VN - Ren'Py - Strangers on Paper [Ch.2 v0.2.2] [Gloomy Ghost Studio]

Wow, this is good, great even.
I don't usually review games here, but I just have to recommend this.
This is a slow burn story-driven VN without any animation, yet the compelling characters and captivating story make up for all of that and then some.
It took me about 2 hours to finish one of two route, and i consider myself a pretty slow reader.
If you are here for porn, I suggest wait a few more updates, or just wait till full release. Because currently there is only one scene.
But if you're here for the story, stop reading this and go play it.
You won't be disappointed.

TLDR: Amazing writing + beautiful renders = great game

One of the best slice-of-life VNs out there.
I've seen some comments stating this VN is overrated and that it has ugly looking characters (I highly disagree with the latter). And I also know the lack of animations is a dealbreaker for some.
I understand these complaints but I personally just want to be immersed in a good story, with interesting characters and meaningful choices, and this VN delivers just that. Along with the beauty and intrigue of the mundane, seen through the eyes of a writer, a poet. With all the cringe, awkwardness and charm of life.
As someone who loves writing and reading poetry I was extremely happy to experience a story that has elements of poetry and artistic expression woven into the narrative.
All and all, it's an interesting story, with a relatable protagonist, stellar dialogue and immersive moments.
This for me is a 5/5 (no animations required) and I just hope this game continues to the deliver with updates like this latest one.
Despite all of the previous difficulties and delays, I like this project, enough to support it on Patreon and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Best of luck to the developer, I will keep supporting him for as long as he keeps the train going, and if you're reading this and haven't played it yet, give it a try! TITSOAK

I thought I was getting into some generic visual novel. Instead, I am sucked into this beautiful story between these characters. I love the fact that they feel like people with personal problems and even the MC is well written with depths. The art is so visually stunning with the shot and camera composed makes me more invested in the story.

To sum it up, came in to have a wank, but didn't and instead I stayed for the story 10/10.

If you make it past the intentionally terribly written opening lines - which are, thankfully, diegetic - you'll find an excellent VN. The writing is very good, (outside of a few mediocre lyrics), the characters are excellent, the storylines are very good.
There are, of course, some problems, but nothing that substantially detracts from it. I was very disappointed when I got to the chapter's endings, because I really wanted to continue, which is kind of rare for me.
It's not a wild fuckfest (currently only one real sex scene through two chapters,) so I know some people will be disappointed by that, but if you're willing to experience, like, plot and shit, then this is a great choice.

Dude, I think this is one of the best stories I have seen so far. I can only say thank you fur such a nice work. Don't drop the standard and keep up the good work. Characters are great and the story is really catching! Thank you!

Stylish, well-written, aesthetically pleasing, pretentious. "Strangers on Paper" is walking a thin line between elevating the art form and missing the mark completely. There is substance behind all the style, and the developers deserve the benefit of the doubt, but a development time of over a year for an update that seems relatively sparse leaves a lot of room for improvement.

Characters are written in a manner that allows you to connect with them, and leave you wanting more despite being marred in clichés (Becca). The actual plot serves as little more than a backdrop to write fashionable dialogue and thus far remains without a real hook.

It's a game that's worth checking out for anyone who enjoys flowery prose and is perhaps longing for a more mature take on the genre.

Bought this a couple days ago, decided to support the developers on Patreon. And, holy shit, what a great update.
Don't wanna give away anything spoiler-wise, so I'll just hit general points.
Stylish, emotional, some of the best writing you will find, and visually impressive. Great cast of characters, and I absolutely adore both Becca and Amy.
Two chapters in, this is definitely getting five stars from me, highly recommended, no notes.

Given that this title is under the Adult Games > Games section, I'll be rating it against other AVNs I've played and the content types they present. I am being lenient with it since it only has one chapter so far, and gauging what content an AVN would normally have in Ch 1.

Additionally since it has 38 previous reviews (37 of which are 5-star and one is 4-star) I'll be treating it as the pinnacle of Adult Visual Novels when assessing what it contains. I normally do so anyway by starting a game at 5 stars, and then adding/deducting along the way.

Positives:
++ Amazingly good renders, everything appears life-like
+ Very realistic characters, for the few we get to see so far
++ Perfect English text makes it a very easy read (this coming from an English speaker)
+ Conversations between characters are believable, for their personality types

Negatives:
-- Zero lewd scenes. The entire game (Chapter 1) carries a PG-13 rating at this point with the exception of a few swear words.
-- Zero animations. Not even things like blinking eyes on renders.
--In the first 5 minutes - the MC's best friend destroys the MC's laptop during a gaming session, then puts the MC to work at his bar (a forced plot progression device, and unrealistic in my eyes).
- Phone texts are displayed directly over current render (no phone background or separate UI element)
- Most of Chapter 1 is idle banter - there is zero "plot progression" on the MC's writing.
- Only two Love Interests in the game as of Chapter 1 (on totally separate paths)
- Very short on content - playing both girl's paths via loading a save still only took me ~90 minutes.
----- Game has gone 14+ months without an update (and yes - I do know why).

+/- Impossible to evaluate body types, as none are shown beyond one still of Becca's lower half at the end of Amy's path (still not nude).

Becca's Path:
- Keys "magically" drop onto the car's floor out of the ignition?
--- Zero adult/sexual content. No rated R renders.
- A kiss on the lips is all the MC gets. Two girls are shown kissing each other.

Amy's Path:
- Her hair is perfectly dry despite jumping into a pool head first.
- Totally dry clothes back at the bar (a short walk away from the pool).
- A kiss on the lips is all the MC gets.
- A single blurred nipple can be seen in a still at the end of Chapter 1 (lesbian closeup).

At this stage (Chapter 1), the game doesn't qualify as an "Adult" Visual Novel, as it has no Adult content in it. It may in the future due to the development team's plan, but currently it lacks any of that. At best it is a first date simulator, and as such does a good job of it.

Since I don't rate games based on the concept of "has a lot of promise", but rather "what do they offer right now", Strangers on Paper ends up a 2.9 rating from me. The only reason I'm not dropping it to a 2.5 (which I think it absolutely deserves) is because I can't imagine the dev team will allow it to go much further without actually adding in some type of Adult content. Whether that will be modern smooth animations, or frame flipping, or stills remains to be seen.

Played chapter 1

I thought it felt genuine and fun to play.
Both paths offer very different stories and they are both good!
I find it hard to choose what path I like more, but when updates come out I will for sure play both of them.

I understand why some might think it is lacking in paths. But to me this makes total sense.
The playable content is very good!

About the visuals. They are insane.

Ohhh another media about someone's having a writer's block, eh? Had a fair share of them in movies, TV shows, etc so this will be good. I like the renders, one of the best out there along with Summer Heat. Superb writing too, I don't have any objection. Looks like Strangers on Paper would only have two LIs, but I don't mind since Chasing Sunsets also has two LIs and it's still a great game nonetheless.

Truth to be told, I thought this VN was about something similar like Euphoria because of its color palettes but I'm glad I was wrong. Five stars from me despite it's still in an early stage.

Top of the line introduction. The story is excellent, the characters are well fleshed out, the writing is concise. No typographical errors, excellent grammar. The visuals are compelling and help to enhance each scene. This is a VN that will be wise to watch. Can't wait for a new chapter.

Intensely gripping introduction to all the characters and the stories they undoubtedly will have. Can not wait to see more of this dev.

Sound design is very good as well, with a music that makes you forget it's there and makes you miss when it is not.

Renders are near perfect, though the girls that are not MG's are not up to the same standard as Becca and Amy, though completely understandable

Its [Ch.2 v0.2.2] now and it's time to put down my full thought on this game in writing:

First of all, you have to go into this fully knowing that this is no porn game this is a fully fledged drama/romance visual novel with that out of the way let's begin
The story and characters:
this VN is about childhood trauma and rekindling old feelings, as you probably noticed we have two beautiful love interests very different form each other yet so similar, you will never wish more for the ability to romance them both more than this game so playing both routes is a must
Great supporting cast
The story's pace is well thought out.
Dialogue is fantastic
Well done, Gizmo

Now for the art stuff
Renders are top notch from characters to their facial expressions, environments with awesome lighting and attention to detail
Great choice of music
Well done, Grogu

Finaly and to be objective the only downside I see is the censorship in the Smut/sex scene

All in all, great job you guys and keep cooking
good luck and until next time

Something special is brewing here.

To start off, what a beginning to a story. It's not often that I find any visual novels that have the ability to make the characters feel like people, as opposed to characters that feel like they're being puppeteered by a writer. It's quite impressive.

The renders are beautiful, too. It's very clear that this is not supposed to be an episodic story, it's a movie in parts. The only thing I can think of that could maybe improve the world-building is to have more shots of just the environments, and the people in them. Though, there's still a tad too little story here for me to gauge the dev's vision, so I'd take this critique with a grain of salt.

Lastly, the story is very interesting so far. I'm a sucker for mean/closed off girls who's trust you have to earn throughout the story, so Becca was obviously the route I went down. The metaphors and emotions portrayed are done really well, and that's not just in comparison to other visual novels, it's also comparable to stories written by a team of script writers. So I have to give props there, given that, from what I know, this script is only being written by one person.

It's not often I'm excited for updates, but I'll be waiting patiently for the next update here!

A perfect introduction and promising start with high quality around the board in writing, renders, and plot.

What it makes up for in the lack of lewd content is the realness feeling of it all which I appreciate when it comes to story-driven novels like this.

It feels wrong to call this an AVN at this time, but excited to see where the dev takes this interesting and compelling beginning if this is just the first episode.

Strangers on Paper [Chp.1]

Pros:
+ Writing felt well thought out
+ Conversations and interactions between characters felt mostly genuine
+ Believable scenario and story premise
+ Characters felt likeable and real, relatable to some degree

Cons:
- Very linear feeling with obviously only two routes (might be a good thing to some audiences)
- Most choices don't seem that impactful yet (subject to change in the future)

Only the first chapter so far, but it started off fairly strong with character building and creating a believable situation and real-feeling environment. I feel it's definitely worth checking out and worth keeping on your radar for future updates. Support the dev!

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

One of those AVNs that starts out amazing; great visuals, writing that would be good enough if there was no porn (there aren't sex scenes so far), human characters, and a touch of realistic darkness.

I hope the next chapters are equally as good when they do get released.

No game has hooked me so quickly, storyline seems simple, yet the writing make it so interesting. Dialogues, renders... this is some oscar level writing, am just in awe. The girl amy was just perfect, she was looking good and yet was simple, and the pop culture references, the unique names of shots, birthday party crash, it is so repetitive in movies, but here it seems fresh. From all of this I can tell that the author is either a jingo of movies and literature, or he has done some professional course in filmmaking/writing.
Love it

In the sea of low-effort games, this one stands out. The developer clearly cares and pays attention to details.

Beautiful renders, with a nice cinematic feel to everything. The atmosphere and light work is excellent. Not sure about the top and bottom black bars - they add to the cinematic feel of course, but I hope this doesn't become the norm for all the games, as it will get tiring soon.

Girls look good, expressions are soft, subtle and mostly believable.

It has potential and is well worth a try even though it's pretty short for now and I don't know how the release schedule will be kept.

Hey Devs,

I wanted to somehow show you my support for the awesome work.
(If I could any other way, I would)

The dialogue is really lifelike and immersive, espesially alongside those beautiful renders, with the music complimanting everything.

So much so, that for the first time a game on this site made me feel like I'm waiting for the new episode of my favorite TV series to come out. It's a weird feeling to get out of a game. Unique, is probably the word that describes it best. I really believe that you have a gem here!


I know you had some mishaps that delayed your work,
so I also wanted to wish you good luck with that and everything!