VN - Ren'Py - My Bully Is My Lover [Ch1 Ep4] [NiiChan]

Truthfully from the title and overview I had expected an average to slightly above average game at best, so I had put this game off for a long time. Much to my surprise this game was instead an incredibly well made experience, with high quality animations, characters that actually had *character* ( a high bar I know), and an overarching story I didn't expect in the slightest.

I really appreciate the way the harem is executed within the story, as it feels like it has the proper weight applied to it in the narrative. Its not simply a harem game where you can fuck anyone because the girls seem to just ignore the existence of the other members; as so many other games fall into.

The choices offered are fairly simple with it often being choosing between two potential options, but for the kind of game this is aspiring to be the choice allows some player agency within the story, while not needing a comprehensive guide on every single choice.

Now for the big thing, the sex scenes are REALLY well done. Animations that actually appear to have care put into them, character expressions beyond just generic smile or frown, and a decent variety within the specifics of the scenes as well. Additionally there is good emotional weight to the sex scenes, with the scenes feeling right at home in the story, rather than the story needing an excuse to have a sex scene break.

I sincerely encourage anyone who, like me, have been putting off this game due to the fears of "anime inspired, 3dcg, harem" combined with its title painting a certain picture. The only things that I'd think could really improve is the characters having a bit better balance between them as it really feels like each harem member gets a story section then is sidelined for a while, and secondly making the prologue episodes more noticeably distinct as I was quite surprised that the game had effectively 11 chapters instead of 4 like the update number suggested.

Oh also letting us rail the absolute hell out of Would be a very welcome addition to a large amount of people I'm sure.

Excellent game! Emma's solo ending still hit me hard even after I finished 4 episodes of chapter 1. I like the way you build the emotion in the character and their own story. I can't wait to see your next update in the game's story. Wishing you lots of luck!

Each update makes the game so much better. Hats off to NiiChan, I can tell that the craftsmanship only gets better with time. The game itself is well written and has genuinely caught me off guard with some of the humor. This is one of my favorite games I've played.

My Bully Is My Lover [Ch1 Ep4]

This is without a doubt one of the best AVNs I have ever played and that by a mile.

It has everything: an engaging story, terrific characters, a great MC, amazing LIs, and an excellent OST.

Seriously. Stop reading this shitty review.
Download the game and start playing.

I would say it's a hidden gem, but no! It's a well know game made by very talented people if the eroges games had a rating it's would be AAA.

The writing is superb, i loved the renders specially the close shots, the transitions from renders to animations are one of the best i ever saw.

If I would complain something about this game is the lack of gameplay mechanics, but i know how much people complains about it i understand the dev for not using those.

In general i think this game alongside Vae Victis it the best you find in F95.

This is probably one of the best VN's I've ever had the pleasure of reading. There are only a few VN's that illicit so many emotions out of me. I cried like a baby during certain chapters because of the story crafted by the dev. I also cried tears of joy for seeing the LIs and the Mc not only fix the cracks in their past but solidifying their emotions for each other. The comedy although not as prominent in the later chapters ( and rightfully so as the story demands more seriousness) got me doubling over (Gwen's facial expressions, no more explanations needed if you like her).
All of this is compounded by the fact that the Animations are smooth( as smooth as 3d gets) and Models are gorgeous.
Normally I kind of just cruise through waiting for scenes, but I had to stop and enjoy this VN for what it is, a visual novel and have to give it the credence it deserves.

I think this is the first game that has made me cry, multiple times. I lost my Mother less than a year ago to Cancer, so Emma's story hit harder than it should have. As soon as Emma's story was told, I knew the choice on who I wanted to pursue without any question. Now I have to convince myself to explore the other options.

Easily one of my favorite games out there. Has hot LIs, great renders, great animations, an interesting story and most importantly it's one of the few games I've played that evokes emotions other then horniness

I really love that you can just choose to run off with Emma and give her the life she deserved. The fact it's not intended to be a huge separate story just makes it more impressive that the dev gave us that route.

I would easily rate this 9.5/10.
it has its unique story(albeit it is full of cliches) which is full of melodrama and cliffhangers. I like how detailed each character's backstory is and how much effort has been put into the writing.
The writing and the story are the main highlights of this game. I mean it is such a well written script that goes way beyond what we see in regular VNs.
The story takes us on a journey well beyond the mundane and deep into the characters' heart and soul. I like it very much about this game.
Renders are good and the animation is like what we see in lot of the VNs. however, it feels a bit confusing with lot of characters without any defined relationship with the MC. And WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS LANDLORD, LANDLADY AND ROOMMATE SHIT WHEN IT IS CLEARLY GIVEN THAT THE MC IS THEIR BIOLOGICAL SON AND HAS A REAL SISTER, I am just sick of it. I mean with all the things going on, it feels cheap to even have this kind of option. It would have been okay if this was some cheap fap-only game. That's the only issue why i haven't given it a 10.

Definitely lost the thread the longer it went. Not just with too many LIs but with the plot becoming a mess and the writin getting more and more and more verbose until it sounds like some hybrid between a teenage girl's diary and an undergratuate's poorly written philosophy paper. Everyone sounds increasingly the same and they all are apt to just go on these long monologues or soliloquys for no reason and the actual content of their speeches barely even makes sense.

The visuals are fine. The animations are rudimentary but nice too. But in Chapter 1, it went from a fun, cute AVN to a chore.

I ignored this AVN for a long time. I assumed by the title, it was going to be a loser cuckfest but I took a chance and read some reviews and then decided to give it a try. Let me just say, it is NOT a cuckfest.

There is a lot to unpack as I am reviewing Ch1 Ep4 and I can't believe the amount of story content there is. There is not a lot of adult content, but the amount of story is crazy. Who ever is writing this, is pretty good. Some of the stoylines really tug at the emotional heart strings. The back story of Emy and the MC was just freaking awesome and the production and images were all spot on. Just that one story, IMO, is worth the download. Of course, if you don't give a crap about story and just want h content, you will probably want to just skip this AVN. Having said this, I have to say, there are several times there is just too much story.

Sometimes, when stories get too long, they can be cumbersome and plot holes start to appear. This is no exception. The whole underlying story is a bit off and does not entirely flow. I get Aine's Mom's motivation, but the way she goes about trying to get it, doesn't really make a lot of sense. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't expand on this, but it just seems to me she could have gone a whole different direction and been a lot more effective then what she chose to do. Then there is the plan concocted by the MC's mother. Again, it's just an odd approach that seems really farfetched.

To their credit, the Dev goes all in on this approach and it works to a degree. The character interactions and the individual story lines are really well done and very well written. It's too bad the underlying story is thin and unbelievable because there is some really fantastic writing here.

Anyway, if you like great writing and are not looking for a fuckfest, give this a try. You will not be disappointed.

It is one of the best VN with a unique fantasy that also includes some cliches, you can even call it too cliche (Emma's ending no offense to Emma simps).
This VN doesn't lose on its story, not to mention THE ANIMATION, THE MODELS (characters), THE STORYBUILDING (i mean the dev has another game that is in this universe, which is also really good btw, dev is actual 5head for that), its peak VN, it touches the most overrated genres (fantasy) or its own title even??
But what separates this game from other fantasy VN is its storyline which is rich with cliffhangers and even more cliffhangers AND EVEN MORE CLIFFHANGERS that grab your attention leaving you wanting more. Continue making bangers dev, and hopefully, this game will be available soon on Steam.

Beautiful renders, page-turning story, great cinematics and animations, incredible music, funny, interesting, mysterious, drama, all in this game, absolutely love it, cant ask for anything better, definitely top 5 AVNs

Edited review.

Started off well and cute, but very quickly devolved into too many LIs and the plot got really convoluted. I think that's a bit of the "anime type story" that the intro suggests, so maybe it's just not my cup of tea (I think others who rate this 5 stars will certainly argue as much), but even though I'm not an otaku I've seen a few anime and generally liked their stories much more than this (ofc this is just an AVN by a solo dev, not a multimillion dollar project). The villain in the story is too cartoonish and the setup to what will ultimately be the great reveal is too convoluted while also being pretty predictable.

Renders are typical HS1 quality. OK and cute, but a bit underwhelming for today's standards. They don't take away from the experience, but I also can't give a star for them

There's very little porn, so I can't give it an extra star for that either.

Exposition is a bit too basic. There's a lot of editing that could be done here. I suggest watching this: In Praise of Great Exposition

Choices are a combination of being too obvious and not consequential. Someone waves "hi" at you and you have a chance of replying to get +1 RP or do nothing and have no consequences. These days, I tend to prefer a system in which everything is a choice and either alternative will influence a relationship, like Paragon and Renegade points (or Love and Corruption, for example). I think developers shy away from having too many choices because they think this grows the # of scenes they have to create exponentially, but I don't think that's right. That would only happen if every choice created a different scene, but if scenes are dependent on cumulative score rather than specific boolean variables, they can still be pretty manageable. The result is at most you get 3 scene variations (one if you're above a certain Love threshold, another if you're above a certain Corruption threshold, and another if you're below both thresholds). But any of those 3 scene choices could also not exist at all so, say, if you're above a Love threshold you get a scene, otherwise you get zilch. So rather than "scenes per each choice variable", think of the scenes you want first and then create "scenes per threshold check".

SPOILERS below

I think I know where people are coming from on the "great writing" which is the fact that the bully turns lover, MC overcomes his perceived limitations to rise above the challenge, etc. etc. but none of that stuff actually happens _in_ the story. We start by already seeing MC transformed, the bully is a nice person, etc. We're just told these things happened and we're supposed to care, but if we're not shown them, it's hard to really care. See https://blog.reedsy.com/show-dont-tell/

Anyway, the setup is very interesting but the execution left a little bit to be desired. Dialogue and writing improvements could take this from 2/5 to 3.5-4/5. Render and animation improvements could further take it to a solid 4.5/5

I think this setup with cute HS1 girls with cat ears has been done many times before and I don't think this is the best rendition of that fantasy, unfortunately.

Just amazing. Love Emma solo ending. Love the dynamic between MC and the girls. The animations are smooth and sexy. The story is good enough for me to care about the LIs. My favorite moment is properly when everyone confront each other about how they all fell for one guy, and it's hilirious.

My Bully Is My Lover [Ch1 Ep3 Part 2]

What a great game.

• Writing is top notch. It goes from heartbreakingly sad to funny.
• Animations are really good too, way beyond the standard HS.
• Amazing OST. Don't play this with sounds off.
• Characters have great depth and you get to really know them, their struggles and motivations.

One of the best harem games we have.

Great game! I've been playing this since a friend recommended it. I love how the story from the earlier versions connects to the current one. Can't wait to see what the next update brings, especially with the moon's story.

The game hits the nail spot on when it comes to triggering emotions. Each and every character has such a good backstory and arc that it becomes tough to choose your favorite. Not just the main LI's but even other characters are well written.

Prime example of a game that gets better the further it goes on. The early parts of the game are poor but the further it progresses the more the writing, visual quality and sex scenes improve. The most recent updates have had some of the better storytelling that I have seen in the current crop of updating AVNs.

What stops the game getting 5 stars is the poor beginning, character models that are lagging behind the competition at the top, instead sitting more in the average range and some story elements being out of place enough in the world to make a serious story come across as goofy.

This is one of the top games to watch and for now 4 stars is deserved.