Man I just tried the game again after a very long time. Really like the new direction the game is going. I am impressed with how much content has been added in 1, maybe 2 years. I think the new simplified sex mechanics are also a good change.
I am not a big fan of the models for the new characters. Queen and Suki are gorgeous, but everyone else seems a bit too cartoony for my taste.
I know a lot of the artwork is still in progress and Queen herself has had some visual updates, so not all hope is lost.
I understand that work has already been put in creating the outfits we currently have for the characters, so visual redesigns are less likely, but I'd like to at least see some style variety with upcoming characters.
For me it was Queen's original artwork that got me to check this game out, but her visual redesign (cartoony style) is also well done. I think other people have noticed her similarity to Azula and that adds to her charm.
I don't know if Suki ever received a visual upgrade or my tastes have changed with time, but I'm really digging her current look.
I was really hyped for Scarlett when I saw that 686786_ScarlettGuardAnalCum.jpg screenshot on the OP. But her in game models looks too much like it's something out of Family Guy and I can not say I find it attractive.
I think my problem with her in game model is that it looks too much like a caricature, while you've got that amazing piece of artwork (686786_ScarlettGuardAnalCum.jpg) spoiling us with what she could've looked like. Her voice acting is really good though.
The other 3 (Esxea, Ardura and Natasha) just don't happen to be my taste. They probably fit more niche fetishes, which I do occasionally enjoy, but they would need to have a better level of detail (hotter body, etc)
The thing with these characters is that due to their combination of unnatural skin tones and extreme body proportions people are either gonna enjoy them or not. Which just feels like a huge gamble to do it with half the cast.
If it's hard for someone to find a character attractive, then automatically all the content pertaining to that character, outfits, CGs, events become irrelevant to their game. Right now I'm progressing the story to the Orc attack and I can tell you the only characters I am excited about unlocking more content for are Queen and Suki.
I saw the Scarlett screenshot and was excited to see there was a 4th character added to the game, but her model doesn't really do much for me.
I then found out there are 6 characters, so I was excited to find out what the other 2 were like. After encountering Ardura I was a bit disappointed, so I decided to go the website and take a sneak peek at the final character.
And that's when I lost my shit. To the point where it gave me the drive to write this entire review.
I do not mean no disrespect towards the hard work that your team has been putting in this project. And I also understand that you're making this product available for free, so it's not really my place to complain.
But at the same time, this is one of the few high quality projects with a really healthy development pace and a there's part of me that wishes I could enjoy it more.
I don't know, maybe this is just no longer the game for me. I just thought I'd share my feedback to provide insight on what are some elements of the game that may be bringing new players in and what are elements that might be turning them away from your product.
From the perspective of someone who first found your game before 0.4.0, I really liked Queen's character model at the time, I think that was the screenshot that made me check it out. Wasn't a big fan of the sex mechanic, got a bit tedious after some time.
Next time I checked the game I remember there were outfits and the quest to acquire Suki was implemented. Not sure if this was before or after the cartoon redesign.
Anyways I remember checking the game at some point about a year ago and I was surprised to see the new artwork, a.k.a the cartoon redesign. Queen's new model felt like it gave her a bit more personality and I think this was also the point in time when the game pivoted towards more of a focus on story.
I think goblin girl was in the game at some point when I checked it out. Not really a big fan of lolis and it's hard for me to find green skin attractive if the body features are not good looking enough to compensate. If I were a Patreon supporter this would be the moment where I'd think that so much effort went into content that I personally find irrelevant that I would just end my support.
The next time I checked the game happened to be today and I wrote my thoughts about it above.
I don't even know what kind of abomination Natasha is supposed to be. I'm guessing it's supposed to cater towards some variation of furry fetish. I guess I'll finish the story and find out.
But for now the only character that really do it for me are Queen and Suki. I have lost hope in 3 others since they are not really my type, but I really wish Scarlett had a better looking character model, you already showed us what she could've become.
EDIT: I just finished the story and it seems I was wrong. I thought Natasha was some kind of donkey girl. Turns out she's supposed to be an elf.
You've got 3 good looking elves and you give us the pathetic shy girl with loli features as a playable character? At what point did we forget this was supposed to be a porn game?
Looks like just wasn't the right type of content for me. It just strayed too much from its original design that got my attention 2 years ago. It would've been incredibly frustrated to have supported the project on Patreon only to witness it turn into some cartoonish comedy.
I think it's important for the creator to reflect upon this, because I suspect there are other former fans out there in a similar position.