Tainted
Review as of version 0.11
Renders: Excellent
Sandbox: No this is a kinetic AVN with cosmetic choices.
Choices: Choices have no visible long term consequences at this time, but affect how a scene plays out.
Humor: Limited, but there are a few moments. The scene development leaves limited opportunities at this stage.
Story: Fantasy medieval. Action is will paced and draws you in to play all the way through the intro.
Characters: MC is a contradiction. Skillful but sheltered and overly controlled by his emotions. Character development was very limited in this short intro. Gwen gets a bit of development. Most character introduction and development is yet to come.
Author Support: Patreon, Buy me a Coffee, no Subscribestar
Sexy Bits: 1) Sleep fondle 1) BJ. Both are good, if a bit forced.
English: Excellent
Music: Well fitted, doesn't vary. Volume is set at a rational level (uncommon in RenPy for some reason.)
Quantity: Short, you've got about 10 minutes of play depending on your pace.
This is basically an intro at this point in which you learn the setting and a bit about the MC.
Uncommonly, it starts out at a professional level which is very promising. There is nice attention to detail in the screens, menus, posing, etc. It feels polished. The more controversial tags are not present, this is a 'wholesome' game by F95 standards.
Positives
Story, pacing, interface and polish
Negatives
There's a long road ahead for this game.
Recommended if:
You like medieval fantasy swords/sorcery harem AVNs generally.
Not Recommended if:
You hate the idea of playing an intro and watching the game develop into the future.
With the caveat that this is only a stage-setting intro at this stage and things could easily change in the future - the intro is indicative of a game that will be five stars.
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UPDATE as of 0.1.5.1
Summary: The update is a solid extension of the original very solid release. New characters, advancing story line, and an additional mechanic. It is living up to the promise the original release showed and maintains the same high degree of polish.
Details
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The author has added Itch.io to support options.
Characters
Character development is done on the MC and four new (hot/female) characters are introduced.
- Freja - A ginger viking warrior introduced very quickly who gets significant development.
- Valery - Leader of a detachment of scouts. She is set up as a second love interest, so something to look forward to next release
Sophie and Silvia (magic users) - these two appear elfin but don't have time for extensive development.
Choices
As before, Choices are not impactful to the story other than adjusting what order scenes unfold. It is possible to bypass some minor dialogs as well as the H scenes based on choices, but if you don't flirt with the pretty girls you deserve the lack of nooky your lack of interest indicates. There are a couple of H scenes centered around Freja (three if you count simple nudity) and build up for some future shenanigans with Valery. Sophie and Sylvie are highly appreciative of the MC saving their asses (read that how you will) and it would be surprising if the author leaves them unattended to in the log run.
Mechanic Update: The game adds a map mechanic
The map allows the possibility of ordering quests or a bit of sandboxing in the future should the dev choose to.
Story
The story is developing well and quickly.
Downsides/Criticisms/Room for Improvement
Limited - the release pace could be faster. Enough time went by between releases that I had to scroll back a bit and quickly zip back through to remind myself of the story.
Don't expect meaningful choices, sandboxing, decision based/active character building or dungeon crawl.
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Overall the rating remains at a five. If you like
story centric swords and sorcery harem fare with solid graphics, this will be right up your alley.