VN - Ren'Py - The Heist [v0.1] [HWG]

one request for the dev is to focus less on mini games and focus more on story progression i know this is just an intro kind of game at this stage.beautifully made hope this gets recommended to many.looking forward to it

loving the vibe of the game so far. not much to complain except for the voiceover here and there and the playtime being so little. but i understand as it is the initial release of the game. so best of luck keep em coming

This game has so much potential! The graphics look great, the quick mini-games are really fun, and the storyline seems super interesting. I’m excited to see where it goes—just a little more polish, and this could be a real gem!

The game left a pleasant impression, immersing me in the atmosphere of the 1950s, which, in my opinion, is recreated with great attention to detail. Costumes, hairstyles, interiors—everything exudes the spirit of the era, creating a sense of authenticity. The dialogues, at times witty and lively, brought a smile to my face, and the high-quality voice acting was a nice bonus, although some performances left something to be desired.


The camera in the game works like a true artist, framing shots with elegance and meticulous attention to detail. Scenes feel alive, filled with decorations and little details that make the game world believable and immersive. The soundtrack deserves special praise—it perfectly complements the atmosphere.


The story offers branching paths, though not too extensive yet, adding intrigue. Mini-games, such as QTE sequences and lockpicking, add variety to the gameplay, making it more engaging. The dialogue choices are also a nice touch, and I’d like to believe they genuinely affect the story’s development. The ability to freely explore locations is another plus, though I must admit, I got a bit lost in the basement.


Now, for the downsides. The lack of localization beyond English is a disappointing omission, especially for those who aren’t fluent in the language. The QTE sequences are unfortunately too easy, and the fight on the stairwell lacked the expected tension—I wished for more dynamism and challenge. The protagonist’s voice and manner of speech were another letdown. His slow delivery and drawn-out phrasing were sometimes irritating; a bit more energy and expressiveness would have been welcome.


Some minor interface flaws stand out as well. For example, the inability to close the inventory or quest journal with the Esc key—just a small thing, but an annoying one.


P.S. I hope the developers add a timer to the final scene where the girl descends into the basement—it would make the moment more intense and dramatic.


Overall, the game leaves a warm impression despite some minor flaws. It definitely deserves attention, especially for those who appreciate atmosphere and attention to detail.

Although this is so far only a 0.1 release, I think there is already enough here to give this game a fair rating. This is a very ambitious game that gets most things right so far but also has a few minor weaknesses. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes.

The art style and general flair deserve 5/5 stars. I don't know how the renders were produced, as they don't look like any of the standard engines but clearly aren't hand-drawn, either. Maybe really well done Daz renders with postprocessing?

There is voiceover for everything, but unfortunately it's not natural enough. I switched it off very soon, as I found it annoying.

The story so far is basically what I expected from the description. The MC is a criminal planning a heist during an event held at a hotel by the Russian embassy. So far there have been two cases where I had to make a decision and can't be sure if it was correct. So there may actually be meaningful branching here.

The game so far has been an almost kinetic visual novel with an embedded sandbox scene and three kinds of minigames. One consists simply in choosing the right dialog options. In the second, a large disc occurs in a random location and you need to click it quickly before it disappears. There is also a lockpicking game. Roll-back is disabled for these minigames. I really wish it wasn't, as I don't care for the minigames and now need to use save slots for repeat attempts.

There is so far one sex scene. It's not spectacular, but it's nice, it's animated, and is meaningful in the context of the plot.

Ren'Py has been reskinned for this game to create that distinct alternate reality 1950s US flair, which looks a lot like the Roaring 1920s or the 1930s. I would have said the reskin is perfect, if there wasn't a case of visual perfectionism over function: The game has been reduced to only 3 pages of 3 save slots, for a hard limit of only 9 save slots!

The texts are mostly good. They have clearly gone through an automatic spellchecker, as is clear from 3 typos that made it into the release:

• "trough" should be "through"
• "brake" should be "break"
• "Be aware" should be "Beware".