VN - Ren'Py - The Intoxicating Flavor [v0.11.7] [PixelsLab]

The game is very cool and I enjoyed my time playing it. There were some major issues for me though. The story was a bit confusing and there was just sooo much dialogue from dreams and what not. I felt it confusing and I wanted to skip through those parts.

Other than the continuity issues I mentioned, the game is very interesting. I like the dynamic of the girls on the island and it makes for a decent story line.

The girls look unique for the most part and the renders are pretty good. I don't know if the story was too dialogue heavy for anyone else but that really detracted from my enjoyment of the otherwise good game.

Definitely worth trying but I imagine some other people may share my concerns about that heavy dialogue in dreams/visions/memories.

v02 Translation was orgasmic. Found it stashed and didn't play the game. Checked up on it and it's already 0.3.9. Since I speak both languages I can understand some idioms that make no sense in English. However, I haven't played the Russian version to compare the content.

I want to give this 5 out of 5 as I am reading this story and not just clicking through it. But the translation quality drop since v0.3 is apparent. I hope PixelsLabs will find this review helpful and scrutinize the translator. From what I understand it's hired help.

Текст следует переводить, либо хорошо, либо никак. Печально, что смысл истории иногда теряется в переводе. Но, в принципе, я не могу дождаться продолжения. AффтР, дафай истчо!!!

Good

Renders
story

no grind

hot girls

cute little sister

choiches dont really matter that much

Bad

Stupid minigame

its to frustating time goes down so fast somtimes it doesnt recognize the keys
Pressing the right button it doesnt accept it

For the rest game is really great

Some reasons why I like this game.

This is truly a visual novel.
the choices you make, make the characters react differently towards MC.
Not like rpg like games where you'll have to accomplish certain things to gain a level...
The graphics are amongst the better ones around.
The SOUND is very important. Haven't seen sound used in this way before.
And last nut not least. The story is what really captivated me... It takes some time to get the meaning of things, but all will get clear in the future.
Also, the 'Dream State' might just turn out to be not so dreamy after all....
But that's for dev to show in future updates.
My suggestion for this game, Put autoplay on. and just start from the beginning and read.
make some choices and develop.
See different outcomes? you could save and do the other choice. But, in autoplay, on the right speed, just go through the game again... and see how the story changes... It's really different.... you'll see.

Why have I been helping dev somewhat?

This is such a solid game, that I found the english somewhat taking away from the game. And, after reading the dev had to go through some personal things, and me not being able to support him through patreon, thought I can fix some thing. Make the English better readable and correcting some minor other things, to make the story be told correctly.

All in all, You guessed right. A 5 * from me.

Let's start with easy stuff..beautiful renders,good character models(I absolutely adore most of the models) and an interesting plot.The game was on hold for abit but now it's back.Props to the dev for continuing to work on the game eventhough he was in a bad situation.I will recommend you to try it

A difficult game to understand in the beginning, but it pays off if you stick through it and get into the plot of it.

The game is really just a Visual Novel with next to no changes in it, but the story it pretty good, the renders are nice and the game will keep you anticipated for discovering the relationship between the MC and the family he is with on the island.


I was really about to leave the game in the first 15 minutes of it, because the story seemed weird and kept throwing the player around into scenes that wasn't explained, but I kept playing and now I can't wait for the next update.

[Review version v3.0f5 Windows]
(Posted in view of this game's imminent return after being marked abandoned)

This is a good game with a distinctive story and well worth trying. Renders are good, scenes are good, models are good and the MC is an interesting character.

In many ways the game actually has a JJ Abrams - ish style to it. (No, not because the MC is stuck on an island with supernatural elements - there are no Smoke Monsters or polar bears...yet ). It's in the way that the dev plants mystery boxes to be gradually unraveled, in the way he lights many renders, and in the heavy and frequent use of flashbacks as a narrative device.

Now we know Abrams doesn't know how to resolve his mysteries very well, but PixelsLab has woven an intriguing enough tale for me to want to follow and find out if he can do better than JJ.

Recommended.

As of 7/13/19, it is tagged as abandoned. The creator says it's just on hold.

Now that that's out of the way, I LOVE this VN! The rendering is some of the best I've seen. This is probably my all-time favoriote MC. The story is fascinating. The twists are truly great. The dialog writing is sharp and funny. There are several laugh-out-loud moments for me. It would be tragic if this great story doesn't continue.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE QUIRKY

Now three chapters in, The Intoxicating Flavor is a supernatural virtual novel that focuses on storytelling rather than gimmicks to convey a deeper message about people and what drives them to act the way they do. Though not finished, here are my impressions thus far. This information is current as of version 0.3.5.

THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE QUIRKY

PixelsLab's The Intoxicating Flavor is an interesting if strange walk through the supernatural when it interacts with volatile characters. The island, in many ways, seems to mirror the characters. We know very little about their pasts, we don't understand yet the purpose of their associations, and we can't tell where they will end up. What is obvious, however, is that this developer has created something unique. Nowadays that is something special, and in the world of adult visual novels, this may prove to be an as-yet unpolished gem.

You know, I really really wanted to like this game. Shows a ton of promise, and has outstanding art. The women are smoking hot.
But dang, the story is all over the place, and makes no sense whatsoever. Worse, the English is horrible, making it even harder to follow what is going on.

Review of the game as of [v0.3]

Pros:

• Gorgeous renders. Although, some of the female characters in this game are just terrible looking, but for most it is good enough.

Cons:

• Lots of teasing and very little sex.
• Short updates.
• Dialog options have very little effect.
• Generic plot.

CONCLUSION:
I would say skip this game for now and play it after this game has had a lot more updates; as, so far this game lacks good content.

1 min in -.-
10 mins in oO
60 mins in O.O

I am hooked now, interesting story with a not beaten to death theme, great visuals
sex theme is toned downed to a part where it is almost believable but not too little.

only negative I have the choices are rare and dont really make a difference except missing a scene or part of it. I would wish for a couple more choices with actual impact and a minigame in a VN is kinda a no go for me.

Amazing. Combination of scenario, dialogues, story by itself and renders are simply marvelous. REAL Adult Game by any means with focus on interesting story. There is very few games like that and closest thing i can remember is Acting Leassons which is top tier game.

(v 0.2.6)

This is a beautiful game with a very slow paced and linear story.

There is a prominent supernatural element to the game, which is very confusing at first since the rules of the universe aren't explained to the player. Instead, we have to sort of figure it out as we go along. This is also the case for the main character's background, as well as the details of the supporting cast. I found this to be rather frustrating at first, but lately I've been having a lot of fun trying to piece together all the clues and speculating on what will happen next.

The story is about an eighteen year old with a mysterious and violent past who has been sent to stay on an Island by his mother. His solitary stay is interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful woman and her two daughters. They don't get along initially, but that changes as they slowly get to know one another.

The main character is very unlikeable at first, but he mellows out as the game goes on. The youngest daughter looks a little odd and much too young, but the the other women are stunning. There are very few choices in the game, but you are allowed some control over the main character's relationships with the three women. The translation can be a bit rough at times, but it's not a big hindrance to the game.

Despite its flaws, I can't think of another game here that I look forward to seeing updated more than this one.

------------------
(v 0.3) Update
------------------

Well, it looks like I spoke too soon. Another girl was added to the story as a past love interest and she looks to be very underage. So I'm going to have to knock a few stars off my previous review because I'm not cool with that. She also doesn't fit well with the story so far, so it's a bit of a double whammy.

Really sad about this update. It turned my favourite ongoing game into one that I'm hesitant to play. The rest of the update was great, but the new girl is a poison pill that I'm not willing to swallow.

One of those games that tries to be more that what is necessary most of the game skips between fantasy and reality with all the wordplay involved between the player figuring out what is real and what isn't.

Now it really depends on what you are looking for a mind fuck or some porn to fap to. For me it's the latter reading 300 words between every naughty scene is tiresome I've gotten to the point where I don't care what is happening at all story wise and just skipping to the sexy content which makes me further realize what little is actually there. There was no sex at all this update. A boob reveal and a kiss. Sorry but this isn't a porn game. It's a VN with a couple of sex scenes.

Definitely not your average generic adult game, this one.
The story incorporates supernatural/thriller elements, and the way it is told is a bit disjointed (quite a lot of flashback and "dream sequence" scenes) but still very interesting.
The good:
- mystery/supernatural story
- beautiful renders and locations
- characters with lots of baggage (yes, I like that )
The not so good:
- english translation can be a bit off at times
- transition from scene to scene is sometimes a little weird

Overall an interesting game.

this is a game you should play,
the plot, the story, the amazing and cute girls, the charácter development and the dark twist makes this game for my opinión one of the best in this website, awesome dev on top of that too.

Version 0.2.4

"Smile MC, she doesn't have to know that you really was about to hit her." [sic]

Wow. All because the MC's bowl of cereal was dumped out? That was pretty much when I gave up on this game. As others have pointed out, the MC is a raging asshole. In actuality, nearly all of the characters in this story are assholes. Is this setting up tsundere but failing completely? I don't know. All I know is I don't like any of these characters.

The story is boring and nonsensical. The characterizations are terrible. These characters rage at each other and almost have physical confrontations for silly and trivial reasons. The MC apparently wants to kill everyone. Perhaps this is going somewhere, but the tone is so off-putting that I don't give a shit if there is any point.

The gameplay is almost entirely linear but still makes the user click on single option "choices" to progress the story quite often. Why? It is pointless and frustrating for the user. If a click won't change the story, then why have it in the first place? Is it really necessary to click on "Go faster to the kitchen" when there is no other option?

The renders are nice and kept me hanging on for longer than I would have liked. Beyond that, I can't find anything redeeming in this game.

Not recommended

I personally think this is worth 2 stars, maybe. But I'll be fair and say it's probably 3 stars or better for most people. But let's just say what my problems with it is: Nice renders, garbage story, minimal choices with minimal impact.

Basically it's an okay game, but honestly I find these amateur writer's (supernatural or not) assassin badass main characters weak as hell. But if you're young, or indiscriminate, I suppose this isn't that bad. At least the art is nice (as far as using premade DAZ models goes, anyway).

Very good story. A bit supernatural but nothing too crazy. Writing is also very good quality. Proper backstory. Renders are also pretty damn good. The little sister being that small kinda puts me off but assumed to be 18. Otherwise cant wait for the next update!