Ren'Py - The Dented Kettle [v0.11.02] [DKettle]

Date of original review: May 11, 2025
Build Version at time of review: 0.11.02

This is a rather decent but also rather short, incomplete visual novel. I realize that should be understood by virtue of the version number and the dev's own words, but sometimes it needs to be spelled out:

This is a game in early development and therefore there is not much content for the player to experience. What is there is pretty good:

• AI art in an anime style
• Basic yet intuitive UI and UX
• Interesting, diverse characters
• The suggestion of a good story that's more than just slice-of-life
• Some rather good prose

This game is meant to be a visual novel in the truest sense of that word: this is a story to be experienced more than it's a game to be explored. The player doesn't really have much agency other than various dailies that make various numbers go up, tied to various scene triggers. Consequently, it's good that the prose is enjoyable because that's the primary window the player will have to shape their experience. However, that's not to say this game is without flaws.

• Although in early development, it isn't even in early alpha (e.g. missing whole features, game loops, storylines, etc.)
• There is the suggestion of dating/romancing other NPCs but none of those stories are complete; there isn't a single finished storyline.
• There is the suggestion of a mysterious, supernatural metaplot but no means to qualify of quantify the player's progression in that metaplot, nor to reliably engage it.
• The player has little to no agency in making the game as erotic as they desire. What does occur is either random, or if it's a main story beat it'll appear as a choice (go/no-go) out of nowhere without indication that it was coming.
• There's some hand holding, a kiss, some groping by strangers, masturbation, and sex in a dream sequence. That is it. It's remarkably tame insofar as erotic games go.
• While the AI art is good, it's sparse. It's a lot of repeated models to offer static visuals to supplement the text, and a scant few static images, that while gorgeous, really could use more interstitial art if this is meant to be a visual novel, rather than a light novel that sporadically has pictures.

For example:



Given that AI art doesn't require multiple expensive commissions, this art problem very much will need to be solved -- and soon -- for this game to get more traction. Prose is great, but this game is being marketed as a visual novel, not as a text-based game, and it will perform better if it remembers that. If generating the AI art is difficult, then I suggest taking some time to refine workflows so that the advantages of AI art can be fully exploited.

It's not a bad game. There are very good bones here and normally I'd give this merely 3 stars, but I believe the dev could possibly create something great if they stick with it.

So, a tentative 4 stars for now, on the hope that the dev will solve some of the gaps present in this very early game project.

A very ok proof of concept. There's a lot of interesting plot hooks but without much meat in any of the storylines they set up trying to play it now feels pretty unfocused. What has been written is endearing at the very least. Some of the problem might stem from there only being two time slots in a day. I would be shocked if that did not change at some point given the developer's roadmap to add more stats to raise and more locations to meet new love interests in. The rest of the mechanics are currently pretty light and straightforward, which makes sense for something trying to be part cozy vn and part sandbox with systems feeding into each other to show you everything in the game. That said, there are already some oversights, and some events are needing updates to fix flags or chance of happening.
The decisions to make every single character a conventionally attractive woman or futa and to have all generic npcs be eyeless to differentiate them from the main cast are great ideas, but on their own are not quite enough actually make the ai output as a whole feel distinct from similar offerings. Again, by no means bad, just not unforgettably good.

In regard to that most dangerous word “potential”: this project is something to keep an eye on for sure. If the dev can walk the razor's edge to flesh out existing ideas while adding the other planned five-sixths of the content without burying himself in technical debt or making the game a chore to play through, this absolutely could be good or even great. However, that is a very big if, especially for a first project.