VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Occultus: DoD [Ch. Final R1] [BC]

I had a lot of fun with this one. Charismatic characters, compelling (if a bit cheesy) story, plus a competent and complex protagonist. It's not A-list material but B content done intentionally and very well. This AVN has the potential to be a classic in this regard. A guilty pleasure popcorn read.

This VN plays out a little differently from most. There are choices, most influencing your affection - a few with some effect on the story. The core narrative is essentially kinetic. That itself isn't much diversion from the norm. Difference here is protagonist is an established character. Usually, we as the audience are somewhat meant to inject ourself into the MC. While here at best we can instill some subtle influence. Some may like this more than others, but hard to argue it does keep the narrative and pacing tight.

And I thoroughly did enjoy the story. Not a particular fan of supernatural, or noir - nor lesbian content. But combined together, and splash in bit of femme fatal made for a compelling concept. As a bonus writing is intellectual, yet still casual. The visuals are good but the writing is what kept me invested.

A few things didn't really care for was the excessive casual nudity. All for adult content but some constraint would facilitate more build-up, having more impact where it would be more relevant. Actual sex content is modest - avg, and typically fairly brief. But a fair share of what is adult is mainly women parading in their b-day suits. Doesn't really add anything but fan service.

Several sub-pots are a bit glossed over. Some events just proceed too quickly and easily. As well as several interesting characters being introduced though not especially explored. As tight as the story is - can sometimes be a bit too much so. Though it's not a particularly long VN, ~10 hrs or so. And probably never intended to be. So a bit of leeway can be permitted in this regard.

Despite some minor disappointments overall it's very entertaining. And perhaps not exceptional it's certainly memorable. An AVN not to be overlooked. Highly anticipating it's sequel, The Craving.

A really good story, not much in terms of sex scenes but has a good story.

Some might find it a bit long, but the story kept me hooked till the end. If anyone is playing it just for the story you will definitely not be disappointed

Just wow! You can definitely tell the story was created by a strong writer because the quality surpass all VN content on this website.

I just love everything about it. The plot is intriguing and kept me on the seat the whole run without being too predictable. I also love the lore and building they tried to implement, making this game a good introduction to a franchise, if there ever be one. Dynamic between characters is decent and somewhat realistic and the music syncing with the theme is also a cherry on top. It's just like watching a film is what i feel best to praise their effort in their creating process.

Additionally, the render is good enough but still need improvement, one thing that bugging me the most is that the renders are not long enough to convey some of the early emotional scene such as the one where Malady found Ash dead, I think some extra effort with this can boost this game from an 8 to a 9 out of 10 easily.

The porn content is hot and spicy but few and far between, not much to talk about. Had i came to this game for a wanking, my little friend would be in for a disappoinment xD

All in all, I'm sure the creator had achieved what they want with this game: a passionate piece of story and an impressed audience at that to enjoy it and look forward to their next game. Thank you for giving me a great time with this one.

This is among the best visual novels I've played, with an actually intriguing story and a well-characterized protagonist! Reminds me a little of Mythos. Let's go lesbians! Subscribed to the creator's patreon.

Fantastic! Its a sensual read, with lots of sexiness. Art has levelled up considerably from the last occultus installment.

There are a few branches, however, the game is not that replay-able. So make your first run count, and then come back to it a few months later.

Recommended!

One of the better more original stories on the site. Very much worth supporting for those that can afford it, as this dev is putting out something unique.

Good Story, well paced with great main female character.
The lesbian story line will not be for all tastes but is an good example of how to write a story with mainly female cast, without being too weird or predictable.

The artwork sex scenes and settings are above average and well thought out. Looking forward to see where the story goes. Nice work Dev.

Story 2/5
Well that was a first, playing a female protag that feels like a dude that cant stop looking at girls tits.....oh well anyway, this is a pure lesbian game and nothing worng with that but i think alot would have liked to have had the chance of atleast BI, not me personaly when i play FMC i always go pure lesbian so suited me just fine.

Its did find it quite annoying playing a FMC who has a huge crush on someone i dident want to touch with a 10ft pole it just ruins the immersion and should be left out of any games really.

Story starts out as a dectective story and then turn into a vamp story, FMC should be running like hell to get away from this case but even after almost being killed or turned into a sex slave she still wants to go on....feels a little brainless but fair enough no story with her being an brainless, to make it really stupid they killed off the one LI i cared about, so very early in game it became points to play on considering its an AVN in other words an adult game which now had 0 people in it that i would give a shit about.

And on a side note even killing her best friend dosent make her give up, instend she goes to a bar with some cop 5 mins after her best friend was killed.....shes then told that no one will do a thing not the cops and not even the FBI, so now she has to do something that is clearly waaaaay over her head which can only end with her getting killed as well.....

Then she ends up in a strangers appartment with someone that has the same gothic make-up as her best friend just about 10 times more ugly and looks like a guy....guessing dev trying to make up for killing your girlfriend and best friend.....its just to idiotic and a huge fail....even move so since the stranger ask FMC to move in with her after knowing her for 2 mins and ofc FMC agrees? awfull writting and story......FMC dosent even notice the stranger shes going to live with has big fangs showing all the time.....

Then she ends up getting kidnapped and turned into a thrall/slave if she dosent let someone else feed on her? and thats when i gave up on this game, it just turned from what was once a decent story to absolute garbage.

Also game forced a girl on you, well you can pick between two i guess but one of them will be forced like it or not, so went from being choice driven for relationships to forced...its one big fail after the other.

Girls 1/5
Only girl in game that looked half decent got killed off and replaced by LIs that looks more like a dude then anything else, so yeah no thanks.

Sex scenes 1/5
Cant say that the sex scenes was good either, way below average even more so for a game that arent animated which really dosent help the overall quality either, just take the scene where FMC has to cum due to being drugged up, you see her put her fingers in, pull em out and cum like 3 images, so dont expect much from H-scenes in this one.

Music 2/5
Pretty boring standard background stuff, nothing with lyrics.

Choices 1/5
Forced sex scenes, Forced LIs, main story is 100% kinetic and should be taged as such.

In some ways, this AVN is 5 stars, but when I finished playing I was kind of "Meh".

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to like. A ton of story content, decent H scenes, good looking characters, great writing, great production... I mean it really is a 4 of 5 star attempt if I am just rating the dev. The problem is the story.

I saw the supernatural tag and I actually like that kind of thing, but this one was not for me. I am trying not to spoil the surprise, but the genre is not for me. IMO it's overused and suddenly I find myself in the middle of some kind of teen erotic AVN I might have liked in middle school. So while I was interested in the story, once the big reveal happened, I quickly started to lose interest.

Is that fair? Probably not, but not every story is for everyone and this did not do it for me.

I do wish the dev well as they are talented and I hope this little gem continues with a strong following, but moving forward I will probably pass on it.

Good Luck!

Chapter 7.

Hmm, haven't felt so conflicted by a game on here for a good while. I think it would be most fair to focus on the positives first, then comment on the parts that I didn't like.

So, for the most part, it's a really good VN. The renders, the music, the plot and the characters are solid. I'm a sucker (pun intended) for vampires and as someone that once worked in law enforcement, the detective angle appeals to me too. Also, it's largely all lesbian focused and as a platinum card carrying member of the Sapphic Club the premise of the tale seemed as though it was almost tailor-made for me. Sadly however, that didn't quite prove to be true.

Credit where is credit is due though, the renders were pretty much on-point. The lighting for several scenes was on the dark side but for me, that felt like a stylistic choice and fitted the noir theme. Almost all of the characters are gorgeous and aren't just carbon copies of the same old models everyone has seen dozens of times already with ridiculously huge chests, pouty lips and butts the size of beach balls. Each of the characters felt interesting and almost all had an air of mystery to them, again fitting the overall style well. Although it did feel as though we only scratched the surface of many of them and I hope they're developed further as the story progresses.

It's difficult to find much to say about the story itself and remain spoiler-free but I found it to be well written, interesting and it pulled on enough threads to keep me playing until the end of the current content. One thing that is probably worth commenting on is a point other reviews have mentioned; there really aren't a large number of choices you get to make, which for me, definitely left me feeling as though I'm simply guiding the author's character, rather than truly 'becoming' the MC. This feeling of a lack of control was only further emphasised in the sex scenes - and it's here that the game really let itself down, for me at least.

The 'adult' content within the game is sadly, far, far behind the quality of the rest of it. It's very much a visuals first, narrative last approach. The static images aren't the issue, rather it's the all too brusque prose. In the scenes I experienced, it was very much a 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' approach, that skipped the starter, went straight for the main course and wasn't offering dessert. By which, I mean there's little to no foreplay, the description of the sex act itself was all too brief and basic and little to nothing between the characters after the fact.

Then, there's the confusing part of those scenes, the parts that left me wishing the sex scenes weren't even in the game. It's a lesbian game right? So why, in several of the scenes, is the main character having a phallus rammed inside her like her life depended on it? I found myself having to save at every one of the few choices and having to reload them because it ended up in the MC being railed by a cock and prattling on about how great the cock felt (it didn't matter if it's rubber, plastic or real - this just broke my enjoyment entirely). Now, I know this won't be an issue for some but it really was for me and I know many others that it would be too. So save often and be prepared to reload if you want to avoid Malady loving being penetrated by oversized dildos.

As a VN, I think this has great potential, I'd easily score it 4 stars with some areas being a 5. As a lesbian focused, erotic VN though, I found it (in its current state) to be very disappointing. The sex scenes felt as though they were both limited by word count and that they were written by a male attempting lesbian porn. I still like to think that there are some male authors out there that could pull that off to a decent degree but sadly, that isn't currently the case here. Now, I admit that I could be wrong, maybe it's written by a female author but the lack of the 'little things', the 'feminine touch' is severely lacking throughout. It could also just be that the author knows their target audience is largely male and it's written and rendered accordingly but when a lesbian-centric VN has sex scenes that makes a lesbian not want to engage in the sex scenes, it does make me wonder a little about who it's actually being written for.

TLDR: An interesting occult themed/detective noir/urban fantasy style VN, with interesting characters, solid plot and nice renders, with a somewhat limited feeling of choices and disappointing sex scenes.

I'll definitely play through further versions, both the story and the characters have me intrigued but it'll largely be for the story, rather than adult content unless there's a marked improvement in that area. If there is improvement in that area, I'll very happily increase my rating to reflect that too, as I really don't like giving it only 3 stars.

A shockingly well written game that allows you to adhere to het content as much as you wish. I am looking forward to this game in a way I was not expecting. The story is very well written and compelling. I was not expecting to be as drawn in by the first romance option as I was, but it ended up being incredibly compelling. Even the villains thus far have bought my interest, even with me consciously knowing they are evil and opposed to the player's morality. Overall, one of the best written games I've come across.

Sometimes I despair, playing games here. Wave after wave of poorly written juvenile Harem porn fantasies take their toll on me and I begin to wonder if it is even worth to sift through this muck.

But then, a game like this comes along. A game that wants to tell a story. A story that isn't dumbed down to make room for badly written porn, but that carries the game by its own gravity.

I love the game, I love the characters, I love how it takes itself seriously.

Play this, support this. It is worth it.

Occultus is one of the VNs I follow with the greatest interest because it's a nice blend of vampire mystery and detective story. I'm a big fan of vampire literature in general and this is a nice approach with influences from different novels. You can expect vampire politics, struggles between power and humanity and maybe even ancients, it's not entirely clear yet.
The female protagonist Malady is very relatable and complex as a character and I'm glad to say that she is not a MC in a corruption VN, this is a real dark fantasy adventure that takes its female protagonist seriously.

This VN focuses a lot on meaningful dialogue and less on action. More than once the action happens offscreen and Malady only arrives to pick up the pieces. This keeps the plot moving, but it also requires you to fill the gaps with your own imagination. Not everyone likes that. Like, several characters get injured or worse and we only see the result of what happened but not the actual event. I believe this is probably also a way to reduce workload, as creating action sequences is very work and time consuming.
I'm not sure that it should happen with such regularity though.

Still, I like Occultus as a character study, I like the relationships and how they develop, I like the detective story that unfolds despite severe instances of name and fact dropping and I like that the world is filled with information that has to be explored and utilized by Malady. I also like that she is not a superhero but a protagonist that relies on a network of allies and friends to get anywhere.
Occultues is not heavy with choices. While there are some and they might have longterm effects, that's not a certainty at this point. There are some hints that we might shape who Malady will be, how her relationship with important characters might develop and how successful she will be. But mostly those choices seem to hint at something that is yet to come. An ominous future where the stakes are rising much beyond what is currently on display.

I can only think of one other vampire VN that has this level of quality in terms of world building, characters and relationships. I give the fifth star because I believe in this project and that it can become something special.

this is what is wished there was more of. the quality is enormous both in the writing and the characterization. and as a World of Darkness fan, I appreciate the details that feel like direct nods to the World of Darkness lore.
the models are gorgeous and don't feel too barbydollish like some other games.
Slowly unraveling the mystery usually is not even my cup of tea. but this game does it well so that even I can appreciate it.
I also really like the protagonist in this. She is one of the few female protags that feels like she is not just the doll the player plays with. but an actually interesting character with her own wants and wills, while still having some opportunity to sex it up occasionally.
This game might not be for everyone but then again no game is. but if this game is to your preferences, it's excellent.
I am excited to see where the choices lead down the road. The story is interesting and slowly expanding and if you like vampyres right down your alley.
The game has originality, specifically with the fact that there are so few games with female protagonists that are not completely victimized its a breath of fresh air in this regard.
The renders are beautiful and tasteful if you like a more balanced aesthetic.
No bugs were spotted when I played.
The grammar seems fine as well and it was very readable to me.
The amount of content is good in that I want more.

Hot lesbians not having sex, talking waaaaaaaay too much, and no bi options. Meh.
I'll give it this, there is a clear effort on story here. A long drawn out lesbian story. There aren't even rapey dudes.....just rapey lesbians. The problem is instead of this being some noir lesbian sex story, its more a fantasy lesbian not really sex story with almost zero choice that affects anything really.

As a personal aside I am rating it on it being posted here at F95 where I expect more sex.

Well, I really hoped it will be a great game. The graphics are pretty and the subject which is a noir detective story seemed to have a lot of potential.

My problem with it is that there is not much game inside. For 99% of time It's a slideshow. You just click and click and click and very rarely decide about anything.

So I just got tired any deleted the game. Maybe I missed a lot of good stuff, who knows?

Great game, great story

not sure why this is not getting the attention it deserves

I always enjoy a good story, with a side of Lewd, a good story does not even needs the lewds, but when placed correctly it enhances the entire game/story

there are not many 'fem protag' games I like, because most of them are a fem-prot going around bouncing on any dick offered to her, or they are pushed into the situation, not a fan of playing a brainless cum-dump, like those that are made by some dude who thinks all women are just receptacles

This is NOT a cum-dump Fem-Protag, and TY to the dev for going this route

while I do prefer a story, do not get me wrong, the Lewd scenes are also great and sexy

Malady is so sexy but cute, tough but soft, all things that make me like her

I look forward to more of this great game

The renders are crisp and the premise/setting is also good. The actual story and how it has been progressing has been kinda meh though. Same with the characters. They are interesting but still kinda shallow and flat, not having much complexity. How the story progresses is sometimes boring and kinda predictable but the overall atmosphere keeps you reeled in. Where the story goes from here though is important. I would hate it seeing go down the panacea route. It was a great game that was undone by the endings as it greatly mellowed down the impact the story has built up until then. I really hope BC avoids it this time and blows it out of the park.

The story is well written, unique and engaging. Glad to experience a good female protagonist game. The story revolves around female detective but the supernatural elements added to the story made it more enjoyable

The renders are amazing and the scenes are great. 10/10 lesbian action
The soundtrack is great and improves the overall experience.

Looking forward to future updates. Hope this VN gets more attention it deserves.

Have not finished the first run through yet, but it is great to have a well written story line with believable characters up to this point. The authors have treated us with something new, not just the sex starved college kid in unrealistic situations (with unbelievable bodies all around them). Great job!

As with everythign of BC's I've experienced, this is a true work of art. The renders are pretty, the models attractive... I mean... it's visually beautiful. I have found myself several times smiling like a dork while the character are interacting.

The story is well-thought out, paced brilliantly, and engaging. Everything so far makes sense - there's very little stretching the imagination to get through scenes and interactions.

I look forward to the conclusion of this.