Recommending Story-first games

[desmosome]

I'll drop a few more recs. I did a search for the games I have in mind. They were recommended, but there was no feedback from our trusty VN, jufot.

First one is a no brainer. I am confident that you will like this AND it fills all the criteria in the OP. Elvensang. This game probably has the best prose and technical writing ability I have seen from an AVN. The world building is rich. The characters are well developed. The story takes itself seriously. The moral dilemmas are not black and white. The factions are not black and white. Everybody is justified in their own actions and you can sympathize with all parties. If this one doesn't get in the OP, I will riot.

Now the more controversial one. Pale Carnations. This was recommended a while back. It was #1 on the weighted rankings for a bit, and for good reason. I saw your short response to another person recommending this, but I'm not sure if you've played it. It certainly has male dom, coercion, and a bunch of "unsavory" tags, but it doesn't revel in it. The entire premise for the story is a fucked up situation for those girls, but the game doesn't ever fully indulge in those fetishes without remorse. Even the most corrupted version of the MC is very much mindful of his propensity for darkness and does not flaunt it like some male dom crazed rapist having the time of his life. Although I haven't done the route, the good guy MC would certainly be someone who finds himself wrapped up in some bad business, and he is trying to come out of it with his soul in tact and help as many girls as he can. Plus, the writing is excellent on a technical level. That said, if the subject matter is not to your liking, I can see why it might not make your list (although technically, it doesn't violate any of the criteria in the OP hehe).

 

[TheimmortalP]

badtimetales and a few others on this thread have recommended The Seven Realms and I just finished playing it. I liked it! Minor spoilers below.

etc

I read this, and you got me super super super excited. I thought "man, this person who is one of my best friends would probably love the everloving daylights out of this.." Then I found out that it's version 0.4...why Jufot, why would you leave the fact that it's incomplete out of all of that?

 

[jufot]

Episode 2 is now out. It really is a great game. Most definitely story first. And an excellent story to boot. And a pretty unique take on superpowers.

I predict that it will go straight into your list @jufot .

Well... sorry to disappoint, but I'm not sold. I tried, I really did! I managed about 20 minutes, I think, before I had to stop. It's a telenovela, and a bad one.

First, there is Jake. As far as I can tell, he's just an edgy, whiny, manipulative jackass. I don't see a single redeemable quality in him. I mean, just this bit of dialogue is enough to turn me off him entirely:

Spoiler

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Mia is a liar because she is not willing to literally drop her entire life just to satisfy your bullshit whims? Really?

Anyway, moving on...

Show, don't tell is common advice for a reason, but Fates completely violates that. Amy's first scene is a massive exposition dump of her backstory presented as internal thoughts. Nobody actual narrates their life like that! Why not show her arriving at the office, and let us figure out her circumstances from her interaction with coworkers? Well, we know why. If the developer did that, we wouldn't have had the scene where we get to ogle her naked body in the shower

Besides, the whole thing makes no sense. Some random dude breaks into her house, tells her he's with the FBI and he has a job for her and she just... says "OK I'm in"? Really? Because she was "career hungry"? Eugh... And then the whole conversation between Amy and Lucas in the car is just cheesy nonsense after nonsense.

I stopped playing when they arrived at the motel. So... I'd like to ask, does it get any better? Or, if I'm not enjoying myself already, I'm not likely to do so in the future? I can be very patient - it took me 3 hours to find something enjoyable in Superheroes Suck. So if you tell me to keep playing, I'm willing to give it another shot

 

[jufot]

First one is a no brainer. I am confident that you will like this AND it fills all the criteria in the OP. Elvensang. [...] If this one doesn't get in the OP, I will riot.

You are not the first to recommend this, and it's on my backlog. I will play it, I promise

Now the more controversial one. Pale Carnations. [...] if the subject matter is not to your liking, I can see why it might not make your list (although technically, it doesn't violate any of the criteria in the OP hehe).

The subject matter is definitely not my thing, which is why I've avoided it for so long. If I didn't have anything else in my backlog, sure I could give it a shot. As for your second point, I'm sure you're right about the criteria, but I can't really add a game to the list without playing it first. Someday, perhaps

I read this, and you got me super super super excited. I thought "man, this person who is one of my best friends would probably love the everloving daylights out of this.." Then I found out that it's version 0.4...why Jufot, why would you leave the fact that it's incomplete out of all of that?

Ah, sorry about that! In my defence, many of the games in my list are incomplete. Glad to hear you're enjoying it though

 

[TheimmortalP]

Well... sorry to disappoint, but I'm not sold. I tried, I really did! I managed about 20 minutes, I think, before I had to stop. It's a telenovela, and a bad one.

First, there is Jake. As far as I can tell, he's just an edgy, whiny, manipulative jackass. I don't see a single redeemable quality in him. I mean, just this bit of dialogue is enough to turn me off him entirely:

Spoiler

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

Mia is a liar because she is not willing to literally drop her entire life just to satisfy your bullshit whims? Really? Anyway, moving on...

Show, don't tell is common advice for a reason, but Fates completely violates that. Amy's first scene is a massive exposition dump of her backstory presented as internal thoughts. Nobody actual narrates their life like that! Why not show her arriving at the office, and let us figure out her circumstances from her interaction with coworkers? Well, we know why. If the developer did that, we wouldn't have the scene where we get to ogle her naked body in the shower

Besides, the whole thing makes no sense. Some random dude breaks into her house, tells her he's with the FBI and he has a job for her and she just... says "OK I'm in"? Really? Because she was "career hungry"? Eugh... And then the whole conversation between Amy and Lucas in the car is just cheesy nonsense after nonsense.

I stopped playing when they arrived at the motel. So... I'd like to ask, does it get any better? Or, if I'm not enjoying myself already, I'm not likely to do so in the future? I can be very patient - it took me 3 hours to find something enjoyable in Superheroes Suck. So if you tell me to keep playing, I'm willing to give it another shot

You know what? What you said here is probably completely valid. You've gone through most of the first chapter(and I've only played the first chapter so far.) and I'd say that if you didn't enjoy any of that so far, you should probably move on. Maybe what I loved about it so much was the game's presentation. Like I said, it feels like a really intense movie to me.

 

[bacienvu88]

Well... sorry to disappoint, but I'm not sold. I tried, I really did! I managed about 20 minutes, I think, before I had to stop. It's a telenovela, and a bad one.

First, there is Jake. As far as I can tell, he's just an edgy, whiny, manipulative jackass. I don't see a single redeemable quality in him. I mean, just this bit of dialogue is enough to turn me off him entirely:

Spoiler

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

Mia is a liar because she is not willing to literally drop her entire life just to satisfy your bullshit whims? Really? Anyway, moving on...

Show, don't tell is common advice for a reason, but Fates completely violates that. Amy's first scene is a massive exposition dump of her backstory presented as internal thoughts. Nobody actual narrates their life like that! Why not show her arriving at the office, and let us figure out her circumstances from her interaction with coworkers? Well, we know why. If the developer did that, we wouldn't have the scene where we get to ogle her naked body in the shower

Besides, the whole thing makes no sense. Some random dude breaks into her house, tells her he's with the FBI and he has a job for her and she just... says "OK I'm in"? Really? Because she was "career hungry"? Eugh... And then the whole conversation between Amy and Lucas in the car is just cheesy nonsense after nonsense.

I stopped playing when they arrived at the motel. So... I'd like to ask, does it get any better? Or, if I'm not enjoying myself already, I'm not likely to do so in the future? I can be very patient - it took me 3 hours to find something enjoyable in Superheroes Suck. So if you tell me to keep playing, I'm willing to give it another shot

Now that you write it, I'm having a bit more clear thoughts about it than last night.

I can't really refute any of the criticisms you have. I do however think Episode 2 is better than Episode 1. Jake is still edgy, but starts to calm down. Amy starts to make a bit more sense or perhaps I should say we start to understand why she doesn't seem to make sensible decisions.

The thing I like about the game is mostly based on the fact that we get to see both sides of the conflict. And the conflict itself have potential.

The game is fairly short. I think you've already finished half of ep1.

 

[jufot]

I do however think Episode 2 is better than Episode 1.

Well OK then, I'll give it another shot

 

[bacienvu88]

Now the more controversial one. Pale Carnations. This was recommended a while back. It was #1 on the weighted rankings for a bit, and for good reason. I saw your short response to another person recommending this, but I'm not sure if you've played it. It certainly has male dom, coercion, and a bunch of "unsavory" tags, but it doesn't revel in it. The entire premise for the story is a fucked up situation for those girls, but the game doesn't ever fully indulge in those fetishes without remorse. Even the most corrupted version of the MC is very much mindful of his propensity for darkness and does not flaunt it like some male dom crazed rapist having the time of his life. Although I haven't done the route, the good guy MC would certainly be someone who finds himself wrapped up in some bad business, and he is trying to come out of it with his soul in tact and help as many girls as he can. Plus, the writing is excellent on a technical level. That said, if the subject matter is not to your liking, I can see why it might not make your list (although technically, it doesn't violate any of the criteria in the OP hehe).

The subject matter is definitely not my thing, which is why I've avoided it for so long. If I didn't have anything else in my backlog, sure I could give it a shot. As for your second point, I'm sure you're right about the criteria, but I can't really add a game to the list without playing it first. Someday, perhaps

I think the whole premise for Pale Carnations is pretty porny in itself. Especially the carnation shows. And yes, I would say the game revels in some quite disgusting shit. There are some quite nasty things in the game.

But the thing about the game is that MC does a balancing act between helping the contestants victims versus giving in to his sadistic side like his boss. And no, I don't think it is possible for MC to keep is soul intact no matter if he rationalizes it with him helping the girls. There are very likely better ways to do that without involving himself in that shit.

With that said, as desmosome said, the game provides a story about the MC finding himself deep in bad business and trying to navigate that and coming out the other end without too many scratches. And the story-telling is very good.

 

[noping123]

I think the whole premise for Pale Carnations is pretty porny in itself. Especially the carnation shows. And yes, I would say the game revels in some quite disgusting shit. There are some quite nasty things in the game.

But the thing about the game is that MC does a balancing act between helping the contestants victims versus giving in to his sadistic side like his boss. And no, I don't think it is possible for MC to keep is soul intact no matter if he rationalizes it with him helping the girls. There are very likely better ways to do that without involving himself in that shit.

With that said, as desmosome said, the game provides a story about the MC finding himself deep in bad business and trying to navigate that and coming out the other end without too many scratches. And the story-telling is very good.

I was NOT a fan of Pale Carnations. It was one of those games where.... it was well made. Decently written. I can't criticize anything on that aspect.

The content otoh, was just really far off of anything I'd enjoy. Games like that flummox me. On the one hand I can recognize they're well done, but on the other I just absolutely strongly dislike them.

 

[desmosome]

Fair enough. I'd say it expertly walks the tightrope between depravity and wholesomeness. Of baser urges and humanity. Hopelessness and perseverance. It's a nuanced exploration of a dark scenario.

There are many in the thread and reviews who are totally uncomfortable with the situation, but nevertheless find the game amazing. They find respite in the wholesome segments.

Then again, we all have our preferences, no matter how good the writing may be. If someone told me some futa femdom focused game is super nuanced and has incredible writing that goes beyond the fetish... that would go right to the bottom of the "maybe play it if there is NOTHING else to play" stack.

 

[HogRocket]

I was NOT a fan of Pale Carnations. It was one of those games where.... it was well made. Decently written. I can't criticize anything on that aspect.

The content otoh, was just really far off of anything I'd enjoy. Games like that flummox me. On the one hand I can recognize they're well done, but on the other I just absolutely strongly dislike them.

I felt exactly the same way. It took me a while to quit playing Pale Carnations because of how well it was done, but ultimately the content just got too uncomfortable for me. The same thing with Lessons in Love with the added mental health issues in the story - since I suffer from severe clinical depression it was ultimately too much on both counts.

 

[Vasin]

I played Elvensang on recommendation and I have to say, it warrants being fast tracked to the top of the backlog. It is that good.

The artwork is simple, yet elegant, writing quality is great and music and sound effects are appropriate. The game has the best world building out of all fantasy games I have seen on this site, period. If I had to find a nitpick it would be that majority of the game is taken with it, but it feels very organic, not like a huge exposition dump.

 

[bacienvu88]

Fair enough. I'd say it expertly walks the tightrope between depravity and wholesomeness. Of baser urges and humanity. Hopelessness and perseverance. It's a nuanced exploration of a dark scenario.

There are many in the thread and reviews who are totally uncomfortable with the situation, but nevertheless find the game amazing. They find respite in the wholesome segments.

One of the main problems with the game is the MC who goes along with most anything without much thought. He doesn't show much remorse or guilt. In addition he is rather a manipulative bastard since he promises all contestants that he is going to ensure their victory. Or you can choose for him to only promise to one, but then he is "helping" the others even though he knows they won't have a chance. And anyway, it is his job to ensure no one wins too early anyway.

Then again, we all have our preferences, no matter how good the writing may be. If someone told me some futa femdom focused game is super nuanced and has incredible writing that goes beyond the fetish... that would go right to the bottom of the "maybe play it if there is NOTHING else to play" stack.

May I recommend Inner growth? Quite a good story, albeit a bit porn-tropey with a futa protag.

 

[desmosome]

May I recommend Inner growth? Quite a good story, albeit a bit porn-tropey with a futa protag.

Thanks. I will make a mental note to play this one if I ever want to download a futa theme game (which is unlikely heh).


An unrelated question to anyone interested.

What's the consensus on Tune In to the Show? I read the brief convo about it on this thread which seemed generally positive. There are 2 things preventing me from trying it out. The preview pics are all straight shots of a girl in the center of the screen, looking directly at the self insert screen. I've seen this in My New Memories and it was so monotonous and uncreative that I got bored out of my mind (well, the writing didn't help matters). Maybe this one does better and the preview pics are just poorly selected?

The other thing is, of course, the mentioned safe space harem scenario that seems way too blunt. I don't actually mind harem games that placate that group, but not if it's done tactlessly or if it actively creates unnatural dialogues and situations. An example of safe space harem that does it in a non-intrusive way would be Eternum (and OIALT). In Eternum, there is literally no dialogues or scenarios made solely to reassure players. It is done organically and usually not even addressed. There are male NPCs, some who are actively seeking out the LIs, but they just don't succeed. MC's comic relief bro, Chang, falls in love with a minor character who is an intentionally ugly muscle woman. Obviously, we can see through the intention of making her ugly, but it comes off as a comedy bit rather than a cringy attempt at haremfying the story.

Got off an a bit of a tangent there, but to summarize the question. Is there some more inspired visuals than what the preview pics seem to suggest? And is the game too overtly creating that safe space?

 

[bacienvu88]

What's the consensus on Tune In to the Show? I read the brief convo about it on this thread which seemed generally positive. There are 2 things preventing me from trying it out. The preview pics are all straight shots of a girl in the center of the screen, looking directly at the self insert screen. I've seen this in My New Memories and it was so monotonous and uncreative that I got bored out of my mind (well, the writing didn't help matters). Maybe this one does better and the preview pics are just poorly selected?

The other thing is, of course, the mentioned safe space harem scenario that seems way too blunt. I don't actually mind harem games that placate that group, but not if it's done tactlessly or if it actively creates unnatural dialogues and situations. An example of safe space harem that does it in a non-intrusive way would be Eternum (and OIALT). In Eternum, there is literally no dialogues or scenarios made solely to reassure players. It is done organically and usually not even addressed. There are male NPCs, some who are actively seeking out the LIs, but they just don't succeed. MC's comic relief bro, Chang, falls in love with a minor character who is an intentionally ugly muscle woman. Obviously, we can see through the intention of making her ugly, but it comes off as a comedy bit rather than a cringy attempt at haremfying the story.

Got off an a bit of a tangent there, but to summarize the question. Is there some more inspired visuals than what the preview pics seem to suggest? And is the game too overtly creating that safe space?

I haven't played the new update yet (am about to do it).

I would definitely say so far that the game is overtly creating a safe space. While there another guy in the show, he is (1) married and (2) lost his dick in an accident, so he definitely isn't a threat to MC. The host of the show has made it clear that she expects MC to have as much sex as possible. There has not been much of a conflict either, everyone seem at least cordial with each other and on the way toward become friendly at least with the MC.

That said, it is a fairly good game so far for the genre, with nice visuals (I particularly liked the stargazing scene) and varied characters.

Also, I don't find Michaela from Eternum ugly. Sure, she isn't cute, but she is still attractive if you like muscle women. She is however a caricature, which makes her rather uninteresting.

 

[bacienvu88]

I haven't played the new update yet (am about to do it).

I would definitely say so far that the game is overtly creating a safe space. While there another guy in the show, he is (1) married and (2) lost his dick in an accident, so he definitely isn't a threat to MC. The host of the show has made it clear that she expects MC to have as much sex as possible. There has not been much of a conflict either, everyone seem at least cordial with each other and on the way toward become friendly at least with the MC.

That said, it is a fairly good game so far for the genre, with nice visuals (I particularly liked the stargazing scene) and varied characters.

Also, I don't find Michaela from Eternum ugly. Sure, she isn't cute, but she is still attractive if you like muscle women. She is however a caricature, which makes her rather uninteresting.

Now I've played the new update as well. Continued in pretty much the same vein. There are hints (rather blatant hints ) that not everything is what it seems though, so maybe it will become more interesting later.

 

[realjitter]

While there another guy in the show, he is (1) married and (2) lost his dick in an accident, so he definitely isn't a threat to MC.

Well, if he had a dick and would be a "threat" i'd give this AVN a try=) because then you'd have like an actual TV show/game.

 

[Jaike]

Thanks. I will make a mental note to play this one if I ever want to download a futa theme game (which is unlikely heh).

Domination takes a big role in that game, most of it is done by the futa. There's also a token level of tying up and so.

An unrelated question to anyone interested.

What's the consensus on Tune In to the Show? I read the brief convo about it on this thread which seemed generally positive. There are 2 things preventing me from trying it out. The preview pics are all straight shots of a girl in the center of the screen, looking directly at the self insert screen. I've seen this in My New Memories and it was so monotonous and uncreative that I got bored out of my mind (well, the writing didn't help matters). Maybe this one does better and the preview pics are just poorly selected?

The other thing is, of course, the mentioned safe space harem scenario that seems way too blunt. I don't actually mind harem games that placate that group, but not if it's done tactlessly or if it actively creates unnatural dialogues and situations. An example of safe space harem that does it in a non-intrusive way would be Eternum (and OIALT). In Eternum, there is literally no dialogues or scenarios made solely to reassure players. It is done organically and usually not even addressed. There are male NPCs, some who are actively seeking out the LIs, but they just don't succeed. MC's comic relief bro, Chang, falls in love with a minor character who is an intentionally ugly muscle woman. Obviously, we can see through the intention of making her ugly, but it comes off as a comedy bit rather than a cringy attempt at haremfying the story.

Got off an a bit of a tangent there, but to summarize the question. Is there some more inspired visuals than what the preview pics seem to suggest? And is the game too overtly creating that safe space?

I don't think the visuals are very different from the previews. Characters are mostly centred and looking at the MC most of the time. The posing is sometimes a little different.

Most of the porn logic happens in the first scene imo, that's very porny and also the first sex scene. You may also get that feeling from the interactions with Richard, I think I mentioned that his being a bit of an errand boy at work was over the top. But it's not as explicit about it as that first scene.

I think the game's strong point are the characters, the LIs especially, and their dialogues. I think the dialogues flow pretty well, others have complained in the topic about their length and also about the narration describing too much. The female characters were designed to have personalities and backgrounds of their own, unlike the "please fuck my pussy and then take me in the ass, senpai, then do my sister and my mum and my cousins and my aunt and my grandma because senpai's dick is just too good and big" characters of zero-risk harem games like MNF, IA and WVM and also unlike the clueless abused family members in gropemeister MC games like BB, but other than that the VN's designed for wholesome harem compatibility. So it's a bit of a character-driven slice-of-life harem romance without an overriding plot. I don't know if that's your thing.

Another unrelated question, have you tried Vae Victis and Blackmailing the Family yet? I ended dropping the last one early for a number of reasons, but I think you may like it.

Well, if he had a dick and would be a "threat" i'd give this AVN a try=) because then you'd have like an actual TV show/game.

Given how well the MC and Richard get along, there's a serious 'risk' that this would turn every single one sex scene in the game into a DP scene. You know it; spitroasting, simultaneous anal and vaginal with their balls touching, while they talk about football or racing, that kinda stuff. It'd send every straight vanilla-loving man running right to the hills. And allow Richard and the MC to expand their (s)harem even more.

 

[jufot]

You know it; spitroasting, simultaneous anal and vaginal with their balls touching, while they talk about football or racing, that kinda stuff.

Hmm, do you know of any games like that? I don't mean the DP, that's pedestrian, but DP with the dudes casually hanging out during the act

 

[desmosome]

Another unrelated question, have you tried Vae Victis and Blackmailing the Family yet? I ended dropping the last one early for a number of reasons, but I think you may like it.

I played the first release of Vae Victus. I liked it for the most part. Typical male dom stuff that I enjoy, but couldn't tell you about the story-first merits due to playing a very early version. From what little I did see, it was a more tropey male dom power fantasy that will appeal to the fans of the genre but lacks nuance for broader appeal.

I put that game on hold not because I got disinterested but because it has gameolay elements like war and kingdom management. I typically let gameplay eroges cook for a long time before playing to let it develop all the gameplay elements for a smooth run.

Blackmailing the Family has gay and futa so I never really looked into it. Maybe it's avoidable, but like Healslut, games with too many gender tags sometimes lack focus on straight interactions. Maybe some day...