Others - Shale Hill Secrets [v0.16.4] [Love-Joint]

This game really goes above and beyond what is expected from these types of games.
Has quickly become one of my favourites!

Story
I am genuinely invested in the story. Some times i forget I'm even playing a NSFW game. There is not only a mystery to find an answer to, but it quickly develops into a web of complexity. Multiple stories and event going on at the same time and at times overlapping in surprising ways making it even more interesting.
The sex scenes can be a bit far spaced at times compared to other games on here but i really don't mind it. Especially due to how good the story is. Also makes the reward so much sweeter when they finally happen. They feel well earned in most cases and you have really learned to care about the characrter at that point making it extra special. A preference to be sure, but especially well motivated in this case.

Writing
The writing is superb! I'm honestly inspired, some quotes even stick with me. This is all helped by the characters which are really fleshed out.
They all have their own quirks and ways of thinking which should be considered a minimum honestly. But they go far beyond that, giving them all detailed backstories that really motivate what kind of person they are. And of course all this is revealed at a very natural pace making for an optimal experience.
The themes expressed are also wide ranging. From philosophy and politics to crime and morals. Also has some good humour thrown in at times. In the same way a classic movie does it, without distracting from the story but instead adding to it. In other words, it does not feel forced. Its a well placed break that benefits the pacing.

Sound
This game has music! And it not the stereotypical early 2000 edgy rock stuff or club music that a lot of the "university" games use. This is a more tasteful selection which are meant to instil specific emotions and moods in sync with the story beats. And it works well! Never feels forced, just ties the experience together really nicely.
There is no real audio effect for the sex scenes or stuff like that, which again is a preference but i think its best this way. A lot of time it can feel out of place and not really match the rest of the experience. At least there is music to match the mood.

Art
There is a good amount of diversity in terms of looks. Renders are all really clean and the light setup is professional, which is really the thing i think a lot of these pre-rendered 3D games fail at.
Poses and expressions are really good as well, feeling very natural while still expressive and allowing for some exaggeration at times while still keeping it tasteful. There have been a few instances where it felt a bit off but too far and few between to really take issue with.
My biggest gripe with the game are the animations. Sure they get the job done but they really don't fallow any animation principles. Most of the time is seems to be a simple case of two poses and some curved interpolation between them (At least its not linier!). There is very little weight or rhythm to them which is a shame.

Final score:
9.5/10!

Will likely be the first NSFW game i actually purchase on steam just to show my support for the craft.

Love this game and all of the characters. The story is awesome and follows a unique story. Incredible game. You really get tied into the main character and feel the pain and triumph as he weaves his way through. Only wish as of now you get a choice on if his voice comes back or what to do about. That’s my only real beef though.

If you like to read a lot of text for a long story, look at beautiful girls and some strange persons, this is the right game for you.
If you are looking for a lot of xxx-action, look somewhere else. ;-)

The renders are great and the girls do look good. Though they also look younger than they should. I think it's the body proportions.

The premise of the story has some merit but the execution is poor. It meanders about and is filled with a lot of the MC's pointless inner monologue.

Over all, pretty but boring.

Artistically, this game is pretty nice to look at. Although I will say the girls look fairly young compared to what age they are supposed to be, it's not that bad. My problem is with the story's writing. Simply put, it's boring. The premise isn't boring, but the dialogue and interactions are.

This....is not quite what I expect from AVNs.
The good parts are the artstyle, the girls themselves are all gorgeous and unique, and I like how you get to choose how you pursue or don't pursue each relationship. Choice like that is something you don't usually see in VNs.

However the rest of the game, namely the 'sandbox' elements ( which are unintuitive ) as well as the story ( which was boring ) just sorta weigh everything down. There is supposed to be an overarching element of intrigue and mystery, but honestly the conversations just go on for SO LONG that I ended up skipping a lot of it, and the scenes you do get are so far spaced and not that well designed, everything looks jerky and awkward.

Ultimately this game was just not for me. I didn't enjoy the story, I didn't enjoy the gameplay loop, and clearly I didn't enjoy the girls enough to stick with everything else.

The characters are well fleshed out, all of them have different personalities. The story continues to intrigue me. The mystery behind shale hill keeps the thrill going. In addition, the updates keep coming every other month so it is well worth the wait. The only downside I can say is the lack of choices. However, I do understand that having multiple choices extend the development time.

This is literally my favorite porn game of all time, there are some points where you get railroaded into choices you wouldn't make to progress the story but it's still amazing. The best girl is Valerie and it's not close, and I can't wait to see her betray me

*spoiler*

I was right she betrayed me and I loved it

One of my favorites. Certainly not the typical story that you might find with the average game on F95. I think it's very well written as well. The renders are the type I really like. Some girls look pretty similar, but there is enough of a difference in art and attitude that it doesn't detract for me. Great sex scenes, though I would personally appreciate more of a departure from the vanilla. More kink stuff, etc. But that is a small quibble. Love it and always look forward to the updates.

Playing through this again.

Because... I love the renders of the characters. Its one of the few games that doesn't force Milf content on you, and its nice to take a breakfrom that.

That being said, its an average story at best. I'm hesitant to call it a game because a game requires some level of interaction from the user. This is more like a kinetic novel, with the only choice being will you unlock lewd content with a character or not.

Even the sparsely placed choices are not real choice. Go back and pick a different one and you get the same result, just slightly different text.

The thing that really makes this a slog is the writing. I feel this is where the loss of Palmer (RIP) is most keenly felt. It it unnecessarily verbose, and then drawn out. Started Episode 8, read through 50 minutes of the Protagonist doing basically nothing..... lots of navel gazing and being an absolute jerk for no real reason apart from a messiah complex that is almost unbearable.

For the few sex scenes that you get, the render quality is good, the animations are ok, but please don't hide faster and slower behind a menu when there is never anything else. The writing on other hand for the Sex Scenes... Mills and Boon would be envious, this stuff is right up there with the Bodice Rippers of the 70's and 80's. Overly flowery descriptions of cocks and vaginas, with some questionable adjectives (I would never describe an erection as turgid during a sexy scene)

However, it's piqued my interest, I want to know what the secret of shale hill is, so I shall no doubt click on through.

Hopefully the devs learn some lessons for the next game as they do have a lot of potencial.

This one surprised me.
I was a little apprehensive about trying it, because all the girls almost look excactly the same. Baby faces, too big eyes. Just different ethnicities and hair to set them apart.
But the cast is still diverse, because of quite good writing. Even though most were tropes, the overly done and simplistic personalities works, because again... good writing.
It has good storyline, thats a bit overconvoluted, but it works.
And there is a LOT of story, hours.
For those where this is important. There isnt a lot of sex.

The only drawbacks was the feeling of just reading a story and not playing it.
Choice was not existant. You just click something and slowly you progressed the storyline. It didnt feel like I was the one steering the storyline further, but rather that I was lead by the nose.
Also a bit too much similarity for sexscenes. It seemed to follow the same formula almost every time. Different dialogs, but same 4-5 acts in a script.

Extra plusses:
Not a single overly voluptous or overly fat bottomed girls. None of that body-dismorphia(most likely not the right word) at all.

Cool game, focuses more on developing an interesting story than just straight up constant sex but there's something actually refreshing about that.
Great renders, interesting characters. One of my favorites.

It's very important to state that Shale hill is a story driven game where the slow burn is prevalent. It does a spectacular job of weaving an intricate story without losing the red thread. The story is engaging and sprawling out in complexity which will keep you hooked. The second strongest point of the game is the characters. They're nuanced and believable, in short they're acting like real human beings. The development of said characters is fluid and just goes to show how well written the game is, if I had to summarize Shale hill in one word I'd say "Polished."

Now for a bit of criticism. It's clear that Shale hill is a story driven game first and sex game second... Or perhaps thirdly. The sex scenes are so rare that I suspect the dev had to make a whole alternative storyline just to give the players some damn sex. I love rich story games but it was starting to get annoying how dry it all was. After all, we're here for the sexual parts as well, no?

All in all - it's a sublime game that'll cater to those who don't mind a story driven slow burn with rich characters and interesting story. Adhering to more carnal pleasures wouldn't hurt though.

Its so good. If you like good stories you gonna love this game. Pacing done right. Most of the characters are lovable and have interesting backstory.. Lot of stuff is going on behind and nothing is simple. My only complained would be wishing MC being more cooler and tough.. Don't get me wrong MC is not weak or beta but he has lot to improve. With situations he is getting involved
he needs to be more stronger then he is now. Both Physically and Mentally

Game also has one of the best OST I have heard in AVN.. its so chill and good, Goes well with game flaw. Most of cases when I play AVNs I put music on background. Here its not needed. Kudos to dev for putting together such a good OST, specially during sex scenes

Updated till Chapter 6
I think the biggest complement this this AVN can get is how fluid the novelization is. Love Joint gets better with every release across all their VNs till now.

The best part of Shell Hill is its world building and the plot. Every moment has to be earned. While their may not be game defining choices, but even then by Chapter 3 you will thoroughly enjoy the plot.

The characters are so well made. You just absolutely admire them all the time. You can see real work has been done on character motives and dialogues.

The only downside I can think of is that there is o game defining choices. The story is pretty linear but mind every character is a person in their own and has brain (except Alexa).

I held off playing this for a long time. I admit, I was a bit salty after their broken promises regarding Double Homework's release and the online only nature of that game, but I really like story driven games like that, so it was just a matter of time.

Shale Hill Secret has exceptional production values, art & animations are great and the writing is competent. It is also an engine that emulates renpy pretty well.

Some of the criticism is valid enough. It is wordy, close to being needlessly so, but only if you consider this a porn game. It is not. It is a mystery story with well-crafted, multi-faceted characters and they do take time to develop. Personally, the major issue I have with this game is how similar it is to Double Homework. All the characters have secrets and discovering them is basically the story arc, but as in their previous games all the characters are needlessly secretive about stuff. The MC's "friend" (sister) senselessly follows him around for 4 episodes, which really hurts her story development and she doesn't much recover from that after. And it is like that (to varying degrees) with all the characters. Building tension that way didn't work in Double HW and it is annoying here as well.

But if you liked their other games, you will like this one. It's improved on all technical aspects and it is a great game on its own and well worth your support.

I played this game a number of years ago and enjoyed it then. I played it again over the christmas break and find it still holds up. The story is so well written and has depth without being overly complex.

Version Reviewed: 0.48 Bugfix

My opinion on this game has been waffling a bit as I've gotten my way through Episode 4. Ideally I would give it 3.5/5 stars.

PROS:

• Great renders, even though the women all seem to have the exact same body shape. Much more interesting that your cookie-cutter Daz models that most games seem to use these days.
• I have a soft spot for shy redheaded girls, so Maggie is definitely a win in my book. Honestly, if the game were just about her I'd be happy.
• Story is unique and has me interested to see where it's leading. Having a mute protagonist leads to some interesting situations (even though it seems unusual/fortuitous that so many people around him understand ASL).
• The differing personalities of the characters are really where this game shines. I've enjoyed the build up of getting to know all these characters, and I appreciate that you are not forced to be intimate with them should they not strike your fancy (looking at you, Alexis).
• The sex scenes, while a little few and far between, feel well crafted and quite erotic.

CONS:

• The sandbox element of this game seems somewhat unnecessary. It ends up leading to a lot of repetitive transitions and empty scenes that serve no purpose (time for me to go to bed>fade>time to go to school>fade>time for me to go to work>fade> etc.)
• During sex scenes there's a loading screen for animations. This is kind of jarring and seems to be a limitation of the engine this is being developed on. I've never seen that happen on a Ren'Py game.
• By far my biggest complaint with this game is how wordy it is. I appreciate how well written the dialogue is, but sometimes I feel like I'm playing something written by Aaron Sorkin with how often the MC pontificates on things. I'm reminded of Kevin from The Office saying "Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick."

Overall, the long-winded dialogue, combined with frequent forced transitions, non-instant text speed and seemingly unnecessary sandbox elements makes it seem like the developer is trying to either pad out the length of the game, or doesn't respect their players' time. I suppose the transitions, text speed and loading screen before animations could be a limitation of the engine, but the end result unfortunately makes this game feel a bit like a slog to get through.

That being said, I still think the game is redeemed by its story and its characters. If you have some patience, I think you'll enjoy what it has to offer.

Version reviewed: [v0.4.8 Bugfix]

This game is pretty neat. It does everything that a VN should do right for the most part, and it has earned his spot among my favourite games on this site, albeit not without some caveats.

First and foremost, the writing is arguably its strongest point. This is one of the few titles I've played where I never really felt the urge to hit the skip button at any point. Yes, there are a lot of lines of text (imagine that!) but they're all serving the often sadly underlooked purpose of building up proper interest in the story and characters, whose interactions by the way are both believable and entertaining. I don't know much about the whole overarching story yet to pass judgment on it, all I can say is that the narration can feel a bit weird because of the odd way the game has you progress through the different scenes, letting you pick the order you want to play them in during the so called "investigation" phases. I can't help but think that the events should be played in a certain order, and as it happens I did end up experiencing some chronological fuckery in my playthrough. Nothing really immersion breaking or paradoxical, but I get the feeling that a "kinetic novel" kind of approach to storytelling would have been more appropriate, perhaps shifting the player's agency towards dialogue choices instead. Especially because the order in which you choose to witness the various scenes is ultimately inconsequential to how the story unfolds.

The visuals are...an acquired taste and an interesting matter of discussion. The quality of the renders is definitely top tier and I really grew fond of the unique art style on display, but whereas I immensely appreciate how cute the girls look and how different they act, talk and look from one another, I also can't deny the fact that sometimes I found the faces of some of the models to be quite jarring to look at (yes, I'm talking mainly about Maggie's). On a more positive note, the sex scenes are really nicely done with some good animation work, and I feel that overall they are getting better with each passing episode.

I would suggest to give this game a try, especially if you like character buildup and some decent romance over the usual low effort fap fests. Chances are you're gonna enjoy this one.

Played until 0.4.4. I think 3 stars is generous, after finishing i think the word i would use to describe my experience with the game is: exhausting. I don't think i will be following this one, i will revisit when its finished.
It has many flaws but main one imo its the story, don't get me wrong its not bad but it doesn't fit the MC which is the 2nd main flaw. I find MCs actions quite nonsensical and his actions don't reflect his character. The writing doesn't help either with narration going and going about stuff that we shouldn't be doing or care about. E.g: We spend like 1 hour (5 in game days) going around looking for a phone just because, me as a player don't care at all but we have to go though a non ending portion on the game on this. Then we often find ourselves on sketchy situations and again we don't call the cops or for help because. I could keep going about the story and MC but i made my point i think.
On the other side renders are fine, LIs look interesting and dialogues are the strong pro of the game. The MC being mute is whatever cause it has 0 effect.

I give the game a 5/10, below average. The game engine is an upgrade from the one they used before but its still a big con for the game. For the moment i cant recommend.