Unity - Completed - Mystwood Manor [v1.1.2] [Faerin]

the best i can give this is 3/5 stars,
by now everyone and his dog have pointed out what is so overly great about this, but it really isn't for me.

the story is ok. not making waves and like the dialogue, hardly taxing on the mind. could have been better.

but the big let-downs for me, are all in the art. one girl is cross-eyed permanently, the slow glances up when viewing a girl are tedious in the extreme, and the scenes slowing down when switching screens is also tedious. add to this the lack lustre endings and quite average story and dialogue, and this becomes a very average game hardly any different from the previous offering by the same dev..

there is just nothing to hook you beyond good renders which soon become a bit boring. mechanics are solid but wasted on this project.

It hurts me to give this two stars. I like the dev and had high hopes. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not here for games, I'm here for long form non gonzo porn. But I'm here for porn.

I don't care for "gameplay", I don't want "gameplay" a no choice novel is, IMHO, always better than a sandbox. Heck, anything is. But you get my point. I wanna see fucking, but I want glue. A story to tie in the fucking.

This game has a story. I'm not going to say it's good. But it's not terrible. The gameplay is way too much for me, but it's not stupid. It's well enough done.

The game is grindy AF, but not in a stupid way. I play a lot of twisty games (wink wink) where there's a lot of sandboxing, and clicking, and stupid stuff that needs a guide and is unplayable without one. But at least there is a metric fuck ton of sex.

This? Almost no penetration. Just saw a rip of 200x40 - ish pictures. Not even 1/18 of that is penetration. There's a lot of strocking, blowing, posing, whatevering. But there's virtually no penetration.

Again, not gonna lie, the game was kinda hot at first. Buuuuut I was just spending hours and hours and not getting much from it. After watching the CG rip, reading some other comments, I can easily deduce that, in fact, yes. The game is devoid of sex. Maybe 2-3 penetration scenes per character for maybe 100 hours of grinding.

NO - THANK - YOU!

If you like outfit progression you're gonna love this game cause there's a lot of it! One thing I felt was missing was some shorts scenes for upgrading an outfit, like characters working in them and the guests' reaction as they get more and more revealing. But that's the only complaint I have! A good variety of characters with different personalities so there's something for everybody. Very fun game overall, had a blast playing it!

This game forced me for my first ever rating and probably the last. One of the best games I ever played! Very good gameplay and mechanics, nice and clean renders and pretty good animations. Story was good as well, nothing superb, but kept me interested. 4,8* ez.

Man of the House is one of the better games in here, so trying Mystwood Manor was a no-brainer.

Overall it's a very decent game, but rather mediocre adult game.
The story, gameplay and characters are good (I'd say it features some of the best models out there). But when it comes to actual interactions and scenes - it's just not enough.

Feels like a lot of wasted potential here as this could've been easily one of the best games on the site if it had more scenes, more positions, acts, and overall variety.

V1.01 complete

Game will take hours. Took me several days.
It's similar to CIVILIZATION where each turn is managed.

Very well made, with interesting story and a lot of sex. Personal gripe is that the girls were too easy, even if it makes sense why. The taboo, forbidden kink was lost.

Reducing the number of characters would have made them more distinct. Same trope over and over: damsel in distress eventually awards MC with sex for saving them.

Definitely worth playing, even if it doesn't quite make my top games list.

This is my humble opinion regarding this game.
First of all, pros and cons:
Pros❤
· Top tier character model design
· Intituive and fancy UI
· Interesting story
· Character's outfit keep changing as their lust progresses
Contrary to what people say about the game's grind, I found it entertaining.

Cons
· Character's relationship building lacked of interactions between the MC and them
· Lack of sex scenes, lack of angles in the sex scenes, lack of sex positions, lack of foreplay, lack of variations of sex scenes in general
· Practically the entire map and its locations were wasted, all the character's events take place inside the mansion which becomes somewhat redundant.
I understand that the whole game revolves around the mansion, but they could have made much better use of the town's locations.
· Lack of interaction between the guests and the characters regarding they outfits changes, I mean, they practically wear cleavage showing their boobs and nips, pantyless skirts and the guests don't react to that? come on!
· Again, lack of sex scenes.
· Story's end feels rushed

Anyway, I liked the game, its card system, the characters and their costume changes, but I finish the game thinking that it could have been much better.
Still it is a high quality game and I thank faerin for bringing us this game.

It's an addictive game. The gameplay is somewhat similar to MOHs, but the interface is new.

What I liked:

1. beautiful models (Laura is my favorite).
2. the game management interface. It's new and did not reach its full potential yet, but it's quite nice when you get the hang of it. I think it could be used in many games.
3. the game looks polished and beautiful and most of the time you know what to do.

What I don't like:

1. the way the grind combined with the interface affects the pacing of the game. At some point you are discovering something at each turn, then the discovery path ends, and then you're left with lots of dry grinding.
2. a lot of unexplored potential for the female models. The game could have gone one or two extra years easily.
3. the times you don't know what to do, because there are some hidden events not present in the interface guide
4. lots of locations are almost eventless.

Thinks I don't care about at all: the story, the characters' personal history and psychological profile.

TL/DR Mystwood Manor had all the ingredients to be a high quality dynamic game with kinks that I enjoy- but wiffed it so hard on execution of their sandbox/pacing that I ended up getting bored really quickly.

Pros:
Great female character models.
Somewhat Novel Management System
Fun system for upgrading your characters.
Somewhat decent meta-plot featuring some fantasy Noir concepts.
Beautiful UI.

Cons:
~So, so much empty sandbox. Tons of locations to explore that were only used for a single event.
~Annoyingly repetitive grind in the character development with not enough plot events breaking it up to keep an interesting pacing.
~Minimal relationship building in a game where that should be the narrative focus
~Clunky repetitive game-play.
~No indicator to show you had fully explored a location

I went in pretty hyped seeing that this was by the dev of Man of the House, but I ended up being disappointed for the reasons touched on in other reviews. At its core the main gameplay is classic hotel management sim stuff and the core execution of this gameplay loop works well - you have distinct girls and guests with distinct personalities, and you make choices that have them build their skills and that gradually awards additional scenes.

The problem though is not simply that the game is grindy, but it is both grindy and unrewarding. A common pitfall of games like this is that they backload the sex scenes because you're unlocking the same relationship tiers with all the girls at once as you move through the game. Man of the House managed to avoid this issue by having a variety of scenes with each girl and making some girls give up sex earlier in their routes, but this game makes no such effort and you're going to be playing for many hours before you get your first hint of a sex scene. And from there there's a very slow drip of content. Like, I love games that have girls gradually get lewder costumes as the relationship develops, but grinding for a couple hours for the same outfit with the top button being unbuttoned is just not much of a "reward".

And ultimately when you do unlock the sex scenes they're... usually short, bland, and uninspiring. Man of the House had its own severe grind issues but at least it felt like you were managing relationships with the girls rather than just playing a management sim with an increasingly horny staff. Also there are the telltale hints of incomplete systems... lots of locations in the game that are barely used, the skeleton of an item/personality management system that seems neat (tarot cards are done well) but isn't that impactful, and not much "late game" content that you see in harems where you have more corruption/harem content. Overall it just feels very... underbaked, I guess, like the game has a solid core but it should've gone through a few more design iterations before being considered complete.

tl;dr version -

+ Good core management system with some neat supporting systems, albeit nothing super original here
+ Decent but not stellar artwork, good animation quality
+ Good hint system to prevent blocked progress
- Simple relationships with bland girls that are developed pretty slowly in very generic scenes
- Backloading of sexual content in the late game

PROS-
- Great and unique model designs.
- Decent storyline.
- Decent characters.
- Great gameplay mechanics.

CONS-
- Gets bit grindy in between in story mode.
- Not enough sex scenes, as some of the night scenes of girls are repeated multiple times.
- Drags bit too long in storymode gameplay (10~15 hrs).
- Application stops responding multiple times while playing video but can be dealt easily by turning it OFF.

5/5
Can't say is this game my fav, but it's definitely gets in my top 20 for sure. Interesting storyline and characters, good renders and animations. Even the sandbox part was pretty entertaining (but got a little boring at the lategame and it is one and only downside imo). As stated earlier, you can fix it with cheatmode.
To be mentioned, dev(s) didn't slack and made decent updates on regular basis

The good stuff:

Great renders, great animations in sex scenes. Art is top-notch.

The gameplay is surprisingly decent too. It's certainly nothing thats been done a thousand times before - its a very decent management sim on top of the h-content.

And most importantly, the characters are well-written, and have their own character development and personalities.

H-Scenes are pretty hot.

The things that need improving:

A better fast-forward system for content you've already seen. No need to wait out the entire quality bar animation, for example.

The grind really messes up the pacing of the game. Strongly recommend downloading the cheat mod to improve the experience, or else the game will get quite monotonous for people with limited time.

---

Finally, a post-game suggestion - after you clear each character's storylines, I suggest giving each girl some "reward scenes" where you can H them across multiple areas of the mansion. Not just rewatch previous scenes of the gallery, but actual reward scenes where you check on them during the day and fuck each other's brains out during their job shifts.

The game is already very good in its current form but this would be an addition that would elevate the heat of the game and give us some fun reward scenes to watch while hunting the last few events and collectibles of the game. That extra degree of payoff is one of the things that would elevate the game above some of the best ones in f95.

+ nice model and animation
+ very polished, one of those games that set the standard for other H games
+ complete, again, not many of those around

- grindy gameplay, and the payoff , whether it's the ero scenes, or story progression, is not worth it imo.

More on gameplay: you operate a hotel, each guest gives you 2 currencies: one to buy cards, one to upgrade your hotel. The cards are used to buff your stats, but they are pretty boring, since they are all number modifiers (+5% here, +10% there, don't hope for any fun broken combos like in roguelite games). The hotel upgrades do more or less the same thing. The hotel staffs are your love interests. Each girl has 3 stats, which can only be raised by doing the corresponding activity, when there's a guest that partakes in that activity. In order to progress their story, you need to raise all 3 stats to the next level, which can be extra grindy in later levels.

This game has good H content, unique story, and passable gameplay, but it is just way too grindy. The dev even went out of their way to add cheats which helped a lot, but they either forgot to add cheats to let add skill levels to girls or I'm a dumbass. They also forgot to add cheats to let you unlock events with the girls too.

At some point you gotta ask yourself: Who is this game for? Like, the H content is GREAT... but it takes to damn long to get to really be rewarding. So why is it even there? Surely it's not there to masturbate to right? Because if it was, surely it would be more conducive to doing so with?.. But no, that IS why it's there, the dev just never stopped and asked themselves that question: "who is this game for", and make a game for that person.

Honestly the dev's abilities are amazing, both in art, animation, writing, and gameplay. This dev has all the skills needed to make 5 star games, it's just he's used them to create an experience that is lackluster overall, unfortunately. It's hard for me to recommend this game - You can't really use a save because you need to participate in the story to enjoy the content. I suppose the dev did add story mode, but he plasters this big "DO NOT PLAY THIS MODE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I ADDED IT, YOU'RE LITERALLY A DUMBASS IF YOU PLAY IT" message all over it that really dissuades you from trying it... idk, maybe give it a go and tell the next guy if it's worth it.

My first time ever leaving a review here. I had played Faerin's previous game a while before this and played it as it's new versions came out. For this one, since I could tell it was gonna focus more on the gameplay and less on the "fun" stuff, i wanted to wait till it was final before I gave it a shot. Played through it the past few days and I do gotta say, the dev did stick to their guns that this was gonna be more of a game than a fap fest.

The gameplay is decent enough for a management sim. Sure there's a bit of a grind but I've definitely dealt with worse. I think my main issue is that some of the later game areas (club and yoga studio come to mind) are sooooo much more expensive in proportion to the rest that kinda took away from the experience until I sat down and focused on grinding some of those out. Maybe I was just unlucky on getting some of the cards that would make it easier (looking at you, Builder).

Renders are top notch which I was expecting, coming from MotH. Faerin has come a long way with models. Love all the girls, including the smaller bit characters. Wish there were a few more or at least more complex animations but won't fault the dev for it that too much, I know animations aren't their forte. The stills conveyed enough for me, just more of a personal preference thing. I like my moving bits lol.

I think the thing that held me through the most was the story. I did like trying to figure out the mystery of Mystwood and learning each of the girl's backstories and personalities. Though Catalina did seem a bit weak in comparison to the other girls. Unsure if she was the last addition or it was just the fact it took so long for me to unlock her (see previous gripe about building the damn club), but her story seemed very meh in comparison to the other girls. Her and Annika both seemed a bit shallow and was mostly there for smexy fun times. But I did still like them, just not as much as the other girls.

The ending was a great wrap up to all the mysteries in Mystwood. The epilogues, however, seemed rather pointless and I would have been more angry at them if I hadn't already spent the time to make sure I had everything before going into the ending so I could just see them back to back. If I had gone into the ending and only saw the first 2 epilogues, then went back and finished grinding out the love (though i was just like 2 or 3 scenes short with Catalina, again, club cost is absurd), Im sure I would have been more frustrated with the third epilogue and how lackluster it seemed.

Overall I did still thoroughly enjoy this game. Decent enough gameplay to keep me engaged, good story, beautiful girls, though with a few bumps and bruises here and there. Looking forward to Faerin's next project.

+ Good Renders

= Decent Animations
= Decent Plot/Setting

- Boring ( gameplay )
- Boring Character Development ( seducing women via a supernatural wingman becomes grating rather quickly as its the standard for this story )
- Annoying Scene requirements

Story mode will probably make this more bearable to play, though I can't will myself to try.

I regret but I couldn't enjoy myself.
The game at the beginning seems ok, the story is not one of the greatest or better than the previous game but it's not that bad, a little bit. The game has a management that god damn it is a boring and exhausting grind to be played, without cheats I don't think it would even be worth playing. What happens is the following, it is a lot of work to be done to get little reward needed. The girls keep wearing short clothes but you are prevented from seeing them "working", the game doesn't give you the freedom to do that and everything follows through a line script. This is bad enough for any player, you have to do the objectives of each character to unlock a single scene, yes, a single scene that through this scene it is quite fast and you don't enjoy anything at that moment. So there's nothing you can have fun with, for example the MC having other sex scenes with the other girls other than in their rooms. All the sex scenes are across the rooms, there aren't many in other places, there are a few different scenes, in the kitchen, in the sauna, but it's just one or two and not more than three.

The renders of the girls is something surprising, good but unfortunately the dev didn't know how to better explore the voyeurism and exhibitionism side because it's no use getting the level 5 reward and not being able to see the girls working "naked", by the way, I believed that they would work with shorter clothes and not naked, so for me it was a waste of time to have to grind and if strive to complete each task required during the game. It also makes no sense to think of something like this, could have done something more simplified, but it seems that the goal was a board format gameplay.

Talking about the gameplay of this game, things didn't work out as the dev intended, you don't feel that things are happening satisfactorily but forcefully, it seems that you as a player don't have the freedom to be free to walk around the locations, to have an interaction with the characters, it's all by script lines, you visit a character in a location, you see a small scene that is added to the gallery and okay, back to managing the game. The scenes I can't help but comment, most of the sex scenes with the girls are repetitive, what I mean is they are practically the same positions. I didn't see the MC fuck a girl in doggystyle for example or fuck a girl standing up, it's only at the end of the game that you have some small scenes that seem to be rewarding, but for all the effort the player has put in, is it worth it?

I don't want to let the dev down, because your other game that I haven't finished yet is better in many aspects, but I don't want to make comparisons, just say my opinion. I know how hard this can be, but I hope that in the future it will improve and evolve. Mystwood Manor could be a great game, many mechanics in my opinion ended up going wrong, the game is not an open word that should have been with that freedom of every rpg game and the game uses an rng that makes players pull their hair out of rage. I was disappointed, it could have been better.

I really like porn game that isn't solely focus on the sexual activity; choose the correct answer and just straight bang. I legit liked Resource Management-type game but the twist, that is porn.
You got the sexual content a bit later after you improving your relationship with your employees and their skills.

I'm a sucker for good UI design and this game is a shining example how to create a nice looking AND functional UI. This is tied to the outstanding art design, the game is just a joy to look at. The visual style is both distinctive and pleasing.

As for the gameplay, there are good foundations, but there's not enough depth. The game is fairly rigid when it comes to interactions with your staff and the hotel guests, which leads to a rather dull gameplay loop. Once you've figured it out, it's just the same stuff over and over again.

The renders are very good, my only nitpick here is that some of the facial expressions look uncanny. But overall, the 3D work is solid. The story is quite intriguing, even though it starts with one of the worst tropes (daddy dies). Progression is completely linear, you unlock new events by meeting certain requirements. There are no branching paths, which is fine, but a bit boring. The main plot revolves around a mystery, I like it. The relationships with the characters could be a bit deeper, though.

When it comes to upgrades and cards, there's also room for improvement. The staff traits are a great idea, but there aren't enough unique types of them. Most of them are small buffs. The whole guest mechanic could use trimming - especially the "pick the correct food" dialogue is silly and unnecessary.

I love management games in general and I think that there aren't enough good ones out there. This game here shows lots of promise for the dev's future projects. He's got some serious talent. Even though I have criticized quite a few things, I really enjoyed playing the game!