Firstly, I'm genuinely thankful to Tjord for providing us with a meatier update instead of just one containing a bonus scene and gallery. You seriously didn't need to, and it was a pleasant surprise to receive the update this early. I'll try to save some money and support you on itch when the month ends.
Secondly, my alternative route review (will also try to update my original review later): It was interesting and effectively fulfills the role of an alternative route, introducing different ideas and expanding the Isis/Valdana universe. However, I don't believe it reaches the same level as the original route, or even Isis. This could be because some of my personal preferences were less present
(what have you done to my beloved Cassandra cow udders ) but I also feel that certain general storytelling aspects were less developed compared to the main route.
The POV of a pragmatic MC contrasts well against the lechery of the previous, but in an erotic fiction, I think this did worse for the story. We got to explore much less the new transformations (both in body and in psychology) and sex became much more of a physiological burden for the MC and girls, instead of a luxurious act of servitude from the slaves to their master. Simply, there was much less sex appeal.
The quicker transformations also did not help in that aspect. One of the most enjoyable aspects for me in Isis and original Valdana is the teasing before the transformation is completed. It's almost a sadistic felling: you've cornered your prey and are slowly approaching them while savoring their eyes still filled with empty hope; they still struggle against or refuse to accept defeat, while your mind is already racing, imagining how they will look after the grotesque transformation. With the quick modifications, this foreplay is still there sometimes, but much less prominent.
Speaking about the transformations, it's nice to see the gyarus back! You've effectively made the transformation reflect the MC's main objective: all of them retained their intelligence and became much more pragmatic towards Neo-Terran plans; they are primarily soldiers and then sex-slaves. This makes the changes to the transformations verisimilar, since a soldier with humongous badonkers will not fulfill their mission with peak athleticism, but for me, this also weakens the sex appeal of the story. The idea of giving a slave chronic back pain and mobility issues, rendering them useless for anything other than suck cock - just because you made their breasts too big - is simply too appealing to me. But again, personal preferences, I don't think this was the route's objective anyway.
This brings me to the thing that made the route worthwhile:
Yuria, a very creative transformation with a very
hot transformation scene. It's nice to see you exploring with more imaginative transformation scenes (not just get into the machine -> get out of the machine -> boom, sexy lady) and different gimmicks to them. I believe you've also managed to control well the flow for when to utilize this creativity. Saving the best for last is powerful, and it helped the story reach a more likable ending (I still think it's inferior to the main route, but good nonetheless). This change of how the transformation is handled makes me even more excited about your future works
, I would 100% still love them if they just stuck with the formula, but changes like that are welcome!
Despite my criticisms, I'm happy that I got to experience Valdana again (and for free!!). I can't stress enough how fortunate we are to have a developer deliver high-quality (completed!!) games when we have a sea of feature-creeped ones that are never going to be finished floating on this site. I hope that Tjord had as much fun making this VN as I had playing it. I'm very excited for whatever comes next. (
just make sure to add a girl that gets humongous tits plz ;-;)!