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

Easily one of my new favorite games. I've spent the last few days slowly catching up to the current update, and I've got to say: I am pleasantly surprised on a number of fronts.

The good

• Excellent storytelling
• Unique and intriguing premise
• Solid dialogue
• Characters that feel fleshed-out

The not-so-good

• Renders do not do the writing justice (though they do improve over the course of the game)
• Unnecessary sandbox elements to give an illusion of choice
• Sometimes difficult to keep track of all the LIs
• MC looks horrible

I have really been enjoying the story here, and I like a lot of the characters. Some of them feel somewhat extraneous, though I've enjoyed trying to figure out which characters are secretly working against the MC and sometimes that feels like a clue more than anything.

My biggest issue here is that the writing is so damned good and the renders are still pretty amateur. MC in particular is just bad-looking. I get that he's supposed to be an older man and not the super-hot, but the assets chosen for him make him worse-looking than I think was necessary. That hair... oof.

So, despite that, I'm giving this 5 stars because hot damn, there's some good story-telling going on here. The MC's internal monologues, his struggle to reconcile the things he wants with what he feels is right, and his interactions with the LIs make this really shine.

I'm looking forward to more of this story.

[v0.9]
Came for the porn, stayed for the story (and the porn).

This game is so good on so many levels.

I usually don't pay too much attention to story elements (most devs are hardly good enough to write something that makes sense or doesn't bore me to death very fast). Still, here we deal with a fantastic writer, that knows how to write a good story and keep the reader really invested in it with its build-up.
And, for the future, there are so many mysteries and questions still to be answered to keep anyone on edge.

If you add to all that great graphics, cast, and sex scenes, you get truly a gem of a game.

I'm really looking forward to what has yet to come, as this game is getting better and better after each release (also regarding the sexy stuff as well).

5/5 cum laude. Absolutely recommended.

This is one of those rare games where the writing is so good, you can easily forget you're playing a porn game. I've spent the last ten hours playing this and I'm just emotionally exhausted. The last game that did this to me was Telltale's The Walking Dead.

Unique and memorable characters, great dialog and a captivating story. If this game was on Steam I'd add it in a heartbeat.

Visually there's a lot of nice little touches, and the animations are probably the best I've seen at showing realistic and believable facial expressions.

Honestly, I can't recommend this game enough. When people say games can be art, this is the kind of game they're referring to.

An Utterly spellbinding and incredible achievement - the plot is written as creatively as any publication I have ever come across. All the characters are believeable and despite how numerous they are each I found each one fascinating.
This is by no means a standard NSFW lewd fest but IMHO is one of a minute number of works on this site which I would genuinely classify as genius - please make sure you try if for yourself.

My review of On Distant Shores [v0.6]

A game that starts pretty good.
Good graphics, (linear) story, writing, and sound.

Unfortunately it quickly turns into a Groundhog Day forced dating harem simulator.
You get up every day in your apartment, click through all the events on your smartphone (manually), and then go on dates with 2-3 girls from your 10-girl-harem.
Who you go on dates with is predetermined, so if you're mainly interested in specific ones... good luck grinding through ~9 other dates first.

The choices in this game are also pretty weird:
There is one fake choice where you have to "sacrifice" one of your 10 girls, but if you don't pick who you are supposed to it's a Game Over.
The other one is a real choice:
You are running away and have to pick going left or right.
Left puts you one the path with girl A, right puts you on the path with girl B ...and there's absolutely no way of knowing that without a walkthrough (I had no idea there even were 2 paths, without randomly reading about it in a forum post).
The other choices (I can't remember any) are pretty meaningless and maybe make you miss out on scenes if you don't have enough points with girl X.

Overall this game became boring and too much of a chore for me to continue playing.
There's just too many girls and no freedom of choice.

I am glad we have to option to turn down Lily, favorite model, but don't like her actions, so good that we have the option to say no, the renders and story so far is great, and the sex scenes and play time are numerous so props, only downside is that the sex scenes are a little too short, but its made up for in quantity and character models are beautiful. Keep up the good work.

Only reason that it doesn't get a 5/5 is due to Lilly randomly having sex with strangers while interested in the MC, but its a little offset with the fact that you can reject her after she does this, if you were forced onto her path anyways this game would lose a lot of points.

Models: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Sex scenes: 3/5
Play time: 5/5

Wow.. Just Wow..
Nice to see an original idea out there.
Beautiful graphics and animations. Great sounds/music.
This is a game I just couldn't stop playing. Time in RL was flying by lol.

Sorry but i now have to change how i feel.
The part with that little girl not being noticed by her parents and begging people to help and the MC doesn't see her. I tried quick clicking to see if something changed but i may not have gone far enough but to do what you did in writing that little girl into your game is worse then loli crap imo. Deleted the game

This is a game where you're playing a super loser. The game is just chock full of meaningless dialogues that the loser MC has with himself. It's like the story is going in different directions but doesn't know where it wants to go. For instance, the MC is a loser who hates human interaction but yet he moved to the city which makes zero sense. The reason he moved is because he's supposedly trying to better himself but all he does is ramble on and on and on about a bunch of nonsense.

Then the story devolves into some cryptic supernatural stuff. This game is also a sandbox too. The writing is quite poor as the people around him have very extreme reactions to the MC which don't really make too much sense. Most of the dialogue is just completely boring.

Pretty sure this is the most emotionally invested I've been in one of these games. Everything: the story, characters, mythology, MC's trials are all top notch. Oh and the renders are great too, but I'm no longer in this for just that.

This is the most magnificent story I have ever encountered on this site, absolutely amazing, IMO it deserves to be made into a film.
Now to the renders and models and I think all of them are gorgeous, but the animations could be a bit better, doesn't deduct from the sex scenes though.
As for the relationships and character development, once again I think it's the best I have encountered, unbelievably detailed and thought for, and it really shows the amazing writing ability that the dev has.
I really enjoyed this wonderful game and I hope that PAG continues to surprise us with this beauty of a game.

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).