VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Sorcerer [v1.0.0] [Talothral]

Didn't know what to think of it at first as the plot progressed, I slowly became more and more engaged. It's rather well thought out game in terms of dialogue and premise and explanation of the world of magic

Renders for the most part are pretty solid and at least having some form of animation in there is always a plus. It's not a sex-driven and dominant game but there when needed to transition on to the next plot point

As it stands, it provides a pretty fun experience as well plenty of anticipation for what is to come in the subsequent updates. I'll be keeping a close eye on this one

This game got all the basic's down right.
animations are jumping, but you understand what is happening and i am guessing it cuts down on the rendering time. so more contents for us. Woot!

i find this a Good VN, it s not a game, but i dont feel like it try's to be more then a VN. and you play as a intelligent, middle age guy, something we dont see that often.

what i find sad is that the MC is already at the top of he's game. he starts out with a great job, and a good guy hero having saved a veteran army platoon.

i tend to enjoy storys that are zero to hero, i enjoy seeing the MC grow from a random nobody to something big.

i am not asking the Dev to changes anything, he's got a good thing going, what i am doing is planting a seed for the next story. in the hopes that he will make more room for growth with the next great hero story.

anyway. thanks to the Dev for sharing he's work. i dit enjoy playing it. and encourage anyone else to try it out.

i do hope i will see more from this developer.

Wonderful game! A story that draws you in with action, suspense, sex, cuteness... and just enough action per day to keep you coming back!
The fairie dragon alone is a new level of vicious cuteness! :>)

The Renders fit the story, not too flashy and they help drive the mood and the story. Engaging characters with their own stories, personalities and agendas.
Just enough sexy stuff to keep it interesting!
All in all - a nice mix of story, sex and visuals. Bravo!
(Even got my 'other' to start playing it! That is no small feat!)

I look forward to future updates and any future game this author creates.

First play v. 0.17.0. Starts a bit ... "you have seen it before", but a couple of hours in, I noticed that I played for the story!? There is all I need and more, stuff happening in the backgrounds sometimes that had me laughing and generally the characters and their backstories are interesting. And even if the graphics aren't from the top shelf, it is believable and enough in my humble opinion. Yes, there is lewd stuff as well but as with the graphics, not what makes this game great - it's the story, the graphics are there for immersion I would say and it does its job well. It somehow reminds me of "The Dresden Files" a bit, which can be the reason I like it so much. However, totally recommend it!

Great story, graphics are also good. I love the way the story has built up so far. Can't wait for the next update to see how the story unfolds. It has the feelings of a harem story, not sure how many girls he can handle, but he seem just as cool as the figure Dr Strange. The girls seem to be a mixed bunch, each one has their own personality, makes things rather interesting for later scenes. Like I said before, can't wait for the next update, hope you all enjoyed the story as I have.

Reviewed as of game day 17 (v0.17.0):

Awesome VN that hits all the targets. Story is engaging and well written and the script shows the care that has been taken in editing and proof-reading. It's not entirely original: "protagonist develops occult powers and discovers that they are the best hope to preserve this plane of existence from the threat of eldritch powers/horrors; gathers a ragtag band of outcasts and nonhuman allies, almost all of whom are attractive females, harem ensues." However the author really has created something special here. The MC is mature (37) and a bit of a hard man even before he develops his powers. The LI's and secondary characters are a pretty diverse lot (as you can tell by the banner pic) and encompass some kinks that don't often find their way into adult games (gilf, amputee and probably a little person in future). Female characters are generally strong and independent and the MC treats them that way. It's still somewhat early in story, but major characters have well thought out back stories and have issues that need to be worked through.

It's a VN and choices matter to some extent. You have different paths with different allies and factions, but it's more a question of not where you are going to end up, but what the scenery is along the way. I will be replaying one major decision point at least. You also have a choice as to who you are going to sleep with, but all of the encounters are worth it. Sex scenes are well done with animation. Renders are good quality, not the best on the block but they serve their purpose. No complaints on the UI, and my run through was bug free. There's a walkthrough mod available that is very helpful and includes a replay gallery.

The author has also done a very credible job of world/universe building incorporating a number of mythos in a well thought out cosmology drawing on several different magickal and occult traditions. Also appreciated was an understanding of some of the issues surrounding building a stable polyamorous relationship with a number of participants.

tl:dr Strong story, complex well thought out characters, great sex and some out-of-the-ordinary kinks. Well worth playing and supporting.

One of the better VNs I've come across here. Highly recommend this dev and their games.
PROS
Excellent renders
Excellent Story
Characters are dynamic and memorable
Content is abundant
CONS
Nothing in my opinion
Overall
Excellent writing leads to excellent story telling. This dev has a great knack for both. The MC is strong, the supporting characters are strong. You don't see one character in the beginning and then in the later story and think, who is that person? Each one is unique and memorable. Which makes for excellent development. This is one of a few VNs I actually look forward to enjoying when an update happens. Keep up the excellent work. Give this dev some support, and check out their other VN.

First of all I just want to say that I love this story and think that anyone reading this should give it a try !

Now for my reasons:

1) This game features a mature and older MC which I greatly appreciate as it is refreshing since a lot of games have hormonal teenagers as the MC. Other games on this site also have older MC's but this one actually acts and feels mature/wise so I greatly respect them (like Simon from The Last Sovereign).

2) The story and setting is just really well thought and and cool feeling! It is like the enjoyment of watching the early seasons of Supernatural or classics like Buffy/Angel. Something about how the scenes are set up and the interesting animation really gives an appropriate atmosphere to this story. The facial animations convey a great deal which I greatly enjoy,

3) Each of the women are well done and interesting characters who I enjoy learning more about as opposed to animated sex bots that sadly many games have as it is far easier to have instant gratification than well written characters. Don't get me wrong as sometimes that is what I am looking ofr to get my rocks off but in this game I enjoy the pacing of the sex scenes.

So keep up the good work Talothral

P.S The MC looks and acts a lot like Doctor Strange which is great

[Review at 0.15.0]
A fun linear contemporary fantasy AVN.

This isn't story rich, it is story centric. The AVN really is just the mechanism for the author to tell the story.

Plot - Solid
World Building - Solid
Character Building - Solid
Visuals - Good
Sexxy bits - Solid. Some kinks may not turn you on (Grandma sex, Amputee sex) but those look obvious and avoidable if you aren't interested.
Sandboxing - N/A, this is a linear AVN
Choices - There are a number of choices to make along the way, but I've not seen major game impacting effects from them.
Content - Unfinished, but half a day or so of play is already available (depending on speed, whatif-ing, and if you just race for the sexxy bits etc.)

I like a number of approaches to games, and a nice linear AVN is one of them, and this doesn't try to be anything but that, building the world and the characters and progressing nicely. It has a bit of a harem isekai feel to it, without actually switching worlds and without the MC being ridiculously overpowered as those often are.

if you like a more straight-up AVN with a somewhat noir MC diving into the machinations and manipulations of a new magical world known to few you'll enjoy and want more when you finally get to the end of current content.

Five Stars. Check it out.

Sorcerer - Shattered Seals
TL;DR: if you want a VN that is more about telling a story than gratuitous nudity, give this one a go, as it requires investment into learning the characters and backstory, having me invested from start to finish and wanting more

Gameplay - Minor
There are very few decisions that the player has to engage with in order for the story to progress, although most of the decisions that are required to be made involve a more branching storyline to help define how the MC reacts to the new environment that he is exposed to.

The developer seems more intent on telling a story rather than having the player decide on the MC, which is not unwelcome since they are their own individual character receiving gentle nudges from the reader on which way they’d like their interpretation to progress.

Story - Well-developed
Nice and slowly paced, the first several days help lay the groundwork for the story that the developer wishes to tell, instead of getting out a quick amount to grab interest without laying a proper foundation. There is no overload of information, with the reader given sufficient time to both draw their own conclusions of the information presented and to absorb whatever narrative exposition that takes place that gives information that the MC, and by extension the reader, is unaware of yet.

However, once the story picks up, the talents of the MC does seem to progress rather quickly, but this might be a story element to be revealed down the line. It might be better if some guidelines were established in order to draw comparisons, so “power levels” could be presented for the readers to draw their own conclusions for the magical abilities used throughout the story, both by the side and main characters.

Characters - Well-developed
There are very few throw-away characters, and recurring characters don’t have simple exposition dumps that explain their relationship with each other. Various pieces of information regarding histories, interests and relationships are delivered piecemeal for the reader to piece together, but not so obscure that it’s exhausting to remember certain details.

Certain characters, specifically the patriarch and matriarch of the Japanese Clan do feel rather forced in their behaviours and interactions, but not in a way that isn’t realistic rather people who have never been told “no” before. They should behave more like people with power, though, instead of simply like children who think screaming loud enough will get what they want.

Lewdness - Slow Burn & Uncommon
There is some nudity that takes place during the storyline, but it doesn’t feel forced in most cases. Once interaction does take place between characters, the reader is given control on whether their MC participates. The casual relationships feel as if built on a foundation of mutual respect and consent, rather than simply carnal urges. This gives the sessions considerably more impact as the characters’ interactions and relationships are explored rather than simply salad dressing.

Whilst the MC does get a lot of sexual interest, there are others he simply has a platonic or professional relationship with and they treat each other with respect. Don’t expect everyone to jump into the MC’s arms, only a few characters will offer to start a fling and the deuteragonist, Miyuki, is a clear long-term romance that only gets steamy after several days (which is personally very much appreciated).

Artstyle - CG Renders
The characters are well-proportioned, the MC is incredibly toned for someone who doesn’t do a lot of exercise besides casual sex, however this is prevalent for male MCs in CG rendered VNs and he isn’t constantly gorging on food that makes it unbelievable (let’s call it “good genes” and/or “plot magic” and get over it). There are currently no animations, rather more of a slideshow between different positions. These aren’t janky, however, and provide quite a smooth transition from one frame of reference to the next. In some scenes there are background details showing that life is happening beyond the characters the story follows.

The character models are well done and don’t use some of the more common models available, with each character being unique enough in both appearance and personality that they are very easy to distinguish. The MC does feel rather… stoic and unemotional, however this is explained in his background and work lifestyle, plus it allows the reader to input their own emotional interpretation of what the MC is feeling.

Sound - N/A (as of writing)
The VN uses no audio of any kind, so whilst your eardrums won’t be blown out, you may want to find your own suitable background music for your reading experience.

i like the build up, the story and the progression. Its a nice freeze between all those half breeds in between and the wait for the big upcoming updates. The dialogue is believable and the characters are unique on every front.
For being a VN without real choices (i like that sometimes) its a nice enjoyable ride

I like it. Maybe I had no expectations going into but I did end up enjoying the story. Sure it might progress to quickly a bit without the amount of explanation you would hope for occasionally but overall the story is fun, coherent, the characters are good, MC doesnt seem like a beta bitch like many other games. I am looking forward for more, cant wait.

Miyuki best girl

Pros :

• The story [3.5 / 5]

The progression is a little bit fast for me and it does not giving an explanation on some details, so until now i still have some questions. But i have to say, i like where the story is going.

• The characters [4 / 5]

The model is unique, the girls are pretty and lovely as well especially Miyuki the dev does a great job on making beautiful Asian women. The boys are also unique, not your everyday model like other VN. The MC is very manly and wise, holy shit

• The scenes [3.5 / 5]

Does not have the best steamy scenes out there, does not have the smoothest animation also but it does give several camera angles.

Cons :

• Choices

So far does not really matter, the choice only affect who will the MC have fun with either Hannah or Li.

• Details

Lacking some explanation here and there

Had a good time playing this one, not the best VN out there but i do recommend it.

This VN as a whole is 3 Stars but i rate this 4 stars because there is Miyuki in it

Update to the completed version:

Went back and played this completed version as my original review was very early on. Shouldn't have. My original review stands, an unemotional boring ride. Sex scenes are boring, many of the LIs are not attractive and the sex scenes are some of the most bland creations I have seen in VN/Game. The story itself was longgg.... and not really that great, and became meh...time to skip. The characters themselves were just dull, no real attachment to anyone.

I will leave the 2 stars for completed, and the effort the dev put in. In no way can I see the high rating this game has received, this will be one of the ones I will not understand the other reviewers. Heck I even like the kinks in this, I like GILFs in games, don't mind the one leg thing, love the impregnation bit, so it wasn't the kinks...its just so dull.

Original review below.

Gave this a try due to the high ratings..usually that pays off for me, not this time. The dev is trying to write an epic story or something, but, it comes off as weird, odd, and completely deviod of excitement.

I played thru this update, didn't hit the couple of branches that were available, but only found two sex scenes. One old, and ugly granny, and a chick with one leg. Nothing agains either, but damn the dev made them ugly.

The lead up to the painfully rare sex scenes were so blah...no emotion, no ...jeez nothing! The scenes were happily very short, since they were horrible to begin with. The story this Dev is writing is long, and eventually you get tired of it and after about 200 clicks later you get to the end of this version.

Art was ok, except the female models are blah, some are ugly, others are completely uninspired. The MC is boring, and so cool and badass, that its just devoid of emotion and any sense of ...really anything. "I'm cool, tell everyone to fuck off, and hey this Granny wants to have sex with me, sure whatever...thanks lady, ya we can do it again, you were great, but hey I was better, cause I am so cool...now I gotta go, do some secret mission, with my awesome gun, great haircut, and tell everyone to fuck off again." The Vet thing with banter I get, I am one too, but he is an unemotional twat.

Would work if this was a parody of some spy 007 thing or quasi constantine magic thing....but its not a parody, it comes off as just blah.

Rare that I bother to review bad games, usually giving the benefit of the doubt to games in development and give them time to get better, usually I review good games that I want to shout out for...had to review this.

An Engaging Fantasy Story with Excellent Character Building

The character development of MC is just so astounding .
A straight up guy who is wholesome and kind and has the qualities what a person should aspire to achieve in one's character and it compliments so well with the MC being in late 30's as he has his life figured out and knows what he wants and what kind of person he is.
Also a great job done building this wholesome character up.

````````So in my opinion one of the best if not the best main character ever created in a VN

THE DOWNSIDE OF THIS VN IS THE FEMALE MODELS I THINK DEV GOT A THING FOR SHORT HAIRS AND HAS SOME ECCENTRIC FETISHES (old granny, amputee, midget all the while all of them being short haired)
Not my thing and i really don't find any of them appealing but i'm playing this for the story and the thrill it exudes so far it is good for a fantasy story

The story and writing are just great also it's engaging as the dialogues are never boring and repeating always something new to keep the reader engaged in. Not to mention there is enough humor to keep you entertained.
````So excellent job at writing.

The renders are good but can be improved a bit whitish i think the lighting and shadow have issues i'm sure dev will improve overtime not an issue for me looks more than good enough for me. There are variation of models that are new and not generic. The MC is different too not the same identical twins of 4200 other games.

I like the slideshow style its a new approach to scenes in the game it's good for the scenes that aren't erotic with cliche dialogues and saves you the clicking.

Highly recommended if you like fantasy or supernatural stuff
Do try it you won't be disappointed.

What you have done so far is an impressive piece of work I hope you keep focusing on story and keep on surprising us.
Keep up the good work. Goodluck.

An excellent story that has a few sex scenes but focusses on the main overarching story that features a modern monster and magic story. Very enjoyable story with an excellent cast of characters that you will grow to like and know. All the characters are unique in their own ways and all feel somewhat believable despite the more fantastical elements of the story. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes and am hoping we get a lot more from this world and characters.

GOD I LOVE IT.

Adult conversation, right to the point. An MC that ist not thinking with his
dick only. The Graphics are quite good, not as High Quality as I normally
like them. But the story and the MC make it worth playing and enjoying it.

Business talk at the beginning was a bit distracting and I must confess that
most of it passed my brain unreminded.

If you are a sucker for great adult stories, and adult is much more than just
showing sex in all varieties on my counter, want to feed your brain and
have a whole experience rather than just fapping, GO FOR IT.

So far (update v0-9-0) so good, I saw two reviews that were negative, one complaining about the slideshows, and that had bothered me as well, but for that reason, after I mentioned this the Dev made a mod that fixes that, it is called "Pause mod" and it is in the OP, and the other one is not even worth talking about, I just mentioned the first one because it is a "problem" that has been fixed, now for the game:

So far I really like everything about it, the Mc is an adult and not an asshole, which is a huge positive in this type of games, the only problem is that he has been through so much that his personalitie is set, there is awelweys space for grouth but still, he is his own person and not an avatar, for some this is a positive and for others a negative, for me it normally would be a negative but I actually like the Mc's personalitie, as said by others he is a decent person, and because of his past he tends to help others withoth having to think too much on it, the game does let you have a voice on how much you help but in the end, it is part of his personalitieto help, he is a decent human being, which again it is a plus for me, but at the same time he isn't a push-over, he is an adult and had a rough life, so he has a somewhat strong personalitie and at the same time he lacks life, this is just how the character is "Stoic" I believe is the word in english, so be warned.

The game is very good looking, at least to me, the renders are pretty nice and with the pause mod I enjoy it very much, the sex scenes are interesting, they feel short but at the same time not, I think they could be extended a bit with maybe some position changes and dialogue, communication is sexy to me(yeah I know I'm weird), some kissing as well, but again so far so good.

The story is interesting so far, I like the idea that the Mc is not born into this supernatural world and discovers it at an older age, it gives the entire premise a very refreshing look and feels, he isn't a 20-year old that doesn't know the thirst thing about life or a teenager full of hormones, he is almost 40, and that makes this game very interesting, I love how the plot has developed so far, and that Fairy Dragon is my favourite thing ever in a VN so few actually give a "pet", in this case, more of a companion, and because of how the Dev approaches the game with the "show don't tell" we can make our own conclusions about where things are going.

The characters, we have many that I feel are important, I'll not mention names because I legit don't remember but that is on me I'm bad with names, there is the boss which we know little about( but I have my own theory about him), his son which is the Mc's best friend, the secretary that seems like it will be an interesting relationship of either friendship or something more akin to a character in the Dev's other game, there is the Asian beauty that is the catalyst to the story and seems like a fierce woman, there is the girl best friend that has a war injury and seems like a strong person, there is the old lady that is into the occult and the coworker that I don't know too much about, some honourable mentions are the two homeless girls that we can help and the rest of the Mc's friends, but those will probably be explored later.

Not much left to say, I'll say though that I hope the Dev will take their time and fully flesh-out the characters and relationships, I'm not into the whole Secondary characters thing, if you show me someone please make sure to explore their full potential, I would love to have time to just enjoy conversations with these characters and help them with their problems or have them help us with ours, The action is great and I love it, I'll love absorbing every little bit of lore I can find in this game, but for me, the personal relationships are the best part of VN's but to strike the right balance is hard, I do trust that the Dev will be able to do it though.

Story is alright. Though I did not get very far. Because of the needless slideshows. Not animations, just a bunch of screenshots that are so far apart in where the character is that it looks very jerky. Got tired of watching slow frame by frame scenes skipping through which can cause you to miss some dialogue and if you go back you have to watch the snail's pace slideshow again. No thanks.

0.8.0 and all i can say about it right now is "lame". Someone was discrabing MC as "BAD ASSS!!!111" here, well he is not. His is just some caricature, the simplest to-do list on how to "make MC good". He's just lame, artificial, i cant sympathize to him as hes is unnatural, flat.
I can discribe him in a sarcastic way as "savior of the disadvantaged". Not a human, but a flat piece of cardboard. Right now we have like 8 straight updates, and what do we have? 3 sex scenes, one is granny, the second one a legless, and the third can be counted as normal one. Not the "disadvantaged", moreover there is one more "sexy scene" but we got nothing, only chess in lingerie. Da fuck? That is idiotic as hell not to say more. Idiotic in every possible way, as a story plot, as a charcters even the idea behind it PAYING 25 GRAND SO YOUR WIFE COULD PLAY IN LINGERIE BEFORE OTHER MAN. Again, as MC picturing her, the one that loves her husband and no one more.
MC is an SJW hero, constantly saying that he dont fuck drunk woman, that he dont want to fuck teens, as they "not into it as kinda lesbians", helping everybody becouse he can and so on and so one. This is porno game, not a story about mythical ideal Red Cross representative. The porn game with magic and i had not seen any proper magic even now. Only talking about magic. So yes, this game is lame.