Ren'Py - Shattered Minds [v0.23 Beta Fix] [eXtasy Games]

Everything is fine, and if you're into sandbox you could enjoy it quite a bit, but I just found the whole thing really annoying.

What this revealed to me is that a sandbox AVN is not something I can play and enjoy until it is completed. The dev here makes a big mistake with the quest tracking, because it "starts" a new quest before that quest is even implemented. It is one of the main reasons I can't give this a 3 star rating, that it would otherwise deserve. I get ready to go to the next stage and then "oh, nothing is here *checks quest log in phone"... NYI..."

The writing is fine, the art is very good, some of the characters are interesting, but most of them are boring stereotypes right now. That will hopefully change with more content.

The biggest story negative is that every single time, you can put money on the developer choosing the least interesting way to explore the use of the MCs powers. I don't know how you can possibly bat a zero average on this front. Some of the scenarios are so convoluted for such a simple action (the bedroom scene with Sarah is maddeningly illogical for such a boring and simple task).

Overall, I'm going to wait for this to finish before picking it up again. It's too annoying to play right now and makes me think that sandbox devs should really get a lot more content together before their first release. It's not a bad game, it's just not ready for consumption right now.

v0.03 review

Still less than four months in development, the story and gameplay are a mess right now but will hopefully improve. Pretty average game overall.



So that's what there is right now. I like mind control. I like that the dev has instituted a lot of limits so you can't just mind control everyone into tearing their clothes off and throwing themselves at you yet. But there's just not a whole lot of substance yet and we'll see where it goes.

A game with heaps of potential but delivers on nearly none of it.

Sandbox elements are nearly always a waste of time for everyone involved, but more so here than even normally, because the game is basically entirely linear. There's no point in this game being a sandbox game, it just makes it a chore to play and you can tell it takes lots of development time away from actually developing the story.

The girls look gorgeous but for as many updates as this has, there's almost no content for them. We spend basically just as much time around the twerpy "friend" character Bill (a trope that these games has got to stop insisting on, no one plays these games to spend time with some ugly "friend guy") and ugly jocks as we do with the girls. The game completely lacks focus on this regard.

BTW the first thing I would do if I were the MC would be to brainwash Billy to completely forget anything he ever knew about me, if not just to jump off a bridge. Why would I want him around? He's a useless twerp and is only going to be liability in a world where powered individuals exists. I wouldn't want to share even a sliver of the fruits of my powers with him.

The story is truly stupid at times. So we're supposed to have brain control powers but for whatever bullshit, handwavey reason we can't just tell the boss to give our Mom more time off, we have to get a hooker for him to hire instead, but then we can also mind control him to make him not do anything sexual with her. There's no reason to make anything this headlessly convoluted and if there's absolutely no rhyme or reason to what we're allowed to force mind control victims to do, it's just whatever the game wants to pull out of its ass at any given time.

There's a parallax/screen moving effect whenever you move the mouse and I'm sure the developer is very proud of themselves but at the very best all it is, is distracting, at times nearly nauseating. It doesn't serve a purpose, it doesn't make the game more immersive and I wish more developers would realize that you don't need these useless trick gimmicks to make a good adult game, what you actually need is to focus on basics of having a good story, including a satisfying amount of actual lewd scenes and delivering it in a somewhat timely manner. Everything else is just noise, and certainly nothing you should even begin to consider spending time on until you have the basics down.

Oh and there are unskippable minigames. I'm sure some people think it's hilarious to sit there and fiddle with banal minigames that do nothing to build the story or anything meaningful, but probably most don't. It's, again, just a waste of the players time.

Pros:
- Good renders
- Mind control is implemented well. Sure, it doesn't begin with intercourse, but one needs to work to earn the more racy results.
- Sandbox implemented in a manner that doesn't detract from the player's progress.
- Development is coming along quickly, which is rare for these types of games.

Cons:
- Due to the game being unfinished, I cannot give it a full five star rating.

The girls look good and have likeable characters.
The mind control has promise but doesn't deliver at the time of this review.
It could have been a great game if it wasn't for a few problems.

1: To much internal dialog.
The game drones on and on about every tiny little detail.
From gameplay, to story bits, too aviva.
They could cut out half the current game content and it would be an improvement to the flow of the game.
2: Main character is a moron.
Plot happens because mandatory character doesn't have a single braincell.
Aviva does all the thinking for you.
3: Sandbox doesn't exist.
This is a sandbox only in so far you can click on things.
You cannot use mind control at will.
You cannot level up as you desire.
Nope.
It is all:
Go here to trigger the next story and only mind control after aviva gave you the idea.

I only give it a 4 because it does the mind control really well.
But it seriously need to cut the bloat and give the player more control.

Review based on 0.02v
Game as such is good but not without flaws. Dev chose sandbox but it seems that he is not too well versed on game development. MC is taught same lesson about his powers three times in three different missions. Story pacing could be a lot tighter as well.
Regarding positives. Each character is is interesting and has own voice. Story is starting rather slow, but I do enjoy slower burn when it comes to mind control games so it's positive for me. I'm also happy that Mind Control is main aspect not just gimick. Renders are top notch. Big plus is use of music.

At 0.02 build there is not much content at the moment but it's very promising overall.
1. The models are a cut above good and the environs do not detract from them. The animations do not fail them either.
2. The dialogues while not flawless sell the personalities well enough.
4. The characters feel sufficiently alive to make interaction interesting, of course some more than others.
3. The MC content isn't reduced to mindless obedience as is oft the case and there are hints of more depth in the future. The pace of progress is well calibrated.
4. The presence of a cheeky female accomplice shakes up the flow of an otherwise familiar setup.
5. The game looks pretty sleek, the attention to details is noticeable.

was a choice between 2 or 3 stars i chose 3 cuz it wasn´t bad but the longer i played and the more ava leads the mc against what he doesn´t want the more i started to hate ava
sometimes "you" can chose but mostly ava is forcing you even if you say no (like at the pool with the roommate/sister and the special creme)
there are thousends of mc with no backbone yeah well thousend and 1
anyway not my cup of tea

I think it´s a really good - almost great game, because

- the story is slowly developing - no rabbit porn
- the character can show empathy or not which will lead to different scenes
in the future?
- i have to agree to earlier critics, that the renders could be better
- there are nice animations in it - the quality equals the renders rescribed above
- the mechanics of the game are in different modes, so you can receive help
by tracking a certain path
- there is much potential in the map
for example there are many rooms in college with no content yet
- the sounds are realistic - as in many othe games
- the dialogues are sandbox until you solve a quest

Imagine being an abusive asshole with mind control powers, guided by a female version of yourself. Imagine convincing your family members your cock is all they need.
Now Imagine forgetting that it's only V0.2 and getting disappointed by the lack of content.

Well, that happened to me lmao.
Although the content is scarce, it's very promising. The first couple of naughty hypno scenes are making me hungry for more!

The models are fucking sexy, the writing is well thought-out.
The mini-games, though, that's a whole other level of shit. Maybe the Dev can find a way for the MC to earn money and XP by sexually abusing his Love Interests, instead of playing memory and Simon fucking Says or blackjack. Or turning MC's BFF into a sissy gurl❤
And yes, I am disappointed at the lack of sex scenes and incest. Yet, it's only V0.2 so wtf brain?!

So yeah 4/,5 because it's promising and feeds the lack of decent hypno-focused 3DCG incest games.
I wish the Dev good luck, and let's hope it gets updated regularly.

as much as I really want to like this one because of the genre and potential, I just can't rate it over a 2. here's why:

the renders are acceptably good.

but beyond that... it's a game of "wait for the quest journal to tell you what to do, go there, and if you have enough skill that you grinded for then great, you get to see a scene."

oh, and you get to play Simon a billion times to raise skill. ok.

there's not much implemented to date, what is implemented has no story (just events) and no sandbox (it's claimed there *may* be things to see if you show up in the right place at the right time, but since time usually only advances if you explicitly direct it to, trust me when I say I've been to all possible places at all possible times and found nothing outside the quest journal by way of events).

so the game right now is look at journal or grind skills, if journal says anything that doesn't also say NOT AVAILABLE IN THIS BUILD, advance time to the appropriate day/ time of day, take the appropriate actions, go to the appropriate place, and see a scene.

yay.

not sure it would have been better as a VN, but it's not a sandbox as currently implemented either. lots of teasing (people you can't click on as scenery, and others you can... also as scenery unless it's event time), but no real game to play.

not sure whether it will get better, but as is there are plenty of better methods to waste my time than this.

the hortest way to describe this game is utter disappointment; when the first release came out, I could overlook the flaws and I saw potential, potential that the dev squadered and instead doubled down on the negatives...'

For starters the MC is an unsufferable simp, dude! just move on, there;s plenty of pussy out there. What happens in 0.2 ? MC becomes an unsufferable brat...

the sandbox: we have badly marked locations so the house at tims feel like a maze, and while it was acceptable in the initial release, now it feels empty, with no interactions with the characters besides their qusts( and even then there's no guarantee said character will be involved)

the grind is ridiculous... since we only can train once per day, it ofteen goes like this: train, skip to next day, rinse ad repeat. and the amount of experience needed vs the exp awarded is unbalanced, so the juice is not worth the squeeze,

the story is full of bad AVN tropes, like the shitty best friend, landlady working for a creep and MC being an insufferable brat with no impulse control and the quests don't advance things that much, or if they do, they don't do much and require a couple days and high skill levels... and often the long-winded solution to the problem is something the MC could've done from the start. For example, in "freetime for landlady" MC could've just made the boss unattracted to women in the first place instead of going on wide-hoooker chase.

I play grindy games, but this one is not worth it

Early alpha with great potential. Keep an eye on this one.

Writing - 9/10

• One of the only VN out here that's got me interested and reading for more than a few minutes.
• It hits the sweet-spot when it comes to allowing the player freedom to move around/interact/choose and building story/characters/mechanics/etc.
• I skip much less than usual.
• Characters got some personality.
• Still too early to get an accurate sense of pace that this game sets. Hopefully it isn't too quick in the future but also doesn't blue ball all of us for the next 2 years.
• So far it doesn't seem as though choices matter in most situations.

Graphics - 9/10

• UI (menu/buttons/phone/apps/map) are effective and follow a common theme/tone. Although, I'm finding it easy to get lost at school and on the map.
• Settings are good. Models are well scaled and makes the world seem more lived in.
• Cinematography/layout is decent, with a few surprisigly well done scenes.
• Animations are few and short, but smooth as silk.
• Models are beautiful. Even Bill's got me taking an extra few seconds.

Music/Sound - 7/10

• A good variety of music. Not sure if everyone has their own assigned theme, but it seems like it does compliment their "vibes" and personalities.
• Decent music and ambient sounds. Although music is way too quick to fade to just ambience in most settings.
• No explicit sfx during sex.
• The shattering glass sfx is a bit unpleasant.

Gameplay - 6/10

• Most fun/interactive are the minigames; however, the pacing and nature of the story make them repetative and grindy.
• Choices are too few and feel as though they have little impact on the direction of the game.
• Matching minigame for panty stealing is way too small and weak.
• Panty selling for cash kinda breaks my immersion. Just doesn't make sense to be continuously selling stolen panties for $20 each.
• Haven't tried Blackjack, that and Matching MG seem very out of the way.

Eroticism - (3?/10) Too early to say for sure

• Themes covered include Corruption, Mid Control, and possibly Incest.
• Being a Dating Sim, I imagine these themes have the potential of blending together well.
• Still too early to see what exactly eXtasy is capable of.
• So far, all we get is some Voyeurism.

Lasting Thoughts:

• Let the music last longer throughout scenes. Don't fade to ambience so quick, or maybe at all.
• See if there's a better glass shattering sfx.
• Change Ava's initial laugh to something that doesn't sound like an old lady.
• Change the Map UI. On the map, every building looks the same, and with blood rushing to less intelligent parts of my body, I'm always clicking the wrong one.
• Quest Log app could be more effective with icons of the girls that they are associated with.
• Minigames could use some work.

v0.02
This early version is simply an excellent start of a very promising game.
There are not a lot of real sex scenes yet, but enough teasing scenes that are quite hot, for me to make a review.

+The story, setting, character interaction etc is not too realistic or too serious but also not too ridiculous unrealistic for a superpower themed story, but hits the sweet spot in between imo.

+The models are very good looking, especially their bodies and tits are quite 'realistic' with plenty of variety.

+The animations are fluid and pretty hot.

+The slow corruption and writing skills are creating more than enough sexual tension.

. Navigation is fine. I like that you can find the location of the characters on your phone . Though a map for the rooms in house and school would be nice, and maybe even necessary in the future to reduce the amount of clicks and grind.

. No idea if there are important choices that really matter. Personally, i don't care about it that much, but do hate missing sex scenes because of my choices. And dislike it if i can't exclude a character i don't like. Seems you can already choose to not have sex with a side character, and you can choose if this side character (a callgirl) will seduce the pervy boss so he doesn't go after your mom, or not. So this is a plus in my book.

- I wasn't sure i managed to see all content available in this version and wasn't sure if i finished all quests or if i could still trigger new ones. A clear message you finished all content or a better quest tracker is a must.

- Mini games, nobody likes them, they're always a bother, especially when it's a slow corruption game. It's not that bad yet, but it will be in the future. Money is easly earned with blackjack, you can just save before you play and when you have a bad hand, you can load and try again.
Stats are a bit more annoying, but you can choose to skip the minigame and get some random XP in return, sadly you can only train your powers once a day, so playing the minigame so you can get the full amount of XP, is a lot faster.

I look forward to future updates and hope the game gets not too grindy.

Recommend you to check this game out and to watch and bookmark it.
Stiff pp guaranteed!

very very solid start so far, has potential to be one of the better corruption games on the site if it keeps going like this. really nice graphics, hot selection of characters that dont feel bland. (the nerdy one is soooo hot). really looking forward to future updates. i hope i dont regret the 5 stars!

In my honest opinion, this is the best adult game Ive ever played, thank you so much for that !
At the beggining, I was just looking for a funnier and more original thing to jerk off to but the plot got me into it. I'm really looking forward to see the rest of this amazing story, I wish you good luck!

very nice concept, has some sense of tension and seduction in the few scenes there are. the skeleton of the quest system looks like it will be bad, but if the quality of the writing and scenarios keep up, it'll be good.

*Spoiler Alert*

Great start and I look forward to updates. I would give a 4.5 if it were an option. The only issue I had with the game was how unclear it was that I had reached the end of the content. The quests app on the phone are somewhat misleading because they only tell you when some of the quests aren't available in the current version, while others appear to be available but actually are not (e.g., ). The "Help" feature with Ava in the mirror is not incredibly helpful. If I could make a suggestion: An overlay that appears in the top right of the screen once all new content has been accessed. Or, to make it more infused with the story, an app on the phone that shows you how much new content is remaining. The game "Neko Paradise" by Alorth does this effectively by giving characters a green background in their profile when they are no more stories for that character. No time wasted looking around for missing clues .

I stress that I enjoyed the game very much. Thank you for sharing.

this game has a lot of potential, and it already showed that in the first update, the animations are good, the scenarios
are well done and the power mechanics have the potential to have a lot of variety.

looking forward to more!

Liked the sandbox, although I'm not love at sandboxes. But this one hooked me))
Even though it's a prologue and version 0.01, but there's quite a lot of plot. Quality renders, understandable (with humor) dialogues.
The game has a lot of potential, with time will be polished and will be a 10 out of 10.
That's why I undertook the translation (localization and adaptation) of this beautiful VN - sandbox.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)