Review of the game as of version 0.8.
This is the second EvaKiss title I've played and enjoyed. The first is "Good Girl Gone Bad," which I enjoyed enormously. This title, "Our Red String," (ORS) shares many similarities with "Good Girl Gone Bad," (GGGB) but is even better in a few crucial elements. The first is artwork. Both titles utilize original 2D art, but the artwork in "Our Red String" is more colorful, more vibrant, and even contains some animations, which "Good Girl Gone Bad" lacked.
While GGGB's MC was a young woman, in ORS there are two MCs--one man and one woman. Their lives and circles intersect each other in different ways, depending on the decisions you make, and they can potentially engage in sexual relations with just about any other character in the game. I suspect that by the end of the game, even some characters not currently available as sexual interests may become sexual interests. If you only like games with big, over-the-top stories and dramatic plots, you may end up disappointed. ORS simply presents a period of these characters' lives as they try and establish careers, make ends meet, and find sex and love. It works compellingly because the dialogue is natural, humorous, and engaging. EvaKiss has a good instinct for story, relying on conversation and visuals to convey progress without having to resort to exposition. Occasionally EvaKiss reveals herself (or himself) as a non-native speaker of English (use of the word "reunion" to mean "meeting" hints that EvaKiss is French, perhaps Spanish or Portuguese), but the overall quality of English is good enough that it doesn't detract or distract from the experience.
Arguably the most fundamental, if not most important, aspect of any AVN is the lewd scene. ORS starts off a bit slow in that respect, but it quickly offers a ton of very erotic scenes and scenarios. The game would benefit greatly from a scene gallery, so that the scenes can be replayed on their own.
Speaking of "replays," ORS is highly replayable. Choices players make create a lot of branching stories, each with their own romance, sex, and other options. I played GGGB four times and still didn't reveal all the possible story variations and endings. ORS is not yet finished, but it's clear at this stage (0.8, so around 80% complete?) that the same will apply here.
I'll mention here a few other criticisms. They didn't diminish my enjoyment of the game, really, but they did cause me to roll my eyes once or twice. Among them, EvaKiss clearly relies heavily on some well-worn porn tropes and racial stereotypes. And one or two design choices made the game confusing--I'm thinking of Ian's psychedelic brain trip, in particular, which I needed to access a walkthrough to figure out.
On the other hand, it was refreshing to see a female protaganist making and enjoying sexual choices without being "corrupted," a convention I generally dislike, as women in titles like this tend to be punished if they enjoy sex, while men tend to be rewarded. The protaganist in GGGB can enjoy a few wonderful endings, even at her most lascivious, and I hope ORS allows for the same possibilities.