The Inn [Chapter 1] Review
Boy, how I hate what I’m going to do right now. I really think Lykanz is talented and that The Inn is filled with great references and good comedy. The models look great and most of them have backstories which influence the way they act. But by the end of chapter one, this game went through three or four narratives - and none of them really matter aside from fucking women. Hear me out, I’m conflicted about this game.
STORY
Let’s tackle this conflict head-on.The game suddenly states on the main menu this game isn’t about an inn, even though you inherit something that could become an inn. You spend the first hour mixing two stories - fighting a moron as a bartender, losing your job, inheriting a mansion, sweet talking to a girl. You then return back to the home of your foster parents because of a tragedy. This is where the main story picks up as the game follows the days after said tragedy. You will re-bond with the women in your foster home and pursue a better, more intimate relationship with them.
All of this is done with tongue-in-cheek comedy and honestly, the comedy is what makes this game stand out. There are constant references to series, anime, memes and popular culture. It might become a bit slapstick or meta at times, but it helps make the sometimes monotonous story progression breathe some air. The four women you will focus on are different enough, both in personality and looks. Linda Mae is a stereotypical rural American woman who likes getting physical. Joana is your motherly figure who hasn’t seen a man’s touch in years. Valentina is the tomboyish ‘older sister’ who lifts like a lion and Luana is.. well.. a tsundere with princess complex? At some point I didn’t even want to bond with Luana anymore - but that’s not a choice the game will allow you. You will pursue all women and ideally, you’ll fuck them all and they all will know you will fuck them all.
The first hour, this game felt like a 9. Writing is good, Linda Mae is too stereotypical - but it feeds into the anime tropes, so it sort of works. Then things change and you find yourself working with a completely different story in a completely different environment. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when you finally deepen your connection with the new story - two of the three women are basically trauma dumping on you until you get to fuck them. It had me skipping Joana and Luana for the most part, even though I really like their body types.
When the final part of the chapter hits, the game goes AWOL with gunshots, federal agents and a plot that seems to come out somewhat out of nowhere - but makes big impact for chapter two. It doesn’t help that the main character hasn’t developed much by the end of chapter one - even though he’s been assaulted, fucked and shot. That could be one of the anime or comedy tropes. But if so, it doesn’t really make sense to have all the trauma dumping in as well. It feels like a mismatch at times, while there is no denying Lykanz possess a lot of skill.
PRESENTATION
The game looks great. It’s Japan-style aesthetic combined with the cartoony looks aren’t the most realistic, but it looks coherent, vibrant and helps shape the universe. Memes are presented wonderfully and creative use of angles allows for better storytelling. You can tell Lykanz really took his time to capture the best angles - sometimes a leg or a hand will obstruct the very thing you want to look at. That self-referencing is why The Inn is a good game in it’s presentation. It knows her target group all too well.
The models all look great, even the side characters. You can always nitpick about facial expressions, but the Anime-style the game portrays allows the developer a bit of slack. Sex scenes can look a bit bland at times, but at the same time there’s content combines lust with humor which more than makes up for it.
GAMEPLAY
The Inn can be played in two ways - VN mode or Sandbox mode. As someone who finished the Chapter 1 sandbox, I see absolutely no reason to pick Sandbox mode other than a few extra scenes. And I like sandboxes better. The game underutilizes the sandbox model to the point where you just click a star to go to the next story point. Sure, you can open the phone and look at pretty things. But does it mean anything in terms of gameplay? Not really.
I do want to specifically state that Lykanz went out of his way to create a lot of clean, understandable user interfaces for the sandbox mode. It really looks like it should be used often, when in reality I found myself not even being rewarded for being curious with it. Perhaps in chapter two, the game can pick up on this and do more of a sandbox-type content distribution. The fetish filter and all the helpful tutorials all add to that, although the popup screens got mostly in the way in the end. But then again, I do think that’s by design as well.
And for the love of god, don’t disable basic features like screenshotting with the ‘S’ key. If you’re going to do it, at least give us an easy replacement. You’re not supposed to make basic features harder just to fuck with us. It’s like removing a mouse pointer in a selection screen. If it’s for shits and giggles, we can tolerate it for a while. But in a game that is otherwise outstandingly designed, that’s an oversight I wasn’t happy with.
OVERALL
Because I believe Lykanz went above and beyond to create something that he feels is right, I can admire this product. It’s not something I’m always happy with, but for the most part I enjoyed myself and sometimes had a great laugh. Go into this thinking it’s just another ‘relationship’ manager with fucked-up women and you’ll be better off. Go into this thinking you’ll get ‘Mystwood Manor’ sim-like gameplay and you’ll suicide just as fast as Mike did when he didn’t take the key. Even though, I’ll give this a solid 8 for effort.
I’m really looking forward to the next chapter from Lykanz, but I hope it’s more focused, paced well and even a little darker in terms of humor.
