Recommending Story-first games

[Hildegardt]

Not sure what you mean?

Huge spoiler! The game warns you that calling Sydney will have consequences. herdeathitsonyou is pretty ominous.

 

[bacienvu88]

Not sure what I expected from the replies you got, but I'm not surprised

It is weird how some threads gets stuck on some minor "issue". It is not like the sister is a major part of the game so far ...

 

[jufot]

shouldn't they make sure he switches apartments, gets a new phone number, instruct him how to handle them and so on?

That would require him to recognize and submit to an authority above his own, and our hero is a manly man who'd do no such thing

herdeathitsonyou is pretty ominous

I'm hoping calling her actually saves her, not ends up killing her. It would be fucked up otherwise. But then, fucked up is the whole theme of the game, so...

 

[Hildegardt]

I'm hoping calling her actually saves her, not ends up killing her. It would be fucked up otherwise. But then, fucked up is the whole theme of the game, so...

It could be that her death is inevitable and the choice is about whether the PC ends up blaming himself or not. It's kinda similar with Chloe. It seems like a big theme is going to be the PC's reluctance to help other people, because he's afraid to get too involved.

 

[Canto Forte]

Spoiler

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[jufot]

Canto, what did we say about putting huge images on this thread? Just scale it wayyy down. People can click on it to see full size if they like. Here's an SFW example:

 

[jufot]

Have you tried Unscripted? [...] The plot is pretty generic sitcom material, but that's a huge step up from most AVNs imo. The dialog and choices are pretty fun.

The bar scene alone sold me ("best AVN bar scene" contender, alongside Leaving DNA), but really the writing as a whole is pretty great. It's effortlessly funny and flows very well. I feel like everyone got a chance to have their personality shine, including the MC. You're right on the sitcom. He's that adorkable nerd (disc golf, ffs) who fails upwards and gets the gorgeous girl with the quirky job. Speaking of the girl, River is pretty damn cool. Confident, smart, witty, cool under pressure, and has some excellent punchlines:

She hands you her phone. You type your number in, check it's correct, go to hand it back, then quickly double check again.
James: Yep! That's definitely right...
You hand her phone back.
James: The ball's in your court now.
River: It never left.

So far, I haven't seen a single unlikeable character, not even Lance. The date was cute, if a little cliché. I'm a big fan of the sex scene though. They are both almost completely dressed, he cums in his pants, and yet, it's more charming and erotic than most AVNs here. The dev says it'll be softcore only (like Alpha Omega I imagine) and judging by this scene it'll work just fine.

It definitely seems story-first but I'll wait for another update or two before adding it to the OP. Shame it's Steam only. I'd be willing to support it on Patreon.

 

[Hildegardt]

Speaking of the girl, River is pretty damn cool. Confident, smart, witty, cool under pressure, and has some excellent punchlines:

With an emphasis on punch, if you talk her into taking the spooky ride.

I'm a big fan of the sex scene though. They are both almost completely dressed, he cums in his pants, and yet, it's more charming and erotic than most AVNs here. The dev says it'll be softcore only (like Alpha Omega I image) and judging by this scene it'll work just fine.

I actually didn't know the whole game would be softcore, but I liked it, too. It was pretty refreshing imo. Many if not most games seem to focus on fetishes in favour of eroticism and this was a nice exception.
I also liked how relatively easy it is to miss the scene, without it feeling like you failed at the +1 relationship points game and you're never gonna see River again.

 

[jufot]

With an emphasis on punch, if you talk her into taking the spooky ride.

I was hoping she'd hold his hand, or he would hug her, but she was too pissed off and he was too chickenshit

I also liked how relatively easy it is to miss the scene, without it feeling like you failed at the +1 relationship points game and you're never gonna see River again.

I didn't realize it was easy to miss. Since the game doesn't have rollback , I savescummed through the whole thing and reloaded after each choice if it didn't play well.

 

[Raife]

Rebirth is going down the drain fast. On paper, Sharon is still the boss and MC is an inexperienced youngling. In practice, she has become an obedient housewife, unbothered by worldly affairs.

Yes, I think Rebirth is quite bad at this point, especially because of the the non-credible power dynamics between the MC and Sharon. Abysmal.

_The Bite_ has a similar older mentor, suped-up youngling MC dynamic... but did not screw it up, because the MC's mysterious extra powers are entirely offset by his total cluelessness and lack of control. He can sometimes pull the rabbit out of the hat, but not predictably. That leads to a more equal relationship... where the mentor vampire is still clearly in charge.

_The Bite_ has other issues, such as its overly complex ability scores system, but (1) I'm hoping that the forthcoming update will fix some of those problems and (2) that a much less significant problem than the LI agency-personality fail in _Rebirth_.

 

[Hildegardt]

I didn't realize it was easy to miss. Since the game doesn't have rollback , I savescummed through the whole thing and reloaded after each choice if it didn't play well.

I feel like savescumming is worth it, though, because you can learn different stuff about the characters with almost every single choice (and you get at least four choices every time from what I remember). To me it seemed like you can get the best outcomes by referencing earlier conversations, which, if true, is a pretty cool mechanic.

Yes, I think Rebirth is quite bad at this point, especially because of the the non-credible power dynamics between the MC and Sharon. Abysmal.

_The Bite_ has a similar older mentor, suped-up youngling MC dynamic... but did not screw it up, because the MC's mysterious extra powers are entirely offset by his total cluelessness and lack of control. He can sometimes pull the rabbit out of the hat, but not predictably. That leads to a more equal relationship... where the mentor vampire is still clearly in charge.

_The Bite_ has other issues, such as its overly complex ability scores system, but (1) I'm hoping that the forthcoming update will fix some of those problems and (2) that a much less significant problem than the LI agency-personality fail in _Rebirth_.

I agree, The Bite is much much better than Rebirth at this point.
Maybe LikesBlondes just can't keep up with the monthly update schedule. It seems like he's got his plot points and outcomes in his head, but the way he gets there is rushed and hamfisted to the detriment of his character's personalities. Most egregious imo is the fact that the PC's current status as the harem Chad has never been established in the story, making it into a cheap power fantasy.

 

[jufot]

To me it seemed like you can get the best outcomes by referencing earlier conversations, which, if true, is a pretty cool mechanic.

Definitely. Like you can learn that River doesn't like roses at the end of the bar scene, and you can later use that just before getting on the Ferris wheel.

Maybe LikeBlondes just can't keep up with the monthly update schedule. It seems like he's got his plot points and outcomes in his head, but the way he gets there is rushed and hamfisted to the detriment of his character's personalities.

It seems he outsources the writing:

Now, I'm not an IT guy by profession. I'm an agricultural engineer. So I've had to hire some people to help me. I've got what I think is the most talented writer in the community to do the script, and a few more people to help with the renders.

 

[boobsrcool]

Yes, I think Rebirth is quite bad at this point, especially because of the the non-credible power dynamics between the MC and Sharon. Abysmal.

_The Bite_ has a similar older mentor, suped-up youngling MC dynamic... but did not screw it up, because the MC's mysterious extra powers are entirely offset by his total cluelessness and lack of control. He can sometimes pull the rabbit out of the hat, but not predictably. That leads to a more equal relationship... where the mentor vampire is still clearly in charge.

_The Bite_ has other issues, such as its overly complex ability scores system, but (1) I'm hoping that the forthcoming update will fix some of those problems and (2) that a much less significant problem than the LI agency-personality fail in _Rebirth_.

Hopeful for rebirth having a return to form eventually and don't think its as dire as others in this thread but the bite has been on another level

 

[boobsrcool]

It seems he outsources the writing:

He mentioned ptolemy being involved at some point recently

 

[boobsrcool]

That's a shame about Vis, it looked so interesting! Can you protect the MC's sister? Like, it's fine if she wants to marry someone, but if it's an unavoidable noncon situation, I'd rather avoid that.

Couldn't find a more recent post that answered this. Yes you can protect her

 

[Vasin]

So I tried Derealization. I have actually played it more than a year ago and from what I recall I found it to be mostly enjoyable, save for the soapboxing bit from Gray that I thought was a bit cringe but still in-character for where it happens, and occasional stylistic mistake.

Fast forward to now, and apparently the game has been remastered which is the reason it still ends exactly where it ended last time. I can't tell if anything of substance was added or changed (I haven't called Sydney on that playthrough, so I'm not sure if I missed the best scene in the game or if it was expanded). I like what little there is of characterization so far, and even the main character, while being a kind of a pastiche of a midlife crisis douche, I found sort of relatable. The game also has a good sense of comedic timing and even the soundtrack I didn't find particularly aggravating.

One thing that I am certain is that the sister was not, in fact, a porn star since it's not a skippable segment. And while I don't share the utmost disdain the thread visitors have towards her (my favorite bit was comparing being a pornstar to being Batman. *chefskiss*), I can see how taking a good character and retconning them in a different direction can be annoying. Especially since it was mostly played for a gag and seemingly dropped with no consequence.

I'm also concerned the game might fall prey to remasteritis where the creator tries to make it into their perfect magnum opus so that it will get constantly changed with little to no plot progression. But it's definitely worth keeping a close eye on, for sure.

 

[jufot]

I can see how taking a good character and retconning them in a different direction can be annoying.

IIRC, she wasn't very memorable in the original version. More like a chauffeur than a sister. At least now we get sibling drama and something for Theia to beat MC over the head with

I'm also concerned the game might fall prey to remasteritis where the creator tries to make it into their perfect magnum opus so that it will get constantly changed with little to no plot progression.

Right. Far too many games suffer from this. They start out promising it won't affect the story progression, that they are only going to work on it on the side. Suddenly, six months have passed, no new chapter has been released, but hey, at least chapter 1 looks great now

 

[Canto Forte]

She still only appears to drive MC far away from her and hers and then dissapears for another undisclosed period of time.

sibling drama

She was cheated and used and abused like those couch potato models happy for peanuts over a shoot
that violates all their humanity and rapes theuir bodies raw.

 

[boobsrcool]

One thing that I am certain is that the sister was not, in fact, a porn star since it's not a skippable segment. And while I don't share the utmost disdain the thread visitors have towards her (my favorite bit was comparing being a pornstar to being Batman. *chefskiss*), I can see how taking a good character and retconning them in a different direction can be annoying. Especially since it was mostly played for a gag and seemingly dropped with no consequence.

that would explain how out of hand the thread got

 

[Hildegardt]

Fast forward to now, and apparently the game has been remastered which is the reason it still ends exactly where it ended last time. I can't tell if anything of substance was added or changed (I haven't called Sydney on that playthrough, so I'm not sure if I missed the best scene in the game or if it was expanded). I like what little there is of characterization so far, and even the main character, while being a kind of a pastiche of a midlife crisis douche, I found sort of relatable. The game also has a good sense of comedic timing and even the soundtrack I didn't find particularly aggravating.

One thing that I am certain is that the sister was not, in fact, a porn star since it's not a skippable segment. And while I don't share the utmost disdain the thread visitors have towards her (my favorite bit was comparing being a pornstar to being Batman. *chefskiss*), I can see how taking a good character and retconning them in a different direction can be annoying. Especially since it was mostly played for a gag and seemingly dropped with no consequence.

The last time I played the game didn't have the scene at work and Chloe's family dinner, yet. But I've never played a version that didn't have the sister's porno.