Recommending Story-first games

[Deleted member 2577953]

Bought Short Sad Stories on steam and completed the rest of the chapters.

It stayed amazing till the very end. "Coffee Cup" is now one of my favorite vn characters of all time. (And she did it by barely being in the entire second half of the game.)

---

(Maybe it was just the decisions I made in my playthrough, but...)

Initially, it felt like the ending wrapped up a little too neatly for everyone.

Call me cynical, but that was the (only) point in this entire vn where I wondered if the writer pushed things a little too far for the sake of "hope".

But then I told myself that's not actually what happened.

It only felt like a happy ending because they had all come to terms with some important aspect about themselves and/or have someone to rely on this time.

There was still enough stuff for many of them to "work through", and the future remained just as an unpredictable as it ever was.

And then the bloody ending scene (with the whole birthday celebration) happened. And I went, "Yup. There it is."

Sure, it might've been played off as simple gag like moment.

But to me, a very important takeaway from SSS was the fact that - life often throws curve balls at you, and there's never going to be a long-term "everything is resolved now" moment in it.

So, that final gag was just what I needed to get "my perfect ending" for the story. Like saying, "Yup, they screwed up again, but unlike before, they'll be fine this time."



All in all, it was an awesome VN in every way. Really thankful for the recommendation.

 

[EndlessNights]

Thoughts on the latest Leaving DNA? I think it was a brilliant episode!

I also thought it was a truly excellent update. I count buying the game on

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(it will also be released on Steam shortly) as one of the best financial decisions I've made recently.

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I noticed someone on the game thread has started complaining about the trial scenes being too long. Isn't that typical? When a game does something uniquely well, people immediately start campaigning to change and ruin it. I love Leaving DNA's trial scenes. They bring up interesting legal and philosophical issues, they are often emotionally riveting, they give us new insight into Rockford and other characters as they work, and they actually seem well-researched. Definitely several notches above any other trial scenes I've seen in AVNs.

Idk... the choices relating to the MC's character are the only thing I'd criticize about LDNA. They're too easy, because they're always binary between the obviously right and obviously wrong. They're especially too easy considering the MC's characterization. Compulsively keeping people at a distance is supposed to be his big flaw, but right from the start we get options to just open up to every single character we meet.

How exactly would you change things? Do you want there to be more kinetic moments where Rockford keeps people at a distance like with Jamie and Trevor at the theater? Do you want Rockford to more actively overrule a player who is pushing him too far? Do you want the choices to be there but have opening up carry negative immediate consequences? The way I see it it is generally emotionally rewarding to open up and express your feelings in the short run so how things have played out in the game so far have made sense to me so far. In the long run, it can be dangerous to open up and trust others because you can get hurt and used...we don't know for sure that that WON'T happen to Rockford down the line based on our choices though I concede it's probably unlikely.

I want choices to be plausible and to have the potential to have interesting consequences down the line. I would say Leaving DNA meets those standards. A Rockford who acknowledges his flaws and wants to become a better person could believably make an effort to be more open, though whether he can keep it up consistently remains to be seen. I would say there's still plenty he holds back and doesn't proactively share -- Emmeline, for instance, couldn't easily read his reaction to her story and Malena had to do the emotional work to help him sort things out during the date. On the flip side, a Rockford who isn't convinced he needs changing and holds close to his natural inclinations can continue to keep people at a distance. Apart from the Colleen choice, I could easily imagine Rockford making all the choices you probably regard as being obviously wrong. If you want to roleplay him as someone who ultimately doesn't overcome his demons, you totally can and the story would still make sense.

 

[Hildegardt]

How exactly would you change things? Do you want there to be more kinetic moments where Rockford keeps people at a distance like with Jamie and Trevor at the theater? Do you want Rockford to more actively overrule a player who is pushing him too far? Do you want the choices to be there but have opening up carry negative immediate consequences?

I mean, there are already plenty of examples of how to do it better in the game. To be clear, I'm only critisizing the few choices that seemingly skip Rockford's character progression. I see that they're mostly tied to an interest_points variable, but I can't discern a strict structure to the gameplay mechanics, so, if you forced me to change things, I'd probably just remove these choices. After all the number of interest_points needed to progress with a LI can be chosen arbitrarily.

 

[EndlessNights]

I've recently played a couple of new releases that seem potentially quite promising. Neither have much content just yet, but I still found them both worth playing already.

Actual Roommates is a comedy about Violet, a data analyst who moves into a new apartment with three roommates...ACTUAL roommates, that is. It is lighthearted, energetic, fresh, and a lot of fun, but what makes it stand out the most to me is the way the dialogue flows. The conversations -- even over text -- sound natural and authentic. That makes the characters feel really alive even before we know much about them.

Violet is an excellent MC and definitely the most developed character so far. She's fun-loving and friendly, but has faced her fair share of struggles in life including financial hardship, a troubled and turbulent college career, and a breakup with a girlfriend she still seems to have lingering feelings for and who is still very much a part of her life despite the physical distance that currently separates them. I particularly enjoyed seeing a MC who actually seems to like her job, takes it seriously, and talks about it with some enthusiasm.

One thing that makes AR something of a novelty is that it is a lesbian harem game. I don't expect the harem to make much more sense than any other VN harem, but, like Mythos, the game's sense of humor will likely make the odd relationship structure a little easier to accept considering it's far from the only unlikely aspect of the story. After all, the game also stars a cat who has very human thoughts named Sir Francis Giles Blackfang the Fifth (my second favorite character so far after Violet!).

On the plus side, the harem isn't forced, and there will also be solo romantic paths. While AR is primarily a comedy, I think there's definitely some potential for some good drama and heartfelt romance down the line as well. I'm particularly curious to learn more about Violet's relationship with her ex because those two seem to have some unfinished business left to settle.

---

Fallen is about a criminal named Lucas who has recently been released from jail and his tempestuous relationship with the voluble, volatile, and passionate Lola. Both characters are written well, but Lola is the absolute standout here. Whether she's being flirty (not just with Lucas!), manipulative, bossy, teasing, or loving, she demands your attention any time she's on screen and the one thing she always is is unpredictable. Granted, there's some leaning into stereotypes about Latin women at work here, but she's still an amazing and quite unique character in my view.

The precise nature of Lucas and Lola's relationship is a bit mysterious at first play. They clearly have a romantic past, but they had to be either discreet about it or put it on hold due to being married to other people. In any case, Lola is very interested in rekindling things, and it's clear she knows just about everything there is to know about Lucas, including how to read him like a book and play him like a fiddle.

I was shocked to learn from the game thread that there's an incest patch for the game and Lucas and Lola are intended to be brother and sister. I didn't get that vibe AT ALL -- theirs is definitely not the typical sibling dynamic seen in AVNs -- but I suppose it can explain their obviously deep and profound familiarity. It might be the rare incest game that actually makes sense without the patch; thankfully Lola doesn't greet Lucas outside the prison walls with a breezy, "Hi roomie!" The one incestuous couple in fiction that these two remind me of is Felix and Alys Buckman from Philip K. Dick's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. The passion, the clash of personalities, and the dysfunction are definitely similar, but perhaps Lola and Lucas won't be as ill-fated.

The branching in Fallen looks like it might be extensive. You can get some quite different scenes and dialogue with different choices, though somehow the platonic route although acknowledged by the game ended up not being very platonic when I attempted it. Maybe Lola is just that irresistible? I personally wasn't too thrilled with the focus on dom and sub points -- Lucas and Lola's relationship dynamic seems way more complicated than that to me, but we'll have to see how it plays out. An alternative protagonist is due to be added at a later date...no idea what to expect there.

 

[jufot]

I've recently played a couple of new releases that seem potentially quite promising. Neither have much content just yet, but I still found them both worth playing already.

Interesting recommendations!

I was immediately sold on Actual Roommates as I have a weak spot for the elusive lesbian harem The sexual relationships are nonsense as expected, but I like the humour (your Mythos comparison is apt) and the story might turn out to be compelling. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

I'm a bit unsure about Fallen. I really like Lola's vibe! Confident, sexy, charming, abrasive, bossy. An actual adult, in a way you don't usually see in VNs. What's not to love? But I also agree that the incest adds nothing to the story. I hope it's a financial decision and the story won't end up depending on it.

What worries me is the "dom points". It's bullshit. It lets the player suppress Lola's personality by being a controlling asshole. It's like there is some cognitive dissonance going on. We're told Lola likes "hard" men, and she makes fun of Lucas for getting "soft" in prison. But she apparently also hates being told what to do, and if you bully her enough into compliance, you lose love points. So which is it?

I think the dev wants Lola to be the character you and I see in her, but also wants to give an out to players who A) don't like her flirting with other men, even for a good reason, and B) don't like "bossy" women and want a domineering protagonist. Call me a cynic, but it's an accommodation made to attract more patrons, and the game suffers for it.

Still, there is potential here. Let's see how the next chapter turns out.

 

[Éama]

I'm a bit unsure about Fallen. I really like Lola's vibe! Confident, sexy, charming, abrasive, bossy. An actual adult, in a way you don't usually see in VNs. What's not to love? But I also agree that the incest adds nothing to the story. I hope it's a financial decision and the story won't end up depending on it.

What worries me is the "dom points". It's bullshit. It lets the player suppress Lola's personality by being a controlling asshole. It's like there is some cognitive dissonance going on. We're told Lola likes "hard" men, and she makes fun of Lucas for getting "soft" in prison. But she apparently also hates being told what to do, and if you bully her enough into compliance, you lose love points. So which is it?

Lola is pretty sexist herself. She might be the kind of woman who brings you only misfortune because she expects you to behave according to an old-fashioned and harmful standard of masculinity. So, reigning her in might be a way to avoid that. But it's very early. You could say her confidence is about independence and "being-her-own-woman", but you could also say she is the kind of woman that gets men in mortal danger, and maybe she had her part into getting the MC into prison. I wouldn't rule that out at all. The MC hinted that this (her behavior and what it makes him an accomplice of) is what brought him there.

That being said. I also think she is an excellent character. I loved her character design, aesthetics and her flaws to bits. But she has questionable morals, which is what I suspect.

Personally, I played without the incest patch. Didn't really know there is one and didn't miss it.

 

[Éama]

Maybe Lola is just that irresistible?

I believe that she is a femme fatale in the tradition of the film noir. It's speculation at this point but that's what I think.

 

[yossa999]

Regarding Fallen, I have almost the same impression as you guys, I especially wanted to highlight the dialogues between the MC and Lola which I liked the most. Constant banter, gags, flirting and very lively language. Very cool.

 

[jufot]

Lola is pretty sexist herself. She might be the kind of woman who brings you only misfortune because she expects you to behave according to an old-fashioned and harmful standard of masculinity.

Agreed, but this type of small-c conservatism is quite common among Latin Americans, even in the US. It makes her true to life

So, reigning her in might be a way to avoid that.

Reigning her in to avoid the sexism would be one thing, but the way the game has it, it requires you to lean even more into toxic masculinity to stop her.

You could say her confidence is about independence and "being-her-own-woman", but you could also say she is the kind of woman that gets men in mortal danger, and maybe she had her part into getting the MC into prison. I wouldn't rule that out at all. The MC hinted at that this (her behavior and what it makes him an accomplice of) is what brought him there.

Yes, she's definitely dangerous and that's part of the attraction.

Personally, I played without the incest patch. Didn't really know there is one and didn't miss it.

I played without it as well, but with the script open, and you can really tell it's the "official" way to play.

 

[Cskin Games]

I played without it as well, but with the script open, and you can really tell it's the "official" way to play.

Self-reminder to fully encrypt all scripts so jufot can't play my games with them open for fear of being silently judged for my coding skills.

 

[camube]

I've recently played a couple of new releases that seem potentially quite promising. Neither have much content just yet, but I still found them both worth playing already.

Actual Roommates is a comedy about Violet, a data analyst who moves into a new apartment with three roommates...ACTUAL roommates, that is. It is lighthearted, energetic, fresh, and a lot of fun, but what makes it stand out the most to me is the way the dialogue flows. The conversations -- even over text -- sound natural and authentic. That makes the characters feel really alive even before we know much about them.

Violet is an excellent MC and definitely the most developed character so far. She's fun-loving and friendly, but has faced her fair share of struggles in life including financial hardship, a troubled and turbulent college career, and a breakup with a girlfriend she still seems to have lingering feelings for and who is still very much a part of her life despite the physical distance that currently separates them. I particularly enjoyed seeing a MC who actually seems to like her job, takes it seriously, and talks about it with some enthusiasm.

One thing that makes AR something of a novelty is that it is a lesbian harem game. I don't expect the harem to make much more sense than any other VN harem, but, like Mythos, the game's sense of humor will likely make the odd relationship structure a little easier to accept considering it's far from the only unlikely aspect of the story. After all, the game also stars a cat who has very human thoughts named Sir Francis Giles Blackfang the Fifth (my second favorite character so far after Violet!).

On the plus side, the harem isn't forced, and there will also be solo romantic paths. While AR is primarily a comedy, I think there's definitely some potential for some good drama and heartfelt romance down the line as well. I'm particularly curious to learn more about Violet's relationship with her ex because those two seem to have some unfinished business left to settle.

---

Fallen is about a criminal named Lucas who has recently been released from jail and his tempestuous relationship with the voluble, volatile, and passionate Lola. Both characters are written well, but Lola is the absolute standout here. Whether she's being flirty (not just with Lucas!), manipulative, bossy, teasing, or loving, she demands your attention any time she's on screen and the one thing she always is is unpredictable. Granted, there's some leaning into stereotypes about Latin women at work here, but she's still an amazing and quite unique character in my view.

The precise nature of Lucas and Lola's relationship is a bit mysterious at first play. They clearly have a romantic past, but they had to be either discreet about it or put it on hold due to being married to other people. In any case, Lola is very interested in rekindling things, and it's clear she knows just about everything there is to know about Lucas, including how to read him like a book and play him like a fiddle.

I was shocked to learn from the game thread that there's an incest patch for the game and Lucas and Lola are intended to be brother and sister. I didn't get that vibe AT ALL -- theirs is definitely not the typical sibling dynamic seen in AVNs -- but I suppose it can explain their obviously deep and profound familiarity. It might be the rare incest game that actually makes sense without the patch; thankfully Lola doesn't greet Lucas outside the prison walls with a breezy, "Hi roomie!" The one incestuous couple in fiction that these two remind me of is Felix and Alys Buckman from Philip K. Dick's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. The passion, the clash of personalities, and the dysfunction are definitely similar, but perhaps Lola and Lucas won't be as ill-fated.

The branching in Fallen looks like it might be extensive. You can get some quite different scenes and dialogue with different choices, though somehow the platonic route although acknowledged by the game ended up not being very platonic when I attempted it. Maybe Lola is just that irresistible? I personally wasn't too thrilled with the focus on dom and sub points -- Lucas and Lola's relationship dynamic seems way more complicated than that to me, but we'll have to see how it plays out. An alternative protagonist is due to be added at a later date...no idea what to expect there.

you know how Copycat is not for you?
Superhuman is not for me. I do really think i should try it cuz you rated it highly though!

That said, I don't like incest tag. Most of it doesn't interest me cuz it's usually used for fetish and not because the writer have something to say story-wise about that kind of relationship.
They don't have anything to say, it's just fetish.
I really like Chasing Sunset but I barely tolerate the incest. Cuz whether it's Mallory and Jaye, both are "technical" incest.

Based on your post, I really want to try Fallen, but the fact that it has "incest" tag makes me probably put it on the backlog. And I don't think "second protagonist" is a good idea either cuz it could potentially adds real complexity to the development.

I really like ORS cuz Eva can write characters well but I've seen how much development is delayed due to having 2 separate main characters and that is not even Daz.

 

[camube]

Self-reminder to fully encrypt all scripts so jufot can't play my games with them open for fear of being silently judged for my coding skills.

let us know when Chapter 3 comes out, i really like your new game

 

[Hildegardt]

Fallen seems less like film noir and more like Pulp Fiction to me. The incest seems very on topic, because of the deliberate trashiness of the characters. It's a different context to the typical landlady games, where incest is used in a bizarr way to sanitize the LIs.
It's fascinating how fetishizing incest seems to put it into a virtuous light for a lot of people (at least on f95zone). Like we're supposed to think the hero power fantasy is very cool for keeping it in the family. This stuff is a better fit for parodies imo. Fallen is bringing the taboo back, which is a lot more "normal" funnily enough. At least it takes incest for what it is and leaves the fucked up shit to the fucked up anti-heroes.

 

[jufot]

Self-reminder to fully encrypt all scripts so jufot can't play my games with them open for fear of being silently judged for my coding skills.

Cute of you to assume I haven't been doing that already

Fallen seems less like film noir and more like Pulp Fiction to me. [...] Fallen is bringing the taboo back, which is a lot more "normal" funnily enough.

Huh, that's a very interesting take. It definitely has the potential for it.

 

[jufot]

Pecker PI chapter 3 is out on

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!

 

[MrPocketRocket]

Pecker PI chapter 3 is out on

You must be registered to see the links

!

Just dropped the Public Release. Hope you enjoy!

ps jufot, you are not allowed to look at my code, strictly forbidden as a matter of fact...as you know, not my forte.

 

[Dathos]

I wanted to like Pecker PI, but the white text with no textbox is *so* hard to read that I couldn't continue. Sadly, there are a lot of otherwise good games that choose to not have a textbox background, making them unplayable for me. My eyes are ... not great, so I really need the contrast to be able to follow the story.

From what I *could* see of it, it looks interesting, but it just won't be one I follow at this time.

 

[Cskin Games]

I wanted to like Pecker PI, but the white text with no textbox is *so* hard to read that I couldn't continue. Sadly, there are a lot of otherwise good games that choose to not have a textbox background, making them unplayable for me. My eyes are ... not great, so I really need the contrast to be able to follow the story.

From what I *could* see of it, it looks interesting, but it just won't be one I follow at this time.

Since the dev checks this thread, I'm just going to leave a little something here (Which any other dev can feel free to utilize)

First: in the say screen (screens.rpy by default -and if you want to replace the textbox, use whatever image you'd like as the Frame() - also, I have 40,0 because I use a different textbox. You'd probably want 0,0 by default - and may need to adjust it depending on if you replace it or not )

screen say(who, what):
    style_prefix "say"

    window:
        id "window"
        background Transform(Frame("gui/textbox.png",40,0), alpha=persistent.textBoxOp)

Then in your preferences screen (screen preferences(): by default) you add this somewhere (ignore the vbox and xysize bit - that's specific to me, so you might need it to be different depending on your screen setup - the bar value bit is the important part)

                vbox:
                    xysize(600,75)
                    label _("Text Box Opacity")
                    bar value FieldValue(persistent, "textBoxOp",range=1.0,style="bar")

And of course, define a persistent.textBoxOp somewhere in your script. By default I set mine to 0.0, if you want no textbox, I suggest doing the same.

The benefit to this is you can create the game without the textbox (Which I personally prefer, hence why I do it) but still allow an opacity slider for those with visibility issues to be able to have it there so they can read everything more easily.

 

[Tlaero]

I wanted to like Pecker PI, but the white text with no textbox is *so* hard to read that I couldn't continue. Sadly, there are a lot of otherwise good games that choose to not have a textbox background, making them unplayable for me. My eyes are ... not great, so I really need the contrast to be able to follow the story.

From what I *could* see of it, it looks interesting, but it just won't be one I follow at this time.

MrPocketRocket if you want to have black outlines around your white text, go to gui.rpy and add the following line:

define gui.dialogue_text_outlines = [(absolute(2), "#000", absolute(1), absolute(1))]

Tlaero

 

[MrPocketRocket]

I wanted to like Pecker PI, but the white text with no textbox is *so* hard to read that I couldn't continue. Sadly, there are a lot of otherwise good games that choose to not have a textbox background, making them unplayable for me. My eyes are ... not great, so I really need the contrast to be able to follow the story.

From what I *could* see of it, it looks interesting, but it just won't be one I follow at this time.

I'm going to add a box for next chapter. There is currently a mod which will give you a text box : Walkthrough+