(Played 0.4.4.3) LonaRPG hints at being so much better than it is, but is hamstrung early on by some basic issues that make it excessively frustrating to play. This is doubly unfortunate as it actually seems like it could be a decent game with a standout style/genre against the tsunami of VNs that apparently dominate adult gaming.
In particular, there are two main issues that made me put this down permanently after ~1.5 hours - nonsensical controls and frequently getting locked into events with no way to skip. RPGM games often work well with a controller and this is my preferred way to play them, but while Lona has made an attempt to accommodate controllers, they've gone overboard in separating similar functions on to separate buttons - why is loot/pickup/interact a different button from attack when they both advance dialog? Also regarding dialog, this falls into the same trap many RPGM games do of presenting dialog/interaction choices on a new window instead of at the end of another, making it very easy to instantly select the wrong option if you're trying to speed through the text. As for the events, in my relatively brief time with Lona, I was pulled into "cutscenes" that I could do nothing about (including being unable to open the menu to quit/reload) but button mash through the text multiple times. Perhaps losing control could be viewed as somehow related to the theme of the game, but taking it to the extent that you have to get through these events to even get to the menu just makes this not very fun and eliminated my willingness to spend more time with the game.
I've set a watch on this and will absolutely return when the game hits completed or gets abandoned, and will update my rating at that time if things have changed/improved. As it stands, I'm giving this 2/5 but if the issues I've described don't sound like they'd bother you and/or you're on the fence about trying Lona out, I'd say you should at least give it a try. With some very straightforward quality-of-life work, this would immediately be 3/5, maybe even 4/5.
In particular, there are two main issues that made me put this down permanently after ~1.5 hours - nonsensical controls and frequently getting locked into events with no way to skip. RPGM games often work well with a controller and this is my preferred way to play them, but while Lona has made an attempt to accommodate controllers, they've gone overboard in separating similar functions on to separate buttons - why is loot/pickup/interact a different button from attack when they both advance dialog? Also regarding dialog, this falls into the same trap many RPGM games do of presenting dialog/interaction choices on a new window instead of at the end of another, making it very easy to instantly select the wrong option if you're trying to speed through the text. As for the events, in my relatively brief time with Lona, I was pulled into "cutscenes" that I could do nothing about (including being unable to open the menu to quit/reload) but button mash through the text multiple times. Perhaps losing control could be viewed as somehow related to the theme of the game, but taking it to the extent that you have to get through these events to even get to the menu just makes this not very fun and eliminated my willingness to spend more time with the game.
I've set a watch on this and will absolutely return when the game hits completed or gets abandoned, and will update my rating at that time if things have changed/improved. As it stands, I'm giving this 2/5 but if the issues I've described don't sound like they'd bother you and/or you're on the fence about trying Lona out, I'd say you should at least give it a try. With some very straightforward quality-of-life work, this would immediately be 3/5, maybe even 4/5.