I'm pretty open with sexual explicit stuff. Let's just say I didn't skip the luke scene. But in any case, content and story are both important.
3 years ago(+2)
I don't think any of these are going to be too surprising, but:
I think you didn't read through the Ruthless route, so I don't know how much Echo will appeal to you, but it's what started me reading furry VNs in the first place. Despite being fairly popular, it's a bit of a hard sell in general. The main cast are all fairly unlikeable at times, including (especially) the main character of Chase. However, I do think it's fairly special. It reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks: The Return. If you haven't seen any of that, I will just say that it is slow, but filled with moments of electricity that stick with you. It's haunting and it's haunted. You need to play through each route to fully grasp the story as each route is completely unique content. Rereading it after finishing all routes was a very different experience as sometimes emotional climaxes to one route are hidden in another but without context it's easy to miss.
I think TJ->Leo->Route 65->Carl->Flynn->Jenna->Leo (2nd read with the full context gained from the other routes) is the way to get the most out of it.
This game has the least amount of sexual content, too. It is hyper focused on the central tragedies and how that has changed and still affects this group of friends who are only friends because they were the only kids in their dying town. It has at least two happy endings, but they are not going to be what you expect. This can disappoint some people but it's the most mature decision in both cases. Flynn's route in general is amazing, but it was one of the last two routes worked on so there's so much context built in from Leo, TJ, and Carl's route to really get all of what makes it so special. Still, Leo's is my favorite for how wildly different it is if you read it a second time after the other stories.
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Adastra is what I read next. It's from the same team as Echo (the next couple are) but it is very different tonally. I thought it would be a decent cleanse after how raw Echo got, but while it mostly was, it's also emotionally complex. A lot of Echo Project works really nail a sense of uncertainty and touch on aspects of depression but filtered through scales much larger than the human experience. It's the easiest to recommend and the one most analogous to Minotaur Hotel (although MH touches on so many things I desperately wanted Adastra to touch on but never did. It's my current favorite for a reason.) The artwork is appealing, the setting is great, and the political drama is a lot of fun. It should be mainstream, but nudity and sex are unavoidable and I think that limited some of its audience. I'm being very vague because the less you know going in the better it is, but I will just say: political Space Wolf romance.
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Arches is the sequel to Echo, although you could hop in and read that without reading Echo since it has a different cast. The main characters have by far the healthiest relationship in any Echo Project game lol. It'd communicative and mature, but it will eventually be tested. Still, it's very early on. So far it's retaining Echo's focus on character over sexuality, which I can't say for:
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The Smoke Room. It's the prequel to Echo, but again you don't need to read Echo to enjoy it. It's set 100 years in the past and is actually written by a different team of people. It's very sexual. The main character is a prostitute after all. However, the cast is considerably more likeable than Echo's with just as much depth and mystery. It's good and I am basically in love with Murdoch because he made me cry lmao.
Okay, we're done with Echo Project works.
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Password by Grizz is currently my number 3 after Minotaur Hotel and Echo. It hits all of my sweet spots with a mystery house, light sci-fi used in a more fantastical sense, basically Scooby doo exploration of a single setting, and very sweet main character and interesting cast. There's one path that's been sexual, but its a major plot of that characters route and the main character coming to terms with it. It's does some very clever things with the format of a VN and also has one of my favorite soundtracks. A lot of the music is by Civ Valian, who did some of the original music for Minotaur Hotel! It's very chill and makes the story fairly cozy despite everything that's going on. It always feels like coming home.
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Finally there's Extracurricular Activities by Dynewulf. This is a weird one. It's ostensibly a tennis VN, but like Echo, each route takes on its own story and events, although unlike Echo there's not a greater narrative to weave in the background. It's by far the most sexual game, but it also earns that sexuality. Each route is 35 days long and it usually takes almost half that to get into the romance of whatever route you're on. It's one of the most consuming VNs I've read and I've yet to fully catch up. Like each route takes multiple full days of playing to get through, but they're often worth it. I've been so-so with Chester's route, but every other one has had something that's made it special. Whether it's exploring the considerably more intimate relationship with your best friend or the absurd addition of a full on D&D simulation in the relationship with the coach, this is a game bursting with creativity and joy of life. Because of how long each route is, they can be incredibly emotional. There's cliches and tropes, but there's so much more than that to balance it out. It's kind of separate from my rankings because of how attached I am to it despite it not being as easily recommendable as the others.
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I am going to bed now. I'll proofread whatever mess I wrote later lmao
3 years ago (+1)
also posting this from extracurricular activities for no reason in particular
And yes, I named my D&D character Zidane after I saw Spencer name himself Dagger. How could I not add some Final Fantasy IX love? It backfired later, but that's because the story went place I didn't expect. Good night for real. :P
Edit 10 seconds later: Fine it's because Chester is a cute ass bull.
oh man I have to thank you a bunch for giving me some of your time and displaying a lot of great detail on the different VNs, you have been a great help and awesome to talk to! I haven't heard from Extracurricular activities in forever XD. To be fair its my first VN and I was obsessed with it to a point. I was swayed to even check out his husbands work Friends From Paradise. Its been a long time so i cant remember what was appealing but I believe I was invested in the two. Though I had no idea Echo and Adastra was made by the same people or similar. I was hesitant knowing that its themes that I knew would mess me up when I was younger. Seeing that I would sit at the edge of my seat over what happened next chapter of EA xD. What makes MH really drawing is the balance between harsh themes and lightheartedness. SO with that being said, I think i might take a trip down memory lane and redownload EA. And try out Adastra. I wonder is Darius finally does it.
3 years ago(+1)
Oh man, I love Darius's route. It's not finished but it's like Day 33 of 35 at this point. I won't say if he gets it, but it's EA sooooo
I think you'll enjoy Adastra. It's a fairly quick read, too. It has two endings and I find the second one considerably more interesting just for all the worldbuilding implications.