Recommending Story-first games

5.00 star(s) 8 Votes

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
That said there wasn't really a "platonic relationship" between Mary and the MC beforehand. She developed a crush on him just from seeing him show up there, but as far as he knew she was just "The girl who works at the coffee shop". Aside from her name he knew... literally nothing about her, and their entire interactions were "Hey large coffee please" "coming right up!" as well as his "You're the best." (which was nothing more than just being polite to his server). I do wonder now if I implied in any way they were more familiar with each other than that.
My impression was that they had a bit of small talk from time to time (when the shop is empty). But that is very likely my brain added for me. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: EndlessNights

ename144

Engaged Member
Sep 20, 2018
3,366
13,960
It's a fair criticism, I did worry a few times some things were "moving too fast" - I was trying to balance low dev times and keeping the story relatively short and not letting it balloon too out of control (still ended up much bigger than I had originally wanted, but alas). It's definitely a delicate balance which if I missed it a bit, I'm not too stressed as I'd say I did fairly well for my first time. I have another one I'd like to do after this, but the scope will be much bigger and I won't be so worried about those things, so if I do manage to put it together, I won't be making the same compromises/decisions. If it balloons, it balloons.


That said there wasn't really a "platonic relationship" between Mary and the MC beforehand. She developed a crush on him just from seeing him show up there, but as far as he knew she was just "The girl who works at the coffee shop". Aside from her name he knew... literally nothing about her, and their entire interactions were "Hey large coffee please" "coming right up!" as well as his "You're the best." (which was nothing more than just being polite to his server). I do wonder now if I implied in any way they were more familiar with each other than that.
No, I think you conveyed their relationship adequately. I didn't mean to suggest that they were close friends. It's just that the MC was clearly familiar with Mary despite never considering her in a sexual/romantic light. I'd expect him to be a little more tentative if he decides to flip the switch and consider dating her but, because you need to commit to the relationship very soon after it becomes possible, you can't really ease into it. It gives Mary's path sense of whiplash because we know it's starting from zero momentum (at least on the MC's side); with Nikki and Erin you can assume there was an initial spark when they met to jumpstart things.

I totally get the desire to keep the game from ballooning out of control so it's possible you made the right call. You might have been able to restructure the decisions a little so the MC would mull over his options internally a bit; that would make the process of warming up to Mary more evident, but it would be tricky to do that in a way that didn't feel a little heavy handed (or alternatively make the MC feel a bit sleezy). I don't see any foolproof answers.

I just happen to favor the ones that better cater to my whims. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: EndlessNights

Dragon59

Conversation Conqueror
Apr 24, 2020
6,699
10,960
A Killer7 game in the Story-first games thread? Bruh. My New Family is the absolute definition of the trash-tier cookie cutter harem game without any hint of conflict, plot or character development. Playing it made me actually lose brain cells and despair for humanity, considering how many people think this utter crap is worthwhile entertainment.
Well, YMMV.
For me, I found the game at a time when I was dealing with some personal issues, and the lack of traditional conflict and manipulation was just what I needed. I was also tired of the "narcissistic teen creeper who manipulates and assaults his family," stories. Far too many of those in the community.
 

fitgirlbestgirl

Well-Known Member
Jul 27, 2017
1,155
4,353
Well, YMMV.
For me, I found the game at a time when I was dealing with some personal issues, and the lack of traditional conflict and manipulation was just what I needed. I was also tired of the "narcissistic teen creeper who manipulates and assaults his family," stories. Far too many of those in the community.
That's a false dichotomy though. Conflict doesn't mean you have to have any kind of "dark" subject matter, manipulation or otherwise, it's just a natural part of life and the thing that basically drives all stories since the dawn of time. That's why, when you artificially cut it out of your narrative most people tend to stop being able to get immersed in it. There's nothing wrong with escapism or wanting a story that's light on drama and heavy themes, but if you tip the balance over too far into "everything is perfect, always" territory the mind tends to rebel against it. It's kind of like the thing in The Matrix where the first version of the matrix was designed so everybody lived in perfect harmony and happiness, blah blah blah, but people just ended up killing themselves because it was too perfect.

And I'd argue that even if you just want to play something devoid of conflict where everything is unicorns and rainbows, Killer7 games are still shit because the writing and characterization is just bottom of the barrel. People like what they like for complicated and personal reasons, but just because you personally enjoy something doesn't make it good, especially in a narrow context like "story-first games."
 

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
There's nothing wrong with escapism or wanting a story that's light on drama and heavy themes, but if you tip the balance over too far into "everything is perfect, always" territory the mind tends to rebel against it.
Maybe for you. Evidently it is not the case for everyone. And using The Matrix as supporting argument immediately disqualifies it. ;)
And I'd argue that even if you just want to play something devoid of conflict where everything is unicorns and rainbows, Killer7 games are still shit because the writing and characterization is just bottom of the barrel.
MNF is mediocre. The bottom of the barrel is much, *much* deeper.

Also, at this point I think I prefer conflict-free over the same tired conflicts (I am looking at you mc-saves-damsel-from-harassers).

EDIT: As for MNF itself, I think the main problem with it is that it isn't about anything other than collecting girls. Compare with Sunville for example which is also pretty much conflict-free. But it has something it is about: Exhibitionism which makes it much more interesting, imo.
 
Last edited:

EndlessNights

Member
Jun 18, 2022
315
2,167
Well, YMMV.
For me, I found the game at a time when I was dealing with some personal issues, and the lack of traditional conflict and manipulation was just what I needed. I was also tired of the "narcissistic teen creeper who manipulates and assaults his family," stories. Far too many of those in the community.
When it comes to mindless, completely unchallenging, and escapist comfort porn, I have to confess to having a bit of a soft spot for WVM. It's about as insipid and ridiculous as a pure male fantasy wish fulfillment harem game can possibly be, but Braindrop managed to succeed in creating a world full of good-natured, loving people where conflict does exist but tends to get washed away as suddenly as it appears.

Most of all, I appreciate its softly presented inclusive message. So many games only have LIs that conform strictly to the beauty standards that the AVN player community prefers at large or a dev's personal tastes. It's still not unusual to see AVNs where every female character is white, young, and could potentially work as a lingerie model. To its credit, WVM recognizes that women can be beautiful and desirable in many different ways. For the most part, its audience seems to accept that premise which is nice to see and a bit unusual for this site.

I hate going to the Summer Heat thread and seeing Helen get bashed primarily just because she looks a little different compared to the other characters. She's exactly the sort of person I'd expect to run into at an art camp and I'd love to see her be a LI who gets as much content as Bree and Mia. (In reality, she's probably going to be the first one to get murdered. :()
 

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
It seems no one has talked about Element-174 here. It is honestly not that great. The story is all over the place and is a bit too porny, the whole premise of the game is setup for the MC to fuck as much as possible.

But what is interesting about the game is how it handles choices and LIs (the choices are mainly about LIs). The game is pretty aggressive with cutting off paths with LIs. Most choices will affect one or more LIs. And a lot of the choices are conflicting, so you will basically choose between what different LIs would like. Some options are more soft in that they are more of a missed opportunity, but too many of those will also cut you off from the LI. This makes it pretty natural what LIs you end up with.

EDIT: There are also choices that will make LIs die.
 

jufot

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2021
1,543
3,439
I hate going to the Summer Heat thread and seeing Helen get bashed primarily just because she looks a little different compared to the other characters. She's exactly the sort of person I'd expect to run into at an art camp and I'd love to see her be a LI who gets as much content as Bree and Mia. (In reality, she's probably going to be the first one to get murdered. :()
She is written as a caricature to be pointed at and ridiculed, which is such a shame because there could have been a world of interesting dynamics if she was treated as a human being with thoughts and feelings.

It seems no one has talked about Element-174 here.
I'm intrigued by those LI mechanics, but are those women on the header image all LIs? All 16 of them? :D

Compare with Sunville for example which is also pretty much conflict-free. But it has something it is about: Exhibitionism which makes it much more interesting, imo.
I really enjoy Sunville! It's not a good fit for this thread since there is nothing resembling a story, but it's a uniquely interesting game for two reasons:

- An almost entirely female cast where no one is raped, abused or harassed.
- It's not really about sex, but mostly just cutesy wholesome exhibitionism :)
 
Last edited:

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
I'm intrigued by those LI mechanics, but are those women on the header image all LIs? All 16 of them? :D
Yep, there are 16 LIs. But within a single playthrough most of them will just be friends or background characters.
 

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
She is written as a caricature to be pointed at and ridiculed, which is such a shame because there could have been a world of interesting dynamics if she was treated as a human being with thoughts and feelings.
It really is a shame. To me she is one of the best characters.
I really enjoy Sunville! It's not a good fit for this thread since there is nothing resembling a story, but it's a uniquely interesting game for two reasons:

- An almost entirely female cast where no one is raped, abused or harassed.
- It's not really about sex, but mostly just cutesy wholesome exhibitionism :)
Yep it is awesome.
 

EndlessNights

Member
Jun 18, 2022
315
2,167
It seems no one has talked about Element-174 here. It is honestly not that great. The story is all over the place and is a bit too porny, the whole premise of the game is setup for the MC to fuck as much as possible.

But what is interesting about the game is how it handles choices and LIs (the choices are mainly about LIs). The game is pretty aggressive with cutting off paths with LIs. Most choices will affect one or more LIs. And a lot of the choices are conflicting, so you will basically choose between what different LIs would like. Some options are more soft in that they are more of a missed opportunity, but too many of those will also cut you off from the LI. This makes it pretty natural what LIs you end up with.

EDIT: There are also choices that will make LIs die.
Element-174 is an odd one for sure. Its fundamental premise is about as porny as you can get since it boils down to, "Cum inside as many women as possible so you can prevent the rise of a disease that will kill most of humanity." However, the MC seems to have little to no interest in actually saving the future which is itself a little fascinating. He's all about slow, natural relationship progression, and he seems to be just as inclined to pursue the two women who won't benefit at all from exposure to his magic juice as he is in pursuing his nominal mission.

In practice, I can't say I really enjoy the rapid ending of paths and the fact that you don't even meet many of the characters on a particular playthrough based on sometimes arbitrary choices. It forces a lot of replaying which I sometimes don't mind, but I don't find the game quite interesting enough to justify pouring that much time into (at least not yet).

She is written as a caricature to be pointed at and ridiculed, which is such a shame because there could have been a world of interesting dynamics if she was treated as a human being with thoughts and feelings.
It's true that Helen seems to be used as comic relief most of the time, but I'd say the game's fans are way more toxic in their treatment of her than the game itself is. For instance, I liked that the MC can connect with her on the dating app and show some level of interest even if it isn't immediately reciprocated (or is it? It's hard to tell!). I think she should actually be a tough one to romance because the MC would have to figure out how much of her quirky persona is just who she really is as a person and how much is performance art. It could make for a fantastic storyline, but I'm not at all confident we'll get to see it.
I really enjoy Sunville! It's not a good fit for this thread since there is nothing resembling a story, but it's a uniquely interesting game for two reasons:

- An almost entirely female cast where no one is raped, abused or harassed.
- It's not really about sex, but mostly just cutesy wholesome exhibitionism :)
Wait a second here...Sunville has the blackmail, corruption, and humiliation tags. Is it improperly tagged or do we have very different ideas of what cutesy, wholesome content is?
 

jufot

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2021
1,543
3,439
Wait a second here...Sunville has the blackmail, corruption, and humiliation tags. Is it improperly tagged or do we have very different ideas of what cutesy, wholesome content is?
Ha, I wasn't aware of those tags! I understand why one might put them there, but it's not entirely accurate. Sunville has peer pressure into encouraging others into the exhibitionist lifestyle. It usually starts out a bit humiliating for the target (hence the tag), but it's always cutesy encouragement and never really non-con. And sure, having others really get into exhibitionism via social osmosis could count as "corruption" if you're really pushing for it.

As for blackmail... Well, I suppose MC's own induction into exhibitionism starts out in a blackmail-but-not-really kind of way. It begins as a 'punishment' of sorts from her best friend but there is no malice or violence to it. They quickly realize they're both really into it and it's pure play after that.

So yeah, I stand by my original judgement, despite the tags :)
 

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
Element-174 is an odd one for sure. Its fundamental premise is about as porny as you can get since it boils down to, "Cum inside as many women as possible so you can prevent the rise of a disease that will kill most of humanity." However, the MC seems to have little to no interest in actually saving the future which is itself a little fascinating. He's all about slow, natural relationship progression, and he seems to be just as inclined to pursue the two women who won't benefit at all from exposure to his magic juice as he is in pursuing his nominal mission.
I think the porniest thing with the game isn't the premise though, but how every LI out of nowhere offers a handjob or blowjob for "being a friend" or "helping out a bit".
In practice, I can't say I really enjoy the rapid ending of paths and the fact that you don't even meet many of the characters on a particular playthrough based on sometimes arbitrary choices. It forces a lot of replaying which I sometimes don't mind, but I don't find the game quite interesting enough to justify pouring that much time into (at least not yet).
I fully agree. The main part that I miss with the choices system is that no matter what you do the MC will never have any conflict with any of the LIs (that are alive anyway).
You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.
Btw, those synergy-routes are the most interesting to play.
 

jufot

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2021
1,543
3,439
- Zoe...? This is gonna end badly, right?
- Very.
Recommending Teen Zombie in Your Cabin, despite the horrible title :D

It's a post-apocalyptic survival game with all the usual genre trappings - lots of stat management for hunger, thirst, firewood and scavenging materials. Unlike most survival games, there is a decent story and great characters, so if that's your focus, I recommend playing on the 'Easy' difficulty.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Overall, the plot isn't particularly unique, but I really like the characters and I'm thinking about adding the game to the OP.

The game does have renpy's obnoxious default text box though, so I strongly recommend using the universal transparent textbox mod.
 
Last edited:

realjitter

Member
Jun 21, 2021
296
371
Did read "A shot in the dark" (amongst some others) which i think was mentioned here at some point

This game kinda felt like if Bangbros would make an AVN :p. Here the MC is some angsty, shy YA who's about to have his first day at college. Ye - fucking - haw... I'm just gonna give an example about why i think this could be a "Bangbros AVN" and how I felt about it while reading.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

This might be a tad bit too cynical, but is it really?. The main problem is definitely the MC and the overall story structure here. The MC feels indeed like some Bangbros actor who ususally only has a couple of lines, but now he's in an AVN and you're stuck with his nonsense for long periods of time. You just can't buy into anything he says... Well, and structure because this game feels a little bipolar at times. On one hand you have those long, somewhat decently written dialogues with somebody and then it changes to nonsensical lewd scenes. This becomes worse and worse as the game goes on. The threesome scene i've described above would be the best example for that alongside with domina cop lady..., hilarious stuff.

The game also claims to have meanigful choices and all that. Let's put it this way. I've rejected blue hair girl 2 or 3 times and still she was all game when that random threesome happened. No mention of the MC telling her off. Sure you can exclude her, but at this point even the most naive person should recognize what kind of game this is. So no point in rejecting anyone anymore.. It was more like me waving the white flag and thinking to myself. "Whatever.. you won game, you beat me, gg, wp"

All that sounds like i really disliked the game. But, i didn't =(. This is one of the very few cases where you have to point out the lewd scenes as a standalone. Whoever wrote this is pretty good at writing porny dirty talk scenes imo. They're also pretty lenghty compared to your average AVN. The developer really put alot of effort into them and tried to do the most with the technical limitations an AVN has to deal with. I have to mention the nonsensical threesome yet again here. With the blue hair girl being in charge, whispering naughty things into everyones ears.. It's good pornhub porn. Also just in gereral this game looks pretty good. High production value. Lots of details and hard work went into it for sure. Just judging by the looks it's up there with the "best" imo. Great, fitting music score too.

All in all, if you're looking for straight up porn, check out A shot in the dark. (MC is still obnoxious as fuck. Go back to making bangbros clips on pornhub :p )


Elite Garden

Can you guess where my MC hasn't been in a long time?. You're absolutely right, it's motherfucking college time. Not only college time. Here you're living the dream by wanting to make the football team too!.

This one honestly surprised me. The game gets carried hard by it's MC in my opinion. Which is very, very rare. Here you play a charismatic MC where you actually can buy into the fact that all the girls are after him. Easily i'd say. A real ladies man :p. Although, opinions may differ on that one. A bit too much here and there, but it's an AVN afterall... I'm actually kinda interested how a female player would perceive the MC here. Sure, it's tropey. Same goes for some of the LI's. But I think it was overall well done and the MC comes across as being genuine about who he is and how he treats others. The developer, after a so-so start, pretty quickly became more comfortable with writing the story and his characters. I actually had a hard time deciding which route to take becuase i thought the majority of the Li's where interesting in one way or another.

Time will tell if this is going to be a really good one or not. It has potential in my opinion. Check it out. jufot =)


Give me a sun

Had this one sitting in my AVN folder for a while now, but i couldn't remember what it's about so I ended up going in blind.... At first I thought this would be some "cave women, lesbian, porn game" which i wouldn't have any objections against :p. But it wasn't. It was far from that actually. Apparently this one is loosly based off of some comic book/movie or whatever. Alita - battle angel?. Never heard of it and I also don't know if that's true or not. But it kinda makes sense when you read it. It's pretty story rich with lots of worldbuilding and all that. Up to a point where I probably have to go and re read the whole thing =\
It's pretty ambitious when it comes to the sheer scope of it. I have no idea where this is going. Just based off the information the player gets this could end up in some kind of a war scenario or they have to leave the planet at some point?. No clue... Well, this is also an incest game. Meaning in their society incest is common/normal or something. For example, the MC is in a realtionship with her sister right from the get go, but it's not written in a taboo kind of way. It's just how things are. I didn't have any grime with it in this case. Which brings me to another point i really liked here which are the relationships. This game feels a little like you're coming in watching a season 2 instead of a season one of something. Meaning that all the characters have established relationships with each other already. They all know each other for a long time and as the player you feel a little bit behind which didn't bother me all that much. It just means that you have to pay more attention to it. I could go on and on about this game because it's really something different. I'm just getting tired of writing all this stuff about porn games :p Should've went with this one first instead of "A shot in the dark" =)

Anyways, so if you like presumably story rich, pure lesbian games (It's kinda funny just how incredible gay it is in between) check this one out. I really, really liked it. It also has an awesome lewd scene which ended perfectly :p

To make it short, even with some flaws (it's pretty edgy at times), games like this one are the only reason why i'm still interested in the AVN genre as a whole. And i'm also dropping a common F95 line for this one...

"This one has the potential to became one of my favourites" :p.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.
 
Last edited:

ename144

Engaged Member
Sep 20, 2018
3,366
13,960
Did read "A shot in the dark" (amongst some others) which i think was mentioned here at some point

This game kinda felt like if Bangbros would make an AVN :p. Here the MC is some angsty, shy YA who's about to have his first day at college. Ye - fucking - haw... I'm just gonna give an example about why i think this could be a "Bangbros AVN" and how I felt about it while reading.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

This might be a tad bit too cynical, but is it really?. The main problem is definitely the MC and the overall story structure here. The MC feels indeed like some Bangbros actor who ususally only has a couple of lines, but now he's in an AVN and you're stuck with his nonsense for long periods of time. You just can't buy into anything he says... Well, and structure because this game feels a little bipolar at times. On one hand you have those long, somewhat decently written dialogues with somebody and then it changes to nonsensical lewd scenes. This becomes worse and worse as the game goes on. The threesome scene i've described above would be the best example for that alongside with domina cop lady..., hilarious stuff.

The game also claims to have meanigful choices and all that. Let's put it this way. I've rejected blue hair girl 2 or 3 times and still she was all game when that random threesome happened. No mention of the MC telling her off. Sure you can exclude her, but at this point even the most naive person should recognize what kind of game this is. So no point in rejecting anyone anymore.. It was more like me waving the white flag and thinking to myself. "Whatever.. you won game, you beat me, gg, wp"

All that sounds like i really disliked the game. But, i didn't =(. This is one of the very few cases where you have to point out the lewd scenes as a standalone. Whoever wrote this is pretty good at writing porny dirty talk scenes imo. They're also pretty lenghty compared to your average AVN. The developer really put alot of effort into them and tried to do the most with the technical limitations an AVN has to deal with. I have to mention the nonsensical threesome yet again here. With the blue hair girl being in charge, whispering naughty things into everyones ears.. It's good pornhub porn. Also just in gereral this game looks pretty good. High production value. Lots of details and hard work went into it for sure. Just judging by the looks it's up there with the "best" imo. Great, fitting music score too.

All in all, if you're looking for straight up porn, check out A shot in the dark. (MC is still obnoxious as fuck. Go back to making bangbros clips on pornhub :p )
ASItD can definitely get porny if you play that way, but I was surprised by the way it played out if you rejected that playstyle. It's a little tricky since Natalie can get kidnapped if you hit it off with her too directly at the party, but if you manage to thread the needle her path is remarkably tender. Alexis's content was pretty nice, too, and you effectively have to forfeit Sara's path to get it (Sarah being the head of the sorority you mentioned).

The game does deliver on meaningful choices if you push it (at least on a few occasions). I have no idea if it will be able to keep that up, though.

Elite Garden

Can you guess where my MC hasn't been in a long time?. You're absolutely right, it's motherfucking college time. Not only college time. Here you're living the dream by wanting to make the football team too!.

This one honestly surprised me. The game gets carried hard by it's MC in my opinion. Which is very, very rare. Here you play a charismatic MC where you actually can buy into the fact that all the girls are after him. Easily i'd say. A real ladies man :p. Although, opinions may differ on that one. A bit too much here and there, but it's an AVN afterall... I'm actually kinda interested how a female player would perceive the MC here. Sure, it's tropey. Same goes for some of the LI's. But I think it was overall well done and the MC comes across as being genuine about who he is and how he treats others. The developer, after a so-so start, pretty quickly became more comfortable with writing the story and his characters. I actually had a hard time deciding which route to take becuase i thought the majority of the Li's where interesting in one way or another.

Time will tell if this is going to be a really good one or not. It has potential in my opinion. Check it out. jufot =)
I enjoyed EG, but I'm pretty sure it would fall squarely within Jufot's 'standard college antics' classification. The non-sexualization of the MC's family is definitely a high point, but so far the game seems to be heading for a lot of the usual tropes (and Kiara's path gets very porny at the end of the first chapter).

Still worth giving it a try IMHO, but then again I seem to be a lot more tolerant of that genre than our host.
 

realjitter

Member
Jun 21, 2021
296
371
ASItD can definitely get porny if you play that way, but I was surprised by the way it played out if you rejected that playstyle. It's a little tricky since Natalie can get kidnapped if you hit it off with her too directly at the party, but if you manage to thread the needle her path is remarkably tender. Alexis's content was pretty nice, too, and you effectively have to forfeit Sara's path to get it (Sarah being the head of the sorority you mentioned).

The game does deliver on meaningful choices if you push it (at least on a few occasions). I have no idea if it will be able to keep that up, though.


I enjoyed EG, but I'm pretty sure it would fall squarely within Jufot's 'standard college antics' classification. The non-sexualization of the MC's family is definitely a high point, but so far the game seems to be heading for a lot of the usual tropes (and Kiara's path gets very porny at the end of the first chapter).

Still worth giving it a try IMHO, but then again I seem to be a lot more tolerant of that genre than our host.
I do see where you're coming from and it is true that AVN's, in general, are hard to review properly because in order to do a real review you'd have to play the game in it's entirety and from basically every angle. I'm not a person who does that. I usually play one route and that's basically it. This is also what I did with this game. I did play a solo route up until that infamoues 3some i've mentioned and I do agree with you about the quality of the dialogues (to an extent at least). But in the end I still stand by my bangbros comparison because I just could not buy into this guy whatsoever. It is what it is i guess. To me the MC, on a solo route, came across as being geniune, but fake geniune if you know what i mean. Like the talks with his roomate for example.
I dont know.., people perceive things differently sometimes and that's ok.

So basically what i'm trying to say is that if you want to follow a "shy guy goes to college and falls in love" storyline you can do that here if you can cope with the MC. But when you mix in just even one other person you're entering nonsenical, full on porn lala land faster than you can say lala land :p

I mean, when I think of it, right at the beginning when the MC bumps into his "aunt" and her boobs pop out right there and then.. That was kinda the first scene which rubbed me the wrong way and the game could never really recover from that.

And as for "games making the list" here. I don't really care about that (no offence). In my mind this is just simply jufot his list of games who're in his mind "story first". That's cool and all, but it's super subjective anyways. Which brings me back to what I was saying about playing a game from all angles and the experiences some1 has while doing so. Well, I didn't want to bring it up here because I didn't care enough and I also don't particularly enjoy writing negative reviews about games.

What I mean is, I did play Defending Lydia Collier and honestly I absolutely hated it.. It was kinda like one of the worst games i've played on this side. In that game I took the sexy secretary route where you end up at her place later in the game and you can potentially bang her whole family. It was just so incredibly bad. I can't even put it in words... It just blew my mind... You also play like a pathetic, premature ejaculator in this game which I thought was hilarious :p. But that's beside the point. My point is that this game is on that list here. So the question is why?. Well, the answer should be pretty obvious. I highly doubt jufot played the route I did. So there have to be other routes in there who have like a completely different tone to it...

Again, AVNs are a bitch to review/judge objectively because the experiences can vary alot lot... I guees in a way you could say "reviews" are more like impressions here which would be a more fitting term in general for this site.

Anyways, this thread, to me, is more like a place where people share their opinions about all kinds of games who try to do a itsy bitsy, tiny, little bit more than just simply doing plain porn. And to come around full circle to A shot in the dark. There is indeed a small amount in there which can be interpreted as story driven, but if you look at the whole thing properly it's more like a full on porn game imo.

The porn aspect outweights the story telling intentions by alot i'd say.

Peace :p
 
Last edited:

bacienvu88

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
I do see where you're coming from and it is true that AVN's, in general, are hard to review properly because in order to do a real review you'd have to play the game in it's entirety and from basically every angle. I'm not a person who does that. I usually play one route and that's basically it. This is also what I did with this game. I did play a solo route up until that infamoues 3some i've mentioned and I do agree with you about the quality of the dialogues (to an extent at least). But in the end I still stand by my bangbros comparison because I just could not buy into this guy whatsoever. It is what it is i guess. To me the MC, on a solo route, came across as being geniune, but fake geniune if you know what i mean. Like the talks with his roomate for example.
I dont know.., people perceive things differently sometimes and that's ok.

So basically what i'm trying to say is that if you want to follow a "shy guy goes to college and falls in love" storyline you can do that here if you can cope with the MC. But when you mix in just even one other person you're entering nonsenical, full on porn lala land faster than you can say lala land :p

I mean, when I think of it, right at the beginning when the MC bumps into his "aunt" and her boobs pop out right there and then.. That was kinda the first scene which rubbed me the wrong way and the game could never really recover from that.

And as for "games making the list" here. I don't really care about that (no offence). In my mind this is just simply jufot his list of games who're in his mind "story first". That's cool and all, but it's super subjective anyways. Which brings me back to what I was saying about playing a game from all angles and the experiences some1 has while doing so. Well, I didn't want to bring it up here because I didn't care enough and I also don't particularly enjoy writing negative reviews about games.

What I mean is, I did play Defending Lydia Collier and honestly I absolutely hated it.. It was kinda like one of the worst games i've played on this side. In that game I took the sexy secretary route where you end up at her place later in the game and you can potentially bang her whole family. It was just so incredibly bad. I can't even put it in words... It just blew my mind... You also play like a pathetic, premature ejaculator in this game which I thought was hilarious :p. But that's beside the point. My point is that this game is on that list here. So the question is why?. Well, the answer should be pretty obvious. I highly doubt jufot played the route I did. So there have to be other routes in there who have like a completely different tone to it...

Again, AVNs are a bitch to review/judge objectively because the experiences can vary alot lot... I guees in a way you could say "reviews" are more like impressions here which would be a more fitting term in general for this site.

Anyways, this thread, to me, is more like a place where people share their opinions about all kinds of games who try to do a itsy bitsy, tiny, little bit more than just simply doing plain porn. And to come around full circle to A shot in the dark. There is indeed a small amount in there which can be interpreted as story driven, but if you look at the whole thing properly it's more like a full on porn game imo.

The porn aspect outweights the story telling intentions by alot i'd say.

Peace :p
I haven't played either A shot in the dark or Defending Lydia Collier but your post reminds me of the feeling I get from some games that are somewhere in between story-first and porn-first. You know, when you start getting into the story and is suddenly reminded that it is a porn game. Then you play a bit more and start getting into the story again only for you to be reminded that it is a porn game. And so on. The experience becomes really jerky (pun intended).
 
  • Like
Reactions: ename144

jufot

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2021
1,543
3,439
What I mean is, I did play Defending Lydia Collier and honestly I absolutely hated it.. [...] My point is that this game is on that list here. So the question is why?. Well, the answer should be pretty obvious. I highly doubt jufot played the route I did. So there have to be other routes in there who have like a completely different tone to it...
In my defence, I added it a long time ago and I haven't played it since. When I do, maybe I'll hate what it has become and remove it from the list. Who knows? :)
 

Vasin

Member
Nov 20, 2018
268
337
A Shot in the Dark is definitely a very porny game. The Aunt character almost made me quit the game on the spot and there's also I'm pretty sure an unavoidable scene where one of your teachers suggest you bang for grades which is just what the actual fuck. The inner dialogue during those moments can also clash wildly with shy virgin image of the MC the game tries to convey, but it you pretend none of that exists, the game becomes almost good. The dialogue when it's not lifted from pornhub is alright, and the whole kindapping plotline could become something interesting. I was surprised that different characters can get kidnapped, so there's definitely choice impact.

Lydia Collier game is, ehh. I can see why it would be on the list. It has good spy thriller plot thing going. It just has this porn exravaganza game attached to it that it really doesn't need at all. Occasionally it does it's "and now we take a break from our scheduled programming to bring you the amazing bang-a-rang" and MC goes to a tropical island to bang everyone at the wedding of his girlfriend's daughter, or bang the entire family of his secretary or some other shit like that. At this point I wouldn't be able to tell you what the actual plot of that game is about at gunpoint.
 
Last edited:
5.00 star(s) 8 Votes