Posted on: February 17, 2021
acohl
Verified ownerGames: Reviews: 6
An Improvement
Firstly, everyone should be aware of the adult patch you can find on Studio Élan's site. I was never able to trigger the scenes in the patch, disappointingly (if there even are any), but it has some pornographic scenes you can view in the gallery. I don't feel like they add anything to the game but, nonetheless,if you're a completionist... I think that Next Exit is an improvement on the themes of the original games. The main conflict pertains to the much less cliché and arguably more interesting issue of maintaining a relationship instead of just building up to one. Still predictable, still cartoonish, but whereas no one really needs yet another honeymoon romance diversion, I think a lot of readers can relate to the idea of detiorating romance. Yes, it's a really simple depiction, and the whole VN is really just a vehicle for the reader to go from cutscene to saccharine cutscene, but at least it reflects reality a little better. What I like less is the second conflict revolving around depression (not spoilers; it's established pretty early on). Imagine if you judged Mariah's impulsivity and alcoholism with the same sincerity? It's really hard to maintain the lighthearted tone the story is going for when the reader is supposed to pretend like they can't evaluate certain characters' actions with the same emotional depth as others. Or even just consider other attributes of Tess' if you consider her perspective as real person and not just a cartoon character. It's in stark contrast to the intended tone and it makes the story come off as schizoid. I wouldn't call it gratuitous but clear just too far out of the authors' ability for the reader to suspend their disbelief. That being said, I don't have a fetish for yuri, and I'm not a teenager, so I'm not really the audience for this game. Despite that, I liked it. Of course I did: I bought the DLC. I'm critical because I like the direction Next Exit went. I just hope the authors understand how low the bar is for them.
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