VN - Ren'Py - Valenza Family [Ch.2 v0.3] [Arcane Ink Productions]

Love this game as it is a mafia based AVN where the MC is High headed (love these kind of macho charecters)
Valenza Family is a gripping mafia-themed adult visual novel that immerses players in a dark, narrative-driven experience. Developed by Arcane Ink Productions, the game casts you as Michael Valenza, a cunning and ruthless made man navigating a treacherous underworld of betrayal, alliances, and violence. The story shines with its focus on loyalty, survival, and the heavy burdens of a conflicted protagonist, blending intense drama with moments of introspection.
The game’s strength lies in its storytelling, offering a linear yet choice-driven plot with alternative scene outcomes, keeping players engaged without derailing the core narrative. The "fade to black" option for adult scenes adds a thoughtful touch, catering to varied preferences while maintaining emotional depth. Visually, the 3DCG art is striking, complementing the gritty tone, though some may find the pacing deliberate due to its story-first approach.

Overall 1.5/5:

Ideally where do I start? Oh boy...I know the Daz models in this game are a bit dated but at least a little bit of effort to enhance them somehow will make this game a least visually appealing. The lewd scenes are mediocre and lacking. It is literally "skip scene" or "watch scene." There are no animations... just still images with basic transitions.

Next, the game design and writing are where the game falls flat. It doesn't have a kinetic tag which misled me thinking that there were going to be choices in this game. The game is just mountains of dialogue piled on top of one another that have no flow or cohesion with the rest of the narrative. I see some inspirations of The Soprano's, which was pretty apparent in the opening, and it got me interested because not many "VN" games are thematically like that. However, that is as far as my interest for the narrative and characters of this "game" goes. MC is a jackass.... literally. He has no redeeming qualities to keep me as a player invested in his growth. Why did the dev make me create my name in the first place when I am not even playing a part of the game's narrative. Absurd!

The lack of choices and interactions really ruined my immersion and attention span to where I eventually had enough of Ch.2 and skipped "unread text."

This is not a game nor interesting narrative. Just a wall of text with basic Daz models accompanying the background.

At the intro there is like 7 layers of "Hey i'm gonna tell you something but dont judge or dont get mad at me, alright?" dialogue back to back, It almost made me quit. It makes one say "cut to the case" ffs. Then he says the most inoffensive shit ever, like a male feminist to top it.

But surviving the intro there is actualy good story in the baking. All the dev has to do is cut this word salad to half. And we are golden.

I have been craving for a mafia story for years, last couple ones were either abandoned or they should have been abandoned because they were that bad. I hope this one can scratch that itch.

I wont go too deep on the grading for a demo. But if i were to i can say;
*Aside from what i mentioned in the beginning solid story telling. 5/5
*Good renders decent visuals. 4/5
*Pretty much one dimentional characters, but i am foggy on this one since this is just the start.Things might change as the story folds. ?/5
*There is "a-okay" audio. 4/5
*Spellcheck/proofreading is on point. 5/5
*Things MUST HAVE in a Renpy game, but things devs keep forgetting are there in this game. Like; toggling Quickmenu, Dialogue box opacity settings etc. which was the actual reason why i didn't quit the game at the intro. I said "Hey at least the dev isn't that lazy. Lets give it a chance." so thats a +1.

There are things i can't rate but overall score would be 4.3/5 for this game.
Would recommend, go try it. And support the dev if you like it.
Cheers.

VERSION: Into + Prologue
SUMMARY: Good start, interesting story and lots of potential, but not much here right now.
RATINGS: (out of 5):

1. Models: 4
2. Animations: X
3. General Visuals: 4
4. Characters: 4
5. Story: 4
6. Writing: 5
7. UI & Gameplay: X
8. Content (amount): 2
9. Sound & Music: 4
10. Fetish & kinks: X

Average: X of 50 possible points giving a X% rating i.e. X stars.

PROS:

1. Models are not bad looking, the MC looks good and has a ruggedness about him I find more appealing (for an MC)
2. Visually the game looks good, the world and general renders are on par.
3. Music is good, got a vintage vibe to it, but not bad at all.
4. Writing is good, not 100% but good, I enjoy how its written and it reads well. Conversations are interesting, often funny and the unique personalities are refreshing.
5. Characters, they seem to be complex enough, the MC seems to have his own past but he seems intriguing.
6. Story is interesting, the way the MC talks is typical of the mafia gang style we have seen in games and on TV. With his family connections clearly it has some mafia influences.

CONS:

1. So far there are not any cons really, this is probably due to the only real con and that is that here is very little content to evaluate.

FINAL THOUGHTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• Initially when you check this games name, style, poster it screams mafia, the setting even suggests that era of 1950s or such, but when you start the game, not long into it you realize its set in the modern era of today. This is a tad disappointing, because the entire vibe and idea that the player is given is as I mentioned above.
• Per the game description, there is indeed a dark sinister undertone to the game, the story and its characters, particularly our MC. Intriguing nonetheless, especially when we see the MC use his "lessons" to turn things to his advantage.
• The MC does talk a bit much, which is in a way strange, often those who are dangerous and serious have very little to say and when they do then you kinda know they mean business. While the MC may have gone through some shit, he clearly still is young and kind of immature, at least thats the impression he gives with his long winded dialogue/monologues

Seems decent and could have some good content, but if you into looking for kinky, spankbank kinda stuff, I doubt this game will ever be that. The MC is too controlled and does not strike me as someone who would subscribe to any kinks and sex is also not a driving factor for him. He clearly comes across as a business first and last person who simply does not take shit. So having sex and knocking chicks up and all the kinky shit...yeah I doubt this game will have much, but could and I really hope im wrong on that front, as for the rest, this game could be great, I will keep an eye on this one.

Great proof of concept. 5 stars, people should play this.
Hook is good, art is good, dialogue is good.

I'm a skip merchant but I read every line.
Incidentally, skip doesn't work and the text box is a censorship bar.

It is not elite in any one area but delivers in ways most VNs, particularly in the mobster genre do not.

Kudos to the dev, this is good work and I look forward to the first chapter.

pls improve transitions and text box.

So far, I give this game top marks for what it has presented and for its potential. The graphics are stellar and the story line is both intriguing and compelling. I mean, who doesn't love a good mobster theme? Especially one done well and so far this one is performing on point. I look forward to seeing if the Dev keeps it up with nice timely updates. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.