As I'm writing this, only one other review here makes a note of the fact that as shipped, the game is censored with heavy pixellation. From what I can tell, GOG used to have an "unrated" DLC available, but it's no longer accessible (or at least not in my region). That said, the way this visual novel has been implemented means that the game you download actually contains both the censored and uncensored version, but it's been configured to only let you access the censored version. If you are not offended by explicit sexual content, but *are* offended by prudes telling you what you as an adult can and cannot watch, then you can actually really easily access the uncensored version by adding a little bit of code to the game yourself. Navigate to wherever you've installed the game, it should be a directory called "The Book of Bondmaids". Inside you'll find another directory named "game". In said "game" directory, create a new file named "uncensored.rpy", and put the following 3 lines into it: init -1 python: persistent.censored = False Save it, and make sure you don't accidentally create a file called "uncensored.rpy.txt" - while it is a text file, it *must* have a .rpy extension, not .txt. Once done, just launch the game as usual. If you've done it correctly it will find your file and create an "uncensored.rpyc" file next to it, and you're good to go. Alright, with that out of the way, what about the game itself? It's a sexually explicit visual novel, set in a dark fantasy universe. The story, while not exceptional, is far better than one might expect for this genre. I would quite strongly suggest that if you're picking up this game, grab at least the "Cooks, Thieves, Wives, and Lovers" DLC as well. This is one of those games where it feels like the DLC really should have been part of the base game. Some parts also feel unpolished, with spelling mistakes and apparently unused options, but they're not a big deal. Overall, I'd call it quite an enjoyable VN.
I picked this game up in one of the sales and promptly forgot about it until recently. And it would have been a terrible deed indeed to have kept this gem forgotten. It might just be my favourite indie game to date! But I get ahead of myself. The game isn't perfect, I did find the following two things annoying: - The dialog options disappear too quickly. On occasion I didn't even finish reading them before they faded. Possibly because I was really tired but had to keep playing because I was so engrossed in the game. - Working the radio on a track-pad is horrible, especially the WAL. Horrible and tedious. Once you realise you can use the scrolling motion it gets a bit better. I still played it through a second time back-to-back despite this though. This game tells a story, or it tells a million stories, it depends on what you take away from it. The real game isn't in the game mechanics, it's in your understanding of the rules of the game universe. Seem cryptic? Good, I wouldn't want to spoil this one for you! While some have complained about the lack of "game elements", that is a strength in my view. It's in many ways more of a choose-your-own-adventure type story. And it's done well. Really well. The atmosphere the game builds is phenomenal, and the creepiness is superb. I wouldn't call it horror, and it doesn't rely on cheap scares. Instead, it builds a mystery, and a sense of urgency. The constant interactions with the NPCs draws you into their world, and their interactions all come across as believable and genuine. The voice acting is again something that's done really well. In the end, what truly wins me over is how exceptionally well they took a concept, and explored the ramifications within it. And whoever dreamed up and approved the "other Alex" minor feature deserves an award. It so eloquently displayed an aspect of the universe that I was honestly stunned when it dawned on me how it worked. 11/10, would have bought at full price.
I picked this game up on a bit of a whim because I liked the visual style and what little I'd gleaned of the story. I'm glad I did so, as it offered a different experience from what I had anticipated and brought me back to earlier games when puzzles were hard, and you needed to keep notes (mental or otherwise) to work things out. As a non-musically inclined person, I did end up resorting to walkthroughs on occasion to help me out, especially with the musical puzzles. Without that resource you can expect to spend quite a bit of extra time wandering the manor or futilely clicking away at puzzles. One piece of advice though - don't play it on a track-pad like I did; without the chance cursor change when idly mousing around you might miss entire puzzles! Clickable underlined words in a book, I'm looking at you here. Story wise it's an interesting and quite dark script. There is plenty of back story to discover (I mean, that's what the game is about!), and there are several interesting ideas raised. I'm not sure I found the ending particularly satisfying, yet I cannot complain about it because it fitted the story. In my view it suffered from the one shortcoming that seemed to last throughout the game - I didn't feel particularly emotionally invested in the character(s). For a tale as grim as this, I'd have hoped for a bit more despair. Or maybe I just watch too much soul crushing anime and expect too much here... Overall, this is a solid game, and if you like solving puzzles you should check it out.
