VN - Ren'Py - Ruin Me [v0.59.1] [Phanes]

Version Reviewed: v0.8.1

This is one of those "three time a day" free roaming VN/RPG games with horror/eldritch themes. The writing is pretty solid which is good because the art ranges from nonexistent (many scenes have no art at all) to my first Deviantart page. This is one of those cases where the dev really needs an artist to collaborate with to make the complete game. In addition many of the characters are supposed to be ugly on top of the ugly art.

There is a minor amount of grind in the terms of a weird credit system you have to build up to unlock certain storylines. It seems entirely pointless.

This game is unusually woke for a Lovecraft style storyline. Proper BDSM rules is rigorously explained and ahered to. You can play as any combination of biological and psycological gender. (girl with dick, guy with vag are options). There is an extensive Sex 101 anatomy lesson included.

Sex acts: There are a fair number including some kinky stuff with the housemaid, a roaring good time with the dock manager, a bunch of freaky supernatural stuff and some BDSM and third base with with lady.

There is one thing about the premise that seems off to me.

The art is really really bad... it looks like MS paint 0 effort art you do when your bored at work or on in school. If this were just a game ment to have great story and game play i would have rated higher but its an adult game and should have visual that don't make you wish you were blind

Come for the porn, stay for the story.

The writing is amazing, you totally get sucked into the horrendous mysteries around this town. These mysteries also appear to have a connection to the personality of the main female character that you get to ruin.

Also it's great that you have a bdsm game that takes consent seriously.

Art itself could be improved upon, but with the writing it can fuck with your mind without having to show everything.

Conclusion: 5*, but only recommended for people that want something deeper than a quick fap

While the artwork's still a work in progress, the storyline is well worked out and keeps you going, the quests and training are certainly intriguing and while certain elements may not be to everyone's tastes, at least some of them can be avoided

The art may put you off at first but look past that if you can; this game is in its early days after all. It has a great story and very good writing. The training system is fun, the exploration is solid, and the kinks are some that don't often appear in games.

I actually quite enjoyed this. A lot of choice and variety in content; there's a lot of weird and niche stuff to indulge or ignore as you please, and your interactions with Theresa allow for a lot of customization. The developer updates quite frequently, which is nice to see. Lovecraftian themes are not new to eroge, but I feel the author does a good job setting up an interesting atmosphere and mystery. The most major weakness is the art, but personally I'd take good writing over good art any day.

EDIT: Gonna be real here, don't think this game really went anywhere. The relationship between Theresa and the MC is incredibly stilted and feels like it gets more awkward over time instead of less. Also, the hamfisted sex ed / gender studies parts really kill the flow of the game. "Before sex, let's first engage in a detailed study of human reproductive biology." "I'm glad you're my first sex partner, even though virginity is a social construct which has historically been used to control women." Like, who the fuck says something like that during sex? The mystery part of the story is also very slow to develop and has loads of 'monster of the week' style incidents that kinda just feel like filler. Liked the concept, but the dev clearly has a vision very different from what I'd prefer.