Recommending TonyMurray's Favourite Games and Favourite Girls

[JJ1960]

Intertwined by Nyx Valeria

I’ve finally found a game worthy of claiming the final spot in my top ten, and not only that, but if I was ranking those games, Intertwined would sit quite high in the list. I really enjoyed my first playthrough and am looking forward to experiencing more of the game by playing individual paths while I wait for the next update.

This is definitely one of those games that you need to play several times in order to appreciate it fully. I love that, because I want to spend a lot of time in a game that I enjoy, and if it is set up with multiple pathways, that are exclusive of each other, you can do just that. I recommend playing “blind” first of all – with no expectations or targets, just making the choices you want to make in the moment. That way, I think you’ll get the best of all the little twists and reveals as they hit you for the first time. I did it that way and had a few little gut punches as my choices came back to bite my ass, and it’s great when a game can make me feel that way.

In any other game, those myriad twists and revelations would be coincidental to the point of absurdity, but it’s pretty much literally the name of the game here. I don’t mind it at all because it’s deliberate and clever without trying too hard to be clever. None of the twists are really that convoluted – most of them can be spotted well in advance of them being sprung – but they still work well and I love the way the story has been interwoven like this.

I also love the way the choices really do have an impact. A wrong move can not only lock you out of a particular love interest, but others will avoid you as well, as they show solidarity with a friend you’ve hurt. I don’t think enough games show that side of relationships, as they usually only focus on the impact on the person immediately effected.

The only thing that could stop this game doing well for me then, was the girls, and I am plenty happy with the selection I was offered. The LIs and side girls here presented me with a tasting menu of all the things I look for in a woman. Not only are there a good number of girls you can interact with, but they would probably end up with the best average ranking in my tier list. I haven’t given out three tier-one places to a single game before this one, but on another day Intertwined could perhaps have more than that.

The actual characters are really nice as well, with a good variety of personalities, and the main girls mostly have a good bit of story too, rather than just showing up as eye candy and potential lewd-scene partners. My one complaint is the same one I often find in these games, and that is regarding the range of skin tones used. There are a couple of characters (it might just be Alexis and MC, actually, and I'll note that Alexis looks fine in my character card below!) who look a bit out of place as everyone else looks vibrant and healthy, but those two are practically grey. I’m not sure why this comes up quite a bit, or if it’s just me, but it definitely looks a bit odd, and in Alexis’s case, maybe makes the difference between a tier-two and tier-three placement.
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I will say I appreciate this thread and your opinions. Keep up the good work.

I agree that this is a good game where choices actually do matter. There are plenty of "oh, shit, I really shouldn't have done that" moments when going through the first time, unlike a lot of games where they give you choices but the results aren't really that different. While the name of the game should be a dead giveaway it did get to a point for me where the interconnections got to be too convenient, so many twists where it didn't make a lot of sense but seemed to be there just to screw with the player. It reminded me of a horror movie where there is jump scare after jump scare so that the novelty wore off. I will be doing another couple of playthroughs with different choices though to see how they play out.

 

[TonyMurray]

Helping the Hotties by xRed Games

This one lives up to its name in that there are hotties, and you… help them. It’s a fun game, but not one that I felt had a lot of emotional depth, and it’s definitely one that I don’t think I’d want to overanalyse. The story is pretty basic, and relies a fair bit on “porn logic”, which is why I wouldn’t want to delve too deeply into the decisions and the situations you can find yourself in. Needless to say, more than many other games, much of what happens in this one I feel would just never happen in the real world.

The graphics are pretty good overall and the girls are actually really good quality. There’s a familiar model or two here, but I don’t mind that because they are models I like, and the little changes made to them work well. These models are always going to rank highly for me, and it’s no exception here. The character behind the face is maybe not the greatest for some of the girls though, and there’s definitely an element of them being too quick to jump your bones. Even the girls who are among the last to feature in the lewds gallery are quick when you consider the time between first interest shown and first dropping their knickers. It feels like you just get to a certain point in the game and all of a sudden this character is shown to be interested in that way, and then a few scenes later, you’re banging her. There’s just no real build up to any of them.

Despite that, it’s still a decent enough game, just not one that managed to hit my feelings at any point. The gameplay itself is okay, although some of the choices are a bit incongruous and even if there are not proper pathways for each girl, certain choices still lock you out of scenes with other girls, meaning you would need multiple playthroughs to see everything, and I don’t feel like this is a multiple playthrough sort of game.

There are minigames in here as well, which I think are quite poor. There’s only one variety, so once you’ve played it once or twice, there’s nothing new and it just gets in the way. These could easily have been swapped out for a couple of choices with the same effect. There are also certain challenges or tasks that you get rewards for, but I didn’t think these were well implemented as they had no impact on the game and if you want to see the scenes/renders, you can just use a gallery unlocker. A better game would make you want to unlock everything organically.

Same with the panty finder, which is just a case of finding random pairs of knickers all over the place to unlock special renders. This is so random though, that it feels it has no place in the game. Like you can find a girl’s knickers under your pillow several times, or under the bed of another girl who doesn’t even share the same room. It’s not even as if you’re finding them in that girl’s actual room, which would make more sense. Sometimes you can play a scene and every change of viewpoint has a pair of knickers for you to pick up as you’re talking to someone, indoors or outdoors, so it was just a bit overdone. All I’ll say is that it seems these visiting girls must have brought a spare couple of dozen pairs of knickers each for some reason!

If it wasn’t for the quality of the girls, I would definitely say this is a “play and forget” game. My recommendation is a blind playthrough and then checking out any other scenes in the gallery rather than playing through again to see what you missed. The extra story elements won’t really add up to much, as the missed scenes will generally be lewd anyway, or just leading into a lewd scene.

 

[TonyMurray]

Price of Power by Pandaman Games

Two things to note here before I start: One, I love fantasy; and two, it’s a lot harder to make a good fantasy AVN than a good modern AVN – you have all the extras of worldbuilding to factor in on top of the character and story parts.

Sadly, this one failed for me on that worldbuilding – the idea was solid enough, but I don’t think it really works as an AVN, for me at least. Even with this being a slow burn, there just isn’t the time to create a believable world before you’re diving into the story and the characters, and all aspects of the game suffer a bit for that. I couldn’t get invested in the story or the characters (either MC or his companions).

The introduction of some sci-fi elements then made it less enjoyable for me, as I felt it just overcomplicated things, and I also actively disliked some of the ways the sci-fi elements were shown, particularly with screens of information which I wouldn’t want to read in a book, let alone a game, and the way these came up was also quite jarring.

The graphics were okay but perhaps a little basic, with some of the sequences of renders lacking a bit in fluidity, and the lewd scenes generally being far too short. The LIs are minimal, but not bad, however this does mean that there are few lewd scenes, and those you get are restricted to just one or two of the girls.

All in all, this combined to making this a game that isn’t really for me, despite having some good potential as something a little different.

My status @ Chapter 23: Not continuing.

 

[TonyMurray]

Because I Love Her by The Typist

I decided to try this out after enjoying some elements of The Adventurous Couple. This one started out a little differently, with the girlfriend instigating a kiss between you and her sister, and then pushing for you to take it further. It mostly then moves into a typical sharing game with nothing to set it above the rest, except that the graphics are pretty good and a couple of the girls look great.

I did think everything was a bit rushed, with no real build up either to the sex or the conversations leading to new situations. I think in a game like this, if you’re going to feature the very first experiments of a couple with no experience in this area, they can’t just jump in with both feet, you need to build up to it or it just won’t feel quite right.

Although there isn’t a vast amount of story in this game so far, and only a handful of short lewd scenes, it still manages to evolve from “I think it would be sexy to watch you kiss another girl” to “let’s invite a guy over for a bit of fun, I’ll fuck him and you can fuck my virgin sister” in no time at all. There’s no emotional depth and very little story building, so it feels a bit like the planning involved getting a list of scenes and then writing a path to link them as quickly as possible.

It's worth noting that there are two versions of this game, with the original having a bit more content (so far) but the remake looking and playing far better.

My status @ Episode 1 - Part 1: Not continuing.

 

[TonyMurray]

Elmwood University by WickedWare

This game hasn’t really properly started yet, but it’s showing plenty of potential. At the time of writing, there are two episodes released and ten scenes in the replay gallery (aptly titled “The Wank Bank”), and we’ve been introduced to the eighteen (yes, 18!) love interests.

These LIs give a pretty good mix of characteristics, and a good range of difficulty levels – and not just because two of the LIs are teachers. There’s a bio page for all of the girls (and one for you) which gives some stats and useful info about sexual traits. This might be an individual thing (e.g., cums easily, is a squirter) or something that might impact other girls (e.g., this LI’s gossiping can increase lust in others, girls feel more flirtatious around this LI). The bios are easy to find and navigate at all times although there’s generally no game reason to do so.

In terms of looks, I think there’s a good range as well, and although we’ve only had the opportunity to see a portion of the LIs nude so far, I’m happy with the selection available and how they look. I can see a good challenge ahead when it comes to building a harem, especially bearing in mind some girls might not play nicely with certain others.

One neat thing this game has to set it apart a bit is the perks tree. You gain points (mostly through lessons) which you can spend on learning new traits which might help you get along with the girls, or might improve your performance with them. Some of these are quite interesting, like Cum Selfie, where the girl will often take a photo of her facial and send it to her friends (also increasing their friends’ lust).

There are some fun moments in the game, and dialogue which shows it’s not taking itself too seriously, and I like the way the girls interact with each other so far, giving insight into possible groups you might be able to form later in the game. Some of the choices you can make are a bit pointless however, making it seem like they’re there just to fill a quota. For example, at one point, when you’re at a feminist party (for plot reasons), the host lays out some rules and asks if you’ll follow them, and the available answers are basically “yes”, “no”, or “can I have sex in your bedroom?”

There’s a card-based minigame you can play as well, where winning awards you a card from your opponent. This can generally be skipped (at least after the first round) and can be quite difficult initially because of the quality of cards you begin with. I don’t mind this, and it can be fun, but a lot of players (especially those familiar with the concept – from FF8’s Triple Triad, I understand) have found it annoying, it seems.

Overall, it’s a promising start, not a game that’s going to break any barriers, but one that should easily hold its own in a congested field.

*LI cards updated following Episode Three playthrough.

 

[MiltonPowers]

Elmwood University by WickedWare

This game hasn’t really properly started yet, but it’s showing plenty of potential. At the time of writing, there are two episodes released and ten scenes in the replay gallery (aptly titled “The Wank Bank”), and we’ve been introduced to the eighteen (yes, 18!) love interests.

These LIs give a pretty good mix of characteristics, and a good range of difficulty levels – and not just because two of the LIs are teachers. There’s a bio page for all of the girls (and one for you) which gives some stats and useful info about sexual traits. This might be an individual thing (e.g., cums easily, is a squirter) or something that might impact other girls (e.g., this LI’s gossiping can increase lust in others, girls feel more flirtatious around this LI). The bios are easy to find and navigate at all times although there’s generally no game reason to do so.

In terms of looks, I think there’s a good range as well, and although we’ve only had the opportunity to see a portion of the LIs nude so far, I’m happy with the selection available and how they look. I can see a good challenge ahead when it comes to building a harem, especially bearing in mind some girls might not play nicely with certain others.

One neat thing this game has to set it apart a bit is the perks tree. You gain points (mostly through lessons) which you can spend on learning new traits which might help you get along with the girls, or might improve your performance with them. Some of these are quite interesting, like Cum Selfie, where the girl will often take a photo of her facial and send it to her friends (also increasing their friends’ lust).

There are some fun moments in the game, and dialogue which shows it’s not taking itself too seriously, and I like the way the girls interact with each other so far, giving insight into possible groups you might be able to form later in the game. Some of the choices you can make are a bit pointless however, making it seem like they’re there just to fill a quota. For example, at one point, when you’re at a feminist party (for plot reasons), the host lays out some rules and asks if you’ll follow them, and the available answers are basically “yes”, “no”, or “can I have sex in your bedroom?”

There’s a card-based minigame you can play as well, where winning awards you a card from your opponent. This can generally be skipped (at least after the first round) and can be quite difficult initially because of the quality of cards you begin with. I don’t mind this, and it can be fun, but a lot of players (especially those familiar with the concept – from FF8’s Triple Triad, I understand) have found it annoying, it seems.

Overall, it’s a promising start, not a game that’s going to break any barriers, but one that should easily hold its own in a congested field.
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Twins Basil, Twins!
There should be more twins, so you can put that on more cards. Not because I like Twins or anything like that.

 

[TonyMurray]

Twins Basil, Twins!
There should be more twins, so you can put that on more cards. Not because I like Twins or anything like that.

Absolutely, Powers! Peeking around in URM I saw a Tashley-related perk as well, which will be good to unlock!

 

[FoolsBeGone]

Chasing Sunsets wasn't really on my rader before but after seeing some of those beautiful ladies (especially Mallory, Lisa and Bianca) i will definitely try this game out. Probably when it will be completely finished. So thanks for recommendation.

Really good idea with presenting girls from the games this way.

You should definitely try some of the older classics like: Acting Lessons, Sisterly Lust, Man of the House, Dreams of Desire or Parental Love.

recommending Acting Lessons should come with a Trigger Warning ...that freaking game BROKE MY HEART!!!

 

[TonyMurray]

recommending Acting Lessons should come with a Trigger Warning ...that freaking game BROKE MY HEART!!!

I don't know if I am heartless/desensitised or if I just wasn't enough into the LIs, but it didn't really bother me. I saved one, expecting the other to have been saved by firemen or something and to just have more time in hospital, and then it finished and I was just "oh, okay then..." If I was to play it (for the first time) now, things would likely be different, as I would have been playing multiple saves for different paths etc. – at the time I wasn't used to the games and aware that was even a thing!

 

[el_pejelagarto]

Price of Power by Pandaman Games

Two things to note here before I start: One, I love fantasy; and two, it’s a lot harder to make a good fantasy AVN than a good modern AVN – you have all the extras of worldbuilding to factor in on top of the character and story parts.

Sadly, this one failed for me on that worldbuilding – the idea was solid enough, but I don’t think it really works as an AVN, for me at least. Even with this being a slow burn, there just isn’t the time to create a believable world before you’re diving into the story and the characters, and all aspects of the game suffer a bit for that. I couldn’t get invested in the story or the characters (either MC or his companions).

The introduction of some sci-fi elements then made it less enjoyable for me, as I felt it just overcomplicated things, and I also actively disliked some of the ways the sci-fi elements were shown, particularly with screens of information which I wouldn’t want to read in a book, let alone a game, and the way these came up was also quite jarring.

The graphics were okay but perhaps a little basic, with some of the sequences of renders lacking a bit in fluidity, and the lewd scenes generally being far too short. The LIs are minimal, but not bad, however this does mean that there are few lewd scenes, and those you get are restricted to just one or two of the girls.

All in all, this combined to making this a game that isn’t really for me, despite having some good potential as something a little different.

My status @ Chapter 23: Not continuing.
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You should really give Eternum a shot if you enjoy fantasy AVNs, I believe is going to take a place high in your top 10

 

[TonyMurray]

You should really give Eternum a shot if you enjoy fantasy AVNs, I believe is going to take a place high in your top 10

Well, I love fantasy, and I love AVNs, but I have yet to find a good fantasy AVN that works for me. I do have Eternum on my list to try out though, so I'll get to it eventually, but I'm not expecting great things from it. Hopefully that means I'll get a pleasant surprise. I will say the graphics are not usually ones I would go for (the Honey Select vs Daz model look) but I'm still going to try it out, and will go into it with an open mind.

 

[TonyMurray]

To Love, Honor, and Betray by Renio Studios (note: This is styled here as Love, Honor, Betray, but the game itself has To Love, Honor, and Betray as its filename/title).

I’ll be honest, this wasn’t a game I was expecting to get a lot out of, but I’m pleased to say it surprised me. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but there was enough in here to take it from a game I try out and then ditch, to a game that I’m keeping on to check out future updates.

The story is fine for what it is – a combination of blackmail and corruption, with some cheating tied in to both – but I would only say so once you’re properly into the game. The blackmail side of things comes along way too quickly for me, or rather, it’s accepted way to quickly. There are some elements of potential pushback later on, but initially it seems like the premise is just accepted with no real thought towards refusing. The cheating is also too easy, with no real sign of conflict around it, although this might be explained by dialogue that tells us that Lacey (the main character) has only been married for six months, and her husband is neglecting her somewhat.

There are two key paths in the game that are tied to a particular choice you make, but I like how picking one option doesn’t lock out the other path. This is regarding sexuality, but it all boils down to whether you follow a male or a female target in one particular scene. Later choices still give you a male or female option, depending on the situation, and even choices with your husband can count towards either the “straight” or the “lesbian” points tally (and there’s also a “no sex” counter for your husband).

I think the girls here are just “okay”, with no real standouts for my tastes, although there are none at the opposite end of the scale either. Lacey definitely feels more focussed on in terms of design, but you can understand that, as she is the main character. This may explain why some of the characters were so difficult for me to get clear screenshots of when putting together my character cards – Samantha in particular looks a bit out of focus here to me, and in almost every other usable view of her, she had a funny look on her face, while only a couple of the characters had a good, close-up "profile" shot of the type I would usually use.

The scenes are a mixed bag. I would say that the MF scenes tend not to be as good, but the lesbian scenes are often quite erotic, as well as being more numerous. This is fine with me, as I tend to pick the “lesbian” option when faced with appropriate choices in the game.

Overall, this is one that I’ll continue with whenever there is a new update, but it’s not one that I’m going to keep at the forefront of my mind until that point.

 

[BlackDynamite]

Would be interested to see what you make of https://f95zone.to/threads/where-it-all-began-ch-3-full-oceanlab.19856/

I think based on your reviews and the games you played we have similar tastes.

 

[TonyMurray]

Would be interested to see what you make of https://f95zone.to/threads/where-it-all-began-ch-3-full-oceanlab.19856/

I think based on your reviews and the games you played we have similar tastes.

I've been hesitant to try this one after playing Summer's Gone. How different is it? Don't get me wrong, I liked a lot of Summer's Gone, and Nami was great, but some parts of it, plus the remake decision, have put me off.

 

[TonyMurray]

Guilty Pleasure by Quonix

This is a game that is equal parts fun and frustrating. It’s fun because there are some good-looking girls and a decent overall premise, plus it’s very easy to play, with few choices needed and no real wrong turns possible. But it’s frustrating because the sex scenes are pretty basic and a fair number of the scenes are just dialogue that goes over the same ground and doesn’t move the story forward much.

The updates are frequent but small, each consisting of four scenes – and that’s actual scenes, so not necessarily lewds. This means that sometimes half the update might literally be two or three characters having a conversation that you’ve pretty much heard before, and maybe one sex scene. With such short updates, it’s worth considering playing every 2–3 releases instead of each new one as it lands, but the game is reportedly nearing completion, so this should not be necessary for much longer.

Personally, I don’t have an issue with short updates if they are frequent and reliable, so my main complaint is probably the length and variety of the sex scenes. These are often introduced in dialogue, then you get a short scene usually consisting of just one position and a few thrusts, making the MC seem like a “one-pump chump”. If there is variation, it will often be because the scene includes a blowjob first, although it’s often noted in the game thread that the MC never returns the favour and goes down on the girls.

It's easy to highlight the negatives, and doing so might make it sound like this isn’t a game I much like, but I definitely enjoy it and look forward to each new update to see if we finally get to the next stage of the story. I really do like a few of the girls, and because it’s a small overall cast, it makes this game quite highly ranked in terms of their average looks.

 

[MiltonPowers]

Guilty Pleasure by Quonix

This is a game that is equal parts fun and frustrating. It’s fun because there are some good-looking girls and a decent overall premise, plus it’s very easy to play, with few choices needed and no real wrong turns possible. But it’s frustrating because the sex scenes are pretty basic and a fair number of the scenes are just dialogue that goes over the same ground and doesn’t move the story forward much.

The updates are frequent but small, each consisting of four scenes – and that’s actual scenes, so not necessarily lewds. This means that sometimes half the update might literally be two or three characters having a conversation that you’ve pretty much heard before, and maybe one sex scene. With such short updates, it’s worth considering playing every 2–3 releases instead of each new one as it lands, but the game is reportedly nearing completion, so this should not be necessary for much longer.

Personally, I don’t have an issue with short updates if they are frequent and reliable, so my main complaint is probably the length and variety of the sex scenes. These are often introduced in dialogue, then you get a short scene usually consisting of just one position and a few thrusts, making the MC seem like a “one-pump chump”. If there is variation, it will often be because the scene includes a blowjob first, although it’s often noted in the game thread that the MC never returns the favour and goes down on the girls.

It's easy to highlight the negatives, and doing so might make it sound like this isn’t a game I much like, but I definitely enjoy it and look forward to each new update to see if we finally get to the next stage of the story. I really do like a few of the girls, and because it’s a small overall cast, it makes this game quite highly ranked in terms of their average looks.
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I'm assuming you noticed when you were gathering your pictures for cards, but when I was trying to get pictures for my file, you cannot get shots of them actually looking at MC/camera. Lilly in particular (but the others too), always has her eyes looking sideways no matter what direction she is looking. And the renders will jump from looking left, to looking right, no straight ahead.

 

[TonyMurray]

I'm assuming you noticed when you were gathering your pictures for cards, but when I was trying to get pictures for my file, you cannot get shots of them actually looking at MC/camera. Lilly in particular (but the others too), always has her eyes looking sideways no matter what direction she is looking. And the renders will jump from looking left, to looking right, no straight ahead.

For some of them, yes (Maya is fine, for instance). Fortunately, I just need head-on so you can see their face well. If I needed them actually looking at "you" then I'd be screwed in lots of these games

 

[MiltonPowers]

For some of them, yes (Maya is fine, for instance). Fortunately, I just need head-on so you can see their face well. If I needed them actually looking at "you" then I'd be screwed in lots of these games

I like the eyes looking at camera (my anal I think), and can usually get one. Just Lilly in particular stood out as never looking directly and always sideways.

 

[MarioCT96]

Very nice Thread!!! I want to write other games that in my opinion, are really good, let me know if you have already tried them or not :
Where It All Began
Lust of Pain
Fates Collide
Sunshine Love
For now this 4, when i remember others games, i write them.

 

[TonyMurray]

Very nice Thread!!! I want to write other games that in my opinion, are really good, let me know if you have already tried them or not :
Where It All Began
Lust of Pain
Fates Collide
Sunshine Love
For now this 4, when i remember others games, i write them.

As per a couple of posts back, I'm unsure on WIAB after playing Summer's Gone, but maybe one day I'll get to it. Lust of Pain and Sunshine Love are already on my list to try, though I'm not expecting anything world-shattering from a Mr Dots game (some of them have been fun, but I often find they lack depth). Fates Collide isn't my usual style in terms of artwork, but I'll add it to the list to check out at some point. Thanks!