Just stumbled onto this game out of nowhere, and was pleasantly surprised! It feels like a project that has a ton of potential, but for now, I want to be as constructive as I possibly can. As the development continues, I will be *very* eager to revisit this game and give it some extra stars!
( This was written after playing version 0.1.5 )
As a whole, I am feeling optimistic about the game's direction so far. It isn't perfect, but it has an undeniable charm that shines through its rough edges. I was tempted to give it four stars, but I worry that might make it too easy to gloss over some of its weaknesses. I just hope that the writing quality improves going forward, because right now, that is the only thing holding it back from being a real gem that I would hold up alongside NTRPG2, Henteria Chronicles, and Scars of Summer. I will absolutely be keeping a close eye on this game.
( This was written after playing version 0.1.5 )
• The larger sprites are very unique compared to most RPG Maker games I have played. They can look slightly off at times, like how most of them of them seem to be standing in an awkward "A-pose" with their arms held stiff out to their sides when viewed straight on, or that most of the female sprites appear as if they are leaning forward from the side angle. But I really appreciate the sheer ambition of making them so detailed instead of just defaulting to the standard chibi-sized sprites, and that they have several poses to help make scenes more visually interesting. But honestly, I think the only glaring issue for them is the lack of any "sitting down" pose.
• The environments are also very impressive. With the size of the characters, I would assume that most of RPG Maker's tools would make the world feel tiny by comparison, but everything looks downright seamless. Just some truly fantastic work.
• Unfortunately, the writing so far seems... rough, to say the least. There usually at least a few misspelled words per scene, capitalization is wildly inconsistent, and much of the dialogue can just seem awkwardly phrased. None of it ever gets in the way with understanding what is going on or what a character is trying to say, but with how much work was clearly put into the rest of the game, I can't help but feel like the script desperately needs a second pass with a very close eye to clean things up so that the story can really shine.
• Somewhat related to that point, I feel like there is an unusual amount of what I will call "filler" dialogue, where a character just responds with a single word like "Yeah" or "What?" multiple times in a single conversation in a way that can make the exchange come off as stilted. Sometimes, that kind of terse dialogue is warranted in order to convey something like hesitation to answer a question or a surprised outburst, but it is so casually overused here that it obscures those genuine moments where it would fit perfectly.
• This is a much more minor point than everything else, but I feel like I can't resist the urge to bring it up. The sound design is mostly fantastic, especially when it comes to the sex scenes. But there is one particular sound effect, which I think is a stock bow and arrow noise, that repeatedly pops up in cutscenes when it doesn't really make sense for the action being performed. I don't think it's a problem at the moment and actually chuckled once or twice, but assuming that the game might go on for at least 4-5 hours once it has more content, that could become grating over time.
As a whole, I am feeling optimistic about the game's direction so far. It isn't perfect, but it has an undeniable charm that shines through its rough edges. I was tempted to give it four stars, but I worry that might make it too easy to gloss over some of its weaknesses. I just hope that the writing quality improves going forward, because right now, that is the only thing holding it back from being a real gem that I would hold up alongside NTRPG2, Henteria Chronicles, and Scars of Summer. I will absolutely be keeping a close eye on this game.
