I'm not a patron supporter, but recently I got something like a free demo version of the game with only the first island out of the three (IIRC there's going to be three islands/story arcs/sets of girls in the finished game), so I played it, liked it, and now gonna review it based on what I saw on that first island.
Visuals. I would describe the artstyle as agreeable - it's kinda cartoonish, but characters don't look too stylized/distorted - all of them are easy on the eye and the absolute majority are on the cute side. I think there are two artists doing sprites and sex scenes, with one's style being bit more cartoon-like than the other. However the difference isn't that drastic, so these two styles don't clash (I've played through several sex scenes before noticed any difference). There are also some alternative character sprites like different clothes, which is a welcome surprise, to be sure. There are some issues in the visual department though, or to be precise - one issue. Backgrounds. Looks like the dev team doesn't have enough money atm to hire a dedicated background artist, so they had to make do. Currently there are three types of backgrounds in the game - several custom ones, probably made by freelancers; pictures that look like snatched from other VNs or free repositories (like the main menu just having a photograph as a background), and these ones are quite pixelated sometimes; and pictures that look like placeholders made in MS Paint - with black silhouettes and all. Well, it's one of these issues that can be solved by money - the dev team probably has already planned to make all backgrounds proper and pristine when the game will gather steam and support. What surprised me is that some sex scenes are animated - honestly didn't expect it.
Setting and atmosphere. The game possesses a unique feeling of a relaxed tropical adventure. Formally it's a sci-fi, but this "tropicality" comes first, not the fantasticality. It is, like, sci-fi tropics, not a tropical sci-fi. I mean, an intelligent bipedal shark walks around in a Hawaii shirt! (He's a total bro, btw.) May be the other islands aren't so tropical (I think the second one is a cyberpunk city), but the first one is very tropical. Did I ever tell you that the game feels very tropical?
Plot and dialogues. The game, as I just said, feels like a tropical lighthearted vacation adventure. The characters do match the setting. They are not the most deep and many-sided but it's not Last of Us either. Nobody is dead serious and everyone is down to fuck. It's like a rule in this game - when you meet a new (female) character you get introduced, and on your second meeting you get a sex scene. What can I say, I like this rule! If you are a slow burn fan - this game is probably not for you. I mean, the MC's partner is pretty much a nymphomaniac - a loyal friend with big benefits. Still, kudos to Wildquill that despite that fast going mindset he managed to write a set of very different characters. Like my favourite one, Perluun - she's mysterious and reserved and cute, and still she beds MC on their second date - and yet it's written in a very romantic way (she might be dead serious btw but she's in a minority). With other some girls you will just fool around, others you'll have to impress etc etc. They all are different. The dialogues are written with an exceptional skill - they are imaginative but not excessive. It should be noted that despite having such a lighthearted atmosphere the game doesn't become something of a cringe parody full of puerile attempts at humor - something some AAA porn games haven't been able to achieve.
Girls roster. Well, zero complaints here. There are girls for any tastes in this game. At first I was wary that it would lean towards monstergirls, but it was unfounded - the game is full of human women, and as for aliens they come in all forms - from full-fledged monstergirls, like an octopus girl with tentacles instead of a lower body, to pretty much humans with non-human skin color. Same is through for their personalities - they range from mysterious beauties to fantasy-style orc barbarians. Yes, it has orcs - this game has it all. No matter which girls (or fetishes) you like you'll be able to find someone for yourself. There are a ton of content (read sex scenes) already, and if you don't want to bother - game has a "secret" sex scenes gallery with all of them open from the start.
Audio. The situation here is a bit like with the backgrounds - lack of money equals lack of content. There are few tracks and only one track for sex scenes - but this one is really good though.
Gameplay. Well, it's a standard visual novel stuff. You read and you click. What should be mentioned is that every sex scene shows a special menu at the beginning which allows to play this scene with text or without, or to skip it altogether. Quite handy QOL improvement! Main menu also has a card minigame, but I didn't get to its debut in the plot.
Are there any cons? Well, bugs. Yea, there are bugs. Which is unfortunate, but unavoidable. Sometimes MC's custom name would revert to the default "Xun", the "status" menu would not show the money you have etc etc. Make sure to use more than one save slot!
Conclusion: It's a wonderful game that shows a lot of promise and potential, and already has quite a lot of content. It also has some issues - technical type of issues that sure can be ironed out with more money. If F95 had a 100 points system I'd give Sunwave Hotel 95 points - 100 points for what it can become in the future minus 5 points for the few shortcomings it has right now. But since it's 5 points only I'm giving SH all five stars. Great job, devs!
