If you are looking for a gorgeous experience, there is probably no better choice than One Night Stand. This short story does the absolute best to be attractive to the eye, while layering a sweet scent of curious mystery over a sexual encounter after heartbreak. While being a little generic, the approach is anything but. You will remember this game.
STORY
With short stories it’s quite hard to create a lasting impression. One Night Stand tries it’s best by giving us an enormous buildup to a sexual encounter, and it works for the most part. Neither character is particularly memorable, but their mannerisms and interactions are. There are so much internal dialogs going on here that both characters have to be introverts to the point they self-sabotage because of it sometimes.
The writer has really taken time to lay a dramatic veil over what are otherwise awkward and uneasy encounters. David and Elaine are unlikely partners (without some kind of sedation) and it’s exactly there where this game shines. It doesn’t hide awkwardness, it displays it just enough to border creepiness. The two supporting characters do a solid bid to impact the story, but never overstay their welcome. You can tell someone with a passion for writing wrote this story and it’s very welcome in a sea full of fetish and hypersexualized stories.
The story feels like it needs to have a bit more to it to have a lasting impression and a proper closure for their arcs. Without spoiling anything, the game hits at resolution after the ending. That resolution sadly never came, so setting that up feels like a weak story crutch now - while you can tell the writer was more than skilled enough to wrap up within this event.
What’s amazing is that instead of going for big drama, ONS focused on the little feelings and insecurity - essentially making small stories quite big. The crossover into intimacy is too forced and feels rushed on the ‘good’ path, which shows that the writer possibly had a preference what this story should be about. If anything, you should really play this for the feelings. For the materialization of uncertain desires.
With two story paths and the second path that takes a more… interesting turn, you can get two experiences out of the same night. The second path is however hampered by the fact David is established so much in the opening scenes. Had the opening been more ambiguous, the sell for that second story path would have been clean. Even so, this short story is great in execution.
PRESENTATION
This game is gorgeous. Not just the renders - where the artist has made exceptional use of focus, depth of field and layered composition. The menu, the typography - everything is carefully considered and it shows. It makes an otherwise ugly program like Ren’Py look pretty. That’s exactly the goal of this game, to look pretty while handling some uncomfortable things.
No animations and I didn’t miss it one moment. The sound design is minimal, but very effective highlighting certain actions. Would have loved for the music to switch when the ‘bedroom’ scenes start to emphasize a switch of mood - but it works well the way it is. This is simply one of the most beautiful VN’s my eyes have ever seen, and the prettiest Ren’Py game I know. This is a benchmark for what these novel-based realistic games could be.
GAMEPLAY
There isn’t much in terms of gameplay as this is a Kinetic novel. There are two paths - the honest path or the control path - and both work while the control path is the better option.
OVERALL
If you like story (or gorgeous graphics for that matter), you should play this. Both paths will leave you thinking about what impact a One Night Stand could have on the life of a young woman. There’s always room for more, but this is such an impactful release that it’s easy to recommend if you want to see what’s possible with this medium. Even if it’s just a One Night Stand, it is a memorable one.
8/10