VN - Ren'Py - Kings and Pawns [v0.3.5] [ArchMoe]

This is quite a good AVGN currently.

It has a good amount of story content. Which is quite solid. I enjoy most of the characters and the dialogue here. But i do have some issues in particular with the pacing and the storyline. Narrative wise the game uses to many flashbacks that i dont think are all that worth it. Usually flashbacks serve a purpose but honestly i dont see the point for most of the flashbacks here, and all they do is make the pacing more rough.

This game is marketed as a game with multiple girls, but as of now i would say that only one girl has interested me narrative wise that being Giselle . All the other girls ether don't have enough screentime or are just lacking backstory/personality for me to care about them.

The girls are all pretty, i enjoy the different and unique body types that the girls have. Some are THICC while others are your average pretty model type AVGN characters. I also love the attention to piercing's and eyes.

This has a chance to be a great game, but so far i would say its just good. 4/5

its decent but way too short for 3 chapters.
-Models are nicely proportioned
-renders are above average

The lewd scenes are really static and just doesn't have any steam to it. Funny enough only Lora's (ms parsons) scene has any sort of build up but even that one was a blue ball.

Its by no means a bad game or anything but its hard to give it any substantial review simply because of how lacking everything is right now.

As of v 0.3.0

I don't normally rate games this early, because typically there's not a lot of content, or (unfortunately) devs quit working on their projects. However, based on the regular updates, this dev seems like a good bet.

Artwork/Animations - 5/5

The women in this game so far are gorgeous, and the scenes so far are very well done. I can tell the dev takes pride in their work.

Story/Dialogue - 5/5

It is always a good thing when a dev takes grammar and spelling seriously, and so far, I haven't come across any, which again, shows pride in their work. Furthermore, the story is actually VERY well done so far. The characters have their own problems and personalities, and the MC isn't a generic pervert for once. So far, I am very impressed.

Gameplay/UI - 5/5

So this is pretty much a VN, and since it's so ne, I am not yet sure if choices matter yet. I am just playing the way I want to. Which actually proves this game has potential, because I am normally a walkthrough mod fanatic on Ren'Py games. But something about this one just wants me to play it through my way.

So yes, I know this is an early review, but this dev has already put some great effort into their first few releases, and I am looking forward to following along on this journey. 5/5

Radical Dreamer

Very promising game with non-standard models, interesting intrigue, well written dialogues and good sex scenes. The story is a bit heavy so if you're depressed that game is probably not for you, otherwise, fasten your seat belt and be ready for a fun ride.

Pros:
+ Good renders
+ Nice, non-standard models
+ Good sex scenes
+ Intriguing plot
+ Good dialogues

Cons:
- Sex scenes to dialogues ratio might be too low for some but at 0.3.0 version it's enough IMO.

This an many other games would benefit from a half star system as its currently objectively above "average" but a few things keep it from being "good".

You can tell by the previews if you think the renders are good enough (they should be) for example there is attention paid to lighting/shadows, the menus offer way more than usual in terms of things you can customize (fonts, opacity etc) which again show the dev cares more than "just putting something out", and the LIs are more than just the same 3 models in every daz game with different hair colors.

Somehow despite these positives the game "trying to tell a serious story" is its biggest weakness since it still falls into so many tropes of the AVN genre. Forced sex (via flash forward) in the intro to show animations, MC being thrust into a situation he has no right to be involved in (in this case the idea MC was even wanted at all is laughable), a "sister" who needs to be written in a way that patreon wont remove, forced "drama" that is on the surface weird and a bit illogical but when you dig into it any sense of in universe logic is tossed aside.

This game is good to "look at" but depending on how much you "read it" you can easily get into average or below average. Too serious (as in the story and amount of work dev has put in) for a "fap game", while falling into too many trappings to be considered a "game i for sure read for the real plot i swear"

I think this game has a lot of potential. It is certainly better than 80% of the stuffs that got posted here, but I don't think it earn itself a 5 stars just yet. If it can keep this quality all the way to the finish line though, I can definitely see it become one of the great.

What I like the most about this game is the story and the MC, it's surprising realistic. For example: likewise, MC is not some suave guy that no women can resist, in fact he gets rejected by most of the LI at some point of the story; he's not some super strong fighter that can easily beat up people twice his size, he can't fight two people at once and have to use words to solve conflicts. It's refreshing to see such a relateable MC.

Pro:
-intriguing and realistic story
-beautiful renders
-unique and interesting characters(except for the sister but that's just my opinion)

Con:
-not that many choices and most of them don't matter much

(Review of v0.2.5)

It is fortunate that every now and then you run into a game that brightens your day with a compelling story and excellent characters that lets you forget the thousands of overrated, yet poor attempts at an VN floating around this place. This is one of those rare gems.

Sex is scarce for now but what's in there is very well done and fitting in the story. Renders are awesome quality and flashbacks are brilliantly done; far from being boring they do fill you in with the background of the characters and explain why some things turned out like they did.

If I had $100 to spare I know where they'd go right now. Please keep up the good work!

okay, that game is most probably for me like 4.5 stars, so that's why I am giving 5 stars. I love your renders. Love that your morphs are different and behave not like easy girls. However I would recommend you to try more deeply focus on the story.

Too little to say, so its a 3 star for now, not bad, not good.

Pros:
Models are decent
Story is not bad either

Cons:
Too short, couldnt really play or experience enough to give it a solid review, so jury is still undecided.
Lewd scenes are few and far between, making review even trickier.

Will keep an eye on this one, see how the updates come out, size and content.

A very good one, good story, good characters, good and beautiful models. And a very good start. Still is short so far, but as it seems will be worth it in the next updates.

Story 10/10
Models 10/10
Renders 8/10