Communication breakdown (spoilers)
The first half of the opening scene on the plane is a good indication of what to expect in
Intertwined:
Attractive and likable characters, well-written dialogue and an engaging slice-of-life story.
Halfway through the scene I was really excited and mockingly said to myself:
"Finally a well-written scene on a plane that doesn't involve implausible sex with a flight attendant."
Oh, well...
When Alexis asked the MC to follow her to the bathroom I was expecting a clever prank by her (and the writer).
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way - which was a huge letdown for me.
Fortunately, this is the only occasion I recall where "porn logic" prevails in
Intertwined.
After this rather implausible lewd scene
Intertwined returns to its former self and strengths.
Visuals
The renders and animations are good. Not the best possible, but good enough for me.
I especially like that the dev put a lot of effort into creating proper facial expressions (for example how characters look at each other) and gestures. You can also tell that the posing quality improved during the course of making this VN.
However, you can regularly spot female characters' areolas because either their clothes are too skimpy or the dev didn't pay enough attention (or both). I wouldn't mind if this happened in private, but in public scenes it's simply irritating.
I also recall how Erynn and the MC were easily floating on the water of the swimming pool like it's the Dead Sea. Not very realistic.
Sound
Unfortunately, there is no sound at all.
Characters
The MC isn't your typical natural born creep, but attractive and likable (if you decide to play him that way).
The ladies fancy him for his good looks and personality - not his "magic dick".
I still wished (at least some of) the LIs were a bit more reluctant and hard to get.
The female cast is large and diverse with distinguishable personalities and motivations.
In fact the female cast is so large and some potential LIs get introduced so late into the story that it would have been better if the dev had focused on less, but more profound characters.
The LIs are (mostly) beautiful - especially connoisseurs of dark-haired women are in for a treat:
Alexis, Elena, Gabi, Nikki, Valeria... at least I had a hard time to pick a favourite.
Layla might not be the hottest LI (and her DAZ model is overused), but she still turned out to be my favourite overall.
She's just so adorable and I like how her relationship with the MC evolves in such a sweet and heartwarming way.
I also like Erynn - she has a great personality and seems meant to be the MC's "true calling".
However, she's three years older, way more mature and in a different stage of life than him - which makes a relationship between them rather unlikely in my opinion.
I also don't find her overly attractive - her face, especially her (upper) lips, looks like she had too much surgery.
Writing
Intertwined shines whenever its characters are displayed in everyday situations.
The characters act (mostly) believable, the dialogue is well-written and often funny & witty.
While I usually don't like being able to read other characters' minds, it contributes a lot to the overall atmosphere here - that way we learn more about other characters' feelings, desires and apprehensions, especially when it comes to relations between different LIs (jealousy).
There's also a lot of well-written romance and eroticism (teasing, kissing, hugging, petting) instead of simple raw physical sex scenes. Me gusta.
However, way too often
Intertwined relies on cheap and overblown drama (caused by people being unable or -willing to communicate with each other) as a plot device.
This is especially noticeable at the beginning of episode 5, but ultimately the whole story premise of
Intertwined (the MC being away for 5 years) relies on a simple misunderstanding.
That's hard to believe.
What's also hard to believe is that
- especially Erynn didn't simply move on after all these years, but is still kind of obsessed with the MC,
- the MC didn't recognise Alexis when they met again on the plane,
- there's next to no estrangement between the MC and his mother (and Erynn) after all this time,
- so many characters turn out to be either related or acquainted (small world syndrome).
Last but not least Erynn's blackmail story seems completely far-fetched and implausible.
Intertwined rides on a lot of goodwill here - or rather the reader's ability to let a good amount of incredulity slide.
Choices
Intertwined isn't your typical harem simulator.
You can date a certain amount of LIs at the same time, but some are mutually exclusive.
Unlike a lot of people who seem to prefer harems (probably because they are too lazy to do several playthroughs) I really like that choices matter and cheating can potentially end relationships.
However, some choices are too obscure.
For example if you decide to check out Layla's legs at school (and praise them in front of the whole class), she likes it, but if you later decide to check out her (cute) butt at the beach, she doesn't. Girl, make up your mind!
User Interface
The UI is a bit underwhelming in my opinion.
There's no quick save / load function and you can only name individual save files, but not the save pages (which I strongly prefer).
The font is also kind of lackluster.
I understand that the dev didn't want to use a text box in order to minimise the UI, but whenever there's a bright backdrop the font becomes extremely hard to read - I ended up using a text box mod.
Conclusion
Despite some flaws
Intertwined is an enjoyable adult visual novel - and you even learn a bit of Spanish.
We need more story-focused VNs like this with realistic characters, well-written dialogue and meaningful choices.
Recommended.