Recommending TonyMurray's Favourite Games and Favourite Girls

[TonyMurray]

Long Story Short by TTrickGames (link is to the Ren’Py port I play with, by GetOutOfMyLab)

I’m a bit conflicted about this one, but admittedly not as much now, a few days later, than I was when I first finished playing it. There are some aspects that I rather like, but a few that I really don’t like — I think it’s maybe something like 30% really like, 30% really don't like, and 40% somewhere in the middle.

Graphics first, as this is relatively easy. The game looks good visually, and the girls are… okay, maybe it’s not so easy. Some of the girls are really nice. I have three in particular that I think look great, but the path for one is only just starting really (not a problem, as I see this as a slow-burn thing and am unsure how far it will actually go) and the other two might only be one-offs. Then there are the two main girls, at least as far as early content goes. One is just okay, and the other is cute, but has a head that’s really noticeably too big for her body. Like, so obvious it can’t have been oversight so must be intentional, right? A friend said “bobblehead” and I was onboard immediately as it’s a perfect description…

Personality-wise, the “just okay” main girl, Vanessa, is quite annoying to me. I don’t like her, especially at the start of the game. Which I guess falls into one of the things that I really don’t like about this one – the start of the game. It just doesn’t work for me. It’s too quick jumping into things, like we should be starting in the middle of the story, but some random nuggets of background info are needed, so we’ll go make a scene for those rather than just having a narration give us the lowdown. Frankly, it felt a bit of a mess at times.

Once I got into it, I would say it definitely improved, although there were still plenty of things I didn’t like so much. The Insta element is poor – the posts themselves look good, but there’s literally nothing there beyond two girls you follow, and depending on the path, it’s mostly just one of those. The best friend is a bit of a non-entity for me. He has no depth, and most of the time doesn’t feel like much of a friend at all. The corruption is all too far too soon for my liking, it doesn’t seem natural at all…

There are a few different path options, outside of the usual “this girl or that girl”. These pretty much revolve around Ann, and it’s a case of corrupt her or don’t, and date her or don’t. That does at least give a bit of variation – for instance, certain choices may mean she goes away for college and you might start a long-distance relationship, whereas other choices may mean she stays close by and sets out to become an actress. I like that this isn’t just a simple case of certain scenes being missed but otherwise the story stays the same, it gives a bit more meaning to (some) of your choices.

I’ll keep going with this one as I do feel like the worst of my issues with the game are in the early portion of it. I’m hoping anything we get going forwards is going to gradually increase my overall enjoyment, but that remains to be seen.

 

[Lagunavii]

A friend said “bobblehead” and I was onboard immediately as it’s a perfect description…

Hmmmmm, this seems familiar.

In all honesty, I've been waiting for this one since you told me you were finished with your runs. Great review. Whole heartedly agree with a lot of it!

 

[TonyMurray]

Mastering the Pink Box by Studio 68 Games!

This is a bit of a weird one for me, because it feels like it skips story in favour of sex scenes, although there actually is a story beneath it. I do wish there was a bit more focus on some elements of the story however, and that other elements were a bit more consistent. One of the early scenes involves an app that appears to give points for completing a task (in this example, giving a stranger a blowjob). I thought then that the app was The Pink Box, and it would be a game something like Fetish Locator. Neither of those initial thoughts appear to be correct, and I’ve yet to see or hear of this app again.

There is definitely an element of jumping into sex scenes out of nowhere, sometimes literally, and it seems to be something that everyone is aware of, perhaps everyone does, and no one seems to care about. To that end, it feels a bit like the player choices don’t matter much – it’s just a case of whether you open a path to a sex scene (potentially plural) or not, but no apparent consequences.

The graphics are good but not special, and the girls are a similar mix. There are a couple of really nice LIs and a fair few actually that could challenge for one of the highest spots in my list, but there are also a good number that don’t work as well for me. These may be easy to spot, as many (but not all of them) have unconventional-coloured hair! There are a couple of pink- or blue-haired girls who do look good though, just to balance that scale.

Some quick notes in terms of that story I mentioned: the start is a bit weird, and with parents being killed off I expected the usual “shipped off to live with a hot aunt or other landlady” situation, but that didn’t happen. I hate, but can thankfully ignore, the overused “brotato/broseph/brocules/etc.” talk – I just find it incredibly cringy. One of the last scenes I played (in v0.08) was really sad, seeing how Colleen ended up. As someone who self-inserts to a degree when playing these games, I just wanted to go to her and apologise for my part in it, as I felt a bit abused on her behalf, even if it was all consensual (or reluctantly agreed after coercion, perhaps).

The last story element I didn’t like so much was regarding Devon. I think she’s really pretty, has a great personality (from what you can gather), and the way I read it, everything points to her being the “end girl” for the MC. While every other girl is spreading her legs (or ass) without much introduction, Devon is your typical shy virgin, not even able to ask MC out for a proper date, and MC is left oblivious to the attraction, even if it is blatantly obvious to the player. The problem is, Devon is shown through conversation (and photos) to be anything but a shy virgin, so what we learn of her and what we see of her seem a bit at odds with each other. It doesn’t quite work out for me, but hopefully it’s just a clumsy (IMO) attempt at a slow-burn, and there are signs of progress towards the end of the last update, at least.

 

[yoyojrt]

Mastering the Pink Box by Studio 68 Games!

This is a bit of a weird one for me, because it feels like it skips story in favour of sex scenes, although there actually is a story beneath it. I do wish there was a bit more focus on some elements of the story however, and that other elements were a bit more consistent. One of the early scenes involves an app that appears to give points for completing a task (in this example, giving a stranger a blowjob). I thought then that the app was The Pink Box, and it would be a game something like Fetish Locator. Neither of those initial thoughts appear to be correct, and I’ve yet to see or hear of this app again.

There is definitely an element of jumping into sex scenes out of nowhere, sometimes literally, and it seems to be something that everyone is aware of, perhaps everyone does, and no one seems to care about. To that end, it feels a bit like the player choices don’t matter much – it’s just a case of whether you open a path to a sex scene (potentially plural) or not, but no apparent consequences.

The graphics are good but not special, and the girls are a similar mix. There are a couple of really nice LIs and a fair few actually that could challenge for one of the highest spots in my list, but there are also a good number that don’t work as well for me. These may be easy to spot, as many (but not all of them) have unconventional-coloured hair! There are a couple of pink- or blue-haired girls who do look good though, just to balance that scale.

Some quick notes in terms of that story I mentioned: the start is a bit weird, and with parents being killed off I expected the usual “shipped off to live with a hot aunt or other landlady” situation, but that didn’t happen. I hate, but can thankfully ignore, the overused “brotato/broseph/brocules/etc.” talk – I just find it incredibly cringy. One of the last scenes I played (in v0.08) was really sad, seeing how Colleen ended up. As someone who self-inserts to a degree when playing these games, I just wanted to go to her and apologise for my part in it, as I felt a bit abused on her behalf, even if it was all consensual (or reluctantly agreed after coercion, perhaps).

The last story element I didn’t like so much was regarding Devon. I think she’s really pretty, has a great personality (from what you can gather), and the way I read it, everything points to her being the “end girl” for the MC. While every other girl is spreading her legs (or ass) without much introduction, Devon is your typical shy virgin, not even able to ask MC out for a proper date, and MC is left oblivious to the attraction, even if it is blatantly obvious to the player. The problem is, Devon is shown through conversation (and photos) to be anything but a shy virgin, so what we learn of her and what we see of her seem a bit at odds with each other. It doesn’t quite work out for me, but hopefully it’s just a clumsy (IMO) attempt at a slow-burn, and there are signs of progress towards the end of the last update, at least.
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I thought the game was pretty fun, nice LI's. However, i did have one issue with the game; after unlocking the gallery, I realized that I had missed about 50% of the content.

 

[TonyMurray]

I thought the game was pretty fun, nice LI's. However, i did have one issue with the game; after unlocking the gallery, I realized that I had missed about 50% of the content.

Well, for some games, you have to accept that as a possibility. I don't think this one is too bad for it, I missed I think two scenes and I understand that there's a bit of lock out on those (three scenes all happen at around the same time, and you can get two on the same playthrough, but not all three - I only got one). I don't think I missed any others, but I can't recall - except for some variants with sharing Misty and then the show with Colleen, that is.

 

[yoyojrt]

Well, for some games, you have to accept that as a possibility. I don't think this one is too bad for it, I missed I think two scenes and I understand that there's a bit of lock out on those (three scenes all happen at around the same time, and you can get two on the same playthrough, but not all three - I only got one). I don't think I missed any others, but I can't recall - except for some variants with sharing Misty and then the show with Colleen, that is.

Oh, I’m looking at the walkthrough now, and I see that I missed day 7 and 8. Even though I'm playing the latest update, it's strange that my game ends on day 6...

 

[MiltonPowers]

Oh, I’m looking at the walkthrough now, and I see that I missed day 7 and 8. Even though I'm playing the latest update, it's strange that my game ends on day 6...

Using a mod that hasn't been updated??

 

[yoyojrt]

Using a mod that hasn't been updated??

Oh, I see that the walkthrough mod was never updated. That must be the problem then. Thank you!

 

[MiltonPowers]

Oh, I see that the walkthrough mod was never updated. That must be the problem then. Thank you!

Yeah, WT Mods will always cut you off at the end of their update even if the game has been updated.

 

[TonyMurray]

Her Desire by Wack Daddy

This is a very sexy game. It’s not really one for the story, which might seem a bit odd considering I like it a lot and that’s one of the key things I look for in a good game. Here though, the story is the sex, pretty much. The title is Her Desire, and the game is a journey through the new experiences the FMC has. What story we do get then, is basically the little we need in order to open up those new experiences and to take us from one to the next.

The graphics in here are pretty good, although I noticed in some of the early scenes there was a lot of noise in the renders, which is not a technique I’m personally a fan of – I just don’t see what it adds to these sorts of images. Thankfully for me, that soon changed and most of the rest of the game was spotless (no pun intended). A good group of the girls are really nice too, and although there are a few young girls who get scenes, none of them feel too young, which is a line too many devs just about miss. I can see each of these as young eighteen-year-olds without any difficulty.

The animations are not great, but they are present. Most of them feel like just a couple of frames quickly alternating, which starts to look a bit odd if it goes on for too long. Other than that though, the lewds themselves are pretty good. There’s a good variety, and through the choices you get, you can have just straight or just lesbian scenes, but can also choose both without compromising any of the story. Unless you have a particular aversion to either sexuality in your games, I would say the best choice is to go with both, as there’s a good amount of content for each.

I think the only downside to restricting yourself to just straight or specifically to just lesbian is that there might be a couple of path lock-outs from doing so. I had to go back to quickly check this, but so far, making lesbian-only choices looks to lock you out of Monica’s path, and also prevents a couple of group sex scenes (and although there is no girl-girl interaction in these, it could potentially lead to something in future updates that would be missed, with Victoria, for instance). There are, however, a couple of threesome options that are not locked out, so choosing to turn down those threesome paths to avoid the male could potentially lock out future content from the other woman as well (in Mrs. Wilson’s case, at least).

I think the only story aspect that I disliked was the ease of getting into some of the situations. There are some thoughts about the taboo and they generally turn to the excitement rather than the wrongness side of it, and that’s fine. However there doesn’t appear to be much thought given to hiding the taboo relationship in front of Felix and Monica, for instance. Having the best friend’s husband try to kiss you came out of nowhere for me, despite the previous drunken night (where nothing happened that would lead to that, for me), and I note from the gallery that this opens up a cheating path. I also didn’t like any of the possible teacher scenes (not including Coach Sara) for the way they came up without warning. The one involving blackmail was quite obvious, but too quick, and I noped out of it on grounds of principle.

Overall, I quite like the characters and models here, and the small-scale story works for the premise and the scenes we get, so it’s a game that I can see myself continuing to enjoy for some time.

 

[TonyMurray]

A Perfect Marriage by Mr. Palmer

This game turned out not to be what I was expecting. At all. And I really like it what I got instead. Phrases in the description like “jealousy and treachery,” “put their marriage to the test,” and “you will influence their fate,” made me think I’d be playing a standard cheating/NTR game, but it’s not that at all, even if both are present.

Rather than one or both being unfaithful, this is all about someone else making it seem that way, in order to break apart the marriage. I really like this angle, and although none of what happens is intricate or mind-blowing, I think it’s done really well with the way the story is told, and makes it an intriguing plot.

There are three parts to the game, Part One is from the husband’s POV and you get some choices to shape his path (in particular his confidence). Part Two is the same time period (about a week) from the wife’s POV. Some of this you can’t change, because the choices have already been made on the husband’s path, but you do get some options to additionally shape the wife’s path (in particular her naughtiness). You can also choose to skip some exchanges (usually SMS messages) that you have already seen, although playing them will give you additional thoughts from the wife.

Then Part Three is the continuation of the game, the ongoing section after those two initial set-up parts. You see this from both perspectives, and as with the first two parts, some other character perspectives are used as well. In here, you get more choice as to what happens, although your earlier choices may define some of those options for you.

I really enjoyed the story of it, and just how brutally savage some of it is. I thought it was a really good idea and well-handled. I also like how you can mostly stop some of the advances made on Anna (the wife), so if, like me, you don’t like some of the male characters, you can effectively close their paths down early on. That might not stop them from perving over Anna, like everyone seems to do, but it does at least stop things from going too far.

I did find that the number of men after Anna was a bit too much – yes, she is gorgeous, but I just figure most of it would be in the heads of the men, not actually out in the open. Even with everything going on, Anna doesn’t seem to find it too much though, beyond some eye rolling and the occasional comment.

There aren’t really any female characters of note. You have Anna of course, as the main character, and then Kendra and Alexia, whose relationships I won’t spoil, but that’s about it. The models of the latter two are good (although Kendra could do with smiling more), but I think Anna’s is fantastic, and at least suits the character, as someone who is actively lusted over by so many.

A last note that I almost forgot - this is a slow burn, at least at first. There aren't too many sex scenes, but they definitely start to increase as you get deeper into the game (choices dependent, of course).

 

[TonyMurray]

Not Going Back by Cicada

This game feels a bit of an anomaly for me. It’s like a standard frat-boy college game, but at the same time, it’s a bit of a slow burn. Not just in terms of lewds (of which there are a few, but not many) but in terms of the general story. I didn’t really feel I was getting anywhere as I played it, there was no real direction. There are two chapters so far, Chapter One is meeting everyone and settling in, and Chapter Two is pledging to the frat and completing Sauna Week (my terminology – it’s like Hell Week, but really toned down). But I just didn’t feel like there was an ongoing story that has been introduced so far. That might seem a bit harsh, as there are some little bits here and there, but nothing that I would say is driving the game forwards at the moment.

“Sauna Week” is pretty much a non-event. There are about half a dozen tasks, for which you get a couple of choices and everything else is pre-ordained. The only two tasks that have some worth are “getting girls to send you nude pics” and “having sex with a sorority member”. The first is a combination of asking girls you know and them just messaging you offering their help (or in one case, it’s a pledge task for her to send a nude to someone) and then not even having to say if you got any or how many. The other task is basically the same, you have sex with someone (I think there are a couple of different options, one of whom had already said she would help you with any (“and I mean ANY”) of your tasks) and you get this verified by someone contacting her to back you up, but no one else even appears to say they succeeded or failed at the task. It was all a bit underwhelming.

Anyway, story aside, I actually wanted this to do something. I kept playing to the end of the current update in the hope that something would kickstart the story because it looked good and there were some decent LI options. Some of the renders look a bit basic, with slightly blocky curves, or the standard clothing that moulds a bit imperfectly to a woman’s breasts instead of hanging naturally, but otherwise it’s mostly a decent-looking game. Apart from the MC, IMO. To be honest, a lot of the guys in the game look decent enough, bearing in mind the focus of the asset generators is always on the girls, but to me, the MC here is one of the poorer models.

Overall though, there just wasn’t anything here for me. It kept missing the opportunity to do something, and it also felt like it was following another game a bit too closely. You have some staples of the genre here that no one game owns, but then you also have some things that are just too similar to elements we’ve already seen.

 

[cicadaNGB]

Not Going Back by Cicada

This game feels a bit of an anomaly for me. It’s like a standard frat-boy college game, but at the same time, it’s a bit of a slow burn. Not just in terms of lewds (of which there are a few, but not many) but in terms of the general story. I didn’t really feel I was getting anywhere as I played it, there was no real direction. There are two chapters so far, Chapter One is meeting everyone and settling in, and Chapter Two is pledging to the frat and completing Sauna Week (my terminology – it’s like Hell Week, but really toned down). But I just didn’t feel like there was an ongoing story that has been introduced so far. That might seem a bit harsh, as there are some little bits here and there, but nothing that I would say is driving the game forwards at the moment.

“Sauna Week” is pretty much a non-event. There are about half a dozen tasks, for which you get a couple of choices and everything else is pre-ordained. The only two tasks that have some worth are “getting girls to send you nude pics” and “having sex with a sorority member”. The first is a combination of asking girls you know and them just messaging you offering their help (or in one case, it’s a pledge task for her to send a nude to someone) and then not even having to say if you got any or how many. The other task is basically the same, you have sex with someone (I think there are a couple of different options, one of whom had already said she would help you with any (“and I mean ANY”) of your tasks) and you get this verified by someone contacting her to back you up, but no one else even appears to say they succeeded or failed at the task. It was all a bit underwhelming.

Anyway, story aside, I actually wanted this to do something. I kept playing to the end of the current update in the hope that something would kickstart the story because it looked good and there were some decent LI options. Some of the renders look a bit basic, with slightly blocky curves, or the standard clothing that moulds a bit imperfectly to a woman’s breasts instead of hanging naturally, but otherwise it’s mostly a decent-looking game. Apart from the MC, IMO. To be honest, a lot of the guys in the game look decent enough, bearing in mind the focus of the asset generators is always on the girls, but to me, the MC here is one of the poorer models.

Overall though, there just wasn’t anything here for me. It kept missing the opportunity to do something, and it also felt like it was following another game a bit too closely. You have some staples of the genre here that no one game owns, but then you also have some things that are just too similar to elements we’ve already seen.
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Hello! I hope you don't mind me popping in here with a reply to your review [sidenote: I've just finished the whole reply, and it goes on a bit. So apologies for that, I hope this is okay with you]. I always feel compelled to respond, give some perspective from my side etc., when people take the time to write about my project, especially when it's clear a lot of thought had gone into the review.

Let me start by saying everything in your review is absolutely valid, and I completely get your perspective of things. Honestly? That was, in part, deliberate. (Did I mean for it to be underwhelming? No. But the slow burn is for a reason.) The lack of direction, to a point, is also for a reason. The first two chapters are very introductory, establishing the setting and characters. Your point about there not being an ongoing story yet? You're correct. The main story hasn't been introduced yet. It's been hinted at, and a lot of side stories have been established, but the crux of the game? Yeah, not there yet. At the moment it's supposed to feel like a slower, day-in-day-out, not a whole lot happening beyond the conversations with the characters. It's a shame that what is there isn't enough to engage or intrigue you particularly so far, but I understand that perspective, you're not the first person with similar critique.

All the criticisms of the pledge week are valid. I could point at everything there and explain why it's there, but as things stand everything you've said is true and fair. I spend a fair amount of time thinking about ways to make it more engaging, had a few ideas I scrapped in favor of a more succinct version of things, moreso for the sake of expediting the process really, just keeping the necessary in there. So calling it underwhelming is valid. I'd hoped it wouldn't be, but I can see why it is.

On the visual side of things, I already look back, particularly at ch1 and notice that a lot has aged poorly even just compared to me standards now, which are by no means great. But I'm not in the business of reworking anything before I've got the actual story out there. That's always the priority for me. But that is another common concern about the game, the early visuals in particular, which again is fair because I just wasn't that good two and a half years ago when they were made. (and I'm only slightly better now, realistically).

There are also a fair amount of comparative points between the game and others of the genre, it's kind of comes with the territory. You want to make a game set in and around college? Someone's probably already done your idea. I wasn't deliberately following any other game in composition, although I'm aware there are many comparable elements between this, BaD and College Kings. But it really is just lateral thinking and using common tropes. Not that those games weren't inspirations for me making my own, but I wasn't consciously following their formulas. And, to be honest, the similarities to at least one of those games in particular are going to get closer before they deviate. Much closer, in fact, to the point where I feel people may justifiably call my game a clone of one of the others at a certain stage of the game's life. But I'll cross that bridge as and when I come to it, because again it's a valid point to make now and will be then as well.

And just as a final, kinda broad, point, it's fascinating to me that in the very first sentence you describe it as an anomaly. I know what you mean by that as we currently stand, but it's of particular interest to me because that's exactly what I hope this game is going to be when all's said and done. As far as I'm aware, I'm going to do things people haven't seen before in AVNs (though I've probably just not come across it yet). So it was funny seeing someone use that word here, albeit not for the same reason.

With all that being said, thanks for trying out the game, and for giving a review. I always enjoy reading and responding to what people have to say about the game. I value player opinion, and I hope some value can be found in my responses, too, so forgive what has become quite a long reply. And thank you again for giving it a shot. It genuinely means a lot to me.

 

[TonyMurray]

Hello! I hope you don't mind me popping in here with a reply to your review [sidenote: I've just finished the whole reply, and it goes on a bit. So apologies for that, I hope this is okay with you]. I always feel compelled to respond, give some perspective from my side etc., when people take the time to write about my project, especially when it's clear a lot of thought had gone into the review.

Let me start by saying everything in your review is absolutely valid, and I completely get your perspective of things. Honestly? That was, in part, deliberate. (Did I mean for it to be underwhelming? No. But the slow burn is for a reason.) The lack of direction, to a point, is also for a reason. The first two chapters are very introductory, establishing the setting and characters. Your point about there not being an ongoing story yet? You're correct. The main story hasn't been introduced yet. It's been hinted at, and a lot of side stories have been established, but the crux of the game? Yeah, not there yet. At the moment it's supposed to feel like a slower, day-in-day-out, not a whole lot happening beyond the conversations with the characters. It's a shame that what is there isn't enough to engage or intrigue you particularly so far, but I understand that perspective, you're not the first person with similar critique.

All the criticisms of the pledge week are valid. I could point at everything there and explain why it's there, but as things stand everything you've said is true and fair. I spend a fair amount of time thinking about ways to make it more engaging, had a few ideas I scrapped in favor of a more succinct version of things, moreso for the sake of expediting the process really, just keeping the necessary in there. So calling it underwhelming is valid. I'd hoped it wouldn't be, but I can see why it is.

On the visual side of things, I already look back, particularly at ch1 and notice that a lot has aged poorly even just compared to me standards now, which are by no means great. But I'm not in the business of reworking anything before I've got the actual story out there. That's always the priority for me. But that is another common concern about the game, the early visuals in particular, which again is fair because I just wasn't that good two and a half years ago when they were made. (and I'm only slightly better now, realistically).

There are also a fair amount of comparative points between the game and others of the genre, it's kind of comes with the territory. You want to make a game set in and around college? Someone's probably already done your idea. I wasn't deliberately following any other game in composition, although I'm aware there are many comparable elements between this, BaD and College Kings. But it really is just lateral thinking and using common tropes. Not that those games weren't inspirations for me making my own, but I wasn't consciously following their formulas. And, to be honest, the similarities to at least one of those games in particular are going to get closer before they deviate. Much closer, in fact, to the point where I feel people may justifiably call my game a clone of one of the others at a certain stage of the game's life. But I'll cross that bridge as and when I come to it, because again it's a valid point to make now and will be then as well.

And just as a final, kinda broad, point, it's fascinating to me that in the very first sentence you describe it as an anomaly. I know what you mean by that as we currently stand, but it's of particular interest to me because that's exactly what I hope this game is going to be when all's said and done. As far as I'm aware, I'm going to do things people haven't seen before in AVNs (though I've probably just not come across it yet). So it was funny seeing someone use that word here, albeit not for the same reason.

With all that being said, thanks for trying out the game, and for giving a review. I always enjoy reading and responding to what people have to say about the game. I value player opinion, and I hope some value can be found in my responses, too, so forgive what has become quite a long reply. And thank you again for giving it a shot. It genuinely means a lot to me.

Hey, no problem, and thanks! I'm always happy for reviewers and devs to interact, as long as it's respectful on both sides, which this is, so I appreciate you for that.

To expand on a couple of the points then (I did edit my review down a bit!), I like how it has that "slow-burn college game" vibe, as the norm would just see sex scenes thrown at us without any proper build-up. If you think about it, most people are not going to be banging a girl they just met a few hours ago (though of course, some might be). In this respect, there's a realism to it that I like. My only issue is that I didn't get something driving the story throughout that, and that one aspect would have made all the difference for me. It's a bit "slice of life" I guess, but I think it called for something a bit more than that.

I also like how the pictures obtained during pledge tasks are not shared "for the girls' privacy" - even if that means the task sort of fails because there's now no way to prove success or failure. It becomes very "trust based", although that isn't necessarily a problem. A few more points of player input around the tasks in general might have helped a lot, as it would make it feel like you've contributed to the pledging process. At the same time though, I understand you not wanting to make a massive spectacle of it.

The comparisons bit is a tough one, because as we both said, there are some tropes that are staples of the sub-genre, and some of those will be connected to certain games in players' minds, even if there's no ownership of the ideas. I think the only main one for me here was Imogen's situation. I would never suggest she is a clone of Jill, she is far from that (basically I think the money is the only thing they might have in common in terms of their own character). But then the unwanted attention from Christian (and in that, his likeness to Tybalt) starts to bring it a bit close. Some things are said about it, but I still can't understand why she isn't able to just say "I'm not interested, please stop asking me out." It makes it all feel too drawn out to me, creating a massive drama out of nothing, just as a way to get MC involved.

Anyway, as I said, I like the look of the game in the main, and there are some really nice LIs to go for. For me personally, I just needed something to grab me in terms of the story, and if that were there, I'd be looking forward to continuing with the game.

 

[cicadaNGB]

Hey, no problem, and thanks! I'm always happy for reviewers and devs to interact, as long as it's respectful on both sides, which this is, so I appreciate you for that.

To expand on a couple of the points then (I did edit my review down a bit!), I like how it has that "slow-burn college game" vibe, as the norm would just see sex scenes thrown at us without any proper build-up. If you think about it, most people are not going to be banging a girl they just met a few hours ago (though of course, some might be). In this respect, there's a realism to it that I like. My only issue is that I didn't get something driving the story throughout that, and that one aspect would have made all the difference for me. It's a bit "slice of life" I guess, but I think it called for something a bit more than that.

I also like how the pictures obtained during pledge tasks are not shared "for the girls' privacy" - even if that means the task sort of fails because there's now no way to prove success or failure. It becomes very "trust based", although that isn't necessarily a problem. A few more points of player input around the tasks in general might have helped a lot, as it would make it feel like you've contributed to the pledging process. At the same time though, I understand you not wanting to make a massive spectacle of it.

The comparisons bit is a tough one, because as we both said, there are some tropes that are staples of the sub-genre, and some of those will be connected to certain games in players' minds, even if there's no ownership of the ideas. I think the only main one for me here was Imogen's situation. I would never suggest she is a clone of Jill, she is far from that (basically I think the money is the only thing they might have in common in terms of their own character). But then the unwanted attention from Christian (and in that, his likeness to Tybalt) starts to bring it a bit close. Some things are said about it, but I still can't understand why she isn't able to just say "I'm not interested, please stop asking me out." It makes it all feel too drawn out to me, creating a massive drama out of nothing, just as a way to get MC involved.

Anyway, as I said, I like the look of the game in the main, and there are some really nice LIs to go for. For me personally, I just needed something to grab me in terms of the story, and if that were there, I'd be looking forward to continuing with the game.

Yeah so some of the intent for the first few chapters was to make it feel very much like a slice of life kind of game, in order to make things that'll happen in the future hopefully more impactful. Without wanting to spoil anything, a key point the opening is establishing the MC wanting a bit of a normal, basic life, which he hopes will begin when starting college. So the first few chapters are light on a driving story because they're more about him finding his feet again (or at least, that's the message I wanted to try and convey).

The Imogen/Christian thing will be explained as we go, but I get your perspective right now, because that's what I want the player to be thinking. And on the comparisons, yeah, that's one of the more obvious (for lack of a better term) similarities, but I'm hoping that their stories will develop and make the comparisons less feasible. I'm also hoping that it won't feel like it's too drawn out. We'll see. But yeah, right now there is a lot of similarity between Christian and Tybalt on paper.

On that last paragraph, I'd say maybe keep the game in mind, and if you are to come back to it it'd probably be worth waiting for a fair few updates before you check back in to see where the story's at and see if there's something more to grab you. Up to you, of course, but that'd be my advice. Because I'd like to think what I've got planned might be enough to hook you in at some point, but I don't think you should prioritize playing the next update or two over other games that might be on your list.

Thanks again for taking the time to play, and for your thoughts. It's very much appreciated.