Ren'Py - Onhold - On the Mountain Top [Ch. 2] [Professor Amethyst Games]

Quite probably one of the best visual novel experiences i've played for storytelling in some time. I honestly hope that it will contain again in the near future, as it would be a shame if the story and characters in this work weren't given a chance to progress and reach the end of their journeys.

While maybe not as lewd or erotic or comedic as some other works on here, I found its realistic and dramatic portrayal of the characters and their respective mental and personal struggles to be very unique and compelling.

The presence of a young girl wing-man is a funny and interesting twist, and while I would not mind such, I am sure most viewers will be relieved there is no sign of any lewdness to be had with this character. If such were to be added in the future, I hope it is clearly signposted and optional for general audiences.

The other characters are all interesting. If I have a slight criticism it is somewhat odd how quickly one gets in a situation where you can kiss or lewd some of them. It is also unfortunate that refusing in those circumstance appears to close off those routes. I for one would like to continue with Becky's romantic route, without feeling I have to smooch her out of nowhere in front of Angie.


The AI generated music segments are a nice idea in concept, though they did not personally appeal to me. I do encourage the author in their efforts however. I have no objection to the segments, or to a more creative or thoughtful touch on the way they present their story.

Overall I just hope to see work resume on this. If it does I will be happy to subscribe/patronise the author in this or future work of theirs.

This game carries its uniqueness on its sleeve. No, really, I was drawn in by the premise unlike any other. However, after dropping a lot of lesser known games in a row, I was skeptical that I'd stay; but the game kept me onboard.

Pros:
1) The premise is unique. Old MC? Granddaughter? Travelling to a remote area? Becoming a teacher AND a ranger? All either new or rare for me in AVNs.
2) A great cast of likeable characters.
3) Angie! In media, you're either scared of little girls or want to protect them. Angie is firmly of the second type… Not that she can't be creepy at times.
4) A promise of future intrigue. There's more to this mine than just the local hobo's ramblings…
5) Some gameplay elements including the characters' bios in the pad.
6) Some players found the Suno songs to be cringe, but I think they're nice touch at exploring the characters.

Cons:

1) With the MC being this old, I'd expect the average LI age to be much higher.
2) Visuals are only mid.
3) Writing is only mid.
4) NTS content expected. While the dev promises to make it recognizable and avoidable from a mile away, it might still sour my perception of LIs involved.

4 stars.

Graphics: 5
cute flawless original girls
3d small animation
_____________________________________________________________
gameplay: 4
vn
end credits 5mn long and you can't cut it!
___________________________________________________________________________________
Story: 4
Great premisces. Psychology good
_______________________________________________________________
dialogues : 5
good english.
_____________________________________________________________
Content: 1
Lot of routes, but only two have lewd content. so 1 hand job only. I will change my grade if there is more content, but at this rate, one more sex scène in 6 month! ??? Sériously why bother downloading this?
___________________________________________________________
Overall rating: 1 because the dev is really slow and I'm sick of loosing my time downloading false games and learning the bock story of 20 caracters that I will never see nude. I'm here for NSFW and there is none here!
Too few lewd content for 6 month of dev. Too much caracters/routes and alomost no sex!

Mixed feelings about this one. The premise is compelling enough (he's not only a teacher, he's a park ranger!), the writing flows nicely, the characters are attractive, and it's a slow burn (so far). There's something compelling about the premise of moving to a small town and beginning a new life surrounded by nature that sets the stage nicely for a great story.

However, this one's setting up predictably: the 58 year old MC is putting points in the bank so that he can eventually spend future updates going through 3 bottles of Viagra to bang a revolving door of cookie cutter co-eds, each of whom currently:

• Fits a singular stereotype
• Has had a condition randomly selected from the DSM-5 that is discussed endlessly
• Can only manage their various maladies by confiding in and later banging the town's most eligible bachelor - the old, unattractive MC

There's too many characters in this to feel like each can really be properly developed. Also, and this doesn't detract from the score, but the music in this is beyond cringe.

Just played chapters one and two, so early days, but - this VN has great potential, and I will be following it with interest. The central relationship with Angie tugs at the heart strings from the start, the MC is not the usual sort of character, and there is a mystery to be revealed. While it is early days, the plot shows every sign of having been thought through in advance rather than made up as the author goes along, and so far the development is handled competently.

Very little to criticise - a few typos, but much better than some of the grammatical atrocities on here. At first I found it a little jarring how the various characters seem prepared to overshare personal details on the first meeting, but hey, maybe people are different in Colorado. After a while I got used to it.

Using songs as a way to introduce you to the inner anguish of the characters is an interesting idea, and worth persevering with, but at the moment they rather come across as sung prose rather than songs; I think the idea could be finessed a bit, and the songs perhaps a little shorter and more 'intense' and poetic, in the sense of reflecting the characters' emotional states,rather than just describing them.

One suggestion: I have already lost track of which characters are which. A cast list page would be helpful.

In due course I hope this comes out on Steam; I will buy it.

So sad story and so well made. This is very good.
It's not labelled as such but this is aa virtual novel created with RenPy. The story, as i said is good. It is something not usually seen around here. It has many round characters, there is mystery, and more... I think the songs work well with the characters.
I hope this one gets finished.

Ch.2

Quite bold to release a porn game without any sex scenes. Neither the story nor the visual style could entertain me enough to keep me interested in further development of this game after the end.
The story is boring af, even though the plot itself is kind of special.
Pass.

Only Chapter 1 so far but I see a lot of potential here.

Pros: The writing is really decent and isn't afraid to tackle serious mental health issues. Covers things like Psychopathy, severe depression, suicide, body dysmorphia, etc. and so far does it in a fairly respectful manner.
Story is a slow burn and doesn't have everyone immediately down to jump in the sack. Great variety of characters.

Cons: The MC is 58 but looks fat, ugly, pot-bellied 78. Chpt.1 has him starting to go to the gym so maybe this intentional and the workout will result in him looking more normal as part of the story but for now, model is awful.
Dev makes the choice to have them stay in a hotel on the way to their new home in the first 5 min of the story. The carpet in the hotel is the carpet from The Shining...........
So either:
1. The dev is ignorant of that fact
2. This is suppose to be a signpost that everything is caused by the supernatural (In which case I take back ALL of the aforementioned praise for dealing maturely with Mental Health Issues)
3. Is suppose to show that this is going to be some spooky, Twin Peaks, nothing is real, it's all a dream/alt uni BS.

Makes it really hard to connect when you can see the hand on the rug since you are just going to be bracing for the pull the entire time. One of the devs last games had a "it's all a simulation" rug pull at the end so my trust is super low.

Give it a year or 2 and if the potential plays out, 5 Stars. If they do hacky, deus ex, rug pull bs then 1 Star.

I'll let him cook.

Love the visuals and the story is a little different from all the other ones out there so it has a kinda new feeling to it cause I don't know whats going to happen next, but we need more content cause just as it's getting really good it done, so I hope more is out soon, but so far I'm loving it

Very promising despite no sex-scenes so far. It's also NOT a loli story.
Nor is this a quick jerk-off story. People who look for that need to look elsewhere.

This is more of a story about healing. Seemingly every character has troubles, insecurities and issues that they struggle to deal with. So far the game gives the impression that a key part is people helping each other overcome those difficulties.

You play as the elderly grandpa who's decided to spend his days as a park ranger in a quiet town far off the beaten track, joined by his granddaughter that has been marked by tragedy and left traumatized.

While you may have given up any chance at finding a girl after your wife left you at your advanced age, your granddaughter is comitted to helping you find a new girlfriend as your adorable little winggirl.

So far the characters have been very different and feel very human, rather than the trope-based one-dimensional characters you usually come across, and the character art is very distinct, clearly setting the characters off from each other rather than a bland cast of superficial beauties.

For people that want to read something different that's perhaps more emotional than the average sex-scene filled and plot deprived story, this is a pretty fresh wind.

If you can't stomach the age gap between the protagonist and the other characters, or read VNs just for the sex - then this VN is not for you.

Off to an EXCELLENT start, some good amount of humor but able to handle the writing well when things get serious. Use of models I haven't seen in a few dozen other games is also a massive plus, and making the MC someone so old is also rare, another plus. Things are just different from the norm.

Unfortunately, I can only grant three stars for the current experience.

The plot and renders are a strongpoint of the game and certainly deserve more than three stars, however, in my opinion the game currently suffers from the following:

- There is not much content yet - after playing the entire game, I started it from the beginning and just skipped everything in a very short amount of time - needless to say: This highlights that the project has a long way to go
- Unfortunately, the dev lures people with highlighting a loli on the cover of his adult game (and example renders). He furthermore, let you build up "loyality" and "control" stats for the girl. However, after nothing erotic happens with the loli in the game you will soon figure out, that the dev declared to never implement such content - quite disappointing. If the loli topic wouldn't be used to pull players, this wouldn't be a problem, but the entire thing has something dishonest about it. It's an adult game after all - don't highlight what you don't intent to give.

As with all my ratings: I am willing to alter them once a game developed.

Wow! This is a rare gem!

It feels like a realistic experience with a live world around, filled with interesting characters (many of which are nice and sexy women).

The story is rich and complex (this time without that self-loathing or supernatural shit of the previous game). Way to go!

Psychological problems (of several people, actually) add to the trilling dramatic quality of the game.

That would be already good enough to play and enjoy, but Professor Amethyst added a bit of a crime mystery too. (I hope it all will turn out well in the end).

Sounds are great, and the songs are particularly impressive. I didn't know AI nowadays can so seriously compete with real live musicians.

Renders have rather simple textures, but they look OK, except that weird crimson stuff in the Angie's ears. And the crazy sheriff haven't changed a bit since I saw him in other games. General visual style is very nice though.

I highly recommend this masterpiece to anyone who likes rich, believable, thrilling and sexy experience.

[Ch.1]

VERSION: CH.1
SUMMARY: Emotionally charged story with complex mental and psychological aspects
RATINGS: (out of 5):

1. Models: 3
2. Animations: X
3. General Visuals: 3
4. Characters: 4
5. Story: 4
6. Writing: 4
7. Pacing: 3
8. Content (amount): X
9. UI & Sounds: 3
10. Fetish & kinks: X

Average: X of 50 possible points giving a X% rating i.e. X stars.

PROS:

1. Solid writing and structure, spelling may need some revision though
2. Story is interesting, simple yet complex due to characters and their emotional and mental status.
3. Music is nice, not that I overly care much for it, I prefer ambience and sounds during sexual scenes.
4. Interface is solid and provides what I believe the player needs in terms of info on NPCs etc.

CONS:

1. Very focused on mental, emotional and psychological aspects and not really an adult VN (yet)
2. Models are not bad looking, but the general look and renders have a dated look and feel to them.
3. Stats for NPCs and potential LIs are not available nor is it understood what the different stats do if anything or how it affects the game/story.

FINAL THOUGHTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• While its a deeply profound game in terms of story, it lacks the adult aspects regarding sex. I believe that this platform is for the more sexual and yes, perverted desires of players. That said, its still very good and there is obviously some sexual tension with potential for a lot more.
• Pacing is hard to really determine simply because CH1 focuses on story and characters and not any adult content so its hard to measure the MC progress with any particular LIs.
• As of the time of the review, I can't say much more than what I did above, here simply is not enough content to review properly. Story and characters I feel are good, there is decent depth and complexity, though its not 100% clear what the dev is driving at and what we can expect. If it is story focused only then its pretty good but in terms of a VN with sexual content, there is nothing.
• I am looking forward though to see what happens next and hope that the next chapter arrives soon and has more "interesting" content in terms of sex, but it could be a longer wait considering our MC is an old guy and so far has not shown any strong sexual desires, making me think this game will not be focusing on that and more story.

Ch. 1

An excellent start to what will no doubt be a magnificent AVN, On the Mountain Tops delivers as expected. Jump into the shoes of a for once qualified and not retarded MC as he starts a new life while taking care of his grand daughter (who has some serious shit to deal with herself).

Chapter 1 starts ramping up an interesting dynamic between MC and his ward, the young Angie, with just the right amount of emotional distress, while introducing the characters and the setting.
The graphics are fine, the music is good (the song breaks are kinda nice, but could benefit from something more visual to compensate for the slow pace of the music text), and the writing is excellent.

Heavily recommended, and best of luck to Professor Amethyst. I am looking forward to future updates.