[Fair Warning: Erotic Game. X-Rated Content. Religious Zealots Flee.] This is an interesting one, I must admit. On the one hand, the "H-Content" you are almost certainly thinking of really isn't of a high quality here. The animation is pretty lacking. But on the other hand, perverted things aren't just shimmed in between otherwise normal gameplay. Your job is perverted, the combat is perverted, the quests, your companions, your sidequests... I feel like they accomplished the goal, just in a different way. I can't quite decide if this is a good ero game. But my overall impression is somewhat positive. And for those who care: at a certain point, I did feel obliged to activate and then skip through some r*pe scenes just to make progress. It's not every interaction, but it's very much in the mix.
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 there was non-stop praise for its gameplay style, and I did love Katana Zero, so seemed like a safe bet. But I can't believe it isn't mentioned far more often: the levels constantly sway and the backgrounds are constantly flashing. It's incredibly unpleasant and even nauseating. One of the screenshots should just be a giant seizure warning. And, no, there are no options to disable these annoyances. 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. It's actually stunning how not-phoned-in this is. They didn't even cheap out with some royalty-free soundtrack. And they've got some real bangers in there that it's a shame more people aren't going to experience. (If you've played Ambrosia, it's very similar to that, but everything's considerably more fleshed out.) What makes it special though is... well, with most games in this 'genre,' it's almost a given that "interactions" will be nonconsensual. You and your character (the woman) are at odds, as she is incentivized to dodge falluses, while you are incentivized to have her fail. That is certainly still an option here, but if you want, you and Alcy be much more aligned in your interests without either of you being punished. On the contrary, the game reinforces this dynamic in a number of ways: in battles you have the tools to both cancel and incite interactions; relations can result in negative *and* positive attributes and statuses; and you gain abilities that are strengthened by various acts. It's not quite sex-positive, but it leans more in that direction.
[Standard Warning: This is an "Erotic Game." Read on if you dare.] [Also: "R*pe" is apparently censored now. So, "NonCon."] Up front, you should know this is 100% [NonCon] Fantasy. Mind you, that doesn't have to be a bad thing; it can be fantasy for women as well as men... This is not that. Pretty much every avenue for increasing your "Indecency Level" involves being sexually harassed, coerced, and violated. And dialog and interactions are seeded with classic nuggets like "you were asking for it, dressed like that" and "she said no but she means yes." (This is true even if you select the "Desire to be Corrupted" option at the start.) Apart from that, credit where credit is due, this does fulfill the requirements of an actual game, with most everything you'd expect, if to a lower quality than you would expect of an actual game. The tradeoff you'd expect for it being a lesser game is the "H Content." And the woman set to serve in the role of [NonCon] victim for this content is definitely a very attractive... image. She's a still image. No voice, barely any animation, and some "scenes" drop to the quality of "anime title card." This is why I'd recommend Pray Game instead. Functionally, it's very similar, but it's far more fleshed out in pretty much every way, and you have some degree of control over the [NonCon] question.
