VN - Ren'Py - What We Don't Say [v0.02] [DubiousMoe]

I like what I saw so far, gonna be following this, story seems pretty interesting characters have various personalities and a black MC is usually different than most games which is a plus imo. Keep at it dev!

Review:

A guy torn between his long-distance girlfriend and the allure of new temptations. The graphics are mid-to-okay but we are yet to see animations.

The gameplay; it's a visual novel focusing on relationships and navigating social situations but it seems that choices don't matter or truly exist as of yet.

While the story initially shows promise, it quickly devolves into forced scenarios that some will enjoy and others wont.
The choices that do exist feel somewhat shallow as you can find yourself to already be in a situation you would've wanted a choice for beforehand. Example: Save a girl and then she's butt down on your face time later (No choice in-between to be the stern loyal type, not that I'd choose that anyway.)
Right now the game delivers on its explicit content, has good depth and emotional resonance but lacks in growth of characters and forces the game concept of "to cheat or not" over true suspense/character building/story.

Conclusion: Its a Netori goon game, with a lack of gooning atm because its version #1. Overall pretty decent.

Review for What We Don't Say

The character models are nice, and it's refreshing to see an AVN that doesn’t rely on the same overused popular models.

The dialogue isn’t bad, but there’s definitely room for improvement. My biggest pet peeve is inner dialogue — I don’t mind it when it’s used sparingly or when it adds something meaningful, but when it’s overused, it just feels like filler. Also, why are there quotes around all the dialogue? They’re completely unnecessary.

For the most part, the images look good, but there are moments where the visuals drop in quality — some scenes appear low-res and grainy.

I do think there’s a solid story here with real potential. If the dev can polish up the weak spots, this could turn into a really enjoyable experience.

Review at v0.02
Everything here is a mixed bag. There's some good and some bad; the intention and story was good but the way it's done is poor. The biggest issue is choices that aren't really choices and forced relationships. I didn't like Kierra "I'm not going anywhere, you know that right" from the off. She's clingy, annoying and possibly a bunny boiling, psycho but out of the three options given on the first choice about her in the playground, there's no option to say clearly no. The options are 1. yes, 2. yes but I don't know how to say it, I have no balls and 3. yes but I need to get in touch with my feelings first, get me a tissue, I'm going to cry for a bit and then say yes later. No matter which option you choose you get the text "That didn't feel like the end of something. It felt like the start." as she walks away looking like a psycho who's going to kill you if say no to her. Judging from the shrink's reaction in the next render, it's meant to be a beautiful moment from the dev but it was lost on me. Before this moment I was just thinking why are we talking to Kierra? How can I get rid of her asap and I'm hoping there's some better options further on in the VN. But then I realised, FFS she's the girlfriend you have to be in a relationship with. So this becomes a quit the game or carry on moment, as Kierra is likely to always be in this. This is a shame, as the VN has hardly begun and I'm thinking about quitting. The only upside if you carry on, is choosing options to try to sabotage your relationship.

I get that the idea is that this sets the background and tone for the MC's relationships but a skip option would be great have here. The ability to say no in the playground, even if you lose loads of content and move on to University and start fresh would improve everything massively. The reader should be in control, not be forced to feel and do things you don't want to, or is the dev only interested in the concept of cheating and this is their driver in this VN? I just wanted to get on to the next relationship but no, the story becomes just about if and how much you 'cheat' on her. As I couldn't stand her, it's 'cheat' on her all the way through. The downside story wise is there's no guilt here as I can't stand Kierra, so it's fast forward through her scenes and onto the rest of the LI's. This is a massive problem in this story. If you can't get the reader to feel guilty, is it cheating? And if cheating is your only storyline, what's the point in reading on?

If you do carry on another issue is how everything looks. The other LI's aren't that great looking either. I get it's subjective but all the way through they are consistently unattractive, so visually it's disappointing all round. It's more, realistic level looks rather than porn VN level looks, so beware. Nova and Jules were fine but the rest... In addition there's too many renders focusing on the MC. I don't want to look at a dude, I want to look at the world outside, around me or at a girl, anything but the MC. Finally, why in the basketball game is everyone so wet? They are covered in sweat, it looks like they're drowning in it. It's really bizarre!

Trying to be positive, I like the storyline that he doesn't go to University to play the sport he loves on a scholarship. He doesn't get offered one. More could be made of this as it resonates well. It's much more realistic to me as a reader. It is hard to give up on something that's a huge part of your life. Playing a sport in high school and then realising you're not good enough to carry on anymore. You have to give up on your dream, as you don't get selected to play at a higher level. You have to adapt and follow an academic path instead, the path the majority of us take. However, it's a huge downside that he telling his story to a psychiatrist. What is this obsession of spilling everything to a shrink? Such a cliché in a VN. What's wrong with chatting to a friend or a family member to get the same conversations across. Uggghh!

Overall, the writing is pretty disappointing. Nothing really gets you immersed in the story. Kierra's scene at home for the first time is a good example. It's ok but pretty formulaic. There's emotion in the scene with lots of shouting but do you care about the characters? Do you feel for them and their situation? The fight scene at the basketball and when you have the option to save Jules? Just when you think something interesting is going to happen, it's all over so quickly and anti-climatic. There's so many 'oh is that it' moments. There's also the constant negativity around cheating. I realise you are choosing this path but when the alternative is Kierra it sets a depressing tone. There's not much happiness, humour or positivity here.

You can see what the dev is trying to do and I wanted to like this but in the end it's all fairly forgettable and misses all round.