VN - Ren'Py - Threads of Fate [Ch. 3] [Manifest Visuals]

Story:

I know it's still early on and what I'm about to say can still be corrected. But anytime you as a writer decide to do something drastic like kill off the father right in front of the main character and have his mother also kidnapped. There has to be some sort of change in the main character itself. You can't just have him going around playing, laughing and acting as if these horrific events didn't just take place. I'm trying to go easy on the Dev here because I think he has a potentially decent story going on here but come on.

The whole demeanor with the MC should've changed, he had a nightmare sure but then went back to his old ways. I need to see more anger, depression, sorrow, numbness and regret. And less of him doing things like splashing Eleanor with water.


Models/Characters:

Decent.

Renders:

Good.

Dialogue:

Good.

Overall:

It's still young and the jury's still out. This still has the potential to be a pretty good AVN.

Short summary:


The story and character development are terrible, as usual for these medieval-themed VNs. Some of the models are pretty, an occasional render here and there is good.



Good Things

• Some models are sexy
• Render quality improves with time
• You will get some orc action, if that’s your thing

Bad points

• The story is bad
• MC just fucks everything that moves, without reason or explanation. Every girl, milf, orc he meets - all of them want to fuck him right away. And they will join in if someone is already fucking this dude.
• Some characters are pretty bad
• Expressions are often terrible
• Almost no meaningful choices and you are forced into situations you would never choose

This game has some of the best updates on this site, especially the last one. There are lots of scenes, and depending on your choices you get different scenes, all of which have different variables. The story is engaging, the girls are hot, and the animations are great. Really, if fantasy is your thing and you have a thing for hot moms and sisters (and orcs) then definitely give this game a try.,

Overall Impression 8/10
The fate of this game remains uncertain, could be potentially amazing, disappointingly bad, or settling into mediocrity. i do believe this game has the potential to be one of the best adult games ever made and hope to see it reach that point.

Plot: 6/10
While the plot is currently somewhat cliché, there's hope for it to take intriguing twists. However, it seems the developers might be burdening themselves with intricate storylines. The future development will determine the game's success in maintaining a coherent narrative.

Writing: 7/10
The dialogue is generally strong, but occasionally characters adopt a more modern tone, as do some clothing choices. I hope the main character, after the dust settles, engages in more reflection, especially concerning the relationship with the sister and death of there father and mothers capture. currently i feel as if the MC is just distracting/focusing himself by being a leader and needing to survive.

Renders: 9/10
The character designs are appealing, with standout characters like Kiana and Lauren. The renders are of high quality.

Animations: 6/10
While not terrible, there slideshow animations obviously room for improvement.

Choices: 6/10
You can choose whatever girl u wanna do things with theres alot of different choices for girls and scenes outside of that i'd of liked to see more plot/story choices rather then just choices of what girls you bang.

So… this game. Great graphics. Models I haven’t seen often. MC that’s tolerable… BUT:

Convoluted choices as fuck. No variables visible with URM. Some rando choice of where you go can give / remove a plot point or a sex scene.

Then… there’s the

So, I'm totally ready to bag on this game when:

.
..
…
Fine!
Fuck it! Four Stars you wicked but awesome dev…

Rylee and Asra were definetily my favourites and I sincerely hope we'll get to see Asra pretty soon.
I also like the fact that we have whole renpy files dedicated for scenarios depending on our harem status so you know this will be a regular thing.
The grammar is horrible, that I admit. I also would've pereferred if you made thinking be portrayed different to speaking so I know wether they're talking or not.
The renders are great and I love the story we've seen as of now. I love the war between humans and Orcs that's about to evolve.
The scene where we played spin the bottle was completely random but since it game me both a footjob with Rylee and both facefuck and sex with Laureen I gladly take it.

I have a mixed feelings about this one, so i'll just try to focus on all aspects one after another.
Story and originality:
While the story could be interesting, such premise is just used too often. Not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind. I'm neutral about this, it could lead to something good in the future, or it could lead to something mediocre, impossible to say at this point so i'm keeping neutral position. MC doesn't erase every single enemy he sees (not OP), and actually shown struggling in combat even despite the fact that he's been training and keeping himself in shape, which is good. It makes sense cuz his enemies are stronger and more experienced, they're just bigger if that's not enough.
What i didn't like much is that MC is probably having a white knight issue (yes, i believe that's an issue, even irl). He's shown as too kind, and while it's too soon to say for certain, he's probably gonna be kind towards everyone who doesn't go offensive on him or his friends. So far he's kind only to his friends which is okay, but dev, if you're reading this, don't make MC a white knight, it's dumb and looks pathetic. Not saying that MC has to be a fucking asshole, just think about making the white knight issue at least a bit tamer. It's annoying. Or give a choice to choose neutral/kind/evil options, that'd be best. Would make sense plot-wise too seeing as . That shit can make you numb and ruthless. Being kind to friends and the sister is okay tho.

Renders and animations:
They are 3/5, which is fine, but the animations are below that. Boring, short, repetitive, too mechanical. They're not completely terrible so it's 2/5.

Grammar:
Alright, haven't noticed anything bad. Text is readable, makes sense, font is good.

Characters:
Too soon to say, i think. But so far my fav is the sister, she doesn't cling too much on the MC, but she shows some caring side. The others tho, they are a bit clingy, esp the redhead. I get it she was drunk and all, but graduality is the key. Not saying you should turn a girl into a nun, but don't rush thing either, it looks weird unless you're a horny teenager seeking for a quick wank. Some build-up would be nice, even tho they're all friends and know each other. Balance is important.
Positive side, the MC isn't a horny idiot, and while he's white knighting a bit he actually seems like a reasonable adult. No cringe lusting after every single hole he sees, no dumb thoughts, just a normal human being, keep it that way. No forced LIs, thank you. For me it's the biggest turn-off.

Conclusion:
The game has a potential to become something good. Better animations, less white knighting, less clingy LIs, some extra build-up in relationships and sex scenes, more passion maybe. 4* prematurely, i'll keep an eye on the future updates.

PROS
- Visuals and render quality are acceptable.
- There are no grammar mistakes, I guess. English is understandable.

CONS
- Story is not really engaging and there is nothing in here that really made me care about the characters. Dad died and mom got kidnapped but I don't really care cause there wasn't much character development with them. I don't know these guys.
- Girls are already deeply in love with MC and in Ch.2 he pretty much already has a harem with almost all the characters you see on the cover except the girl on the left.
- Plot is very cliché and unoriginal. I'm not even gonna use spoilers cause its so painfully predictable. There is an orc invasion and MC is the hero that is probably gonna save everyone. That's it.
- Sex scenes are pretty much just a monotone slideshow. Not much text, not much interaction, just a bunch of images and a few animations to click through. Extremely passionless.
- This is fantasy game, where are the elf girls, orc girls, goblins girl, gnome/dwarf girls, other types of monster girls or mythical girls? LITERALLY every LI is a human white girl. The appeal of fantasy games are that they are rich in creativity but this game is so devoid of imagination its incredible.

I really wish I could rate this higher but given what's currently ingame I cannot.

I'll start with what I like about the game.
1. The character models used are quite good and unique looking. Can't say I've seen them used elsewhere like some other models that you can find in 10+ different games. I was a fan of the earlier Kiana model more, but the new one fits her overall character better and makes more sense being closer to the MC age wise.
2. The actual personalities of the characters aside from their models is handled nicely. They all feel distinct from one another and have their own lives going on.
3. The story and setting are also fun. Not exactly revolutionary in concept, but it doesn't have to be if done correctly. Orcs attack after being thought to be extinct, tragedy follows and sets up a nice heroic tale of vengeance.

Now I'll get into what I didn't like so much.
1. The MC, or how he is written. Outside of the sex scenes he is alright, but Once the action starts he turns into a foul mouthed beast and just has his way with whoever he is with however he pleases and it seems like a completely different person than how he normally acts. Currently I don't really think the game deserves the "Romance" tag since nothing that happens in the sex scenes could be considered romantic at all. An example is both of Julies scenes. (I am assuming that she is a virgin since she has had a crush on MC for a long time and it doesnt really seem in character for her not to be) In chapter one you take her home after she gets drunk at your party and she attempts to seduce you. If you accept her advances you proceed to have what I would consider to be rather rough sex for her first time. In chapter 2 she finds you at the campfire and offers to help ease your troubles by taking a midnight swim. Ok so far, you play around a little in the water which is pretty cute but again once the action starts MC turns into a beast and decides to have anal sex with her. It may just be me but that seems like way too fast progression for a girl that lost her virginity the night prior.
2. The writing in general isn't very good, or I guess the word choice and how characters speak. It's a game that is set in a medieval setting and then you have characters speaking in way more modern ways. EX "Oh, my bad dude" It just really takes me out of the world.
3. Choices. Pretty much all the choices so far are either accepting or rejecting different girls advances towards you. Which is nice I'm not a fan of forced scenes in games. However you dont have agency over how the MC handles things. EX The Goblin situation in chapter 2. Like for real how the fuck are you gonna leave your ONLY weapon to defend yourself RIGHT next to your captive and then fall asleep so he can free himself. Maybe this is more of an example of the shoddy writing because I get it, it's used as a plot device so Alice gets kidnapped and you have to save her with the mysterious wolf girl Eleanor but get real.

And I guess that's it really. My rating mostly comes down to the quality of the writing which is a shame because I really do like the setting of the game and the story that's being told but it could easily be better.

Also for anyone wondering the ingame renders and graphics are very good but I don't rate those since that usually comes down to the hardware that a Dev has availible and not everyone can afford an expensive PC for what might just be a hobby for them.

Very nice game and plenty of content for now. The story is nice, the characters are believable (although the bath scene with mom was very strange since she seems to have a good relationship with MC's dad). I am curious to see how the MC rescues his mom and how they grieve their loss...
The girls have different body types and look great.
The dialogue is above average from what I read (I admit I skipped a lot of filler scenes).
The hot scenes could be improved a bit by adding some narration and description, besides the animations and the few dialogue lines.

One of the best opening chapters for a game I've ever seen, but I feel like the other girls just don't stand a chance against Kiana, she has a unique face that I am unsure if I have seen in one of these style games, and stunning body. Julie is also unique, and I did feel bad for her in this chapter

Chapter 2 Update - The character model update, definitely looks more crisp but I can't say I am a fan of changing Kiana, I thought she was a lot more unique yet still beautiful, and now she looks more standard vn beautiful, but I am leaving this a five-star review, mostly because I enjoy the premise but I am not thrilled with the remodel, especially after literally only one chapter.

The game is great and I enjoy the choices regarding the girls, but I felt railroaded at a couple of points like sparing the goblin, et cetera. I probably would have made the same choice but I don't particularly appreciate it when the MC makes a major decision without our input, find a different way to move the plot along, if you want us to be the leader, let us lead how we want. Still, for the renders and care for this game, 5 stars, but I was really tempted to drop it to 4 stars just based on the Kiana remodel, but she's still the best even after the changes.

Damm what a start.
* great renders and animations top notch, story getting good. Make sure nobody touches the mother or else it will be a shitshow.
*Plenty of sex for the first version.
* Add black girls too man, lol.
And damn Orc attack, they will pay for what they did to MC's life.