After about a week I finally beat the game from start to finish, accumulating over 34 (how poetic!) save games with many different scenarios. I've attached said save games in this post, along with a guide.
Since beating it, I have quite a few suggestions/room for improvement:
- Given that it was obviously among the first assets made, Floor 1 is lacking animations. Unlike every other floor, Scarlett is the only character that entirely uses still images.
- Floor 2 has no sidequest, and it's clear there's supposed to be something more than what we have atm.
- Eliza should be able to find you once hidden as a random probability, and the "hiding" objects themselves glitch out after you leave them.
- Khulan has artificial difficulty through the interception/dodging mechanic, which automatically forfeits your turn.
- In between defeating Khulan and Lady Cobra, you have to put in 1 - 2 hours' worth of grinding, starting with defeating Scarlett at Level 3 in just one turn, and using just one potion max. For something that's supposed to be not much more than pure, unbridled fetish fuel, this is excessive.
- By the time I got to Floor 5, the quality of the game had noticeably dropped in the sense that you can tell it's unfinished. There's only one submission sequence for Lady Cobra (which the game allows you to disable thank fuck), there's no apparent option to give in all your levels and Lady Cobra's shoes have no interaction until you're completely done for. Half of Lily's surrender sprites are clearly placeholders, and a few are missing.
For gameplay in general:
- Red potions ought to be nerfed in favor of making them last for 5 successfully executed turns, rather than turns in general.
- Blue potions are far too expensive for what they're worth, by the time you unlock the fire cape and start grinding Scarlett Level 3 they're effectively useless.
- Once you start building up your ATK with the Lava Potion, you can essentially break the game by using it to max out. Levels should be able to cap attributes so that each fight remains challenging.
- After you beat Yvonne, the game should open up a prompt whenever you approach the staircase, asking which floor you want to go to. So much time is lost through walking from Khulan's floor to Scarlett's and vice versa during the pre-Lady Cobra grinding stage. I'm glad this is addressed at the end of the game through the Naga Shard, but that's besides the point. Could've shaved a good half hour+ from my total time with this option.
- The game should just dump save files altogether in favor of unlockable checkpoints. The whole reason I made the most of the available save files is that you can only experience certain sequences once or twice.
- Certain stats are pointless and are only used for one mechanic, when really they should be a lot more customizable. "Dignity" and "Confidence" for example are very similar things. And the only way to replenish the former is to get caught in one of Khulan's submission holds, then insult her.
- Thanks to unapologetic heavy-handedness, the big twist
was ruined by Wei's incessant need to spell it out for you, instead of leaving it to suspense.
In closing I can't really give this game a rating as it stands, different parts feel almost as though they were made by different people. It's basically one of a kind, so it has that going for it. Some of the stuff that doesn't appeal to me/feels like a drag is barely worthy of a 5, whereas others peak at a 9. The song known as "LadyCobraPunish", holy shit. Really puts me in the place of Ethan, throwing his quest and hopes away for submitting to ruthless bitches like Cobra and Lily.