VN - Ren'Py - Wild Cats [April Fool's Special] [LopaPhi]

just finished the update 0.2 and I am pulled into the story quite nicely.

What I liked
distinct LIs - they all look pretty and interesting and even the ones who would not usually be high on my list grew on me.
the writing - there is nice banter and humor but it does not shy away from darker topics
pace - overall a slow burn which I like when it is done right, like here

I'm curious how the story continues beyond bringing the team together.

Is the game good? Yes. Do I recommend it? Yes.

This is a good one. The summary may seem generic and yes, the main story seems to be shaping up to be that kind of feels-good movie where the coach unites the underdog team despite their differences and sweeps the nationals. What makes this game good and special even with that in mind are the characters.

Again, the story is at the moment nothing to write home about. It may seem harsh since we're just in the what seems to be a prologue so I can reserve judgement on this part of the game until there's been a couple more progress made and because of a certain aspect of the game.

Next we've got our characters. For our LIs, they're all amazing girls. Distinct from one another personality- and looks-wise but not by too much that they become weird and so far from the girls we've interacted with the most, they're surprisingly not one-dimensional. This makes them far more interesting and makes us readers even more invested in the game because who doesn't want happy ending for their best girl?

As for our MC? There's a disclaimer right after starting the game that our MC may seem like an ass and lo and behold he certainly was. Weird decision right? Don't worry, he doesn't stay that way if you don't want an early bad ending and that's what makes him so endearing. Everybody loves character developments and thankfully, we get started on his right from the beginning.

Now how do we know that an MC turned from asshole to non-asshole is good decision?

The dialogue - I wholeheartedly enjoyed the dialogue so much so that I personally believe that this is one of the better written Western AVGs right now. It may seem like an exaggeration but even if the story sticks to what I think its going to turn out to be, I'd still play and keep up with each update so long as the quality of writing doesn't drop. With our reformed MC, his conversations with the girls are so much more personable, more entertaining and more satisfying to read.

Now for sex scenes well, there's not much sex happening yet since the author is still setting everything up BUT the few spicy scenes we've had so far are incredibly well done. With great dialogue, you can always expect good sex scenes because a good sex scene isn't just a slideshow of the 3D models doing the fun stuff. It's with how descriptive the writer can get with the actions being done and not just the words being exchanged. If you've read a good book or played a Japanese eroge - VN or not, you'll know what I'm talking about.

All of this adds up to a game that I am surprised to like so much because again, the story was generic and volleyball isn't a sport I follow so me not skipping the text and actually reading everything is a nice surprise. So with this much appreciation I have for the game, it's not going to be a surprise this time that I give this a 5-stars.

My message to LopaPhi: Great work, I am actually impressed! I thought I'd give playing the game a shot from the visuals alone but I wasn't expecting to be hooked yet here I am. So much so that even if the game becomes a slow burn action-wise, I'd still play it solely for how enjoyable and entertaining I find your writing to be.

Review of version 0.2
I'll start with a premise: I'm not a big fan of VNs as a genre and have enjoyed just a select few of them. Wild Cats, however, piqued my interest from the very beginning of the story.

The one flaw other people have been pointing out (fully addressed by the dev in a warning before starting the game) is that the MC is a bit insufferable in the first part of chapter one. While I do agree, I have to admit that the author did a great job writing the MC's dialogue to be enjoyable, even if you disagree with his POV. Just bear through the first part of the game and enjoy the rest.

All the girls have a distinct personality and are well written, some of them have more depth than others (at least for now), but are all very enjoyable. It's a slow burn for sure, with just a handful of spicy scenes in the whole of 2 chapters, but it's not a flaw in my book.

Overall an awesome project with great potential, will be keeping an eye on future updates.

The author might want to tone it down on the "patheticness" of the MC or at least make it more believable that he reached that point. I'm absolutely sure that many people will miss out on the VN because he's just so annoying at the beginning, I know I almost did. However, once we get past that point we get past that infuriating aspect of the story we can truly begin the story. There is no badass MC, no gigachad MC, or even a genius MC. We have a former athlete who was injured trying to rebuild his life. The struggles the depression and even the realization of his own flaws are very relatable and make for a good foundation of a story. Since this is also a VN it also features a cast of women of various of shapes and sizes. personally would have preferred at least one more dark skinned lady. Although they are they are the old HS2 engine models, in this case the author went out of his way to make them unique enough that the models stood out. The sex scenes are also one of the strongest points in the writing. Overall a very solid VN, if you can get past the initial dumbassery.,

[REVIEWED ON CH.2]

ah yes finally another masterpiece with exquisite script! cant say much about the graphic because its using HS2 but oh god the writting is excellent! the slowburn on the romance side is also good, no meaningless H sceene being thrown here and there. Also really like the character design, especially Johan. Cant wait for anothe update!

i put this on high rank, close to Eternum. 10/10

Great game. Models are nice, story is enjoyable and has kept me hooked so far. The characters aren't 2-dimensional and feel like people, and the conflict between them makes this game feel more engaging. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.

The pacing is absolutely fantastic and the fact that the girls aren't madly in love with you at the start. They actually kinda despise you because of your attitude and thats such a fantastic thing to be added to a game.
Every character is quite literally different in every way possible and i just love that shit so much. Most games usually have the same copy paste girls and personalities, you name it.
And back at it again, i just love the fact that they aren't madly in love with you at first sight even though the MC is quite literally an ancient greek god with the face of helios.

+ i loved the fact that it actually took time to get your team together. Like it's actually a full on process that even makes the MC go into a dark space where he wants to give up multiple times and almost even breaks down.
This is a straight up 10/10 game and it's at 2 chapters currently which is insane. This game for sure is the most underrated hidden gem among any games out there

10/10 even with 2 chapters this goes straight to my top 5's

I tried this game for the second time in several months and I had to give up again.... it is not that the MC in unlikeable (he is not that bad, even if you can see that he starts the game as a broken person) it is just that the LI's are so unlikeable (except Desiree). They all act, from the get go, as entitled, arrogant and rude towards the MC.

I hated Fiona and would never, ever, date someone that assaults me (first the shove for no reason when we first encounter her, then the shoulder check the second time followed by a punch to the face because... what? we dared to protest when she shoved us?! I guess it is an unforgivable affront to exist in the same space as her....) .

Eve and her mind games and coercion, and, to top it all off, we have to apologize as we had done something horrible to her, she is again doing us a favour by allowing us to be in her presence....

The Dean's daughter and that encounter in her office, when she threatens that we shouldn't take a step further or she will yell... and then, after insulting us and everyone in her team, she gets offended because we say that she thinks she is better than everyone else? she was just showing that! at least have some self-awareness woman!

And then we have the slut.... oh yeah, nothing says "Love Interest" like the resident town bicycle (and this comes from someone that actually enjoys NTS in games when it is done well).

Yeah, I only see a bunch of unlikeable characters, with puerile behaviours and an edgy attitude passing for a personality. I don't understand how this game can have such ratings, I had to force myself to just keep playing to see if it improved even a little bit.....

The renders are not too bad but the lighting can be a bit off at times, the story is meh, nothing too new but could be a great premise for a game. But the writing of the characters is very hard to get over. Their motives and actions are turned to 11 when it comes to being confrontational.

I get what the author said at the beginning of the game regarding the MC, but really, the problem isn't even the MC, it is that there are no likeable LIs that make me want to prostrate myself and ask for forgiveness continuously just because I dared to breathe air in the same room as them.

My personal one of Top 5 games. Game has everything. great models, characters, MC. it is full package. I hope dev gets more support for the game. There is nothing that I can complain about. really a top game.

I rarely bother reviewing anything unless the writing stands out, and here the writing definitely stands out. The characters have characterization! Even the MC - who does start out as a bit pathetic but that's important for his arc. And it's nice to see a plausible in-universe justification for women throwing themselves at the MC, namely, he is incredibly charming purely by accident. (Honestly to such an extent that it's slightly unbelievable, but it's shown not told and anyway this is a fantasy so I'll allow it.)

Really hoping this sticks with the harem theme instead of making you pick a path. That's harder to write realistically but way more rewarding.

Impressive start. 0.1 was ok, the renders are beautiful but seem a little rough. Story was good, dialog was decent but a a bit cringe.
But 0.2 was really great, maybe one of the best pure vanilla AVN i've ever played. Writing jump through the roof, from decent to outstanding. Sex scene are well made, also the renders are improved a lot. The 0.2 UI is top notch.
Highly recommend you guys to try and support this guy, really talented dev, got hell of a passion for this game.

A good writing goes a long way... You can have amazing renders or great animations, but if you don't know how to tell a story, you're screwed...
This is a great example of how storytelling can be effective; it's immersive and compelling, hooking you instantly.
In terms of graphics, it's Honey Select - not mind-blowing, but serviceable.
Don't expect a lewd fest; it's a slow burn. You'll have to get to know the girls first, and trust me, it's really enjoyable.
If you like story-driven AVNs, give it a try and enjoy the ride. I think it's worth it.

10/10 Perfect score from me.
I didn't expect this to be THAT good. The story is fresh, well written, and interesting. For 2 episodes there are quite a lot of contents already.
The girls are unique, each of them actually has their own charm and personality. I like how the dev write the characters, especially the MC. He actually got some character development instead of being the perfect guy from the start.

Can't wait to see more.

It's an excellent game.
The beginning is a bit rough - it's supposed to be. The protagonist, and several of the girls, have problems that they're compensating for with aggressive defense mechanisms to drive people away. It's part of the story, and it's executed well, so push through it. It doesn't take too long before the protagonist is an acceptable character.
The girls are great. Diverse, hot, fleshed-out. They're well developed characters.
The sexy scenes are solid, with the potential to be excellent once things go all the way.
The story is solid. I enjoyed it (once the protagonist grew up a bit), and I'm looking forward to more.

Got so invested in the story and characters I started playing with two hands instead of one.
The LI designs are amazing too, really elevated the HS models. The animations are also surprisingly good.
Currently, its lacking sex scenes (I think there are 3 as of 0.2) but I'm too interested in the story to care.
The amount of time between 0.1 and 0.2 release does make me nervous though, 5 months? I'm not sure I could wait that long again.

Review as of 0.2

Storyline and LIs are great, looking forward to future versions.

Visuals are good, 0.1 felt a bit lacking in some areas (stuff like a lot of clipping), but that was minor and 0.2 seems to have improved a lot.

Great promising game with a lot of heart put into it. The setting is interesting and the LIs are all very charming, unique and really hot. Clearly the dev had put significant effort into his work and it shows. If I were to pick something to nitpick it would be that some dialogue in episode 1 seems rather stiff, that and it would be amazing to have a high resolution, say 4k rendered version of the game.

It's very good thus far and has a decent amount of content for how early into development it is. I was already hooked from chapter one and have been checking in every so often to see if a new update had come out. All of the LIs are unique and come with their own challenges and quirks to navigate through in building both personal and coach-athlete relationships. I really look forward to how the story pans out the developer is absolutely killing it.

First impressions:

It's a good game that could easily be a great game.
The models are fantastic. The MC and the team, purposely made to be dicks, are a bit annoying but I can see why it's been done.

The story so far is at least a bit different from 90% of the other games out there so that is refreshing.

It's the technical side of things where most of my problems with the game are found. Some may be just the dev getting used to the mechanics of a new game but some seem to be purposely included.

Here they are:

The dev's decision to wash out all scenes with a sepia filter to remove colour is just baffling. Why decide to degrade the 'visual' from a visual novel?

The time delays in reading some lines is irritating. I'm no speed reader but this pause is ridiculous (yes, I have time delay set to minimum), especially when some lines are on for a micro second before zapping to the next line, and don't get me started on ....... 'click' ..... 'click' .... 'click' ... between scenes

Never been a fan of "game overs" but that is not really an issue with a walkthrough

As I said earlier, this is an good game spoiled a bit by some baffling technicial decisions that, to me, only detract from a potentially excellent game.

I highly recommend the game, but you will be irritated with it at times.

Incredible game. For being on version 0.2 the quantity of content is very good, I got through it in about 4 hours or so and I generally find I get through VNs faster than the average. The renders do have a lot of sharpness which comes off as a stylistic choice, I personally love it but it might not be everyone's thing. Aside from that, the only real complaint I could think of is every now and then a letter won't be capitalized, or there will be missing punctuation. This is a game I will happily support until it's completed.