VN - Ren'Py - Zero End [v0.1.3c] [StolenRose]

Rating as of 0.13

Good

• One of the few AVN where the characters are multidimensional
• Puzzle game that suits the theme/environment and not there for the sake of being there
• The world building, story and theme is excellent
• One of the best written game here. The story and character dialogue have their unique flavor. You can sense the personality and not the generic cliche school setting characters
• The MC is overly edgy and the dev is aware of it while making fun of his own characters. This add another layer of meta humor
• Music and sound effects are good thematically
• Unique story and world theme. The initially deity selection actually plays a major role in the story
• MC and side characters are likeable and you want to punch the villain - which shows that the writing & story is in a good direction.

Bad

• MC name is locked so it takes the immersion out abit
• The puzzle need better hints for those who is bad at puzzle. However, it is a simple puzzle game
• Renders are good but not great. Some of the character art design is a bit generic and could use more refinement. All in all the art is enjoyable.
• Spicy scene are average - could use more spice to heat up the H factor
• Personal take - no harem story option
• Combat system is not that fun. Could use some alternative style maybe

Summary
Constantine meets Jeanette Voerman made an AVN baby. One of the few AVN where i can comfortable give a 5 star rating even though there some rough edges. Overall, an enjoyable and unique story telling.

This has a kind of teen angst flavour i never was part of yet feel strangely nostalgic for. Something lame people would call cringe. But its made with passion so i cant help but love it. Also solid on a technical level.

- Good characters with thought out motivations and backgrounds.
- Decent renders. Set design can be a bit dull but composition and mood makes up for it.
- Entertaining dialogue and the kind of plot that takes the world for granted, expecting you to keep up instead of holding your hand. (Good thing imo)

Looking forward to more updates!

Very well written and keeps you engaged, I like the MC s edginess and inquizical nature. The supporting characters are also interesting although the lewd scenes do feel forced somewhat. I kind of want a little more back story on the MC but I suspect the Dev will be filling in the gaps as the story progresses. I will definitely be following this AVN good job so far.

I don’t usually bother to play or review a game until it has several updates, but somehow I stumbled on this at v0.1.3 and spent an evening playing through the sparse content a couple times. It has a gripping supernatural / horror vibe to it, a very-relatable protagonist, and it makes me want to take a cigarette break even though I don’t smoke.

The cons are perfunctory sex scenes, and some gamey-wamey elements that are a little annoying (there is a walk-through that helps with these). There is not a lot of material yet, but I recommend bookmarking it and taking a look when you get a chance.

Captivating story, great characters. Just need more of it. More, I say! We must get more of this wonderful story and great characters. Also, can you lengthen the sex scenes? That would be great.

Seriously though I'm enjoying the combination of different material into this. I want Swansong's name. Make her a loyal lover to the MC!

This looks like it has a lot of potential, a game you must play.
Great story that really steps out of the usual stuff and the universe is really interesting . The renders are also well done.
Hoping for more choices and a long plot.

It feels like the sex scenes of this VN were added just so that it can be considered an 'adult' one. Imo, they feel extremely scripted and very porn-like. "Hey, nice to meet you, can I suck your d*ck?". There doesn't seem to be a points system with the girls, and whenever a decision will result in a sex scene, you are informed. I think there is a lot of wasted potential there, since the few girls in the game are quite interesting and in some of the interactions you get to know more of them and even establish some type of connection and intimacy, but then the sex is just super casual and shallow. There isn't any foreplay, no kisses, nothing that shows the characters like or desire each other. Now, that being said, I really don't play VNs for the sex scenes, but for the stories, good character dialogues and writing, and that's where I think this game excels. I personally like paranormal stuff, and this game seems to have a very well put-together story and universe, and it has elements of mystery and detective work, so 10/10 in that respect. Not sure what the objective of the dev is, maybe they just want to tell a story and added the sex as a bonus for those who want to see that, but I think the VN would be more enjoyable if they implemented or improved the relationship mechanics with the girls.

This is a good game, it won't be for everyone but its entertaining and story focused, the writing is above average. Probably closer to 3 stars at the moment, but I think its going to end up around a 4.5 star game, and the developer is working at a good pace for a first time game developer, it took me about 3 hours to finish all of the routes.

The game could be better served with more of an exposition, it throws you right into the story which makes it a bit difficult to get a grasp of what the story is about until you've already gone through most of the chapter.

Player choice (at least so far) does not really seem to matter that much outside of slight dialogue differences. Choosing which path you are taking is simple (just select that person when offered the choice), as of now only two of the LI characters are really fleshed out, but the game is still in its early stages.

The route lock also happens much too soon- you effectively have to play the game on several attempts to see who the characters are, since you will not see any of their content if you do not choose them from the get go and you only have a couple opportunities to pick.

For playability improvement the earliest scenes (like when deciding between Gym and Library) should all be playable before the story line advances (also helps fix exposition issue). Additionally this is a way to extend the amount of in-game time that passes to fix the illogic of the MC saying he falls in love with a character after 2 or 3 in-game days pass once you are locked into a route.

Kudos to the developer, its an entertaining story and its plot is not getting stuck in the mud, thats rare these days!

This one definitely surprise me in a good way, the theme is rather unique to me, a lot of occult, eldritch, magical beings and stuffs, love it. The songs implemented in game are banger, especially the one from end credit, hot damn the song is good. The main character might looks a bit edgy but he does deal with things fairly level-headed (or I guess that depends on how you play) but the point is he isn't another edgy teenager. The female casts are pretty great, and the game has succubus in it which is a huge plus for me. And the jumpscare, ha, nice one. The character attribute system and chosen god are also rather unique (like rpg) which provides more replayability since it helps to unlock certain paths. Keep up the good work, dev, this is something special. And for those who are looking for something new, give it a shot, it's a breath of fresh air.

Tried the game on a whim and have to say that the rating is quite deserved - The inspiration from MtA shows quite a bit. I rather enjoyed the more mystery-like magic for a change (compared to the more common dnd magic in fiction)
Characters were likable and memorable and I rather enjoyed the nonstandard MC (he does remind me quite a bit of Constantine though)
Sex scenes I have to agree with the others were not outstanding but not horrible either - but here I was honestly more interested in the plot than the sex. Music and special effects were used very well. Plot was very interesting.

The only criticism I have is the one scene with Keira about Silver - I'd have preferred it if Silver was "a" vampire queen rather than "the" vampire queen and just really powerful than "the most powerful vampire ever".

Considering that the MC is more of a guile hero than a magical heavyweight and Keira (seems to be) a human with some enchancements it would not make a difference for them dangerwise. The scene just really made me roll my eyes. It's like playing a low level campaign and suddenly a third generation clanfounder shows up, when a 6-7 Generation elder would have been just as big of a threat without being ridiculous.
If you have plans concerning Silver, feel free to ignore this, just my two cents.

The fact that this game earned five stars speaks volumes to me as a player. I am absolutely SICK of games where they make the protagonist an edgy character with problems in their past that caused it, I almost immediately switched the game off when I saw the MC's look but, the game drew me in any way and I'm sure glad I didn't put it down.

The MC's edginess is constantly made fun of by Brandon, who might be my favorite "best friend" character in any VN so far because you get the vibe he and the MC are a lot more similar than they would have initially thought. Still, Brandon went about his trauma in the opposite direction.

The girls are great, the choices are great, and I dislike the idea that you have to lock in a romance before you REALLY know anyone, but I think it's a good way to differentiate the different "paths" the game will have.

The story itself is amazing, and the diety I chose to worship at the start had an actually feasible interaction besides having a better starting stat, which is awesome, it makes me almost want to pick every diety and see what was different for everyone else. The variety is great and honestly, the overall story is superb, I was on the edge of my seat at the end of the chapter and I can't wait for the next update, this game deserves, as of 11/28/2023 when I wrote this, the perfect score it has, I have a feeling it will be a huge hit. There is enough porn to make the porn game enjoyers happy, and there is enough narrative to get the more story-based players hooked too.

I'd spotted this game a while ago, but I don't know why, I was afraid it was just another poorly made horror game with a messed-up story and badly designed dialogue.

So I gave it a go yesterday, and I was very surprised.

I immediately got hooked on the story, which is really well told and above all well written.
The only slight criticism would be to have a real introduction, because you're thrown into the heart of the story without knowing almost anything, probably to improve the suspense etc., but there's too little information here.

The characters are really excellent, and I'm glad this isn't just another harem game, because that doesn't really fit the character or the story.

The management of stats and gods is pretty well done, even if at the moment I find them rather useless.

In short, playing the game was a really great experience and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the story.

On the other hand, it would have been nice to have the choice of changing the name from the start without having to add a file for that and to have a walkthrough integrated or at least in the code to see it with urm, but it's a minor detail, because there's a file available, but I find that less practical.


Thank you and good luck to the developer!

I rarely leave reviews unless games blow me away.

This game is honestly really, really good. It's rare that I would say I would be willing to play something without the porn, but this game definitely takes the cake. It does help immensely that the LIs are cute. Rayne is precious and Keira fans have poor taste, probably.

Author has managed to make edgelord MC likeable. A very tough feat. All the characters have many layers to them which is great.

The writing is close to the best for AVNs, there's simply nothing even close for the supernatural-horror-mystery vibe it's going for, and even then it's excellent when compared to non AVN media. Overall just good stuff.

I would have preferred it if the puzzles were somehow solvable without using google. Working them into the game proper would probably be for the better. If we're expected to access a third party source to "solve" the puzzle, why not just give the player a meta 4th wall breaking popup on what the cipher is to begin with?

Some sections of the game can be slightly shock-horrorish, but it's nothing too scary even for squeamish players. I am eagerly awaiting updates to this.

Real cut above the rest in both plot and characters. The author clearly has a story planned out which is high honors when it comes to western erotic games.

The only two minor things I can complain about are Kiera's face and the number of attributes/stats. Kiera has some weird Kanye jaw going on around her mouth. Some angles she looks completely fine and rather pretty, other angles makes her look like some weird neanderthal. Could also have to do with the lighting. I'm also usually not a fan of having too many stats. In this case the game gives you a nice variety of options and solutions so you never feel left out regardless of what stats you're focusing on thus far. But still I think you could consolidate like...persuasion and seduction for instance into one stat.

Other than those two minor pet peeves, the game is amazing. The H scenes are serviceable but the real highlight is the interesting main character and the setting.

A few pros and cons for those interested in Zero End:

Pros:

• The game has a unique and distinct vibe. Even though it's a college setting game, it approaches the experience in a singular way. I dig that;
• The dev has managed to create an MC who's an edgelord...but somehow manages to be charming instead of a douche;
• The game renders are extremely high-quality;
• Dev has a knack for writing dialogue that isn't overwhelming in length;
• Main story is interesting, thus far;
• Walkthrough available to help players navigate tough decisions.

Cons:

• Most games these days allow you to rename your MC. The fact that this game does not really breaks immersion (for me, anyway; your milage may vary, of course);
• The fact that this game currently (as of v1.3) hard-locks you out of manually changing your attribute scores is incredibly uncool.

Giving the game four stars for the moment, as my criticisms are things that I feel the dev can easily change in upcoming releases. The game is on my watch list and I'm eager to see how it eventuates. Cheers to the developer and good luck as you continue to build your game!

JJ

Honestly the only reason I actually wanted to try this 1 was because the MC looked pretty unique cuz most of the other VN I've played till now uses the same models infact i think this is the most coolest looking MC.

Though i started for such a silly reason what I stayed for was the insanely good story & lore.I genuinely fell in love with this world. All the character models look genuine & have quite interesting backgrounds too.
Good quality Animations though pretty short fits the situations though I do hope they do get longer with further updates

My only gripe is that the game literally forces u to choose the LI from the get go especially for a game with No harem tag forcing u to choose a girl without much backstory is a big let down,cuz 1 of the amazing detail I noticed is that each time u choose to spent time with a particular girl will yield u a new scene/insight into her.

I do hope the dev could make swansong 1 of the main LI after all I did lose my V to her

As a fan of games with mystic setting, mythical creatures and magic, Zero End is one of my favourite AVNs and it have a huge potential to be one of the best story-driven games in mentioned style.

Writing is really solid in my opinion, it makes me really invested in plot and characters, their backstories and goals. Despite overall tone of game, it have some quite funny moments and nice romance, at least as much as it's possible for a few in-game days so far. Atmosphere in this game is great. Gloom, danger and mystery are present throughough whole game, which is exactly what I was expecting from it.
Story is really interesting and captivating with exciting lore, good amount of branching, mysteries and tension. Due to yet unanswered questions regarding MC and his old connections, game keeps me interested all the time and makes me worried during some confrontations with antagonists, as I simply don't know what to expect.
Characters are written quite well as I've already mentioned earlier, they look quite beautiful and unique, and their personalities are actually interesting without too much of cliche imo. MC is also an interesting and smart guy with some intriguing background. He's kinda edgy, but I love how characters are making fun of it, sometimes including MC himself.
Visually Zero End is pretty damn good, at least to my taste. Animations are smooth and nice as well, no complaints here from me. Models of some creatures looks actually interesting and spooky, I'd say the game have its own style with rather darker tone and mood to set the ominous atmosphere, and I love it.
Music is also on point, great choice of sounds/melodies.
There are a few small puzzles in the game, controversial ones according to some people but personally it didn't bother me at all, even if I didn't know the answer and had to spend ~30 seconds to Google them, it made me think about solution for some time and it was interesting experience nonetheless.

Overall, Zero End is an amazing game, especially if you like some supernatural stuff, old-school magic etc. and it have really big potential if dev will keep improving with future updates.

(v0.1.3c)
Amazing game, love the story and everything. I like how all the girl and MC models looked. And yes MC is edgy af .
For those who really are stuck in the playthrough just search in the thread, I have posted the puzzle solution twice.
The game has interesting rpg elements like stat growth and a captivating story. Don't be discouraged because of minigame/puzzle segments in the game. As of current version there is only 1 puzzle, and 1 infiltration segment. Not trying to offend people when claiming "killing the game continuity", in my opinion yes minigames tend to do that but there is only ONE puzzle implemented from previous release and dev has taken the feedback to not include it in the current version. Not the mention the infiltration isn't a "puzzle" but simply a short freeroam.
I think people should not make such a big deal for simply 1 puzzle existing in the entire version, which actually takes about 5minutes to solve. Nonetheless just use the search button in the thread you will have the full answer in seconds anyway.
This game deserved more attention.

I love this game! One of the best most involving VNs I have found in a long time. The visuals are original and realistic. The puzzles are interesting and fun to solve. The characters are more multidimensional than the norm. I can't wait to see how this all unfolds. Great job.

One of the best and most interesting VNs I've played. Really great and captivating story, loved the dialogues and the various mechanics too. I wasn't super impressed by the few sex scenes I've seen so far (I will replay with different choices though), but honestly I don't care too much, I was so into the story that the lewd aspect of the game has fallen into the background (still into the relationships/romance though).