Now & then feels like a visual novel where the creator knows their capabilities, and has carefully calculated where to push their boundaries and where to play it safe.
The graphics are... fine. Good, even. It feels like an older engine used well. The graphics support and develop the story without ever feeling like they're holding it back.
The plot and setting are serviceable as well. It's not groundbreaking, but it doesn't need to be. The main page description tells you almost everything you need to know, and that's not a bad thing.
The interface is Ren'Py. It's serviceable and comfortable; you've probably used it before, and I suspect most will be fine with using it again. The developer hasn't tried to do anything overly clever that failed.
Where this visual novel really shines is in the writing. The pacing, the development and reveal, the use of flashbacks, the sense of emotion. It's definitely an adult VN and the sex scenes are quite explicit (and have emotional connection and context which is a plus for me), but with some tweaking this could be quite an excellent young-adult novel. The characters are engaging, interact in believable ways, have distinct personalities, and are supported by laudable strengths and understandable flaws.
This is, first and foremost, a story. There are other things, including some explicit and quite enjoyable sex scenes, but the core experience is a solid tale well told.
The graphics are... fine. Good, even. It feels like an older engine used well. The graphics support and develop the story without ever feeling like they're holding it back.
The plot and setting are serviceable as well. It's not groundbreaking, but it doesn't need to be. The main page description tells you almost everything you need to know, and that's not a bad thing.
The interface is Ren'Py. It's serviceable and comfortable; you've probably used it before, and I suspect most will be fine with using it again. The developer hasn't tried to do anything overly clever that failed.
Where this visual novel really shines is in the writing. The pacing, the development and reveal, the use of flashbacks, the sense of emotion. It's definitely an adult VN and the sex scenes are quite explicit (and have emotional connection and context which is a plus for me), but with some tweaking this could be quite an excellent young-adult novel. The characters are engaging, interact in believable ways, have distinct personalities, and are supported by laudable strengths and understandable flaws.
This is, first and foremost, a story. There are other things, including some explicit and quite enjoyable sex scenes, but the core experience is a solid tale well told.