Ren'Py - Completed - On Distant Shores [v1.0 Final] [Professor Amethyst Games]

Hmm.... How to put my thoughts in order about this.... I suppose start with the simple stuff.

1) The renders are amazing IMO. There are a variety of body types without resorting to overgrown balloon mammaries. Everyone, including (crap I'm bad with names, ana's aunt.. Frina? who has large breasts) looks believable.

2) The story is excellent, it has enough drama and self loathing and touches on depression and a feeling that you just don't matter, but has uplifting hope and love. It didn't make me bawl like a baby as Leap of Faith did, but it had me misting up a few times!

3) Theres'a bit TOO much going on to keep it all in my mind in one playthrough. Especially some of the (more name things, Cassius?) scrolls which touch on what's actually going on.

4) It' was very nice having the MC be a blatant horn dog, but not want to be and actually truly love all his girls. The fact he was worried his glamour was the only thing attracting his girls, and then Muriel explaining that wasn't it, the glamour was just physical was a nice touch.

5) The idea of the 5 choices MC needs to make and that he is )probably) supposed to be a servant of balance is an interesting take.

6) The fact that "hollow" who started out as his own personal self torture device and now is slowly being corrupted by MC into being a )sort of) friend? Protector? Avenger? Is VERY well done. NOW the MC has some POWER to enforce his will on the world!

As usual, my only complaint is that the game isn't done and I want more.

This is one of those games that not only has some nice nsfw content with a quite extensive variety, but also a story that will keep you captivated and wanting to continue reading. There are some really emotional moments and some really unique experiences to be had and at the same time you get a pretty normal harem type game with a lot of girls to conquer. It is pretty much the best of both worlds. Nice girls and nice story to go with it

OK let me start by saying d/l this its a good game/vn.. its plot is a bit esoteric and deep the characters are DAZ and mostly customized a bit... yes its a magic dick game but with a good reason. you get to build your harem whether you like it or not (you'll like it) and the story carries you along making you wonder what will happen next, I can't wait for next ep. see first sentence again.

This is a really great story, that is very unique. There are lots of girls of all different types. It is definitely worth giving it a try. It is easily in my top 5 games I follow and support. Speaking of support, for how good this game is he could really use your support. Check it out you won't be disappointed if you give it a try.

[v0.6]

This is a very unique harem game. When you get down to it, it has a typical set up and progression as other "chosen one" harems. Some MC with some divine being helping out, all the girls falling for him easily, etc etc. However, this is anything but a standard low stakes harem with a happy go lucky MC getting pussy. Thus, the story might not really appeal to the typical fans of harem who wants some self insert MC doing heroic things and being a chad.

The MC is extremely vulnerable and flawed. Self loathing, PTSD, mental issues, perverted urges. He is an ugly middle aged dude with lots of problems. However, deep down he wants to be good. And he tries his goddamn hardest to be a good person who helps those around him, despite all his issues. Most of the female casts have their own issues from big to small. Despite everything, there is a lot of wholesomeness going around.

The actual plot and the world building surrounding it is the main draw, imo. This is a very convincing story that mixes the mystical, divine, and human. The stakes are incredibly high for a harem game. The technical writing ability of the dev is pretty outstanding. There is a certain style. It is a first person narration for the most part and you really get into the MC's head. The descriptive text and third person narration can be quite beautifully worded too when it is present. Pacing and plot delivery is satisfactory.

The render quality is not the greatest, and the models used seem like it's from an older generation, but they still look quite lovely. There are a wide variety of girls, both in looks and personality. The render count to text ratio is on the very low side though, which is unfortunate. There is a lack of dynamics on the visual side.

Now the negatives.

The sex scenes are very underwhelming. It's just too short. There is pretty good set up for the scene, pretty nice build up at the start, and then once they start the main act, it goes into an animation loop with no dialogues, then the MC cums right after and it all ends in an anticlimactic whimper. Longer, more involved scenes with better ramp up, multiple positions, prolonged sex dialogues, and a proper lead up to the climax would go a long way.

The other problem is the choice system and route variation. The dev really dropped the ball on this one. Refer to my post here for more details. This game does give you some significant choices to make, but the end result feels incredibly forced and on the rails. There is an extreme disincentive to go for drastic decisions (fallen state aka rejecting a girl 2 times) because it frankly does not fit the MC's very defined persona on top of being a very poor choice from a meta game perspective.

The dev is certainly trying to cut down on route bloating and progressive increase in workload. The streamlined narrative and the low render to text ratio is probably what enables the dev to churn out so much content in a fairly short time frame. However, that brings with it the disadvantage of stripping away a lot of player agency in how he wants the MC to interact with the girls. There is definitely a correct way to play these choices and that is the story the dev wants to tell. Things deviating from it has very low support within the script and doesn't quite work.

Personally, this was a source of immense frustration for me. I tried my god damn hardest to make the MC fall for his darker urges, but you just can't. Normally, I can get the message fairly quickly and determine what type of game I am playing. For example, I won't be expecting to be able be some super asshole sex offender in BADIK. However, this game REALLY REALLY teases you with the notion that the MC could fall into corruption at any moment. It's like corruption blue balling lol. You can't. At least not so far, and probably not for the foreseeable future. Maybe near the very end of the game, there could be an ending split.

In summary. Great plot. Great world building. Mediocre sex scenes. Pretty on the rails. Corruption fans might be disappointed (granted, there is no tag for it, but the story really toys with the possibility). Fans of wholesome stuff have something to enjoy if they can accept the MC for who he is. However, be advised that this is not a strictly safe space harem. You very occasionally get mentions of the girls' prior experiences and such, but it's not done in a malicious way. A certain group of harem fans with zero tolerance should probably stay away though.

PS: This is not a sandbox at all.

One of the best VN's I've played(watched? read?) Engaging story, good-looking women. I can see the effort given to making the animations life-like.

One minor gripe I've had is that there are too many women and I easily forget who they were when talked about in the story. Maybe a bio of the women could be added? (accessible at all times).

Also, the image of topless Kayla(if I remember correctly lol) keeps popping up everywhere. I'm sure there is a reason for it but it was annoying, especially during sex scenes.

(I will change to a 5-star rating when the game is finished with the same quality it has now)

Well. I ahve to say one good thing about the ame and it's the writing. ITs pretty decent and seems to be adult oriented. The things it talks about are interesting, but for this game maybe the apporach is wrong, or fails to integrate it to the "porn" part.

The background kind of clashes with the sudden sexaul encounters. Its hard to see any build up. Even if there was, sex scenes are animations, without dialogue, I wouldn't cal it sexy, and I speak my opinion which is how hard my penis is, he is the one rating the game.

The sex scenes and the lack of buildup is a major issue, when the graphics department is so average. In my opinion there is nothing that makes me motivated to keep playing after the third sex encounter, which is pretty similar to the second.

And there is still another issue:, the sandbox part. It works like this:
You are at home in the living room in front of the doo, that's the default place. You have 3 ways of moving on which are the front door and the phone and at some point the laptop. Once you finish all available events for the door, you need to go to the phone to check messages and stuff, and that gives you option to pick door events once again, once they are finished, you repeat the same procedure.

The thing is there are a lot of girls, if that is enough for you, maybe the game is enough for you as it is, but for me those many girls that at some point throw themselves like youa re the last man on earth, doesn't work for me without some context. IT would work in real life situations with actual girls, but these are poor 3D representations, there is too much work needed from my imagination in order to make it work, thas why it doesn't.

Wonderful game. Starts out horribly melancholy, becomes mystical and spirtual then a porn game where a lonely database architect becomes impossibly attractive to impossibly beautiful women. We will see where it goes from here.

One of the best VNs I have ever had a chance to experience. Now I could say a lot about this one, but I don't want to spoil the experience for you, so I am going to summarize my rating.
Story: 8.5/10 (Deep and interesting)
Renders: 8/10 (Improves as it progresses)
Humour: 9.5/10 (Left me in splits)
Harem: Yes (but it has been done quite differently in this one).
Characters: 10/10 (All NPCs have a soul of their own. The game makes you care about them).
Choices: Not many, but there are a couple of important ones.
Entertainment: 8.5 - 9 / 10
I really look forward to seeing this one grow, and I sincerely hope that this developer and their team get a lot of support from the international community. Keep rocking Professor Amethyst Games!

I stumble through the wreckage, rusted from the rain…
This is a rare breed among its kind, an actual adult VN. A story about a man struggling with guilt and self loathing, thinking themselves undeserving of affection, unworthy of experiencing yet another day. A story of a man suddenly having people thrust themselves on him, being enabled to take advantage of them. Of a man fearing of succumbing to his deepest, darkest desires, in turn harming and breaking the people he now holds dear.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd say it's among the finest offered. It has an engrossing story, filled with mystery, interesting characters, and an easily sympathized with lead. The characters range from outgoing to outright broken, with varied looks and most will add to the story's mystery. I like the lead's inner monologue, their treading a tightrope between their guilt, their morals and their desires.

That being said, certain scenes offer no choice or are dependant on a seemingly random one. And although this is a harem title, it doesn't give off a very wholesome vibe – for now. To me, these points make perfect sense storywise, but they may rub some of you the wrong way.
Review based on v0.4 (as I started over, to refresh my memory before diving into 0.6).

WHAT. THE. FUCK.
This just blew my mind.
I will in all honesty admit that I came for the renders but remained for the amazing story and incredible soundtrack. The renders are good, the characters are diverse and fleshed out, the plot is gripping... I could go on for hours!
100 out of 100

Game didn't any sense to me neither did the constant mental ranting with sleep deprived monster. Sandbox implementation is poor without properly hooking up players with objective and purpose to need to grind through it. Story and dialogue could get some professional help same goes for renders. It would have been helpful if developers and story writers brought themselves on the same page before creating this game and be on the same level of understanding with plot progress. Thank you for your game.

Awesome VN game, it's well written and has many different girls with different personalities. It also has some supernatural elements which are cool, this is one of the few games where you don't want to just skip all the dialog due to it being bad or having poor translation. Also Breanna is the best girl by far.

Come on so I really enjoyed the game it has a macabre story it is very creative the animations are good the dialogues are very well written all the characters I thought were very beautiful and well made there are plenty of choices this is an important point in the game it's really cool you have the freedom to choose what you want and the tags are also pleasing to many, especially the optional MMF I found it interesting thanks for the great game made I'm looking forward to waiting for new updates This game has a lot of future ahead.

Amazing. Parts of this were all too familiar and honestly hurt like hell. Writing like this is rare. This really hit me in ways I'm still trying to process. Not sure exactly what to say but regardless of my own issues and feelings I came here to give 5 stars and say that this level of story writing is rare and amazing. Even if it did cause some pain for me I feel like this rating is the most deserved I've given here. Keep going.

This is a game with an interesting plot, but not a good adult game.

The underlying issues the MC faces and supernatural mysteries behind it all are quite intriguing; that said, sex is obviously a big part of the plot with the girls being drawn to the MC due to a higher power's intervention, but I feel that the "adult" portion of the game just feels tacked on, with no buildup of sexual tension between characters. It's like one second they're chatting about something, the next she's on her knees giving him a handjob for the 3rd or 4th time in a row. The dev also decided to add in a nun that swore celibacy and a girl that apparently can't lose her virginity or she loses her powers. In a porn game. To me, that just feels like a cop-out way to stall sexual development and add unnecessary obstacles to relationship progression.

Most animations in the game currently are just foreplay, and none of them have any accompanying text. It's just a default animation with optional different camera angles and an X to end the animation. Personally, if all I wanted to see was an animation loop, I'd go watch a porn video.

Solid game so far- the writing is mostly good, the story is intriguing, the girls are cute. The renders are decent; nothing exceptional, but they're generally above average.

The first problem with the game is related to pacing. Scene changes are very abrupt and sudden, when something as simple as a fade from one render to the next to indicate movement from one place to another would be nice. Pretty minor, but obvious and persistent enough that it annoyed me.

The second, more frustrating issue, is how little effort seems to be put into the sex scenes. The animations are pretty smooth, but portrayal of sensations and emotions are all but nonexistent. One frame a girl is telling you she wants you to finish, next frame she's covered in your jizz. Sporadic display of decent buildup for both the MC and his partner really takes me out of the scene. As a result, the scenes are mechanically descriptive, but not remotely sensual. Put more effort into making sex scenes sexy- show us the characters' emotions, their buildup, their crescendo.

EDIT: Also, the fucking saves are limited to 6 pages of 4 saves each. I tend to make one save at the start of each scene- sometimes in the middle, too, especially after long winded exposition dumps- and this limitation really fucked my enjoyment of the game. I'd give it a lower score now that I remember it, except the dev has stated in the game's thread that he intends to implement more saves, and I'll probably start over from scratch to get all the saves I wanted from the start. Here's hoping he allows unlimited saves like it should ALREADY HAVE.

7/10- despite annoyances, looking forward to more.

Review for V0.4

I liked this game a lot at the moment m it's one of my favourite VN, I don't know how I missed the first two releases , I'm glad I played it now the story of this VN is top notch and well written . It started as slow pace at the end v0.3 it's okay . Loved all the characters and art is nice and I personally hate Grinding SANDBOX but in this game it's not all grind it's more like using laptop and phone which is nice instead of maps , location and money, I hope it stays the same and I love the personality of the Main character who genuinely cares for all the girls . I love Harem games where I am not forced to choose one girl at the end , it's a harem game so it's nice to not worry about that . Overall it's an amazing game nothing is bad in the game , with lots of promise in the future , Kudos dev for this amzing game . This game is highly recommended if you love a good story and harem games .

I liked this game a lot. A bit of a slow burn and the current version came to an end just as things were picking up steam. Story seems like it's well thought out and there's a consistency to the world building.
Animations are well done, but I'd like the scenes to be a little more varied with more to see.
Definitely looking forward to more. If there was a Patreon for this I would sign up.

Okay so i played a lot of adult games so far and i do have to say few things, firstly i prefer the games where the girls are more curvy or should i say with bigger features i guess.
That being said, this game maybe doesn't have the best models out there but they are above average however i have to say the story so far one of the top 3 ive played so far, did i mention the game had like 3 updates so far and ive been playing it for the past 4 or so hours?
I'll say only this keep up the good for dev you are amazing and so is your game. keep up the good work man.

This game is AMAZING to whoever reads this you should play this game 10/10.