This is a review of version 1.4.3
Story: 4/5
There's a wide cast of love interests dealing with various issues in their lives, most of which are very well written and properly paced. One or two of the girl's "problems" didn't seem to be much of an issue, and I think a bigger deal was made of their "problem" to create a positive character arc that the MC was responsible in helping, thus bringing the two closer together. But most all of the story lines felt right. There are some real jewels here (Thea and Cynthia were my favorites). I would like to see more of Lily's story line, though.
Don't expect insta-sex. There's light nudity and sexually suggestive material early on, but the sexual content is a slow burn (which adds to the story, making it more realistic).
I'm really interested in the antagonist and the dreams the MC is having, neither of which are explored much as of this version. But, considering the story telling so far, I am expecting it to be pleasantly built into the game.
Art: 4/5
I'm struggling between a 3.5 and a 4. Most of the art is sexy while still maintaining a "cute vibe" that works well for the story where the MC and his love interests are actually forming relationships. A few stills are "meh" (nothing is bad).
The animations are a mixed bag. While many are technically animations, they're basic enough where I think your own imagination and still images go further/work better. There's a nicely drawn blowjob scene that's pretty fluid, but it's a short loop and animation doesn't include any female nudity (no swaying breasts as the woman moves back and forth, which would have added to the scene). There's also a decent flash scene, where a woman's breasts drop out of her clothing. But the other dozen or so animations that I can recall are, again, super basic and actually detract from the sex scene imo.
Game/Mechanics: 4/5
There are two "minigames", stats you can work up that come in handy for skill checks later on, and gold to collect for various purchases. There's also an exam that you need to pass, which I guess could count as a minigame? Either way, it's a mechanic.
One of the minigames is a point and click that I don't think has a time limit and just stops once you've caught 10. The other is a reaction minigame that has an easy and hard version depending on the time of day that, imo, is the only proper minigame I came across.
The exam wasn't hard. It seems 70% of the questions can be gleamed from 2 or 3 different history lectures (there are only 2 or 3, so don't think this is a schools sim) that take no more than a minute each. The other 30% may be elsewhere, or you might be just expected to guess.
None of it felt like a grind, nor did it feel like an obstacle. By the time I realized what I needed to do, I was already have way through the process of finishing it.
That said, none of it is very fun. I do like the stats/level/gold aspect, but it needs more depth to be "fun" imo. Also, leveling up doesn't seem to do anything besides increase you rank within the Adventurers Guild. Intuitively, you'd expect that to be tied to your stats. I'd like to see level and stats have some sort of relationship. Or change level to reputation.
Conclusion: 5/5
If you've made it this far, you might be wondering why I'm giving it a 5/5 instead of a 4/5?
Well, despite giving it 4/5 marks across the board, I really, really, really enjoyed playing Randel Tales. There's some sort of x factor that blends everything together well. Heart warming story, cute/sexy art, and a game that doesn't get in my way? I dunno, it just works.
My Patreon bill is as high as I want it to be at the moment, but I am going to go through it this afternoon and look for games that are no longer impressing me, or have taken a long time to produce content so I can make room to support Bunis on Patreon. I hope you give this game a shot, and if you like it, consider doing the same.