I read some of the other reviews and yea, I don't really know why the response is so polarized. I thought this was overall fantastic, especially as a first update/release and seems pretty promising as a whole game. I'm gonna say something that's mean but I think maybe it's partially because porn is pretty much a lowest common denominator and it appeals to almost everyone/99% of people and that includes some ridiculous people/idiots especially like in anything where when you get past a certain size you kinda inevitably have to start dealing with some portion of pretty ridiculous people but I'm also gonna try to see their points where it makes sense/to what extent it makes sense. I also can't help but wonder if some of the negative reviews are anti-science people who are "triggered" that there's a sex virus and the game is offensive to them because it's an attempt at trying to brainwash them and they're "free thinkers!" or something. Like, it's a fucking porn game. I'm an atheist and anti-theist but Sister Katherine is my all time favourite character in all of NLT's games and I'm not bitching and whining about "but she's a nun". NLT even gave you a sympathetic "I don't think that stuff is real" protagonist ffs. It's even a sex virus which is hot/erotic. It's a fucking fantasy.
Anyway, this is gonna be a long review in the case NLT actually reads this because it seems like he or the team actually kinda listened to some of the critiques that I had and I've seen other people share when it came to some of the critiques of ToN and how in some ways it was a downgrade from Lust Epidemic (even though it had an obvious technical/visual improvement).
Overall, I thought it was fantastic, had excellent pacing that's an improvement over both Lust Epidemic and ToN. It seems like NLT (judging on this one initial release) has really gotten ahold of what good pacing is. If it wasn't for the inherent slowness of RPGM games, I'd say the pacing feels practically/close to perfect in the first release. Maybe as an alternative for the complaints around there not being enough content, for the initial release possibly do a bigger initial release that's like 2x-3x the size of a regular update if possible but if there simply isn't enough dev time between games then I personally think it's fine as is but I'm not really someone complaining that the game isn't out of the door "blowing all its barrels right away". The overall setting/characters/premise feels inspired like Lust Epidemic which was my biggest personal gripe over ToN compared to Lust Epidemic (that I thought it felt like it was just "going thru the motions" a lot of the time despite having some pretty hot ideas/scenes). This feels like it has the eroticism and sexy atmosphere that Lust Epidemic had which I'm really glad to see. I thought from the moment I saw the map back a few months ago that the game already seems like it'll have that feeling of being "inspired" and I think this first release further shows that. I like the addition of the voices and SFX. I think they add to the experience and I'm fine with NLT kinda establishing his style. Visually it's solid. I'd be more for a big change if their previous games were not good at all and just needed to do something completely different. I think it's a little insane/asking for way too much to expect NLT to like having a completely different style or completely revolutionize the look every game. Somehow I also feel like the same people would be railing "why the fuck did NLT completely change his style when he had something that worked" if a drastic change was anything but spectacular. I'm totally fine with the "establish this aspect of the game and introduce another aspect with the next game" approach. I just hope that the fluid effects are also improved because while they were in some ways an improvement in ToN in terms of it being animated at least, sometimes I think the end result actually felt more erotic in Lust Epidemic. I'd really like to see something that has the technical advantages of ToN when it comes to the fluids but with the end results of Lust Epidemic in how it feels/looks. Like sometimes in ToN, it almost kinda just looks like water (which is better than disgusting or distracting/fake looking) or like it just drips out but it doesn't feel like a hot mess like Lust Epidemic I think actually did a better job with its painted on approach.
I'm gonna review each character because I think in the past with NLT games, there's kinda a lot of characters that are kinda meh. I thought Sister Katherine (5 stars) was a big hit at least for me personally and I think part of that had to do with her personality alongside her premise and design whereas characters like Jessica and Kaley (4 stars/my favourites in ToN) I thought had really good designs and I liked the whole doctor premise a lot and they even had some pretty hot scenes, I felt like their personalities were kinda meh and didn't really add that "ignition" of eroticism/sexual desire, even in scenes with a good idea (but still felt like it was kinda just going thru the motions where I thought a lot of the Sister Katherine or Elizabeth's scenes felt hotter on a higher level).
Hannah (5 stars) - I already love this girl and feel like she's gonna be another big hit like Sister Katherine. Love her totally different premise and personality but like Sister Katherine, it feels hot, erotic, and inspired. It really "sets ablaze" her design and premise in a way I really wish Jessica was for example. I think her whole premise of like a spitfire/adventurous vixen as a country/farm girl will likely even be so good it'll even be hot to people who aren't especially into the whole country/farm girl thing. I'd be surprised if she was a 4 star character. I really hope I'm not overly excited for her and that she ends up falling short. I hope NLT already has a fantastic arc for her set in stone and no high expectations can affect/ruin that.
Lillian/Chloe/Carol (4-5 stars) - I really dig their personalities and think they're excellent design wise. I'd want to see them nude to really say for sure though. I have some concerns that while Lillian's face I think is an excellent match for her premise, I'm concerned maybe her body might have an odd pear bottom which I'm not sure would really match her premise/personality. I think with her rich girl personality/premise, I think her having a younger more conventionally attractive looking slender/tall frame that feels pretty/elegant/beautiful would match a lot better to her premise and for her to have breasts that are slightly oversized to her frame (like a very full D or smaller DD) that feel a little mismatched (but in a good way) and also erotic in style to have a hot juxtaposition in her design while enhancing the whole rich girl premise (like mostly full and good looking breasts that naturally look slightly "torpedo" style or kinda almost slightly udder-like) I think would actually be "something special" and add that air of eroticism in her design where her breasts almost look out of place or mismatched but in a way that actually juxtaposes well her pretty/"prim and proper" expensive dress and face. There's not a lot to go off but from what I can tell so far I think their premises and personalities seem like they could be really good and have the potential to also be really hot "inspired" characters like Hannah and Sister Katherine. I'm really eager to see how Lillian's charity/service premise thing and Chloe's premise play out because they could be mishandled or turn out excellent.
Sister... Judy? (4 stars) - I wasn't that excited about her before but I'm pretty into her after seeing her animated. Her personality like Lillian/Chloe's seems promising but very faint this early. I kinda get a sense that she kinda embodies the "spirit" of Katherine for a potential almost "reboot" of Katherine which I'm glad to see. Reboots don't have to be bad.
Erica (3-4 stars) - alright design, premise seems good, not sure about how her personality will play out into the mix.
Heather (3 stars) - I feel like her design is a 2 for me because her face isn't that nice and it is a porn game. She can look older but still be wildly attractive. Her body is also kinda nothing special from all the other characters in the game. I feel like it would've been nice if she was the one character with pretty distinctly massive breasts like the fantasy idealized version of "mommy milkers" just so she'd kinda stand out in some way. Her hyper friendly motherly personality seems like it might offer something nice though so I bump her up to 3 stars.
Asian girl (2-3 stars) - she's an improvement over the asian girl in ToN who looked like a stereotype and just not very attractive (I'd give her maybe 1-2 stars just because she had one scene with Jessica that was pretty good but I was actively hoping that releases didn't have content with her most of all). I definitely think this character looks better but idk, I still feel like it's a CGI porn game. They should kinda be "the creme de la creme" of designs, especially since you can literally create any style/proportions/designs. I still feel like asian characters in porn games could be a lot more actually attractive and on par with the actually fantastically hot characters. I feel like maybe it's hard because I know in America it's hard to come across really hot asian girls compared to in asian countries for whatever reason or like the few hot asian girls in America tend to be lowkey or not like models/famous so it's hard to find references but anyway, this asian girl is an improvement at least over the asian girl in ToN.
Arriana (5 stars) - I reallly hope Arriana gets a main cast treatment when it comes to content and not like just a few scenes like.. Eve? Evie? did in ToN since they play similar roles. I think Arriana has a fantastic design and I love the whole otherworldly goddess/angel premise and I think her aloof but also kinda condescending personality feels "inspired" and matches her design/premise excellently. I think it can very naturally be developed into making for an air of eroticism in the buildup to scenes with her. It already feels hot/erotic in some of the little bits of dialogue she has.
Anchor Foxx person (5 stars) - I also love this design so much. I really hope she'll actually get content in the game. I'm kinda thinking she might not get any content or very little. I'm already sad about this. I feel like she's truly a fantastic dark skinned/Indian? character and there haven't been any black or Indian girls in any NLT game too so it'd definitely be something new and different (but in a way that's actually good). I initially couldn't really think of a good premise/personality for her that'd be good in an erotic game but then I thought idk, the whole anchorwoman thing can be pretty hot right? Like looking so fine and borderline prim on air. Maybe she's married but secretly a freak and idk seeks out to satisfy her urges at night or something. Idk, I hope if she's not getting any content or very little that that is not set in stone and she'll get some good content. Even some sextapes where no premise really needs to be developed would be awesome just because I really think her design is fantastic and something different (but done really well).
Critiques
In the Lisa Caldwell porno tape, I don't know why her arms are set like that. Maybe having her grope herself would be a lot more work than is worth it but even just having her hands on her knees would at least not stick out like they do in the current scene. Or if it's like a cut on time/dev thing, then I think what might actually even be the hottest option would to do a full on Barbie doll hand pose of the hands and have the title of the porn be something like "Sexbot Lisa is Automated to Fuck!" or whatever. Maybe have her expression either a little of a conventional/natural "O" face or more of an ahegao because it currently looks like it's inbetween a more natural "O" face and like she's almost "about to sneeze" an ahegao (like when you're about to sneeze but don't). These are pretty minor though.
I read someone else say about how like this game is just a copy of ToN and I don't feel that way at all. I think it's way more like the best of what made Lust Epidemic but I actually think it's even better because Lust Epidemic had Katherine, Elizabeth and an overall premise/setting that felt inspired but a lot of the other characters still felt kinda meh in their designs. They were better because the game itself/overall premise and their personalities felt more inspired than ToN so it didn't feel like they were "just going thru the motions". But in TGO, I feel like most of the characters feel like they have inspired designs/personalities/premises or at least have the potential for it while the overall game's premise and atmosphere feels inspired too like LE. The one thing though I'm unhappy to see and is actually my biggest gripe is the likely implementation of the digging for artifacts/relics thing for money system. I think gameplay, just like personality, in an erotic game can be done in a way where it actually adds to the experience. I think introducing some grind can build tension that makes content feel more "weighted" but that tension (especially in erotic games) is a delicate thread that's very very easy to snap when there's too much of a grind. There were parts of ToN I just wanted to get thru to get to the content and actually kinda hated playing. If there is gonna be grind, I really think those numbers should never exceed 5/10/20. If you're doing the same action like finding 50 or 100 over 10 or 20 times (depending on what the action is) or in most cases even more than 5 times, it just feels like a "buzzkill" for the game. I also think grinds can be done in a way that's actually enjoyable like.. idk character y isn't used to a big dick so you need to have 12 sex acts with her out of a selection of 5 repeatable events to stretch her out or like character y needs to receive 20 creampies to fulfill the ritual of something sexy summoning blah blah blah. I really hope this is something that can be changed because it also does seem like it's totally shoehorned into the game and doesn't at all belong to the premise whatsoever. Why is a detective digging up artifacts and shit in the forest? I mean if NLT wants some grind involved in the game could it at least be like.. idk, he's looking for evidence in buildings and 1/5 times he finds something sexually imaginative/erotically intriguing like panties or some toy that reveals/suggests a surprisingly hot fetish with x or y character you didn't expect but it's really hot with or a nude or something? Also, why is he selling trinkets for money when he's a detective? Isn't he getting paid by the police department? If NLT wants a grind for the booty calls, idk can't it maybe be like the "you need 20 creampies for character x to do that booty call 3" "you need 12 sex acts with character x to do booty call 5".
Fantastic first release overall. 9/10 (I'd give ToN a 6.5/10 and Lust Epidemic a 9/10 for context)
P.S. I would love to see NLT do something different like maybe a magic/monsters setting or like a full farm/milk/country themed game but at the same time, I don't think all creators are the same and if NLT just kinda know that doing something completely different would be a risk they might trip over then I'm fine with the "develop our/my style and make games in that style and just bring new *elements* into new game" approach. To me having Hannah is enough of "something different"(and especially with the quality of her story arc so far) to be totally fine with it. I also think there's still core elements like developing the weaker characters in the cast of NLT games for example or further improvement on the fluid/semen effects where I think it makes sense to kinda keep what is good and fill in the weak areas before doing something really different but idk, I'm not too convicted on this.
UPDATE REVIEW: this is a small review of the 2nd release. Really loving Hannah personally. Love her personality and the whole dynamic with her "you're supposed to be with Chloe". The "I'm a farm girl. I don't mind getting dirty." was perfect. Her scene felt hot and like a quality scene even so early on without much to do. Love her whole dynamic. I'm only further encouraged of my impression from the 1st release. I only wish the update was bigger or that the "3 scenes" were all like Hannah's scene in quality. I feel like the flashback scenes don't really count as erotic content even though I love seeing Katherine and Elizabeth again. It feels like filler content. Still hoping and waiting to see how some of the other characters play out in terms of their quality of development like Arriana, Lilian, Carol, Foxx, Chloe, Judy. Hope they turn out as good/even better or close to as good as Hannah in quality of content/personality/scenes. 8.5/10 (just feels like a small update with the 1-2 scenes. I guess the kamasutra wasn't bad for one of the first ones too/better than a lot of the early kamasutras in the previous games but not spectacular either.)
