VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Warlord [v1.1.2 Elite] [deepglugs]

It was an okay game with renders that stand out enough to not be totally lost in the shuffle but since the dev decided to tone content back to please people who wanted the game less adult and more PG rated, it's less of a dark adult game and blurs in more with with dozens of other games with very similar plots. Still, I'll round a 2.5 up to a 3 for the renders being unique enough.

Version : Ch 4
Playtime : 1-2 hours (so far)

Models/Renders : Good
Story : Good
Dialogs : Quite good (proofreading needed)
Immersion : Good

I've just finished my playthrough and I really liked it. It doesn't have much content yet but it's very promising.

It needs a little proof reading to fix some dialogs, but the I really like the storytelling and interactions : not too long and not too short.
I like the dynamic foreground/background effects and the efforts to make the scenes more "alive".
I'll update my rating in the future, and I hope this will continue, because it's very promising and I really really like where (I think) it's going. I can't wait to give it a better rating because in my opinion you have a 5 stars material here.

Thank you for your hard work, I might support you in the future.

Under normal circumstances I would argue that the plot has a lot going for it. Moral dilemma, the depicition human abysses combined with erotica. It can be a very good premise for a dark plot.

What I don't like is when authors use rape or sexual violence as a plot device and even though the depiction in Warlord is not explicit, it feels very much implied and is rubbed in. The mother becomes a victim of sexual barbarism in order to emotionally stir the protagonist and thus the viewer. In a way, it would be more honest if the abuse of the mother was depicted with renders, because the lack of renders leaves it to the viewer's imagination to imagine even worse.

The fact that the protagonist is incapacitated by the plot shortly beforehand (basically only for this purpose) and that you are expected to fight a desperate and pointless fight to save your mother is pretty much the foundation of the exploitation genre. You are supposed to feel total despair so that you carry the emotional scar of the protagonist along with you.

This is the main reason for the low rating. I think there are other points of criticism, e.g. too few renders for very important scenes, static portraits as a substitute for scene renders and text as a render substitute.

I like the dark atmosphere, I also like traumatic events as a prelude to stories (just not blatant exploitation, there is an aesthetic to trauma depiction. Abuse is no stubtitute for good drama.), the art pieces and the fantasy setting. The music is very powerful as well.

The developer hinted that he might abandon this VN unless he gets a good reception. And I truly think there is potential buried in there. But don't base the emotional involvement of your MC on the sexual abuse of others, unless you want to tell a story about madness. And even then it's honestly a cheap shot.

Good stuff
Likable competent protag.
Attractive women.
Interesting story with solid writing.

Bad stuff
Early version with a short amount of content.

Thoughts
I really enjoyed my time playing this game & think it has a lot of potential. Looking forward to future updates. Will likely update review as game is updated.