VN - Ren'Py - The Will of Endreon [Ch. 3 Part 1] [Hidden Dreams]

Version Chapter 3 Part 1

The Will of Endreon as a game is good enough, perhaps at a 3.5 - 4.0 stars level. The story while not spectacular, does follow a path one expects from the fantasy genre diligently. The background and characters are good enough to stay immersive, dialogue simple and structured enough to follow the lore and pacing is well-controlled.

However I'm skeptical of its development cycle as a whole and doubt if the game will ever get anywhere close to completion - having barely above three hours of content after two years in development doesn't inspire confidence.

Story
In the heart of a quaint town, MC finds himself as the new cook in town. A chance encounter with a dying minotaur sets off a chain of events that leads MC to join a band of adventurers, unearthing ancient mysteries and combatting evil forces along the way.

Endreon adheres closely to established narrative of the high fantasy genre - the predictable storyline offers an enjoyable playthrough, but it doesn't challenge any expectations or break new ground. The world-building, characters, and conflicts are well-executed, but they follow a formula that leaves players dry after a while.

Game Mechanics
Standard visual novel with choices that lead to slight difference in dialogue and sex scenes. Interestingly though one of the choices early on can lead to you missing out on Layla, a prostitute in town, completely. I'm not sure if she's a LI or just a random once-off, but her inclusion in the game banner does indicate it's the former.

Background / Character Renders
Background and characters are Daz rendered and do their job well. Lots of usual standard Daz assets and some from Daz store, so you've probably seen them before elsewhere.

The characters are pleasantly designed and distinguishable. MC's features of a simple look with an ignorant grin most of the time fits the story persona well, but probably will not appeal to players who prefer a more dominant and badass proxy.

Female characters are also well designed for Layla, Karea and Nia, Autum though is a typical Daz asset model seen everywhere.

Character Development
MC isn't very appealing at the start as we play a simple peasant who has never ventured outside his village before, whether the character will mature remains to be seen as there is little to go on now.

There is not much to be said for Autum, Layla and Karea as they don't get much show time to date whereas Nia who spends the most time with MC is a typical tsundere. There are indications of her getting emotionally closer to MC, but not much as there is too little content.

Sex Scene
Hard to form an opinion at this version because other than a few teasing blowjob / boobjob scenes with Autum and Layla, the only full-blown sex scene currently is a dream sequence with a random female character.

Good thing is it's decently animated with good enough dialogue and BGM, but nothing stands out now.

BGM and Sound Effects
Nice BGMs that complement the story well, but no sound effects as I recall.

Conclusion
Endreon is a fantasy AVN that follows the rulebook strictly which means there are no major screw ups in its implementation, but that also implies nothing unexpected and exciting really happens. It's a good enough game to pass time if you are in the mood for this genre.

The snail pace of updates does mean that the chances of this being completed eventually are slim and one must be prepared for the worst. I reckon we are less than 20% through the story at this stage so if development doesn't' speed up it will take at least another eight years to finish.

VERSION:CH.3 Part 1
SUMMARY: Average game with nothing remarkable to show
RATINGS: (out of 5):

1. Models: 4 (3)
2. Animations: 3(4)
3. General Visuals: 4
4. Characters: 3
5. Story & Pacing: 3
6. Writing: 4
7. UI & Game-play: 3
8. Content (amount): 3
9. Sound & Music: 3
10. Fetish & kinks: 3

Average: X of 50 possible points giving a X% rating i.e. X stars.

PROS:

1. Decent looking game in general.
2. Animations are not bad at all
3. Writing is fairly good, reads well, structured well and not a lot of mindless drivel and "filler" content.
4. Story is fairly OK, little different which is good that your MC is not really the MC and the world revolves around him. Though this could happen its building up to it.

CONS:

1. MC is fairly plain looking, his companions look better. He has a baby face or kind of a potato face, tricky to describe, more my personal gripe. Clearly young, I would opt that he doesn't shave, little scruff may help him look less "baby/potato face"
2. While there is music there are no other sounds nor during lewd scenes.
3. Lewd scenes are few and fairly vanilla.
4. Choices are not choices at all really, they more the same choice but for different reasons and often this makes no sense as the MC is the only one that often knows his own motivations, so how this changes anything...not sure, but basically it feels like more kinetic than really VN (at least in a few choices)
5. Fairly boring game really, nothing that really pulls the players attention or piques my interest.

FINAL THOUGHTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• The plot if vague, characters and factions are non-de script and you never really feel like the good guys are interesting nor the bad guys much of threat. The stakes never feel high and the plot itself is not really appealing or significantly interesting, its simply mediocre. It all happens and this is what the little band is doing, but its not really very interesting...if that makes sense.
• While the female characters (LI) and characters in general look pretty good, its not a great selling point for the fairly boring story and events that take place.
• I also find that the story implies the MC is pretty much a horny pervert as much plays on this idea, at least in his dreams and the scene in the forest. Not sure if his dreams play a bigger role and this is setting the stage, but he pretty much only gets lucky in his dreams .

Overall not a bad game, but not a good/great game either, its fairly reasonable game, worth playing I guess but not one I would wait in anticipation for the next update. I feel 4 stars are pushing it and 5 stars it is definitely not!

A lord of the rings inspiration probably but this doesn't change the fact that this one has a great story. One of the few games that get you wonder about the plot

Top tier female models and animations, the elf is top-top tier - although the MC seems a bit dull ...

I found this one recently so I can't comment on the updates times etc but It surely worth the support from those who have such ability. Ranked number two in my personal rankings in the fantasy genre games in this forum

PS: You need to at least play this game once to watch the lewd dream with the two girls (no spoilers here)

Short summary:


Another roughly medieval magical story. Like most, it’s not executed right due to the lack of skills from the writers. Sex scenes don’t feel organic. One girl is phenomenal though.



Good Things

• Some good model
• One girl is superb, and very realistic
• Mostly good expressions and light
• Some animations are hot

Bad points

• The story isn’t good or engaging
• Inconsistent quality - some models, cloths fitting, animations are subpar
• No realistic character development
• Rushed with sex scenes

Visuals are amazing, story is decent, writing not so much

The story is ok, classic fantasy with elfs, magic, some super evil force that wants to destroy the whole existence or whatever, and MC is the chosen one to prevent this, etc, nothing too unique or original, but it does have potential

Writing on the other hand is not great. English and grammar are good (at least to me, not a native English speaker), but writing is just so meh, no suspense, no finesse, pacing is too fast, characters have no, well, character.

LIs are way to easy. A girl offers MC to sleep the night in her bed (not room, bed), because he didn't have anywhere to stay. Strange thing to do for someone you just met and talked to for whole 5 minutes. And then they start cudling and kissing like they have known each other much longer

Some scenes feel really rushed, For example player is given a choice for MC to buy something for a girl. The next scene MC is talking to a girl (we didnt see him buying anything), and then MC suposedly gives the gift to the LI, she is happy, bla bla, and at no time is it mentioned or shown what MC gifted her.

It has potential, but writing and story telling needs to improve a lot to be worth playing, unless you are in for porn only

Decent fantasy story so far but I'm not a fan of the animations.

Of the 4 love/sex 'interests', the elf is a hottie, Autumn is ok (would be better if she was less bland and waxed her whiskers), Nia is a cold bitch and Layla is a prostitute with very poor character.

The biggest disappointment is the MC. He seems like a decent person but he is not very bright, weak and a bit of a wuss. Other than being a good cook he doesn't seem to have much going for him. Dude can't even get laid in his wildest of dreams and his greatest desire is to get dominated by women? I'm guessing he'll gain some ability at some point but it is kinda painful so far...it has a long way to go to become a heroic fantasy.

Anyway, I do like the fantasy setting/story (other than mediocre commoner MC)...it seems to be reasonably original so far.

This look promising

-The render are insane!
-The animation is one of the best!
-The mood&tone and the background are another level

I don't know a lot about story it's only short 2 chapter now and sometime I feel like it have too many close up shot in conversation that make me kinda uncomfortable.

I think this is worth checking out, but anyone that does it should be aware that it has some flaws.

First of all, I'd like to praise the visuals, audio, and grammar. It's unusual to find a game on F95 that's actually good at all three, usually grammar gets thrown to the wayside.

But now, for the flaws. The major one is the writing. It's too fast-paced; the characters spill out their entire life stories on the first meeting, which makes the exposition and characterization feel incredibly inorganic. It needs more time between the main hook and the beginning of the story, it needs slower pacing and more interactions between the characters--knowing a character's entire history isn't enough, we need time with them to actually care.

Then there's the MC... I don't know exactly how to feel about him. He's incredibly bland, and the only characterization I got from him besides "kindness" is that he's a bit of a coward and a bit of an idiot. I mean, he thinks to himself how everyone probably considers him the weak link because he doesn't know how to fight, but when someone offers to teach him he declines because saying yes implies that the journey will be longer. If that's not an idiot's way of thinking then I don't know what is.

Still, I'm hoping he'll get better. Hero's journey and all that.

Ultimately, I think it might develop into something good if the writing slows down a bit, with more moments to breathe, more spaced out exposition, and the MC actually turns into a hero.

My advice: It's currently Chapter 2 Part 1 and I'd give it a few releases more and a few more reviews before downloading if anything I said set off alarms.

Review for Ch. 2 Part 1

This is definitely on the better side of three stars, and I can see some potential. But as of this version I'm kind of underwhelmed I suppose.

My main issue is that I really couldn't get into the characters. They just aren't sticking for me. I feel like it might be an issue of the game just moving a bit too fast. Love interests are easy so far, making them sort of lose that tension/build up of relationships. I'm not really attached to these characters in the way the MC is, mostly because we just met them. They don't give off strong enough impressions to bypass that either.

I also wish the MC had any form of backbone, or at least give us an option to respond like we have one. He's pretty unremarkable so far.

I like fantasy and am all for a nice adventure, but I think the game pushed a bit too fast into getting us on it. Maybe spending a little time in town or at the temple first to build up some of the characters would have helped. A bit too much lore dump and exposition so far as well, but I've played games where it was worse.

Last little pet peeve is that it's actually bothering me how the camera is constantly right in someone's face. Give me some room to breathe man.

I'll probably return to this as it develops, since again I don't think it's without promise. Hopefully it turns into a nice little fantasy harem adventure.

Absolutely great start, I definitely think it has a strong chance of being a very fun game. A well-written fantasy VN usually has the highest highs, and I think the lore that has been set up is great. The girls are all attractive but also believable, but obviously, the tsundere character is going to be everyone's favorite.

The game starts off as a ridiculous Skyrim parody with the cart and you find that the MC is the ugliest, most punchable fuccboi ever created; and even Endreon's model is poorly done. The preview renders of the other characters look unfinished and far too glossy/untextured, and that's not even getting started on the nightmare fuel that is Mr. Korvin's model (what the fuck is going on with those teeth!?)
The most egregious things of note, though, is the constant extreme closeups, and the writing overall is utter garbage, making every scene feel extremely disconnected.

Review for Chapter 2 part 1:
Up to know, a promising start with a lot of potential already. I feel like the introduction is story is very well done and that as a player you slowly grow into the story more just like the MC as the MC is currently unaware of a lot of things.

For medieval times, it is a bit strange how fast the MC was progress romantic relationships in something physical on his first day which is something I find unrealistic. However, the MC immdediately gets on his journey so its not a huge bother if you like realism a lot. (I know it is fantasy, but the settings for the humans that is presented to us is medieval)

But thats the only criticism I had about this game, the graphics have been amazing and the dialogue/story is very interesting. The personalities of charachters are well defined, and im excited to learn more about all of them.

Not usually into fantastical plots, but this one is setting up very nicely and drawing me in for future updates. Characters look great and are realistically proportioned which is a plus in my book. I do get the impression the choices provided to the player aren't that impactful, but that's not a huge deal (at the moment).

Curious to see how this one progresses. (EDIT: it didn't, at all)

Pros:
1) Nice, cozy, medieval village setting. Lord knows how much we need that in our life.
2) A good plot so far. Based on chapter 1, I can see the plot is going somewhere with a specific goal.
3) The renders are amazing. The girls are rendered with close attention to detail. The supporting renders are also very well made such as villages, inns, sanctuaries which make the game immersive.
4) The characters seem to be developing their own personalities. Hopefully it will go deeper in the coming releases.
5) MC isn't a fresh 18 yo creep.
6) Animations already in the very first release.

Cons:
1) Some of the animations are jittery as of chapter 1.
2) The girls .. It lacks the THICC
3) The plot and relationship with the characters seem to be advancing too fast. That can't be good in the long term.

Overall, a solid first release. Best of luck to the dev for the future of this game.

Played through this first version and instantly liked the Game.
The setting is nice it seems there is a lot of lore and backstory to discover and in my opinion any fantasy game depends heavily on the world building. So far the dev is doing a great job at thatand i think this will continue to be an awesome game.
So far the MC has anice character but apart from that is just an average dude with not much going on. I really like that and it will be interesting if or how you will be able to come to power, if you will be able to influence your actions and character and how much impact the choices you make will actually have. There is a lot that could be done wrong but so far i have i hopes because everything i saw so far looked totally awesome.

I Have to agree with another review i read, that the girls should be able to have some useful clothes. I get that you want to make the grils look hot and its nice to look at them but i still think that you could give them a bit more to put on. You can have a few dress very little but you have to match it with their character and attitude. For example make dress Nia like you did and then make her some super bitchy girl who knows how hot she is, knows that everyone looks at her but always has a mean or snarky comment about that. That would be fitting i think but if she is like portrayed, looking to be the best always learning and improving, totally focused on the cause then she wouldnt dress like that. I guess its all about motivations and the reasons characters have to act in a specific way or say the things they say. It has to match their persona.

Anyway a lot of rambling but i can say give this game a chance ts awesome and i hope it will continue to be awesome. Im looking forward to future updates.

Just finished Version 0.01 and I’m impressed.

I like fantasy games and I think this is a good one. Good backstory, detailed environments well rendered, diverse characters, and a good, long-term story unfolding. And it looks like it will use the classic fantasy theme of travel with personal growth, relationships and adventures along the way.

The writing is engaging, with the focus on telling a story rather than getting lost in a sandbox, spending half an hour looking for something, or guessing which of five alternate choices is the “right” one. The MC is a nice guy without being a saint. The female characters are all very easy on the eyes. The animations to date are well done.

All in all a great start. But IMHO it could be improved in a few ways:

• The guys are dressed for the period but the girls seem to be dressed more as high-class hookers. Case in point, would Nia really walk around a medieval village in stilettos?! If the girls are dressed more normally (like the guys) for much of the time then when they do wear revealing clothes it will have more impact.
• The jumping from face to face for conversations is jarring, and with all those close ups I’m wondering if we’ll get to the point where we can actually count nostril hairs. Maybe try conversions in group images; it’s less jarring, it’s clear who is speaking from the name on the text box and it means we can see the reactions of the people listening to the speaker. It also means more impact from close-ups when they are used for more important or intimate scenes.
• The close ups highlight some unfortunate choices in expressions. Call me picky, but the “smile” on the wagon driver? It’s Chucky-level scary! The MC’s mouth reminds me so much of Sylvester Stallone I’m imaging him speaking with a mouth full of marbles. Karea? More use of the “relax” dial on the eyes and the “mouth smile simple” dial. (Never use the “mouth smile” dial, it’s complete shite!). Yeah, that was picky but I had to say it.

Overall I’m loving this one, and I'm looking forward to the next release. Well done to the dev !

Added to my watchlist, very nice debut with superb renders and very hot models. For now there's not much lewd content (atlhough enough to keep me interested) so we will see if it will be worth watching in the long run but so far I'm very impressed by the quality. The writing is also good, the setting is unique and well though out and all in all it deserves more attention than it's getting.

Nice work . Looking forward to the next episode . Keep going on this level and , no doubt that you'll have a lot of positive attention . The graphics are good and the storyline has potential and full of possibilities . Be Creative , unpredictable . Mind the pitfalls when it comes to good and much appreciated XXX scenes . Especially with the animations . With a lot of respect for your hard work , those scenes when it actually comes down to intense fucking where the characters look more like grandma's rocking chair with boobs and ass , wobbling infinite , looping desperate trying to have an orgasm . Unfortunately , quite impossible in the world of furniture . Catch my drift ? And no that is not what I ment with being unpredictable creative ...... well at least not to me . just saying . Work those bodies . Sucsex