this is kind of, a little review thing from what ive seen of this vn over the years!
extracurricular activities is a very great vn. alot of writing styles dont feel smooth to me. but, the writing style and wording of exca makes alot of sense to me. the most disrupting thing when reading a vn, is if i struggle to understand what they say. with other vns i dont know how many times i have googled different words because they are so out there and unused i have never seen them before. but with exca, everything is easy to understand and follow.
the pacing of the vn is also great! it is a good mix of detail. story. action. i struggle alot with getting bored mid vn and skip ahead. but with exca, i dont do that. i read every line and it keeps my attention! the cute little details about the characters that give them life. this vn has a great pace to keep the attention of the reader without losing the attention or being too straight to the point.
( this little bit has some very small spoilers. nothing much but this is a big part of the review i couldnt leave some of this stuff out. )
the characters that dyne has created, feel like they are alive in a way. each character has their own particular details. desires. dreams. ambitions. feelings. and inner struggles. while other vns struggle to grasp that realness to a character, dyne gives that realness to them. like harolds writing. chesters game design. dozers plants. spencers want to become a professional tennis player. dwaynes painting.richards want to provide for his daughters. and darius with his acting career and piano. they have their own struggles and lives that draw you closer to them and give you a personal bond to each one of them.
the endings are all AMAZING for the main starting cast. as of right now, we currently have richard and dwayne whos routes just got started a little while ago. dwayne more recently. honestly, i love dwayne alot. at first i didnt like him. but his sheer puppy love and admiration for eric quickly won me over as he grew on me. the fact eric seems more dominant in this route intrigued me, the fact that no one really went after eric first. and it was only really eric approaching them. seeing eric being courted and shown such puppy love is amazing. dwayne is a little air headed but its honestly adorable. i can be airheaded myself so its relatable! its also interesting with eric taking initiative with dwayne sexually, seeing as eric isint really seen as a dom type. we see some of this in spencers route and maybe harolds once in a while, but honestly we dont see much of truely dom eric! so the thought of eric showing his more dominant side is new! and dwaynes reaction to him? absolutely LOVE it! and seeing dwayne as the bdsm type( at least i think seeing what may have been in that box, ) shows that ALL sorts of characters are in this vn! you have slow burn like darius but quick to sex. a lovestricken romantic like dwayne. harold who needs love and comfort to help fight his mental and emotional demons. all of them have their own pace and mix. this visual novel has bits of everything for their characters. richard is also a great character! given his route has just started and we dont have too much to go off of, he is really caring about his daughters and seems to want to help take care of eric and do things for him and help generally. richard is very playful and fun! hes not my favourite ( harold is tho ) but he is a great character and i look forward to seeing more of him!
not to mention the sex scenes are so beautifully spread out through the routes.
there are SO many great things about this vn that i cant put all into 1 comment.
now this little bit is just something i feel personally doesint give that closure and relief we wanted. now, that does not mean that i am owed a good reaction. of course if dyne likes the way things are set up that is perfectly fine! everyone has a right to be happy with their work or how things go. no one is entitled to have someone else change their work because they arent satisfied with something. this is just one thing im sure has already been brought to attention. i have alot of faith in dyne as a creator.
while vernon being expelled and banned from campus WAS a punishment, it doesint sit right. given the fact that vernon has proven time and time again that he is willing to harm people further and worse with every punishment he got. the frat being disbanded got him to the courts and throwing the rock through erics window after stalking him to find his house, which was a homeless shelter. then once he got actually expelled, who knows what he will do to them now. possibly even going after andrew and injuring him somehow as he did to eric and chester. feeling as if there is no plan beyond just what was displayed in the route. maybe if andrew mentioned a court date or something at the end, and in the epilogue we get to see vernon excorted out by cops or something in an orange jumpsuit, would be perfect. taking the weight off the reader and the victims. while this bit may have been planned to be saved for the epilogue, without context for that being a possibility it feels like chester didnt get his due as a character. i hope that in the epilogue, vernon gets more then what he deserves. im hoping that is why things ended the way they did to give that big finish for the epilogue.
along with the small problem with the touch spots in the new scenes where you can click spots, they can be on the small side and hard to find sometimes
( spoilers over )
other then the slightly underwhelming ending for chester, everything about this visual novel is perfect to me. some may feel others are better and thats fine! but from my personal experience, this is the most fitting one for me. i dont struggle to understand or read it. the writing size. style. character personalitys. all fit so wonderfully. ive been a devoted reader for years. seeing this vn grow and expand and become as popular as it is now, makes me very happy. dyne is a very nice person from what little ive spoken to them. if you are looking for a visual novel to read, this is the one i recommend. i basically follow it religiously lol. give this vn a shot!
( PS THE PATREON IS SO WORTH IT I PROMISE ITS 2 UPDATES INSTEAD OF ONE PER MONTH )