RPGM - VoidBound [v0.6d Steam EA] [Cursed-Atelier]

[Review applies to Alpha Release 0.22]

Much of what I want to comment on has already been covered by Steven Steven below, so to quickly sum up (well, quick for me anyway):

• Tactical RPG elements are interesting so far - currently uses player positioning and a mix of ranged & hand to hand attacks, most of the attacks are fairly basic and there's no terrain options or anything yet. But, early days. My main concern is that it is a bit stodgy - turns can take a bit of time to get through, and the mobs are just tanky enough that you have to go through a few of them to finish an encounter. This is further compounded by the in-battle sex, discussed at the end of the review.
• Mostly like the puzzles. At this stage, they're enough to get you thinking, but not impossibly hard. Even though it's not explicitly a horror game, the dark stages can produce some scares with regards to enemy placement, if you're not attentive. Although I don't think it's explicitly said, most of the mobs are puzzle-like and avoidable - patterns can seem erratic but there are ways to avoid most groups.
  Spoiler: Patterns

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• Story in general is interesting, backstory seems solid, but this release does skip over bits. Writing is generally good. Decent banter. Caly seems to be a well-formed, strong character. Less sure on the other majors because of the story skip. There do seem to be occasional errors but it's mainly just missed spaces or possibly kerning problems.
• Artwork is generally good but quality does seem to vary in places - I'm not sure if these are stylistic choices or just early artwork that wasn't considered top priority for first release - none of it looks bad, just a bit sketchy. Most of this is in the intro and not the actual gameplay level/scenes. I get the impression that the demo may have initially been planned to start just before the gameplay level but changed shortly before release, but that's pure speculation on my part.

The main thing I wanted to add was praise for the scenes in game already. Of the three in the game (that I know of, anyway - I've not seen any others but think I found them all), one of them is part of the story, and the other two are losses to enemies (one the main mob, the other the boss). There are also, technically, two types of in-battle sex scenes. All of them are player sub, so if that's not your thing, unfortunate. All of the actual scenes are very well done so far. Caly's tough but has a definite subby streak. Her internal monologue is great, adding colour without detracting from what's going on. The art is great, and they use quite a few different CG's in each scene that aren't just a base pose with tiny changes. I did notice one or two places where they may have reused a CG either in error, or because they didn't have a CG for that exact bit and used next-nearest.

On a more personal note: I also love how much description goes into how Caly's being manhandled by the various enemies; For all the games that feature BDSM and player sub stuff (non-con or otherwise), few ever seem to actually describe that in great detail. And the final scene in general... well, I don't want to post spoilers, but it hit a whole bunch of my buttons. Safe to say that this team does seem to understand player-sub BDSM stuff beyond just how to use it as window-dressing.

On the other hand, I'm not too keen on the in-battle sex scenes. I already mentioned that the combat was a bit stodgy, and these do not help. I don't feel they're in-depth enough to be that erotic (at least compared to the actual scenes). They just make the combat drag on. There's very little description, just a reply from Caly and a cut-in of what part of her is getting molested. Most of the time, once you're restrained, enemies transition from doing HP damage to trying to make you cum. Cumming doesn't actually deal damage or have any negative effects that I've seen. If you manage to struggle free, they get a free attack before your next move. If you cum, you have to choose "stand up" to resume combat, and then they get a free attack against you. Some mobs do continue doing HP damage if you are restrained, but it looked like a bug when I last saw it. I don't want this removed, though, but I would like for it to count for something, instead of just being a timesink.

In all - 5/5 for an early release. Just needs a bit of polish going forward. I really look forward to seeing more of everything. More art. More story. More Caly. More enemies. More Caly getting into tricky scenarios with those enemies. Really hope it carries on strong. Definitely one on my "To patreon sub" list for when I can afford that.

Not a gameplay you see everyday, which is refreshing. Tactical RPG are always a plus for me. The puzzles are fun and work well with the environnement.

A big plus to the world building in my opinion. The scenes are, as well as the story, well written to this Alpha 0.22.

There is room for improvement (which is expected for an alpha) :
- Jens and (Haars ?) are good in the dialogue but having a dialogue with them both without faceset can be a bit confusing.
- The fights are a bit repetitive. Not because of the lack of choice in skills and attacks (there are plenty of those), but because of the slow rythm and the fact they lack diversity. They don't need much to be really fun... (maybe different battlemaps or a system of cover).

These are just my thoughts, I'm not an expert.

I'm definetly watching this thread up close.