HTML - Transylvania [v0.5.03] [XFiction]

  1. 5.00 star(s)

    Lamphead

    A top 2 transformation game for me and a must-play for any transformation fan, or even fans of erotic world building

    The crux of a successful MtF transformation game is what to do after the transformation. The erotic nature of an MtF transformation is the unexpectedness, at first maybe the reluctance, horror or surprise of the MC, followed by gradual acceptance and erotic exploration. But WHAT AFTER? For the 'Patreon subscribe' format that we live in, maybe the 'Version 1' of the game has the transformation and then the subsequent versions explore it, but more often than not your MC is a whore by Version 3... then what? Often, it just turns into a female POV game at best, or a repetition or an extreme drawn out tease at worst.

    Transylvania's brilliance is its answer to this question in multiple ways, probably the smartest way I've seen. For one, your character is always on the brink of dying, and the only way to avoid it is by exploring the mystery, the world and MC and other people's powers. This is SMART. There is room for the MC to want to reject sex situations to try to find information. There is room for MC to want to accept sex situations if they think it will help them survive. There is a NECESESARY layer on top of the man -> woman -> slut dynamic that exists in every MtF game that can support many more interesting scenarios.

    Then there's the 'mind haze' dynamic. The game inhabits the world of 'the occult' with monster, magic, and mind control all on the table. The game has a 'sanity' dynamic which corresponds to that world: The human mind of our MC cannot process the 'world of the occult', so there is a constant battle between his sanity and the bizarreness and powers of the world and people around him. Again, a smart layer on top of the usual MtF dynamic: a common theme of MtF games is quickly becoming a slut, but by explaining this dynamic (partially) through the world building AND positioning it against the MC's need to preserve some sanity to save their own lives, it maintains a reason for the game to keep going and write new scenarios.

    Then there's just smart writing. With the aforementioned need to preserve your life and mind/identity constantly a theme, the game very gradually introduces plot elements and transformation elements enabled and established by the world building that challenge those two things in lewd ways. But the core themes are never forgotten.

    Other good things: a good stats/clothes/journal setup, a logical game progression with a clever loop mechanic that doesn't punish experimenting, a great base for a game that you could imagine quite a bit more plot and transformation in future releases
  2. 5.00 star(s)

    AmericaSortaSucks

    This is one of the best erotic games I've played. It has a lot of good drawn artwork and fits the Twine engine really well. The succubus "life" mechanic is unique, and it makes the gameplay/exploration feel much more comfortable. It makes save-scumming a lot less appealing by allowing you to experience the consequences of risky and sleazy situations without worrying too much about the opportunity cost. The fetish content is very fitting for the dark, gothic aesthetic, with lots of monsters and gross things like maggots. I also like that more details about the environment you're in reveal themselves the longer you play, despite little hints about the mysteries. Be wary if you're squeamish, but if you're a freak like me this should be a hit.
  3. 3.00 star(s)

    Jdsiis

    This is a very well made and written VN with horror elements. It's quite unique in the genre so it gets some extra credit from me.

    The big problem with this game is that it just didn't feel sexy to me. I'm not into beast / spider fetishes and the game just failed to intrigue me from the sexual side of things. Despite being very interesting otherwise.

    While this is a very unique game no doubt, I come here to fap above all else. And this VN failed to get me to want to fap basically at all throughout my hours of playing it.

    Not for me: 3/5.
  4. 5.00 star(s)

    silvermoon111

    I love the aesthetics and writing/worldbuilding of this game, it's probably the best erotic horror game out there. The corruption is hot and the game, whil grindy, is still less grindy than the average TF HTML game.
  5. 4.00 star(s)

    chmo45645

    Good game, hot and well-written, with lot of kinks covered. Identity death was a bit quick for my taste, but it's not a big problem. Overall relationships progress nicely.
    -1 only for paywalling the save system, you will need to save-load a lot, especially if you want to see all content and without it game is hardly playable. Had to edit code to fix it.
  6. 5.00 star(s)

    LordMilitus

    Teraurge and this game - two incredibly unique master pieces with art and kinks you don't often see. Well written too minus a few typos.

    I honestly don't know what to say about this except for: If you are into female protaganist and into some 'weirder' kinks this is a game for you.
  7. 5.00 star(s)

    llll888

    Excellent game that is well-written, engaging, not grindy at all. One of the best for those interested in transformation, bdsm, etc. Great art as well, limited but still more than something like TiTS. My only criticism is the presence of more grotesque/horror scenes, but that is more of a matter of taste and I'm glad that community has a game to enjoy as well.
  8. 5.00 star(s)

    dxhawk

    I just love corruption, transformation, genderbender games. This is the best written and developed so far, the best! The colored artwork in the change of chapters are absolutely beautiful, all my love to the developer, keep up the magnificent job!!
  9. 5.00 star(s)

    TachikomaBot

    An erotic game with an actual plot. While the art is 2d, the characters feel three dimensional. The sublime horror mixed with the erotic might not be for everyone, but I would say give it a try because if you do like it you'll be missing out if you pass on it.
  10. 5.00 star(s)

    Gerasya

    Having played this game for more than 5 hous while not planning to drop it, I dare to claim this piece unexpectedly very interesting. Even though it's almost unjerkable at, the game really captivates with its story and gameplay which is indeed really hard to do for a text-based game. I'd undoubtably recommend to play this game to fans of decent mysterious stories and dark erotic stuff.
  11. 4.00 star(s)

    Éama

    I can't say I quite understand the plot. Transylvania is fascinating and by all accounts full of kinks, but relationships in the traditional sense don't really develop between the MC and the other characters. Everything is rather episodic with horror and fetish elements.
    And the fetish section is certainly where Transylvania shines. Transylvania is kinky with a solid gender-bender plot, voluntary and unvoluntary forms of sex and lots of Lovecraftian mystery. There are many secrets that you can discover in point&click fashion, usually combined with some sort of corruption and sexual exploitation of the MC or rarely third parties.

    But even though I played to one of the endings (a bad ending in my case) I can't say that I know where the journey actually leads. Much remains only hinted at and whenever you try to find traces of a bigger picture it ends up with you being bound, chained, abused and exploited, but the veil is rarely lifted to an extent that allows you to switch from victimhood into a position of strength. It's like you are not really supposed to become a hero, as if being exploited is the main kink and purpose of Transylvania. Or maybe it's just very difficult get there. I have yet to make up my mind about that.
  12. 5.00 star(s)

    sirhawken

    If you're into tf and demons then this is definitely worth the time. Art style is excellent and carries the theme well. Definitely not for everyone, though. This is definitely darker fiction.

    Really looking forward to seeing where this goes
  13. 5.00 star(s)

    nanajosh

    So, I've been looking for something to scratch my monster fetish for a while and this is hitting a lot of boxes without it being something disturbing.

    It is well written, the story is intriguing so far (I've binged about 5 or 6hrs so far). I had the option to get an early end as I did what needed to be done or too keep exploring, I'm not done with this playthrough yet so damn right I turned that choice down!

    My only nitpick about it is there is a lot of silent scenes. I recommend putting on some spooky music during the quiet times and pausing it when the games starts to play it's own.

    Still, love the story so far. The creator got a supporter today.
  14. 5.00 star(s)

    OrangePeel

    Excellent interactive fiction, both in the story and in the presentation. The story branches beyond what I expect, respects your choices, and reads like a noir mystery novel (as the black and white inked aesthetic might suggest). The mostly black and white simple presentation works very well to set the mood, and to highlight the times when color does enter the scene.

    The themes explored also deserve commendation. It's very rare to find a game that has a powerful female protagonist with both maledom and femdom (non-lesbian) content. Honestly I think this is a huge niche that no game developers want to fill for some reason. Outside of sandbox text games like Lilith's Throne, and Fenoxo games, there is basically no better game for a powerful female switch protagonist. It would be better if there was a choice in dom/sub routes for some characters, but maybe that's in the works. When you have the choice to dom someone (e.g. Lavius), voluntarily choosing to sub to them feels so much more delicious.
  15. 5.00 star(s)

    decoder55

    Art is amazing and gameplay is great and unique, especially compared to any other HTML game IMO.

    Overall the game has a lot of boxes ticked that makes this a must play if you are just a little depraved
  16. 5.00 star(s)

    imagreatmagician

    Text game with good art that just seems to hit all the right notes. There's some wierd stuff but there is a certain appeal in a story that pushes the protagonist off the ledge into the chasm of debauchery. Slowly transforming from little more than a freightend animal to a monster to be feared by the very same monsters that terrorized you in the beginning.
  17. 5.00 star(s)

    MogueMarion

    A very good entry in the gender bending genre - while the emphasis is on the storytelling more than the art, the art has a really unique style that works wonders for this kind of game.

    Without spoiling too much, it'd be nice if some parts of the game were reversible for a given save, but given what the game is going for, it's totally understandable that it is doing what it does.

    Worth a look for the writing alone.
  18. 5.00 star(s)

    Mattress

    Fantastic writing, intriguing story, excellent atmosphere and interesting setting. Even the artworks are really well designed and the erotic scenes are well handled. This game is a little gem and it has all the means for a high quality end product.
  19. 5.00 star(s)

    malvic

    I'll begin by stating my criticisms with the game:

    The TG aspect of the game seems pointless. I'm neither for or against TG content appearing in games, but here it seemingly serves no purpose and I can see it as a mild disturbance to those who don't care for it while not offering much value for those enthused by the tag.

    I played the free version of the game, which includes only one save slot. Day one works perfectly with this, but day two features at least one circumstance I've come across where the absence of regular saves may fuck the player over a bit, as it did me.

    The game somewhat lacks the inconsequential. On one hand, all the characters that are in the game serve a meaningful purpose. But because everyone has a purpose, there's not really any smaller details or characters that exist primarily for flavor. The game's atmosphere and writing is very good, but a few more interactions and characters that didn't directly tie into the main plot would liven things up a little bit, and important characters could do with a few more options of interaction without direct consequence.

    Bad ends and sexual interactions could do with a little more variation and as above, could serve to be available in less "meaningful" ways. What is present is good, but once one finds oneself in a sex scene or bad end, the structure of what is happening is just a linear path until the end in most cases. A few bad ends could do with more "oh, maybe I can still escape" moments, and with a lot of sex scenes consisting of multiple acts in sequence, they could do with at least minor breaks inbetween in which the character can react and evaluate before suffering the next obscenity. There could also stand to be more options for minor perversions unattached to the primary cast.

    It isn't finished.(At time of writing) You'll reach a point where you will be wanting more and it won't be ready yet.

    Those are my criticisms. Beyond those, I'll just refer to the score I'm giving the game. Honestly I just want more. That's really the only thing wrong with it. What is present is all very good, so I just want more of everything.
    Maybe play it now? Maybe wait until there is more to the game? It will likely become a better experience the longer you wait, but if you play it now you will still certainly enjoy what you get.
  20. 5.00 star(s)

    Marquis Forneus

    Really enjoyable game, I highly rate it. I would certainly prefer it if the TG content was optional, espeically given how little time the player spends as a man? The rest of the game would hardly have to change I'd imagine should you include an alternate female start,.

    Regardless I'm probably in the minority of players playing that game despite its TG parts, not because of. I still very much enjoyed it, and look forward to future updates. Overall 5/5 stars, given that my biggest complaint is a game not having a fetish, it specifically markets itself around, which really isn't fair. It does speak well that I liked it so much despite that.