Recommending Story-first games

5.00 star(s) 8 Votes

Dessolos

Conversation Conqueror
Jul 25, 2017
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To change the subject a bit how do you guys feel about game of hearts. At first it did seem like it was going to be story first but then the lewds gets real tiring and kills my enjoyment of it. Still kind of curious to finish it eventually in hopes it will eventually have some actual story in the future cause it does seem like it could be interesting if it ever moves forward. Granted I have yet to finish it. Surprised how much I dislike it tho considering how often I see it's name thrown around on the 1 of the AVN sub reedits.
 

Éama

Member
Apr 17, 2022
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Can't you guys show some respect for the creator who explicitly told you that this is against the spirit of this thread and stop bickering about tags and kinks and refocus on the story-aspect of VNs? There are so many interesting discussions to be had, why pick the one that you can literally have anywhere else?
 

Hildegardt

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2017
1,092
2,242
To change the subject a bit how do you guys feel about game of hearts. At first it did seem like it was going to be story first but then the lewds gets real tiring and kills my enjoyment of it. Still kind of curious to finish it eventually in hopes it will eventually have some actual story in the future cause it does seem like it could be interesting if it ever moves forward. Granted I have yet to finish it. Surprised how much I dislike it tho considering how often I see it's name thrown around on the 1 of the AVN sub reedits.
I think the sex scenes are very erotic and enjoyable. I like that the focus is not just on body parts slapping against and into each other. That there's story and intrigue is a plus, too.
But I also think that the story will probably end up quite boring, because the PC is just another iteration of the "chosen one". At first I was hopeful that the LIs might get some agency, because you can play the PC as madly in love with the first lady (I'm bad with names) and concerned for her feelings and opinions and the demon lady even had the upper hand for like one whole update. But these hopes got crushed pretty quickly.
 

dreamchaser

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Game Developer
Jan 8, 2020
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I do think part of the storytelling that is enjoyable is that it takes this trope and really deconstructs it in the story. He isn't power hungry to have sex with others, infact it makes you feel for characters whose literal name is Qum. In fact that character is one of the sweetest characters in the story, to the point you will fight to protect her innocence. I think the Last sovereign does adult stories in a way that I enjoy, sex is considered a positive but not gratuitous way. I don't think there are many stories that have impacted me the same way as the world building in this story.

Ofcourse for people that want a story, this is not for them. There is heavy gameplay elements that is not everyone's cup of tea.
I'll just add my vote to The Last Sovereign. It's an absolutely fantastic game with an outstanding story. Also, the main story is now finished, so it's a great time to start playing it!
However, it does take a good bit of commitment: My current playthrough sits at 112 hours, and I have the bigger part of chapter 5 still ahead of me (the last but biggest chapter of the game). I think you'd need to speedrun it to finish in under 100 hours. And I would not attempt playing the game without either help from the wiki, or taking extensive notes.

As for NTR, the characters that do that are Succubi, for them sex is food, and everybody concerned views it as a positive event. It really shouldn't be a problem. By then, the game has drawn you way too deep into its world. ;)
(There is one point early one where you have the option to prostitute an LI for money. It's a big choice with long lasting consequences, neither choice being obviously the right one. Basically all walkthroughs opt to not prostitute her, weighting the LIs trust higher than the money.)

I really enjoy the philosophy discussions in this game, the proactive planning the MC and his allies do, the worldbuilding, the characterization of everybody (MC, LIs, allies, enemies, gods, normal NPCs, everybody!), the amount of agency you have. In my eyes, this absolutely belongs in the list of story focused games.
Yes, there are some sex scenes that aren't needed for the plot, but I'd argue they are needed as examples of the sex-positive world this game builds. And all sex scenes are short, easily skippable through (you can even disable the images), and their duration absolutely pales in comparison to the play time of the whole game.
 
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Arisushi

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Jul 9, 2020
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I tried Along the edge last year, after seeing it on Jufot's recommended list.

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As always, thanks for another solid Recommendation, and without further ado.

Here are my thoughts on the game. (I hope the text is readable enough.)

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jufot

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May 15, 2021
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I tried Along the edge last year, after seeing it on Jufot's recommended list.
Wow, you went to quite some length to review this. I'm glad you liked it!

It's funny, the one bit that didn't quite resonate with you is the artwork, but this is the only VN in so many years that I have printed artwork of, hanging on my walls :)
 
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FatGiant

Forum Fanatic
Jan 7, 2022
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I'll just add my vote to The Last Sovereign. It's an absolutely fantastic game with an outstanding story. Also, the main story is now finished, so it's a great time to start playing it!
However, it does take a good bit of commitment: My current playthrough sits at 112 hours, and I have the bigger part of chapter 5 still ahead of me (the last but biggest chapter of the game). I think you'd need to speedrun it to finish in under 100 hours. And I would not attempt playing the game without either help from the wiki, or taking extensive notes.

As for NTR, the characters that do that are Succubi, for them sex is food, and everybody concerned views it as a positive event. It really shouldn't be a problem. By then, the game has drawn you way too deep into its world. ;)
(There is one point early one where you have the option to prostitute an LI for money. It's a big choice with long lasting consequences, neither choice being obviously the right one. Basically all walkthroughs opt to not prostitute her, weighting the LIs trust higher than the money.)

I really enjoy the philosophy discussions in this game, the proactive planning the MC and his allies do, the worldbuilding, the characterization of everybody (MC, LIs, allies, enemies, gods, normal NPCs, everybody!), the amount of agency you have. In my eyes, this absolutely belongs in the list of story focused games.
Yes, there are some sex scenes that aren't needed for the plot, but I'd argue they are needed as examples of the sex-positive world this game builds. And all sex scenes are short, easily skippable through (you can even disable the images), and their duration absolutely pales in comparison to the play time of the whole game.
Damn... you guys almost make me regret the fact that I have standards.

But, no.

1717153852145.png

The underlined ones aren't complete deal breakers, but, truly non enjoyed by me.
The boxed ones are Instant Deal breakers to me.

The rest, could or could not live with.

I don't care how well done and relevant that type of content may be, I, as in me as an autonomous player, will stay away from.

Please read me right, I don't really care what anyone else enjoys, I can only make decisions for myself, and, that type of content, I don't want anything to do with it.

Peace :(
 

Canto Forte

Post Pro
Jul 10, 2017
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Look .. everyone ... Friends Indeed is a totally tame little intrigue game anyone can download off Patreon - with MC basically throwing money at every problem and coming up on top -the broader audience version of Friends in Need,
so it is a totally different game with absolutely no tension - every problem that MC encounters during game play, he buys out of, as the single best solution for himself or the people he meets - basically what Bezos or Elon would do if they abruptly exited from all their ventures and lived their lives as literal gods among men due to their fabulous fortunes.

Are Elon or Bezos lives boring to all of you who would censor free speach and free expressions of mind?

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About the sudden literal censoring of player opinion about the ”mostly” fitting of the censoring criteria, in alphabetical order - which means, sometimes, with little to no tension or drama, the games that are listed in the OP:

Little Regina is a better slice of life story about the hardships of small soccer players who would not or cannot take kilos of proteins and vitamins to bulk up and their possible story for still playing professional sports despite their size and perceived frailty in sports.

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Arisushi

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Jul 9, 2020
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Wow, you went to quite some length to review this. I'm glad you liked it!

It's funny, the one bit that didn't quite resonate with you is the artwork, but this is the only VN in so many years that I have printed artwork of, hanging on my walls :)
Wow, that's awesome!!

Also, yeah, it's been almost a year since I wrote that review and reading it now, even I feel like I was being way too harsh and distant about the art.

(I have no idea what my expectations were back then, but I can tell they were unfairly / insanely high considering I wasn't impressed by those paintings, which look rich and beautiful to me now :LOL:)
 
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camube

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Jun 4, 2022
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I’m in full support of you jufot putting whatever rules you’d like to put, now and in the future.

Talking with the people here is what's important to me, the content of the talk is secondary.
To me this is all just discussions.

I'm not posting about Friends in Need in isolation.
The reason why I read the replies of people that quote-tagged me is because it's from the people here. People here put importance in stories, so I read their replies.
The reason I reply to people's messages after I read it is because this week I happen to be free.

Had the talks continue to next week I most likely would not reply cuz I probably would miss the posts that tagged me.
The other side of that, had people moved on, there wouldn't be that much of a discussion to begin with.
So the discussions would naturally end by this weekend on my side.

This is putting aside whether or not I play that specific path. I don't.
And isn't that partially why this whole thing became a long discussion?

I don’t even play 99.8% of AVN games because it has sex in it, or for seeking release. Contrary to that, I view AVN to be a really roundabout way to seek release.

I like human stories. I play AVN medium because the playtime is usually short so I can read human stories that is inside AVN in short burst. That’s also why I read this threadm to find more of that.

The thing I dislike the most about AVN update development cycle is the time it takes to make the intercourse animations. If it were up to me, I would rather there is no sex animations and sex renders in all AVN games. Just texts is enough.

I replies to you all not because I’m defending this game or that game. It's because the tagged posts came from the people of this thread, cuz it came from you all.
Where on this thread we share a common thread, liking stories. So I read it about whatever the content is, and happen to be free enough to made replies.

So I’m supportive of Jufot putting whatever rules they think is best. There is no need for discussions about rule additions.

I do agree with moskyx though, I don’t think it will be moderated by the forum team.
The only thing we can do as regular readers of this thread is to be respectful towards each other whether it’s by moving on when people post it or by not posting about those to begin with.

Anyway, recommend me good stories.
The past few days I was free that's why I played three games I talked about here in burst.

Y'all have great games for me to play (that preferably is Renpy), let me know, I would put it behind EndlessNights Supernatural recommendation because I think that would be a great game to read.
 
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camube

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Jun 4, 2022
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To change the subject a bit how do you guys feel about game of hearts. At first it did seem like it was going to be story first but then the lewds gets real tiring and kills my enjoyment of it. Still kind of curious to finish it eventually in hopes it will eventually have some actual story in the future cause it does seem like it could be interesting if it ever moves forward. Granted I have yet to finish it. Surprised how much I dislike it tho considering how often I see it's name thrown around on the 1 of the AVN sub reedits.
I like the fact that Game of Hearts is interactive. There's a score that is tied to what you choose, and for the Julia event, we can either be successful or not.

But at it's core, the writer is so good at painting with words I wish the game is not 90%+ about sex between the MC and other characters because other than the fact that it has it has a score and interactive, that's not what's I'm interested in at all.

I want to know the story of the guy, the 2 girls that was from his past, and the war. Not Meredith, Meredith, Meredith scenes. I don't know how long the game would go on because we're at Chapter 4 and it's barely beginning, exactly because development time is dedicated towards sexual scenes.

I wouldn't say the game frustrates me right now, but I would say I've given up on hoping the game is something else that is more my preference by now.

I do still play it and I do greatly enjoy reading it because of the writer's skills, but it's also a game where I'm ambivalent about it's future. If it find success, that's great because the writer deserves it.

The game to me is like Summer Heat in the sense that if it's out I'll play it, but if it's not out, that's okay too.
BGM is great though. I really like their choice of BGM. It really fits.

I tried Along the edge last year, after seeing it on Jufot's recommended list.

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As always, thanks for another solid Recommendation, and without further ado.

Here are my thoughts on the game. (I hope the text is readable enough.)

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.
If I were your patron, I would like reading that Ari.

There is a dev I patron that recommends comics they read and tell the patrons what's the theme and why they like it. I like reading that, generally speaking i like reading patreon posts from devs even if it has nothing to do with game development.

Some time ago when I still subscribed, I wish Capella posts more often on his patreon even if it's not about game development, and among the games I've played on F95, it's really sad that Mad World did not find financial success, at least so far. I really like the world. I don't know about the characters, they're okay but I like Capella's world.
So if you posts often on your patreon Ari, there might be some people that are like me, that are okay with you posting anything you feel like posting on there.
 
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365 others

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Aug 31, 2022
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it's really sad that Mad World did not find financial success, at least so far. I really like the world. I don't know about the characters, they're okay but I like Capella's world.
I see it's tagged as Abandoned. Is the story good? The description gives a small glimpse but doesn't sound particularly enticing.
What were the things you liked most about this game?
 

Birdnman993

Active Member
Dec 6, 2021
587
778
Look .. everyone ... Friends Indeed is a totally tame little intrigue game anyone can download off Patreon - with MC basically throwing money at every problem and coming up on top -the broader audience version of Friends in Need,
so it is a totally different game with absolutely no tension - every problem that MC encounters during game play, he buys out of, as the single best solution for himself or the people he meets - basically what Bezos or Elon would do if they abruptly exited from all their ventures and lived their lives as literal gods among men due to their fabulous fortunes.

Are Elon or Bezos lives boring to all of you who would censor free speach and free expressions of mind?


About the sudden literal censoring of player opinion about the ”mostly” fitting of the censoring criteria, in alphabetical order - which means, sometimes, with little to no tension or drama, the games that are listed in the OP:

Little Regina is a better slice of life story about the hardships of small soccer players who would not or cannot take kilos of proteins and vitamins to bulk up and their possible story for still playing professional sports despite their size and perceived frailty in sports.

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After reading this I can only say, What The Fuck???
 

camube

Well-Known Member
Jun 4, 2022
1,187
1,086
I see it's tagged as Abandoned. Is the story good? The description gives a small glimpse but doesn't sound particularly enticing.
What were the things you liked most about this game?
I'm not really sure it's actually abandoned. It's just f95 abandoned. He did have problem with his PC some time ago and he doesn't receive that much support, which suck.

He's very good at choreographing fight scenes. Way better than Eternum. Eternum is just my Mad World cope.
That's probably his biggest strength to me.

I also like Mad World because there's a clear deadline for his MC's situation so there's a sense of urgency to the story.

I like reading stories with nuances to it's characters.
I find that most AVNs, even the story-based ones, the one thing that it lacks, is that it's characters lack nuances.
But AVN game writing, to me generally speaking, is not that deep. The characters doesn't go beyond templates because they lack nuances. It's fine by now, I accept it but, writing nuances in characters is how a character goes from Nameless A in Game A to actual person I memorize long after I play the game.

Related to that, I like reading AVN where the developer take chances by having characters that is not the average person. Whether it's someone who is physically not normal, or disabled, or having some sort of gender issues, or in Capella's game case, a mute.

I like that he introduced a mute character in his game. I wanted to see more of how he write Mad World crew and how he handle the mute woman.

His story has superpowers / paranormal element. And to me it's not that easy to make that kind of story. The good ones should ideally be able to have it's readers have to buy into the system and believe that the system makes some sort of sense in that world. On all the stories I read that has some sort of power system, there aren't that many that I actually buy into. The average are just "okay, there's a system, this is the explanation of said system".

I think, maybe, given a better opportunity, Capella perhaps may be able to develop a convincing system for the powers in his world. I perhaps would never know. But the potential of what could have been is why I'm sad over it's lack of support and development.

I realized that AVN game bar, story-wise, is pretty low. I've played a lot of games by now to the point that I'm running out of story-based renpy games, and among those, Mad World is definitely up there.
 

Arisushi

Member
Game Developer
Jul 9, 2020
420
1,632
If I were your patron, I would like reading that Ari.

There is a dev I patron that recommends comics they read and tell the patrons what's the theme and why they like it. I like reading that, generally speaking i like reading patreon posts from devs even if it has nothing to do with game development.

Some time ago when I still subscribed, I wish Capella posts more often on his patreon even if it's not about game development, and among the games I've played on F95, it's really sad that Mad World did not find financial success, at least so far. I really like the world. I don't know about the characters, they're okay but I like Capella's world.
So if you posts often on your patreon Ari, there might be some people that are like me, that are okay with you
Thank you :) It's nice to hear that some readers might be interested in these kind of stuff too.

It might not seem anything fancy, but I made these "booklets" with a lot of love and admiration towards the vns I was covering in them. And so, naturally, I'd love to do more of these on the side.

Hopefully, when I have the free time again, I'll be able continue this :)
 

365 others

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Aug 31, 2022
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On a completely different topic, I was reading some post in Reddit about VNs and was wondering about something that seems to be fairly common in VNs:

Are there any games (within this list) where the MC's father is:
- Alive
- Healthy
- Not evil/scumbag/douche
- Has a good relationship with MC (and maybe his other relatives)

Or even outside of this thread's list.

I was trying to remember at least 1 game where the father is alive, present, and being a positive influence in MC's life, but I can't recall any.

Edit: now that I think of it, I remember MC's dad was present (and being a good guy/monster) in Monsters College, but he is shown just in the first scenes.
 

yossa999

Well-Known Member
Dec 5, 2020
1,848
12,078
On a completely different topic, I was reading some post in Reddit about VNs and was wondering about something that seems to be fairly common in VNs:

Are there any games (within this list) where the MC's father is:
- Alive
- Healthy
- Not evil/scumbag/douche
- Has a good relationship with MC (and maybe his other relatives)

Or even outside of this thread's list.

I was trying to remember at least 1 game where the father is alive, present, and being a positive influence in MC's life, but I can't recall any.
Being a DIK :KEK: :KEK: :KEK:
Neil is the best AVN father so far!
 
5.00 star(s) 8 Votes