Mechanically, Milky Touch is a well-made game. The UI is polished, Ren'Py is a good choice of engine, and there aren't a whole lot of dropped balls that get in the way of the narrative experience.
The "game" here leans on a branching tree of choices that facilitates or prohibits the development of certain characters' stories, and how the player interacts with those characters. You can see, or not see, certain scenes, based on your choices, or change some cosmetic details, but I didn't notice a lot of substantive plot changes resulting from player choices. For example, you can play through one scene in a way that either involves your best friend, Victor, or not, but doing so won't change the relationship Victor has to the other parties, or inspire him to rectify his relationship with the object of his affection.
In spite of this, I never felt that my choices were meaningless, and generally felt better connected to the world and it's characters as a result of deciding how to interact with them.
The art, both technically, and stylistically, is the best in its class. The artist's style seems (to this philistine) vaguely impressionistic, certainly more classical than the average erotic game, and compliments the use of elegant, refined, women. It seems like the theme and characters respect the capacity of the art to deliver realistic images that can express a range of emotion and detail. I think the art would be wasted in the service of a story that took itself less seriously, and the theme and characters would suffer if they were represented by 3d models, anime-inspired art, or a more cartoony style.
Visually, the game is filled with stockings, high heels, evening gowns, uniforms, and so on. In the hands of so capable an artist, it becomes a sensual feast. I had no trouble appreciating the femininity or beauty of the characters, and to a lesser extent, details like the feel of nylon stockings, and the implied desire of characters to appear made up, and well put-together.
Disclosure: The game has voice acting, which, since I play my games muted, I was, regretfully, almost completely deaf to. What little I did listen to, I recall favorably, and remember that Claudia's dialogue seemed to suit her character. While I understand that this is a difficult development expense to justify, I am nonetheless excited to see the creative team trying to encompass the other, invisible, senses, for a richer experience.
Writing is fair, comfortably above average for a game in this niche, but not great. The characters are somewhat flat, and it's not real clear what's going on in their head (even when it should be). The mother/landlady is probably the most robustly detailed character in the game. The characters are largely interchangeable pretty faces to be used in the service of the game, and don't have intrinsic values, wants, flaws, or any real characteristics of their own. You probably couldn't tell these characters apart on the basis of their dialogue or personalities. The main character is similarly two dimensional, and while a willing player might find themselves sympathizing with, and caring for, some of the characters, this empathy is somewhat disconnected from the 'avatar' of the main character.
Although the description is, as noted above, adequate, particularly given the lackluster writing that characterizes this niche, it never crosses over to being hot enough to provoke or titillate on its own merits.
I have to rebuff one criticism I've seen: while the writing isn't stellar, the game isn't afraid to give us long, luxurious, reasonably detailed, descriptions of sex, which is a treat, and a welcome change from more taciturn games which seem to treat the narrative as an impediment to their ability to deliver unlockable porn. A beautiful illustration can convince us that a character is attractive, but if you want to meaningfully communicate subtle, and impactful, experiences, like the slow, reluctant, acquiescence of a woman to the advances of a repulsive patron, or the despair and anger of a betrayed wife and her subsequent tryst, or the slow transmutation of a mother's familial love to romantic attraction, you're going to have to rely on the skillful use of the written word for that development. I would much rather an author attempt that challenge, than condemn a game to be a slideshow of pictures, punctuated by clicking.
The theme of the game seems to be an open question of beautiful, somewhat reserved, women, falling from grace, and how the player reacts to that. The women in the game are all upper class women in social or professional positions where a high degree of propriety and refinement is expected. The kind of women who play violins, work behind desks, and wear uniforms to work. The main source of erotic tension in the game is seeing these women in situations, and with people, who betray the existance of a repressed, beating, id, beneath that exterior. Much of the kink, therefore, encompasses experiences of reluctance, coercion, humiliation/degredation, and so on. Summarily, the player sees beautiful women opening to experiences of sexual depravity and gratification in spite of themselves.
The game does a decent job setting up the expectation of propriety before it (predictably) violates it. We develop our expectations of these women from the settings we see them in, and the way we see them present themselves. The art does the heavy lifting here- there's relatively little written exposition in the game, so far, and what there is focuses more on developing plot, more than character. Consequently, we don't get much of an idea of what the characters are like in their normal, refined personas, before the game pulls the curtain back and reveals nymphomania, exhibitionism, incest, etc.
If I had one criticism of the game, it's that the potential for sexual tension (which is significant) is underdeveloped. We don't become emotionally attached to Claudia as a mother before the game induces us to lust after her. We don't see Olivia as a convincingly straitlaced teacher, before the game makes her the focal point of perversion. This is understandable- gamers want tits, and they're not willing to sit through War and Peace to get there. Given the plot's reliance on characters overcoming their own impediments to sexuality, it feels like we don't have a whole lot of gameplay dedicated to enjoying a woman's very gradual descent into carnal excess. It feels like we miss some of the the meat and potatoes- the real substance, of drama and emotional angst that the world has set up for us. This game has a hell of a lot going for it, and I can't help wonder what it might be if it could sell the emotional side of the story as well as it does the visual.
Overall, this is one of my favorite games in the erotic genre, and I strongly recommend it. I really just want more, deeper, exploration of what the game already delivers. I'm equally enthusiastic about the success of this venture, as I am the continued development of the already significant skills of the creators, and their work on parallel and future projects.
