VN - Ren'Py - Our Red String [Ch.13.3.3] [Eva Kiss]

This review is for version 0.9 Remastered Final.
Holy goddamn Eva Kiss never disappoints. The art style is instantly recognisable and the story, as always, feels so real. I think what sets it apart from other games is the sheer number of 'flavour' dialogue choices that maybe don't affect the game so much but add humanity to the whole thing.
Not generally a fan of poems, but they were absolutely fantastic in this: "Heart shut, the fence is up. The lock is getting rusty". I can't believe how good this one line is. I'm mad that somebody else wrote it.
I'm actually just playing for the story at this point, though the sex scenes are also some of the best I've seen.

What a great game this is. Fantastic artwork, great sex scenes, excellent characters that you can actually get attached to, a neat slice-of-life story, and funky music to go with it all.

Both MCs are awesome, and I've frankly just found myself immensely enjoying their relationship with each other. Not only is it romantic, but also extremely lewd (Fuck yes to great anal sex scenes).

Even more astoundingly, however: this is unironically one of the best RPGs in modern times, in the sense that you build up certain stats that unlock abilities further down the line. It feels like different choices really lead to different outcomes, and the handing-out of the skill points never feels unfair/arbitrary.

Amazing game, can't wait for it to be finished!

Incredible!
Extremely good pics, all with correct proportions!
The story is very deep, all the things has meanings, is credible!
The sound is very simple but good enough for me, remember old super Nintendo games.
Very hot! I am grateful for this game and I can't wait for more!

Best adult game that I have played. End of discussion. Amazing story, great graphics. Played more than 3 times to finish the story with every aspect. Looking forward to play the other games of EVA KISS. RESPECT AND FIVE STARS

[v0.9 Remastered]

You know how there are plot driven stories and character driven stories? This is very much a character driven story. I'm not a huge fan of these in general because they are usually basic dating sims with paper thin characters, but I come across the occasional gems like this with a lot of depth to the characters and their interactions.

If I talk about everything good about this game, it will become overly long. I just want to touch on the few things that really stand out in Eva Kiss' games.

The strongest skillset for this dev in my opinion is the coding. This is something that isn't clearly visible to players, but for someone like me who often looks through the script file, you can't help but admire the level of dedication in creating a coherent and immersive experience based on the choices. The amount of variations and conditionals are astronomical. People familiar with GGGB would know what to expect already. Unfortunately, the dual protagonist nature presents much more complexity to the equation. We do occasionally see some immersion breaking characterizations, something that was exceedingly rare in GGGB.

The other standout aspect is, of course, the writing. Almost all the characters have layers to them. There is quite a lot of depth to even the traditionally tropey personas if you pay attention. All characters are well realized and believable as individuals that could exist in real life, more or less. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Most of them have admirable qualities and character flaws to varying degrees. We have a much more grounded story compared to GGGB, which could admittedly be a negative for some players expecting a standard corruption story.

Still, there is so much to work with here for corruption fans. To me, the stakes are very much higher than a tropey corruption game because it seems so much more realistic. You are the architect of your own playthrough, and there is a framework that enables many different themes while keeping everything believable (for the most part). NTR story with a faithful male MC and cheating girlfriend? Yup. Man whore male MC with a loyal girlfriend? Yea. Love triangles? Sure. Classic romance and perseverance through hard times? Yup. Free for all fuck buddies? Yup. No real finesse in the run and just bang everything as both MCs? Yea you can do that too.

As for the sex scenes. It's no surprise that the scene writing is damn fappable. GGGB proved that already. The art has improved considerably from the previous game in that it doesn't look like a pure trace art anymore.

There you have it. There is something here for everyone, but people looking for a more straightforward corruption story like the previous game might be disappointed.

The design of this game is a step up from Good Girl Gone Bad in every way. Higher quality art, more complex writing and narrative branching, multiple stat mechanics. Some simple animations have even been added which addresses my only real complaint about Eva Kiss's previous game. The game is still in progress (nine chapters so far) but it's pretty hefty already. I've played through it twice thanks to the inclusion of a built-in cheat mode so no choices are locked out due to skill numbers. There's no grind in this game; developing skills happens naturally through your decisions throughout the story. I wish there was more Cindy because she's so hot, but all the women are good choices to follow. Another home run from Eva Kiss!

Amazing art, meaningful choices and lot of paths to explore with great replayability. No random sex scenes and flat, 2D characters with idiotic conversations, which is the annoyance of lot of the games - even good ones.

Eva Kiss is two-for-two so far, knocking it out of the park with the infamous Good Girl Gone Bad and now with Our Red String.
This game surpasses basically any h game I've played up to this point, it's hard to even compare it to them. Not to mention the game's not even done.
Pros:
+ Art style is incredible, you can tell Eva Kiss has been improving on their skills and it shows with this project
+ Story has many choices and will have tons of content to replay. Just from chapter 9 alone, I could replay the story 4 or 5 times. I probably will as well.
+ Characters are actually interesting and believable, and dialogue is genuinely interesting and changes even with the slightly different choices you can make.
+ Disliked kinks/fetishes can be avoided entirely. Personally, a problem I have with most H games is unavoidable anal (I know it's weird but it's a turn off for me), and this game seems to give you full control over that, as well as things such as ntr and lesbian.
+ The idea of switching between 2 characters isn't new, but this is the only game I know that has it almost perfect.
+++ There isn't any annoying ads or things locked behind a paywall. Eva Kiss will be the first ever creator I'm going to sub to on patreon for this reason. They're humble and just make quality games.
Cons:
- In very small instances, the game will bug out in typical Ren'Py fashion, specifically in gallery mode, but it's very limited and I'm sure it will be fixed.
Suggestions:

• The only thing I can suggest to Eva Kiss is to potentially add more sfx to the sex scenes. The moans and other sounds are great, but I just wish they weren't limited to be heard during one dialogue box, but instead, was continuous throughout the scene. Within reason of course.

Couldn't recommend this game enough, it's accessible, open to many people with many tastes, and the creator is worth supporting.

Completed my first full play through up to the end of Chapter 9 and thought the game was really really addictive engaging. This is the first game I have played where you switch protagonists at various points (weekly). Making decisions with equal consequence for both Ian and Lena, who find their paths converging having lived separate but in many ways similar pasts.

I found myself having empathy and whilst I tend to play these games with a slightly devilish mindset, I almost instinctively tended towards those decisions that were to their long term benefit.

A degree of 'fate' is always a reality in this genre of game but there were more than enough choice to genuinely shape each characters path and I will probably replay the game from an early save point to see how much I can divert the MC's after a second play through. The writing and characterisation is first class. The characters are real and relatable for me.

The males more diverse in terms of age and shape, the women somewhat more homogeneous in that they are all slim or relatively slim and pretty (which is how I like it). However the character personalities covered a fairly broad spectrum, from energetic and out going to introverted and subdued. Equally there are a fair share of decent and shady characters, with decisions that will bring those characters closer to you, or create distance should you feel suitably repulsed by them.
In my first play through I had both characters reach points where their life was starting to change and it will be interesting to see how Eva Kiss takes their respective stories and develops them. I certainly hope, like I have read elsewhere that there are 20 or more chapters planned.
I particularly liked Lena's pathway and I'm genuinely excited to see how the story develops for her. That said, I found directing Ian fun and engaging, in slightly different ways but enjoyable nonetheless.

If you haven't played it, you should. Our Red String is definitely in a top list of 5 games currently in development. I didn't expect it to be quite that good, but it most certainly is. Loved it!

Ever since I discovered my first adult VN about two years ago I've been completely addicted to them. I've played hundreds. Some good some not so good and most of them just terrible. This is one of the good ones, and quite possibly the best VN I have played. It has everything you could want in a mostly vanilla VN minus animations. The art and writing is amazing, the characters for the most part are excellent, the sound and music is great and the erotic scenes are fantastic. Much like EvaKiss' first VN Good girl gone bad there are a ton of choices to make that all have meaningful consequences that drastically change the story which gives it a ton of replayability. The game so far as of writing this is quite long and I have never felt like skipping through any dialog even once which is rare for me. Something else I can say about the characters and writing that stuck out to me that I didn't realize until after playing through the game so far is that in most VN' that I've played I usually make choices that corrupt the main female character or MC the most in an attempt to make them as ruined and slutty, corrupt etc as possible. I didn't do that in this one because I actually cared about the characters and what was happening to them. This is because they seem like real people that I can relate to. The art and dialog capture emotions and fears and humanity in a way that no other VN can do from what I've seen so far. I genuinely cared for Ian, Lena and some of the other characters and I wanted the best for them.

To sum it all up, this VN is a masterclass and should not be missed by anyone that appreciates excellent writing, characters and art.

I thought long and hard whether I should give this game a 5* rating, and frankly, there would be nothing wrong with it since the developer invests a lot of time in beautiful drawings, intimate relationships and a grown-up approach to themes like love, betrayal and temptation. I just wish it wasn't so much like it's predecessor. I know it's a proven formula and it's tempting to stick with it, but there is an entire perfect game that covers this for me. The positive ratings prove the developer right I guess and I see that there is serious effort to give it a different spin. But overall, it's also much of the same and there are scenes where I know exactly what to expect and get exactly what I expected, because it is from the same playbook as Good Girl Gone Bad. It's a good experience, don't get me wrong, I just wish it would be more of its own thing.

As much as I enjoyed the previous GGGB game, this feels far more messy. As interesting as seeing two coins of every character is through duo character perspective, it feels strange constantly jumping from one shoes into another, especially when you end up dating yourself.

In a way the corruption is there, while people complain it is unavoidable I feel like it is too mild and doesn't make much of a difference. In the story nothing hit hard on either good or bad side of the spectrum, it just seems like a more casual drama game than the previous. So if you are looking for that it might be for you.

The writing itself is good, art is stylish, I'm curious to see what the next project is after this one wraps up with the current version being 0.9.

0.9 Final Review

*SPOILERS*

The Good:

- Hand-drawn art is amazing.
- Writing is solid, particularly during sex scenes. The dialogue is mostly believable.
- Compelling plot.
- Great job on creating multiple branching narratives.
- Choices are meaningful and have impact on the plot.

The Bad:

- Ian and Lena's chemistry is not quite there for me to believe that they are connected by a "red string". Idk, it's may be a completely subjective thing, but I felt there was more chemistry between the two and other characters than each other.
- Lena's relationship with Robert is not believable.
- The animations are two images cycling. Instead of that, I'd prefer more still images of the sex scenes.
- Everyone has giant dicks that look the same. It'd be cool to see more of a variety of shapes and sizes. Same with vagina and asshole variations.
- Every chapter there's a moment of self-reflection for Ian and Lena while they process events that happened. This breaks the immersion because sometimes Lena or Ian will have something horrible happen to them and they're all anxious about it, and then they reflect on something good and they're all happy about it. It feels kind of jerky.

Suggestions:

- Would be great if Eva added more unique sound effects, particularly moans and looping audio during sex. For me, half of the eroticism of sex is what I hear.
- I'm super into the Minerva relationship. Banging your married boss has always been a huge fantasy of mine. Would be awesome if Ian cucked her husband. Would love to see a full Minerva love route.
- I would love the option to cuckold Perry if you're Ian and Stan if you're Lena.
- It would be cool to have an option not to hook up with Lena at all.
- Gillian is Chekhov's gun. I hope she shows up later and is a love route option.
- It got on my damn nerves listening to Lena whine about Ian hooking up with Holly after Lena gave head/handjob to Jeremy at the after-party.
- Would really like to see a Jessica route for Ian.

Eva Kiss is creating something really special here. They've proven that they're the monarch of adult visual novels. Our Red String is a must play if you're a filthy bastard like me.

Another banger by Eva Kiss, basically everything good about GGGB made even better. Now with more gameplay and an interesting new mechanic. Probably the best in the hand drawn art style, and incredible story telling too.

v0.9 Final

An incredibly well-crafted VN. The story is about two different POV characters, Ian and Lena, and their struggles in working through young adulthood. All the characters have strong personalities, motivations and wants, and character arcs are playing out. The choices all seem really impactful and get referenced throughout the story. There is a lot of content right now, it's a good game to play and spread out lots of breaks throughout. I really liked the art, and thought the sexual content was really hot. I just felt like at the end I really knew all the characters and had become a part of their lives for a while. A new favorite of mine.

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 .

I just finished the available content:

I have to say, this game is pretty good. It shoehorns a certain type of behavior and isnt the most pleasant experience to "ride" if you are looking for a nice romance or two, but it is enjoyable.

Character art is great, Ian is a massive chad and Lena is adorable. I don't how the author continually used Ivy as a way to keep retroactvely changing Lena's past, adding more and more baggage to it, but I guess it's fine. You can ignore it pretty easily.

Either way, it seems very difficult to avoid corruption in this game. If its not Ian or Lena, it's Holly through Ivy, Alison or Emma through Jeremy, Cindy through Axel. I liked it better in GGGB, since you had full control and you could voluntarily go for the Corruption Route with the right mindset and enjoy it completely. In fact, some of my favourite routes were Corrupt in GGGB. But in ORS it seems like there isn't a way to avoid it, which is a shame.

There was an option to have an Open Relationship with Lena after all. But it required her being with Robert, Mike, or Louise. I don't really like that, as far as it might seem, since I don't like either of those people. They don't fit well with Lena (at least my Lena).

I'm hoping for a change in this in the future. It seems greedy from my part, but I really would like to have a serious relationship with Lena and Cindy. If not possible with both, at least have Cindy on the side.

Either way, Eva is a great dev. This game is great and is Top 5 or 6 in my short list of this site.

The only reason I don't give it the full 5 out of 5 is because it isn't finished and because I'm still holding on to hope that the two best girls will end up with Ian in the end.

Looking forward for the future.

The game is almost perfect. Great art. Great writing. Meaningful choices.

Dating sims are my favorite sub-genre and this one delivers a really great experience. I really like the 2 MC twist, compared to GGGB, but both are equally fantastic games by Eva Kiss and two of my favorite AVNs out there.

10/10. Will play any and all games by Eva Kiss.

One of the best game on the site.

I was a huge fan of EvaKiss' other game GoodGirlGoneBad and this might be even better than GGGB.
Unique/real characters. Good writing/story. Meaningfull choices.
The approach of relationships/drugs etc. just feels realistic which makes the game really good.

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