VN - Ren'Py - Price of Power [Ch.24] [Pandaman Games]

Finally gave this one a try and honestly this one is pretty good and can be considered one of the best vanilla games here. Graphics are excellent, top level storytelling, characters are good looking and romance doesn't feel cringe, annoying but wholesome and natural. I recommend this to everyone who loves vanilla and wholesome games. If you of course enjoyed then do try to support the developers if you have the means

Price of Power [Ch. 15]

Price of Power encapsulates the term Visual Novel perfectly: It had me completely captivated. From the moment I started playing, I was drawn into a world filled with intricate characters, a richly character-driven plot, and a hint of mystery that subtly drips throughout the first chapters leaving you wanting more.

H-scenes
So far the animations and statics are simple, but beautifully done. All add to the superb writing.

The "worst" complaint you will find is I personally found the "narrator" off-putting with its somewhat preachy, ham-fisted message of "humans bad" during the intro... But it is not without reason; which you will discover further in

Exclusively vanilla in terms of kink variety so far; though there's a few future tags that will add a touch of spice to this wholesome romance adventure

In conclusion: Price of Power is an absolute must-play if you enjoy a slow-burn story. Its beautiful writing, well-developed characters, and engaging plot/mystery make it a true masterpiece of storytelling that I can't wait for the next update on.

Positives:

• The story this dev is telling is absolutely amazing, it's like he has already written the book and is just visualizing the pages. Plot twists, up and downs, complex world. It's all there.
• The Characters are so well written, you connect with them more in each new episode.
• The main LI (I guess there is just one, maybe one more in the future?) is perfectly written and the relationship develops every episode.
• The visuals (renders and animations) are on the top end, there is room for improvement but they are very good.
• Have I mentioned the story? It's just so good!

Negatives:

• It's not really a negative, more a small wish. Since the story is so good, I think more visuals would honestly turn this VN into a 6/5 stars. Some scenes would immensely benefit from a bit more detailed visualization. Especially the sexual encounters would be so much more passionate if there would be an equal amount of attention to details in the renders as in the writing.

I would rate this game with 5 stars even if it wouldn't have the sexual aspect, since it's obvious that this is not the focus of the dev. I hope he does not feel pressured into delivering an H-scene each update just because of the target audience. I think that the people interested in this game are mostly here for this awesome story, so if I can be so bold to give advice: Don't try to deliver an H-Scene every update and instead focus on fleshing them out more, so they can live up to this wonderful story you are telling.


This does sound a bit "rambly" now (if you've read the spoiler), but I hands down think this dev is capable of writing a best-seller book. If the visuals would 100% reflect what's written, It would be the best VN on this site. Just voicing my opinion here.

I never bothered with writing a review, mostly because of the insane 200 character minimum. Just let me say that the game is great and worth to play and be done with it... But I digress:

This is one of the best games on this whole site. The quality of the writing and story telling is only matched by very few other games I have found. In fact, I could easily see this story being fleshed out into a great book series. Can't wait for the next update and see where the story goes.

+Well told and interesting story with a fun and endearing cast.
+Beautifull renders
+Hard not to get invested in

-animations are very basic, especially the straight up sex animations feel pretty robotic

(Note: This review was made after the completion of Chapter 14)

I'm very happy I stumbled across this gem! This is truly an incredible story that is masterfully written. I fear that many uninterested in romance might turn away from this visual novel too early, as it can be rather dull at times before the group travel to the Southlands. If you are reading this before you have begun to play, then I am happy to have caught you! This may seem like a simple love story at first, and well, it certainly is a love story, but the story is much bigger than it seems. If you like really well written stories, you will be thanking yourself for having stuck with this when the story ramps up in the Southlands. I want to run through some details that you might be wondering about before deciding to play this VN:

• There are choices that impact the story. Not very many however, and nothing too large or possibly detrimental from what I could surmise. This story doesn't really need them though; It's extraordinarily well-written, and at no point have I had an instance of the MC doing something stupid that I wish I could have avoided, or an instance where I wish I could have made a choice when there wasn't one.
• There's no free-roam as of Chapter 14, and I don't expect there to be.
• There are stats for your character that you will be prompted about a couple of times, but you don't need to worry about them or increase them. They seem to be there only to influence the scene you receive. There are no "bad" choices according to the developers, and you will not miss any content. I'm not entirely sure as to what capacity the stats alter the scene. I don't know if it's only the on-screen text that changes, or if there is a different scene for the stat but that the outcome is the same. I suppose that depends on the developer's specific definition for "content". I would think a different scene would constitute some "content" that you would not see without making different stat choices, but if anything, it is just minor difference.
• The women are beautiful, and the renders are superb. There is animation for the sex scenes, they are fluid and well made, but they are fairly average in comparison to the majority of visual novels that I have played. They do not stand out, but are well-written. The developers used the method of slow buildup into the first sex scene very effectively. If it's the descriptions that make you the most tingly, you might rate these higher than I have.
• From what I could infer, there is a possibility of a harem/poly-relationship as well as monogamy. By the end of Chapter 14, there is no clear path to the former, but there were 1 or 2 subtle hints... and my best guess as well!

This is more of a classical visual novel and less of a game, as the number of choices you make is quite low (if not minimal). But anyway, I liked the story (both medival and sci-fi stuff), even though it is rather slow. I also liked the renders, the characters are lovable in all senses, the humor is light, and most of all it is refreshing to see a game without any disgusting or dark themes.

Review for Ch. 14

I played through a bit more than half of the current chapters and ultimately just got so bored that I stopped. The game comes at a disadvantage for me, since I don't really care for medieval fantasy meets sci-fi. Unfortunately that's not my only issue.

Price of Power is a rather vanilla slow burn romance story. These are all things I can enjoy, but the game almost plays too much into it. I felt like 50% of all the dialogue I read was the MC and main love interest talking about how much they like each other. It gets super repetitive, to the point where it felt like I was reading the same lines swapped with some different vocabulary.

The other big issue for me is the narrator character. At first I thought it was just a weird quirk of the game that I could ignore. As it got increasingly more annoying and immersion breaking, that's exactly what I did. Well, it turns out this narrator is actually an A.I. that's now integrated itself into your body and is a part of you. Also he's an asshole. Great.

Minus all the sci-fi stuff I actually didn't mind the plot up until that point. The renders and models certainly look good enough and it's got some alright animations from the few I seen. It's lacking on sound design though, which is another pretty big minus for immersion.

I think if you're a fan of more cheesy romance you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. I will probably return to push through it a bit and see if it gets better at the least, but I'm not a huge fan so far.

Wow, this game has a better plot than most of the recent triple-A games out there. It has an amazing story, well-crafted characters, and awesome animation. I'm surprised it hasn't blown up like other top-of-the-line VN like Deluca Family or Being a Dik yet. 10/10, definitely Patreon worthy!

(CH14 review) Started out good a slow burn but that was fine liked the setting the narrator is annoying but it is in character and not past the extent of hampering it because he still manages to be useful, at least in the beginning as time goes on he gets worse the MC seems less capable of independent thought and becomes quite cowardly and generally takes a back seat to the main girl and the other members, loved this game when it first came out but as it goes on it becomes less and less interesting hopefully that will change and since I would have given it 5/5 only 3 updates ago but I am now sitting at a 2 (side note the american hate could have been done much more tastefully and despite what legacy says the natives cause massive damage to the mega-fauna of north america and burned down many forests and parries to hunt animals and many times far too many were killed than they could eat)

Damn, I really like the story so far. It has great characters, so I am going to play it till the end. The character designs are good. I like the scenes so far. It's great that all of the characters have different emotions. Every character has a unique story to tell. Humor and story is very good in it

Review of Ch.1-13 (Spoilers)

Love the premise of the game, something different for sure and the "time period" peaks my interest too.

It looks great and the music I would rate 4/5. The music isn't amazing and doesn't really deserve 4/5 BUT, we are dealing with a game in a different time period and vocals wouldn't fit the aesthetics. It's a shame as music can be a game changer (LoF) but Dev has done well with what's available and should be commended (too many games with lack of soundtrack).

My issues with the game are pacing and a new LI choice later on (although we will have to see this in future updates)

I like the main LI, her characterization is really good, just as deep as the MC's but I failed to form a deep connection with the LI. The dialogue is decent too so I can't blame that. I think it's just how the story unfolds, I ideally wanted more time alone with main LI to build more of a bond. It would require story shuffling, but the perfect time is when you get back to her "house". I would have liked a few days of doing fun and random stuff to really solidify things. (Could just be me though).

SPOILERS (CH.13)

So as I explained earlier, I have been trying to form an attachment to the man LI for hours now (It's a decently long game). You have a companion who goes with you and your main LI who you used to try and court but it never went anywhere. After you and main LI have sex at night when she's meant to be sleeping, you talk about it the next day because she overheard you and there's a devnote saying this is the throuple relationship line (because i chose to have sex with my main LI instead of busting in her mouth) ....what... So this solo love story of which I have been trying to delve into gets derailed just like that? It was an INSTANT buzzkill for me.

Now that's not too say you have to do this in the future, It ends there so who knows what options we will have? It was just such a horrible feeling to end it like that.

In conclusion: A decent game/novel that the dev clearly cares about and hopefully can build upon.

If the game ends with 40+ chapters, disregard this review as I could see this game being a slow burner but really powerful emotions to the characters if done right later on. There just isn't the magic sauce that makes me "love" the main LI. Adding other LI's really leaves a bad taste in my mouth too seeing as the first X hours played are without it.

If you like the setting and visuals, give it a go. Maybe my jaded brain just can't connect with the characters as well as others.

Probably the best game I have found in F95zone this far. A wholesome story, no chasing after multiple girls in hope of making a harem. The female protagonist is as deep as the male protagonist and certainly a complete package. At the later stage, in the recent chapters the story takes a turn that cannot be foreseen in the first chapters. This is good and bad both. Though I liked the work, it might feel out of place to someone, there's a possibility.

Good art design, characters and background both. Pretty story, sprinkled with mystery, history and salted with romance. Only a little bit of skin game makes it more a VN than an adult game.

Thanks F95 for putting this game in the banner where I noticed it. After playing the first few chapters I purchased it on Steam as a way to show support.

There's a lot to like about the game so far. The post-apocalyptic theme is clear from the beginning, and it fits well into a long tradition going back to John Wyndham's The Chrysalids.

The way that these elements are introduced makes it clear that (a) the author is working to a plan, rather than making it up as they go along, like so many VN writers. But (b) there will be plenty of opportunities for surprises and plot twists.

The writing is literate, so far.

I have abandoned VNs with very good technical production values because frankly I didn't care what happened to the characters. This one is keeping me going, because it really has me interested in the plot.

And the "wholesome" nature of the romance (so far, anyway) is no real drawback for me. Some of us old-fashioned types really do like it when the nice people win.

Edit: I don't really get the point of the narrator, but perhaps that will become clearer in time.

My review of Price of Power [Ch. 12]

A game that starts pretty great!
MC goes on an exciting adventure with his female childhood friend...

After the exciting adventure phase is over though (around chapter 6?) it quickly becomes clear that:
- Your choices are currently meaningless (you just win 1-2 scenes differently) and this is essentially a KINETIC NOVEL (Supposed to change in later versions according to the developer)
- The childhood friend is your FORCED LOVE INTEREST and she will have sex with you with or without your consent
- There will be no more excitement because everything that will happen in the next few chapters is being spoiled in advance
- Your forced love interest basically takes over as MC, while you just tag along without having any choices

...eventually I just couldn't continue because the story became way too boring.

Otherwise there isn't that much to complain about:
- Game has decent soundtrack, but lacks variety (just a few different tracks over and over)
- Renders are good quality and there are plenty of them, but they lack variety as well (99% take place in woodlands or in generic medieval houses)

If you like the forced love interest and don't mind kinetic novels then maybe this is a 4/5.
But for me it just got way too boring, having zero choices and all.
I probably would rate this lower than 3/5 if I forced myself to continue playing.

Great story, good coherent development of story line. For me the Story is what I read VN's for and this is one of the Best. This story has some hardships, romance, a little fighting, post world devastation, adventure, love, friendship, corruption and other things to keep you interested.

I am very glad that all lewd/nude scene's are romance/relationship based and that the author has by his own choice limited it to these. Otherwise it would detract from the Superb story. In fact, this story is so good that the author could have zero sex and it would still be a 5 Star VN!

I look forward to every update for this VN. Thanks for a wonderful VN and Great Story!

Great game and great story .The story is immersive and you really feel the character .Sound is also very favourable .the current sex scenes are meh in terms of quality as well quantity .Would give 5 stars if there was even a single quality sex scene.

Story 7/10
Vanilla romance story, with medieval background and futuristic twist like ai, bioweapon etc. I don't meant to give it this low but it's genre is not really my cup of tea. I'm not big fan of entity and later legacy narrative, it's strucked me as boring and smug. It's a loss opportunity to turn this AI into another female charming character instead of just silver surfer and imo the AI character built up is rather poor as well where you kinda forced to hear some silver emotionless looking character talk about life like some god without having proper make-belief or proper interest building to the character as to hear someone talk deep stuff like that you either have to respect the character for what they did or love the character for their charm like being funny or sexy or whatever charm they have. The story revolving mc also seems linear, focusing on the lover, no sides, no hints of naughty kinks and such. Since it was involving monsters and violence, writers could've use the momentum to grasps more wilder tags, that's unless vanilla romance is all the story about.

Arts 9/10
Arts is well done, the main reason I downloaded this in my bulk downloading and give it a go. The main female character model is fresh from my experience, I never see similar one in another vn unlike how common the mc model is. The setting for the scenes also lookin solid. The default white font with old paper background is so not eye friendly, thankfully there is option to change that.

Fap material 6/10
I wouldn't call this game as adult vn but more like love story vn with bits of adult element. Like differentiating between porn vs drama with bits of adult stuffs in it. If vanilla lover sex is your get go to fap or built up, this game may be for you.

I won't complain if the vanilla lover story is what this game focus on, in its own genre I think the story is quite interesting. My personal objection is entity/legacy narrative came out as boring and smug because to pull that kind of lines you either need to involve good narrative voice over, humorous bits, and proper character building to make us want to or even have the slightest interest to hear whatever it said or else it turn out into reading yourself or hearing some arrogant guy yapping. I won't lie, I wish I had option to skip his monologue.

Maybe I will update score/stars after finishing the game

Update: I saw some ppl reading my review, so as guide I gotta update that I can't bear to finish the game. I conclude what it offer is just not for me. Iirc I probably digged in as far as ch 5? Or was it 3? It's where they finally went back from the island. Don't get me wrong, I did play some lover avn but there were more kinks involved, more naughty and raunchy. Tho I still respect those who are into this genre, good for you.

Maybe, just maybe, when I dry out of option and need of some loveydovey vibe story I will pick this back up. Still, good effort and good luck for development.

A good kinetic novel focused on slow burn story. Apparently a genre that I don't enjoy much.

The story is well written and opens up plenty of opportunities for the writer to go to interesting places with it. While the sort of rags-to-riches premise is a bit of a stretch, it's possible to suspend disbelief.

Characters are fairly distinctive and have decent histories to support their attitudes.

The models and backgrounds are good.

Animations and scenes are fine but not the main focus.

Wonderful game with a beautiful story as well as LIs. It has fantasy element which gives it a unique touch as there is modern mixed with past. It's a slow burn but that is the plus point in this game.