Recommending Story-first games

5.00 star(s) 8 Votes

jufot

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May 15, 2021
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While it does have a fairly interesting start, harem is among the planned tags. And even if it is optional it will likely make the characterization much worse. I am following it for now, though.
I really liked the first chapter back when it came out, but then I talked to the dev about the harem thing and yeah, he wants to make a regular consequence-free harem.

Shame though, a Kim-only story would have so much potential.
 

bacienvu88

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Aug 3, 2021
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I really liked the first chapter back when it came out, but then I talked to the dev about the harem thing and yeah, he wants to make a regular consequence-free harem.

Shame though, a Kim-only story would have so much potential.
I still look forward to find out what the deal is with Kim though. She is a pretty interesting character.
 

noping123

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Game Developer
Jun 24, 2021
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I finally got around to playing a couple of games in the last couple days (I know I know get back to work! I realized I was a little ahead of schedule, so I went ahead and took a few hours off. Sue me.). The one I liked was Superheroes suck. I had tried it at one point but didn't get too far into it - so I decided to give it a fair shake this time around.

It was quite obvious the story was actually planned out, which I was happy about. A few minor story things that irked me, but nothing too spectacular. Also the whole "Literally everyone wants to fuck the MC" bit was sort of meh, but I got past that too.

Overall I think i'll add it to one of the games I'll likely play again at some point when there's a lot more to it. Mostly I just like seeing narratives that actually are internally consistent, and obvious the dev/writer/whatever isn't completely winging it.
 
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Tlaero

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Nov 24, 2018
1,061
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Recommending Ashes of War, a gorgeous sci-fi space adventure by CTStudio. Chapter 1 is complete, and is several hours long. Minor spoilers below.
I played this for a few hours last night. (I got to where Camilla joined before I had to go to bed.)

Overall, thumbs up.

It has a Battlestar Galactica vibe, and that's a good thing.

I like the banter. Sometimes it strains credibility, but that's okay. It's witty and fun.

The characterizations are strong, and the characters are likable.

The 3D rendered ships are great, especially the main one, with the independently moving turrets. I found the rendered cutscenes of the ships when you go into battle to be compelling. They look like something done by a much larger game studio.

I also really like the 2D drawn images. They're high quality and attractive.

But, despite the fact that I like both the 3D and the 2D, I don't feel that they work well together. The rendered backgrounds with 2D people overlays look really wrong to me, especially when you compare them to the occasional fully 2D scene.

And, though this is a genre norm, I don't really enjoy "static background with character overlays" technique. I find it really weird that I'm looking at an empty bridge, and suddenly the XO and Ensign are talking to me, then they disappear, even though they're still there. Or you're in an empty mess hall, but people appear and talk a bit, then disappear. Also, the 3D rendering of the backgrounds is considerably lower quality than that of the ships.

Art is the most expensive part of these games, so I recognize that this suggestion isn't really tenable, but I feel that this would be better as 3D spaceship scenes but fully 2D on interior scenes. And the backgrounds should have some background people in them. Have a few people in the mess hall so it doesn't feel so empty, etc.

Again, I understand that I'm asking for a lot here. The 2D artist is clearly highly skilled, but that stuff takes a ton of time. I feel for the writer, who is making due with placeholder images, like the blue people ones. I'm not sure that moving forward with unfinished artwork is the right choice, but we'll see. I'll be interested in seeing if the percentage of unfinished artwork goes up or down over time. (Will the writer continue to outpace the artist, or will the artist catch up over time?)

Minorly, I think there may be a bug. It looks like the "auto advance" setting doesn't take into account the "typewriter" setting. I've got the typewriter set to instant (I hate watching words appear character by character) but that makes the parts where people argue and cut each other off go by too quickly to read what they say, even though I changed the auto advance setting.

A little less minorly, I wish the Spacebar worked for "go to the next dialog" (same as Enter and Mouse Click).

This is a great start, though. Thank you for recommending it jufot.

Tlaero
 

jufot

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May 15, 2021
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Again, I understand that I'm asking for a lot here. The 2D artist is clearly highly skilled, but that stuff takes a ton of time. I feel for the writer, who is making due with placeholder images, like the blue people ones. I'm not sure that moving forward with unfinished artwork is the right choice, but we'll see. I'll be interested in seeing if the percentage of unfinished artwork goes up or down over time. (Will the writer continue to outpace the artist, or will the artist catch up over time?)
It's the unavoidable price for hand-drawn 2D art. It looks better than anything else, but it takes a ton of time, so writing always outpaces art. It's why most of these games go for the sprites & backgrounds approach instead of fully rendered scenes. You get to tell hours of story with a handful of images.
 
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bacienvu88

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Aug 3, 2021
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I recommend Project ATMOSPHERE. I know boobsrcool has recommended it before, but I wanted to do it again, because it is worthy of it.

It is an interesting take on modern + science fiction story. Modern world has a parallel world that is much more advanced. Story is quite interesting I think. The women mostly have interesting story-lines. There is a nice femdom route as well, especially if you like feet. While you can play a playboy scumbag and try to go for as many girls as possible, you won't do it scot-free. Especially one girl where jealousy plays a big role. It remains to be seen how much of a mess it will be to play a scumbag. :)

Game is a sandbox and start a bit typical for a porny sandbox games where MC frequently peeps at girls in shower etc. But it quickly gets much better, especially with Episode 2. And even though it is a sandbox it plays mostly like a VN anyway. There are some things can do in any order, but mostly it is linear.

On negative side there are a lot of variables in this game and it is hard to understand what effect they have if any. For example the good/bad slider doesn't seem to affect anything. The mood variables for each npc also doesn't seem to affect anything. Each character has relationship and mood variables. LIs has Love, Lust and Hate variables as well. Then there are important choices as well as regular choices that can have consequences, including on the story.

PS. Superheroes Suck has a new release.
 

Tulrek

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Oct 25, 2020
1,876
4,124
I recommend Project ATMOSPHERE. I know boobsrcool has recommended it before, but I wanted to do it again, because it is worthy of it.

It is an interesting take on modern + science fiction story. Modern world has a parallel world that is much more advanced. Story is quite interesting I think. The women mostly have interesting story-lines. There is a nice femdom route as well, especially if you like feet. While you can play a playboy scumbag and try to go for as many girls as possible, you won't do it scot-free. Especially one girl where jealousy plays a big role. It remains to be seen how much of a mess it will be to play a scumbag. :)

Game is a sandbox and start a bit typical for a porny sandbox games where MC frequently peeps at girls in shower etc. But it quickly gets much better, especially with Episode 2. And even though it is a sandbox it plays mostly like a VN anyway. There are some things can do in any order, but mostly it is linear.

On negative side there are a lot of variables in this game and it is hard to understand what effect they have if any. For example the good/bad slider doesn't seem to affect anything. The mood variables for each npc also doesn't seem to affect anything. Each character has relationship and mood variables. LIs has Love, Lust and Hate variables as well. Then there are important choices as well as regular choices that can have consequences, including on the story.

PS. Superheroes Suck has a new release.
Ok I just started the game and the renders are top notch.
What throw me off a bit are the numerous spelling or syntax errors.
The exchanges between Stan and Lili are a bit obscure...
It maybe because that's the very beginning of the game though.
I'll continue to play beacause the story seems to be very good also.
My 2 cents.
 

bacienvu88

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Aug 3, 2021
1,714
3,193
Ok I just started the game and the renders are top notch.
What throw me off a bit are the numerous spelling or syntax errors.
The exchanges between Stan and Lili are a bit obscure...
It maybe because that's the very beginning of the game though.
I'll continue to play beacause the story seems to be very good also.
My 2 cents.
Yeah, forgot to mention that there is a bit too much Engrish, unfortunately. Especially in the beginning. I think it is mostly good, but some things have awkward phrasing.
 
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Éama

Member
Apr 17, 2022
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I've mentioned their work on this thread before but I've never met another player before! It seems two of their games are on F95, the other being Along The Edge, which is also my favourite. I'll add both to the OP.

I can also recommend , which is a game with an adaptive soundtrack that shifts based on your choices that define MC's character.

Nova Box make well-written, non-sexual, story-driven VNs with impactful choices and a degree of supernatural elements. They are a lovely bunch and one of my favourite indie studios.
Played all their games in one week after your recommendation and I second it. Really well done. Across The Grooves is not the strongest entry in my opinion, although the mechanics are interesting and the ending was satisfying. Along The Edge and Seer's Isle are better though. The way the story is told in Seer's Isle was very impressive and really motivates you to replay the whole thing. The MC in Along The Edge intrigued me the most though.
Across The Grooves could have been better with more emphasis on the antagonist. In my playthrough it felt a bit rushed in the end. I would have liked an epilogue similar to Along The Edge.

All games are ca. 3h gameplay and I recommend it to anyone who loves good storytelling and a games with a sense for atmosphere and beauty. Must be the french influence I guess? Also, all games are female protag!
 
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TheimmortalP

Active Member
Jan 4, 2019
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Alpha Omega
Today I finally played Being a Dik a very bad comedy made by a sexist and racist individual who wanted to say a bunch of racist and sexist shit under the guise of comedy that I couldn't stop playing because it was so well paced, and then It decided to be extremely transphobic in episode 3 and I was finally done with it, so I decided to say fuck it and pick something short at random that you recommended Jufot. And what do I get right away? A game saying in its intro that trans people are equal, and starring a male POC that isn't fetishized for his race.

I also get to see what I desperately want to see more in my games in general. Friends hugging each other!

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Jufot...THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Edit: God and win soundtack too!
 
5.00 star(s) 8 Votes