[1.01] My Very Own Lith is a story-heavy, sandbox-ish, text-based game that puts an emphasis on its deep and thought-provoking narrative more than its porn. If you're looking for that, great. If not, it's still decent, but not 5 stars, as these elements can get in the way of your enjoyment. Fortunately, I am the former.
To explain these concepts, there will be minor spoilers.
To begin the game, you select your species and gender, and genitalia. Additionally, you can select Lith's gender, but it will have no effect on his anatomy. I chose male, so I will be referring to him as such for the rest of the review.
The game is split up into 3 acts, each with their own endings and focus on content.
In Act 1, the game plays like a standard sandbox text game, with stats to manage and relationship scores to raise. This is where you decide how to treat your Lith, giving you 3 possible conclusions that lead directly into the next act.
In Act 2, four mostly linear routes open up, offering you a more hand-written story to follow with your Lith depending on how you built up his relationship. There are still porn scenes scattered around, but the focus has shifted towards the routes' plot.
In Act 3, all non-game over endings from Act 2 will shift into a single linear path, where the gameplay of Act 1 will be turned on its head. This one also has a focus on plot and meta topics. I don't want to spoil too much, but be warned that the game will take most of your player control away from you in part due to its linearity, which could be a major turn off for some players.
The text is written wonderfully. This is some of the best writing I've seen from any kind of literature. In fact, it's written so well, that the pacing can drag at parts where you're trying to imagine the NSFW scene and the text is over-describing what's going on in the most beautiful prose. The "Okay" prompt to go to the next text box is also rarely used, resulting in huge walls of text that feel intimidating to scroll through.
The story is also a defining feature. Like another furry text game that shall not be named, MVOL has a lot to say on the "player" of the game. Meta stories, and all that. Like the other game, it's done rather thoughtfully, but you'll have to experience that for yourself.
However, the creator has stated that the game is meant to be frustrating to find every nook and cranny of this game's art and content. While I can respect this commitment to keeping the game pure, completionists who love filling out a gallery will be left disappointed by the lack of resources online to get all the things found... except the fact that the full cheat version that includes a back button is $45/mo. Guess you'd better pay up! It's also the only version that has a name attached to it, so it can't be shared around without having Lith calling you someone else. Gotta admit, it's a pretty clever DRM system.
In conclusion, MVOL is a great game if you want incredible porn and story writing, but the experience may be bogged down by its fixation on plot and "experiencing the game the right way."