This is easily one of the best VNs here that I've played, right up there with titles like Being a Dik which I also regard highly.
The cutscenes are an addition that I wasn't expecting, and they have consistently been a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen them in other games here, and they all seem really well done in their quality, their execution, their quantity, and their placement. They add a whole other layer of narrative immersion, and help bring the characters and story to life in a way that is often lacking in other titles.
The animations, while fairly simple as is typical for a renpy title, generally feel much more fluid and natural than what is typical for animations in these VNs. Rather than simply animating hip thrust, for instance, the developer has actually gone the extra mile and animated the whole characters to really up the quality, which is something I always find myself wishing more developers would take the time to do.
The sound effects and voice overs are better than what is typical, I think. I often find voice overs to be somewhat cringey in how they sound and how they're delivered, but in this case I think I enjoy them. I wouldn't say they're amazing, but they do what they're supposed to do in complementing the cutscene, animations, or renders they accompany. And the sound effects, while also not amazing, do seem to sound good in general, and are placed and used appropriately. Along with the background music, I'd give the overall sound category a rating of at least above average.
The overall art style and its sometimes seemingly oversaturated aesthetic isn't my favorite and I'm personally not crazy about the lighting and textures in a lot of cases. None of it is BAD by any means, but it could be better. That said, I can also probably sympathize with having balance render quality vs render times when considering the volume of renders and animations that are being produced and delivered.
I generally like the character design. All of the characters have a distinct look and feel to them that adds to their unique characterizations, MC included. So far there's no extreme proportions anywhere either, which seems fitting and appropriate.
The writing has been top notch thus far. I have found myself laughing out loud regularly at some of the dialogue exchanges and hijinks that take place, yet I've also found myself charmed by some of the more serious, tender, and emotional moments in the story as well. And the pacing and plot has been interesting enough to keep me hungry to find out what happens next. I've never found myself bored with reading through the VN.
The vast majority of the character interactions and relationships have felt organic and natural which is actually quite uncommon for these VNs in my opinion, so I always appreciate when a dev/writer manages these well. It's often the case that characters and their interactions/relationships in these games comes off as too contrived and gamey, one way or another, but the only awkward interaction I can think of in this game is one lewd scene with Ves that kinda seemed to come out of nowhere relative to others. But even that exception wasn't all that jarring either. The rest have all seemed to have adequate and appropriate levels of build and setup without being overly drawn out and falling into that all-too-common cookie-cutter lewd progression that I've come to find very annoying in these games.
I like having multiple mood/attitude-oriented dialogue choices to respond with that don't necessarily or dramatically impact the story all the time. They just add an extra touch of flavor to the writing and scenes without always being all that important, and it's nice to not have to worry about gaming the choices all the time in order to unlock this content, or pursue that path. It's nice to be able to just roleplay the MC, for lack of a better description without stressing too much about content I'm being locked out of, or permanently altering my playhrough somehow with ever interaction I have.
I also wanted to mention I really appreciate the subtle zooms and pans in the still shots, and the way that the transitions and montages are done. And even the small differences in character movement or expressions from render to render. These little bits aren't strictly necessary, yet add that extra bit of flavor, detail, and 'aliveness' to things that always seems to enhance the VN.
Insta-favorite.
