VN - Ren'Py - Our Red String [Ch. 13.1 ALPHA] [Eva Kiss]

Update Period: ~6 months per big update/none for small
Play time - Total/Big update/Small update: 3 hours/30 minutes/-
Frequency of play: Every big update
Update type: Continuation of all stories, as this is a linear VN
Opinion on updates: Pretty good for a game like this, but the last 7 month one was a bit too long compared to previous ones
Personal notes: I wait for walkthrough/walkthrough mod to update and release and tend to skip through convos in general. I have 2 saves for 2 different playthroughs that I keep

When playing the previous game from Eva Kiss (Good Girl Gone Bad), I instantly loved the style of the narration and artworks. However, I struggled to relate to the female main character. Luckily, developers implemented two MCs this time and it is just great! You can expect that every decision counts and will alter your game experience. Characters are believable and you really want to know how the story and the characters will evolve. As the choices you make really lead to very different story lines, the game is replayable several times and you will still get new things to see (if you choose differently than before, of course). I also like the looks of the game, as all artworks are made with a lot of love and care and details. I absolutely recommend to try it out!

TL/DR Wonderful writing, stat system, and interconnections hindered by a sexually unappealing / pathetically small male MC and a lack of meaningful non-corruption content on the female MC.

Chapter 10 update: Ian's content remains flaccid and he looks pathetic. The best scene content is used to cuck him. He is barely a main character in the story. His art is used interchangeably with other 'average men.' Hollys content continues to be focused on corruption and we had little to no movement on anything that could be considered exciting for Ian. If you wanna play a generic female corruption game this is it. If you wanna feel good about the male protagonist or have an enjoyable time from his POV move along- he is designed to be a pathetic cuckold and his content focuses on that. He gets maybe 2 or 3 good scenes a release.

Pros:
~Holly redeems it a lot for me. She is the true gem / beauty of the series; no corruption added- she is perfect just the way she is. In fact, I will be very sad if she doesn't put her foot down at some point on her corruption route. Its so sad to watch a beautiful person like her get corrupted.
~Writing is fantastically immersive
~Characters motivations are mostly realistic and believable
~Stat gain system is interactive and interesting.
~Plot on the male side of the game is great.
~Really well written scenes.

Cons:
~ The male lead character is the the smallest, least well endowed, and least buff / physically attractive on the roster of males in the game (with the exception of Perry). It is very hard to self identify with such a tiny man-child. While the love vibes in many of his scenes are the best sexual energy in the game, he is so woefully pathetic looking that it is still very difficult to find his scenes hot at all- despite it being the content in the game I enjoy the most narratively.
~Almost every male character in the game is abusive / manipulative / horrible- more or less designed to try to sublimate the female lead.
~If you don't like corruption content playing as the female lead is a very flat experience - she does not fill her extra free time with self-empowerment or other content. Her route is just barren.
~There is more route content that I am disinterested in than that I am interested in.
~ Approximately 50% of corruption path Lena's decisions seemed to directly contradict her characterization
~ There aren't very many Lesbian routes.
~The 3 super-bull steal your girl antagonists in the game are walking stereotypes.
~lack of narrative consequences for NPCs who are being assholes.
~Lack of narrative consequences for when Lena is being a Hypocrite.

At first I was a bit concerned by the art style, as I usually like drawings that feel unique to the artist, and, well, I find those a bit dull.
And that will be the only criticism I'll have to tell, because it's simply the best adult game I've played. The writing is astonishing, and the story is really nice. Enjoy !

At first i was skeptical about male protagonist (because you know, man struggle have at least one sexual relationship not five simultaneously)
but Eva Kiss ingenious patches up plot hole with alcohol and witty charisma. and it worked, at least not cringe. Maybe because Ian don't fuck mother and sister and they not his sex slave or maybe Eva Kiss have talent and probably some experience in real life unlike other writers adult novels

a fly in the ointment:
I hope next updates bring hardcore fetish (f2m rimjob for example) but i understand fetish not good for "vanilla" story and i grateful for "vanilla" story without supernatural.
Holly feels odd. She is young petite redhead and successful writer. struggling to have relationship WTF but honestly i don't read her explanation.

P.S. Sorry for terrible English and terrible opinion

I was a huge fan of EvaKiss' other game; GGGB, so I was very excited to check this one out, and it has not disappointed thus far.

I really like both MCs; Lena and Ian, and I dig the whole "switching perspectives" thing. If not done well, it could be jarring for the player, but don't worry hypothetical player, you're in good hands, as Eva handles it perfectly.

The art style is so refreshing and is a noted step up from GGGB.

The sex scenes are very hot, especially the ones with Cindy, because I'm a major simp for her.

Speaking of, I really enjoy all of the supporting characters aside from Jeremy who kinda plays into a cliche trope too heavily for my liking, but it's not a deal breaker or anything.

As I touched on, I really like Cindy. The "forbidden fruit" dynamic between her and Ian is so fuckin spicy and well done. Makes me want to chase her and only her honestly.

Lena's scenes with her collective roommates are all super sexy as well, between the dom stuff with Louise and the teasing of Stan, it's hard to not get...hard.

I'd also like to note the creative DMT trip scene, I love meta shit like that. Gave me big Doki Doki Lit Club vibes.

Overall, Evakiss has fucking nailed it so far with this one. Great job again, Eva.

5*

v0.9

Good :
- Great artworks
- Excellent writtings
- Meaningfull choices
- Many options and branches
- Each girl has a unique personality that will suit every tastes
- Holly is the most adorable character i've ever seen in a VN
- Intimate scenes are perfectly brought out and realistic
- Male / Woman protagonist
- A lot of romance
- Cheats available

Bad :
- You can't change the protagonist's names

This is a very good. I wish i could play as Jeremy! The female mc is hot but the male mc is kinda bleh looking. The writing is good and LI's are good. Music is VERY good. Suprising even... I really wanted to play as Jeremy.

The quality of the game itself, the writing and graphics is superb. It manages to be a visual novel and a cyoa game at the same time. The choices feel real and impactful, and the character development is deep and strongly based on the choices we make.
The only point of criticism I have comes from my own expectations rather than the quality of the game. It's too serious for me. Let's be honest, I come her for sex games, more or less simple, at least as far as intellectual requirements go. I don't want to become sad or insecure and this is exactly how this game makes me feel.
I haven't finished it yet, so my feeling might change, but often I just don't feel like playing it, because of its too serious tone. But I guess that the problem is me and not Our Red String.

it's very good, I play the actual 9 chap available in 2 days. Nice story and well written. The story are very nice, each decision have an impact on the story and on the character. The more music can be nice. After couple hours you have make the turn.

Great game. Many choice and affect the story so make it worth to play again. Good character design but voice isn't good yet. Should have minigame like real snooker or something. The progress about skill is not showing right .

Game version: [v0.9 Final]

GGGB is one of my favorite games of all time, definitely my favorite female MC game, rated it 5 stars.

Playing this left me feeling bored and deflated.

It's hard to put my finger on what exactly is wrong with this game, I feel like it's a lot of small changes that add up to it just being a completely different experience. At first glance, things have improved. The art looks nicer I guess, there's a better UI, more stats, more systems.

Having dual protagonists makes the game worse. There is no real focus, no identification. Events get repeated without much benefit to the player. Unlike Ashley in GGGB, I don't really like either of these two characters. I also feel that even if you like both female and male MC games, it just doesn't mix. To me, it requires a different mindset and a different kind of game. It's like chocolate and steak, you might think either is delicious, but you don't want to put both on the same plate and switch between them during a meal.

The game also just feels so weirdly slow and vanilla compared to GGGB. Sure, GGGB had its vanilla elements too, but you could go into so many kinky extremes pretty quickly. I feel like that was kind of the appeal of the game. This game feels more like a vanilla dating sim. It's such a weird shift that it makes me put on my conspiracy hat and wonder if this is actually the story the dev wanted to tell or if these changes are some weird attempt at reaching a bigger audience. Then again, didn't GGGB make good money? I don't know, but whatever this is, I hate it.

You're playing 2 characters, male and female, in a small city where these two take turns to interact with each other and their environment.
Apart from the interaction, you're presented with literally the same storytelling as in the previous game of this author, Good Girls Gone Bad: select your favourite partners and watch them develop their relations. If you don't want to see someone, you just ignore them.
This was a pretty straightforward 4- or 5-star concept, which made GGGB so appealing as well.
The main difference (apart from 2 chars) is that the character development mechanics has changed: instead of "kindness" vs "corruption" + "money", you're introduced with multiple stats: "Wits", "Charisma", "Athletics", "Lust" + "money" + "Willpower" + "NPC relations".
Not a bad concept if implemented properly, and it allows you to shape your protagonists accordingly. Unfortunately, it is not implemented properly, and the mechanics becomes a borderline between you and the desired content. Fortunately, there is an official option to "cheat" and play with max stats, except for "NPC relations".

So, why two stars?

It is primarily related to Female protagonist gameplay.
Story-wise, in 0.9 the Female is cut off her main sources of income by a powerful businessman, unless you allow him to fuck her.
The main problem here is that it happens "Deus ex machina", regardless you interacted with that businessman or not. (what if I told you that he is the Female's biological father but none knows about it in 0.9)
In other words, initially the game presented itself non-linear, and you developed your Female character in one of the multiple ways.
Later, its non-linearity is destroyed by this story "node" for the Female.

I'm pretty sure that in 1.0, players will get another "god of machine" and everything will turn out in one way or another for the Female.
However, the problem of gameplay unsatisfaction won't actually go away -- a player puts efforts which are crossed with the stroke of a pen.

Luckily, the Male doesn't have this story "node", which is nice but doesn't solve the plot problem.
Also, fortunately, the game still has a cheat mode, and you can technically (but not story-wise!) ignore the whole "Deus ex Machina".

P.S. Please don't get me wrong, the DeM is an absolutely fine concept in story telling, it just shouldn't overwrite all your previous time investment.
Here the businessman feels similar to aliens landing in the middle of the Female char development.

I already liked "Good Girl gone bad" even tho i usually don't like female protagonist games. This caters much more to my preferences and pretty much has it all.

Great artwork

Good writing, (that isn't completely unbelievable..)

THE example for meaningful decisions in games.

Awesome job @ the whole team involved in this.

Games made by Eva Kiss, will never miss! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Great characters, engaging plot lines, artwork is fantastic.
Decent replayability.
Only downside for me is waiting for the next update feels like forever.

A good piece of work with engaging plot lines cyoa. It doesn't seem to achieve the same level as your previous work gggb. This one does have a "friends" vibe to it with a little less comedy. I think the multi protagonist has got to be the hardest thing to pull off for these stories. Perhaps this is where it drags it down?

the double point of view, the different paths, the story in general. Almost everything in this game is great. I think it is somehow unique here on f95. Among a lot of games about incest or other plain tropes I think this game is one of the best because it is really original.
I'd only complain a little about the faces, they're sometimes a little odd. But it's better than GGGB

I first played this game over the course of 3 days, and it was quite a ride. Don't remember the last time i played something that puts 0.9 in the title with this much content, i was expecting the "please give me money so my wife's boyfriend can use my credit card again" deathwall to appear by the end of day 1, little did i know i wasn't ever close to halfway done. But then i remembered one of the last times something like that happened, it was quite a while a go: When i started playing Good Girl Gone Bad. Playing isn't quite the word the to describe it with how many times i ended up replaying it, more like obssessing over it, and somehow getting stuff different though some sort of writing wizardry, but you get the idea. Shame i finished it up quite a while ago and probably wouldn't ever get a game that would...

...Then, and i swear i didn't realise even with the art style (i played some similar looking games like Lust Campus before, so i didn't think much of it), i read the developer name and there was it, Eva Kiss. And mind you i really don't pay attention to the names of developer's of porn games, but after GGGB it was kind hard to forget.

And writing this now, i have yet only played it twice. The first time, as i always do in the first play, i chose whatever i thought was the "right" choice (that being, what i would do or atleast what i like to think i would do) And a second playthrough that was supposed to be a full on corruption for both Ian and Lena but took a... different route. With the experience of going at it twice, is this game worse, better, or atleast comparable in quality to GGGB? The only answer i can give you is yes, which if you read the question doesn't make sense but that what you getting. I always thought art was a matter of taste, then i saw that some people disliked the art in GGGB i think i'm not that accepting anymore and its not a matter of taste, if you think that your opinion is invalid, it looks great and i am objectively right and you are completly wrong and your parents are ashamed of you. Now that we are clear about that and you have enlightened to the truth, i believe this game looks at the very least better than 90% of the porn games i ever played, and i'm sure it must be a technical improvement over GGGB because it very much looks like it is, but i think it looks... well, more bland? It's more generic and in tone with other VNs, which isn't bad of course, but i kind missed that style, which i thought was very unique and looked very appealing to me in most frames.

Writing. What i can say about that is that, well, its pretty good. If it wasn't porn. Now, with it being porn, holy shit that was a fucking BANGER. I mean, sure, flawless? No. Some character decisions didn't make that much sense to me, and the vast majority of this feeling came while i was in my second playthrough and found out just how easy both of the protagonists forget about how they are depressed because of cheating partners and emotionally drained by them, but Ian x Cindy and Lena x Mike paths really feel like they were too innatural, too soon and porn driven. Wait, did i just complained about a porn game having innatural and porn driven paths? Most of the games in the site you can barely say there are paths with the lack of impact of the choices you have, much less something actually natural in them as all the characters were there are just dicks and holes, hell even my beloved GGGB suffered from that here and there. Doesn't completly excuse it, as it could have been handled better with some better events and a lot of hesitation to try to better sell the whole "corrupting" gimmick, and it did dissapoint me a little bit even if just because of my very high expectations for this game in my second playthrough? Sure, but if i weigh it against everything else... well, then the only reason i put this here was because otherwise it would be just me sucking it up to the dev, because very few other porn games made me feel this invested, and very feel other games in general made me feel this torn up at times, SPECIALLY deciding between Holly and Lena yah eva you sadistic fuck why are you like this why can't i just be happy for fuck sake, so much so that my "corruption" playthrough with Ian just ended up being a guilt trip to make cute glasses girl forgive me (Not Ian, me), while Lena was too busy sucking big cock.

Anyway, no point discussing everything else that i saw so far othet than good job dev you made me sad and hard at the same time, and its not even NTR. Still don't regret it.

Why i wrote this, i have work tomorrow, its 3 AM. I really need a girlfriend.

I feel out of place writing this review with all the 5 star ratings but I had a different experience than most. First, I'm not trying to hate on the game in any way. I really enjoyed GGGB, the author's first game!

I'll state this up front, I did not finish the game. I had less and less desire to continue clicking on the mouse as the game progressed until I no longer had a desire to continue.

There was nothing new for me here. Perhaps I've played too many games on this site but the story and writing feel overused and stuff I've seen dozens of times. I never really got engrossed in the game or the characters. The game never inspired me to want to read more.

The art has improved since GGGB and the game has a larger scope. I much preferred the focused GGGB story and smaller scope. The game pace was faster with GGGB also. With the primitive art style used, slow paced stories just don't work for me here.

I also disliked having two protagonists. Reliving the same experiences through a different person wasn't a good move in my opinion. Why would I want to play through the same content twice, just to have a slightly different take on the events? I already mostly understood what the other was thinking and feeling for the most part with little surprises.

The game just wasn't my cup of tea. I was expecting to have a stellar experience and perhaps all the hype and 5 star ratings got my expectations too high, it's hard to say for sure...

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's first game GGGB but because I lost the desire to even finish the game, I can't justify a higher rating. I wish the author all the best on this project and future projects!