty irrelevant to what is going on. And that’s great from my perspective, as “full sandbox” can add grind and diminish the dev’s ability to tell a good story in a seamless way.

I like that the MC is a nice guy, a welcome change from the douches that appear in some other games. I also like that the other characters have flaws, prejudices, ignorance etc. However, the dev will need to make sure that the contrast between the angelic MC and the rest of the characters doesn’t become too marked. Will the MC eventually show flaws that make him more believable?

The girls? Some are gorgeous and some aren't. Some are pretty strange, but the dev seems to be working well with that.

Looking forward to Chapter 4!

I like this story a lot. The figures are nice and symphatic, even if they come over strange sometimes (Mu!). I hope that the jump back to the own world will be possible soon, not only for the MC, but also for others. And vice versa.

The good: Well-drawn models and cute waifus all around. The variety of fantasy models makes the world more "realistic." The story has internal logic and draws the MC/player into caring about its resolution.
The neutral: more of a VN with choices only to move around to the correct location to resolve quests.
The not-so-good: navigation requires a minimum of three clicks to open the multi-function button, select the map, then finally take a guess at the next story node. This fixed, it would be 5/5.

This game certainly surprised me in a good way. I'm excited to see where it goes in the future.
PROS:

• Well written
• Great characterization (as mentioned in other reviews)
• Fairly unintrusive sandbox system, although it could definitely be fleshed out in the future.
• Somewhat unique premise/MC backstory
• Quite wholesome in a weird sort of way. Almost gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

CONS:

• Not being able to name your character until ~20 minutes in was an odd choice that I don't quite understand.
• So far this is a bit more of a kinetic novel. Not sure if that will change in the future.
• This is more of a nitpick but the Map, etc. being behind multiple clicks could be tidied up. There's really no reason we couldn't just have the three buttons in the corner (map, journal, inventory).

Overall I'm quite pleased with how this game is shaping up.

This game has started of really well. Love the concept and story till now
What really caught my eye is the characterization of the mc. Its really well done and at some points you actually feel sorry for him and it can get a little emotional.

Overall I like the nice guy persona and a welcome change of mc's you find in harem games, who are mostly dicks or idiots.
Will definitely consider supporting this game, maybe after1 or 2 more updates.

Have to admit that I don't like navigation games very much most of the time, so was a little bummed when the story changed from regular linear to a map navigation one. But so far (Ch 2) it has been very well done with just a little exploring but no lost looking around "where do I go next?" moments.
The characters at the beginning, though in a somewhat generic setup are well done, to the point that when the twist comes I ACTUALLY want to get back to them as opposed to similar stories I have played where you quickly forget about them and don't even care lol And the new characters you find yourself interacting with are all very well done as well. Ch 2 went all too fast, and just left me really wanting to see what happens next, so I would say that is a good sign from a game. Enjoyed it a lot and hope this is just the start of a long journey!