VN - Ren'Py - Project: S.P.E.S. [v0.13] [6Rairyu9]

I honestly like this VN. It does have some downsides, like the arguing between the LIs and the tsundere stuff, but it seems to be moving toward a more harmonious relationship between the girls. The story is enjoyable, the LIs are good-looking, and overall it feels pretty wholesome.

Let me start this off that I like me a well written tsundere, Emilia is precious and I would protect at all cost but Sofia is a different breed, trashy trailer trash tsundere if you could call it that.

At first I was fucking GLAD he left her at District 6 but then that fuck ass decided to invite her to the main house which at that point had me pissed. This all comes back to the very distinct problem with this game that you have no choice in the matter since it's a kinetic AVN. I like Kinetics usually but this one just isn't it. The fact that I can't choose who to interact with is already a minus for me.

Story is unfortunately decent for a game like this and even more unfortunate cause I can't stand Sofie or Sofia (I couldn't care less what that cunt's name is) to even stomach it just for the story, there's also the fact of the major point of him getting to talk to the man who got him there in the first place and the reason why was too early and abrupt. It might get expanded upon later on in the story but the constant bickering of the LI's are pissing me off. It got resolved way too quick.

Oh yeah the "LI's" argue and bicker a lot like fucking children, they're all supposed to be in college and they are all from prestigious backgrounds but somehow we're always stuck with the rich spoiled fucks, I don't know why the dev chose to have us interact with the spoiled rich kids instead of the well mannered ones.

The arguments also don't make any sense for the story whatsoever and is just there to pad out gametime, it gets resolved wayyyyy too quickly and stupidly. It starts from someone getting pissed, someone apologizes and everything is happy again. The fuck was the point of having these arguments....AND WHY DOES EVERYONE GET BUTTHURT SO QUICKLY HOLY SHIT.

The MC also has the spine of a fucking jellyfish.

I'd give this 2 stars.
One for effort and one for Emilia.

Pros:
Decent story if you can stomach the constant bickering
Emilia

Cons:
Sofia/Sofie? idc
Pointless arguments leading to nowhere
MC has no spine whatsoever
Default HS lighting, everything looks flat
I can count in one hand on how many attractive LI's there are
Sex scenes are stock animations that you've seen everywhere
There is music but it's poorly chosen

THIS GAME HAD ME SOFT THE WHOLE TIME

Homemade vanilla ice-cream that gets tasteless over time

If you are looking for a game in a school setting where MC is not sex maniac, then this game is just for you. Dive into an everyday slice of life where everything is on an acceptable level. Beginning is a little bit rough, and "amateur dev" is screaming at you at every corner. And I thought the game gets better over time, but it's just getting boring.

Pros

- Vanilla school setting
- No magic, supernatural powers or heavy world building
- Good visuals
- Decent amount of content

Cons

- Sometimes dialogs sound like they came from MTL translation
- Beginning of the game is poorly developed
- Very passive MC. He doesn't act, he submissively responds to anything that happens in the game.
- Girls fighting over a passive MC who is nobody as a person.

It's really light and easygoing but gets boring over time. Also one thing to notice is that the developer is probably from a country where polygamy is legal and female characters openly discuss how they would share the MC. And it's super weird since females basically ask themselves to be a part of harem.

I have to say this game really surprised me. It has great characters, gets better with each update, and a story that takes its time. Emilia is very well-developed, and her interactions with the protagonist are very enjoyable. I admit I also found Sofia annoying at first, but since she moved in with MC, I feel like she's slowly improving as a person, forming good relationships with the girls. The protagonist isn't bad; we'll see how he handles future situations. It's clear that the developer cares about this game. It started out quite slow, but with the addition of updates, it's improved a lot with the addition of sounds, soundtracks, and animations.

A game with intriguing story and awful main LI's.

The story’s premise is pretty good, you’re kind of a lowlife who suddenly gets a chance to study at a school full of powerful people’s kids. The mystery behind why you got that chance is interesting. But…

MC is an ultra-passive guy, just a tool for the story to move forward. Dev mentioned that this is more of a novel than a game, and that’s true. You have no choice in who you interact with or not.

And that's a problem since main love interests of this game are awful. Can't reject them, can't choose to talk back, nothing. No agency.

Why do I say LI's are awful. You have this childhood friend who is obsessed with you. She hates every girl you interact with, even if they're her friends. Obsessiveness is a kink and some people like it so it's debatable if this is a con.

Problem is, the other LI you spend a lot of time with, has the same character, but additionally, is a tsundere. In a way they are the same characters but in different models (Even MC states that they're very similar in character). So author made 2 brats who are always around you.

If I had the chance to reject them, this would easily be a 4 star rating (Graphics are servicable and I also noticed that scenes do not loop correctly). However, being forced to read through all of schenanigans those LI's go through with MC brought it to what it is.

Well, that went better than I thought at beginning.

I was looking for game with MC who have hero complex and world settings in this story give access to plenty of LIs who really need help. Not just princessess whose family lost their money or have insistent boyfriends like in similar games with hero complex MC. It's full of slaves, abused servants or people with lower status and it needs the change. Hopefully, with plot advance, MC will be able to do something more for the system, not only for single units, but now it's far away for something bigger as game is still in early development. Writing is a bit dry sometimes, don't sound natural and is written with a simple words (ok, this one is actually a plus for me). Worst is that it have some mistakes that are visible even for someone like me, whose English isn't on the highest level. Dev wrote at the beginning it's not his native language, but for me it's not an excuse for mistakes. It can be excuse for poor vocabulary, but not for mistakes or sloppiness like confusing pronouns. I'm glad it's better with game progress (still happens though, even calling a guy "she" 5 times in 2 sentences in a row), but beginning was very disappointing and if I didn't get this game as recommendation I'd think of dropping it after first hour. Well, I'm glad I didn't. At the beginning MC appears a bit like a pussy. Bad at cooking, lose focus, is indecisive, easy to tease and sometimes also act like an unmannered dick. I started hating him after how he treated Sara when Sofia got kidnapped. I understand he didn't like Emilia attitude this moment, but Sara was only kind and trying to help him. He's also a fast thinking "problem solver", but sometimes is missing very simple things. Zaida wanted desperately to talk with him (2 approaches and it was obvious it's something important for her), he was hurry, but still needed to have a walk. Why not suggesting to come with him. She could refuse, it would be her decision, but at least she'd have an option. That's just dumb. He's making progress, but sometimes I think it's 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward.

There are various LIs with different characters. They seem a bit stereotypical, but you'll find some pearls here. Two girls need special mention, because I've readen some bad words about them in reviews and it unfairly put this game lower on my list-to-play.
Starting with Emilia. I don't understand why people call her as so annoying. She's just a tease and it's not her fault that MC was afraid of playing her game at the beginning, maybe that made few people hating her, but for me it was quite funny. Later when MC adapted a bit and started teasing her, she became quite adorable and cute little tsundere. Not too original with too many shut ups, but still cute and at least without long lasting tantrums. Ngl I a lil bit miss her teasing attitude from the very first days, with MC also teasing it could create amazing dialogues, but it would double with Hikari and two teasing girls in college could grow tired fast.
However, I understand comments about Sofia. Every second sentence there was shut up and her mood swings is a thing I don't like in porn games. At the beginning she wasn't really a tsundere, she was a total bitch. But to those who started hating her and skipping events with her: she develops and her jealous is quite funny instead of harming and sometimes she can be really sweet. I also understand her defensive position, she really can feel as a lower sort, while being surrounded by rich, smart girls from most important families in country and feeling insecured is very natural, so as long as she only wants to build boundaries and not throwing tantrums too often, it makes her more real. LIs can't be only lovey-dowey while accepting everything, it's boring and they need some attitude. Later Sofia has right proportions between being sweet and angry. Her relationship with Sara and Rebecca is perfect example of how can she be later. Bad start, but progress may be very interesting.

Faces and LIs bodies are very diverse (except majority of big boobs of course, but how could it be different. HS game without teenagers who looks like they all had plastic surgeries? That'd be refreshing, but you won't see it here) are pretty and animations are smooth, maybe sometimes unnatural, but there are also few dedicated creampie animations and that's rare. Speaking about unnatural, there aren't many face expressions. Most of LIs have one look and sometimes something happens on their faces like wink or mouth shape changes, but don't expect deep emotions. Maybe they just had botox injections. There are some flaws. The biggest one is game just jumping from one scene to another without any info, additional characters movement or at least regular transition and it looks very unnatural, confusing sometimes - is it the same scene or new one started? Until now I didn't know how much I appreciate just a simple frame like "next two hours passed slowly, I was enjoying my time hugging X and watching TV" and looks like I wasn't alone in this, because just after I added this note, game started doing it. Not always, but these notes started to appear and be prepared for about 10 ingame days without it. Generally visuals are good. Not top, but also not below average.

My rate is a bit increased for encouragement. Few of things I mentioned are getting improved meantime and it looks like dev is trying her/his best. It'd be a tough job changing most of game, so I don't expect it, but I like that I'm seeing progress not only in characters, but also in job that's done. This game is very far from perfection, but I can certainly recommend it to everyone who wants to play a harem game with MC who have hero complex.

Another pleasant surprise! Produced using Honey Select, the characters sometimes lack realism. Proper mastery takes time, and the result can be excellent. There's real progress in the character development despite some mistakes and inconsistent quality.
On the other hand, the story is good and the characters are endearing; be careful, however, not to fall too often into childish responses and redundancy. Once, twice, or three times the same thing is fine, but 5 or 6 times in 10 minutes of story... The slow burn is fine, but at some point you have to move on. Jealousy is fine, but it shouldn't become the main driving force when you have protagonists so open to relationships. On this side, you have to be careful not to fall into exaggeration or overly exploit the MC's naiveté at times!
The content is substantial, which is a big plus, and I give this AVN a solid 4 because I feel the developer will continue to improve graphically. I can't wait to see the full sequel, and I have a feeling there will be future births in the story to follow.

Judging from some of the reviews it seemed like a bad game. Thankfully I didn't listen. I really find the game interesting.
The MC is a good combination of passive and active, especially considering his situation. I also like the female charas a lot. It was honestly a very interesting surprise.

Annoying. There's decent world building in there and the foundation of a good story too. But there's also a lot of things that are hard to overlook:

- Sofia. Goddamn, she is getting on my nerves. She's completely one dimensional and all she does is gate keeping with her constant jealousy. There's very little chemistry between her and the MC and the sex scenes with her are therefore mostly trite and soulless. This would be a better game without her. It's so bad that I skip all of her screen time and there's unfortunately a lot of it.

- I really dislike games that flirt with dark themes (slavery, forced sex) and then make it all go away in a puff of pink clouds. Everything in this game has plot armor. OF COURSE nothing will ever happen to anyone the MC likes and consequently the story never builds any tension. It's all a lukewarm, consensual soup of mediocrity and pouting love interests.

- It doesn't help that the MC has no spine. He talks a lot about how he will protect everyone and pretend to be all dominant, but when it comes down to it, he's a push over with just about everyone, including Sofia and the other LIs. It's painful to watch.

It's ok(ish), but it could be a lot better if the Dev (and the MC) had a bit more spine in their story telling.

'Cosy College', only slightly less polished

As of version 0.10, this kinetic novel is just over a year old and already has a respectable length. Another reviewer criticized the language, but I sort of disagree. It's not ideal, but it's not catastrophic, either. However, it's important to be aware that there are instances of persistent he/she confusion and make sure not to get confused in these cases.

Setting: The story seems to be taking place in a post-apocalyptic civilization that is very similar to today's industrialized countries except that social stratification has been formalized to the point that even slavery and indentured servitude are now legal and normal again. (And rich men can have multiple wives.) The MC is a 19-year-old lower class guy with a lifelong girlfriend (Sofi) who is somewhat slutty and has some tsundere traits. Ever since the MC's mother died six months ago, making him an orphan, Sofi's mother (a nightclub owner and a friend of the MC's mother) has been his mentor. Sofi has no problem with the MC's numerous slutty side love interests, who are her friends and her mother's employees.

Plot: Out of the blue, the MC gets a scholarship that pulls him out of his native environment. He moves to a rich city, where he is supposed to live in a large house along with his mysterious rich benefactor's daughter, and attend the same classes in college along with her. Despite the different background, she is quite similar to his girlfriend, and the two form the core of what is clearly going to be a large harem. So far this is a 'Cosy College' plot, except there are maids and slaves instead of restaurants and spanking, and the dangerous environment makes it harder for the MC to protect himself and his girls. Part of the problem is that he is not himself a member of a powerful family but merely important for a mysterious reason that seems to have to do with his sperm. So he must tread very carefully. I found the story more intricate than average but at the same time 100% clear and not confusing at all. That's quite an achievement.

Art: The computer graphics are produced with Honey Select, which is my personal favorite because the girls tend to be really beautiful. Only the slutty girls in Honey Select are often a bit weird, and here this affects the MC's original female entourage. But most of the girls in the college are outstanding. Many expose themselves to the MC in ways that feel natural in context. There are plenty of explicit scenes and even more nudity, but not as many as to turn this into pure porn. This is a harem adventure story with adult scenes.

Overall, this is a very high quality adult novel by a new developer. It seems to be improving in quality as well as in length, and at a good pace. I hope it will become one of the top games on this site, in the same class as the more cosy competition and a certain fictional VR game. It is not quite there yet, but close enough to definitely deserve 5 stars. The only thing preventing me from saying that the game is severely underrated at its current 3.6 stars is the fact that the first 10 or so days need a copy edit. I don't really mind that, and so I enjoy this as much as the game that likely inspired it most.

I will start by saying I understand this is a first game, and it's better than I can do, so I respect the attempt, the work put in, and the stones needed to share it in a public setting. However...

The women in this are written very poorly. Through the dialogue, 95% of them seem bitchy, rude, self-centered, narcissistic, arrogant, selfish, nasty, hypocritical, manipulative, and abusive. I wouldn't even want to talk to most of them, much less sleep with them. The Mc isn't much better, his character is yet another doormat. Why doesn't he question the "doctor" about needing a sperm sample for testing for diseases? Why not straight up refuse it? Does he have zero basic medical knowledge? Why does he not have a backbone and strip in a room full of bitchy women he doesn't even know, just because he's told to? There's a truly massive difference between being a good person that's kind and helpful, and being a doormat with no spine or boundaries. There's many, many other examples in the story of him being this way, just chose those instances because they were particularly annoying and infuriating.

Beyond that, I understand English is not the first language here, but get a proofreader. If you have one already, get a new one. There's a boatload of problems with spelling, sayings, phrasing, etc. Don't try and use phrases or sayings you don't properly understand. I also encountered multiple spots where the dialogue says "Mc" instead of the character's name.

v0.9
I would prefer to have given it 4.5 stars.
My only real complaints are: meh translation, especially during the h-scenes ("Slam me"), The h-scenes are inconsistent with the animation as some angles/positions are more fluid than others and the scenes themselves I feel are too short. I am not a fan of how the mc reacted during the scene where he had to go back home. All in all I think these complaints are nitpicky at best, which is why i only took half a star for them.

The story however is really interesting and has me hooked. Excited to see how the story continues!

i would have given it 5 stars coz i really liked it when the story lead it to the college/uni/school, but as soon as sofia came back and her attitude made me drop it 3 stars she made me press the skip button so much i have no idea what has happened in the story since the parents visit if she wasnt so unlikable i would have given this 5 stars if you ever have the option to remove her from the harem let me know and il be back to continue playing this

I've really been enjoying this game over the updates. I always like a story in which the protagonist has abilities unknown to him and his friends, then is drawn into an unfamiliar setting by people looking to either use his abilities for their own purposes or to support him in finding his true destiny. Until now, it's been unclear which of these situations our MC finds himself in.
I also like the development of the tsundere character as a more three-dimensional person than just the spoiled rich girl who never learns better. It will be interesting to see how the situation evolves into a full-blown harem, particularly after his childhood friend (and first LI) moves from the zone he lived in originally to live with him in the privileged zone he has been moved to.
The character development has been subtle and progressive, in the case of the maid who was provided to him, and is more loyal and attached to him than she might be simply out of duty.
In short, I'll continue to follow this as long as it continues to move forward with and intriguing group of characters living through a complex evolving story.
I'm afraid I can't really pass judgment on the graphics, since I pay far less attention to them than to the storytelling and character development.

Started following the game at the first moment and liked it immediately. Interesting to follow the story and characters. Maybe 5* is a lot at the moment, but the reviews that people leave are not deserved. I recommend trying the game and not listening to what people write about Sophia.

Well, I tried with all my might to read this VN, but with the 0.9, I alt+F4.
I hate tsundere to the core, when it's light it's passable, but here we don't have one tsundere, but two!
When they were separated it was my mental limit, but now in the same house I want to be done with them!
Not only does this create useless dialogues, but we end up with a miserable mc who does everything to please them.
At this point I'd call it masochism and unnecessary pain for the brain!
It's bad enough that we're not making any headway in terms of the plot, but the problems the mc encounters are also giving us a headache, in short, the balance is broken, I'm no longer enjoying myself, I've deleted the game!
I vote to rename the game “The Familiar of Emila and Sofia”.

It's a shame, I liked the basic story, it was interesting, I was curious about the story of several characters, but unfortunately spoiled by two tsundere!

Really liked the backdrop of a dystopian class based society where rich families rule absolute and a guy (MC) from a lower class district surprisingly gets the chance to attend an elite school. The mysterious circumstances of how and why are slowly revealed as the story progresses. Interesting & varied cast of characters & LIs that have plenty of personality in addition to their sex appeal, and some great sex scenes. Not much in terms of branching choices, basically whether you pursue some relationships or not. But honestly i don't find that problematic for this type of game.

Giving it 5 stars might be a bit much right now, wish there was a wider spectrum of stars: imo it's more of a ****-game with some upward potential right now.
But i'm glad i didn't listen to the rather unfair 1-2 star reviews & would definitely recommend it.

Ok It is probably a 3* right now, but I want to compensate a little the really low reviews that didn't give it a fair chance.

For me the story is interesting enough, and it shows a lot of thought by the developer. In fact, the story and the beautiful girls and nice wholesome moments are the things making me stick to the game.

However, the erotic scenes are a bit disappointing. The animations are nice but in general are a bit boring, and they could use with some more description of what’s going on or dialogue, and some kind of leading to it. Right now they are just there, like an addition just to make the game and Adult VN. With a little more though put into them this game could be a great one.

Also there are some grammatical mistakes in the dialogues, for example in this last update there is a whole conversation where mister Himmell is a “she”, instead of a He. But the essence is clear enough, at least for people like myself that are not English native speakers.

Keep up the good Work. I will follow the game closely.

The conversation was terrible.
When a person is angry at another person for something.
The worst thing is that after handling the matter.
To ask for forgiveness in a frivolous manner.
This is the worst text I've ever seen.

Game version: 0.7

Pretty boring game, to sum it up.

The story begins interesting with an MC that both respects AND uses women. Women fall for him, because he has a big dick- that's where the game shifts into another generic game with generic scenes, characters and made me skip to 99% of the future text/ story until the end.
There are dozens or similar games here, with either the same engine, same animations and/or similar story.
At least some of them have much more sexual content at the same development stage; Project S.P.E.S. has way too few scenes.
Nothing sets this game apart, sadly.

I lost my last bit of interest in the latest version of 0.7, because the story continued to be boring af.

Not recommended.