VN - Ren'Py - Our Red String [Ch. 13.2 Alpha] [Eva Kiss]

While the game is high rated I saw alot of reviews with a 2/3 star rating citing a lack of depth in the game and all LIs being sluts hence 0 likeability. This bothered me enough because this game is amazing and I would like to refute to both points in my review and tell you why you should play this game.

Depth: The game has MANY routes and when I say many you have to play ~ 3-6 playthroughs to experience all LIs and at that some LIs have multiple variations according to the choices you make (Holly is one off the top of my head). So there is depth in the game and to say that it lacks depth is probably coming from people who have not played the game and put it down during the prologue (which is not even long mind you).

All the LI being sluts: This is straight up wrong, there are 3 LI in the game who you can characterize as sluts and one of them can vary according to the choices you make and be a regular LI. This may be coming from people who only played the prologue and saw our female protagonist who like GGGB's protagonist gets alot of incentive to act promiscuous and it's very easy to lead her down that path, which may be why people are labeling her as a slut. There are 2 more promiscuous love interests who want to show off their body be that in modelling or pole dancing but there are many more LI who work normal jobs and aren't offputing (that is if you are not into the aforementioned kind of girls).

Overall this game is a clear 10/10 from me and I hope Eva Kiss is able to finish it.

Great game so far, I was hesitant because of the 2D art style but the drawings are great and the girls are hot. The plot is realistic and interesting, the dialogue is mostly good (lots of games with hilariously bad dialogue, this isn't one of them). Both Ian and Lena are interesting main characters and I really like playing from both POVs

Let's put it simply: I've rarely played a video game so malicious towards its audience. None - and let me stress this point: “none” - of the characters portrayed in this game show any appreciable qualities.

Playing “Our Red String” made me wonder if "Eva Kiss" had even bothered to find out about the realities of the people they were trying to portray, as this might explain why their characters are so detestable. The exotic dancer: venal, slanderous, a drug addict and naturally (ironic tone) an occasional sex worker (because all dancers working in a club are prostitutes, of course). The geek: is introduced as the ultimate pervert, lives in a filthy bedroom, paints miniatures and still relies on Mom (you like video games, DnD and Warhammer, that's Eva Kiss' idea of you). The main male character dreams of becoming a famous writer but, for some reason, has never written anything. Nothing, as in “nothing”: no fanfic, no movie or series script, no role-playing universe... My DM is more of a writer than he is.

The list goes on, and not in a good way - some of the protagonists simply deserve to be brought before a court.

If we're not in it for the story, maybe we can ignore the script, press CTRL and watch the scenes, can't we? Unfortunately, although Eva Kiss' style has evolved (and is trying out new angles, details, etc.), it doesn't seem to be mastered.

In short, I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. There's enough on offer on this site to save you wasting your time with “Our Red String”.

So this is Eva's second game and it actually took me quite a lot of time to bring myself to play it after the first one. The main reason for that is also one of the games main features: It lets you play a male and a female main character at the same time. So you're following both Ian and Lena through their lives and make decisions for them. It gives the whole game the feel of a playable soap opera. I on the other hand generally prefer games with only one MC, be it male or female and I'm still not a 100% sold on the idea, but the rest of the game is so good, that I ended up being quite happy with it anyway.

The second big "selling point" of the game are the plethora of player choices and the mountain of permutations that those decisions create. That makes the game probably one of the most nonlinear linear games on this site. Yes, it is linear in the sense that all the events in it have a fixed order and there is no sandbox where can choose where your MC goes for example.

Instead it has the normal Ren'Py decision system, but it has a lot of those. There is also a stats system that might lock you out of or open you up for certain decisions depending on previous decisions and that are separate for both main characters.

And damn...are there many decisions and they allow you to very much play the game almost in any way that you can conceive. Both of the MCs can enter in numerous relationships with other characters and of course with each other. They can have open relationships, committed and faithful relationships or cheat on their partner and so on and so forth.

This leads to a large number of potentially different playthroughs. I opted in my playthrough for one version in which the two MCs fooled around a bit with each other and other people and then decided to try it and enter a more committed relationship with each other.
But you can also play the game in a way in which both are in completly different relationships or a version in which both are just fucking around or a version in which they cheat on each other or a version in which they are cheating with each other on their individual girl/boyfriend.

Another strong point of the game is the writing. In line with the idea that this is a playable soup opera, there also isn't a very obvious and palpable main story with a more or less set goal it is building towards in the game (at least so far). Instead you follow the lives of the characters and their relationships and how they interact, influence each other and develop over time.
While the characters aren't absolutely perfect they are generally written on a very high level. Yes, some of them are a bit of a cliche, but they still all work pretty well and give you a good idea of the person they are supposed to be. If I would level one criticizm against the game in regards to the characters it would be that a lot of them are really flawed human beings and somewhat unlikeable.

So...yeah...if the art style is appealing enough for you (and I think it has improved compared to Eva's first game) and you're at least okay with the two MC concept, I would recommend to give this one a try. It really is impressive how much is in this game and how much freedom the player has. If there is any "linear" game in which the decision of the player mean something, I would say this is it.

One of the games with a better story and awesome graphs. A must play for any fans of 'A good girl gone bad'. You will get to choose the path and how the characters behave. From an artist to a model, a writer or even an exotic dancer, plenty of room to explore between the male and female character choice interaction. It truly pulls you into the game and keeps you enternained.

More of a romance game that's heavy on storyline. It's not really a sandbox. Everything is on guardrails. As something happens, your character chooses how to respond, in classic VN style.

If you're looking for a quality story driven experience you'll like the straightforward style and nice 2D art. Slice of life style happenings with a group of friends where you decide how close you get to them by how you treat them. It is very cool, the idea of having two protagonists

Not exactly what I'm looking for in an adult game / dating sim. Sexual content is generally low even with pole dancing being a plotpoint

10/10 - There isn't another game of the same quality.


With "Our Red Strings", Eva Kiss delivers yet another mastrepiece.

The graphics are pleasant, the developer keeps perfecting their lines at every iteration.

The smut content is varied, from romantic to light BDSM, and what happens inbetween is engaging, with many charcters particinpating in a multi-faceted story.

Other games get lost when offering players a choice between different developments for the characters - not this one. The choices we make do matter.

As a big fan of Eva's first game, Good Girl Gone Bad, I was a bit hesitant to try this one since it features both a male and female MC. But I’m really glad I did! The dynamic between Lena, Ian, and their friends is so engaging, especially since their relationships aren’t always smooth.

I played through the current content twice—first, I had Lena hook up with Holly and Louise, while Ian went for Alison and Cindy. On my second run, I made Lena and Ian get serious. Both playthroughs were super fun!

Eva has a real talent for creating drama and crafting characters that feel real. That said, I wasn’t a fan of Ian’s friends—Perry is such a whiny loser, and Wade is a lazy jerk who totally takes Cindy for granted. A hot girl like her won’t stick around for a couch potato forever—trust me!

Honestly, I’d love to just play as Lena and chase after all the hot girls, but that’s just my naughty side talking, haha. Overall, the game is fantastic so far, with beautiful art and excellent writing. Keep up the amazing work, Eva!

A very well executed game.
Even the writing was a bit on the hefty side, all text was easily readable.
The core of the gameplay is you have two main characters whose friend circles are overlappingly close and things tend to get sexually complicated as your two main characters choices develop as the story progresses.
There are no animations but game is not sexually bland, spicy on the contrary. Unlocking all the content may take a couple of days of replay if you don't skip as the choices you make locks you out of many paths.
One of the must try games on this site, no extra words needed.

Amazing dating sim. Eva took the basic choice mechanics of good girl gone bad and added tremendous depth, with well thought out characters, where your choices impact them in interesting ways. Characters pair up and their personalities/histories lead to realistic and hot dynamics. Consequences seem earned and justified. Its structure even allows you to explore deep themes like regret, what you want in a relationship, and whether two people are truly right for each other.

All of this and it's one of the hottest games I've ever played. The sex is between actual characters Eva takes time to introduce, and the art is erotic even though it's involving hyper stylized cartoons. On the short list of the best erotic games of all time frankly.

I just finished 12.3 and I have to say... initially I shied away from this game because it seemed more cartoonish than animation... but dang! The storyline is great! The impact of your decisions. I think I've done 4-5 playthroughs so far where I act differently each time and it's just awesome to see all the different scenes you didn't see previously.

I'm incredibly impressed and I'm looking forward to future content!

Hello, i play so much games and some are really good and so this one too. I like it has a female and male MC ( honestly i prefer Lena, a hot and sexy girl ) The story is surprising fresh ( ok, some is forecastable , Ian ) and start slowly and the MC evolve ( special Lena ) make fun to see how Lena handle with others and her own desire ( i like the girl/girl with Holly and Ivy ). The story can have some paths ( i prefer for Lena her increase self-confidence in her own skills as model or musician and songwriter and her sexuality and so she will never give up her dream or her goal ). Perhaps her friendship with Ivy and Holly ( both like or love Lena ) grown of a new level ? I like it to the can alert Cindy befor her ex-friend axel ( a stalker and narcissistic man ? ) and maybe both have later a ardent friendship. I like the draft ( the girls look all hot and sexy, yes, Emma too ) and the storyline is good imao. Ian is ok.
Oh, and, i like the realistic in the story like real live and the realistic draft from both MC and the other person in your story.

This game has created many interesting and sexy characters, and the story content is also very exciting, especially the characters' psychological activities, which is the key to the credibility of the characters.

Everything about this game is perfection. I adore the hand drawn art style, the branching makes it endlessly re-playable, the characters are fantastic and the writing is second-to-none. The only downside is that it is unfinished for now!

The artwork and scenes are great, but I feel like the game doesn't really progress much storywise. I think the premise of having two main characters with branching stories was way too ambitious.

Due to sheer amount of variables of having two main characters and their relationships with side characters the story progression stalls so much we are looking at 6-month update schedule for a 5-10 minutes of gameplay with little to none story progression.

I will bump my rating to 5-stars if the completed project manages to make me change my mind.

Gameplay:
Visual Novel with multiple branches
So, it's mainly a choice driven game with two protagonists, leading to may possible outcomes that can't be done in one playthrough. So, the mechanic is that you have to choose wisely for the two MCs, but you also have to take some risks for some rewards. There is no "right path", it's up to you.

Story:
This is the strong point of the game. This is not silly porn. The author is trying to tell something that feels realistic in the connections between a bunch of young adults. The various characters are well written. You may feel them a bit cliché, but in the end you may be surprised. While the first chapters are quite simple, later chapters are incredibly complex depending on what you choose.

Graphics/Animation:
Mostly 2dCG, well made. No animations. I like this kind of graphics and the models are hot.

Sound/Music
Background music that suits the context. A few sounds for lewd scenes. Nothing special here.

Overall impression:
Watching the walkthrough gives a hint of how complex this game can be. It is also refreshing to have more realistic relations (some may say vanilla), instead of heavy sexual fantasies without much logic. It depends on what you look for in games, you may be bored. This is also more suitable for a larger audience. I also praise the author for such a heavy work.

Beautifully written story and characters. So many different paths that can be taken. Great writing. Great visuals and of course lots of sex. It really allows to indulge in your fantasy. The variation in characters and traits are pretty good.

Fantastic Art with No DIRECTION nor DEPTH

I wanted to like this game, and to an extend, I do, but this game fails to delivery on just about every expectation I had.

No place for romance in..

The game has you play through the daily lives of two of its MCs, Ian & Lena. And, for some reason it wants to connect the both of them as if they were bound by destiny. Which is obviously contradicted by every thing else in this story.
The premise of romance is simple. Both the MCs are struggling financially and emotionally. They should totally link up together so they can heal, right? Wrong!
Playing through the game, I couldn't at all tell where the chemistry was between the two protagonists. What was so important that these two should be together? Where was the string?
Lena was not an addition to Ian's life, and nor was Ian to Lena's. And it also doesn't help that you could control both the characters.
If you play Lena as intended, then you're playing as a depraved sex worker, drug addict and all around a massive red flag. Not much of a romance choice for Ian, is she?

No place for likeability in..

All the characters in this game are straight up unlikable, except for maybe Alison. The female LIs of this game are either selling their body for money, or trying to, or are simply argumentative. Is this really the extend of their depth?

The male LIs aren't any better either. All they wanna do is smash, and that they will with anything that breathes. They will act quite nice when Lena is sleeping with them, but will start being real sleazy and petty when they get rejected. I wonder how come Lena's side ended up this bad.

No place for bros in..

You heard it. Not only are there no likeable romance options, there aren't any likeable bros either. As Ian, you're left with : -

a) Perry - a dorky man child and a borderline creep. Who you have to take pity on so you don't steal his crush, btw.

b) Wade - A former stud, and now a full time slob. You'll stab him in the back and steal his disloyal girlfriend as the snake friend that you're.

c) Jeremy - A bro when it comes to assisting you in the GYM, but everywhere else you'll end up butting heads over who gets with the girls. i.e., the competition.

No place for depth in..

Yep. Unfortunately, this lacks any level of depth whatsoever. Not once I was invested in a single character or plot point in this game. As the male MC, you just go about trying to court all the women, and long behold, most woman here are an aspiring pornstar.
As the female MC, you go about trying fuck anything and everything. Man, woman, a pencil sharpener?! Doesn't matter, she will sleep with anyone and anything when in heat and need of money.

A place for sex in..

Unsurprisingly, this game had lots of sex scenes, if you don't mind holding CTRL through all the story so you're unaware of the brain functions of it's ludicrous characters.

A place for Karen in..

One of the characters in this game is an absolute Karen, but that later turns out to be a good thing, as the hate-fuck relationship is just all the hotter. So, good job on that!

No place for strong MCs in..

I wonder why Ian is the male MC. He is the least jacked man in this game, other than his two juvenile friends. Just about every fight he got in, the other dude was 2 weight classes above him. All I could think was this man about to get killed any blow to the head.
He also had to use maximum strength to try and win a match in wrestling against a onlyfans woman. Ever heard of bulking, Ian?

Lena isn't much better either sadly. Instead of finding better solutions to her financial problems, her ideas are - to write cliched lyrics and earn no money, launch an onlyfans account, or work with sleazy men and be sleazy for cash. Where's the strong will, Lena? Can't be bothered to work a 9-5 and learn a high-paying skill?

No place for execution in..

I know I have been rather harsh throughout this review, but that's because I know this game could've been a great deal better had it been executed properly. I can see that the developer tried to build something good but somewhere they got confused and lost direction.
The romance and the thread of destiny, as the tittle suggest, doesn't exist between the two MCs. All in persuit to give the player freedom of choice in place of niche. But rather, you get forgettable characters, even more forgettable story and all around a very shallow game.

I am tired of people writing negative reviews on bases of choices they made and thinking that's the whole game/story. The artwork is fabulous, and writing in aspects that every choice matters and has changes in dialogue and outcomes is very rare. I would have rated this one a 4, but now I'm rating it a 5 just to counter these negative reviewers. Yes, there are not as many crazy scenarios are not as her GGGB, but as audience grows the creator changes too. Pretty open-minded people in terms of kinks become narrow-minded while rating a game just because it does not have the story or type of character they like, regardless of the game being good.

There's a lot of variability in the choices you make and the different routes players can decide on. The stat system is well done and the different game modes make the playthrough both intuitive and free. This work is ingenuine and deserves the high rating from a plethora of perspectives. The back and forth between the people within a 'small world' all loops back and form a genuine rapport and subtlety to the relationship dynamic. All in all; a game that has cracked the shell of a game for an interesting experience that can't help you from wanting just a little bit more.