Grainy and inconsistent renders are the least of this game's concern, but the poor-quality aesthetics is reflected in the rest of the game.
When people say that the renders aren't great, they're being charitable. The renders in this game are pretty awful. Everything has an awful amount of film grain, making the entire game feel and look blurry. Worse, everything is horribly lit, leaving people's faces obscured in shadow for no particular reason.
The renders aren't even consistent with each other. You'll see the same scene with single light sources but somehow both faces (facing each other) are obscured in shadow. The models are often posed weird, with their faces caught in what can only be intentionally ugly positions, including multiple renders that crash straight into the uncanny valley of creepy-looking faces.
But it doesn't stop there. The story is slow, boring, and takes place at a crawl. The author clearly is one of those writers, someone who views their characters are fundamentally interesting and engaging, so they believe it's perfectly fine if they show them having long-winded conversations about the weather, or whatever random topic comes to mind to fill up the overabundance of poorly rendered panels. It's actually excruciating to sit through. At least half of the dialogue doesn't need to be there. It doesn't meaningfully advance the plot or give you additional insight into the characters. They're literally just there to chew space.
There's no subtext in the dialogue. Everything is spelled out super explicitly to the point where the reader doesn't even need to work for it. Thoughts are clearly revealed in speech bubbles. There's no mystery about how any of the characters are feeling.
The game falls into a lot of lazy storytelling tropes and cliches, often just to fill panels. Jabs at not getting to shower or use the bathroom (cause hurr durr, women hog bathrooms, so funny!) just don't really land, especially when the MC apparently owns multiple modern mansions—complete with walls of glass to enable indoor-outdoor flow—which all tend to favor en suites. Most of these dialogue cliches have no real impact on the story, so they can be safely skipped. They do, however, contribute to the story feeling too dragged-out. It's Bilbo's analogy all over, like butter scraped across too much bread.
There's also no choice to speak of. Your first actual choice occurs well over a hundred panels in, and it's a choice of the genre of movie the MC chooses to watch. It ends up not mattering because all three of the choices results in the exact same lines of dialogue, barring one panel to reflect their choice. Between the ultra-passive playstyle and the endless filler dialogue, the game's pacing just feels terrible.
The characters are likewise not particularly memorable. The most compelling trait about the MC is probably the interesting choice of him sporting a long hair don't care cut. Otherwise, he's just your typical generic wish fulfillment MC. All the girls instantly like him. He's instantly recognized as this super nice guy. He's rich yet doesn't seem to have many responsibilities. People want to get in bed with him as soon as they meet him but he's inexplicably single. You know, the usual.
The girls are mediocre. There's nothing particularly interesting or compelling about them, if we're being perfectly honest. They aren't totally flat, which is what's saving this game from a 1 star rating, but at the same time they don't feel fully fleshed out either. It's probably because none of their motivations or personalities feel entirely real. There's only so much "I like the MC but I don't know how to tell him" that you can stand before it gets boring, and outside of liking the MC, there's just not enough there.
Instead of being marked by their own agency, they're mostly defined by what happens to them. Shayna's getting stalked by an ex-boyfriend. Ashley has to deal with an abusive mother. Melissa's car broke down. They enjoy lusting after the MC and teasing him. It's just so... blah! Where are their passions, their goals and ambitions? What kind of hobbies do they have? What kind of futures are they pursuing? What specific aspects of the MC do they even value?
Ultimately, the story is completely average (at best) while the renders are wholly below standard. Feel free to play it if you like, but it's hard to recommend.
1.5/5.
When people say that the renders aren't great, they're being charitable. The renders in this game are pretty awful. Everything has an awful amount of film grain, making the entire game feel and look blurry. Worse, everything is horribly lit, leaving people's faces obscured in shadow for no particular reason.
The renders aren't even consistent with each other. You'll see the same scene with single light sources but somehow both faces (facing each other) are obscured in shadow. The models are often posed weird, with their faces caught in what can only be intentionally ugly positions, including multiple renders that crash straight into the uncanny valley of creepy-looking faces.
But it doesn't stop there. The story is slow, boring, and takes place at a crawl. The author clearly is one of those writers, someone who views their characters are fundamentally interesting and engaging, so they believe it's perfectly fine if they show them having long-winded conversations about the weather, or whatever random topic comes to mind to fill up the overabundance of poorly rendered panels. It's actually excruciating to sit through. At least half of the dialogue doesn't need to be there. It doesn't meaningfully advance the plot or give you additional insight into the characters. They're literally just there to chew space.
There's no subtext in the dialogue. Everything is spelled out super explicitly to the point where the reader doesn't even need to work for it. Thoughts are clearly revealed in speech bubbles. There's no mystery about how any of the characters are feeling.
The game falls into a lot of lazy storytelling tropes and cliches, often just to fill panels. Jabs at not getting to shower or use the bathroom (cause hurr durr, women hog bathrooms, so funny!) just don't really land, especially when the MC apparently owns multiple modern mansions—complete with walls of glass to enable indoor-outdoor flow—which all tend to favor en suites. Most of these dialogue cliches have no real impact on the story, so they can be safely skipped. They do, however, contribute to the story feeling too dragged-out. It's Bilbo's analogy all over, like butter scraped across too much bread.
There's also no choice to speak of. Your first actual choice occurs well over a hundred panels in, and it's a choice of the genre of movie the MC chooses to watch. It ends up not mattering because all three of the choices results in the exact same lines of dialogue, barring one panel to reflect their choice. Between the ultra-passive playstyle and the endless filler dialogue, the game's pacing just feels terrible.
The characters are likewise not particularly memorable. The most compelling trait about the MC is probably the interesting choice of him sporting a long hair don't care cut. Otherwise, he's just your typical generic wish fulfillment MC. All the girls instantly like him. He's instantly recognized as this super nice guy. He's rich yet doesn't seem to have many responsibilities. People want to get in bed with him as soon as they meet him but he's inexplicably single. You know, the usual.
The girls are mediocre. There's nothing particularly interesting or compelling about them, if we're being perfectly honest. They aren't totally flat, which is what's saving this game from a 1 star rating, but at the same time they don't feel fully fleshed out either. It's probably because none of their motivations or personalities feel entirely real. There's only so much "I like the MC but I don't know how to tell him" that you can stand before it gets boring, and outside of liking the MC, there's just not enough there.
Instead of being marked by their own agency, they're mostly defined by what happens to them. Shayna's getting stalked by an ex-boyfriend. Ashley has to deal with an abusive mother. Melissa's car broke down. They enjoy lusting after the MC and teasing him. It's just so... blah! Where are their passions, their goals and ambitions? What kind of hobbies do they have? What kind of futures are they pursuing? What specific aspects of the MC do they even value?
Ultimately, the story is completely average (at best) while the renders are wholly below standard. Feel free to play it if you like, but it's hard to recommend.
1.5/5.
