As others have mentioned, the lack of a map or any kind of guidance whatsoever is a serious problem. After hours of wandering around, my only path forward is to overcome my resentment at needing to look up what to do next. Thing is, in writing this review, I'm realizing the action leading up to my roadblock really wasn't all that special. And the 'story' is more like a bare-bones framing device. This roadblock will probably be my dead end.
It's hard to describe what this game is. RTS, City Builder, Base Builder, Tower Defense... I think what I'd most liken it to is "What if you built an entire game around surviving zerg rushes?" That's an oversimplification, but it captures the right vibe. At the very least, I can say you need to enjoy building things, because that's 90% of what you'll be doing. And I'm talking "real" building. You aren't just placing a bunch of premade assets. You can build conventional walls, towers and bases if you want, and the game will even "hint" at where to do that, but what you build is limited only by the map, your economy, and your imagination. I do feel like it could still be polished and refined, but nothing specific comes to mind. (And given that GOG doesn't let us edit our reviews, I'd be hesitant to specify, since I'd have no way to retract in event of updates.) Overall, it's a solid, satifying, creative experience.
[Standard 'Erotic Game' Warning] An extremely "Average" experience for the current state of erotic games. Other reviews have covered the bases pretty well, so I'll just stick to bullet points: - Adultery is the primary content here. If that doesn't 'excite' you-- if you suspect you'd try to remain faithful-- this probably isn't for you. - [Spoiler warning, but if that first point was a problem, might help]: The other major content type here is cuckoldry, as in the husband finds out and turns out he gets off on it. - "Scenes" are series of stills accompanied by loads of text, with only the female lines being voiced. - Enough content for multiple playthroughs, with multiple endings. (If you want to go for the "conventionally good" ending, wait until after your first playthrough. There's a shortcut, which will allow you to confirm, "Yes, that would indeed have been a boring waste of time.")
I've been playing this on-and-off for months now and I'm still not done. It's actually kind of crazy how much work they put into it, considering the niche it occupies. It is a proper game, with ample puzzles, collectibles and side content for you to engage with, but the overall experience is still quite on-rails. Of particular note/disappointment is the fact that you don't really have control over which characters the protagonist "interacts with" in the main storyline. (The main objection being the pseudo-mother figure, and then the simultaneous interaction with her actual daughter.) But a few minutes of easily skipped content aside, you will find a very solid package here.
First off, obviously, the art and animation is beautifully done. It's easily the most memorable part of the experience. (I honestly can't remember the story, but it provided enough flavor to break up the long stretches of puzzling.) The folding mechanic is pretty much the entire game, but they get very creative in how they have you use it. There's no shortage of "aha" moments and the occasional "oh, duh" moments. There were exactly two that managed to stump me toward the end. Highly recommended for anyone looking to spice up their gaming with something a little "deeper."
First off, get the obvious out of the way: it's an erotic game, and, because of the low standards inherent in the genre, that's pretty much the only way it has value. Second, you take on the role of a college math professor, thus avoiding any... statutory... issues. Your character is also, broadly-speaking, a decent person, and the "interactions" are, so far as I'm aware, all consensual. Third, this game has actual animated "scenes," mostly voiced and somewhat controllable. This is probably the biggest selling point, as it's a significant cut above most other games in the genre which resort to series of still images, which may or may not be voiced. It has some issues though: - I'd be generous in giving the translation a C. It's comprehensible, but I don't think they had a native English-speaker on staff or even contracted for some basic proofreading. Text, descriptions and dialogue range from awkward to nonsense to not-actual-words. - There's plenty of story and dialogue to get to know the girls, but thank goodness for the ability to skip, because some of the "events" can go on forever, and, in my opinion, aren't particularly engaging. - If you do buy the game, there is an... "Easy Mode" that the game doesn't recommend, but I do. Without it, the game is unnecessarily grindy, and it can take a long time to get to "the main events."
Bought this based on footage I thought I saw, but I'm seriously wondering if I wasn't mistaken now. The lack of reviews and footage definitely screwed me over here. So, let me rectify at least one of those issues: First off, if you're intending to play the "unrated" version of the game, you should know they screwed up the installation. The "UNRATED DLC" doesn't get put in the right directory, so you'll have to manually move the "adult_" files to the EN folder. (As explained in the readme file I only realized was part of the patch after I'd hunted down a copy from the Shiravune website). Second, the "adult" content is, insultingly, censored with mosaic filters. Stack on that these only consist of defeat screens (series of stills with voice), which are unceremoniously triggered after run-of-the-mill defeats with no build-up whatsoever, and there's just not a lot of appeal here. And thus, if you're not interested in this as an "adult game," all that's left is to judge it on a scale with "actual games," in which case it rates poorly. Maybe not as poorly as many/most others in its genre-- I can't say the gameplay is completely without merit-- but without that spicy hook, it's just sluggish, clunky and unpolished.
Played a ridiculous amount of this on a DRM-riddle platform, and with the new expansion sale, I decided it was time to actually own a copy. In short, it's a "roguelike citybuilder." On the overworld map you select a region, you play through the scenario, work toward a variety of objectives, and then move on, earning permanent upgrades and new challenges along the way. The fact that everything gets wiped away in the end means most scenarios are low stakes, and you don't have to worry about doing everything perfectly. You can just have fun building things up, and not having to worry about taking on the technical debt of an increasingly complex, unwieldy settlement. Once you've gotten the hang of everything, it's also perfect for playing while watching/listening to something else, without being boring. Highly recommended.
Bought it because I had non-stop praise for its gameplay style-- and I did love Katana Zero, so seemed like a safe bet. But... I can't believe this isn't mentioned far more often: the levels constantly sway and the backgrounds are constantly flashing. One of the screenshots should just be a giant seizure warning. And, no, there are no options to disable these annoyances, so if you are at all sensitive to these sorts of things, just pass.
I'm actually shocked there aren't more rave reviews for this one. First off, in case you've some how missed it, this is... an "erotic game." Use this opportunity to escape if reading further might offend your virgin eyes. Second, it's a full-on proper game, complete with a story, battles, equipment, upgrades, sidequests and meaningful choices leading to like half-a-dozen endings. (You can easily guess some of them.) But what really makes this special is... well, with most games of this kind, it's kind of a given that the "interactions" are nonconsensual. You and your character (the woman) are at odds, as she is incentivized to dodge falluses, and you are incentivized to have her fail. In effect, it makes you the... "offender." Here, while there is a degree of "virtue guarding" at first, you have control over whether your girl Alcy fends off those advances or lets her freak flag fly. And the game reflects this in a number of ways: in battles you have the tools to both cancel and incite interactions; you can be afflicted with negative atributes, but also positive ones that provide benefits from interactions; and you gain abilities that are empowered by your interactions. It's not quite sex-positive-- those that prefer nonconsenusal interactions will not be left wanting-- but, across the board, it's several steps above Ambrosia.
