Ripples is a good game. You only need to glance at the other reviews left here to realise how fantastic an experience it was for so many players. Its visuals elevate the art style, sometimes looking better than real. It's got an intriguing plot, well written dialogue, distinct characters, polished animations, decent sex scenes, and even good sound design. But I'm not going to labour it's positives; you can read other reviews to see those.
You see, for me, Ripples was not a great game. While playing, I always felt that something was off. It never fully clicked. Why? I think it comes down to the sheer number of love interests. As of the end of chapter 6 there are 20. 20! That’s just too many girls for a player to emotionally connect to. Not all of them receive equal attention, but they all occupy screentime and most have had lewds. To both his credit and his detriment, Jestur has avoided throwing any away as quick fucks never to be seen again; they all receive development, with their personalities, backstories and relationships with the mc all being fleshed out. And they’re all well integrated into the plot.
But every minute with one LI is taken away from the rest. We never get to spend as much time with any one LI as I would have liked, and subsequently I never found myself as connected as I hoped. And the mc doesn’t help; he seems to exclusively care about casual sex, without a thought to dates, flowers or doing anything else to make his girls feel special. When romantic moments occur, they are initiated by the LIs.
So for me, Ripples was not a great game. But it could change into one, if future updates successfully deepen the relationships. And when are we gonna start knocking these babes up?