VN - Ren'Py - Sassy Girl [v0.4.17] [Hematite]

Well, what can I say, this game ticks quite the good points in my book:

1) Compelling, flawed, believable characters: their personalities feel distinct, writing believable and even relatable, they are all quirky in more ways than one and outright over the top at times, but that's what makes a person interesting and intriguing to begin with.
The characters grow, there is some sweet character development and the MC might just surprise you.

2) Interesting storyline: Whilst at times predictable, its very nice to see how many small details slowly grow leading to bigger twists and interesting outcomes, which although somewhat linear, don't detract from that sense of discovery and progression, other than feeling well fast paced and organic.

3) Tasteful Aesthetic: Well the girls are all beautiful, ranging from shapely petite to generously voluptuous.
The shots and framing are well made, lighting although not always perfect, its very well placed in some scenes, moody and evocative alongside fitting music.

4) Music: Did I say music? Despite in my opinion not on the same level of Summer's Gone where feels are concerned, is a decent and on point fit to many of the scenes, really complementing the mood most of the time and managing to stick in your head with the associated scene.

5) The meaty twist: is a very welcomed surprise, which I won't spoil, but if you know you know.
Although rather predictable, I think its very well presented and justified compared to most other games attempting to dip into the fetish, I really commend the developer for fleshing it out in such hot and tasteful way.

Very much recommend playing through it, there is nothing I would change of this game and encourage the developer to keep going as they are.

Hematite is doing a good job with this VN. Characters are dynamic, and the plot is decent enough.

Characters are solid. Each one is just developed enough for lots of growth down the line.

Story is decent. I won't spoil anything. Lets just say its an ok plot.

Renders are good. It's always a plus when devs don't have black missing scene screens.

MC is passive to an extent. Always waits for a bit before actually stopping people from walking over him. It comes off as more believable.

Summary

Decent enough plot that revolves around deceit and revenge. Not 100% sure if this is actually a harem VN or not. You do have the option to romance several women. Possibly the tag hasn't been included.
Good characters, good humor, and a decent plot make this VN worth the time to go through. Hematite is doing a good job with it.
I can't give any reviews of the length of time for releases because I just came across it today.
Either way I recommend it. As of now, there is a decent amount of novel here to enjoy, and several choices to go back and explore.
Keep up the good work and hopefully it continues to get better with each update.

just played 0.4.4 version.
Original plot. Nice reneders. Amazing mommy that what love the most. Don't know why, but she becamehotter and hotter with each update.
I love the way you made your story and ypur choice system seems to work well.
wish you good luck with your game

I would've given this game a better review earlier on, but from like [0.3.3] onwards, the more forgivable errors have just gotten objectively worse.

The writing that was previously just clunky has simply gotten atrocious. The use of the points system previously seemed to have some sense of purpose, and now it just seems totally meaningless and forgotten. The writing is so bad at this point that you aren't even sure what your choices will DO, because the dev just has absolutely no clue how to write. If English is their second language, they desperately need a translator/editor. If not, then wtf.

The story used to have some sense of interest when it was insinuated that the MC would work to revive Sassy Girl, but instead it's moved onto this absolutely moronic incest plotline that is so unnecessary and so meaningless. I am fine with incest as a kink on this site - generally it's generic and not very impactful, but that's fine - but HERE, it totally distracts from anything that could actually be interesting and is this ridiculous out-of-left-field attempt for shock.

The visuals are really the only thing that have maintained some semblance of quality. It's the only reason I'm giving 3 stars.

I think this game is a solid four stars, but some of the criticism is valid. I think the twist was something a little surprising, but it is set up fairly well and the game is good all around, I like the characters and the premise is fine, the MC is an idiot but he's not over the top about it, and sometimes he is smart, it can cause whiplash, which leads me to my main criticism. The dialogue in this game is so over the top and off-putting, but the scenes and models make up for the weird dialogue.

I'd say this game is worth playing, it doesn't set any standards and I can't say it's one of my favorite games, but I think if the author fixed some of the over-the-top dialogue and had them speak like normal people, I would be a bigger fan.

Review for v0.4.4

Just not a very compelling experience for me based on the content I played before dropping it.

The opening therapy session did not have the intended affect I assume it was suppose to have on me. All I got out of it is that the MC has a very defeatist attitude, which gets pretty annoying since there's really no nuance to it. The game tries to describe him as intelligent when all I see is yet another horny brain MC crying about how girls don't love him. Hard to take him seriously when he doses off during it to dream about fucking his therapist (dream scenes suck btw), combined with dialogue like "I have to find a job, hang out with new people, and stick my cock in some holes!" Just shut up man.

The plot after that is pretty nonsensical as well. After learning our MC has a Tony Soprano style fixation on his therapist, an eccentric narcissist "information industry mogul" break into our apartment and starts talking about how masturbation is better than sex. Turns out he owes our late father a debt, which he is now repaying to you in exchange for proving his wife's infidelity so he can divorce her without her getting anything from it. We will do this by going under cover at Sassy Girl magazine as an intern. I suppose it works enough for a porn game, but it plays out rather unnaturally.

And that's the thing, how unnatural the game feels. The MC comes off as a creep with his weird flirting and perv thoughts, which the girls are abnormally receptive to of course. Then we get to the job interview, where we learn the inter position is unpaid and we might need a second job to make money. That's ok MC, instead of that I'll let you, a complete stranger, move into my mansion no problem! The we meet Adele, who's personality is just an extremely exaggerated mega bitch. None of the other girls are any better really. All the characters feel like B list actors playing a role rather amateurly than feeling like real people.

I like the premise of working at a gossip magazine honestly, but the characters and overall writing aren't really doing it for me. I didn't play through all available content to be fair, but I don't feel like forcing myself to do so.

The story is ankle deep. You think you will get something good as it starts with a therapy scene, but man was I wrong. It's good i don't live in America, or I would have shot myself in the head. Don't write therapy scenes if you don't know how.
The MC, as you get to name the MC you think that you are playing as the MC as in his personality and choices are dictated by you but nope, the MC is their own character you don't get a single say in how he behaves it's like a kinetic novel and no just cus you have choices like yes or no it doesn't make it a VN.
The MC is supposed to be in a difficult period in his life feeling stuck, aimless and lacks confidence it would be great if it was just that but nope. He's a fucking horn dog that has a boner for every single woman he ever meets.
Now the women (and the renders in general). Plastic and looks like one of those silicon sex dolls. Tits look cancerous and personality as spicy as sugar.
The renders are meh, noticed some clipping here and there, but it's not a big deal. It's just really generic. With how saturated the VN market is, it kinda blends in together with the other 50 titles right next to it.
My advice, make the MC more playable, right now the MC has multiple personality disorder, give him a specific personality, either the struggling man trying to find his place in the world or the horn dog that wants to stick his dick in every hole.
Never try an MC with psychological hurdles for your VN, as It's really hard to do so.
I would say make the women look a bit realistic, but that 100% ain't gonna happen.
If it's the devs 1st VN it's a 3/5 anything other than that it's just 1/5.
Conclusion Good for a wank (for some)

Current version of this update 0.4.8

This game seems to have a decent amount of choices and branching. Not sure how big of a impact those choices have as I don't have a desire to play more than 1 save until content for the other LI I like gets added into the game. As I have zero interest in 3-4 of the girls in this game. In part cause the breast are just to big or they are just crazy or a horrible person.
Story

Story is a bit boring at first. But then it picks up and I just kept wanting to play more of it. It never gets really good but it is enjoyable. As the story starts out as the MC helping some rich dude out for money. As of Chapter 3 switches gears and turns to a revenge story.

Characters
I feel it's too early in development to say if the characters are well written or not. But the ones that have a decent amount of development seem to be written decently enough.

I really enjoyed how if the MC decides to be an asshole to a LI they won't take it but talk back to the MC and put him in his place. Be warned 2 of the girls in this game are straight up crazy and horrible human beings . 1 the MC can turn into a camwhore. Not sure if that is based on choices or it always happens. The rest of the LI are decent enough but those 3 I mention some may have issue with.

Then as of the last few updates it took a sharp left turn and became a dumpster fire. If you rape your sister , she thanks you and the mother says it was a good punishment like what in the actual fuck. I've yet to play the last update.

Animation - they are meh not that great but better than nothing.

Writing - Normally I don't talk about this as I cant tell the difference between good and bad writing. But I noticed some typos here and there not too often but if you are sensitive to this you are warned.

Overall
A game that used to be enjoyable until the last 2 updates or so. It's a mix between porn game and story first . I enjoyed some of these characters and I just enjoyed the game in general and enjoyment and characters is the most important aspect to me. However that all changed in the last few updates. Now this is a game I will only play to see how much worst it can get cause I just cant help but wonder.

Renders - 5/5
Animations - 4,5/5
Story - 5/5 - interesting plot, i like it.
MC - 4/5
LI's - easy 5/5 - lots of girls, beautiful MILF's
Music - 4/5

Great game with stunning LI's, beautiful renders, captivating story, good animations, pretty cool MC. What do you want more? Content give us more!
Easy 5/5, looking forward for future updates.

Review of version: v0.4.0

I know writing this review that I am going to be the odd one out by saying that I really do not understand how this game is rated so highly. The ONLY positive thing that I can say about this game is that each of the LIs has a unique bodytype and a distinct personality to set them apart from one another. Everything else is honestly very lackluster.

Right from the jump we are introduced to a pathetic MC that is crying about never having been loved and how everyone in his life abandons him. Then he immediately forgets all of his problems and starts daydreaming about fucking his therapist. Just really odd behavior to open your game with if your goal is to have people actually like and sympathize with MC.

Then we get to the actual important beginning of the game. A man who we don't know breaks into MCs apartment, starts talking to us about masturbating to the drawings MC makes, how mastubation is the most gratifying thing a person can ever do and then offers us a job at his wifes magazine to prove her infidelity so she doesnt get anything when he divorces her after bragging about his own infidelity?! Like seriously this scene fuckin sucks lmao, how the fuck is this the best your writer can come up with to hook a player into continuing your game.

I personally play VNs that have a focus on the story first and adult content second and while this game does seem to be that way, the story if you can even call it that is just not strong enough. I only encountered 2 scenes in my playtime. The first was a creepy peeping scene on Miriam after she was nice enough to let you stay in a spare room of hers so MC isn't homeless during his internship trial period. The second was a blowjob from a famous actress after you lie to her about being a movie producer and offering her a role in a non-existant movie. Just overall scummy behavior from the MC. Of course those are choices, but in an adult game if the option is scene vs no scene, it's not really an option is it?

Back to the point I made about how each Li has a unique personality and that being a good thing, thats not the whole truth. It feels like they try to give them varying personalities, but just for the sake of them having varied personalities without actually making them feel like well thought out characters. I honestly have no idea if I even played the same game as everyone else writing reviews since they all seem to be singing the praises of how well written all the characters are but I don't see it. Like why is Adele such a bitch? Oh thats just the way she is. I'm sure calling all your models "Cock sucking sluts" directly to their faces is a great practice as a professional photographer. Why is Dorothy such an airhead but also in charge of the aspect of the magazine with the biggest budget? Maybe these things are answered if you have the mental fortitude to sludge through the awful writing but I just can't make myself care enough to continue reading this nonsense. The only Li with any sense of normalcy is Janine and she tackles MC and licks his nose on their first meeting, so still not that normal.

I guess at the end of the day MOST of my problems with this game boil down to MC and him not really having a defined personality. He's just kind of a social chameleon adapting to whichever Li he is interacting with at the time and trying to please them with no actual conviction. At the end of the day hes just decieving them all until he can claim his paycheck from the sketchy dude that broke into his apartment.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this VN, i think it's great. The characters are well made (both visually and from the writing perspective), making them feel real and fun to explore.
There are some dark scenes in here, that I personally didn't like, but made sense in the context of the story and the character's motivations, but they are optional. So if you are into that, there's a bonus for you.

New Age Treasure in 2023, I'm obligated to give a five-star rating and recommend this game to everyone.
Wonderful new technology character model , and wonderful game frame design.
The game really does what it takes to get the player to make choices with a great story and graphics rather than relying on mods and walkthroughs.
Which brings us to the wonderful story of this game:
The author uses a story full of mystery and intrigue to entice players to discover the relationships and life experiences of different characters step by step.
To be honest, I wonder why there are so few reviews and discussions about such a good game , this is one of the best games to be released in 2023.

Version: 0.3.5 Review:

Downloaded and played a few days ago. I am giving this 5 stars.

The story of course begins a bit out there, like most adult games, but once you get past the initial shock of WTF why/how? The rest of the story is written well and character development is present. I like that each character the MC interacts with has a backstory that has been fleshed out and there is a reason for that person being there.

The pacing is solid. The dev(team?) has done a great job of pacing dialogue, location changes, and intimate contact. Nothing is more annoying than getting to some of the steamy parts of the game only to notice that the dialogue was an afterthought and the pacing for sexual activity has now increased. This game does not suffer from that. Yes the pacing does increase but there is the right dialogue, location change and player choice to make the in-between parts to off set the increase. After playing so many games this is the one thing that I have noticed many developers having a tough time with.

The renders are decent. Nothing crazy amazing but also not 4 - 5 years ago bad.

For anyone checking the reviews before playing:

Solid Game
Decent Renders
Great character development
Unique personality to NPC's
MC's choice has some impact
Fresh(ish) take on workplace intimacies/ relationship -NPC's are aware of your interactions/activities with others.

[Version 0.3.5]

A really pleasant surprise for me. I thought this would be another generic office-setting game full of stupid porn logic, but both the main story and the character development are really engaging. I especially love the dialogue. Oh my God it's been so long since I play a game where I can enjoy its humor without being surrounded by cringe. This alone is already worth 5 stars for me. The LIs are all unique in their own ways. I especially love Janine and Adele (her sarcasm constantly makes me laugh lol), but the others are also likeable.
All in all this game is really good in terms of storytelling and character development. There's a bit nitpicks that make me wanna give it a 4/5 score initially, but this game needs more support and I fully recommend everyone try it!

We all know how porn logic works, it's like a nice pair of old shoes if you can enjoy them with their flaws and all, the story of Sassy Girl is like that, if you can forgive those flaws, theres a nice story behind it, or it seams it would be, we'll have to wait for the final version. I think the models are very good, I specially like Beatrice and Janine, Miriam is also very cute but I feel she could look a bit more old, maybe it's just my taste, she is sexy as it is. The music is very good at it's job, nice accompaniment to the scenes and dont overstay their welcome. For me this is a 4 star VN, if the options were more impactful and less choose the right one or you lose, the it would be a five star, but that's just a nitpick for me.

Must admit, i'm happily surprised. This has managed to surprised me in so many ways. the main character is pretty nice. seriously love pretty much every woman you meet in the game.

All of the ladies are fun, interesting, engaging, with amazing models. i can't wait to see this game continue

Edit: Haven't finished the last update i played but i gotta take the game down a notch or two. I loved the way the characters were personality wise but after a certain point, the game goes off the rails and not in a good way. After a certain point, characters act way out of character and even when explained as to why they are the way they are, it's still odd. Saddens me alot because i was liking the way the entire group of characters interacted but after a certain point, the game fizzles into just every other vn game.

V0.3.3
One of my favorite games so far.
What I like about it:

• Nicely rendered women with distinct shapes/faces and personality
• Amazing focus on high heels, legs and stockings
• Has a lot of erotism with a good transition pace until first sexual scenes.
• Contains funny situations or characters

Version: 0.2.15
Well I'm disappointed by this. Some nice original looking characters and a few good animations. A few not so good as well though.
The poor parts of this game are the over abundance of multiple choices which just seem to exist to trip you up and lock you out of some of the content. Luckily I played with the w/t mod installed. This mod showed when I was asked which girl I liked the most, If I picked the girl who is asking, I would get locked out of her content. bollocks to that idea.
The worst part though was the dialogue, I'm loathe to call it a story because it isn't.
It's just a lot of words one after the other that make no sense at all. Just some inexperienced drip moaning about being abandoned and not being loved. Good God it's enough to make you wanna puke. My advice use the mod and when you can't take him anymore (won't take long) skip to the sex scenes.

I find it a new game, very fresh, well articulated, then I found some dialogues very funny, Dorothy is absolutely hilarious, keep it up, I hope to see the continuation soon, good work. recommend to try it

[v0.2.6] An engaging visual novel, featuring plenty of attractive women, interesting dialogue, and varied choices. The renders are great and the storyline is progressing well. With two chapters included so far, there is enough content to enjoy the experience and I am definitely left wanting more. This has a lot of potential to be a great title!