Recommending Story-first games

[Arisushi]

I love it too, generally, but not in this case. I was already annoyed with the epilogue-ish bit in One Night Stand and I'm strongly opposed to any sort of sequel because it defeats the purpose. After all, if it turns into a relationship, then, by definition, it wasn't a one night stand

I've heard your thoughts on this in the past, and just like then, I still fully agree with your stance

I actually don't remember if I've already told this to you, but since it's been several months since ONS ended, I think it's okay to say this publicly.

---

(Before we begin, I want to clarify that I was the one who made the final call, so I'm the one to bear responsibility for the ending)

Originally, the scene (soft route) was supposed to fade to black when Elena leaves the room, as David looks in her direction. As stand-alone experience, that was the ideal point for me to end the story. So, no "One Month Later..."

But Junior felt it was lacking and asked me (with zero pressure) if we could add something else to "wrap up" things more nicely.

By that time, the story I had wanted to tell was already told beautifully, and it was especially because of this amazingly talented guy who was both patient and dedicated to finish the whole thing despite the poor earnings from the project.

And considering how we weren't going to continue the series anyway, the "one month later" was just my secret way of saying thank you to Junior

Sure, it was not the ending I had in mind. But considering what I had made with him, the decision didn't feel like a compromise even in the tiniest sense.

---

However, now that I'm actually continuing the story in

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, that ending no longer works for those two characters

So, I've actively retconned that ending (while also keeping the scene as is) into something else.

Like Kotte said above, (if you skip just the last two lines of the pdf) the whole thing will feel like a more "natural" epilogue to their meeting.

So, if anyone was not quite happy with the ending of the soft Route, I'd kinda recommend reading this pdf (and just skip the last two lines) for a somewhat better ending.

--

PS: The hard Route was meant to end like that from the get go though. That bastard simply could not let go of his chance and had to see if he could get more.

 

[jufot]

Thanks for the behind the scenes look Arisushi!

The hard Route was meant to end like that from the get go though. That bastard simply could not let go of his chance and had to see if he could get more.

I loved the hard route's ending, which just makes the soft route's ending more disappointing in comparison, sadly.

 

[camube]

https://f95zone.to/threads/seeking-closure-v0-3-captain-crystallo.146750/

Seeking Closure

For those who haven't play it or never heard of it, try it out, and if you have fun, maybe patron it since it has very few patrons so far. For some reason, I had tons of fun playing it when I have to choose between the dialogue options presented.

I think it's above average and while it's still early, it has a story to tell, not just vehicle for scenes delivery.

I'm kinda worried that this game wouldn't get to be developed to completion since there are very few patrons so far despite the fact that it's already Chapter, and freshly released at that.
Since people here are story-first people, maybe this game would suit some of you.

On other news, Projekt Passion released a new update, Season 2.
Classy Lemon is very efficient with render usage and release updates quite often too.

It seems like it's just some time ago I posted about the end of Passion season 1 and now new update is already here.

Other than that, Arson Betrayal will have new update soon in a couple days for lower tier patrons, so it would inevitably be leaked here after that.

 

[jufot]

Seeking Closure

Thanks for the recommendation, the premise definitely sounds interesting. Though a quick skim through the thread already brings up a couple of red flags like too many LIs (8 so far!) and taking cues from the peanut gallery.

 

[Bombmaster]

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Jaike]

Thank you for taking the time to compile this list of games. I very much prefer story driven games to those that concentrate on stacking up 'conquests' as it were. I know this is a huge ask and probably a gigantic pain but would it at all be possible to edit the list sometime to indicate whether the game listed has a female or male protagonist? I will play both but far prefer the former over the latter and will always check out one before investigating the other.

I'm going to push my usual recommendation here. It has a more ambitious, adventurous and fantastical, so a little less realistic, plot than the usual romance or slice of life: Ladykiller in a Bind. The lesbian protagonist is a colorful, active and rounded character. Fantastic, dynamic dialogues, tons of pop culture references, insane branching and actual gameplay. And more sex, and livelier and kinkier sex, than the usual yuri VN diet. Though there's a noncon warning for greedy players.

Less serious but still with enough focus on story: Foul Play, and Aisling and the Tavern of Elves. Classical monogamy with a beggar's budget for sex scenes, tho.

And a slight warning for Salome's Kiss, and a big spoiler too so only click if you're a self-inserter: it has a sad betrayal ending.

 

[jufot]

And a slight warning for Salome's Kiss

Maybe put that in a spoiler?

 

[Kali_K]

I'm going to push my usual recommendation here. It has a more ambitious, adventurous and fantastical, so a little less realistic, plot than the usual romance or slice of life: Ladykiller in a Bind. The lesbian protagonist is a colorful, active and rounded character. Fantastic, dynamic dialogues, tons of pop culture references, insane branching and actual gameplay. And more sex, and livelier and kinkier sex, than the usual yuri VN diet. Though there's a noncon warning for greedy players.

Less serious but still with enough focus on story: Foul Play, and Aisling and the Tavern of Elves. Classical monogamy with a beggar's budget for sex scenes, tho.

Thank you for this, I will take a look at them. I really do love this thread <3

 

[camube]

Thanks for the recommendation, the premise definitely sounds interesting. Though a quick skim through the thread already brings up a couple of red flags like too many LIs (8 so far!) and taking cues from the peanut gallery.

i don't really read threads until i'm done playing so i didn't know there's 8.

So far there's only 4 female characters, and it's more like 2 route, because the 2 know each other and the other 2 know each other on the other side. The settings makes sense to me.

There are side characters yeah, but i don't count those as the spotlight is still on the 4, at least so far.

Even if there are 8 female characters, Nothing is Forever and Bare Witness comes to mind that have as many female characters, or Being a DIK so as long as the writers can make it make sense, or immersive, or believable, I'm okay with it.

Bare Witness and Projekt Passion for example is believable, Eternum on the other hand really isn't.
I don't really get all the praises of Eternum having good character writings, because i really don't think so.
It has epic world and epic actions but the way Eternum MC is written, specifically the way he talks to his female friends just takes me out. There are good ways to write dialogues of 1 person pursuing multiple characters, and Eternum definitely doesn't write it very well.

This is to say, Seeking Closure's MC's dialogues is so far still believable to me compared to say how Eternum MC talks to his friends.
I put my enjoyment of reading Seeking Closure above Race of Life, far above Alpha Omega, and far, far above STWA Unbroken.

I enjoy this probably on par with Fog of War because one or two of Fog of War's character is written really well.
For Seeking Closure my enjoyment comes from picking the dialogue options. The dialogue options sounds natural enough as a reply to me and I find myself choosing the "no" dialogue option just for the sake of it just because I think the option sounds funny, and something someone might actually say.
And I think that's writing talent.

I put this below Projekt Passion and Deluca Family for me, which is S tier.
This is probably A tier like Arson Betrayal because it does things well, but it's not stellar.

A tier to me are: Above the Clouds (S tier comedy), Mad World (S tier fighting), Arson Betrayal (S tier pacing), The Bite Revenant (S tier character), Fog of War (S tier character), Desert Stalker (S tier presentation), Seeking Closure (S tier natural dialogue option).
Requirement would be: "I really like it", it does things well and have one or a few things very well. I want to see the continuation of it.
If there is a new update, I will find time to play it.

B tier would be: Eternum, Artemis, Chasing Sunsets, STWA Unbroken, Desire of Fate, Bare Witness, Race of Life, Sandstorm, Zero End
Requirement would be: "I like it", it does things well. I can accept if the dev have drop it tomorrow due to whatever reasons.
If there is a new update I will still play it

C tier would be: Alpha Omega, Cybernetic Seduction, Intertwined, Nothing is Forever, u4ia (it's too early), Move the Chains (also too early), Hard to Love (really uneven)
Requirement would be: "I'm okay with it". I probably wouldn't miss it if the dev drop it tomorrow
If there is a new update, I play it just to fill time while waiting for S tier and A tier games releases

Any games not mentioned are either does not prioritize story (like City of Broken Dreamers), i haven't play it (like Leaving DNA and Out of Touch), or medieval settings, i rarely ever play those. Other than that, it's below C tier for me. Also I didn't mention finished games.

S Tier would be: Deluca Family, Projekt Passion, Pale Carnation, Being a DIK, and Our Red String
Requirement is: It's stellar. I want to see the ending.
If there is a new update, I'll drop everything to play it right away

The list of games I haven't play that I intend to play is very small by now. Sicae, Leaving DNA, Out of Touch, and maybe How to Fix the Future, Yesterday Crossroad, and maybe Color of My Sound.

 

[boobsrcool]

i don't really read threads until i'm done playing so i didn't know there's 8.

So far there's only 4 female characters, and it's more like 2 route, because the 2 know each other and the other 2 know each other on the other side. The settings makes sense to me.

There are side characters yeah, but i don't count those as the spotlight is still on the 4, at least so far.

Even if there are 8 female characters, Nothing is Forever and Bare Witness comes to mind that have as many female characters, or Being a DIK so as long as the writers can make it make sense, or immersive, or believable, I'm okay with it.

Bare Witness and Projekt Passion for example is believable, Eternum on the other hand really isn't.
I don't really get all the praises of Eternum having good character writings, because i really don't think so.
It has epic world and epic actions but the way Eternum MC is written, specifically the way he talks to his female friends just takes me out. There are good ways to write dialogues of 1 person pursuing multiple characters, and Eternum definitely doesn't write it very well.

This is to say, Seeking Closure's MC's dialogues is so far still believable to me compared to say how Eternum MC talks to his friends.
I put my enjoyment of reading Seeking Closure above Race of Life, far above Alpha Omega, and far, far above STWA Unbroken.

I enjoy this probably on par with Fog of War because one or two of Fog of War's character is written really well.
For Seeking Closure my enjoyment comes from picking the dialogue options. The dialogue options sounds natural enough as a reply to me and I find myself choosing the "no" dialogue option just for the sake of it just because I think the option sounds funny, and something someone might actually say.
And I think that's writing talent.

I put this below Projekt Passion and Deluca Family for me, which is S tier.
This is probably A tier like Arson Betrayal because it does things well, but it's not stellar.

A tier to me are: Above the Clouds (S tier comedy), Mad World (S tier fighting), Arson Betrayal (S tier pacing), The Bite Revenant (S tier character), Fog of War, (S tier character) Desert Stalker (S tier presentation). Seeking Closure (S tier natural dialogue option)
Requirement would be: "I really like it", it does things well and have one or a few things very well. I want to see the continuation of it.
If there is a new update, I will find time to play it.

B tier would be: Eternum, Artemis, Chasing Sunsets, STWA Unbroken, Desire of Fate, Bare Witness, Race of Life, Sandstorm, Zero End
Requirement would be: "I like it", it does things well. I can accept if the dev have drop it tomorrow due to whatever reasons.
If there is a new update I will still play it

C tier would be: Alpha Omega, Cybernetic Seduction, Intertwined, Nothing is Forever, u4ia (it's too early), Move the Chains (also too early), Hard to Love (really uneven)
Requirement would be: "I'm okay with it". I probably wouldn't miss it if the dev drop it tomorrow
If there is a new update, I play it just to fill time while waiting for S tier and A tier games releases

Any games not mentioned are either does not prioritize story (like City of Broken Dreamers), i haven't play it (like Leaving DNA and Out of Touch), or medieval settings, i rarely ever play those. Other than that, it's below C tier for me. Also I didn't mention finished games.

S Tier would be: Deluca Family, Projekt Passion, Pale Carnation, Being a DIK, and Our Red String
Requirement is: It's stellar. I want to see the ending.
If there is a new update, I'll drop everything to play it right away

The list of games I haven't play that I intend to play is very small by now. Sicae, Leaving DNA, Out of Touch, and maybe How to Fix the Future, Yesterday Crossroad, and maybe Color of My Sound.

We have extremely similar tastes. I greatly enjoy all of the ones you said you haven't played yet but would put Out of Touch at the top

 

[camube]

We have extremely similar tastes. I greatly enjoy all of the ones you said you haven't played yet but would put Out of Touch at the top

Then I'll play Out of Touch after Leaving DNA then.

 

[SiuKim]

Still early in development, but I still think this games extremely solid. Less story-driven than most of the games on the list, but I'd still say it ranks among the best

I was thinking about the upcoming tag system redesign and how it would make it easier to find actually good games, but then I saw this comment and realized it's completely right and nothing will change

View attachment 2839561

Oh really? I hadn't heard about that. What's the new redesign and how did you think it could help to seperate the less story-driven games from the well written ones?

 

[jufot]

What's the new redesign and how did you think it could help to seperate the less story-driven games from the well written ones?

It's this. I had hoped the tags would become accurate and words would have meaning again. Like how "lesbian" would stop meaning "two or more women having sex for the pleasure and entertainment of a man."

Right now, the tag system is more or less useless and it's effectively impossible to tell anything about the story based on its tags. bacienvu88's post explains it well.

 

[SiuKim]

It's this. I had hoped the tags would become accurate and words would have meaning again. Like how "lesbian" would stop meaning "two or more women having sex for the pleasure and entertainment of a man."

Right now, the tag system is more or less useless and it's effectively impossible to tell anything about the story based on its tags. bacienvu88's post explains it well.

I see! Yeah that makes a lot of sense. It's always a crapshoot while looking for an actual story on this site (which is why I'm thankful for threads like these). Pretty sure Dev's are usually well aware if what they're making is about the story or about the porn. It wouldn't be impossible to narrow down even a little bit what kind of story you're playing. Not to mention the tags we do have are usually extremely unreliable. They're often misused or completely underused (especially for Japanese games) and you won't find out before it's too late. Most won't bother to sift through and accurately label their games with the hundreds of almost identical tags that they're adding.

 

[bacienvu88]

I recommend HTML game Bride of a Dead God. It is basically a choose-your-own-adventure* with light rpg elements. I think it is pretty well written and has an interesting plot and cast.

* A CYOA is similar to a VN, just lean much more toward the "novel" side than the "visual" side.

 

[jufot]

I recommend HTML game Bride of a Dead God.

Thanks for the recommendation. While the AI CG gives me pause for ethical reasons, the reviews are mostly glowing. I'll give it a go

 

[Kali_K]

Well, I just completed my first playthrough of

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and wholeheartedly recommend it, with a single caveat of perhaps waiting for the next bug fix patch as there are some annoying minor issues with the current one. It's probably not a good fit for this site, with there only being romance options and no sexual content at all but the story is very enjoyable and well written (the entire game (which is sadly only about 6-7hrs long) is wonderfully voice acted by some very big name VA's) and the characters are well written, with depth and consistency. As far as romance options go, I think there are 4 options, though there might be more depending on choices made. And yes, it's a musical! Years ago I had no time for them but over the years I've grown to quite enjoy them (the good ones at least). The songs and the vocal talent are awesome and all in all, I loved it and am looking forward to trying another playthrough in the future and trying out other story options.

If you're looking for something very different from the norm, you could do a lot worse than giving this little one a try

 

[raynarnab]

Well, I just completed my first playthrough of

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and wholeheartedly recommend it

I had fun playing and it was really interesting to explore all the gods relationships with each other in the modern world. Also being able choose your lyrics for music battle was fun!

 

[Tlaero]

The final episode of my most recent game, Toro 7, is out now. The mods haven't updated the F95 thread yet, but it's available for free here:

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Tlaero

 

[bacienvu88]

Chapter 2 is now out on F95!

And now the game is on hold and in grave danger of being cancelled. From the thread:

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS PROJECT!!!

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