This review is on version 0.05.
I'll give the game this: I certainly walked away with my mind shattered.
At this time, "Shattered Minds" commits just about every sin of its genres in spades, with very little in the way of redemption.
Let's get this out of the way: The renders and most of the characters are overall quite good looking.
Something many developers can't seem to understand is what "mind control" is all about. I don't think it's a very difficult concept, it's right there in the name, "control"...so why do so many of these games feature such a lack of it?
"Shattered Minds" is yet another game which presents itself as a power fantasy, yet strings the player along without input. Unless this is meant as a meta commentary on how lust controls the player, willing them to go along with whatever the game fancies, there is no "control" in this "mind control".
This aspect of the game is heavily emphasized by the next sin on the list: the main character. I hope you're prepared to insert yourself as the wimpiest, second most obnoxious neanderthal in the universe, because boy does "Shattered Minds" require it. The main character is insufferably cowardly and dumb, only a possible second to his sidekick, who is also insufferable and stupid but...not as bad on that second piece, to be honest. Actually, thinking abut it, it's more like the main character is the sidekick, considering who makes the calls in the relationship. Spoiler: It's not you. I can't stand either one though.
As a third sin, let's take a look at the gameplay systems. Sandbox, huh? Not a bad call for the genre, to be honest. Sandbox games can be tedious, but giving the player the option of what to engage with is an oh-so-important part of that "control" mentioned earlier, so it works out quite well for this genre...but wait? It's actually linear? Yes, "Shattered Minds" is a linear experience disguised behind the sandbox tag, and yes, it does have all the grindy stat elements you've come to fear from sandbox-style games.
Look, sanbox is not always bad. Sometimes, it's very good, but it needs a reason to be present, and the best possible reason in a "control" game would be providing that control.
The challenge of writing a "mind control" protagonist is in the power they have. If they can flick their wrist and someone is theirs, where is the conflict of the story? There are many answers, and "Shattered Minds" primarily chooses the one where the protagonist cannot do this because of an apparent mental shortcoming. Here's an alternative: Opposition. Instead of the MC not doing so because he's too stupid, have him not do so because doing so would be stupid. Mind control powers are not going to save you from an uncontrolled sniper 2km out. No matter your super power, you need to be clever about it, something this game is not at all capable of.
The last thing I want to touch on is what I said near the beginning, "most of the characters". There are many elements that simply look weird, but given what else I've said, I think you know where I'm primarily targeting with this: it's the main character again.
Look, all of these pre-rendered ren'py harem male protag games sort of share this issue, of the main character just being visually really low-effort and cringy to look at, but "Shattered Minds" blows many others out of the water here. He's supposed to be a college kid but looks like a middle-aged Ken doll. I'm sorry, there's no other way to put it. Nobody wants to look at that and he's plastered on the title screen.
I've given out one stars rarely for games, and it's usually due to some major technical shortcoming or misleading advertisement of a game...but "Shattered Minds" is the first one that was just sort of...bad. It looks pretty for the most part, but as a game? No, the writing and gameplay systems are either incredibly lacking or absent at this time, and while I want to say I'll revisit it to revise my thoughts in the future...I don't really have much desire to do so.
