[ Update for version 2.5.5 ]
The story has advanced a bit, and I really appreciate the new scenes that have been added. The dream diving powers still remain underutilised, and the plot has not advanced all that much. That said, great stuff between 2.2 and 2.5.5! Recommended!
[ Review subject to change: Review for version 2.2 ]
TL;DR: Damn, My Best Deal is a really good game! I like the potential of the story, and I like the character interactions. There is a little bit of everything for most people here and, fortunately, I like all the tastes catered for in this game. I would give it a perfect 5 star if not for a couple of peeves.
The Good: Incest! There’s also a healthy splash of optional femdom, some fine MILFs and twins. This would be a winning formula if they were combined, but alas, it isn’t so. The characters are great and some have good depth to them. The sex scenes are amazing with a good mix of still frames and animation.
The Average: There are some plot points that I feel are there because it pars for the course with visual novels: a damsel that needs to be saved from her family; the power to influence people so they have sex with you; help your friend get out of a pinch with a bad man. None of these storylines are done poorly in My Best Deal, but the story beats are predictable.
The Bad: You have two powers in the game: Make people feel love and make people obey. I don’t feel like the former does what it says on the label and the later is just your typical “how about I solve this with rape instead”. These two powers don’t feel like they meet their potential. Also, white flashbangs when your character cums might feel cool design-wise, but it really fucking hurts my eyes when I play in a dim room.
Thorough Review:
Story: Competent
You play the story of a dead man being Isekai’d back into the world you just departed, but into the body of a handsome boy who also died. This happened because your soul was approached by the goddess of love who, in exchange for a favour, give you a new chance at life but without your old memories. What ensues is a story of a protagonist who must spread the power of love by having sex with any person he can get a hold of and, ideally, also make them fall in love with him. While this is going on you find out that your new body belonged to a man who made a deal with another goddess that apparently made his life so unbearable that he chose to die when given a chance of revival. Now you must also deal with a Control goddess wanting you to honour a deal she made with another soul. That’s the story so far.
Characters: Great*
*those that are in the current version fairly developed, at least. The main character is a good enough person who want to do good things, for the most part. There are very few chances to outright be an asshole, which I appreciate. Your housemates are all great characters, if a little underdeveloped. Each of them gets a chance to shine and show complexity though which I appreciate. With the patch we are to assume that we are genetically related to our twin sisters, but they look straight Asian, while you and your mother are Caucasian. Either they are adopted, or at best half-siblings. Father is no-where to be found. There are also characters from outside the home, but apart from two of them, most are at the current version of the game very underdeveloped.
Gameplay: Competent
It is a visual novel. The format is basic, but functional. Nothing to write home about. I wish the Ren’Py shortcut layout was more friendly for one-handed use.
Visuals: Amazing!
I love this game’s visuals. The characters and backgrounds are all a solid 10/10. I like the mix of still frames and animation in sex scenes, and there is a great text to picture ratio. Very often I found myself stopping conversation just to hide the text-box and admire the view.
Summary: Great!
The story has great potential going forward, and I hope it can progress from where version 2.2 left off without running into more cliché plot points. I also want the player to further utilise one of the most interesting abilities granted to him so far: dream diving. All those sequences have been very well done so far, and I want more of it.
I lied in the TL;DR that there was incest in this game. With the patch installed, you, the protagonist, are not related to your housemates. Your housemates, however, are (probably) related to the body you currently inhabit. You, the protagonist, does not know about this distinction, but you, the player, does. This is one of my main complaints about the story. If the goddess of love had returned you to your own body but your memories would be missing due to the cause of your almost death that would have made this plot point much, much better for me.
Wishlist:
> More stories and scenes with Mum!
> Let the twins finally get together!
> Use the dream diving power more!
> Get rid of the white flashes when the protagonist busts a nut!