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Celares

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A member registered Jun 06, 2020

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Been a few versions since I've checked in, and I'm happy to see that Caribdis still knocks it out of the park with Eternum. I really don't have a lot to say, objectively, that I haven't already said in my previous reviews. So we'll just dive right into subjective accounts and nitpicking minor things, lol.

Nitpicks:
-Luna's grandma looks like a 30 year old cosplaying as a 60 year old. This is probably an engine limitation more than anything else though.
-There were a few times when the backdrop on a scene didn't quite fit with what was going on. Not immersion-breaking, but somewhat noticeable. The one that stands out is when driving with Luna and her dad; you're hours away from a city in Washington, and you're passing by what looks like a boardwalk. I've lived in WA, and you're not gonna be driving by a paved sidewalk with a railing and light poles that far out of any city. Hey, I did say I was nitpicking. lol
-Every time the MC says 'perfect' I cringe. But I can't really criticize this because it's very true to human speech patters to have words you overuse.

And that's it. Wow. Scathing criticism, surely. Anyway, I've had a miserable fucking year and decided to check in because OiaL and Eternum have proven to make me smile, and Eternum continues to deliver there. I love all the characters and the humor, and the story keeps me interested enough to want more. Right now. More specifically, I'm very happy you've started giving Dalia hairstyles that show us her face more. The whole athletics competition 'scene' was fantastic; seeing her vulnerable side made her much more relatable. Every scene about Empress Nancy is amazing. It's always nice seeing a 'MILF' character sidestep the 'lonely and desperate' trope, and doing it by leaning into the 'desperate' part really hard, comedically, and from a different angle is refreshing. Annie is adorable and silly and sweet, but she might be the only character I think is starting to feel flat. Originally she was introduced as this Eternum badass, but every time we've seen her there since she's done very little but be afraid. She's kind of the Worf, I guess? Even during the heist, where she accomplished something of importance, all we really see is her popping up going 'I did it'. Without that badass side to balance her out, she ends up coming off as little more than 'the girl next door'. Luna, Alex, Nova and Chang continue to be simply awesome. I still want that TV show featuring Nova and Chang. And we can have one featuring Luna and her family, too.

Alright. I'm a tough critic. VERY few games, much less adult VNs, can escape a playthrough without criticism. And version .2 of Eternum is almost an exception to that rule. And the only thing I could find to criticize here is so minor; when you click 'return' on a girl's profile it brings you back to the game, rather than the screen that lists all the girls (which I previously referred to as the 'paths screen' but that no longer feels accurate). That's it. That's my only criticism.

Graphics: Great. The lighting is well done, the characters (even the ones who aren't my type) are beautiful, and everyone is so expressive and lively it almost tricks your brain into thinking this isn't a VN.

Story: 0.1 set the foundation, then 0.2 delivers the hook. It's engaging, there's some fantastic character development, and everyone (who matters, at least; certain characters are pretty one-dimensional, like Axel and his mom, but that's perfectly fine) feels like a real character rather than some one-dimensional trope. Eternum has a lot of characters already, and it can't be easy juggling that many without dropping something. Bravo.

Intimate scenes: I have to commend you for forcing me to use this term, rather than 'sex scenes'. Eternum isn't about a bunch of sexy character models boning. It's about the characters and the world around them, and those characters happen to be attractive and occasionally engage in intimate situations. There has only been one full-on sex scene so far, but there is no shortage of intimate moments, and this is exactly how I like my VNs. Boning for the sake of boning has its place, but I'll take realistic relationship development over that any day. The scenes with Luna and Penelope (you know the ones) were some of the most endearing moments I've experienced in a while, and Alex's is probably the quickest I've ever gone from 'she's pretty' to 'if anyone hurts her I will kill them'.

Comedy: I have the same sense of humor as you do, and the comedic scenes are hilarious. I could watch a TV show exclusively about Chang and Nova being Chang and Nova.

And of course, I'd be remiss not to specifically call out my favorite characters, like I did with OiaL. Yes, I say characters, because unlike OiaL there are several. Alex, Nova, Annie, and Luna are awesome and beautiful and if anyone hurts them I will invent a way to bring myself into this game and murder them. 

There is an obvious improvement in graphical fidelity over OiaL (especially for the MC, who looks like a human being rather than a high-functioning coke addict, lol), and the comedy is still here, but this hasn't hooked me as immediately as OiaL did. This could be because of the bugs on mobile (see below), it could be that the longer story has a longer spin-up, it could be that I don't find any of the characters particularly attractive yet, or it could be all 3. I'm not sure. Still can't wait to see what comes next, though.

A couple of things I can address directly:
-The 'hot girl' in the popular group looks like a background character from a no-budget Korean drama. I'm assuming it's because no time was spent on her character model as she is just a background character, but suspension of disbelief is difficult when there's at least 3 women in the class that are way more attractive than her. And at least one of those (Dalia) would be popular herself just for the fact that she's hot and athletic and not rough around the edges like Alex.
-At the end of the .1 story you're hunting the seventh gem, but earlier that day the AI said only 5 had been found, then almost immediately after the CEO announced the 6th had been found. The story seems to imply the "7th" had been in possession of these two for quite a while, so something doesn't add up.
-Blush is applied way too heavily pretty frequently, and is really distracting. It was there in OiaL too, but it was a lot less in-your-face. You could interpret it as makeup in that game, but in Eternum it reads as these girls are constantly embarrassed or horny.

Mobile Bugs:
text/character names don't line up with the text box AT ALL
the rapid scene transitions completely break and just turn black
it takes FOREVER to switch back to the paths screen after tapping one of the girl's pictures, but only the first time after opening the paths screen. Once it finally switches back, it's all perfectly responsive until you close the paths screen and open it again



tl;dr is Eternum is a huge upgrade over OiaL graphically, and shows glimmers of the brilliance OiaL had, but isn't there yet. But this is still version .1, just the tip of the iceberg, so I have high hopes.

I've been playing H games since Utawarerumono (2002), and it's quite rare to find a game where the sex doesn't feel forced, or like it's the sole focus of the game. This is one of those rare examples where the game could stand on its own without the sex. That said, the sex is also fantastic. The one downside is I saw the twist coming from the first time you meet the Big Bad, though it didn't take away from much.

Also, Judie is absolute perfection and I am a little sad I won't be seeing her anymore.