Ren'Py - Superheroes Suck [v2.051 Public] [Solace]

Superheroes Suck is a kinetic novel where you play as an emotional support hero for a quartet of emotionally unstable supergirls.

As a kinetic novel, there's very little to speak of in regards to gameplay. After your character's introduction, you basically follow the story getting to know the harem girls along the way. All kinetic novels come down to the story and fortunately, Superheroes Suck knocks that out of the park.

The girls are not only cute, but interesting. They each have their own quirks, personalities, and goals. Getting to know them is honestly fun and relaxing. The game also gets massive bonus points for giving the main character his time in the spotlight as well. He's still a little empty, as main characters tend to be, but he's also interesting. I loved the intro and the exploration of his powers.

I was going to complain about how there's very little in the way of tension or drama in the story, but then shit went down. It took a long time to get to it, but the payoff was worth it. Watching the characters react to things happening is so much more worthwhile when you've actually come to care about them and know how they tick. It's especially good when their reactions just make so much sense based on how you've come to know them.

Anyway, the renders are great, the girls are wonderful, the story is incredible. My only complaint is that I don't have more of it.

It's crazy to me how underrated this game is. It's mostly a VN with sandbox, but the story and the girls are all first-rate. Solace really knows how to flesh out characters and make me care about them. I EVEN BEGAN TO FEEL FOR THE CAR. The renders are all quite solid. One thing I will say is that the story feels a bit slow in terms of the mc himself . There are a couple empty days within the sandbox of this game where not much happens, but definitely not grindy. Also, there is so much content in this game, and I truly marvel at how incredibly underfunded and underrated this game is. It really needs more notice. I feel like Discords always help; if Solace is interested in taking control of this forum, and adds more links like discord, I feel like the game will get much more attention. Posting it on other sites like Subscribestar and Itch.io wouldn't hurt. It'd generate some extra income, and provide a much larger audience than just Patreon. Patreon seems to favor much more lewd games like Dungeon Slaves for example. I think Itchi.io at the bare minimum would help out a lot.

TLDR: This game is a sandbox but has a great story, good renders, and engaging characters. You should definitely give it a try.

Such an underfunded AVN, it's sad the disparity there is. Anyway one of my favorite's. Above average renders and animations, but what makes it stand out is the story, doesn't get much better than this. I don't like sandbox, but it isn't too bad and well worth it to get to the story.

TL; DR: this a great story-driven game with erotic elements in it. If you're looking for an entertainment and not just quick fap, definitely give it a go

Story - this game has an actual proper story. There are plot twists, unexpected turns, good pacing and so on. It exists not as just an excuse to transition from one lewd scene to another, but a thing on it's own. I would even consider it pretty good outside porn games world. It is better than any CW superhero series for sure.
Characters - those folks actually have proper arc, character development and distinct traits besides boobs size and hairstyle. They do function as proper human beings and have goals and desires besides having sex with MC.
Artwork - while there's nothing extraordinary about them, girls are still good looking and believable. There are no weird-ass facial expressions or unrealistic body proportions (well, maybe besides one particular milf's bosom).
Lewd - nothing outstanding here. If you're skipping the story entirely to just see the scenes, you won't be impressed much.

Some games bring witty writing and some good laughs, others bring lots of great art and hot babes with a decent story, others master the slow burn, and some are great for a quick fap. On rare occasions however, you find a true gem. A fascinating story that is layered, rich, evocative and fun, that also happens to have great artwork with gorgeous women, coupled with some really clever writing. Superheroes Suck fits squarely in this rare gem category. Outstanding work, and my compliments to Solace!

Played Version 01.152

-good story & great writing
-believable characters
-pace is a bit slow and it feels like the story is very much just beginning
-models look realistic, fit their characters and the world
-interface feels very basic
-good mix of Visual Novel gameplay and Sandbox, though the actual choices or gameplay is very limited ( which is fine for the tight story the game is trying to tell )
-mc doesn't act like a jerk

I wanted to like this game... it's a SuperHero game after all. It started off ok... a dude living a boring life and then discovering you have superpowers while trying to save a women.

Then Some superhero chick wants you to join her academy after seeing your powers.... But then you spend the next many real life hours (many in-game days) grinding away with tutors (One robot like chick and another boring generic chick) in the academy.

I don't know how many hours i'm in, but i still haven't tried, used or tested any of the "powers" discovered. Maybe it gets better in future updates...

Version Played: 01.152 Public

The prose is solidly written and somewhat captivating. The characters (for the few hours I played) are somewhat bland however.

My main problem is the insane amount of grind, or should I say, lack of actual content. You're supposed to repeat 2 same actions and your stats don't even change if you hit an invisible wall and need to trigger another event to progress the plot.

I was simply bored of working out and studying on alternate days, and doing them alone to gain "confidence" (in my few hours I gained ~70 points and managed to spend exactly 1.)

So yeah, I don't get the high rating of this game. If you remove the grind it might be 4-5, but like this it's painful to play.

The writing in this game is so good that were times when I was clicking through the sex scenes to get back to the plot.

In total honesty, there was a point in this game where I was so absorbed I forgot it was a porn game and when someone started getting naked I was momentarily confused.

Gameplay: It’s your typical choose between choices and locations clicker.

Writing: Phenomenal is the only correct adjective.

Art: While all the models are good, every single character is caucasion. I can only hope that the next game Solace develops has some diversity.

Audio: Mostly stock music, but there’s a couple of grooves.

I've been playing the Game on and off for about 1 1/2 years now when there is a small accumulation of content. Many Games lose me after a while, but here I like to come back because there is Development in each Character and many Scenes make you smile. The Story is also exciting, because the Hero is not obviously Overpowered but rather struggles with himself and his abilities (which he believes he has).

Keep up the good Work and thanks for the Entertainment.

This is a review of v1.101

The game is very promising and there is already a lot of content to play with the story while not being super original is still told in a very interesting way that is still enjoyable, The characters are rendered beautifully and the dialogue was written well being not overly tedious and having humor mixed in, some characters are have more depth to them than others but it was still great. The sex scenes while numerous there is no gallery function to view them all but most of the scenes are repeatable.

4.5/5 stars Enjoyable game and if possible support the developer

Review for Superheroes Suck v2.015

Overall: 3.5/5 - The game is above average for F95, but I would stop short of calling it good. The writing is exceptional, but the game needs a lot of work on the user interface, the "gaming experience", and some of the models/rendering. Individual updates are rarely worth playing by themselves. If I had to guess, I'd say the developer didn't have a good plan on how the game would be broken down into pieces for development, individual updates, and consistent and enjoyable gameplay. It also seems like he is making up changes to the story along the way. The game has been in development for 5 years, but the last 3 years have been a series of breadcrumbs that seem to be designed to drag out the development time.

Story: 3/5 - It's not terrible, but I don't find it particularly interesting or engaging. The story seemed to get worse after Mrs. Powell disappeared and the MC started interacting with Artemesia.

Writing: 5/5 - The writing is the star of the game.

Renders/Models: 3/5 - The renders in general don't have a lot of detail and are always a little grainy. They improve a little as the game progresses, but they aren't anywhere near where they should be in 2025. The models for the girls are good, but not outstanding. The models for various rooms and hallways the academy feel out-of-place. They just seem lifeless and artificial. It also looks like the models for the girls are rendered separately then overlayed into the rooms.

Animations: 3.5/5 - Animations are relatively smooth and don't seem to sacrifice a lot of resolution/detail from the renders, but otherwise, they have the same issues as the renders.

Content: 3/5 - There's a decent amount of content and lewd content. The lewd scenes aren't really very erotic, though. The amount of content released from one update to the next is very inconsistent. Some updates have multiple lewd scenes, some are just a couple of conversations that you can read through in 5 minutes, and some updates are just random events that are either afterthoughts or were intended to go in previous updates but weren't finished. Basically, individual updates aren't worth playing. Playing every third or fourth update is a bit more satisfying.

Gameplay: 1.5/5 - Gameplay is a sore spot for the game, and playing the game as new updates have been released has been a really poor experience.

• The sandbox is useless. The game is almost completely linear. The sandbox just exists to be a time-waster for grinding a few stats and to give an illusion of choice. It adds no value to the game at all. The user interface to navigate the sandbox did improve from the beginning, so at least that takes some of the frustration out of having the sandbox.
• The stat grinding and checking completely disappeared over 2 years ago. Players can still increase stats, but they appear to serve no purpose at all.
• Event triggering is mostly what forces grind. Some events only trigger one day per week or one time per day, and need to be performed multiple times, so... grind away.
• Some of the very early choices in the game seem really stupid and pointless, almost like the developer put them in to practice adding choices to the game.
• The hints are occasionally wrong. Some examples:

1. A hint for one girl's storyline said to "check on" another girl, so players try to do that but nothing happens, even for weeks of in-game time, because the trigger is actually the completion of a specific future point in that girl's storyline, not simply the act of checking on her. What the hint really should say is to continue the other girl's storyline.
2. A hint says to wait for the Sunday lecture, but nothing happened, because something needed to happen first in another girl's storyline.
3. All hints said to either check on another girl or finish other tasks at the academy of which there are none. The actual trigger was the lecture the following Sunday.

Bugs: 4/5 - I only encountered 1 bug that had to do with an event that triggered by using the elevator. It was fixed in the following update.

The game has content but once you see the second scene, I think its an actua sex scene, the game kind of loses everything. As the progress with the characters moves forward you never get the feeling of actual charactre development, in most of the ocasions ot feels like filling the point bar to activate a scene. And this scene is a very slow and weird animation, it really doesnt pay the time invested.
So you (I) start skipping the dialogus of most of the girls cause these sex scenes are not worth and the development of the relationships doesnt seem to do much, and I discover that every girl is like a separate world. You basically fuck everyone but with the exception of 1time that someone else sees you doing it, it never happens,so dont expect threesomes or anything that is not with the involvement of the MC.
And this scene where a girl was getting fucked in the presence of the other was like the girl "watching" was a manequin, she wasnt surprised she didnt ask questions, no reaction at all and no dialogue.
I wonder whats the point of that? Involving a 3rd person that less contribution than a piece of furniture (not exagerating).

Is till skipped to finish all the available content. The girls look decent, there is nothing extraordinary going on like cloth simulation or body physic. No camera work in the sex scenes, those are 1 fixed camera focusing on the girl and thats it, no nothing. And then the energy which is like 90 year olds.

I didnt find it sexy at all, and after playing for 90 minutes I just skipped through it.

This game is very promising, if a little bit rough around the edges. The writing is excellent, the graphics solid, and the worldbuilding fairly exceptional. The character building is perhaps the most standout feature, with each of the girls having distinct personalities, each one likeable in different ways. The developer also avoids the common pitfall of making them too perfect, giving each one actual problems and flaws that you can help them through. As a bonus, we even get a protagonist who's not a giant asshole! Heck, he's even a pretty nice guy, if not very smart...

With all of that positive going for it, however, the game has two major issues. The first issue is Consistency. There are several major plot point which aren't managed carefully enough. Advancing down one girl's route too far will start feeding you information on MAJOR plot events that haven't actually happened yet, for example. This is made more complicated by the fact that each girl's progression is a bit obtuse. Even with the hints given in game, it's easy to get stuck unable to advance one specific girl simply because there's no way to know what you need to do.

The second issue is something I mentioned already. The protagonist is kinda as dumb as a box of knockoff girl scout cookies. And I don't mean thin mints either. But, aggravatingly, this is only sometimes true. When it comes to insane plans, he can somehow think in clever ways. When it comes to figuring out his own powers, or what is going on around him, he acts like all the blows to his head have left him a bit...mentally deficient. This is particularly annoying given that he constantly obssesses over the issue, despite his OWN OBSERVATIONS that show oddities he doesn't ever stop to consider. It's absolutely maddening. And made doubly so by the entire team of other heroes (plus his mentor) who all seem completely oblivious and completely uninterested in figuring it out. Despite, you know, that being like 99% of the supposed purpose of the academy he's attending....

4.5 out of 5.

The story is fresh, the writing is dramatic or funny as is appropriate for the scene, and characterizations are fantastic. Every character feels fleshed out and distinct from one another, and it's easy to put unique voices to them, which is one of the most important parts of these games.

The best part, for me, is the very subtle detail that Solace puts into character expressions. Sure, that means a lot of extra renders with very little difference save something as small as a slightly crooked smile or raised eyebrow, but those little details make all the goddamn difference when it comes to depth of expression. It's absolute chef's kiss.

The main problems (minor though they are compared to the successes) are:

• The music, which can get repetitive and stale, especially the normal, everyday track that plays during the academy's daytime hours.
• The lack of background characters. The characters we get are all fantastic, but there's always an excuse, wherever you go, to have a theater or a diner or a coffee shop or whatever be empty of anyone except you and whoever you're talking to (and most of the time you're sitting in a first person view, so really there's only one person and maybe a guest around). It makes the world feel painfully empty. I'm sure that there are rendering issues to blame, but that doesn't make the problem any less frustrating.
• The sandbox nature of the game includes a lot of slumming around from room to room, looking for the next event. Be here on the right day at the right time and something should happen, except sometimes it doesn't for unexplained reasons, so you have to keep skipping days until it finally triggers next week after about thirty seconds of clicking the skip time button. I used the multi-mod to cut down on grinding and still found it somewhat annoying towards the end; I can't imagine how annoying it is when you aren't a cheating bitch like me.

Again, I typed a lot for those complaints, but they're mostly nothing next to the positives. Play it and immerse yourself in your character and his relationships with his teammates. Their stories, and the overarching plot itself, are shaping up to be something special. I especially hope Solace finds time to expand the cast.

Enjoy the story.
- Dev does a good job at bringing up information early that is relevant later
- MC's powers are a bit of a mystery but there are clues as to what they may be, thus speculation is fun

Enjoy the characters.
- Initial crop of girls is fun, but dev has added more that make sense in story and can be roped in/expanded upon in the future

Large amount of content.
- Took me a few hours to get through from scratch (v.975)

Excited to see where it goes.

This is the reason why I don't like playing games that aren't finished yet. Not that it's bad. Quite the opposite. It's TOO GOOD AND I CAN'T PLAY THE WHOLE DAMN THING RIGHT NOW. Good animations, attractive, realistic looking models, really interesting, and absolutely hilarious writing. I started for the porn, and stayed for the plot. This is my new #1 project to keep an eye on, because god damn, I need to find out how things progress. I got super invested in the characters, and the story being woven. 11/10.

Superheroes Suck [v0.95.2 Public]

As some reviewers before me have mentioned, this game is a tough one cause it's immensely polarizing !

On the strong side we have...

• a very unique introduction of the plot, creatively done
• nice renders & backgrounds ranging from decent to good
• ostensibly likeable characters (female cast)
• an ordinary, but decent MC (not creepy, freaky or immature)
• some proper humor and enjoyable situations/scenes
• decent writing, good english (no engrish!!!)
• a suitable soundtrack, pleasant music (if you like jazzy stuff)
• VN format for the introduction

So far, so nice! Almost nothing serious to complain about.
Just the opposite: potentially great, this could be a hit...

And then it comes... the HIT... when this game turns into weak...
in one word: SANDBOX.
No, I'm no hater of sandbox mechanics,

• if they are well implemented (without too much grind) and
• when they give the player more free roam and gaming fun (without destroying the pace of the plot and/or its flow).

Except for the "too much grind", that switch to sandbox destroys exactly most of the positive, strong sides of the game!
Annoyingly, it harms itself without the need, cause it does not give the player more free roam and is mostly there to "unlock" scenes within a steady rotating time cycle... from Monday to... - well you know the days of a week already, I guess .

The plot's flow is gone, the pace is slowed down and it gets tedious, boring, tiring and pointless after 3 ingame weeks
without any real progression (main)plot-wise nor lewd-wise (just one harmless BJ so far) .

Additionally you can not progress in the way you like (means with the girls you like when you like it!) - instead you're "guided" by a hint system - but not to progress scenes with all 4 girls, no:
it forces you to progress with ONE girls first before another girls' scene is "unlocked". Pretty shitty I must admitty !

Well, I'd vote for a new title of this game: SANDBOX SUCKS!

There are unfortunately a bunch of more issues for me:

• the formerly likable female characters become more and more childish, socially awkward, annoying or just cliched
• MC seems to be a bland being, rarely speaks or answers
• dialogues are almost non-existant, the girls monologize very often (and hey: their chatter is sooo trivial )
• the few choices are pretty meaningless, doesn't seem to matter at all
• romance, erotic teasing, passionated tingly moments - just not "implemented" yet
• lewd scenes aren't hot, they are just there (perhaps)
• the attempts on humor aren't that funny anymore, sometimes even become stale

Despite the many issues this game has it is definitely not a bad game. It starts great just to fall very flat short right after its intro.
That's a pity cause the potential was there to be at least a 4 star game...
For me it lost its appeal, witty fun and plot... and I lost interest to continue the playthrough. Sorry, but only 2.5 stars for an increasingly boring experience.

Nevertheless, good luck to the developer - maybe to turn it into something more attractive and exciting in the future *fingers crossed* !

This one is tough. I'd like to give it a better rating, but I just can't.

The renders are nice, animations are decent (even if they don't stand out), story is fine (not super engaging, but it's well arranged and it makes sense, which is sadly more than what can be said about most of the competition), and characters are great (the female cast, at least).

Then, what's the problem? For the most part, I'd say the sex scenes. How'd I put it... There's a big lack of perviness, of a sensual atmosphere surrounding the scenes. Most of them go from 0 to 100, and they feel somewhat "forced", as if they had to be there, just to make this an adult game. There's close to no foreplay: caressing, kissing, dirty talking, licking, biting... Pretty much nothing. It goes straightaway to penetration and, as soon as it begins, it's finished.

This also kinda works against the "romance" tag. You can see the characters care about each other, but more like friends. I see very little romancitism and emotional commitment between them (aside from a handful of scenes very late in this version, 0.90), and much more something on the line of "friends with benefits" relationships. Which isn't a bad thing, just not what I was expecting.