VN - Ren'Py - Our Red String [Ch.13.3.4] [Eva Kiss]

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!

I am going to keep this short. I think EvaKiss is very talented and this is one of the best erotic games I have played. The writing and art is excellent and every character involved in the plot is interesting. The choices actually matter n the game and the branching paths makes the replay value great. The lewd content is also varied and hot and most people should be able to find something that interests them.

I don't really like games with multiple main characters because they lose a lot of immersion.But this is EVAKISS's work, and the quality and the plot are superb.Everything has two sides, and if you try to cater to a larger audience, you lose the character.

Incredible VN. Great graphics and a good story. Character development is done well and story progresses in logical fashion. Lots of different paths, too. Additionally, the project develops at a rapid pace with regular updates. What more can you ask ?

Strong recommendation

You did it again! Awesome story! Awesome art and great choices. I love the buying sex toys as well as clothes. Oh and can't forget adding a second antaganist. This game/VN is epic. Of course, it's not GGGB, but it would be in my top ten. I can't wait for more! I'm officially addicted. Oh, can't forget I was VERY dissapointed when I thought you messed up the coding!! Why would your release it, if it wasn't QA'd? How could you sink so low and F up the follow up release!? Then... Whoa... What? Oh. Damn, you got me! Great humor twist! Loved every aspect of this one.

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.

Our Red String is on a completely different level to anything else I've tried in this genre. The art work is very good, but first and foremost the writing is exceptionally well done.

The characters are realistic and well written; they're often based on tropes, but they're fleshed out to the extent that they feel like realistic individuals. Eva Kiss is also very good at patiently building up the plot and the different relations. Instead of being tempted to throw in a sex scene between two characters for the instant gratification, most often she lets the attraction between them build up gradually, waiting for the right moment, which makes the sex scenes in this game far hotter than in most other games.

The amount of meaningful choices and different paths, which themselves have several variations, is also very impressive. Even though the game isn't anywhere near finished, it's already possible to play it a bunch of times for different outcomes.

All in all it's just an extremely well written and executed game.

By far one of the best VNs I have ever played. Love the story, characters as well as the art! I find almost all of the characters very lovable. This game allows so many playthroughs and is definitely worth your time. Great work and I'm looking forward to more content.

What on earth can I say to do this game justice? All I can say is that Eva Kiss and team did it again and has a made an amazing story. This story is much deeper than Good Girl Gone Bad, and even features some characters from that game which is great.

This game is deep on multiple levels. The characters are constantly intertwined and interact with each other. Both main characters have quite many friends that they hang out with, interact with and share their thoughts with. In turn these various characters meet the two main characters and so different dynamics are made. I really like this, as it creates a deep story.

Eva Kiss is also an amazing writer. This is shown through playing as two characters who interact with one another. It takes a steady hand to not mess such a project up - especially when it translates into a game.

The characters have real personality, feelings, aspirations, ambitions, desires and so on. I find that all the character are very distinct - at no point did I have to ask myself who the hell "Ivy" is, because the characters developed well enough for them to stand out. This is shown in multiple ways, but mostly through their personalities. For instance Ivy and or no-nonsense straight forward comments, Louise and her insecurities, Perry with his stuttering thoughtfulness. I could go on, the point is that all the characters are really well made, and it that is shown throughout the story. It makes them very relatable.

The story is exceptionally well written. I'm not just talking in terms of choices of which there are many. I'm talking in terms of how it is written. The different characters "speaks" in different ways and this is excellently shown through the writings. It's just so well made.
It is also really nice where different options becomes available or disable depending on your decisions. Like, do you support your friend in some heated arguement or do you end up sleeping with a girl he likes etc? Likewise, the decisions you take on the romantic paths has great influence on the game. Afterall these are characters with their own feelings and relations with one another. The excellent writings makes it interesting to follow the various characters as you help shape their lives through your actions.

Fair warning; the art is beautiful, but this is not a game where you immediately can unbutton your pants and expect to find some hot scenes 5 minutes in. This is not that type of game. Sure you can fast track, but then you basically lose out on all the good stuff that makes this game so amazing.

Anyway, here's a quick summary:

The Good:

• Beautiful art and there's plenty of it.
• Deep and meaningful story - you even get to play from two perspectives.
• Fleshed out characters with distinct personalities. You really get to feel the friendship with your buddies.
• Decisions that matter and have a lasting impact.
• All the characters are inter-related and interacts with one another inside the story.
• Awesome writing which really helps to outline the characters.

The In-Between:

• It would be cool with more clothing options - especially for Ian.

The Bad:

• I cannot think of anything.

One of the best porn game/vn i ever played, the only comparsion is GGGB from the same dev, the quality of writing and pictures are awesome, the amount of choices u have for both protags is great, the only thing i dislike is the fact u heavily pushed into Ian/Lena relationship, and i feel weird putting them together since i control them both(i dont do self inserts but i still have some connection to them and i'm just not into this), but u can eventually put a stop to this without ruining the friendship so its all good, i like all the girls in this game, but my favorite for Ian is Alison and Minerva, if dev put a real root with good ending for the boss if i'm honest i will just "give" Allison to Jeremy, i just love this milf and this is the real one and not some "i'm a 40 years old milf that looks like 20", Allison is awesome too ofc, on Lena side i really like Louise, but Lena relationship with her seems quite shallow as of 0.8 update so idk, i feel kind of bad for her when i "date" her, since Lena doesnt seems to care about her, the Jeremy thing is a nice side dish but only for fap imo, i did not care much for other guys to be honest, since Robert is kinda trash(idk why he has so many scenes, but they are alright , he just so shallow and plain), and Mike only good for a fap since he is a cheater because of u, so i dont take him seriously(what to stop him from ditching u for the next pussy now that he know how its like to cheat), but i take this plot too seriously, but that the thing about this game, its not just a porn game, in some games u just skip the text since its garbage anyway, but its not the case here, so that a definitive plus, u really care about those characters when u play it, just like u cared about Ashley from GGGB, forgot to mention Holly, she is alright, and the dev definitly sets her up for a future poly or something(she also kinda feel like a dev self insert, but that just my opinion), i romanced her with Lena, cant tell u much on Ian side since i just like Allison and the boss too much to pay her any attention on that end, i reccomend this game to everyone, even if u are not into reading, just play it, u will like it i assure u, good luck to the dev with future updates and other projects!

Just like its prodecesor this game is full of choises. Choice that can make or ruin who wants to sleep with and it follows. If you aren't fully devotion to wooing a girl you ain't wooing her ever. It is much slower pace than Girl Gone Bad though. Which can be considered both strength and weakness.

Worth mentioning that it provide both male and female pov of the story, so thats always interesting. The girls and boys look good, no ugly buisness or netorare. Overall i would enjoy it anytime. But not lust after it.

Best game I've played. Came for a good fap and got not only that, but also a great story that kept me entertained throughout the whole play-through. I am looking forward to the updates, and I highly recommend it.

GGGB was absolutely incredible, probably my favorite game that I've played and Our Red String has the potential to be even better.

I've played up to .8 and it's fantastic. ORS is pretty ambitious when you think about it and Eva Kiss is fucking nailing it. To have multiple protagonists with their own individual yet converging story lines. To have both characters have a multitude of different choices with the possibility of changing the plot at each turn. It's incredible from a creative and technical standpoint.

The artwork in ORS took a step up from GGGB yet it still carries the same draw that made GGGB stand out as unique and beautiful.

As a note, .8 carries an incredible amount of content. A soft guess of about 6-8+ hours in a single play-through.