Having finished v0.1.1 I think this is an excellent initial release. It takes its time to establish a plot and introduce important characters without overwhelming you. Good looking models, well executed animations and facial expressions, and amazing music choice that helps with immersion. Without going into depth this is worth your attention and I can recommend trying it out.
To go in more depth I'd like to talk about things I enjoy so far and things that I feel can be improved.
The writing feels strong. The monologues of the MC are short and concise which I really appreciate. It's hard to critique humor but I will say it is my style. There's some anime humor such as the MC being super dense which makes sense because hes a virgin, which may turn off some people, but it's not overused. Every character so far feels alive in the sense that they have their own priorities and circles, and dont fall into the trap of just blindly serving the MC. Despite the main heroines using some established character tropes there isn't a single one I dislike and just from this initial chapter I really couldn't tell you whos my favorite and I think thats a great thing. Some standout characters for me however are Mr. Harrison and Desiree. They're great portrayals of the best type of people you want in your corner; people who can pick up on something and lend you a hand, but aren't at your beck and call. Desiree doesn't join team just because you asked her, but shes still more than happy to be your friend. Mr. Harrison can understand the position you're put in, but can only point in the direction you should be heading and might serve as a mentor of sorts. I'm really looking forward to all the relationships in the game platonic or romantic.
But that brings me to the huge elephant in the room. A huge plot point that needs to be addressed. The "condition" that the MC accepts in order to be enrolled in a scholarship at the university. There's no sugar coating it. As of now the MC is straight up using all these girls for a selfish reason. For a scholarship at a prestigious university and to "get his life back together" And I think the developer is already aware of this, because everytime the MC mentions how important getting the team together is for him, he clams up immediately. None of the girls NEED this team like the MC does. They don't have the same stakes in the team as the MC so why would they bother joining? Certainly not just to help him out when he can hardly be considered a friend to most of them. And so there's this problem of even if he DOES get the team together, it's disingenuous because his main goal is to get the team together and win so he can keep attending the college, but secondary to that is the girls' own personal investment and goals for their team and themselves. There isn't really a mutually beneficial relationship for both parties YET, but with the way the condition is presented there basically has to be one. Personally I think it's better if MC comes clean with the truth of him getting the coaching position SOONER rather than later. Mainly because if it comes out later, the only way it can play out is like a 90s/early 2000s romcom movie where the MC deceived his love interests but has a change of heart and admits everything in the end and is forgiven and lives happily ever after. I would really rather not see that in a game that has so much potential. I don't know what the best way to resolve this plot point would be, but it does bring me to my last point about the MC.
I enjoy a flawed protagonist, and so far I really like our MC in Wild Cats, but writing for him is going to be hard. His issues which bring about the change within himself are still going to stick with the player. The dev has done a good job of making our MC do a 180 and rethink his approach to social situations. However theres a very fine line between our MC who went through some character development and borderline sociopath. There's no evidence to state that our MC was ever a "good" person so when he starts treating the girls "how they wanna be treated" it feels offputting because it seems like the MC is just wearing a mask in order to get something he wants from them. This is further reinforced by the plot point I wrote about above. We need to see genuine change in the MC without him feeling like hes always walking on eggshells while also seeing that hes still struggling with his temper. Again, hard to write imo. But I think a good step is using his background as the former captain of the Alpha Wolves, and maybe using some of that experience he had with dealing with teammates and applying it to his current circumstances. I totally get that he's still learning how to socialize, but he also shouldn't be completely inept. It's a huge balancing act, but I think there are ways to have him form real connections with the girls and maybe take an approach of "let me understand you, what you're about, and why I want you on the team" instead of the current "I need you on the team and I'll do whatever it takes to get on your good side" Although I understand the reason is because of MC needs to gather the team quickly.
The fact that I rambled about the story so much already tells me this is an amazing start to the game. I can see myself supporting this game financially in the future, however I want to hold onto my money for now and watch the developer's update frequency and more importantly see if the dev can continue creating such a great game. Even though the core theme of this initial chapter was not to give up, I've seen so many adult vns in this space get scrapped due to a multitude of reasons whether that be lazily milking fans for money, writing themselves into a corner, and much more. I hope the dev will never give up on themselves or this game. I'm in your corner buddy. Volleyball girls are PEAK.
P.S. Please give the girls ABs or at least a little more muscle tone!!
To go in more depth I'd like to talk about things I enjoy so far and things that I feel can be improved.
The writing feels strong. The monologues of the MC are short and concise which I really appreciate. It's hard to critique humor but I will say it is my style. There's some anime humor such as the MC being super dense which makes sense because hes a virgin, which may turn off some people, but it's not overused. Every character so far feels alive in the sense that they have their own priorities and circles, and dont fall into the trap of just blindly serving the MC. Despite the main heroines using some established character tropes there isn't a single one I dislike and just from this initial chapter I really couldn't tell you whos my favorite and I think thats a great thing. Some standout characters for me however are Mr. Harrison and Desiree. They're great portrayals of the best type of people you want in your corner; people who can pick up on something and lend you a hand, but aren't at your beck and call. Desiree doesn't join team just because you asked her, but shes still more than happy to be your friend. Mr. Harrison can understand the position you're put in, but can only point in the direction you should be heading and might serve as a mentor of sorts. I'm really looking forward to all the relationships in the game platonic or romantic.
But that brings me to the huge elephant in the room. A huge plot point that needs to be addressed. The "condition" that the MC accepts in order to be enrolled in a scholarship at the university. There's no sugar coating it. As of now the MC is straight up using all these girls for a selfish reason. For a scholarship at a prestigious university and to "get his life back together" And I think the developer is already aware of this, because everytime the MC mentions how important getting the team together is for him, he clams up immediately. None of the girls NEED this team like the MC does. They don't have the same stakes in the team as the MC so why would they bother joining? Certainly not just to help him out when he can hardly be considered a friend to most of them. And so there's this problem of even if he DOES get the team together, it's disingenuous because his main goal is to get the team together and win so he can keep attending the college, but secondary to that is the girls' own personal investment and goals for their team and themselves. There isn't really a mutually beneficial relationship for both parties YET, but with the way the condition is presented there basically has to be one. Personally I think it's better if MC comes clean with the truth of him getting the coaching position SOONER rather than later. Mainly because if it comes out later, the only way it can play out is like a 90s/early 2000s romcom movie where the MC deceived his love interests but has a change of heart and admits everything in the end and is forgiven and lives happily ever after. I would really rather not see that in a game that has so much potential. I don't know what the best way to resolve this plot point would be, but it does bring me to my last point about the MC.
I enjoy a flawed protagonist, and so far I really like our MC in Wild Cats, but writing for him is going to be hard. His issues which bring about the change within himself are still going to stick with the player. The dev has done a good job of making our MC do a 180 and rethink his approach to social situations. However theres a very fine line between our MC who went through some character development and borderline sociopath. There's no evidence to state that our MC was ever a "good" person so when he starts treating the girls "how they wanna be treated" it feels offputting because it seems like the MC is just wearing a mask in order to get something he wants from them. This is further reinforced by the plot point I wrote about above. We need to see genuine change in the MC without him feeling like hes always walking on eggshells while also seeing that hes still struggling with his temper. Again, hard to write imo. But I think a good step is using his background as the former captain of the Alpha Wolves, and maybe using some of that experience he had with dealing with teammates and applying it to his current circumstances. I totally get that he's still learning how to socialize, but he also shouldn't be completely inept. It's a huge balancing act, but I think there are ways to have him form real connections with the girls and maybe take an approach of "let me understand you, what you're about, and why I want you on the team" instead of the current "I need you on the team and I'll do whatever it takes to get on your good side" Although I understand the reason is because of MC needs to gather the team quickly.
The fact that I rambled about the story so much already tells me this is an amazing start to the game. I can see myself supporting this game financially in the future, however I want to hold onto my money for now and watch the developer's update frequency and more importantly see if the dev can continue creating such a great game. Even though the core theme of this initial chapter was not to give up, I've seen so many adult vns in this space get scrapped due to a multitude of reasons whether that be lazily milking fans for money, writing themselves into a corner, and much more. I hope the dev will never give up on themselves or this game. I'm in your corner buddy. Volleyball girls are PEAK.
P.S. Please give the girls ABs or at least a little more muscle tone!!