So, for what it is, this
beat based game punches well above its weight. While I won't say it's a masterpiece, I will say that it is very entertaining and a good fit for those of us that lack the skill to play rhythm or melody based games like osu!. However, unlike osu!, there's a background of women getting dicked.
Quite entertaining indeed.
The strength of the game lies in the simplicity: wait for the red circle to enter the white outline, click on the beat, ???, profit. Try not to get distracted by the background animation or the other side of the screen and you're set.
The music itself is very good. Like I could listen to this while at work or while playing games or exercising or reading or just going about daily life. I wasn't really expecting and bangers going in to this, but I have been very pleasantly surprised and am looking forward to what has yet to come.
As far as the game play goes, as stated above, it's a beat based game with very simple mechanics. A song starts, music starts playing, and red spheres start sliding down a graph. Wait until the sphere enters the white circle and then click on a beat note. Depending on how it's timed, you'll either get a hit or a perfect. There's a rating system at the end that scores how well you did based on how many perfects were hit, resulting in either an S or SS rank. There are modifiers that can be selected at the beginning of the round to boost the likelihood of hitting notes
or increasing the difficulty to gain more of the in-game currency or for challenging oneself. Most music is in 4/4 time so the beat is relatively easy to follow, with one notable exception.
There is also a mini-game that can be played in Yu's Haunted Hall. A haunted house where one must collect three keys to escape all while being chased by a monster. Not really the focus, but somewhat entertaining nonetheless. Clearing this allows the player to exchange the coins gained to trade with Yu for some cosmetics.
Speaking of trading, this leads to the shop run by Mei. This is where you can spend 'reputation' for pinups, items, and permanent modifiers. Also, S and SS ranks are used to buy 'membership' levels, buffs, and special artwork. Membership levels allow you to have sex with Mei and customize her appearance a bit.
The artwork is fairly good. On a scale of F to EX, I'd give it a solid B+ overall. It isn't the best I've seen, but it could do much worse. There are some standouts such as Yu, Yu and Mei, and Nammi. The animations are rather smooth, although some do look liked hinged puppets at times. However, I would like to see Toto's face reworked during her scene and Eran's neck fixed.
So the pros:
- Excellent music
- Good to great art
- Smooth animation
- Simple gameplay
- Character dialogue is actually interesting
However, this game does have some cons and oversights.
As noted above, there is one song that isn't in 4/4 time and is incredibly difficult to follow. Ruth's music is metal in an otherwise EDM focused game. While I appreciate the variety and do quite enjoy the music, I don't think it fits very well and what beat there is can be hard to pick up on. Boba avoids this problem by having a clear beat and synths in her song.
Modifiers are a bit hit and miss.
- 1* modifiers are all buffs, with some giving a slight debuff as well. A few are useless without another modifier in play, and Ritual is just a random mess.
- The 2* modifiers are limited and provide a little bit of a challenge. Personally, the two I select are Nitro and Whip. Mini, Tempo Up, and Mine add nice little challenges, but can be devastating in combination with any of the 3*s.
- 3* modifiers provide challenging beat hits with side by side bars, split notes, note reversal, disappearing notes, and holds. included is the 4* Doom which instantly ends the game. While not devastating in itself, with the wrong 2 and 3* modifiers, it can end a gauntlet run or a headliner scene.
The overworld and sprites are, to put it mildy, basic. Assets are pixelated and jerky. Sprites are pixelated and a bit wonky. Cali reminded me of a furry Nosferatu for a while. The MC sprite looks to be rendered a bit less pixelated than the other characters.
Something about the bar during gameplay makes it hard for my eyes to track the notes. I don't know if it's the contrast, but it gets a little blurry to me at times.
The sex position variety is pretty limited. They are, as follows:
Samga: Missionary/Standing doggy style
Pica: Modified reverse cowgirl
Toto: Reverse cowgirl
Yoni: Standing reverse cowgirl
Cali: Standing doggy style
Faye: Standing doggy/lying face-fuck
Ruth: Cowgirl
Boba: Reverse cowgirl
Mei: Missionary
Yu: Standing side leg lift
Fufu: Sitting reverse cowgirl
Ayra: Reverse cowgirl
Eran: Standing reverse cowgirl
Nammi: Standing reverse cowgirl
YuMei: Side missionary
Secret: Piledriver
Essentially, most of the characters are seen from the front with one or two exceptions. I would like to see some back focus for some of the girls that are more butt and thigh oriented. Also, most sex is vaginal with only two anal options (one straight, one homosexual). With the amount of reverse cowgirl present, I do think this is a bit of a missed opportunity.
A few minor gripes: The Boba transmog in the Haunted Hall doesn't have female animations. The female transmog has this weird dance going on and seems a little off. As for gameplay, the YuMei mechanics aren't explained very well. When asking about it, the creator did get back fairly quickly and told me what to do, which is nice. Nammi's mechanic essentially doesn't matter at all, seeing as hitting all the notes is the focus.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable game and I wish to continue playing it. Songs are excellent, art is good. Some things need to be tweaked and changed here or there. Looking forward to what comes next.
Thanks for reading my Ted Talk.