VN - Ren'Py - Recall Destiny [v0.1b] [Saffron River]

VERSION: v0.1b
SUMMARY: Fair to decent start with mediocre visuals.
RATINGS: (out of 5):

1. Models: 3
2. Animations: 4
3. General Visuals: 3
4. Characters: 3
5. Story & Pacing: 3
6. Writing: 4
7. UI & Gameplay: 3
8. Content (amount): 3
9. Sound & Music: 4
10. Fetish & kinks: X

Average: 30 of 50 possible points giving a 60% rating i.e. 3-4 stars.

PROS:

1. Writing is pretty good, its got a weird almost Cyberpunk vibe and lingo going, which is not obscenely over-the-top or filled with some much slang and colloquial bullshit that you can't understand it, and still remains unique and fairly decent.
2. On dialogue, conversations are per above point, has some clever quibs and witty retorts that I like as long as they done in moderation. So fun and clever dialogue with a natural flow it is good. Provided it also stays consistent in the game (time will tell)
3. Animations are pretty good and leave the normal renders wanting. This is sadly also a con because the general renders are the majority.
4. Sounds and music are pretty good. Music stands out, sounds less so but some are present.
5. Story is interesting, a bit chaotic right now, but hopefully it will make more sense later. So far interesting though.
6. Choices shape the outcome of events, at least within certain parts of the game e.g. who the npc ends up spending the night with.

CONS:

1. Honey select...while not atrocious, I have never been a fan of this engine, the characters all look like cartoons that are spray-painted to have a glossy sheen to them...
2. Renders are sometimes not bad, but other times just not great, this is noticeable during H-scenes and also the NPC hair which clips and is often not smooth.
3. While music is decent and there are some ambient and general sounds, there can be more and lewd scenes should definitely get them to add to immersion, which this game needs since its visuals are not the best.
4. Some of the dialogue is a little weird though, like the MC in the club says "...buzzing tonight. Way more than usual. Just wondering." This makes no sense. I assume he is saying he is just wondering around not wondering something in his head. Either way, there isn't context for that statement either...? Bit weird IMO. Small gripe.
5. Per animations, which are good, they do look exaggerated and fake like watching the NPC walk by, she does not walk smoothly, natural, but stomps excessively causing all the "fat" to shake and jiggle, which is great for us pervs but can be a little bit over the top for me.

FINAL THOUGHTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• I am not overly fond of eastern influenced games, as far as models, and game engine go. Don't get me wrong you get beautiful people in those regions, but there is a stigma to games that use that style and I always associate it with some skinny chick with huge eyes and tits, long hair, swinging a sword 3x her size and yelling in another language something in a high pitch voice. This is my personal gripe and so the honey select engine and its style is not my thing...
• Some review claim that the H-scenes are quick off the bat to occur. I think the developer did this the right way, the setting, circumstances and context of how it all takes place is natural and not forced, the player does also get a choice in the matter of how to respond and nothing feels forced. So I am fine with the pacing that the initial sex scenes occur. Even with the "friend" there is history and its not like they breaking new ground here either.

Overall not bad, interesting or potentially interesting story, told relatively well. Sadly the game engine is not visually to my standard of fidelity and leaves the game hovering around mediocre at best.

In its Current State i give the game an Overall: 4.7/10. I rate overalls based on 4 Weighted Categories: Story 40%, Sexual Content 25%, Renders 20%, and Character Models 15%.

Story 4/10: im on the fence about this game, the story seems like it could be interesting in the future but right now im just not sold on the game. Nothing really stood out to me and impressed me. I do like the dystopian scifi world but from the characters and the writing nothing capture my attention.

Sexual Content 5/10: 3 H-scenes for a demo though is really good, they are your typical Honey Select animations. honestly though the amount of buttons for different povs is sorta annoying but its not that big a deal tons of games have it.

Renders 6/10 : Nothing Special Borderline Average HS renders.

Character Models 4/10: they are just not my typ, raven is the only character that i like. The rest are pretty low quality and are have this werid shine to them.

Recall Destiny [ v0.1a ]

I liked the visuals and models. Dev surely put a lot of effort to it. There is music. What I loved the most is renders. Story seems interesting but nothing is revealed here. Seems like it will be a nice story think so. And about the sex scenes ofc they happened fast but one is with stripper and another with Mc's friend. It's don't happened with a character you just met and fucked her fast so it's good in my book. Hoping we learn about MC's past and relation with the friend. Loved the bounty hunter. This version is short but it ended with a cliffhanger.

Overall I enjoyed the game. Looking forward to next updates keep up the good work dev.

Review for v0.1a

Hate to give lower star ratings on fresh games, but I really do have some mixed feelings about this.

While the renders aren't the best honey select ones I've scene, at the least there's some real effort being put into this. Action scenes, music and sound effects, transitions, and some decent animations. The devs clearly have a vision and want to tell a story.

What's really bringing this down for me though is the dialogue. Not to sound like a dick, but it does feel rather amateur. It's not clicking with me. I don't find the humor very funny. The MC kinda talks like an idiot. The sex scene dialogue is lackluster. Just all around not really working for me.

The pacing already feels way too fast as well, like nothing is really being built up. The two sex scenes for example happen almost immediately with either a stripper or an apparent friend we as players know nothing about. The intro has failed to really get me invested in any of the characters, and because of that, the story as well.

Something to keep in mind though is that this is both a first version and a short one at that. It's a bit hard to judge when there's relatively little to go on. If this finds its ground and improves with future updates I can see my rating going up. But if it continues as it is I'm not sure I'd come back to this.

Best of luck on your game anyway, devs.