Updated review with feedback based on a playthrough up to Pt 3 v.08
I'm revisiting this VN after initially trying it and writing it off as mostly boring quite some time ago. In doing so, not much has changed, though I have forced myself to power through the beginning so I can see how it has developed.
Visuals
I'm going to preface this section with a clarifying statement: nearly all observations/gripes below are limited to parts 1-2, and by the end of Pt 2 into Pt 3 we begin to see improvements.
I still feel like the renders are very low quality and grainy. I really wish they were better; this is the kind of VN and story that - if well-executed - could easily become the de facto "vampire vs werewolf" saga of AVNs.
To me, the MC is an ugly dude. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter, but you DO have to see his face a lot more than in other VNs which tend to favor first-person perspectives.
Leyala is attractive, and she does have a great body. Where she - and others - fall "flat" is any scene with animation; she suddenly looks disjointed/animatronic rather than having natural, fluid movement.
Expanding on animations a bit, through Part 1 they're pretty bad. There's a lot of clipping, and in addition to being cyclic, they're just not fluid motion.
Some of the outfits are just plain odd (Zyair's oddly long yellow shirt). Again, also not something that really matters, but I'm including it as honest feedback.
Corners cut unnecessarily.
A TON of missed opportunities for lewd angles; an ass closeup here, an underboob closeup there, etc. Not to mention casual outfits could
easily be more scant. In fairness, I will say that as of Pt 3, this feels like something that finally occurred to the dev and we begin to see more intent behind some of the poses, outfits, and render angles/perspectives.
I wish there were more diversity in the body shapes. Every woman has the same body, with slight variances in breast size and complexion: Slim waist, average-to-ample breasts, small round ass. Would have loved to see some thicc women, tall women, short women, etc. Hell, even lolli or optional futa.
Characters
MC's character is dynamic, which is good, however I do feel like there's a bit of an illusion of control. Though there are choices, and you can opt to be more of an asshole or a kind ruler, in general the aspects of the MC's dialog you can't control are largely more kind than assholish.
Leyala starts off being mostly cliche and annoying, but this does evolve into her being a more unique figure in the game as time passes. She remains the most attractive LI.
Kali is OK, she's neither a compelling LI nor a complete bore. I would say the same of Naya.
Overall, if I'm honest, I found myself skipping a lot of dialog because things get wordy and monotonous. To me, this is more a reflection of the characters you interact with than the story itself.
Story/Dialog
The dialog itself, as-written, is above average. Very few grammar or punctuation issues exist in any kind of consistent manner. This is always welcomed.
This does not mean I think the content of the dialog is perfect
Why would we see an entire 6 months go by from when Leyala has her first sexual encounter with MC, only to discover
Sometimes the dialog gets very juvenile, something I've seen quite a lot of. It sometimes comes across like a younger author is trying to both seem mature while also being oblivious to their use of phrasing that seems wildly out of character for whomever is speaking. Example:
(This comment speaks both to the visual aspect, as well as the story) Multiple missed opportunities in terms of pacing; we often see dialog going on and on when it doesn't need to. Conversely, there are scenes like
The lewd scenes, overall, leave a lot to be desired. This isn't one to play if you're here to fap; it's very much story-driven, and lewd content takes a backseat. It will start to feel repetitive and monotonous pretty quickly.
Other
The game menu in parts 1-2 lacks a clear distinction between when something is selected/deselected.
It would be nice to have a textbox transparency slider. I hate having to hit "H" on occasion [
this is resolved in pt 3].
When you first begin the game, the "Path Builder" concept is not clear. If you are starting for the first time, shouldn't the Path Builder option not appear in the game menu if you chose not to use it when starting a new playthrough?
The "Continue" option during animations is useless. It does absolutely nothing except reset the animation sequence you're already watching; you could just keep watching it until you feel like ending it and click whatever the other option is to (actually) continue.
When we begin Part 3 of the game, right away we can see both some minor improvements to the UI as well as some sacrifices. For example: why is the quick menu permanently affixed to the bottom of the screen, with no option to hide it? With this layout, the dialog box sits above the game quick menu, at about a third of the way above the bottom! This is severely distracting, and detracts from the visual satisfaction of being able to see scenes behind the UI. Also glad to finally see a toggle for the pulsing moon icon. That thing served zero purpose to the player.
The music is excellent! It genuinely feels like this game has a "score", and makes me wish there were accompanying voice or other sound types incorporated (at least through the end of Pt 2).
Final thoughts (as of Pt 3 v.08):
The game is better than the sum of its parts, and good thing too, because there are so many frustrations I have with it.
If you can power-through the rough portions of Part 1, you can overlook the inferior poses and renders, as well as animations there.
By Part 2, you will see notable improvements. The story really gets deeper, with some interesting choices and a satisfying level of depth to the lore that results from those choices.
Overall, though, I find myself frustrated at how incredible I imagine this game
could be. With a less-intrusive textbox/quick menu in Pt 3, with Pt 1 being redone visually, and with all of it having more sexual allure, it would leap to new heights. When we see at the end of Pt 2
the level of devotion to the cutscenes and even the stills, it shows what this dev is capable of but often seems to have chosen not to work toward in this game. I will continue to follow its progress, and intend to play whatever the final version looks like.
