Ren'Py - Completed - Of Devotion and Despondence: REBRED [v1.0.5] [Earliestbird]

This game shows what the potential of AI art can be. This is not a statement on whether that is a good or bad thing, just an observation based on the implementation of AI art in this game.

I like text based games to a certain extent. I am quite picky, I can admit. I don't like purely text based games. Having gamified portions to give more interaction draws me in more. I still want some art for better visualization, and I definitely want art of characters. My main issue is that frequently they do not have a coherent or unified art direction. Sometimes they'll pull from existing art, or they'll commission multiple artists, which leaves images very disjointed because the same character may have multiple different interpretations. For me, personally, it is distracting and takes away from the experience. While I do not need animated scenes, it certainly is a plus.

Enter Of Devotion and Despondence. It is a largely linear text based story with a gamified 'RPG' system for character upgrades, base unlocks, and party progression. Each of its systems are individually simple, and they overlap nicely to give a good game experience while still being a text based story adventure. Most importantly, it's use of AI art is in a manner in which characters are recognizable and largely very consistent, on top of being able to have some animated scenes which gives the characters and world a cohesive aesthetic that can be difficult to find in some games. The writing is pretty good; it isn't overly superfluous nor is it too short and brusque. The setting is reasonably unique and portrayed well, with enough depth to be engaging and curiosity provoking. There are sections that can be very grindy because stat upgrades and material farming can take some time, but honestly its very easy to hit a point where you massively outpace resource usage and stat checks. This game hits most of my preferneces for a text based game, only missing out on depth of gameplay and overall world interaction that you may find in larger, more complex text based games.

Now, more about the divisive AI usage. I do not think that AI art itself is a problem, I think its potential usage [as with many things] is the issue. When it comes to game development, while I do prefer custom art, I still would rather have AI art then none [or very crude] at all given that the AI art is consistent in character portrayal.

I personally think this is one of the ideal uses for AI art in a game. It is essentially a text based story that then had AI art added to it for an extra layer, as opposed to a game that intentionally used AI assets or replaced a custom art system with AI generated art. The AI art is an accompaniment, not the main the course. In a sense, I think text based games are probably the best use of AI in gaming because the engagement is supposed to primarily be the story that you are reading with the art to help visualize, and as I mentioend earlier it helps with consistency and cohesion as oppposed to multiple different artists or sources.

There are a lot of things going for this game that make it's usage of AI work out in its favor, however. The story itself is largely very linear. While there are some choices you can make, most of them do not have long lasting effect and really just impact the immediate resolution of whatever quest-line you are currently on. There are also a very limited number of recurring characters outside of the main cast, with the vast majority of characters only really needing a CG or 2 and then maybe a romance scene [that may or may not be animated]. There are also still some hiccups with the AI animations, really just the cumshots, since the AI just kind of causes some parts of it just to exist without coming from a source. Even with that said, I do not think that takes away from execution, but rather goes to show what can be for larger and more diverse games.

All in all, it is definitely worth your time playing.

The game is finished and is mostly polished, its just that I don't enjoy a single aspect of it and its super hungry for you time and attention which it doesn't begin to reward. I finished it with my brain about leaking out of my ear for my misguided sense of completionism and i regret it dearly my time lost.

Well, the game has it's flaws but overall it's one of the best here. First of all it's actually a game, when you choose you path, you have resources, you have history that evolve while you play. This game is text based with images generated by AI. Some animations also are generated by AI. Actually this is in plus because nothing currently beats AI in terms of body movement. There are some strange cumshots that denies physics, but overall the graphics is nice. The story is quite interesting with detailed description of what happen, I felt that the end is a little rushed. But still can hear the music in my head.

The game is okay, it's a light RPG grinder with stats and AI art. What really took me out though is the god aweful cum animations. Cum will randomly spawn in all sorts of places where it doesn't belong, in excessive amounts, (such as from the base or randomly in the hair and face without any trajectory). It might seem like a silly complaint but it's so alien and ruins every single scene. I am still being generous with this rating, as I tend to go towards 2, partially also because of some weird grindy mechanics but I can see some work was attempted to be put into it.
If you don't mind the ridiculously bad liquid animations, give it a shot.

Based on REBRED [v1.0.4]. This is an actual game, though unfortunately it got rushed in the latter half. Think of games like "Road Warden" or the "Sorcery!" series—illustrated, text-based RPGs.
The main character is isekai’d into a surreal fantasy version of his original medieval world. The twist is that every living thing drains him vampire-like through skin contact.

The developer himself said the erotic part wasn’t part of the original concept, and it shows. Most encounters are shallow and brief, serving mainly to reinforce the idea that the MC is emotionally shut down and only seeks one-night stands.
The game would have benefitted from borrowing features from other genres, like “co-habitation.” Between exploration segments, the player could’ve triggered banter with the main cast of companions—making you care about them and actually learn who they are. There are strong hints of a sequel, but much of that content feels like it should’ve been part of this very game.
Overall, it’s a promising start for the developer, and I’ll definitely be following their next project.

This a game you can't miss, one on a thousands. Excellent narration, well balanced grinding, a lot of chicks for every taste. I can say a lot more things, but the best one I can say is try it. And if you're one of many who dislike AI art, don't judge it so fast, or you'll miss one of the best games ever released on this site. Really.

-the combat is fun and does not feel like a grind at all but it all depends on how much grind each person can tolerate. You basically complete a part of the story then go to base management and girl stat management then go do some battle. rinse and repeat but still fun.
-the story is good enough to keep you playing.
-decent amount of H content but only 1 or 2 images to per scene.
-more than half of the h scenes are not animated.
-animations are just 3 second loops.
-ai art and animation are used properly
-2 separate endings.
-you only really get a complete ending with one of the Li. The other 2 are there but you don't get a complete ending like you do with the main Li.
-a fairly long game. took me about i would guess, 20 hours of play to get to the end
-creator is still adding content to it such as animation, even though it says it's complete. So you can play something else then come back to this when the game is truly complete. Would be an even better experience.

-overall a solid 4 out of 5. When the creator truly finishes the game i think it can be a 5 out of 5.

+ Interesting Setting
+ game is complete and has 2 different endings

= Somewhat linear but some choice sidequest wise
= Gameplay is a mixed bag, it becomes a slog eventually ( long fights ) and certain abilities are broken in comparison to others, like parry and dodge when upgraded for example, which basically makes you unhittable when done right.
= Decent characters
= AI art doesn't bother me, neither does the devs obsession with coating women in obscene amounts of spunk

- Bland plot
- Slog to finish, tedious near the last 1/3 of the game

Let me start with that I have nothing against AI art, with that said.

The premise is nice, the first 20-50 days the gameplay feels not bad... but then it goes nowhere.

Most of characters have a single scene, even the main ones. There are around 25-30 scenes in the game, 5 in church, 4 in residence and the rest just sparingly sprinkled around. What's the point of using AI art if you skimp out on the quantity of it?

The combat and stats look customizable and interesting at first glance, but it really isn't.

The intro is written as if the game has some grand adventure to show, bragging what the MC will achieve, but it goes nowhere, nothing really happens.

The character stat grind is slow, but kinda rewarding at the beginning, until the second gate, where the stat gain accelerates and feels irellevant.

TL&DR: The beginning is nice, but it goes nowhere. There is not enough content to justify engaging with the simplistic and repetitive gameplay loop, grinding stats. The AI art is not coming with more scenes to compensate, quite the opposite. Writing is nothing special either.

It's a nothing burger, 3-4/10, waste of time.

This game has some things going for it, but it uses way too much AI. I don't necessarily hate AI art, but when you use AI in backgrounds, dialogue, and every single character, you end up with soulless AI slop. You can tell that there isn't intention in many areas of the game. What I liked was the gameplay since that had some thought put into it. I enjoyed the combat since it had some complexity and required you to think. Day cycles were short and repetitive, though they was always something to do. I see a lot of content in this game, but all of it needs more work and direction to be interesting.

Got to be one of the best AI-assisted games made on this platform, and with actual cohesion with its playability. Good story and plot, tho at the end it kinda gets a bit difficult but not impossible. But overall it is enjoyable.

There is not a single redeeming thing about this. Dialogue feels like a bad translation of a bad translation. Animations are a mess. UI is terrible. I cannot comprehend how or why this is highly rated and on top of that people actually pay money to support the creator. Wild stuff. I saw another review stating that it's " Simply one of the best games played here so far " and that is the most unhinged thing I've read all year.

This is a beautiful game with a gorgeous soundtrack, but although it's marked complete, there are still parts of the game that claim to be incomplete, to be completed in further updates, typose and grammatical errors in grammar.

Overall: 2.5/5
Art: 1/5 Someone should look at the AI images to confirm that the new "outfit" doesn't change race or height for example. Just a quick look to confirm it is the same person. Very very inconsistent overall and poor usage of AI.
Gameplay: 2/5 The map is premade and so are the encounters. The only thing random in the game is the gacha cards. I like the combat concept and pre planning and theory crafting but in the end there isn't any variety of equipment/skills/enemies. There is other "classes" but really it is just starting traits and once you get past a certain point in the early game, they are all the same. Difficulty scales DOWN instead of up which is something I see a lot of new devs struggle with. Also, there is A LOT of grinding.
Sound: 3/5 I really like the BGM. I don't know what language it is in but I like it. I wonder if it was also AI or actual singers. With all that said, the announcer says the most cringe things I have ever heard in my life. Just remove that and you get perfect for sound.
Story: 2.5/5 The writing is good but the amount of text in this game is unbearable. You can't skip text with ctrl so oil up your space bar because that button is doing half the gameplay. This is so sad because it was made in RenPy, the worst image scroller engine with the best feature, SKIP.

Final thoughts: if you love reading a lot of text, this game is for you. Otherwise, just skip. The amount of preg fetish in this game is beyond extreme, if you are so into it, you might wanna see this game (AI warning). I tried to finish the game before posting this, in case I missed something. I couldn't finish some gacha cards because some counters were bugged. (unmade killed counter was stuck at 16). Also I couldn't figure out some quests but really I just wanted to click the quit button.

The biggest negative is that there is a lack of consistency in the Art and Story. Maybe it works for some people but this reminds me of the old steal a bunch of art games where you have the red, blue, and yellow haired characters with CGs from 10 different authors for each character. The worse problem is how often you uncanny valley which is honestly worse than bad CG. I find it unpleasant too often.

If you dont like AI this game wont change your opinion. AI can assist to make a good game better but the AI is the driver on this bus so it crashed into a wall.

A Renpy RPG that showed promise but got lost in the AI's meanders. The graphics were entirely AI-driven, resulting in modest results and no animations. The story was a bit rushed, with uninteresting quests. It's a shame because the gameplay could have been vaguely interesting, especially for a Renpy-developed product. No, I absolutely didn't like it, and I don't recommend it.

TLDR it is a very well done rpg with an interesting story.

The game mechanics are rather well balanced. You are required to pay attention to your resources in the early game and set your base up well. You will not win every encounter at the time of unlocking them without using the gear crafting, card system, and character/resident talents.

The art is the weakest bit of the game it uses quality ai cgs as an accessory to the writing. The images are hot and accompany the vast majority of text but are not anything that would on their own carry the game to a high rating.

The writing and scenarios are the strongest part of the game I particularly found it interesting that the scenes were given a cost and benefit trade that give power scaling but come at enough of a resource cost to prevent it from becoming a 0 to 100 fuckfest. The overall plot is well done especially high quality for porn game standards.

The music and sound effects are good and appreciated I couldn't pin down the exact reason if asked but when games have no bgm/sound effects it makes the world feel dead and empty.

A somber-toned RPG with a unique setting.

Once upon a time, three Gods clashed and brought ruin to the world. It is a world that is slowly dying, scarred by AI-generated assets forces of entropy that bend the fabric of reality, and cursed by its former Creator. Our protagonist finds himself stranded in this barren world after being exiled into a dimensional rift--a sentence intended to be lethal. He soon finds that his life essence is bleeding out at a slow but ever-increasing rate. He must use this second chance at life to discover purpose and meaning in this post-apocalyptic world--before the little time he has remaining runs out.

I was immediately captivated by the unusual setting and themes. This is a story for fantasy enthusiasts. It's a tale of stoicism: grit in the face of adversity. There's romance with the three love interests, but there's also quite a lot of (often goofy) casual sex. As it turns out, the protagonist's affliction is not unique: it is a curse that affects all males, and therefore he is the only male we ever meet (intelligent life only persists because the world's female inhabitants don't age). Yes, it's a setting contrived to justify tropes and indulge fantasies, but it's done fairly convincingly. The casual sex is not for everyone, and in my opinion many of these scenes are shoe-horned in, pander to very particular fetishes, and their goofy excesses doesn't fit with the somber tone of the rest of the work.

The gameplay is a mix of resource management and turn-based combat. The resource management is straightforward and has a pleasant sense of progression for most of the game (though once you've built everything the challenge and fun evaporates). The combat can be tricky if you're not skilled at stat optimization (protip: optimize for damage and spam Parry); enemies tend to hit hard while your own defensive options are limited and fairly ineffective, which means you don't want to get into battles of attrition. Thankfully, unlike the resource management, the combat remains relevant into late-game and doesn't wear out its welcome.

This is a mostly text-based game with AI-generated music and art. That said, this is one of the best uses of AI-generated assets that I've seen. The dev is a talented writer who is using the assets as props to tell a story. This is in stark contrast with shovelware where AI-generated assets ARE the primary content.

Of Devotion and Despondence is not a perfect game, but if the idea of playing a fantasy novel appeals to you, it's definitely worth a try.

Without doubt one of, or possibly the best written game on this website. Wait, that's not doing it justice - this isn't just good writing for a porn game, it's damn good writing in general. It feels very professional. It doesn't try too hard to sound smart, but the writing is very intelligent and ocassionally profound.

The storyis both very original and yet actually very simple to understand.So many fantasy writers spend pages and pages explaining the background lore, but this game doesn't need to. It shows you the shape of a rich, deep world and lets you work out the details for yourself.

I really enjoyed the RPG elements too. Even though there was a lot of moving parts, you are never penalised too heavily for doing the wrong thing, as long as you remember to save. You can ocassionally feel the game straining against the limitations of its engine. I'm not familiar with it but it really doesn't feel designed for this kind of complexity. But they made it work.

One thing I would like to see the dev's work on is the late game balance. I'm at the end of the second major area, and as I see it there are two problems here:

1) I have 4-500 of every resource, including essenece. I have built everything, and there is 0 chance I will run out of them.

2) At the same time, the difficulty curve spikes very hard. some of the things you have to fight feel impossible without very high fortitude. I can't do damage fast enough, or live long enough to beat them. And I can't work out how to increase my attributes beyond the ocassional point.

Now the game does have a rogulite/ NG+ type thing going on I think, and that might be whatI'm experiencing right now. If that's the case I'd suggest a little nudge recommending first time players start again, as they will find it difficult to make progress.

But yeah, congrats to the devs on making this very memorable and fun game.

I personally really liked it.

The writing: 5/5
Very well done. I don't know how to praise it other than saying it was well thought out. The world, the characters, everything writing related was good imo.

The Pics: 3/5
(I don't mind the AI pictures personally, if done well, but they weren't the prettiest still. There were a few good renders though,)

The soundtrack: 4/5
There isn't much, but what is there, sets the atmoshpere quite well imo. . Very good.

I hope the dev will make more games of similar, but hopefully a bit higher quality. Maybe hire an artist?