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

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.

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

I really enjoyed it. Although there's no sex, generally when I read a novel I don't look for a thousand sex scenes; for that I'd just watch a porn video and be satisfied without overthinking it. I found Irina's character very sensual, the characters are believable in a fantasy story, and the staging is very good for the beginning of what could be a top-notch novel. There's still a lot to see how far it goes, but I'm already eager for more. Congratulations on such talent.

I usually despise this type of AVN - Vampires and fat/loser MC. However I think this one is decently written so far at least could turn to shit

not sure who is an actual LI or not. SOme are lolli looking which I do not like at all most are alright looking at best which heavily reflects the 2 stars vs potential 3 stars I would have given

Lack of lewds is concerning even if its throwaway scene just to see how dev does their lewd scenes

Well I was surprised by this one! Not your typical Vampire slop!
It was actually pretty good and the lewd potential is looking really
good. Will keep an eye out on this one and hope it stays this way
as it is early but definitely has potential, just not a whole lot of
content yet.{about an hour or so}

VERSION: Ch.1
SUMMARY: Decent start
RATINGS: (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐

NOTE: The following categories and scoring method are my own criteria and may require more context. Additionally, scoring is based on the state, and what is in the current version and not what may or may not be introduced at a later point.

1. Character (Model) Visuals......... : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. General (World) Visuals........... : ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Animation Quality................. : ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Character Personality(Persona).... : ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Story & Dialogue.................. : ⭐⭐⭐
6. Writing & Grammar................. : ⭐⭐⭐
7. UX/UI, Game Type & Mechanics.......: ⭐⭐⭐
8. Playtime & Pacing..................: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Music & Sounds.....................: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. Adult Content & Fetishes.......... : ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Average: X of 50 possible points giving a X% rating i.e. X stars.

PROS: - See my opinions section for details.

1. LIs are good looking, especially the more mature woman.
2. Renders overall are high quality and look good.
3. Music is pretty good.
4. Ambient sounds are a nice touch.
5. UX/UI, has settings for different sounds and opacity of dialogue box, but can do with some changes. See cons and comments.
6. Writing is structured and reads well, albeit, some dialogue is just weird.
7. Story is actually decent and plays out well or a bit different than the usual vampire plot, if not for the awkward odd dialogue at the start.

CONS: - See my opinions section for details.

1. UX/UI: The semi-transparent menu like saving is annoyingly bright and kinda hard to read, recommend going solid here.
2. Added to UX/UI, the dialogue font does not fit the main font in any way, plus the names in italics and colours used are hard to see. There are also inconsistencies in types of dialogue, in some scenes the MC is clearly thinking but its not stated in dialogue box or vice versa.
3. Dialogue can use work to be more natural and less deliberate in driving certain plot points like MCs incest kink.
4. Also as pointed out before, but dialogue can often be very unnatural and obvious things get stated or the way dialogue flows is just not always the normal way one would speak.
5. Some typos need revision also, but overall good.
6. Model style like the whole Loli shtick/style can be a bit jarring when it comes to character ages. See comments.
7. Currently few choices, and none significantly meaningful, but not a deal breaker as its still early and the plot is being setup.
8. Decent enough amount of content for first release, though not much adult "action", its more story and plot focused right now.

OPINIONS, SUGGESTIONS & FINAL REMARKS:

NOTE: The following remarks are my personal opinions and thoughts, which may provide more context and could be useful to the developer. (Read them or don't)

• Some dialogue is just weird, statements made don't make sense, at least not in the normal sense of the word. e.g. Mom says be careful, MC says nothing but thinks "Mom's a sexy woman > If he wasn't her son he'd bang her and his sisters, he looks forward to seeing them the summer > He is blessed with a beautiful family > Maybe thats what he has been paying for his whole life... Fade to next scene. This is one of those moments that I find just not good, not natural, no tact, nothing...like ripping the carpet out under the reader. Lazy implementation of the incest and family relationship model.
• I prefer many kinks, I like many kinks in these AVNs but I also like finesse, intrigue and intelligent dialogue that leans more toward realistic or semi believable for an AVN anyway. So while this may have decent kinks, implementation and how it gets there is still a question mark for me and I think deserves more attention and subtlety.
• While I enjoy the music, and I am not in law enforcement, I do hope the developer has license to use some of the tracks in here.
• Faint background music in more scenes would be nice, some scenes have none and it really deserves that little bit of extra quality IMO.
• Character ages are often complete opposite of what you would think, the MC looks old enough to be in some college but also just because of his beard, he has no other bodily hair...its weird. Kitty look like she is still in school, but is done with school and her mother looks like her sister not mother...
• There is not adult content worth mentioning so we need to wait on updates, however its a little worrisome when you consider the MCs deposition as a innocent beta who is spoilt for choice but lacks the means to see its freely available to him. This compounds the feeling that we will wait a while for decent adult content in this AVN while the MC grows some balls and the developer is done building plot, characters and relationships.

TLDR:

Decent enough game, but not 5 stars worth, it has some good things like the good looking LIs and renders going for it, decent sounds and fairly decent plot, but its dialogue, flow and execution of its plot, how it portrays the characters, particularly the MC does make me more hesitant about how good the story will really be. The UI/UX aspect can also use more attention to practical adjustments. I do feel this AVN will also be on the slow burn side and there will be plenty of dialogue as is expected from the developers previous content.

I will monitor and adjust my review as this AVN develops, it looks promising and I hope future content is more regular and that we don't need to suffer with short and boring updates like the devs previous game often had...The sexual/adult content and animations will further decide my final review score. For now its a decent start, but can't be fully reviewed.

I thought this could be good, but did not expect it to be THIS good.
Everything about this game is high quality, and it has a great potential for an AVN. The character writing especially felt so natural. The game also has a lighter mood for a vampire game which is simply perfect and just elevates the experience, making it more fun rather than depressing.
The only thing it needs are more choices, the first release was more of a build up, and I don't think the game is kinetic, so it should start to get really interesting soon.
Irina must be the best vampire of all vampires, I'll be waiting for the next update.

Though it’s a brief initial release, the writing is impressive, the models are exceptionally well crafted, and the genre is genuinely intriguing. I’m giving it five stars, it was engaging that I truly absorbed everything from scene to scene. I look forward to seeing the next releases.