VN Ren'Py Nephilim [v0.5.0] [BuuPlays]

[jadepaladin]

I think it all comes down to follow through. If you're gonna do harem + solo routes, you should probably take the time to make the story coherent on both routes (dialogue changes, etc). Big harems work when the plot is shallow (Grandma's house, and that's not a stab at it, just an example). Harems with lots of LIs don't work when you're trying to also tell epic stories because 99% of the time, those stories are epic due to characters and large casts struggle to focus on characterization.
My personal preference in regards to harems actually works with Nephilim. I think it makes sense for MCs with demi-god style powers (anime isekai protagonists) to have harems. It doesn't work for me as well when it's just 18-yr old Eric sitting in his room, not working, banging his family, the neighbors, the teacher, half the class, and everyone's okay with it.

Probably ranting at this point so I'll just say that I personally think Nephilim's lewd-able cast is way too large for the story I think it's trying to tell. Alice isn't even on the banner art when the game launches...it's Luna, Eliza, MC, Kira, and Pearl. Should we ditch Alice? Probably not, childhood friend is trope for a reason. Should we ditch Kelly and her mom? Probably. Time will tell if the cast grows even larger or if we're starting to plateau.

 

[Grumpy Old Aussie]

Oh, I did friendzone Eliza. There's no change, other than skipping a few lewd scenes. She's still constantly rubbing her naked body against his and he's always eager to see her... right up until it's time to rush off without her.

Blaspheme, you heathen. How can you friendzone Eliza! I'm horrified by such a thought.

 

[Pixillin']

I think it all comes down to follow through. If you're gonna do harem + solo routes, you should probably take the time to make the story coherent on both routes (dialogue changes, etc). Big harems work when the plot is shallow (Grandma's house, and that's not a stab at it, just an example). Harems with lots of LIs don't work when you're trying to also tell epic stories because 99% of the time, those stories are epic due to characters and large casts struggle to focus on characterization.
My personal preference in regards to harems actually works with Nephilim. I think it makes sense for MCs with demi-god style powers (anime isekai protagonists) to have harems. It doesn't work for me as well when it's just 18-yr old Eric sitting in his room, not working, banging his family, the neighbors, the teacher, half the class, and everyone's okay with it.

I can see that if he's some kind of Pan type god who is just banging everyone and having a good time and doesn't really give a shit, but my thinking - especially now that MC knows more about who/what he is - is that I only really want to get close to people who are going to be around for awhile. Otherwise it just means a lot of funerals and being married to a lot of old ladies while he (and Eliza) are still basically as they are now. It's especially true in a medieval(ish) setting - don't form attachments to people who only have a few good decades left, max.

 

[QuangLakos]

Selena is the most beautiful black LI that I have ever seen, too bad she doesn't appear much.

 

[HornyyPussy]

Completely agree. Buu is doing it his way, I remember in the early days, when it first started, a number of people were complaining about Eliza and the overload and he responded with she's not going anywhere, this is my story and I have a plan for how it works. Now, 2 years later, he is still staying true to his vision and not getting swayed by the loudest and most persistent voices. Kudos.

And he gives us players the option to avoid the girls we want to. Sure the dialogue can get frustrating with girls if you are not on their path, but if he starts adding all the variables and pathing to make more sense on the girls you've avoided then we will not be getting monthly updates, so I have learned to just ignore it and keep moving with the story.

THIS sooooo fucking much!!!!!!!!

Wish more people around here where as wise as you Milty!

 

[Dessolos]

Selena is the most beautiful black LI that I have ever seen, too bad she doesn't appear much.

probably cause id imagine most players kill her

 

[MiltonPowers]

THIS sooooo fucking much!!!!!!!!

Wish more people around here where as wise as you Milty!

Thanks my friend. I wish more people around here were like you too.

 

[HornyyPussy]

Thanks my friend. I wish more people around here were like you too.

 

[Pixillin']

I think it's even worse than that. When Eliza and Alice have their little expository chat about how multiple wives/mistresses are the norm for human men, they both make it clear they don't *like* that double-standard. They accept it because they're powerless to change it. The MC, however, could change that if he wanted to, simply by picking a single wife and not sleeping around.

Sadly, the game has less than zero interested in a non-harem route, so the MC will drool over every woman he meets right up until the instant we press the 'reject button' at the start of each lewd scene. IMHO, rather than reassuring us that the MC's skirt-chasing is harmless, the whole sequence makes him look like even more of a tone-deaf hedonist - particularly when he is actually pursuing obvious-main-girl-but-perpetual-damsel Eliza. Or it does for me anyway (despite rejecting Eliza). YMMV.

Yeah, at the moment it's basically a kinetic novel - there are choices, but those choices have no impact or consequences except for whether you want to watch a lewd scene or not. (And the MC is a sort of charming asshole no matter what choices you make.)

 

[ename144]

Blaspheme, you heathen. How can you friendzone Eliza! I'm horrified by such a thought.

Hey, prior to the whole vampire thing Eliza was an awesome friend! She was upbeat, ambitious and independent - a great companion for the aloof, edgy MC. I just didn't want to sexualize things since I figured the MC should sort things out with Alice first (and had no interest in a harem). But Eliza herself was great.

Sadly, things fell apart after Eliza was injured. She lost her drive and just sat around daydreaming about the MC (while everyone dutifully reminded us how super-powerful she would be if the script ever let her do anything, of course). Meanwhile the MC treated Alice as little more than a booty call, and not even a high priority one at that. Quite the let down all around.

 

[Dessolos]

Hey, prior to the whole vampire thing Eliza was an awesome friend! She was upbeat, ambitious and independent - a great companion for the aloof, edgy MC. I just didn't want to sexualize things since I figured the MC should sort things out with Alice first (and had no interest in a harem). But Eliza herself was great.

Sadly, things fell apart after Eliza was injured. She lost her drive and just sat around daydreaming about the MC (while everyone dutifully reminded us how super-powerful she would be if the script ever let her do anything, of course). Meanwhile the MC treated Alice as little more than a booty call, and not even a high priority one at that. Quite the let down all around.

kind of why I look forward to anytime we are with Amelia. When the MC took her out of the castle and out of the city gates to go exploring a bit she reminded me Eliza before her turning into a vampire

 

[ename144]

kind of why I look forward to anytime we are with Amelia. When the MC took her out of the castle and out of the city gates to go exploring a bit she reminded me Eliza before her turning into a vampire

Maybe a little bit, but she completely lack old Eliza's ambition. Amelia is more like a younger sister we need to help guide towards becoming an effective monarch, not a proper adventuring partner. Well, that's how I see it anyway. I do like Amelia well enough, but again I'd rather not sexualize things (particularly given that I keep having to fend off her mom!).

 

[Dessolos]

Maybe a little bit, but she completely lack old Eliza's ambition. Amelia is more like a younger sister we need to help guide towards becoming an effective monarch, not a proper adventuring partner. Well, that's how I see it anyway. I do like Amelia well enough, but again I'd rather not sexualize things (particularly given that I keep having to fend off her mom!).

For me it was more like she had same kind of energy towards adventuring and exploring Eliza gave me I think why I say she reminds me of her during their date. But yeah not a proper adventuring partner she can't fight or anything being a princess she probably never was allowed to if she wanted to.

 

[Rehwyn]

I definitely don't think the dev lost interest. The big problem seems to be it going in a direction that a lot of the people here aren't sure about or vehemently disagree with. I don't know Buu's Patreon situation, if they feel similar, or what, but updates are pretty frequent and it's definitely trying to tell some kind of story. That said, I'm just pirating this so my opinion isn't exactly worth much.

From what I've seen, most comments on Patreon and Discord are generally supportive of the direction, and harem-style playthroughs in general.

I can see that if he's some kind of Pan type god who is just banging everyone and having a good time and doesn't really give a shit, but my thinking - especially now that MC knows more about who/what he is - is that I only really want to get close to people who are going to be around for awhile. Otherwise it just means a lot of funerals and being married to a lot of old ladies while he (and Eliza) are still basically as they are now. It's especially true in a medieval(ish) setting - don't form attachments to people who only have a few good decades left, max.

On the topic of aging, there's a spectrum here I feel. We have a few LIs that have human life-spans and probably won't go much beyond that. But then some like Luna might be greatly extended already because, from what I remember, magic use extends their life a lot. And Alice might have some alchemical means as well in the future. Then we have the non-human LIs like Sylph who are already 120 and still considered young. And of course some potential upcoming LIs are literal goddesses, who like MC and Eliza will essentially be immortal. And I think we've also not fully explored MC's powers, which especially coupled with Maia's gift could potentially extend even normal human lives.

I can see how a MC might choose to avoid strong emotional attachments to people that are likely to die long before him. At the same time, avoiding even strong friendships with them could be hard, and with all the dangers facing MC, there's no guarantee he even lives longer than a normal human anyways. From that perspective, I could see MC decided to make the most of the time he has with people he cares about, regardless of potential future heartbreak.

Maybe a little bit, but she completely lack old Eliza's ambition. Amelia is more like a younger sister we need to help guide towards becoming an effective monarch, not a proper adventuring partner. Well, that's how I see it anyway. I do like Amelia well enough, but again I'd rather not sexualize things (particularly given that I keep having to fend off her mom!).

For me it was more like she had same kind of energy towards adventuring and exploring Eliza gave me I think why I say she reminds me of her during their date. But yeah not a proper adventuring partner she can't fight or anything being a princess she probably never was allowed to if she wanted to.

I think this same adventurous spirit is one reason I really like Amelia, especially after the date outside the city.

I also have a sneaking suspicion something major will happen that forces her (and possibly the Queen) to go "on the run" for a while. Essentially, she might be forced into an "adventure" role and have to learn the skills needed to survive there.

 

[Pixillin']

I can see how a MC might choose to avoid strong emotional attachments to people that are likely to die long before him. At the same time, avoiding even strong friendships with them could be hard, and with all the dangers facing MC, there's no guarantee he even lives longer than a normal human anyways. From that perspective, I could see MC decided to make the most of the time he has with people he cares about, regardless of potential future heartbreak.

I can see that being hard for some, but not for me. I honestly do not even like any of the Lis (so far) other than Eliza. I find them all annoying.

 

[Rehwyn]

I can see that being hard for some, but not for me. I honestly do not even like any of the Lis (so far) other than Eliza. I find them all annoying.

I may have misunderstood what you meant about not wanting to form attachments in that case.

 

[Pixillin']

I may have misunderstood what you meant about not wanting to form attachments in that case.

I don't think so. It's kinda both - even if I didn't find most of the Li's irritating I'd be wary of forming a bond with someone whose life will be over in a relatively brief time - ultimately it's just another reason that I'll stick with Eliza and only Eliza. Someone may eventually tempt me but so far I haven't met any of them who come close to overcoming that hurdle and being "worth it, even if their time is short." Especially knowing that, on some level at least, it would hurt Eliza by doing so and we, potentially, have infinity together.

 

[Miss Kobayashi's]

the game is very pleasant and beautiful, the characters I will say this: everyone is unique in their emotions and character, the plot is interesting and calmly reads pleasantly and all this makes the atmosphere of the music individually selected and all this causes me pleasant emotions and feelings for the game

 

[War Lizard]

I think it's partially a result of too many Lis and not enough time but my issue, as I said yesterday, is that the Lis just don't have much of a personality. Eliza has a bit because of the stuff with her parents, and then the vampire thing. Her role in the main story and her also being immortal makes her an obvious choice for a li but we don't get much of Eliza's personality anymore other than her affection for MC. I think if we spend more time with her maybe that would change a bit but now there are a hundred other Lis and half of their dialogue is about how much they love MC, and the rest is divided between their personal ambitions (pirate, wizard, princess etc) and whatever side story they have going. None of them has really shown much personality per se. That might be ok if this was the kind of AVN where you just run around fucking everyone and there is not much of a story but a story driven AVN needs distinct and well rounded characters to make it work and there are too many of them to even develop them properly as characters unless we're going to set aside the main story and spend the next 20 chapters just getting to know the ladies. But now we're going on a voyage where we're promised ... even more lis. It's obviously the Devs call, but I suspect that if he was working with a professional story editor, the last 2-3 updates and the plans for the next several would be sent back with a post-it note on top that just said "NO". Even for a (story driven) harem game, 5-6 is really the maximum number of Lis before things start to fall apart.