VN - Ren'Py - In The Shadows Of Ashwood [Ch.1] [Lament Entertainment]

Excellent variation of the vampire theme. Amazing artwork. Serious harem potential already. Only concern, was it played like a kinetic novel at this stage. Understand needing to establish the story but even one choice would have been nice. No tag as a kinetic so going to keep watching this one for now.

Very strong start. This game has probably the best graphic design that I've seen in this type of game. Very well done. The artwork is excellent and the female characters beautiful. The characters themselves aren't completely generic, but do seem a bit inconsistent in their behavior and some decisions don't seem particularly appropriate. The story is very interesting. I definitely want to know how the story progresses.

VERY nice girls, VERY nice story, and I like how the MC isn't just some brainless horndog that accepts everything. I'm actually interested in the characters as they develop, and to learn more about the world that's been created.
Plus, did I mention the girls are very nice? Usually games give huge tits and slim waists, but these girls are all nice and thick where it matters.
So far, DEFINITELY a strong start, and I'm watching this one for sure.

This is one of the best new projects for the past few years.

Not a lot of games on this site make me hooked, but this one definitely made me. Not only I love the renders and the setting it is set in, but the story seems actually interesting and worth investing your time in.

I love this. I am normally not a vampire lover at all, but this has a neat little spin. All the girls are absolutely to die for. Poses are sexy and good too. I am not going to be patient enough to wait for more content, especially to see MC rail the girls I want to rail the most.

I like the characters and the fact that the authors obviously have some life experience and don't portray villains as uni-dimensional characters.
I like the MC personality and find it interesting, wise and difficult to find in other games, but it is the one closest to being static and uni-dimensional.

As it is, it's not a game.
I remember of only one choice, apparently insignificant.

For now it's a kinetic graphic novel where you follow the history of the MC.
It's like an intro.

I hope this turns into a kind of gamebook with multiple ends and choices.
This has potential and it would be a waste of interesting characters to turn it into a mere kinetic novel.

In The Shadows Of Ashwood [Ch.1] - 4/5

For a first release, it is good (can be great, will see), it sets the premises, MC is a bit of a bipolar mess but most likely because the story needed to progress, the consistency of MC behavior was a bit all over the place.

The story has potential and I am quite curious where it goes.

So far the CGI is good with room for improvement, I think lighting needs improvement to make the characters and skin look more alive, pun intended.

Like I said this has potential, it is good but get be great it all depends on the dev.

Very short first chapter, but off to a strong start. Interesting set of characters and is well written. MC is a bit of a pushover, but it fits where the dev is going with the story so far. So far there is no player choice in the game

This one is really good and promising!
Nice and unique characters, an interesting story set up.
I'm excited to see where this is going to go.
I find the writing also quite pleasant, definitely way above the average VN you get to see.

Pretty good so far, really intrigued how the story will develop in the future, keep up with this dev, you're doing great so far, really looking forward to this game. P.s. I'm a big vampire lore fan in general.

Surprisingly good game! Good graphics, interesting but down to Earth plot, good flow, well written, likeable main character, good lewd scenes... It's unexpected how good this game is! I look forward to chapter 2! Speaking of that, it's also surprising that it only has one chapter, and only came out literally 2 days ago, considering how much content it already has. It's impressive! And that cliffhanger was exciting, too. Definitely a 5/5 game for me!

p.s. Sorry for poor wording, am writing this while tired.

It has good renders and that's it, the plot is boring and full of tropes (I've seen it many times in other VNs and in other media), characters aren't sexy enough (most look like teenage kids) and the game is basically a kinetic novel. There are only two times when we're given a choice and neither changes anything. Don't know why this game is so highly rated.

Given it's been only 1 chapter the game might improve and I might change my rating but at its current state it doesn't deserve any better.

This was really enjoyable and one I will certainly be following for now on. It's a bit confusing early on, as the main character has a lot more luck in his life than the narrative suggested, yet he was oblivious to it and magnified the negative aspects, which I realized that is simply makes the story more realistic and human.

Lets start with the MC, he has the standard mindset of a 12 year old, lusting for everything that moves, hes even thinkng how he could take advantage of hes mother when shes out drunk, why would he even think about it when he hates her in her current state i dunno but i found it quite idiotic, next is the naighbor and ofc shes apprently hot to....

Devs needs to learn to let players deside and think for them selfs, theres nothing that kills a story more when you play a MC that thinks of someone as hot and lust for her when you as the player hate her.

Then theres the brainless aspect, where he desides to go to an abandon house in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night why? then he hears sounds and ofc he wants to go check that out as well right? i mean why not....he also invites a girl whos ignored him for 4 years back home to hes room due to thinking he might get lucky with her? come on.....

I get why dev made MC like this in some ways so he can grow as story comes along, but the hole lusting and finding every single girl hot is not needed to grow hes character, it just feels cringy.

Then the real story starts and hes forced to come inside the naighbors apartment whos a vamp, where hes told to accept whatever shes offering and not to be affride of her....ok fair enough, MC then gets beat up and the vamp woman offers him to become a vamp while shes half nude and on top of him for unknown reasons, to my supprise MC turns her down which was pretty damn nice but apprently he still got some powers, i was expecting some idiotc forced sex scenes so very happy that dident happen, since im a choice player and not into kinetic shit where you dont controle MC.

He still feels way to submissive to me, like he learns hes mother has been turned into a vamp and hes not even pissed off atleast not much he pretty much just accept it which i found quite weird.

Had to drop a star due to MCs mindset and to submissive.

How game will turn out i have no clue, with a MC like this it can be choice based but also could very easily be a forced sex game aka mindless fuckfest, but since theres no real content yet its yet to be seen.

I loved most of the girls since its mostly smols which is very refreshing compared to all the games where you need a big tit fetish to play and i dont have that, so i got some high hope for this but time will tell.

I will revisit this once it gets more content and edit my review to fit at that time, if its choice driven for relationships/sex then it could become a 5 star, but as a mindless fuckfest i would lower it to 1 or 2 stars, so we will see.

I wanted to start by saying that for a first release, In The Shadows of Ashwood offers a surprising amount of content. It’s great to see that the developer took the time to establish a solid background story for the MC, giving us enough context to understand where the story might go in future updates.

The first chapter was genuinely good and shows a lot of promise. It sets up the tone, the world, and the characters quite nicely.

The renders are impressive overall. I’ve seen some people criticizing how the MC looks or behaves, but honestly, that kind of feedback feels premature. This is only the first chapter, and the MC clearly needs room to grow and evolve. After finishing this release, I’m confident that development and character progression are part of the plan—especially considering the complete change in the MC’s appearance by the end of the chapter.

As someone who’s played quite a few vampire-themed AVNs, I can say this one has a good atmosphere and storytelling approach. It was a no-brainer for me to give it a try, and I’m glad I did.

There weren’t any sex scenes in this initial release, but that’s totally fine. I actually prefer when early chapters focus on building the story and characters rather than rushing into adult content. Too many people forget that not every AVN needs to be “sex-first.” Some of the best ones, like Summer’s Gone, took their time before introducing those elements. I’m confident that In The Shadows of Ashwood will include plenty of adult scenes later on—once it’s narratively justified.

One area that could use some improvement is the music and sound design. There is some background music, and what’s there works well, but I’d love to hear more of it in future updates. It really helps set the mood and immerse the player in the story’s darker, supernatural vibe.

Overall, this was a very good start. In The Shadows of Ashwood has strong potential, a solid foundation, and clear attention to detail. I’m genuinely excited to see where the developer takes the story next and how the MC—and the world around him—continue to evolve.

As far as starts go, I absolutely love this. I figured it would be good as I like Ravenous, but honestly so far the setup for this is even better. I like the models a bit more as well. Now I'm torn, I want both the finish of Ravenous and more of this as soon as possible.

Since this is just the very first release I may update my score later on if necessary, but I doubt it will be.

Edit: A lot of people are complaining about a pushover/weak MC. Yes, that's how he's supposed to start. This dev is actually a good one and knows that characters can evolve.

I am sorry, I always try to rate positive or not at all, but this was too much.

The MC is just too much cringe. I cringed from start to finish of the game. I had to take regular breaks, just to shake off the cringe. The MC is the worst piece of human garbage ever conceived, he has no skills, interests, job, school, friends, believes, opinions, or any defining, likable, or useful traits in any sense, shape or form.

The only time he actually takes a stand and has an opinion on anything in the whole game is when he decides to NOT become a vampire, and NOT to bang the vampire loli chick that jumps on his lap topless.

Which is a very controversal move in a VN that's (supposedly) about sex and vampires. So, If you don't like vampires and sex, this game is not for you. BUT, if you like vampires and sex, this game is ALSO somehow not for you.

I hate you OP, for getting my hopes up and making me read through all of this. I have to take a long shower and try to forget.

It is a really interesting AVN, it should have a better rating, people give it less stars cause of lesbian NTR, which I don't treat as NTR, cause I don't mind lesbian vampire scenes. I like the story, characters are great, renders look amazing and everyone love vampires. I want more choices, but for now dev have my full trust.

Seems real promising, I think dev has learned and improved from Ravenous, which was already decent.

Nice renders and much better lighting/composition seems like, more effort/well made UI, quick story pace. So far no erotic content and I believe it will be another kinetic novel, but hopefully make up for it in content.
Also personal side note, mother was tan and had nice hair, then became paler than the other vampires and got an old fashion hairdo; hope the game doesn't focus on turning every LI character and make major permanent physical/appearance changes to them.

Looking forward to more!

Super interesting game, well written, nice pace, nice-looking models and interesting story. 4 stars because as of now (ch.1) the game doesn't have any lewd scene. Hope it continues and gets better. Add pussy hair! Don't be a pussy