Version Played: v0.8.2 downloaded here, with patch
I've realised I only really put the effort in to review games I thouroughly enjoy - which already tells you this is a the least, thoroughly positive. To elabourate: once this is finished, I need to replay it from the start, as well as Once in a Lifetime, to work out which my favourite VN is, because this is great.
Characters: A more limited cast than similar games, to the benefit of the game itself. A good amount of focus is had on each girl, and they are all stylistically different - for the most part. I will say the sex angles make them a little more interchangable than they could be, but story wise they're great. Perahps a ;ittle inconsistency in the characters sometimes, but nothing truly immersion breaking. They are introduced and developed well, and I think any of the 4 could easily be anyones favourite.
Renders: 5/5 excellent, the animations here are... fucking ace, no other words for it. The game is definitely stylised, and the chosen art style may turn a few people off. That's a shame if so, you're missing out on a good game - but I would get it, it's probably not for everyone. But the animationms are great, and it's clear every scene is rendered with care.
Story and Writing: Writing quality isn't top notch, but it's good, 4/5 stars. Plot is good, familiar beats, well executed, maybe another 4/5 stars. What I think makes this a 5 star for me, is a few twists I actually didn't see coming, but more importantly, the pacing. I was sucked in for (I'm bad at estimating time), somewhere between 5-15 hours playing this from the start to current end point, and was kept with pretty damn rapt attention the whole time. The "morale boost" idea is the exact cliche you think it is, and is reasonably justified. I feel like we could have a couple of Nori ones after she's really introduced, both physical and in dreamspace.
The Sex: I hate to say 4.5, but there could be a bit more variety. Everything presented is stellar, but a bit more variety for each girl, and little more between the 4 would be great. I want to say 5, my heart says 5, the animation says 5 - but we could do with just a little more variety.
Mechanics and Gameplay: 5/5, perfect balance of not too complicated for a porn game, but engaging enough to keep me playing, and provide a feeling of investment. The fact that the dev provides this option up front through is great. Couple of bits of UI could be improved IMO - particularly a reminder that Mai isn't doing anything after a project, so that you remember to send her out for other stuff, but that's minor. Also, a slight mixed bag - I really enjoyed the inline animations with the game, when moving to new areas. It wore a little thin personally by the end, but with the skip option always present... yeah, really good.
Regarding pacing, I will say that I did play on feast mode, my opinion of the story pacing and gameplay might change if I didn't - I'm going to replay from the start on scavengar when the final release is out. Because story wise, I feel the first part of the girls proprosing morale boosts, and accepting the situation is great, but it does feel like in the middle there is a hop skip and a jump where it accelerates a little quickly - and perhaps playing as intended would work that out, so I look forward to my replay when the final version hits.
Closing Notes and Thoughts: it's great, up there with my favourites, and it might actually be my favourite. Something about the combination of everything I've talked about makes me feel this game is better than the sum of its parts, and when you have parts as good as these animations, you get something amazing. I probably need to be harsher in my reviews, I'm always really positive - but writing this, I've been as critical as I can possibly be.
5/5 play it now