Reviewing In a Scent v1.03b
The core of the premise is pretty solid, but a few minutes into this game I was tempted to close it and forget about it. The MC isn't a character I typically enjoy; however the art is very impressive, so I stuck with it. I'm glad I did.
I'm not sure if I became desensitized to the idiocy of the protagonist and unrealistic reactions of the other characters, or if the MC became a little bit less of a douche occassionally as the story moves forward, but it was probably both. He's basically a spoiled NEET incubus, so he's not really supposed to be likeable or very relatable, so I give the dev credit for writing such a bitch-ass loser as an unlikeable character, but not totally detestable. It gives him room for character growth. That said, the characters responses to his outlandish, stupid, selfish, and creepy behavior is harder to understand, particularly early in the story. If there was a touch more realism to other characters' reactions, I would have been able to suspend my disbelief a little better, even though the writer gave himself a crutch with the whole incubus magic plot device. Still not sure if that explains the shared-hallucination candles, but at least that was a creative tool for introducing some new scenery with minimal overhead.
The writing is very good with almost no noticeable grammar mistakes and good pacing. The dialogue shows that that it's clearly written by someone who knows how native English speakers talk (probably American), so you won't feel like the characters should be named Мам, Ра́я, Селена, and Игорь. If you're an English learner, that probably doesn't matter to you, but for me, it's always nice. Now, I can't say I'm a big fan of the sense of humor in the game, but there is humor that probably a lot of people enjoy, more so if you're under 25 years old. And I won't lie and pretend that I didn't laugh out loud a couple times, and puffed air out of my nose a few more. If someone told me that Domiek had previously been head writer on Two and a Half Men, I'd not bat an eye. It's much better writing than AVN readers are used to, but it's mostly low-brow stuff with rare hints at realism and depth.
Back to the graphics, the game looks damn good. There's a little bit of variety of body types, but big beautiful asses are the focus, and they're *chef's kiss*. I was impressed how the MILF characters managed to look their age and still look good. Many devs that want to make a MILF, create a curvy 27 year old and just insinuate that she's in her 40's, but these girls are believably MILFs. The man of the house looks (and acts) like the middle-aged suburban schlub that he's meant to be. The "half-sister" character is undoubtedly my favorite in both personality and model, and I'm generally anti-redhead (blasphemy, I know). The facial expressions of the characters are consistent with the emotion that's conveyed in the dialogue and are only over-the-top when played for laughs. I loved that the characters and environments are new and unique, not something I've seen recycled in a dozen other games before. The animations are very good. Seriously, some of the best animations you'll find in an AVN. They're smooth and enticing with better consideration to physics than most.
The strangest thing I found with the visuals in the game is the MC himself, but I don't think it was a bad thing. I don't know how and I'm not even sure if it's just in my head, but in different scenes he shifts between looking almost fit or having a fairly doughy physique. Again, it might have been my imagination, but in scenes where he was being an ass or an idiot failing at everything, he looked like he should lose 15 pounds. When he was making progress with the girls, he looked rather fit. It was something that made me compare images, but I couldn't find anything definitive. Either the dev did a great job with a model that's easy to perceive as more or less competent in different scenes, or he made incredibly subtle changes and carefully posed him in scenes to make sure he appeared that way. I'm impressed either way.
I'd give this a 4.5 if possible because the humor wasn't really up my alley most of the time and the reactions to the moronic and/or perverted behavior of the MC felt a little too unbelievable, even in the context of seduction magic. It gets a 5 because the writing is quite a lot better than most and the artwork is top tier.
I really wish there were more VN's where the MC makes a chick cheat. I just wish it wasn't always the case of the chick not getting fucked by her fat, lazy husband. Why can't we steal a happily married woman that is married to a decent and attractive guy!? Maybe one day... but this definitely does the job regardless.
