VN Ren'Py The Home of Pleasure [Ep.2 P4 v0.2.4] [Whispering Eye Games]

4.20 star(s) 24 Votes

Absurdity

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Apr 2, 2021
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I was really liking the game until we got to Beth stealing lingerie, which does not fit her character whatsoever. Of course, leading to dealing with criminals. Why do we have to insert this kind of garbage in our escapism? If I wanted to watch a crime drama, I would just rewatch Justified, The Wire or Breaking Bad. I don't want it in my harem fantasy.
It is not enough to ruin such a good game but it was quite annoying. At least we are now moving on to a full on high end mafia plot instead of the MC getting randomly shaken down by two nobodies. Since the dev wants to go this route is a good thing he committed. Now we will see where that leads.

Other than that, everything else was great as always. Even the mafia plot that I would prefer if it wasn't a thing has improved by leaps and bounds compared to how it started.
 
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odbpm

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Apr 18, 2020
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good game so far.
liked how long the first time with sophie was. tho no text during animations made me constant clicking past them, should make the majority of the text come during the animations it would make it way more pleasing, rather then watching a still image with all the text.
 

Incarnis

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Aug 17, 2022
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It is not enough to ruin such a good game but it was quite annoying. At least we are now moving on to a full on high end mafia plot instead of the MC getting randomly shaken down by two nobodies. Since the dev wants to go this route is a good thing he committed. Now we will see where that leads.

Other than that, everything else was great as always. Even the mafia plot that I would prefer if it wasn't a thing has improved by leaps and bounds compared to how it started.
It's sort of typical in writing, needing to have some sort of antagonist for tension, but in my opinion the only tension you need in harem games is interpersonal relationships, navigating multiple romances, conflicting personalities clashing, the hiding of secrets, things that flesh out the characters themselves.
 

Quetzzz

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Sep 29, 2023
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It's sort of typical in writing, needing to have some sort of antagonist for tension, but in my opinion the only tension you need in harem games is interpersonal relationships, navigating multiple romances, conflicting personalities clashing, the hiding of secrets, things that flesh out the characters themselves.
Yeah, I agree, which is why I think the dev will use this external pressure to fasttrack some interpersonal conflicts as the game wraps up.
 

OldMoonSong

Member
Jun 2, 2018
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First time checking this game out, what a find! Really liking it. Beth shoplifting was the only part that felt kind of forced / off narrative-wise, and I think Jessica could be introduced to the audience better in a way that adds more context early on, because I was feeling a little lost with who she is, despite her being an old best friend of MC.

Sophie is a ride-or-die queen and I love it.
Lilith is probably the one character I feel needs the most work. At the moment she seems a little flat (no titty pun intended) and her reaction to the dynamics between Sophie and MC seems too tame / dry, and her emphasis of "CONSENT" "CONSENT" "CONSENT" "CONSENT" makes her seem a bit robotic.

Small nitpicks in consideration of most of everything else being great.
 
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Quetzzz

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Sep 29, 2023
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Lilith is probably the one character I feel needs the most work. At the moment she seems a little flat (no titty pun intended) and her reaction to the dynamics between Sophie and MC seems too tame / dry, and her emphasis of "CONSENT" "CONSENT" "CONSENT" "CONSENT" makes her seem a bit robotic.
I have a different read on her personally. Her depth isn't in what she says per se, but in how she behaves and carries herself. She's a confident and successful owner of a sex shop who is fully aware and at peace with her sexual preferences. Despite being confident and outspoken otherwise, she's a submissive masochist who enjoys a bit of degradation as intimacy. She has a very strong sense of self, because this degradation or humiliation doesn't shake her confidence or self-image. She doesn't compare herself to others and feels good about her body.
Consent is really all that matters to her when it comes to sex and intimacy, and from the perspective of the Sub, this is what the game gets entirely correct. While the Dom might lead a scene, the sub controls it. The scene stops immediately when a sub withdraws consent through their safe word.

It might feel heavy-handed that Lilith's focus on consent was mentioned a few times, but it was also done in different contexts. One context is about what happens to her as a sub, and another is about what people do in the bedroom. As a sex shop owner, she has a very libertine view on sex, and as long as it's between consensual adults, she doesn't care what people get up to, even if it could be illegal.

What makes her shine, for me, is that Lilith only does what she wants to do, not because she's a sub who's told to do it. She gave Sophie a job because she wanted to help, thought it was a good idea, and loves Sophie. She checks in with the MC after the bit of threesome action to make sure he's OK with what happened. In essence, this was her giving the MC aftercare. She felt it necessary to tell the MC about Sophie's lust-driven approach so he could think things over and fully consent when she escalates things even more. Just so he wouldn't get roped into things that would destroy his relationship with his sister. She wasn't told to do this; she had this talk because consent is all that matters to her, and she doesn't want the siblings to get hurt because of Sophie's habit of bulldozing boundaries.
 

Hammer120

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Jun 4, 2019
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It is not enough to ruin such a good game but it was quite annoying. At least we are now moving on to a full on high end mafia plot instead of the MC getting randomly shaken down by two nobodies. Since the dev wants to go this route is a good thing he committed. Now we will see where that leads.

Other than that, everything else was great as always. Even the mafia plot that I would prefer if it wasn't a thing has improved by leaps and bounds compared to how it started.

The drive scene is hilarious, if anyone looked at there passenger as much a he does while driving, he never looks front, then the round about is the lest of there worries.
 

Discontented

Member
Mar 19, 2018
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I feel like the mafia thing is kind of unnecessary, and really wish it was avoidable tbh :confused:

The trope is common enough to need its own search tag
 
Mar 30, 2018
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Very good game! Beautiful characters, the story is interesting.
Actually, I'm at the first date with Kate... The name of the restaurant "La baise" I'm not sure if it was intended, but in french, it means "The fuck" and not the full of love one, it's a slang. It may have an overtone for a short intercourse, or something without feeling. "Elle, je la baiserai bien" could be "I'd do her"

If I had to be nitpicking, I'd say the Rewards often don't have any link with the event unlocking them. But for everything else, it's great!
 
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YogSothoth1982

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Jun 26, 2018
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It is not enough to ruin such a good game but it was quite annoying. At least we are now moving on to a full on high end mafia plot instead of the MC getting randomly shaken down by two nobodies. Since the dev wants to go this route is a good thing he committed. Now we will see where that leads.

Other than that, everything else was great as always. Even the mafia plot that I would prefer if it wasn't a thing has improved by leaps and bounds compared to how it started.
In my opinion, the only thing it's accomplished is ruining what was the best LI.

In fact, he only thing that even remotely appealed to me was getting revenge on the idiots who blackmailed the MC, and now I can't even do that. For me, that path is just a waste of time, so I'm not going to waste a single second reading anything that happens along it.
 

Walter Victor

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Dec 27, 2017
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In my opinion, the only thing it's accomplished is ruining what was the best LI.

In fact, he only thing that even remotely appealed to me was getting revenge on the idiots who blackmailed the MC, and now I can't even do that. For me, that path is just a waste of time, so I'm not going to waste a single second reading anything that happens along it.
How much time do you plan on wasting (yours and ours) writing about it? :unsure:
 

Quetzzz

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Sep 29, 2023
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In my opinion, the only thing it's accomplished is ruining what was the best LI.
Beth stealing in itself isn't that farfetched; it's mostly an issue because it wasn't telegraphed that something was up.

An ex of mine started stealing from my parents. She got caught and said she did it because her parents were divorcing and she wasn't getting new clothes.
I'll never know if that was the truth, but it matched her personality as a wannabe fashionista. And I think that's the part that's missing with Beth. She did something entirely out of character that needed more of a buildup.
 

YogSothoth1982

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Jun 26, 2018
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Beth stealing in itself isn't that farfetched; it's mostly an issue because it wasn't telegraphed that something was up.

An ex of mine started stealing from my parents. She got caught and said she did it because her parents were divorcing and she wasn't getting new clothes.
I'll never know if that was the truth, but it matched her personality as a wannabe fashionista. And I think that's the part that's missing with Beth. She did something entirely out of character that needed more of a buildup.
What bothers me most are the consequences of that robbery.
 

Quetzzz

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What bothers me most are the consequences of that robbery.
Personally, I have the least issues with that part. Sometimes making a small mistake leads to far-reaching consequences. You might run a red light and be fine, or you could kill someone.

I suspect that it's the change in tone that's messing with your experience. We went from lighthearted to an existential threat in a very short time, caused by Beth only stealing a few items of clothing. I think the dev is aware of this as well, and that's why the MC regularly repeats that he isn't blaming Beth, that the gangsters are the guilty party. A very adult and stoic way to look at it, but one I don't agree with either. As it is, the MC saved Beth from any consequences, and that's not fair. I think the dev will have her step up and sacrifice something when it matters, because she needs that redemption.
 

YogSothoth1982

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Jun 26, 2018
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Personally, I have the least issues with that part. Sometimes making a small mistake leads to far-reaching consequences. You might run a red light and be fine, or you could kill someone.

I suspect that it's the change in tone that's messing with your experience. We went from lighthearted to an existential threat in a very short time, caused by Beth only stealing a few items of clothing. I think the dev is aware of this as well, and that's why the MC regularly repeats that he isn't blaming Beth, that the gangsters are the guilty party. A very adult and stoic way to look at it, but one I don't agree with either. As it is, the MC saved Beth from any consequences, and that's not fair. I think the dev will have her step up and sacrifice something when it matters, because she needs that redemption.
What bothered me was that they blackmailed the MC. And the truth is, whatever the MC says and repeats isn't going to change my opinion about Beth.
 

Quetzzz

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Sep 29, 2023
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What bothered me was that they blackmailed the MC. And the truth is, whatever the MC says and repeats isn't going to change my opinion about Beth.
Yeah, they blackmailed him because you can't squeeze water from a stone (Beth). I wonder how things would've gone if Beth had called someone else, like Sophie.
 

JoeTheMC84

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Dec 1, 2021
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I think that Beth's stealing should have been an accident. She went there and always tried on clothes, but that day she was just trying on clothes like always and lost track of time and needed to get home, she was rushing out of the changing room, grabbed a jacket of hers or something and stuffed it in her backpack, but accidentally grabbed some of the clothes she had been trying on as well that had gotten bundled up with the jacket as she was tossing clothes around. The clerk (since we suspect had cameras in the change room) noticed this and made her open her bag and "caught Beth red handed," and the gangsters could have the same lines, make the same accusations, demand the same stuff. The only thing that changes is that Beth didn't steal on purpose and so it really isn't her fault. She was just having fun dreaming about what it would be like to have nice things but then got into trouble for an accident, and now the Mc is caught up in it too. Same outcome in the long run, but it doesn't damage Beth's character as it isn't her fault at all, as opposed to now where it actually is her fault, but everyone just forgives her for it.
 
4.20 star(s) 24 Votes