VN - Ren'Py - The Survival of Sarah Rose [v3.9.9] [HappyDaedalus]

  1. 5.00 star(s)

    lordrango

    v0.2.7

    I was the first to review the 0.1 version, gave it 4* with caveats that it could be really great, if content is regularly added to all available paths and graphics were improved and added upon.

    Well, I must say that game has so far done that and more. The content is varied and great, the story is interesting, visuals are much better.

    It is slowly becoming one of my favourite adult visual novels.

    5/5, easily.

    v0.1

    If I tried to sum it up in one word, it would be ambitious.

    The graphics remind of 80's/90's anime shows, which might be good or bad, depending on your point of view. I can't say I'm personally a great fan, but I assume most people will like it. The quality is quite good, there's no doubt about it. Biggest gripe is the main character for me. She looks very child-like, and her face is extremely bland, almost a like a character from a manga aimed at children.
    There are no aminations and character images are static and it often spoils the mood. It turns a potentially interesting dialogue into a boring expose. Characters don't even take a seat, change posture or facial expression.

    The writing itself is acceptable, there's nothing to really stand out as bad, but, in the same vein, I found nothing particularly extraordinary about it. It does the job.

    Sex scenes themselves would be rated similarly as writing - good but not great. There's no animation, at least one of them is just a black screen with text and it would appear images during sex scenes are still WIP. You usually just have a single image for a sex scene.

    What sets this game apart from others is that I find it very ambitious, maybe to the point of it being a detriment. There are apparently several routes you can take, and they are indeed completely different. Each takes MC in a totally different locale, with completely different support characters. While it is indeed laudable that designer(s) did truly make each choice have consequence, it is very hard to envision them not getting lost under the weight of some potential paths the player could take.

    As I've said, I'm not great fan of graphics style, but that's a matter of taste, so I won't let it affect my rating.
    I am indeed keen to see how the story develops further, given the author's ambition. The first thing to improve would be to add some life to characters, both MC and supporting characters. Different posture, different facial expressions, different positions based on what they're doing. It would breathe so much life into the story. Same goes for sex scenes - I don't mind still images, but there should be more than one per sex scene.

    4/5* would be a final rating based on all that. I hope authors continue adding content, and if possible, improves on graphics, both in terms of quantity and quality. It could potentially end up being a really good story.