VN - Ren'Py - The Neverwhere Tales [v0.6.0.1] [Ceolag]

Well well, this is a hidden gem for sure. So much potential, so much delivered. I will say this has the potential to become a full-fledged visual novel but in the transition zone between an adult visual novel and a full-fledged visual novel, just like "Neverwhere." But let me clarify, I am in no way criticizing it; I am satisfied with the length, the story, the characters. But I see much potential here, so I will not just say something vague and waste this chance to give it constructive criticism.

Let's start:

**Pros:**
1. Everything, I mean literally, as a whole package, it is now one of the topmost AVNs developed.
2. The realistic character interactions - no nonsense incest all the time. I don't dislike it as a fetish, but it doesn't happen in real life, and that made your story grow, immersing us into it.
3. The beautiful renders of the characters, especially the female cast; the varieties and possibilities are quite large. While I don't necessarily prioritize renders over the story, it's not a downside. In this case, it added in favor of the story.
4. This may be my most important point: the world-building, this story, while quite coherent. I feel like these are like big chunks of ideas stitched together, and they somehow work in a continuous fashion, making it a beautiful and engaging story. What I mean to say is, this is not a continuous thing. If I can give an analogy to make my point more sense, your story is like a mosaic art vs. most other stories are like a melody. I know it may not make a lot of sense to others, but it does to me because I have tried to create some stories as I have ideas, but they are chunks like this. The thing I am missing is how to form them coherently together. You did, and it works like magic!
5. The consequences of the choices - full points to you!
6. The story took some time to engross me fully, though I won't lie. But when it did, it sucked me into it like a "succubus."

**Cons:**
1. The music, while I liked it, is missing in some places. Please look into it to not break immersion.
2. You can create more drama in certain situations, like the disagreements of the nobles while discussing. Also, where the truth comes to the MC, I think he handles it pretty well. I'm not complaining because I would have chosen to be calm and composed all the time, but we don't know how the protagonist is before we started to play him. Though we get to know him a bit before the reveal, we still haven't seen him get tested much in a tense situation, and so we must consider more human-like emotion from him. Again, it may be the will of the author to be that way.
3. One of the major factors for me, which separates a good AVN I have seen with all-time best, is this: most have a good cast of males. Again, it may be from the part of the author for it to be that way. But I would urge the author to seriously consider this. The story is quite good, but it still feels like an adult game, which it is not trying to limit itself towards. So, a good and large cast of males will be one major step to alleviate that.
4. I think you can add more relationships in the world. The MC doesn't have to be the only active male. I am not saying to fetishize this, the so-called NTR - I hate it. So please don't think I am asking for it. What I am asking for is realistic life, since this has avoided so many tropes used in most adult visual novels, it looks fresh, and at this moment, it is realistic enough. Why not go full at it? Yes, many may feel, "Wait, that girl is so beautiful yet taken." Well, that's life for you because you also avoided the most generic trope or a trap really to break immersion from the story - the harem.

Cons are not criticisms, just my personal suggestions, so take them lightly, dev. You did a wonderful job! Eager for the next update and seeing what's up in the next chapter. Best of luck.

My,my, now this was a surprise. This is really well written, the plot is also good, our hero looks like he has had a bad day at the coroners, but all the others look great. I wasn't really expecting this when I started to play this game through, but I am glad I have. Up to now I have enjoyed myself, and can recommend it to anyone looking for something with a bit of fantasy in it.

Version 0.4.0

I would play this for the story alone and be happy with no lewd scenes at all. It offers a cohesive urban fantasy setting that is explained through action and characterization rather than endless exposition. The story also presents multiple mysteries and begins resolving some of them early, which leads to a satisfying story progression (so far).

The writing and characterization are top notch. Love it.

The animation is top notch. There are animated action scenes and animated facial expressions that really enhance the story.

The downside for the moment is that there are very few lewd scenes so far, and the ones that do exist aren't terribly interesting (though they are well executed). This is not enough for me give it fewer than five stars, but if you are looking only for a good fap, this is probably not for you, at least at this point.

If you like well written urban fantasy with gorgeous graphics and are willing to wait for significant lewd content, download this VN now. You can thank me later.

This is a difficult game for me to rate, for a multitude of reasons. I feel like the premise is sort of interesting, and if developed well it can flourish into something genuinely good. I have no qualms when it comes to the writing itself, though I believe there's a serious issue when it comes to this game's pacing. Things are really slow to get going, and I figure it's because of the different branching paths with the LIs which severely alter the dialogues and sometimes lead to different minor happenings in the story. This is a bit of a red flag, especially considering that not all of the LIs have been fully and properly introduced as of v0.3.0 yet, so things are bound to get even slower.

Speaking of the cast of characters, I want to get my main gripe with TNT out of the way, although it is more a cry to the heavens than anything else: devs please, for the love of God, stop with the overuse of the third person perspective. If you're seriously determined to go down that path, you should at the very least make sure that the MC doesn't look repulsive. This guy's face is unbearable to look at, and to make matters worse I found his personality to be quite unlikeable, especially in the earlier scenes. Having to constantly stare at his ugly mug didn't help temper this sentiment in the slightest.

Now the LIs on the other hand are all likeable and seemingly different enough to satisfy everyone, and at the same time warrant checking out all the different routes, since for whatever reason this game plays like a Harem despite the dev's purported intentions. Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether each of those routes will be adequately fleshed out and whether it will take its toll on the game's pacing. On a side note, what's the deal with the female boss not showing up as a genuine LI on the recap screen at the end of every chapter? It might just be me, but it feels kind of weird not having her there. If she's supposed to be a mere "extra", that's a bit of a disappointment.

TL;DR: slow pace and mc's awful looking face notwithstanding, TNT is a game worth checking out. Although for first timers I'd recommend waiting at least a couple major updates before doing so.

I really like the story, but I think a huge misstep is changing the nature of the relationship between Kaija and the MC depending on certain innocuous choices you make in the beginning of the game. She is either; your girlfriend and in love with you, a close friend, or you are a job to her. Considering this isn't a harem and you will need multiple playthroughs to get all the content with all the girls, this completely changes her personality. I think one background would have been enough. If you choose to not want to stay with her, then have her be hurt. Depending on your choices, she could either be upset that you want to call off the relationship or just not care at all. Was this done to make it easier for the player to reject an established relationship (which a lot of players don't like)?

When you have the ability to be nice or an asshole, I don't think you need to add further variables like this with other characters, and especially LIs. It can make her character wholly unlikable, which your feelings towards her may bleed over into another playthrough (and if you read some posts here, obviously does with a lot of people).

It's my only real critique of the game, but I think its a rather large/important one. Other than that, I am interested in the story and most of the characters. Choices matter quite a bit here, but there also seems to be continuity errors - but then again you can't really expect 6 different variations to 1 scene based on your past choices... even though it could make sense.

On good scene where his girlfriend rescues him from an ambush, nothing exciting in the latest update. Story movers slower than sloths. Protagonist looks almost deformed, his face is so weird. Just cannot stomach any more of this abuse! Too bad, the fantasy world implied in the concept would have been worth playing, but not taking 3+ chapters to even begin to get there.

I just love the game, awesome story line and great renders... Can't wait for chapter 3 and more .. Not so sure about the fact that we can only have one relationship but still in my opinion this game is just so good that i can absolutely play it as many times as needed to experience all the romance paths...

First, let me state. Great job! Finally, a game developer who cares enough about their product to invest some of their time in creating a logo that looks good, a start screen that isn't monotonous, and characters that seem cute.

A very great and exciting beginning with plenty of possibilities...The females all have fascinating personalities, are pleasant, and have great looks.


Although the MC is fairly unremarkable in terms of appearance, I appreciate that he isn't completely weak like most characters and that you seem to have some real control over his behaviour as a player.

Renders are very beautiful. There aren't many passages like the one at the conclusion of this chapter, but I thought it was pretty stunning. Good work.

Regarding conversation, the writing is quite strong. However, during the bar scene, the word "mon" was used a few times; I have no idea what that word is, but...fair enough. Overall, it feels natural.

In addition to being in the minority, I am also relieved that the developer isn't following the traditional harem strategy. It always detracts from the game's narrative when the love interests just agree to share the main character at the conclusion since that's absolutely how things happen. Keep to your principles, Dev.

I'm eager to see where this goes further, good luck to the dev!

Great game. The renders are beautiful, and the characters and animations look good. The story is intriguing as it blends modern and fantasy worlds together. The LI's are unique with distinct personalities and appearances. The game truly feels like a proper VN game with great dialogue and a decent amount of choices. It also seems there wont be any harem route and I really like that and I hope it stays that way. There should be consequences for cheating, jealousy, fighting and all that drama. Overall, the game is one of my favorites at the moment, and I'm looking forward to future updates.

It is a great game, the story goes along a path, the art is also quite good, another important point is the characters and how to interact with each other, in addition to the fact that they are very well thought out, the only bad thing from my point of view is that it feels the part of the dialogues is a bit slow

Very good game. Not many updates yet, but from what i've seen, this is going to be pretty good.

great renders, interesting characters, engaging story, MC isn't a jerkoff

the way the scenes flow is really well done.

UI is good, you really can't go wrong with Renpy

Only thing I would suggest is a gallery for lewd scenes.

Keep upthe good work dev

I liked it. Combining modern office drama with medieval fantasy was a pretty unique approach and I liked that. This game seems to be focused on the story and that makes it live up to the word "VN" I think the story is already thought out and the devs are heading towards a clear goal. The girls have interesting personalities and depth in their character (atleast that's where it's headed so far). I welcome the devs decision to not make it the 1000th Harem game of this site. Maybe multiple friends with benefits might work idk, but harem just feels shallow and boring at this point and this game promises to bypass it.

I would give it a solid 8 out of 10. I like the game, it was fun and quite enjoyable to play. Also liked how there is heavy branching right from the start so even though its only two chapters in I spent a lot of time replaying the other paths as well. Music is good, animations are great. It's a unique game. As soon as I open it I feel like I'm in that games "world", which isn't easy to do but it brilliantly done.

There are some faults and inconsistencies that I wanted to address and hope the dev does see. It's another "destiny" avn. That's not bad but I feel like MC is destined to be all powerful and is like the second coming of the great one or something like that. Your a "Callister and when the mother say's MC's father isnt a carpenter I predicted that quite easily. Wish father's true identity as grandmaster was maybe hidden a little longer and was just revealed as a prominent Templar. I wish it wasnt as predictable and MC faced more challenges in finding out what's truly going on but I cn't fault dev yet as I don't know how long the story will be. Maybe timing fits but if the game is long then the reveal could have been hidden a little longer.

Some inconsistencies. I found it strange that Kaija was told to cancel her current mission and head back to rescue MC when he was under attack instead of the Templars just sending the people they had stationed at the MC's family home. There are about 3 cars and some people Kaija points out are "around". So where were they when the grand templars son was under attack? I understand Kaija is the most talented warrior but sending only her would never happen in reality.

Another fault I found was how MC didnt immediately recognise the tatoo he saw on Cainta's hand a the bar when his gf and friend of several years has the exact same tattoo, in the exact same place. Also the option to tell Fiona everything felt a bit weird. I know it will probably make more sense down the line but found it weird to tell a person you've met 3 times, 2 by chance all this lore about a medieval group you just happened to find out your a part of.

Apart from those I'm glad to see an AVN with a completely different plot idea. Never in my life would I have thought I would see an avn about the Knight's of Templar. It's also really fun, animations, renders and music are done really well. The characters all have interesting personaltites and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story progresses. This could be a really good gem, Wishing the dev and everyone involved the best of luck.

Edited for v0.3, rating raised to 5/5

PROS
- Girls are different from one another (funny that should be a PRO and not a standard), each having unique (though mysterious) background and nice dialogues. For only second release, great job on their development so far.
- Story is a mystery at the moment, which makes sense, being very early in development. It's not mind shattering, but it's intriguing enough.
- Choices - well damn, rare to see a game that has plenty of variety based on choices. As in, choose A and go to location A, choose B, go to location B etc. It does force multiple playthroughs, but it also gives a lot of variety.

CON
- Relationship with one of the girls so far is based on player decisions. And not in a sense "You acted good, she likes you"/"You acted bad, she dislikes you". No, it's "You chose good option - She liked you in the past" and the other way around. It doesn't feel natural.
It feels as if I'm playing both characters. It's not "organic", if it makes any sense.
There is no conflict of emotions to be had that way, it's always very linear. You select you don't love her, she says she never loved you, you say you do, she says the same. Just doesn't feel right.

Minor negative at the end aside, really great start and I can't wait to see where dev goes with it in the future. Highly recommended. And it's short currently, so no reason not to try it.

The changes in conversations being heavily dependent on MC relationship with few people is such an amazing thing. Seeing conversation be either understanding and sad about what happened, or one of pure hatred because of betrayal...chefs kiss.

I downloaded this because the premise looked interesting and I was NOT dissapointed.

1) No harem? Well damn... Initially I was kind of turned off by the renders, but they grew on me quickly. I think Fiona is my favorite with Kaija a close second. Mac's cousin is also gorgeous, and as a "side piece" I'm guessing eventually we can get with her without repercussions.

2) It appears we have met 3 of the 4 main LI's (though the annoying elf Medb may be LI 4 since she had points assigned to her at the end of chapter 2 and chapter two was the way of water).

3) I absolutely have a love/hate relationship with achievments.... On the one hand I am a completionist, on the other I HATE searching through choices to find what I missed... After competing CH2 I have 2 hidden achievments left. Looking at the gallery one of them appears to be tied to a side character, the other is god only knows where. I REALLY don't want to scroll through trying to find achievments, honestly I have better uses for my time. I'm not saying give a walkthrough, but maybe some type of hint system?

4) I echo what has been brought up before, losing points for a playful smack on the ass is counterintuitive. Also, losing one of the very few (at this point in the game) sex scenes is just bad. Especially since Kaija is your current girlfriend who loves you and, if you choose her path, whom you love.Personally I would not penalize the shower sex and, also, I would have added the scene in the Templar HQ even though it isn't "appropriate" inappropriate sex is the cornerstone of any good adult VN!

In short, this is one of those games I wish I'd discovered around chapter 10, someone would have an achievment guide, there would be plenty of lewd scenes in game. Right now, only a few days have passed since the MC found about about the crazy shit behind the curtain and it's rather frustrating.

Anyway keep up the good work, your story telling is excellent, rendering above average, I notice no significant plot holes (which is nice) and things seem to be progressing logicially. Well done.

Going to copy/paste this to game review.

SPOILER REVIEW

Overall 5/10 (This may seem low but very rarely do i give new release a high score, i take into consideration Story, Sexual Content, Renders and Character Models when rating most new games fall short in the middle 2 due to being early releases.)

Story: So far the story isnt bad, whats been given is a decent read. We've got a regular guy working a regular office job with a promotion on the way and a girlfriend. Sounds like a typical office romance, and for 95% of the first episode it is essentially that, until the mom bombs us with some truth about our dad and how he is connected to a secret organization.

Now normally this would be fine if they had gotten to this part earlier, it simply spends too much time building this office romance vibe to just suddenly destroy it. For example i simply dont see Elea or Helen fitting into this story, unless of course they are also secret agents like our GF. I have a feeling they will be forced in this story in some weird way and im not really looking forward for that. Fiona already has that secret agent vibe so im sure she will fit in the story fine.

The Characters themselves arent bad, though the dynamic between the MC and his GF is kinda off, especially because of the way the dev has the points/variables set up.
This game needs to be careful, i can easily see this game failing due to bad story direction if the dev is not careful. Now like i said earlier I'm not saying the story is bad, what's been shown so far was a decent read. Albeit not that much content so far.

Sexual Content: so far there is only one scene and thats with the GF, its an okay scene, the quality itself is fine but not spectacular.

Renders: Pretty average renders, with some noticeable grain especially around the character models themselves. The lighting could use some work, some of the scenes were way too dark i could barely see anything at all.

Character Models: The quality of the models are decent, not all of them are my type if i had to rank it would be Fiona, Helen, Elea, Katja, Kate, Jessica. For Kate and Jessica due to the lighting i could barely see anything.

This looks like a really promising game. Only Chapter 1 is out so far so there could be a lot of changes but the first impression of this game is really good. The game looks overall nice not amazing but definetly good enough. Even tho none of the girls you met look amazing to me they look pretty nice, i have hopes for the last girl, the one you will meet in chapter 2.
As for the Story there isnt too much to tell so far but it looks definetly promising, some hidden society, secrets, danger and mysterie. I just hope the MC wont turn into some all powerful superhero because of some training he had in his youth or some shit. I really hope for a satisfying character arc and the way the game is so far this might even come true. The writing is great, the conversations feel genuine and are nice to read.
As far as choices go this has me a bit worried because in the introduction it says that the choices affect the game, but this doesnt have multiple endings which sounds to me like the choices are just flavor choices and to choose the girl you want to be with. But we will see even if it is like that if the storie continues to be interesting its still playable.
As far as sounds go it says to keep the sound on but there was a lot of silence in the beginning of the first chapter which i really hate. Either put sound and music everywhere or atleast mostly everywhere or dont bother at all because i will mute and play other music anyways. In the end of the Chapter it started to cover everything and i hope it will continue like that. It really enhances the gameplay in my opinion and the sounds that were chosen really fit the game.
So overall i think it definetly got potential and is worth checking out. Im looking forward to seeing where this will go.

For a chapter 1 it's shorter than I expected. Felt more like an intro or maybe half of a chapter.
You get a lot of chances to flirt with other women even though you're in a relationship. Sadly there isn't going to be any form of harem. So you're either cheating or it's just a ruse about being with other female characters.
PROS
Models are decent enough
CONS
No harem even though you can flirt with other women
MC is bland.
Story is another, your dad has been kidnapped plot
SUMMERY
The MC has a routine job and gets offered a better position, but he feels that it is to fast and then(without getting to actually chose) accepts the offer.
MC's gf is distant right from the beginning. Has to go to work for days at a time.
The MC comes off as pushy with her, then gets mad if she doesn't text him, the you get to chose to either be caring or not when she shows up out of the blue.
Seen this story plot in several other VN's out there. Just gets monotonous after the 10th time seeing this plot line.
I'm still recommending this VN because others will find it interesting. I'm just burnt out on this kind of story/plot so I'm going to pass of future updates.
Good luck to Ceolag with the development of this VN

If sex or nudes is what you look for, then pass on by. Only one adult scene in the game. Ther story was worth the time though. I found it very entertaining, only lacking adult scenes. The game does have sound, which made for some extra entertainment but even the action was not till the end and then it was fast and over with. 3.5

A little early to express an opinion but, this project begins with a truly original story, with twists that stimulate you to follow it dialogue after dialogue.
As you could guess from the changelog, quite content in this initial phase with good renderings and animations.
A definitive judgment can only depend on how this project will take place in the future (I repeat: with good potential) especially for the timing / regularity of updates and plots relating to sex scenes, the latter no less important considering that in this sector they concern one, if not the first, of the most important aspects.
We'll see ...
Congratulations to the dev and thanks for the game.