Hello, hope you are all having fantastic day.
So I finally spent a weekend playing this vn and I have to say that I overall enjoy it... but sadly I have to say that it isn't without flaws. So I decided to give my critique so this beautiful game will potentially get better.
First things first: The description of the game made me think it will be an exploration of racial problems between humans and furries. That's... not quite what it is about. So far there are barely any mentions of unrest between two races, the overall topic comes up very rarely and even then it's only telling instead of showing (which is a common mistake most aspiring writers make). In pretty much every instance of showing the game depicts two races getting along just fine (aside this one protagonist’s flashback, but then again, the fact that a crime just so happened to happen between human and otherkin could just be a coincidence), and overall it ends being sidetracked and mixed in with theme of homophobia and protagonist's struggle to accept the stigma and move forward.
Sadly tell don't show is present through other aspects of vn. For example there is an instance when the protagonist is gushing about Alder’s photography talent yet we don’t see even ones of him reacting to it before. It legitimately feels like a scene is missing here.
Some other stuff is that some moments feel a bit rushed and forced. Particularly there is a conflict between protag and Derek. It feels a bit underdeveloped and mostly happens just because of the third party rather then the fault of either of two… well, for the most part. Something tells me that the initial intention was to show the danger of a rushed relationship and what can happend when you allow someone intrussive/ a bit obsessive into your comfort zone so fast but it came out just as an accident caused by this one coach guy (who feels like a real villain in this whole situation, honestly. Did he really need to go that far?...).
Lastly: I understand indie devs don't exactly have a budget for production values but in this case this fact hurts the most. Placing photographic backgrounds with irl people in a setting where both humans and furries supposed to live together break immersion quite a lot... even thought this is something that I'm willing to overlook since it isn't something that can be esily fixed.
That being said, I actually like this vn a lot. The chemistry between three main characters seem surprisingly natural and overall dialogue written pretty well.
The protagonist’s situation resonates with me quite a lot as well. It isn’t as extreme but I am too familiar with things like homophobia, propaganda and struggling to find your soulmate.
The main characters are quite interesting. Initially I expected Andy to be yet another generic best friend but it seems quite more to him then just that. Alder is a surprisingly cool guy that isn't overly protective and nannying. The fact that he is straitght is actually refreshing and I honestly fine with this being just a friendship story.
And the overall protagonist's journey of overcoming his insecurities and traumas is quite intriguing, and makes me overlook so many flaws I have run into. Seeing fictional people overcoming their psychological problems is something that needs to be done a lot more so I'm glad this vn goes this way.
So overall I quite enjoy it, but I do feel it needs a bit more work. I kinda disagree that it needs particlary drastic change like changing the order of events whom protagonists meets first but some improvments need to be made in my opinion.
Looking forward to continuation.
/N