Wow, what a ride, this has been an amazing experience and finding pearls like this is not something that happens every day. But let’s start from the beginning: some time ago I remembered Butakoma300g, author of which I played and enjoyed Drop Factory and Vitamin Quest, and I decided to see if they had released something new. And, in fact, there was a new game, Vitamin Quest 2, sequel to the aforementioned, but, unfortunately, it is still being translated and so I ended up recovering Slice of Venture: Origin (or rather, its remake made by Blue Axolotl) and I didn’t regret it at all.
The game is a slice of life that follows the spring break of two sisters, the younger, the energetic and curious Yuki and the older, the serious and calm Ayame, who go to visit for the first time their maternal uncle Seiichi, who lives on a large farm with his wife and their four children. The game takes place exactly in the two weeks of vacation and we will control the two girls who, day after day, will get to know a new part of their family, discovering, first by mistake and then by curiosity, their secrets, while also exploring their nascent sexuality and their new desires.
The experience is quite linear: the daily goal is always to get all the erotic scenes of that particular day, initially few and easy to find, and then, as the adventure progresses, more numerous and to look for in the game world. Progressing, you will also encounter a series of optional mini-quets, all very nice, which reward the player in various ways.
The game world is not particularly extensive: in the first days only the uncle’s farm will be explorable, but then we will also unlock a neighborhood of the nearby city of Marakoma. But don't be fooled, the small size of the map will never be a limitation and indeed, once we get familiar with it, it will make the daily hunt for scenes and the progress of the various quests easier.
The erotic scenes, which as you may have guessed are the core of the game, are numerous and the artstyle detailed (there are even the vaginal folds! You rarely see such well-drawn pussies) and beautiful to look at (this is the main reason why I became fond of Butakoma). The game menu inside Ayame's mobile phone is also very nice, with the background customizable with the image of our favorite girl (we will get different ones thanks to the quests).
The fetishes that are covered are many and the two main ones, on which the game's plot is based, are incest between members of the uncle's family and zoophilia/bestiality, which the two sisters will get hooked on thanks to the porn star Eri's DVD, who will become their new idol (spoiler: if you get caught up in the game's story, the moment when you meet Eri live will be really exciting, which is very rare in an erotic game: seeing her sprite in front of me and realising who she was made my heart flutter). In addition to these, there are also lolicon (with three little girls who are a little too curious for their age; I'm not a fan of this tag and I won't deny that the scenes with Momoka disturbed me quite a bit, but they can be skipped) and shotacon, smell/dirt fetish, demon girls (in this regard, it is worth opening a parenthesis: the supernatural twist in the plot is initially so unexpected as to appear out of place but, as the succubi increase and we get to know them and become attached to them, it becomes a pleasant addition to the main plot) and nipple penetration. Also present in smaller quantities are pregnancy and yuri (very strange that, in both scenes present, there are no drawings but only dialogues and moving sprites in the overword).
But let's conclude with the real strength of Slice of Venture: the characters. The NPCs we will meet are many and colorful, all unique in personality, passions and desires, many with a story behind them and a goal ahead, not only the members of the Kurita family, but also the various succubi (with the lore of their world), the family friends, the inhabitants of Marakoma and even the homeless (I really liked their subplot, with Gunpei's final revelation). To these must also be added our two protagonist sisters, who will grow and change over the course of the two weeks. Seeing the relationships present between all of them and the various interactions and reading the daily dialogues (always different!) was the driving force behind the daily exploration of the entire map (hence the relief that it wasn't too big), which then led to unlock all game scenes and trophies.
What can I say to finish this review: Slice of Venture Origins was a unique experience, which I had been missing for a long time, an erotic game created with love and the desire to do it well even beyond the lewd component. The real flaw is that, once you finish it, you'll want more (but, from what I've seen, the sequels aren't up to par. I'll try Slice of Venture 2 and we'll see). I highly recommend everyone to try it. Five stars and a place in my heart.
