Ren'Py - Vikings: Sex and Blood [v0.7.4] [DreamBig Games]

Beautiful artwork!
There are repeating events and some grind, but the grind is not too harsh and there is diversity. The gameplay is a hybrid of sandbox and virtual reality. The majority of recurrent actions that are necessary to improve relationships, in my opinion, contain variations, so each time you repeat them, you receive a different version of the event.

VERSION: 0.7.4
SUMMARY: Not too bad, for a sandbox...
RATINGS: (out of 5):

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

Average: 32 of 50 possible points giving a 64% rating i.e. 3 stars.

PROS:

1. Nice looking models and MC looks decent also.
2. Animations are not bad
3. Renders in general are detailed and good looking. Looks like some effort went into the design.
4. Writing seems pretty decent though there are some "oddities" here and there, still fairly decent

CONS:

1. Animations, while fairly good, could focus on some details like movement e.g. first sex scene the breasts are moving opposite to the thrusts?
2. Writing is not very well thought through, e.g. MC meets "Hella" a goddess of hell, he asks what she wants with him, she tells him not to ask, she is basically in control, then right after explains to him what she wants anyway...that doesn't make sense to me and this kind of writing frustrates me.
3. Story seems fairly simplistic and not really overly interesting or intriguing in the slightest. I also don't get the impression there is much thought put to it, either that or its been kept very vague...
4. Sandbox, again sandbox, needing to do something in order to do something else at a particular time etc etc, rinse and repeat, creating pointless grind to a game that could just have been a straight up VN.
5. Interface is mostly OK, but I don't like having to search for basic things like loading and saving, make it easy to find.

FINAL THOUGHTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• What other tags can we expect, kinks etc? Hint at fear of impregnation was hinted in first sex scene, stands to reason its something that can happen down the line?
• Bad writing and planning of story, the dialogue and flow of it causes me to lose complete interest in a game despite how good its visuals are or its kinks. At least that is not too bad in this game, but its something to consider. Another example as per above con to writing that doesn't feel well structured or thought through is when Hella tells the MC to take control of a village, but says she doesn't have the power to give him the charisma to do it etc, yet she imbued him with some power among other charisma...now this may seem like nitpicking on my end maybe...but man...really, it just feels kinda stupid when you almost contradict yourself like that and not once.
• I personally don't like sandbox though and find it a lazy way to extend game time, not through fun content, but grindy, tedium and usually it goes with lack of in depth and complex plots. When your game story is simple, you extend the game time, but when the story has intrigue, characters have their own stories that are intriguing then even deviating from the main plot is fine, because its interesting and potentially relevant to the MC and world, thats when VNs shine. At least my opinion.
• Overall not a bad game, the content is a good deal above average in terms of quality and effort so well done there. Some refinement, updated, quality of life and check some items off my list and I can give a 4 star.

Great looking art!
The gameplay is a mix of sandbox and VN, with repeatable events and some grind, but, the grind is not so bad and also there is variety. I think most of the repeatable events that you need to do to raise relations have different variants, so when you do it again, you get a different variation of that event.

I think the premise is amazing and the writing is great but the gameplay leaves a bit to be desired.
The patreon version has improved the gameplay, but I am still waiting for the ability to constract my own houses, baracs, etc, and trian units.

trying too hard by adding unnecessary things like the free roam map wich take time from the important things like story and gameplay even though the game have potential.
ps: character look like he skating instead of walking

It has a catchy title. That´s why i played it. It has some viking lore. No pillaging, no blood, no rape.. wait: there is one woman that kinda rapes the MC. Does it count?
The game part is awful, the story is worse.. But the 3d and sex scenes are good. Skip the game make a VN and get a writer. These are the next steps.

While I would like to appreciate this VN more simply for having a Nordic theme... this first release is a buggy mess with very basic English and questionable writing. When I clicked "back" to see an earlier render, it just quick-forwarded me to some type of sandbox, no context, no idea how to move or progress. When I restarted and tried to write my name when it was prompted, it wouldn't let me. I was stuck because I couldn't figure out how to write it down.

There are just too many fundamental issues to enjoy this. It doesn't feel like this VN was tested before release.