VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - So Bad [v0.1.1] [TheBlueInk]

Most of the renders are quite good but the animations are definitely dated. I'd have given it a 3 or 4 star rating if the dialogue were properly translated to English, Even given that this is 1.5 years old, there's really no excuse for the pidgin English for this version. It's one thing to disclaim English as your native tongue, but is another thing when you apparently don't even know anyone who could help you. And that's a shame because there's a good amount of work in designing this that's been done well from character design to settings to costumes and all and while not terribly unique for a story it is eminently watchable as long as you're not an English speaker. I would imagine if you speak the production team's native language and can read their original dialogue you might find this great. I note that the status is "Onhold" which may mean this is actually "abandoned" - but if the authors intend to finish this some day I'd be willing to help them with the translation if they promise to redo the animations to modern standards. Blue Ink has another story I've read here (Strong Desire) and it's much better than this effort from 1.5 years ago so they're clearly getting better at this kind of project.

Review for the initial release [0.1]

The renders are good, certainly not on a level of a top title on patreon that has been able to accumulate support over a long period of time. Nevertheless, the renders are up to date, but with increasing support this should also be solvable, as long as the demand exists and one is willing to accept the inevitably longer render times.

They don't use the same MC or overused models over and over again like many other games. From the youthful redhead to the classic blonde milf, there is a lot represented. The facial features are not all the same either, the dev has really made an effort to use a wide spectrum, ranging from youthful attraction to angular facial features that simply radiate an austere beauty.

Towards the end of the first version, when we as players are introduced more to the story, the story really starts to get interesting. When the end was reached i was slightly disappointed that it was already over...

For a first version we have a very surprising amount of content, I would estimate a good two to three hours of reading time as far as the dialogues are concerned - but that depends on your personal reading speed...

The animations are not that good, but that should change with increasing support. If you like animations in H-scenes, you might be disappointed. Some players find animations great, I can confidently do without them, the time/benefit factor is simply too low to justify the effort that has to be made for animations. For this reason, animations have no influence on this review for me.

The dev has already suggested that English needs improvement, and he's damn right it does, but it's still understandable.

If you have a problem with tattoos or the frequent consumption of cigarettes, weed or alcohol, you should leave the game alone. There are more than enough of all four things, oh yes, and skin-tight leather outfits.

What needs urgent action is that the music volume of the intro or the game in general is reduced at the start. As a headset user, my ears flew off at the first start.

All in all, i give the game a good four stars for the first version. if the points that I didn't quite like are fixed by the dev and he/she is reliable with the updates, the game is a five-star candidate for me.
Then I will be happy to adjust or rewrite this review in later versions.

In my opinion a strong opening, and one of the better projects on this site.