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

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 really natural. The game also has a lighter mood for a vampire game, which 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.
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.