HTML - Shadows Over Solomon Falls [v0.4] [Wendythered]

v0.4

Had this game downloaded for ages and finally decided to play through it. I was absolutely enthralled by it at the start, I love horror themes mixed with corruption. As the game progressed, I realised that the sandbox elements and player freedom get less and less as you continue through the days, and this was a bummer, though it didn't stop me from enjoying the game.

I understand that the Dev's vision about the gameplay changed as the whole sandbox thing was too demanding to code. But kudos for giving a try, as often HTML sandbox games turn into absolute grindfests or barren links of "WIP" pages. The little sandbox that was in this one, worked pretty well in my opinion.

Generally I liked everything that was there, though I would have hoped for more creepy horror elements and more content (sex included). The corruption pace is just perfect for my taste considering how short the game ended up being. Will definitely be back to check for future updates though.

[0.4]
Pro:
-Very good world, about mystery, fantasy-elements, paranormal investigaton. (Reminds me of Alan Wake, but goes in different witchy directions, really nice.)
-A lot of Npc's, and you can interact with a lot of them, but also avoid them if you want.
-Corruption-system that works with the story, you have to be more careful than in other games.
-Multiple endings, multiple path's, multiple ways of reaching the same goals.
-Good art, atmospheric renders, and good UI (graphics look a bit old, but the UI and the atmosphere are really nice. It does not have animations, but the writing is good and not annoying.)
-Witchy elements (Nice alternative to other witch-games that parodize harry potter, because this is really dark and mysterious. It contains topics of magic, supernatural beings, witch hunts and burnings, familiars, ghosts, dreams, and more.)
-Variety of sex-scenes, you could play full straight, or full lesbian if you want, both has content, I found a good middle-ground of both, and was still able to avoid the jerks that I didn't like. Also has Trans-start-option in addition to that.
-Writing is really good, it has the quality of a book sometimes. Sometimes it's too much, even a book wouldn't tell you so much details, but it's mostly avoidable because of the question/answer system of npc's, and maybe you want to read it.
-Investigation elements, like notes, collecting clues, following hints, confront suspects, talking with others about the case and getting alone in dangerous situations.

Contra:
-Life-sim-elements only half done:
The life-simulation-mechanics are not fully usable. You can earn money in 3 different jobs at the start, but you can't spend it. There is is a clothing-shop and a general store, but for both you don't need money. Money would make the game much more interesting. I would also like to switch between the jobs, to not miss the content of the other 2 options.
-Heavy text focus:
After the first week, the Visual novel that is based on daily jobs and tasks, turns into a huge 'reading only' part. Sometimes you can ask an npc 5 question, and each answer is half to full screen of text. This also shows the strengths, because most written parts are perfect, and the qustions/answers are rich, but also skippable, and make the npc's and the world better. The life-sim will maybe continue in future updates, so reading the huge text-parts is absolutely worth, but if it's possible to reduce the amount somehow it would be very nice.
-Some Npc's are not interactable with. A strength is the huge amount of different npc's so naturally there are still some you can not interact with, and some have only short stories. There are still 3 beautiful women I wanted to romance, but none of them was interactable [0.4]. The other choices were still very good.
-Some auto-pilot parts, where you can't play, and explore alone. For horror and story-parts this is good, it makes it more thrilling and interesting to get surprised by Npc's instead of searching them. Some story-parts are awkward, you would maybe have decided to not do that if you would have had a choice about it, but these are only some minor parts [0.4].

This is on version 0.4.

Shadows Over Solomon Falls is really a very decent book.

The game has a lot of quite interesting lore and story to it, along with a respectable number of characters that, while not very deep, have enough personality to them to make them not feel completely fake.

The problem with the game is that, well, the story hasn't made the transfer to game format very well. There are tons of events that suddenly occur and railroad you into sequences to introduce characters or plot points. You can go to the town square like you do every day except this time you're suddenly pulled into a lengthy exposition sequence where story beats are explained to you.

This isn't a game where you choose to go into a building and meet the people there, it's one where the game decides it's time for you to meet those people and warps you into the building, regardless of your pre-existing intent to do something else.

There's an inherent issue with that in, well, this is a mystery game, where the main character is supposed to be investigating the mystery. These character introductions and events interrupting the game in the way they do means the player is not the driving force behind the investigation, they're merely a passenger on whatever whims the game decides to throw at them. And boy, does it have a lot of whims.

So overal, the characters are "okay", the story is "okay", the way the player advances and interacts with the story and characters isn't so much "okay".

Primary commentary about the game out of the way, here are some additional notes:

- I really like that the transgender option at the start is an option. A lot of people seem to be into trans characters these days, personally not my thing. It doesn't seem like it makes many changes to the dialogue, but the effort towards accessibility is appreciated.

- Visuals are pretty good. Male characters tend to look funny, just overly excited facial expressions all the time, but otherwise I have no criticisms on it.

- Fantastic effort put towards the choice in player outfits being visually respected. Multiple renders of the same scenes just with switched outfits are common, that's good work right there.

Shadows Over Solomon Falls does quite a good job at doing exactly what it wants, but if the player's desire differs at all from the title's, they'll find it to be almost completely unmalleable.

This story had me HOOKED from start to current end, and MC & Eric are hot as fuck (especially when they're together). I also like how there's a balanced mix of male and female characters for more varied sex scenes and a lot of content no matter the path you pick. Can't wait for the update!

[v0.33a]
Length: About 6 hours for one playthrough

Good:
+ Amazing and captivating story with good and unique characters
+ Great atmosphere of mystery and supernatural things
+ Lots of choices
+ It is even possible to choose how MC feels in different situations, thus shaping MC's personality in different ways
+ Good MC corruption
+ Despite being a html game, great UI, better than a good chunk of renpy VNs

Neutral:
= It's possible to resist corruption, you'll get less scenes, but it makes sense story-wise and you'll see plenty of sex scenes anyway.
= Few horror elements, but for me it is even better that way.

Bad:
?? not found any, game is too great

Review is for v0.33a
A really incredible game.
The characters are all interesting and unique enough. The story is incredible, and the choices (at least so far) feel impactful and interesting. It's really drawn me in and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Now on to the game play. While there are some choices to be made on where to go at certain times, a lot of the game feels more like a choose your own adventure type of game. Nothing wrong with that, and it actually fits together nicely.
When it comes to the art, there's really nothing to write home about. It's good enough to not distract, but is really just a couple of renders and that's it.
As for the smut, and whole reason we play these games. It's actually pretty good. The scenes are spread out nicely and with a variety of characters. The scenes are a little short for the amount if images that are here, but I personally like less text, so ....
All in all there really isn't anything to complain about, some more renders would be nice since it's not going the porn clip route, but everything else is immaculate.

A really well written game, so much so that despite the heavy NSFW elements I hesitate to call it a porn game! While it takes obvious inspiration from Twin Peaks and obvious..... Entire Character Designs from Deadly Premonition, a lot of the elements feel unique and fun, Well worth a playthrough of the existing content if you haven't yet!

The Shadows Over Solomon Falls is absolutely remarkable.

The player assumes the role of a young woman named Rachel, who, like her father, is interested in paranormal phenomena. One day, Rachel receives an anonymous letter about the disappearance of a young girl. Our protagonist decides to go to the town to solve this mystery.
Shadows Over Solomon Falls by WendyTheRed's is inspired by the great TV story Twin Peaks, Haven and Fringe, with an element of psychological thriller with a dash of eroticism.
At the beginning, we create Rachel's psychological outline, which allows us to interfere with the story in several different ways. Each decision has different consequences, which only enriches plot. Upon Rachel's arrival in town, she immediately notices that something is wrong with the people of Solomon Falls. Citizens behave strangely. To make matters worse, at night Rachel delves into another dimension haunted by nightmares that affect her real world as it did in the horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Daily life or dream at night, the life of Rachel and the inhabitants of Solomon Falls is on the edge of the blade, because decisions you make will not only affect Rachel, but also the inhabitants of the mysterious town.... Choice and consequences, think carefully before you make a decision.

And yes, I found myself smiling as I was delve into the story, but also shed a tear.

Great game! Good graphics, good dialogue. Interesting, very non-linear story which allows the game to be played several times. Advanced statistics which really influence the gameplay. Great mysterious mood. I advise it to everybody.

Just found this game today and it is absolutely excellent. It has almost everything and ticks almost all of my boxes. I'm a big fan, and I can't wait to see what future updates bring. I hope they come regularly, but the replayability of it means I'll be able to occupy myself in the meantime.

This game is awesome. Inspired heavily by Twin Peaks, the protagonist travels to a mysterious and supernatural town to solve the disappearance of a young girl. The writing is fantastic, the plot is engaging, the sex scenes steamy, and the pacing in both corruption and general narrative is perfect. Frequent user input and meaningful choice, absolutely no grind or filler.

What has me most excited is the replay-ability. What job you select spawns different story paths, and how interact with other characters molds the MC's personality. Cautious submissive, unscrupulous whore, dominant lesbian, the game fully supports all types of playthroughs and does not force or encourage a certain MC build.

I am a big fan of female MC games and do not know how I am just finding out about this game now. It avoids all the common pitfalls of the genre and provides a fresh and fun experience. Shot to the top of my favorite games in development and I will eagerly await future updates.

This is one of the best games I have played on this site. At it's core, this is a corruption game. The protagonist gets to explore a world full of magic, solve a mystery, and there is tons of great, hot sex. There is even a doctor in town that mentions breast implants. Guys, this might be a low key bimbofication game! Rare on this site.

The game is beautiful. The renders and locations are gorgeous. The rpg elements feel natural and not like they were tacked on because that is what a game requires. I support their art on Patreon. That is how good this game is.

Okay, my review is for v0.23, have to wait a few days to play v0.24.

So far, this game have been very intriguing with a great atmosphere and potential to be a fantastic game.

The art is absolutely beautiful, the interactions steamy, and pacing is great. Even though there is only a week of game time, there is clearly a build up to something with many of characters. I personally enjoy the corruption of the MC as she falls for one or more of the dominant characters in game. My favorites are definitely Riley and the Doctor, and as a Lezdom appreciator, I wish there is more interaction with the deputy

Overall, this is a promising entry and I look forward to the update!

Overall, a unique game in the horror/thriller genre. I like the stunning visuals and scenes. I have high hopes for the story's future.

The plot forks right away, considering various ways to the goal. You will have a distinct experience depending on the attributes you select, the job you accept, and, maybe most significantly, how you act. The game's hints assist the first-time player in understanding what needs to be done.







Overall, I enjoy this game a lot.

Am in love with this game am looking forward for the full game it's going to be fantastic ☺
Am also hoping to play More games from her , she has good taste.



Also it's just better than most other games I played that got abandoned