Sincerity is not a word I use a lot when talking about games, and Projekt: Passion is one of the few I can call just that - Sincere.
Know that feeling of comfort and relaxation when talking to a really old and good friend? Laughing at stupid jokes and discussing anything that comes to mind, without reservations? Yeah, that's the feeling this game invokes. The passion, as the title itself says, of the author to this project is apparent, it just oozes the joy of a person working on it, and you can clearly see the insurmountable effort it took to get this good on every single frame.
I want to start with the visuals, and bring the attention to the backgrounds. They are gorgeous. The dimly lit neon alleys of Tartarus and its claustrophobic inner spaces chock-full of people perfectly embodies the spirit of sci-fi dystopia that is slowly choking on itself. In contrast to that, the picturesque sights of other planets really feel like something different, perhaps even alien, but undeniably beautiful, which is a great feat to achieve in a small project.
Moving on, we have the meat of the game, and what's most of the players are looking for - character renders. They are a delight to see. Their unique art style is carried from the previous game, and are looking better than ever. Some of them, such as Ves or Ashe, could look a little strange or uncanny under certain angles or lightning, but it's not a problem you will often see, if at all. Character expression are very lively and rich, which is always a joy to see, and they even look good in short animated cutscenes which appear every once in a while. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention the fully voiced and neatly animated cutscenes? Talk about going all out.
Now, let's get on to writing, mainly the writing of the main cast, and the intimate scenes that, if you so desire, could occur. Starting with the main character.
Man, the Cowb- Gunslinger is just a treat to have. Witty, but not overbearing, smart and skilled, but vulnerable and insecure, characterized, but still have room for player's choice. Just a great protagonist to have.
I won't talk about every single member of the crew, or we'll be here all day, but I'll say that they all have a pretty unique and distinctive design, and are written strongly, giving the impression of real people with their own struggles, emotions and hardships. (Ashe best girl, fight me). One of them, I feel, is not up to the others, but I will talk about it towards the end.
Now, the sex scenes, and this is what impressed me the most. All of them, apart from maybe one, have a good reason to occur, they have proper build-up, they are emotional, and most of all, they make sense. Hell, that's not a thing you see very often in this kind of games, and is a testament that the author cares about proper relationships and appropriate situations, instead of just dropping them to fuck like apes to fill a scene quota.
Speaking of scenes, they are all animated, and are done so quite well. Pleasing to look at, smooth, just a joy to see, really.
Now, to some negatives, and why I think it's not quite up to the max ranking. (I wish there was a way to set 4.5, 4 is too low)
The story. It's just... kinda there, to provide the backdrop for character interactions. Weird pacing of "I'll do this, but oh, I guess we now do that, just joking, we are not doing that anymore, whoops, we now are roped into this" is a bit dazing, and makes this game look like a series of sitcom sketches. Everything is either happening too fast and abrupt, hovers a bit too much on inconsequential events and joke setups, or doesn't have enough time to brew with something significant.
The main villain is a bit of a nothingburger. He appears, says something vague or (non)threatening, and then fucks off into the sunset, to do the same thing again after a short while. He is kinda like Saren from Mass Effect, but without the necessary charisma to carry the role, and the steady trickle of information about him you get from progressing the story.
Last thing I want to talk about is Kaylee. She is just... not that interesting for (I assume) the main love interest for the Gunslinger. She is just... there? Doing... stuff? The bit with her family was fun, but after that there is, like, nothing going on for her. She often gets the spotlight, but does nothing with it, and it feels like a bit of a waste, considering that every single other member is more interesting than her, and would be more fun to have around. And yes, I know that even the game itself is pointing out that she is a bit useless, hopefully with plans to remedy this flaw, but as of now she is just boring while standing front and center.
TL;DR
A great game with a soul and palpable passion from its author, with incredible visuals, strong and colorful main cast, great humor, tasteful sex that makes sense, but is held back a bit by its insignificant main story, weird pace and, as of now, a lack of solid direction to move in.
