VN - Ren'Py - Pale Carnations [Ch.4 Up.6 Public] [Mutt & Jeff]

Edit: Bumped up to 4 stars after playing 0.4 + exploring a few other paths. Although I still stand by the points I made, after spending more time playing 3 stars felt a bit harsh - its a solid 7/10 for me right now and with future updates I see it going up to 8-9/10 in the future.

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I feel conflicted about this game because there were parts of the game I really liked and other parts that I found boring to the point where I wanted to read as fast as possible so the scenes end.

One of the things I liked about this game is the development of the male characters which surprised me because in these types of games, the girls get all the attention. That is not the case in this particular game the main character's evolution and how he comes to adapt to the situation he is in is very well done. The game seems to offer you the option to either stick to your values or slowly take the MC down a darker path (however just how dark things will get I dont know - there has been no payoff for this yet).

The other standout character to me was the MC's best friend Ian who is a deeply flawed and hedonistic individual - on the surface he is just another rich and good for nothing douchebag however there are hints of a good person in him. I love flawed characters and I love the way he is written.

I also want to briefly mention the visuals - while I dont think this game is the best looking game out there I do think that a lot of thought and care has been put into the smaller details from Hana's shirts to the expressions of the characters.

The real focus of this game is the brothel the MC is employed in and sadly here is where I feel like the game falls a bit flat.

I am not the biggest fan of the villains so far. Kathleen the MC's boss feels a little one dimensional to me - the game does a great job of showing how evil she can be but I feel like being evil the the only personality trait she has which makes her uninteresting to me. I have liked characters like her in other games when the actions of the villains were directed towards the main character and we were a bit more emotionally invested in their actions however watching from the sidelines where she does her thing does not make me as emotionally invested in her actions - yes she is ruining the lives of the carnations and is slowly corrupting the MC however it is not enough for me. I have also really liked villains in other games who do stuff in the sidelines however most of these villains had a bit more nuance to there character where being evil was not their only personality trait - the best description I can think of for these types of villains I can think of without mentioning other games are more evil versions of Ian - deeply flawed individuals whose actions are interesting to watch. The other villains (Chuck, August, Warren, Abel, club patrons etc) are interesting but they do not have enough screen time for me to have a solid opinion on them.

I also did not like the club events very much - this may be a matter of personal taste but the sexual content (specifically the sex scenes in the club) were boring to me. The problem for me is that I feel like the carnations/whores are not emotionally invested enough in the sex for it to be appealing to me. The emotional investment comes from the situations they are in but not the sex itself. They are simply putting up with whatever happens to them because they need to do this to achieve their goals - there is little to no passion to it.

I have played other games with similar themes where the sex scenes worked for me however some of the reasons these senes worked for me was because: 1) The MC in those games was more emotionally invested in the characters - for example Victoria being a carnation would have a lot more emotional impact than three strangers the MC just met. 2) The scenes were either more taboo, more kinky or more disgusting in nature - Veronica's scene where she was forced to consume things was one example of a disgusting scene that worked however everything else was a bit tame in comparison. If the game showed warren beating up Emma or a patron abusing a whore to the point where she could not work for a month (events that happened offscreen) then that would have worked too but the scenes we currently have with the exception of the veronica scene are not enough for me. 3) The kinky scenes involved happened either without the consent of the participants or the participants were doing it out of their own volition and not because their circumstances forced them to do it - in this case the carnations have consented to whatever is happening to them and are just putting up with whatever happens to them. The renders and the situation involving Sophia (a side character) are far more appealing to me than anything involving the carnations because she is not being forced into them.

If the MC was female and a victim of Kath's games the sex scenes would have worked for me but as a third party observer watching three girls simply put up with what happens to them I am not as emotionally invested in the sex scenes.

I do not have this problem with scenes outside of the club though - the scenes involving Mina, Hana and Felicia that have nothing to do with the club are great.

The above summarizes most of my thoughts for this game. Given that the game is still under development my opinions are likely to change over time. I have a feeling that assuming the game is not rushed, towards the end I will like the game a lot more as things get more intense and when it does, I will change the contents/rating of this review. But in its current state the game is between a 6-7/10 for me.

Pale Carnations is a VN in which you play a poor student attempting to pay his way through school by working at an extremely exclusive brothel.

It's a game about corruption. The MC and most of the main cast of girls are stuck on a slippery slope where they're all constantly asked "how far will you go for what you want?" As a result, you get to know each of the characters quite well, their histories, their goals, their personalities, just about everything you could ask. It really lets you see the cogs in their head turn when they're confronted with another challenge.

I think the MC and the circumstances are what makes it a cut above most other VNs. While the MC isn't necessarily the deepest or most interesting character, you're constantly pitted against interesting choices who help define who your MC is. Will you placate your domineering bitch of a boss and help push the girls into deeper depravity, or will you act in their best interests, despite risking your job? Will you abuse the women around you to help them win the game, or restrain yourself, gaining their appreciation but risking their futures? There is a constant push and pull in the various relationships in the game, and there's more depth than simply "do people like you" or "will people fuck you?" While big pay-offs are a little sparse as of yet, I'm looking forward to advancing the story and seeing how my choices affect the plot.

As to the circumstances, the sexual situations in the game are basically fire. While there's a pretty large number of girls, each of them gets at least a little bit of focus if you invest even a modicum of attention towards them. The circumstances themselves, especially the exhibitions, are absolutely wild, though strangely not my favorite scenes. Regardless, I can't recommend this game enough for exhibitionism fans.

The renders themselves are absolutely gorgeous, and a lot of attention is paid to the girls outfits as well. I have absolutely no complains about the appearance of the game, and have gotten a little lost in various girl's eyes an uncomfortable number of times. I can't tell you how much of a game's appearance is the software versus the dev, but Pale Carnations looks better than any other game I could name on this site.

Overall, I have a lot of difficulties coming up with complaints about this game. It's by far one of the best erotic VNs I've played. If you have any appreciation for VNs whatsoever, you owe it to yourself to play the game.

The writing is great. Every character is unique, really distinguishes themselves from one another. There's always an air of mystery in the story leaving you hooked. It deserves its spot among the top vns. By the end of it, you will have developed a fetish for older women lol. My favorite is Felicia. The way she is so unabashed and unashamed about her libido works so well in this universe.

Some of the scenes are pretty kinky. But nothing too much if you've been in the internet long enough. Sex scenes are pretty long for the most part which I appreciate. And a lot of them are animated.

Make liberal use of the save slots. Because you will definitely miss some scenes while progressing through the story.

All in all, it's a 5 star for me. Funnily enough, I ended up being more interested in the scenes outside the actual exhibition day.

This is the best AVN I've ever played. I give it a 10/10.

Story: 10/10

An excellent character driven story that's psychologically compelling and highly immersive. It has very intriguing characters, and mysteries associated with all of them. It artfully plays with your heart while tackling various aspects of the human condition, including moral dilemmas, value systems, will, emotional scars, innate desires, authenticity, love, compassion, and interpersonal relationships. The core premise is very interesting and lends itself well to the devs' unique brand of eroticism. The pacing is great, and there's little to no filler. There is a nice balance of XXX content and slice-of-life. The overarching plot is also nice, though as of version 3.4, it is mostly trivial and in the background. I find myself eagerly awaiting the next release to see what happens next.

Characters 10/10:

There is a wide variety of characters, all of which are extremely well crafted. Your mother, your substitute mother, your crazy substitute mother, and many lesser archetypes. The characters' behaviour, motivations, and relationships are nuanced, highly believable, and a pleasure to see harmonizing or conflicting. You will remember all of their names, you will slowly understand who they are, and you will care for them, regardless of whether your intent is benevolent or degenerate. I find myself eagerly awaiting the next release to join them in their lives once again; this includes male characters, which is pretty impressive.

Art 10/10:

The art is beautiful and sexy as hell. High quality renders, creative positions/situations, great gestures, and highly detailed/realistic in all the right ways. The framing is perfect, and you'll never complain about a bad viewing angle. The expressiveness of the characters is off the charts, and a joy to experience. It blends with the writing flawlessly to evoke every emotion a scene possibly could. I find myself eagerly awaiting the next release to jerk off to some of the hottest artwork around.

Writing 9/10:

The writing is flawless, and filled with subtleties. It also varies based on your choices, and the different flavours are very well done. Each character's parlance differs and fits their personality. The tones also adjust appropriately, taking all relevant factors into consideration. Combined with the artwork, and the story, you'll read exactly the right words to experience every emotion you could in a given scene. There's high quality tension, heartfelt exchanges, entertaining comedy, and critical moments where a single sentence can send you flying over the edge. I find myself eagerly awaiting the next release to feel some feels and fly over the edge. The -1 point is due to the differing parlance of the characters not differing enough at times, there being a bit too much to read at times, and lines being uncharacteristically or undesirably formal at times.

Sexual Content Quality 10/10:

The best I've ever experienced. Outside of the slice-of-life scenes, there is an ever-present circumstantial eroticism that varies in its psychological roots. Your knowledge of all of the characters' lives and situations give most interactions an inherent gravity, and this is expertly exploited through the artwork, story and writing. Through this, an otherwise simple conversation can be incredibly erotic or perverted, and explicit sexual scenes can be elevated even further. The explicit sexual scenes are extremely hot, creative, and sometimes deviant. They are also entirely unconstrained, and don't relent to appeal to the lowest common denominator, which is highly appreciated. I find myself eagerly awaiting the next update to enjoy more of this, because I'm addicted.

Sexual Content Balance 9/10:

Excellent balance as for version 3.4. The -1 point is because there has been some filler creep to appeal to certain players who enjoy certain characters who take up too much time with non-sexual or uninterestingly sexual affairs. The next update also aims to focus on one of these characters.

Game Design 8/10:

It's great, the game doesn't punish you for playing, and the devs aren't pretentious or narcissistic in how they go about doing things. The player is put first, and it shows. Text can have different flavours depending on player choices. There are many choices to be made, but most are short side branches. The game in incredible in how it makes you feel like you're making meaningful choices all over the place, while still allowing you to see most of the game regardless of the choices. Stat increases and decreases from choices generally make sense and are intuitive and consistent. Many scenarios also make sense in their flow when determined through player choices. That said, the -2 is because many choices aren't intuitive in their invisible effects, and some stat checks are a bit tight.

Music/Sound: I don't really care/10

It exists.

Good thing I foundout this game last week. This game easily rose to my top 10, probably even top 5 among like 20+ adult vn I ever played from finished, uncompleted to abandoned one.

What I love the most is it's not get too crazy in character expansion like many vn nowadays which tend to focus on create more additional characters with shallow to no memorable story at all. The game focus on several main characters only and each storyline is captivating.

Imo the game cover lots of fetishes, have perfect amount of story writing especially one to spice up moments, nice amount of story branching, and transition between event/moment is smooth, unlike some games where I felt it's kinda forced, short, or sometimes doesn't make any sense.

Hope the game story writer have more spicy story up their sleeve for another brilliant game like this. Kudos for the great game.

Well, I sure wouldn't have guessed that I'd come out the other side of one of my filthy smut games a more empathetic human being but here we are.
This game actually kinda got me out of a rut I was in, not sure how exactly but I just felt fucking better after playing it, just better.
10/10 for the writing.
OH also...
10/10 for the filthy smut.

This game kinda broke me by how disgusting it can be, so many choice that you will eventually succumb to lust.


I am sad for Hana and Mina that they have to be in that universe.

Great game a lot of content already, I hope that we can get good endings with Hana and/or Mina, and please no NTR bs or make an option to deactivate that crap.

Very impressed by the amount of work that you must have put in this game.

i'll keep it short; the writing here is like nothing i've ever seen in any other adult game, and let me tell you i've played a ton. to the point it made me question my own damn self just by reading mc's thoughts and seeing how he handles certain situations that are linked to his past traumas. amazed me in so many ways, can't wait to see more

Hard to top this, characters are very well written, scenes are hot, your choice really feels like it has an impact and the renders looks really good. My only complaint is that the MC is ripped as hell but he was struggling to squat 135? This is why you don't skip leg day kids.

Version Played: Various, up to Ch. 3 Update 4
Full disclosure: I'm an active Patreon for this game

This is the holy grail, and setting the standard for all H games for me. Great art, a great (so far) story, interesting relationships, a good variety in characters, good update pace. It's a genuinely great sign to me when you aren't sure why you play.

A lot of games I play for the sex scenes, a few for a story thread - not generally much else - and I have to be in the mood for that particular thread in order to play them. Not so Pale Carnations. No matter what I'm in the mood for, this is the go to. It covers multiple bases so well, and feels less like an H game than a solid game for adults. That's high praise for me.

Positives:

1. Story is really great, easy to get invested in, always leaving you interested in where it's going next.
2. Art is top notch. One of the best looking VNs I've played.
3. Update schedule is pretty good and consistent, and the creators are pretty active with dev updates and the like.
4. Polish - from proofreading, to art, to graphics, to UI, everything about the game feels polished and done with care.

Negatives

1. There is not yet more (i.e. none).

Well it lives up to the high rating it has got. It certainly proves that a porn could also have nice story if done right. All the characters are nicely written
and the art style is unique . Certainly a must play Game.

Absolute masterpiece, cant lie. After playing Artemis I thought i should give games with this kind of graphics (which I've always avoided) a chance. As this game is the second best rated game on this whole website I thought this would be a good 2nd step.

I was defintely suprised with this game. I myself would not rate it as the second best game on the whole website, but I do understand why it is.

Storyline is absolutely amazing, what a great great look into the prostitution world. The character are all very intersting, almost everyone has a interesting story and thoughts. It really kept suprising me how depthful these charachters are. Even later in the game (Ch3. Update 4) we get introduced to a couple of prostitutes, even they seem more interesting than as I first thought.

The characters are also very hot, and I felt very disgusted about some of the things the girls had to go through which means that this game is succesful in provoking you in a way. I could not really find any faults in this game. Five stars well deserved.

With so many glowing reviews, it's hard to add anything that hasn't been mentioned a hundred times.

What appeals to me about Pale Carnations the most is simply the good balancing act between a moral perspective and the temptation to lose oneself in sexual obscenity. The game gives a good sense of how decisions change the lives of others for the better and worse, and how a good decision is sometimes seemingly impossible. But it is not afraid to consider human depravity a part of human nature.

All the characters are well drawn. Sometimes this is also tragic because good characters like Harper, for example, have too few scenes. But I think it definitely speaks for good character design if you are interested in secondary characters.

But I also want to mention that I am generally not happy with abusive storytelling and Pale Carnations thrives on the back of abusive behavior. I hope that in the future there will be some kind of redemption story, because at this point it's basically a corruption game that aims to slowly break the main LIs for the pleasure of the viewer. And while this is arousing, no doubt, it's also a very sadistic approach to sexuality and intimacy and I would want the option to break free from this inhumane rabbit hole at some point. Or at least to see the horrible scars that such behavior leaves on the human soul.

[Review as of Ch3 Update 4]

Pale carnations is a game about a student studying to become a doctor who finds himself employed by a brothel to help out with an event the owners of the brothel are conducting.

What I liked about the game:

- The MC's backstory and plot progression: I think the MC's backstory is unique and very well written. The game does a great job describing the MC's relationship with his mother and his childhood friend and the way he acts (his dialogue options, interactions with other characters, goals etc) makes a lot of sense. I also like how the game allows you to either make the MC a relatively good guy who sympathizes with the characters or it lets you make choices that will allow the MC to spiral being a depraved asshole. Both these paths make sense and I like how it is handled.

- The renders: The game looks great and I feel like there is a lot of effort put into this. There are many hidden details that you may not notice. As an example there was a forum discussion about where the club might be located in the real world - one of the devs then shared screenshots showing the numberplates of random cars in the background which blew my mind. These are not the kind of details I would expect anybody to notice but the fact that the developers have gone the extra mile to add stuff like this is incredible.

- The bad guys: The game does a great job with the 'bad' guys by showing how twisted some of them are. I like how the game shows the exploitation of some characters. I really dislike Kathleen - the MC's boss and a club owner and characters like Warren - a sadistic bouncer who physically abuses the whores and this is a good thing. It is exactly how I want to feel about the bad guys when playing a game like this. The game would not be nearly as good without characters like them.

- The MC's relationship/interactions with the various girls: This is another aspect of the game done right - there are a lot of parallels between the MC's mom and one of the carnations. There is some wholesome romance with two of the main girls etc. The game also does a good job showing things like exploitation, how the whores in the club are treated which I really liked.

What I did not like as much:

- I am not sold on the motivations of some of the main girls joining the club. Some of the characters motivations (for example Rosalind being in physical danger) make sense and I can empathize with them however others do not (for example Felicia's circumstances suck but I am not convinced with what has been presented so far that her joining the club events is her best option or even a good choice to make her life better). I think the problem here is that I try to put myself in the girls shoes and see if their decision makes sense to me. I weigh the risk vs the reward (risk being 2 of the carnations degrade themselves in public but walk away broken and with nothing) and given the information I have so far, some of the character decisions seem irrational to me and I think this makes me a little less invested with what happens to these characters.

- The games focus on certain kinks mean that some characters get less attention than others. There is an uneven distribution of content between the main girls where I feel like two characters do not get enough screen time and so they are not as well developed as a result. For example I really like Mina one of the main girls (in fact she is my second favorite among the main cast) but I wish she was more than just the bubbly innocent girl who got cheated on by her boyfriend - not every character needs to have a sob story background, it is ok to be a normal girl and her character development not too bad so far but I still feel like a lot can be done even when you are a normal person - I feel like compared to the carnations, or the MC or even his best friend Ian she is not as well developed simply due to a lack of screen time. This may change however in future updates.

- This is a bit more subjective but since I am not into sadism or humiliation as a fetish, I did not appreciate things like the club events as much as some others might which may have had an impact on how much I enjoyed playing the game. In the latest update that focuses on a club event, my favorite parts were getting to see the day to day operations with the head whore (Dalia), learning a bit more about side characters and clients (jacob, harper, warren) and getting different characters perspective on various issues. I did not care too much for the event itself or the sex - I was simply not as invested in the whole thing.

Overall I think this is a great game - somewhere between a 4 and a 4.5 for me and I would recommend it highly.

Ok, i got to the end of the current release and it's time to dump a review. That's easy. It can't be anything but 5 stars.

The technical aspect is just flawless. I don't get those who snob HS studio when a dev team can squeeze this level of quality out of it. The only actual limit i see in that software is that it's meant to depict asian people and it clarely shows that when you try to make any other etnicity.

In this care anyway everything is done to the best. The women are gorgeous, their feature are distinctive, the expressions always extremely well cared and up to the tone of the scene.

Also the music theme is well selected and it frames every scene perfectly.

Yet, what makes this game shine is the well written psychological side of the story.

Every character is well written with layered personalities and complex motivation that run deeper then the mere reason why everyone is there. It succesfully explore what moves every characted deeper on the level of psychological often unrecognized needs to their motive in the story.

We are light years above the tipical porn game tendency to fit a lady in a framed, often stereotypical, characterization and fetish affiliation.

This game is enticing, interesting and a pleasant journey of self discovery. It really makes you want to play it for the story and making your own choices for the meainig of it, rather then to pursuit a certain ending.

It really deserve the fame of one of the best games on this forum.

KINK CITYYYY!

This is an awesome story with lots of kinky shit going on. You have to balance your emotions about how you feel about all the kink shit going and and how you juggle relationships with this kinky, but also highly immoral, place hanging above you. Will you stay strong and just see this place as a job, a means to an end, or will you deprave yourself? It's really good and a gripping story that leaves you wanting more after each update.

I don't know how to submit reviews for games so uhhhh enjoy my opinions!
Figured out how to leave a review!

Dude this game is a fuckin' masterpiece.

The overall storyboarding is tight as all hell:
Every scene serves a purpose, there's not a single render out of place, not a single scene that doesn't have some impact on your or MC's relationship with the other characters. It's honestly very refreshing, there's few VNs I can think of where the way scenes are laid out or the way scenes connect to other scenes is this neatly packaged. This already makes PC a masterclass on keeping your players' interest.

Segue off that thought:
The fuckin' writing is sublime. Every single scene with a character, whether it's a LI or a side character, serves a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is something as small as "we're just making MC and <insert character> like each other a bit more", other times it's "we want the MC (and the players by extension) to want to break this character down". How each scene serves it's purpose is sometimes fairly obvious, and other times sneakily insidious.
Skilful pivot into character and render quality:
Shit's pretty fuckin' good. I'm not usually a fan of this visual style of VN, I find the "realism" style of character and environment rendering much more appealing usually. Usually.
PC does this style of visuals very well, so much so that I actually grew to like them fairly quickly. The characters are expressive, especially the eyes, and the women are incredibly hot. However the models for the women lack variety.
One of the strong suits of the VN medium is that you get to explore many different kinds of characters in your writing, but the variety shouldn't stop at the writing level. A little bit of visual variety goes a long way. Sure you've got your buxom babes, a shredded Olympian athlete, a few ladies with history, and some short-stacks, but is there really a reason to have them all have natural J-cups? All in all, I just miss the visual variety. (And maybe I'd be a little more attracted to Hana if she had modest B-cups to go with her otherwise faultless body, still Best Girl)

I don't have a witty transition into animations:
Mostly the animations are of the short, looping kind, the kind you'd use for emphasis rather than visual interest. There's no particular reason Veronica has to be bouncing on Kathleen's giant black strap-on, but she is because it's much easier to convey V is getting rammed through animation than still frames. Emphasis. The animations are varied, applied often, and emphasise the saucy bits of the story very well.

Running out of steam so let's get into the strong suit of visual novels: Choices.
This. Fucking. Game. There's a lot of choices in this bitch and as far as I can tell, most if not all of them do something. More often than not the impact of the choices is pretty short-term: "Do I go here or go there?", "Hang out with this character or that character?", "Say yes to something or no to something?", etc. However due to the sheer amount of choices there's also a substantial amount of choices that impact the long-term. I've played through this game twice. In the first playthrough I focussed on Felicia and Hana because they were the most interesting (if you catch my drift) characters. The second playthrough I focussed more of my attention on Mina, Rosalind, and Veronica. In the last playthrough I saw cracks in Rosalind's "mother in deep shit's last resort" act, she's more of a slut than she lets on, and I wanted to explore that. Same thing with Veronica. She's presents herself as a tough, no-nonsense kind of woman, but as time goes on she becomes less and less prideful, less sure of herself, and I really want to see her break down into a sorry little ball of meat so we can pick her up and baby her like she almost definitely wants/needs. Also Mina is a close second for Best Girl. Careful Hana.


To bring it all back around: Dude. This game is a fuckin' masterpiece. It has its flaws, as does every top 10 game on this site, but they're all pretty minimal and totally overshadowed by the things this VN does masterfully. Kudos to the devs, your game has quickly become a favorite of mine and I cannot wait to play future updates.

5/5, no question.

The devs could abandon this game tomorrow (PLEASE GOD DON'T!), and it would still out shine almost 90% of other games on here. Beyond the usual character, set, and writing praise, I love two specific things about this title:

1. It uses Honey Select models. I find that special because it shows polish and good writing can outshine graphics and tech every time. If you put the care in, your game will show that. I simply love that someone using older assets is blowing so many other stories out of the water.

2. I know some people don't care for it, but I like the moral see-sawing about sex work the MC has to contend with. The game so far hasn't tired to give us a solid moral stance to take, because there isn't one. How you balance consent and exploitation isn't easy, nor should it be. The fact the devs harnessed that into a compelling theme running througout the game is brillant, and I'd love to see more themes like this in games.

A wonderful game with an interesting plot and characters. One of the main advantages of the game is a large number of choices in dialogues that really affect the plot. Many thanks to the author, I look forward to the next updates!

This game is, hands-down, one of THE best ones on the site.

Every character has a well-defined motivation for wanting to be involved in the club (including your own, which you can influence to an extent) and putting up with the games, the majority of them have some aspect worth sympathizing with, and the creativity on display is just phenomenal!