VN - Ren'Py - Karlsson's Gambit [v0.8.1 Part I] [Grym Gudinna Games]

One of the top 5 best games on this site! Highly underrated game!

Pros

• Excellent renders, visuals, and environments
• Excellent character models overall
• Beautiful character models
• Excellent story
• Excellent writing
• NPCs have unique personalities and priorities
• Lots of lewd/sex scenes
• Good animations (chapter 6)

Cons

• The first 5 chapters don't have animations
• The animations in chapter 6 are too robotic - more body parts need to be moving to make it look like humans are having sex (humans don't move like statues)
• In the first 5 chapters, female breasts are nearly always shown with flat nipples. Even when not aroused, most females have nipples that stick out at least a little bit and are not level with the surface of the rest of the breast. This does get improved in chapter 6.
• A very common problem with rendered games is that they don't account for gravity with breasts. This game is no different. Breasts often stick straight out as if they were in a zero gravity environment. It looks very unnatural and results in some of the females appearing to have bad boob jobs.
• Another problem with the breasts is the unnatural position of the nipples and areola. They are positioned way too high on the breasts making it look like they had nipple/breast lifts. This adds to the problem of making their breasts look fake. Not all females have this issue however.
• The cast is too large! You are constantly introduced to new character after new character to the point where you forget about many of them. Instead of developing deep stories with the cast, you get bits and pieces from far too numerous new characters. This greatly hinders the development of deep relationships with all the character you meet in the game. The cast is so large that I've forgotten about most of the girls I've had sex with in the past because so much time has gone by before I interact with them again (not good). Character development suffers with most NPCs in the game as a result.
• The developer needs to add a strong warning in the OP about the nature of this game. The theme of the game is very evil with lots of slaves being treated like objects and treated inhumanely. You can avoid some of it but no matter what you choose you are led down a dark path with lots of human suffering. Not everyone is prepared for this type of game and it needs to come with a strong warning before players decide to download it.
• A walkthrough is basically required to succeed at this game. The majority of choices are unclear as to what you should choose. You basically have to get inside the head of the author and try to figure out what choice to make. Most of the choices involve a lot of grey area. It is often unclear what choice the player should make. This may be the intent but I frown on games that require a walkthrough and this game is basically that.
• Sex scenes are a bit lacking. The game emphasis is on the story which is excellent. The sex scenes could be longer with more passion. They always seem to be rushed (sorry your time is up).
• There are a few story problems with the game (mentioned below).

Story Problems

The MC is basically treated like a celebrity throughout the game. He is rarely forced to do anything he wouldn't do anyway. He is constantly handed girls to have sex with and is rarely made to do anything difficult. There are suppose to be three different areas that the MC is suppose to be trained in and the only focus is on the sex part.

Another problem is that the Karlsson sisters have special rules that they must follow when it comes to the MC (mentioned several times). It is mentioned multiple times that they won't fuck him until he has proven himself to them in a major way. Then Alessandra has a threesome with the MC and has vaginal sex with him. Immediately afterwards, Dominique tells Alessandra not to worry about her being alone with the MC because she won't have sex with him (hinting about the special rules they must follow with him). The threesome was great but it should have been with a different girl while Alessandra watched and masturbated to the three of them having sex. Otherwise, there needs to be major fallout for Alessandra fucking the MC so early and without fully proving himself to her.

It is a bit hard to swallow that your innocent sister is OK with basically becoming a slave master and doing lots of evil and inhumane things. There isn't much of a progression here. You have to accept that your sister has a strong evil side to her personality. She basically accepts treating slaves like objects and for her personal enjoyment. It's a bit hard to swallow honestly, even with the huge salary, benefits, and just doing it to try and protect her two brothers in the program. My imagination in accepting this premise is a bit too much for me. There are several times (if I were the sister) that I would have told them "no way" and to "fuck off!" (refusing the job).

Recommendations to the author

There isn't enough sibling rivalry. Most of the sisters have different goals from each other and there is a major power play going on between them. Also, some of the sisters have mentioned that they want the MC and his sister to succeed and a few of them have said that they don't. These factors never really come into play in all 6 chapters of the game. I'd like to see some good sabotages and sister conflicts/drama! The play for power is talked about a lot but rarely anything happens in this regard.

The great collapse is mentioned several times throughout the game and only minor details are given. It would be awesome to know more about the great collapse. When did it occur? How long ago? What caused it? What was life like after it? You could do a lot here with flashbacks to the past and answer these intriguing questions. Since the MC starts the game in jail we don't really know much about it or what life was like in the real world. Why is most of the earth's population living in Africa? Is the rest of the world uninhabitable? Lots of interesting questions that could add a lot to the story!

We still need to find out why the MC's best friend was targeted and unjustly jailed and put into the program. Was it to insure the MC's cooperation in case he resisted or is there some other nefarious reason?

Fix all the issues mentioned in the Cons.

Summary

The story and writing really sell this game! It is a story based visual novel with a good amount of choices that do have impact on the story.

Despite the cons and my complaints, the game is excellent overall! All the issues I mentioned don't detract too much from the enjoyable experience you will have with this game. I can tell that a lot of love and passion went into this project!

This game is highly underrated and deserves a lot more attention! It deserves a 5 star rating! The author did a brilliant job with this game!

I highly recommend this game (if you don't mind a dark and evil themed game) and encourage others to give it a try!

I am literally addicted to this game I have just completed my 3rd game. There are a lot of choices and choices do really effect the outcome, I was suprised that this game had such interactivity. I am about to start my 4rd game now everything about this game is just perfect.

Top 5 game on this site. As someone who doesn't like several of the tags (female protagonist, multiple protagonist, and femdom) it's still such a masterpiece. Very well written, a lot of choices and different paths to play. A developer who is engaged with the community and does their best to provide as much information as possible. You're doing yourself a disservice if you've never played this game, even if you're not a fan of Femdom like myself.

Personally, this is probably going to be my favorite game on this website(tied with Summer's Gone of course). I looove bdsm, but I'm not on this website for that lol. Now, to actually critique this game.

Karlsson's Gambit[v0.5B General]

Plot: 8/10 ~ One of the most unique plots on this site. Tess did a great job worldbuilding and forming a unique setting for this story to truly thrive. The plot almost immediately takes off, and once it gets moving, it never stops. One thing to note is that this also isn't an AVN that relies solely on its plot. Every character has varying degrees of internal conflict that all work in accordance with the external plot in very compelling ways. The Karlsson sisters display this perfectly whenever they're in a scene, especially Veronica and Dominique(hope I spelled that correctly).

Art: 7/10 ~ The art, while good, is nothing to really marvel at. The models serve their purpose by fitting well with each character's personality. Objectively, they are fairly good in the world of AVNs, but not outstanding.

Dialogue: 7/10 ~ The dialogue is good. It flows somewhat organically and it does a decent job of displaying character voice. Comparatively to other AVNs when it comes to dialogue, it's one of the better AVNs here on F95. There's not much here to really critique right now, as all flaws can be fixed with a bit of practice. Objectively, the dialogue in this game is quite good. It's not the best, but it's better than many I've seen here on F95.

Characters: 8/10 ~ Most characters within this novel are done quite well. In fact, the only characters one can really complain about, are the side characters that will most likely never make a reappearance. All main characters are kept consistent and interesting, pushing the story forward in their own ways. The Karlsson sisters are some of the more interesting characters I've come across on this site, and I must commend Tess for how she wrote them. Objectively, the characters are consistent and dynamic. In fact, almost all main characters have been shown to be dynamic to some extent. That in and of itself is a great trait to have amongst a cast in any story.

Overall: 9/10 ~ Objectively, this game is very good. Definitely not what I was expecting when I came to this site, but I am glad that I came across it. I think Tess did an awesome job here on this AVN, and I hope she keeps working on it. I'd recommend it, but despite my own favor towards it, this story is definitely not for everyone. Proceed with an open mind is really all I can say. It's a story that grows on you... so I'd suggest a lot of patience in the earlier stages. Good luck to anyone that tries it! If you ever see this, keep kicking ass Tessღ

It is my favourite game on here. It is kinky, writing is exquisite for both sub and dom paths. I especially love the dom path being about knowing how to pick your fights and when to submit in a female dominated organization. I love the power struggle, even the ones between the other characters. They add a lot to the game and the feeling of player having effect on who becomes the top dog even as a sub.

This game has amazing detail in writing and story. It is focussed on kinks over sex and does an amazing job at setting up the world around the player. It is both for DOMS AND SUBS. Especially realistic on how a new dom would enter the food chain and rise through the ranks.

Great renders and story. While some femdom games are over the top to teh point of being depressing, the hope of rising above the circumstances in this game makes the situation not seem as bleak. This game has an intriguing story that makes the various situations work together pretty well. The ability to control multiple members of the family is also a neat touch.

Great game! Keep up the good work.

Very thought out and well planned game with something for both dom, sub, good and evil players. Quite a few choices and flavours for players, good graphics. Do wish it gets strong maledom content down the road. 100% recommended.

Incredible game. Deep, layered, well-paced. Thought-provoking, which sounds bizarre. The fantasy setting is sold well enough, so you can buy the characters' actions without having to bypass logic altogether.

Pros
A great deal of choice through a frankly complex story
Strong highlight kink moments
Strong 2-protaginst set up, and it's enjoyable to play both
A large group of interesting secondary characters


Cons
There's an addon that displays path points more clearly that should eventually just be in the game proper, as its so useful. At the same time, it's also not too hurt to obtain yourself.

One of my favorite femdom games.

[Version 0.5b played]
Karlsson's Gambit is a fantastic femdom visual novel/game. The characters, story, writing, music, and renders are top-notch.

The game is set in the dystopian World featuring an intriguing story with many interesting and mysterious characters. You control two characters, male and female, who can become either submissive or dominant depending on the choices you make throughout the game. Unlike many games, your decisions matter here, resulting in different possible outcomes and endings. It's one of my favourite qualities of this game as it extends playtime and allows multiple playthroughs. It reminds me of classics such as Fallout New Vegas and Witcher 3 in that aspect. I spent many hours in Karlsson's Gambit, and according to a dev, the game is still only about halfway done. I can't wait to play the next episodes to see how mysteries will unfold and what will happen to my two characters.

The game contains many different kinks and fetishes, from soft to very hard. Women in the game are all gorgeous, and I particularly like all the different outfits and shoes they wear. The music is so enjoyable, it's quite varied and fits each scene perfectly. Locations and the environments are beautiful too. Really love renders in this game.

I played almost every femdom-related game on this site and elsewhere, and to put it simply, this is one of the best, if not the best femdom game you can play currently. I think every femdom and even non-femdom fan will enjoy it. And lastly, the developer is very communicative, honest and makes frequent development updates on Patreon. She is a very talented artist and one of the best devs out there IMO.

[v0.5B]
I have mixed feelings about the game, to be honest, let me say that it does have a good amount of content and scenes, they're all fun and enjoyable, the story itself is interesting and I've always found myself interested in what would happen next, the thing I didn't like and bothered me the most, is the story development.
The story allegedly takes place in a dystopian femdom setting however the reality can be quite the opposite depending on your choices,at first I truly believed that and so on my first run I tried to be compliant and docile as in my mind that'll be the only way to survive in such an unfair situation, I also assumed that attitude combined with wits and some diplomacy will be my ticket to try to climb the ladder, only to notice how it's actually leading my character into worse and worse predicaments, I noticed that submition, degradation and humiliation often go hand in hand and are unseparated, characters do not like you when you do their bidding or listen to them, quite the opposite they dislike you, treat you the same or worse and lose interest and respect for you, which I guess is to be expected from one or two of them but not all of them, characters would suddenly change their tone from showing interest in making you theirs or atleast serve them only to lose it all, although it bothered me how severe their reactions and actions were, I attributed it all to the story predisposed to being grim, with limited agency of the player to improve their situation or keep any ounce of dignity they have, or so I thought until I replayed the game with a dom playthrough in mind.
I was shocked to see the tone of the story take a 180 turn, things just go your way and characters behave differently than how their personalities present them to be, some that were absolutely ruthless and even sadistic just swoon over you for some reason, everyone treats you with respect and hand over authority, playing the game felt like an anime protagonist in a harem simulator, the dystopian femdom goes right out the window, from being one of the expendable lowlifes to basically ruling the entire facility in a single jump, even Juliette who seemed to be one of the biggest dangers to the MC becomes a trivial threat if not entirely manageable.
I tried replaying and mixing choices here and there and found that the story takes either two extremes, a king of the world scenario if you do everything right, or a straight-up slippery slope towards the bottom if you try anything else with no in-between, doing tasks properly amounts to nothing, only by ordering everyone to suck your dick can you make it far in this story.
Basically, the overall portrayal of sub/dom dynamics seems to be cartoonish and lacks depth and nuance, you can order dominant and even sadistic characters to do what you want and they comply despite being the ones who actually hold power while expressing the desire to be dominated by a worthy stud (the mc ofc), and if you submit to them all remark how they wish the MC were better to dominate them, this bias shows in the drastic difference in scene numbers between the two [only] routes, with there being more scenes for the dominant MC.
I would still recommend that people give it a shot, if anything the dom path and its scenes are quite nice and fun, however, if you were expecting a proper "femdom" you will be disappointed by how two-dimensional it is.
Still gonna follow the game and see how the story goes.

Review as of version v0.5B

A wonderful Femdom game with 10/10 renders, 10/10 writing, 10/10 music.

Summary: You play as the 2 MCs, a brother and sister combo, in a Femdom world with different paths and meaningful and impactful decisions to make.

The writing: This is the highlight of the game. The female characters are all very interesting and unique. There's an intriguing plot going on. But the writing in the sexual scenes is chef's kiss, truly wonderful stuff.
Let's not forget the branching paths for each MC. Your decisions affect the fate of your MCs and the scenes that you do see.
Tess is a great author, and I can't wait to see the following chapters.

The renders: I enjoyed the character models, backgrounds, and how the scenes were put together and choreographed. There isn't a single female character that I didn't find stunning. Top-notch work again.

The music: The music was enjoyable. It fit every scene well without being distracting and was easy on the ears. Great work!

All in all, I am very glad I played this game as it unlocked fetishes in my brain I didn't even know I had. Looking forward to new updates.

I'll start by saying that I'm far from loving femdom as it is represented in the game. Simply put, I don't like Female/male domination. Well, you might say, why do you torture yourself and play this game? Of course, it's all the "fault" of the reviews that convinced you to try the game because of the awesome story, no matter what. Okay, let's get started.

I went through the game as a Dominant, to minimise the impact on the MC by the sadistic female characters. The involvement in the game was gradual (yes, there should be a joke here about the stages of acceptance - denial, anger, etc., but there won't be one, sorry). The first game play has left a mixed impression - on the one hand, it really has a stunning and fascinating story, tangle of intricate intrigue, the struggle of perverted minds and really want to untangle the whole tangle and get to the bottom of it. On the other hand, the constant background of femdom kept you from fully enjoying the game.

Things changed a bit on the 2nd playthrough when I got more information on the fact that almost all the key characters, from Alexander's daughters to Alexander himself, had been through similar ordeals (to one degree or another). Fair enough, I thought, twisted but in its own way fair to give similar trials to the MC and his kin. Did it make me love this kind of femdom? No, I didn't, but it did help smooth out the sense of unfairness experienced on my first pass. Well, okay, I said, and started going through the game again. I ended up going through it 4 times (by the number of Alexander's daughters) in the dominant route. I really enjoyed the game. The plot is one of the best I've ever encountered in an Adult games. Each character (especially the sisters/daughters) have their own charisma and personality, you want to interact with each one and learn more about them.

If you compare this game to Estate Dominate, I would definitely prefer Karlsson's Gambit. First of all, the developer here is more honest and, for players who aren't fans of this variety of femdom, it gives them the opportunity to minimize their exposure, which is something that is not yet present in ED dom route.

Back to the wishes. I'd like to see longer sex scenes (in the future), I'd like to see more content with girl domination over girl. Male domination for the dom route line would look logical (there's not much of it now, hopefully in future updates for those players who choose this path, there will be more of this fetish).

In summary. The developer has created a utopian world, but even here the player has been given a choice and that is a good thing. There are many moral dilemmas - whether to remain human or succumb to the vices dormant within us. I'm grateful to the author for a great and intriguing story, for memorable characters, for quite deep dialogue texts that are a pleasure to read and comprehend. The developer has not alienated that group of players who prefer other types of domination by keeping the game comfortable enough for them, for which she offers special thanks.

v0.5B General

A visual novel that is laser focused on femdom content, with two POV characters who can be shaped more submissive or dominant based on your choices. I enjoyed that aspect of it, but found the models and the writing to be otherwise fine but not great, and not compelling enough to see it through. But I absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in femdom stuff because there will be a lot here for you to enjoy.

This is excellent game . One of the best game present on line. Waiting for the new episodes. Graphics are very good. Story is excellent . Girls are beautiful . Slaves are little slow . I can give this game 90/100 .

This game is very complicated and sophisticated. The plot is so deep that it hasn't fully disclosed in EP5. It is planned carefully from the beginning.

This is a true multiple protagonist game. The choices of male MC Kane and female MC Olivia really matter and dynamically change the game flow and scenes.

Kane's paths
* Sub Path is about survival. You are setup to fail. Can you navigate it through?
* Dom Path gives Kane more control. If you suddenly gain power, what type of person are you turning into?

What make this game interesting is the possibility to combine and cross path between Kane and Olivia. It creates many combinations beyond most games offer.

Graphic is excellent. Tess uses gesture and facial expression and facial expression to tell the story beyond words.

In many games, the stories are twisted to make sense of NSFW scenes. What make KG different is the scenes are carefully crafted to fit into the main plot instead.

I admire Tess’ creativity. There are so many scenes that I can repeat in my head even after finish playing.

The graphics are great. Worth noting that the costumes of the characters are beautiful and very elegant.

The story of the game is fascinating. First of all, there are often some psychological dominations in the story. I like it! Secondly, the plot of this story has a suspenseful color.As I play, I always feel that someone will stab Oliva's knife behind her back.

My favorite characters are Katsumi, Alessandra, and Juliette because they are very evil, very bitchy, and at the same time take pleasure in ruling the mind and body (especially the mind). So bitchy, and I have no resistance to such characters!

Thank you, Tess! I will support you

Today it is very difficult to choose which soap opera to follow and the variety of stories is huge, but I must say I have a weakness for bdsm it gives a touch more of reality and of course cuts a little romance for something a little more raw

As of 0.5 update Karlsson's Gambit is my favorite storyline on this website and I'd rate it equal to professional mainstream RPG games in terms of character development and story pathing with decision trees. Specifically, it reminds me of KOTOR2 in terms of immersive storytelling.

It's a game about power dynamics, family struggles and operating in a difficult world with incomplete information. Sort of a corporate mystery puzzle box featuring one crazy family living in the shadow of a dead man.

There are three rough levels of reactions I have to 'mistakes' in plot on this website:

-apathy, because I didn't expect much anyway.
-disappointment, because I thought they had a better quality level.
-paradigm shift because I trust the author's internal consistency.

This game is on the third level.

A note on the femdom/maledom tags. Karlsson's Gambit is not a game created in service to a specific fetish. It is a story about powerful ambitious people in a juiced up world of depravity and exploitation featuring plenty of both of the above tags.

Good luck! Keep your head on your neck, and when you find out who the daughter is in the opening scene of the game send me a PM so I can find out too!

I was hesitant to play this game as this isn't my normal niche but I have found the game to be awesome with an amazing over arching story. Your choices actually matter in the game. It affects how you and others are treated and assuming where your character and other characters end up not just which beautiful women you will end up with. I can't wait to see what will happen and strongly recommend it even if it may not seem like your thing at first glance.