Mini-reviews of a few games...
2 Friendos and 5 games from good to out of this world...
Let’s start with the best of these 7 games I sampled:
Morningstar: Book of the Fallen
If you know this dev, you know Love of Magic. Every reviewer worth their salt knows of LoM and likes it, except me… I haven’t played it, so I can uniquely tell you that if you are new to Droid’s work you will not feel completely lost hopping in here if the MMA-tinged Morningstar is more your thing. They are connected because the cover girl is the same for both and they appear in both too. First thing that blew me away, was their music. I sent out a silly tweet at Droid: Here. When you play an AVN, you don’t expect to be blown away by some Cradle of Filth/Epica style music… but here I was…
The graphics are impressive. Everything looks meticulously well-crafted and as if a PROFESSIONAL did their work here. That rain in the window in the picture above, moves in game. The story is deeply interesting and keeps you involved. The only negative is the Bejeweled combat, which is totally OPTIONAL. I wish more games allowed for easy and free cheating like this one does, so you can play in the sandbox without an insistence on grind. It is incomplete, so I felt like I ran into some content blocks, namely trying to bang boss man’s secretary. Also, the main trainee was the same way. I figured cover girl and redhead boxer are the most ironed out right now… Overall, if it continues on its path and keep the cheats to allow you to explore its well-crafted sandbox and play with things altogether, I would say its the best I have reviewed. Period. 10/10. PC Councilor.
The friendo games:
Both Xouillion and Pookie asked for my reviews. The cat gif king’s game is a decent game where you “battlefuck” Monster girls to join your adopted home village. Simple and straight forward. It was incomplete, but he promises more monster girls.
Xouillion's My Life in a Monster Girl Paradise
Now as for Pookie… I am a Patron of hers and she was my first cross-promo for Patreon, her artwork has been improving since we met. I recommend this game and I personally enjoyed her light-hearted dating story, but I have also said what has needed to be said. I will let you judge for yourself.
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Now back to our program of people I dont have ties to… Starting with my surprise: MNWeus.
Strange name aside, it’s a visual novel with a light sandbox in which you talk and get to know the tsundere (done in DAZ, though) opposite the MC.
There is a fun twist though. And pregnancy, albeit the disappointing “pregnancy end” us aficionados all are disappointed in… But its excellent and worth the time spent to see the multiple endings. 9.5/10 PC Councilor.
The Race of Life: Act One.
To be honest, I skipped this a few times to play other games before it. I regret that choice. What I got was a dazzling display of what a professional storyteller can do with DAZ and Renpy.
It’s in the middle because it stresses details and hammers them home and forces you to live the role of the MC who is pretty average for a college teacher who is apparently trying to make the mother of all Lithium-ion batteries and worries he will lose his job and funding if he can’t complete it, which brings it into conflict with the bigger conflict later on that forces him into racing, while also negating THIS conflict because the later would outdo the former, so it makes it feel like rambling even though it really isn’t. And for the title, I only got ONE race scene as a teaser of what the future could hold, but I will admit I didn’t finish. If the race they spoke about doing ends Act 1, then cool… Also, the VN does a intense job of hurling waifus at you. This from a “no harem” dev who has stressed no harem, just feels weird especially with them really tugging at your heart with both the ex-wife AND Veronica.
8.5/10 It’s very good overall and worth a chance. Plus do you see this MF-in’ doggo right here! Dontcha wanna boop that snoot?!
The Sweetest Ring by Infidelisoft
The king of NTR returns with another short, kinetic novel about Protag-kun romancing a gajinka version of the ghost/monster from Ring. Protag-kun neglects his ghostly waifu and she finds some things, so more things happen. One thing to note, the glitch effect on Sadayo was pretty cool. Never seen that before. It’s extremely short but its nice when some games have a point and make it. Looking right at you, Race of Life… but unlike Goblin Down, there is no alternative ending. Just reading until the end. 7.5/10
Ah, a game I am torn on. I can tell this dev seems to be passionate about this. I dont know, but I feel you can tell. This person seemingly loves spaghetti westerns and put alot of effort into making it feel like one.
The sex scenes are pretty good too as it feels like it building to a pretty decent harem and naturally too. Mission accomplished with the world-building/RPG feel, but man the phrase “Be a Man” is thrown at the protagonist so often… It really comes off as a toxic mantra. Given his plight, can he not lament just a little without someone pushing him to bottle up his feelings almost instantly? What is “being a man”? An existential question I hope the dev answers without leaning into some… errr… shaky/toxic concepts. The gameplay at times was grindy, even with cheats offered you were DEMANDED to train a certain amount of times or do whatever a certain amount of times.
The QTE gunfight bar was a unique and fun element that pushed the setting. Overall, good. Hopefully with updates it improves and culls some grind/toxic dialogue but it is a unique template and a rock-solid incomplete one for now… 7.5/10
Thanks for reading. Til next time.
TMG