v1.0 Part 1
I don't know where to put it exactly. It has its ups, and there's quite a lot of content to see, but has a number of issues so it may not be worth it.
Up to you to decide.
Let's stalk gameplay, it's your standard storytelling interrupted with choices that flip flags or give points, which are used to check eligibility for certain events/scenes.
The early potential complexity it showed degraded quickly.
At first you're presented a great number of choices:
Choices that can get you affinity for certain characters,
the ability to choose to (/not) see certain scenes,
whom you want to pursue,
to cum in/out relating to pregnancy,
and you'll be collecting good guy/bad guy points also.
But then the good/bad points idea is very quickly forgotten and you start collecting respect/disrespect points instead.
That kinda hangs around, but you can play for quite some time before you're reminded that yes, that's still a thing, kinda, maybe.
The cum in/out option also ceases to have any gameplay effect, and becomes purely visual.
Speaking of which, I'd like to take a moment to call out this bullshit. The game's tagged with pregnancy and so far, the only place it happens is in an "early good end" you can get maybe like what? 15 minutes in?
And even that only had a grand total of 1 renders to show?
Considering just about fuckall happened since in regards for pregnancy, this absolutely makes it feel like a shameless attempt garner a larger audience.
And more-or-less the same is true for corruption tag, I could MAYBE name one character who isn't a depraved slut by the time you meet her. Maybe. Everyone else certainly is.
Anyway, for the most part, aside from choosing the kind of content you want to see (/not), deciding to pursue certain characters, and getting affinity points for them,
all other mechanics are either completely thrown out, or toned the fuck down to the point where you simply make no meaningful choices.
You won't drastically alter the lives of characters, and you won't really alter the outcome of the story either.
And to make sure of that, while you can choose whom you want to pursue or see a scene with to a fair extent, at times it is a decision made by the writer for you.
So the point system seems to have been highly experimental, and it seems like the experiment had failed, because the game is rather linear.
I do not wish to talk a whole lot about the story as it is still of of its stronger points, it'd be a shame to spoil it, but let me just say that the game is long.
I'll try to only reveal stuff you'd learn within minutes of playing, and keep the rest vague.
The story revolves around an ex-military ex-convict who's prone to go 'berserk', going from having nothing after his early release to becoming an invaluable part of a biker gang.
While that might sound great on paper, the execution was...mixed at best.
In the first place, the guy's behaviour isn't that of a trained military man's.
Aside the occasional, misplaced (and kinda cringy) "Yes, sir! Acknowledged, sir!", his behaviour is exceedingly "civilian" in nature.
But later on his character.
The gang apparently consists of a total of like 6 members, of whom 3 are near their expiration date, so not much of a gang to speak of.
They have a blood feud with another gang of similarly small numbers, and neither side shies away from torture or murder. And yet...
They know where the others hang out. Where they work. What they own. They know where they live, and if not, they could easily find out.
And they want the other gang wiped out, and by wiped out I mean murdered. And yet they bend over backwards to do fuckall about it.
You might imagine that the absolute, passionate hatred these reckless and violent gangs have for one another would make them do something like,
oh I don't know, a drive-by shooting? Arson?
But no, because of some laughable and vague justifications. And those same poor excuses leave them all looking grossly inept, not just as gangbangers, but as human beings in general.
Anyway the "good guys" own and "oversee" (but not really) an establishment with piss-poor management, but instead of dealing with that,
they yet again bend over backwards to involve the MC, no plot convenience left untouched.
So you get a job, you get involved, and start solving everyone's problems, meet the grand total of 6 members over the span of hours, and learn about their living situations too, including but not limited to 2 picture perfect suburban homes, and happy, and more importantly entirely undisturbed families,
because nothing says "blood feud" louder than leaving their enemies' homes alone. Such upstanding criminals.
Anyway, in the meanwhile you can start collecting chicks like they were Pokémon, because you Gotta Bang 'Em All.
Now, I'm talking a lot of shit because honestly, none of it makes a lot of sense, while some things are also just hilariously stupid on top.
But if you feel like you can just go with the flow, there are some positives to be had here.
In the first place, the idea of getting into, and belonging to an exclusive and secretive gang operating outside the law is rarely explored.
While I'm not gonna say it's perfect, I still found the premise interesting.
Characters, while often having shamelessly convenient backstories and personalities for the MC to explore (IYKWIM but later on that), are still interesting enough to not be a bore, that is, if you can put up with their 'commonalities'.
And MC is not a goddamn pussy, which is great. Unless you're into that shit I suppose, but who am I to kink-shame? Whatever rocks your socks off.
I'd say the game is made with a positive tone mostly, but then there is the nightmare fueled drama involved. There's plenty of tasteless dark shit going on (mostly) in the background, but in case you're worried, it's toned the fuck down in regards for the MC and his 151 Pokégals, so playing it won't be a gut-wrenching experience. For the most part. Probably. Maybe.
Still, I'd recommend not playing it if you know yourself to be overly sensitive.
Of characters:
MC goes from 30 years of prison, for something that is only ever vaguely hinted at, to a free man after 3 years, with a (sealed) record.
Why? Because stop asking questions, it's not the point!
Vague and nonsensical justifications are thrown around but the bottom line is,
MC's cool and badass and smart, but still very human because he has problems too. Which might be good news for people sick of simp doormat MCs, but otherwise not really explored or interesting, or even sensible.
Also that last part? "Very human because s/he has problems"? It is essentially copy-pasted for every character you meet. I mean EVERY one of them.
Anyway, his PTSD induced 'berserking' is a boon/problem recurring seemingly when the writer remembers that it's a thing that can nudge the story along, otherwise it's conveniently kept in check.
As mentioned, his military background only really affects the dialogue, rather than his general behaviour. He's exceedingly civilian, I see practically no habits or traits people pick up from the military (again, short of the kinda cringy and uncalled for "Yes, Sir!" responses).
"Military" also doesn't quite explain how he can occasionally pull a James Bond out of a hat to solve a problem.
As for his intelligence, it's not so much about him being intelligent than it is about pretty much everyone else being significantly more dumb.
This is made evident when MC struggles with problems with painfully obvious solutions, or borderline gets people killed because of his (and everyone else's collective) carelessness.
Also he has to re-learn how to ride a bike because it's been a while since he learned it. Ever heard the idiom "it's like riding a bike"? That's because you CAN'T forget it. Jesus.
At any rate, he is (at least presented as) a capable and decent guy.
Other characters I'll not even address individually, for two reasons. First, because I do not want to spoil their stories as it is still one of the game's stronger points, and second, because even though they have different details, the overall picture is essentially the same for every single one of them.
Here are some general truths:
1-- they all pretty much come with their own problems which, to an extent, define them. Until you swoop in and cure that molestation-turned-lesbian with a good dicking because you're just THAT good.
2-- they are pretty much all bangabe, with MAYBE a couple of exceptions. However, some choices of the writer(s) make me think there's a chance they're planning for ALL of them to be bangable eventually. We'll see.
3-- they are pretty much all bisexual. Yep, some think they are straight, some think they are lesbian. But MC with his girlfriends will show them the error of their ways, lo and behold all of them turn bi.
I wish I was joking.
4-- they are all pretty easy lays too, progression usually happens very fast. Which sometimes makes some sense, other times it absolutely does not, and it causes tonal clashes story-wise, like going from discussing being abused to a threesome and then a foursome is just fucking weird, man, and not in a good way.
5-- they are all okay with MC's "open relationship" policy. MC gets to bang everyone, girls can bang each other, but no other dudes allowed.
This means two things:
First, that you can expect very little NTR (the minimal there is is for dramatic effect/plot device), and second, that it's the kind of harem you probably imagine when hearing the word "harem"; you'll never have to choose one relationship over another, hell you won't have any relationship drama either, for better or for worse.
Now, this does make for a decent "harem game" but it comes at the cost of individuality, because I just accurately summed up like all 20+ (I didn't think to count, sorry) characters in mere 5 points.
So while the writer tried to make them more diverse, the extend of diversity is quite limited by default because of these 5 "guidelines" that need to be followed for them to fit into this "harem game".
Otherwise characters aren't bad at all. While they gravitate towards the same interests/personalities (sexually at least), I'd say they are a likeable bunch. Aside sex, you'll find plenty of cute, romantic, and sexy scenes because the wirter doesn't treat them as just a walking set of holes.
One more thing I noticed regarding some characters, however I am unsure how much of it is on me.
There are at least 4 characters who had the option to be pursued (which I did, 'cuz Gotta Bang 'Em All) and yet not long after I started pursuing them, they stopped getting scenes, of any kind. Even daily interactions, reminders that they are still there, living their lives.
They just...ceased to appear.
The problem is, if it's not on me, then it's not a good sign that characters are forgotten or deliberately ignored by the writer,
but if it is on me, it's still a not a good sign as I got no hint that it is due to my choices, that either MC or them are no longer interested, for any reason.
I had no major problems with sounds, but I can't praise it either. it's decent.
There are a few good enough soundtracks to accompany the scenes and help set the mood,
and then there are a few sound effects, including bike noises, gunshot I believe, the (overused) moaning during scenes and some laughter too if my memory serves right, among others. So there are some for sure, though my recollection of it is rather vague. But none if it really stood out to me, so I'd say it is neither too good nor too bad.
Dialogues are not voiced, in case you're wondering.
Visuals are good and bad both. So, "okay" maybe. MAYBE.
Renders themselves look good enough and they are many. Occasionally from render to render things change: colour of a necklace, the cupsize of a breast, or the size of the entire model. It is noticeable, but it probably won't ruin the mood for you, and again, it rarely happens.
There are different body-types, though the variation is fairly mild, but while while exaggerated waspish waists and bubbly butts aren't rare at all, more realistic and "unideal" body-types are present also.
Larger boobers are sometimes explained in the game with implants, so even if it looks unrealistically large at times, we have a plausible explanation, which is always a positive.
The only reason I cannot judge visuals, collectively, to be "good" is because of the animations.
They are choppy, robotic, short and poorly looped, with frozen facial expressions mostly.
It's not THE worst I've ever seen but it's down there, certainly bad enough to take me out of it and make me wish we had a few more renders of the acts instead.
Grammar/spelling is...not terrible, it's mostly coherent with the odd exception, and at least tries to be colorful, with more or less success. But mistakes aren't exactly far and wide, most of which could have -or rather should have been eliminated by spell-checking it just once.
No but like seriously, just spell-check it. Please, thank you.
Overall I might be biased for the game rather than against it. The downsides seem to outnumber the upsides by quite a bit, but then again I do enjoy a lengthy fuckfest, and the characters kinda grew on me over time.
I'm giving it a halfway score, perhaps (un)deservingly.
I certainly can't call it great, but it's still a goddamn breath of fresh air considering some other games I've played, or rather, tried to.
The sheer volume of content gives the game time to grow on you despite its flaws, if you can put up with said flaws in the first place that is.
Be as it may, if you're okay with the idea of Ren'Py VNs that are mostly linear in nature, my advice is to give it a shot, and who knows, you might end up wishing it never ended.
