itch.io

(Review is as of Chapter 3. Disclosure: Thor's Hamster is a beta tester for Mythos.)

Mythos is a murder mystery adventure with a healthy dose of ancient lore and the supernatural tossed in to present a fresh, fun and sometimes hilarious take on the genre. When you accidentally find out that your ex-girlfriend — with whom you haven't spoken in over a year — just died, something doesn't feel right. As you start to pick at the circumstances surrounding her death, you discover things about her — and yourself — that challenge everything you thought you knew about the world. What really happened to your ex-girlfriend? And who among your expanding circle of friends and acquaintances can you really trust?

STORY AND CHARACTERS ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Mythos bills itself as a murder mystery, but there's a lot of unconventional elements here that make the story stand out. Elements of lore — drawn from such influences as Judaism, Greek mythology, and ancient Egypt — are re-imagined to weave a much larger fictional world than the premise would initially suggest. The murder is really just the tip of a very large iceberg, and the fun of the game is discovering just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

The first feature that distinguishes Mythos from most of its peers is that the player can select the gender for the main character. Both a female and male version of the MC are offered; the female version is considered "canon", but both versions are handled very well — particularly in the sexual encounters, where the difference will obviously be the most pronounced. Separate versions of each encounter have been designed for both genders, with the same level of care afforded to each version. Consequently, the game has something for players who prefer to play a female MC as well as those who prefer a male MC.

(Note: regardless of which gender you choose for your MC, the cast of available love interests are all female. In other words, you will play as either a straight male MC or a lesbian female MC.)

The cast of characters is varied and quite interesting. You start the story with several existing friends, and as you begin your investigation, your list of acquaintances steadily grows. Each core character has unique personality quirks that makes them fun to interact with, and they are all memorable. The extended cast of characters includes a number of visual novel crossover cameos and some additional characters that show promise of becoming more central to the plot later on. Some of these are at times a bit more forgettable, but often only because their place in the story is not yet obvious.

The story pacing seems to be spot on, though with only three chapters out so far, it's difficult to say for certain. So far, clues and reveals have been doled out at a healthy rate — not too quickly, but just often enough to keep things interesting and keep the story moving forward.

The world-building behind Mythos is showcased in the supplemental stories that have been written about the characters and their backstory. Dubbed "Tales from Mythos", the stories were originally offered as standalone reading but are now available to read directly within the game. These are text stories only — no visuals — but they offer exciting peeks into the broader Mythos world and some of the elements that seem to be converging on the present-day story.

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Mythos visuals are Daz Studio renders, and they look wonderful. The 3D scenes are all interesting to look at; and although the lighting is, at times, a bit one-dimensional, the shots never look flat or difficult to parse. The character design is superb, and the facial expressions are lively but not overdone. Mythos incorporates a lot of fun visual effects to liven up the presentation, including original animated scene transitions, dramatic and often humorous character introduction sequences, cartoon-style visual depictions of key sound effects, and other dynamic moments to really bring the story to life.

Animations were employed in Chapters 1 and 2; these were simple but all well done. Chapter 3 did not include animations, and this trend may continue for future Mythos chapters. If you are dead set on having animated sexual encounters, this might come as a disappointment. Nonetheless, the detailed narrative and the quality of the still shots combine to make the sex suitably titillating, even if not a perfect replacement for a fully animated experience.

SOUND AND MUSIC ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Mythos boasts an almost completely original soundtrack composed by the author. An original soundtrack is something of a rarity in the visual novel space, and an author-composed soundtrack more so. The music is well done and never takes itself too seriously, which is an appropriate reflection of the overall tone of the game itself. Each character and location has a unique musical theme, which adds an additional layer of personality to both people and places.

Sound effects are used throughout, and critical sound effects are accompanied by visual cues (often animated and stylized). The sound effects are good quality and are leveraged appropriately.

GAMEPLAY AND EXPERIENCE ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Mythos is powered by the Ren'py visual novel engine, and the core of the gameplay is the standard choice-based visual novel experience. However, Mythos adds a number of creative elements to breath more life into the user experience. A "heist" encounter empowers the player to customize who will handle what job during the operation, resulting in a plethora of different ways that the heist might play out. An in-game achievements system rewards the player with custom artwork for different characters (generally nude) in response to unusual circumstances in how they play the game. Easter eggs in various places provide humorous reactions to player interactions. As the investigation gets under way in full force, the player can click on bits of conversations that seem particularly noteworthy, often being rewarded with additional clues to ponder. And the aforementioned "Tales from Mythos", consisting of additional stories that are unlocked at key points throughout the main story, offer players the opportunity to delve into the world of Mythos more deeply.

While all of these features exist with the aim to make the experience more varied and entertaining, some of them work better than others. Many of the achievements are based on such specific and niche conditions that they might never be achieved without prior knowledge of what those conditions are. (Until they are unlocked, they offer no clues as to what they might be.) The easter eggs are similarly oblique, with nothing resembling clear hints to the player that a particular scene might have a hidden gem. Finally, dialogue that hides additional clues has no distinguishing characteristics, so players may not even be aware that an additional clue is available.

The difficult-to-find extras are purely optional, but completionists may nevertheless find their presence vexing. These days, the standard formula for extras like these is to provide adequate hints to players who specifically want to pursue the extras, while still ensuring that they are sufficiently challenged in their pursuit. This is fairly difficult to do in the visual novel format, in which the gamut of interactions that a player can have with the game is limited.

The dialogue of Mythos is funny and witty, with some really hilarious moments and a few instances of brilliant fourth wall breaking. The author has a wonderful sense of humor that really shines in the storytelling and keeps things from ever getting too somber or heavy.

OVERALL ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Mythos has a solid story with a lot of interesting lore behind it, and the story is told in a fun and engaging way. The pacing is on point, and the cast of characters is diverse and distinct. The visuals are well done and include some animation elements that go beyond the basic visual novel experience, and the original musical soundtrack complements the storytelling beautifully. While not the focus of the story, there are a number of sexual encounters to keep things spicy. The "Tales from Mythos" stories expand the world-building and make the main story even more interesting. Mythos is definitely worth a play!

(Review is for version 4.2. Disclosure: ThorsHamster is a beta tester for Between Two Worlds.)

What happens when the real world and the fantasy world of a tabletop role-playing game begin to bleed into one another? Between Two Worlds is a fun and sometimes sexy romp through the fantasy world envisioned by a group of friends, and promises quite the adventure as the fantasy world begins to intrude on the real world.

STORY AND CHARACTERS ★★★★☆ (4/5)

The story of Between Two Worlds revolves around the main character, his girlfriend, and five other friends, along with a small ensemble of supporting characters. Each of the primary characters is well developed and interesting, and the side characters have been decently fleshed out as well. While the most interesting aspects of Between Two Worlds is the time the friends spend in their fantasy tabletop role-playing game, there is plenty of treatment given to their interactions in real life as well. Each character has their own alter ego within the tabletop game, but their personalities shine through even when they are role-playing. Consequently, between real-life interactions and in-game interactions, each of the characters is very well developed, and the reader is afforded to opportunity to invest in each of them.

The story is still in its relative infancy; as of Chapter 4, the focus has still largely been on baseline character development while laying the foundation for the core elements of the game's plot. While the progression along the main story arc is deliberate, it never feels like it is dragging. There is always something intriguing going on, and the character interactions are a treat, so even basic conversation is made interesting.

Likewise, the progression of sexual relationships proceeds at a deliberate pace. As of Chapter 4, the main character's primary interactions have been with his girlfriend, with quite a few scenes devoted to their sex life. The game promises the opportunity for encounters with other girls, but so far those have been limited to very oblique interactions in the real world and a couple of scenarios in the fantasy world. Note that, because the tabletop game is portrayed through the eyes of the players' alter egos, the sexual encounters are no less titillating than real-world encounters; and it's easy to forget that the whole thing is being narrated with the help of a game master.

Players who are just here for the lewd scenes may be put off by the amount of time the game is taking to expand the main character's scope of sexual activity, but the game strikes a good balance of story and sex while carefully teeing up for more exciting content in both departments.

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION ★★★★★ (5/5)

Between Two Worlds features beautifully rendered real-world scenes and absolutely stunning fantasy scenes. A lot of attention to detail has been put into the settings and the character's behavior and expressions. The result is a real world that feels grounded and believable, coupled with a fantasy world that is an absolute treat to behold.

Animations are ambitious right out of the gate, and since Chapter 1, the quality has been improving by leaps and bounds. The volume of animations (as a percent of total content) is probably about average when compared to other adult visual novels that include animations at all. All of the sexual encounters contain some animation elements; only one scene fails to apply its animation where it would have been most appreciated. Sex animations are crisp and precise, with good motion and generally no discernible clipping — always appreciated when viewing activities that involve a lot of bodily contact. There are quite a few animations that help drive other parts of the story as well.

All in all, the game delivers some impressive eye candy.

SOUND AND MUSIC ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Between Two Worlds features a modest soundtrack. The music selection is good quality and generally fits the scene well. Sound effects are minimal, but what is there is well designed. Both music and sound are reasonably balanced. There is one ambient backdrop sound that I find rather noisy and distracting, but it is the exception in an otherwise enjoyable soundscape.

Note that the game is largely devoid of generic lewd sounds or other sound effects associated with sexual encounters. Use your imagination. One scene does introduce lewd sounds, but it remains to be seen whether this will become a regular occurrence.

USER EXPERIENCE ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Between Two Worlds is a fairly standard Ren'py experience, with no surprises and little customization beyond visual styling. Consequently, players of other Ren'py-powered visual novels will have no difficulties navigating the game. This is a "choices matter" game, though for many of the choices presented thus far, the impact will not be realized until future chapters. While none of the choices drastically change the overall story arc (that we are aware), a couple of choices already lead to temporary, substantially divergent branches, with entirely different scenes for the player to experience. This makes replays particularly enjoyable.

OVERALL ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Between Two Worlds is a lovingly crafted story with fun characters, rich visuals, and an imaginative story that shows a lot of promise. The sexual content of this adult visual novel is thus far quite enjoyable, although diversity of partners is only slowly forthcoming. Fans of tabletop role-play gaming will particularly appreciate the fantasy adventures that arise during the friends' regular game nights. This is definitely a story to try out!

Space Trucking is a short story, with 2 main characters, one space fight, and one sex scene. It serves as a showcase of what we can look forward to in 6000 Years From Home, and as such, it does its job well. I enjoyed the two main characters, their banter, the setting, and the world building. There is a surprising amount of world building packed into this short, most of it  conveyed by Captain Khern in idle conversations with your character. This makes some of the dialogue rather dense, but it also reveals the potential of the universe that is being crafted for the larger story to come. (In addition, the long stints of dialogue help convey the notion that your character's choice of profession, while well-paying, also involves a lot of downtime.) The sexual encounter is depicted with still imagery only, no animations; but the imagery is well crafted and suitably titillating.

Space Trucking provides an enticing sneak peek into the world of 6000 Years From Home, and I look forward to seeing more of this fictional sci-fi future that TARGames is creating!

It might just be the fact that I'm using file-roller (stock Ubuntu), but I do not have to do a chmod before running the shell script from the CLI. The shell script had +x immediately upon extract. This has been the case for all the Ren'Py VNs I've downloaded.

So it could be (1) the extract utility you're using, or (2) the location you're extracting to (especially if outside the $HOME folder structure), or (3) if you're extracting as su / sudo (in which case automatically adding +x on extract could be considered a security risk).

Adding a READ.ME file is logical, but it probably makes more sense for Ren'Py to handle it than individual authors. I recommend you post feedback to the Ren'Py VNE forum; maybe they'll add auto-generated READ.ME in a future version of the engine!

(This review is based on Ripples 0.4.1 public release)

STORY & CHARACTERS ★★★★☆

Jack Wilson is entering his final year of high school and rejoicing the return of his childhood friend Darci, back from a year away at another school. It feels good for things to get back to normal — until questions start to arise about the power plant accident that killed Jack's father almost 20 years ago. Convinced that there is more to the story than what he's always been told, Jack embarks on an investigative quest that will bring him face-to-face with the events of the past. Choices matter, and for Jack, his choices may even rewrite history.

Ripples presents an engaging time travel story with plenty of mystery and intrigue serving as counterpoint to the everyday adventures of a high school senior, his friends, and his romantic interests. The novel offers a fairly well-balanced mix of slice-of-life, sci-fi mystery & adventure, and intimate encounters. Every scene is interesting and advances the story well, either in terms of core plot or character development.

The story has an interesting and varied range of heroines and supporting cast. Most characters are well developed to some degree or other, ensuring that almost nobody feels like a cardboard standup. There is only one heroine that I feel I don't have an appreciable degree of investment in yet, while at the same time feeling that the author expects I should be invested. This is mostly due to limited scene exposure thus far, and may be rectified with later chapters.

Indeed, with this being a time travel story, Ripples has unique opportunities for backstory development. It has thus far availed itself of these opportunities judiciously, focusing the lens of the past on characters who are (thus far) ancillary presences in the present. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. Instead, Ripples seems intent to capitalize on the opportunity to present two generations of characters at roughly the same age — which of course presents interesting prospects for a story that features sexual encounters prominently.

Ripples wastes no time with such encounters, which is always appreciated in an AVN. But it does so using its main cast of heroines (rather than leveraging side characters for early "quick wins"), and consequently introduces intimate encounters with limited opportunity for the reader to have become fully emotionally invested in the characters. The novel depends on some hastily described history between the main character and these heroines, and in so doing, threatens to undermine the reader's early development of empathy for the characters. (In one of the more egregious examples, a classmate flirts with the main character by flashing her uncovered nether regions in class — and in full view of several other students — in a move so ridiculously unlikely that it taxed my suspension of disbelief almost to the breaking point.)

Fortunately, the game finds its footing later on and manages to avoid developing a terminal case of Pornomancer Syndrome. As the reader directly experiences the interactions between the main character and the heroines, the game starts to patch some backstory gaps, and the characters take on sufficient depth to make later intimate encounters more meaningful and rewarding.

GRAPHICS & ANIMATIONS ★★★★☆

Ripples uses the HS1 rendering engine for its characters and scenes, and I must say, it looks like the author has tried to squeeze every last bit of capability out of the engine. Scene composition is consistently good, and many shots are downright gorgeous for the tech being used. Lighting and DOF are extremely well utilized and give each shot a sense of depth, while also focusing the reader's attention on the main subject matter. Every scene has enough detail that it doesn't feel empty or underdeveloped. Very few scenes look overly flat. The most egregious exception, perhaps, is the ground cover in the forest scenes from Episode 1; and the game manages to redeem itself in Episode 4 with improved forest ground cover, as well as some absolutely stunning flora at the lake.

Characters are what one would expect from the HS toolset, but the author has tried to achieve as much diversity in looks as possible, and mostly succeeded. There are a few cases where facial expressions from one character to the next start to evoke a sense of déjà vu — the dreaded DreamWorks Face — but for the most part each character manages to distinguish itself from other others. Because of its time travel theme, Ripples has additional challenges. Several characters appear in the both the present and the past, and have to look roughly 20 years older/younger while still projecting a sense of continuity in their identity. Mothers have to look the same age as their daughters in the past, but still come across as sufficiently distinct. And as if that wasn't challenge enough, the story includes quite a few sister and twin-sister characters who have to look similar but still distinguish themselves visually. So far, Ripples has done an excellent job on all counts.

As for animations — there are a lot of them. And not just for the intimate encounters. Many characters introductions are handled with toe-to-head camera pans; animations are often devoted to subtle motions like character breathing or other minor acts; and various mundane shots like a car pulling up to the curb at night are fully animated. These all bring a great deal of life to the world, and they also aid in delivering added emotional impact for even non-sexual encounters with some of the heroines.

When it comes to the sexual encounters, I don't think I've seen HS-powered animations done as well as what Ripples achieves. The scene lighting and DOF plays a large part in this. Beyond that, the scene blocking, camera angles, and camera motion loops are all very well thought out and brilliantly executed. Tactical use of camera wobble — not too much and not overdone — marvelously augments the energy of sexual encounters. These elements are what separate "okay" H-scenes from spectacular scenes, and Ripples manages to elevate itself well above most of its peers.

Close contact between characters during intimate scenes is another area that seems to present a lot of challenges for HS-powered scenes. Here too, I was blown away by what the author has achieved. Ripples exhibits a level of detail in contact scenarios — especially labia-phallus interactions — that is absolutely stunning, and there were very few instances where I noticed unsightly polygon clipping that tend to plague games with more hastily designed interactions.

All of these strengths are on display during the sexual encounter with Krystal toward the end of Episode 3 Part 2 — a moment I consider to be the high point of the game. The scene has it all: great scene composition, great lighting and DOF, a wonderfully expressive heroine, near-flawless physical interplay between the main character and heroine, the most detailed and impressive clitoris-phallus interaction I've ever seen in an H-scene, camera work that makes the escalation of the encounter incredibly energetic and satisfying, and full animations for both the female orgasm and the male orgasm (a rare and delightful treat in an AVN). Combined with the sound palette and music selection (more on that later), the scene comes as close to achieving H-scene nirvana as one could hope for.

SOUND & MUSIC ★★★★★

Ripples doesn't skimp in the sound and music department, either. The game boasts an extensive soundtrack, and while it's not original, all of the tracks are very well selected to fit the scene. This is particularly true of the sexual encounters, all of which seem to be paired with musical tracks that are very well matched to the tone and emotion of the encounter. This has a significant bearing on the impact of sexual encounters, so I'm pleased at the thought and planning that the author has committed to this aspect of the storytelling. The looping on some tracks is a little dodgy, but overall not distracting.

(Only one recommendation would I offer: DON'T leverage musical tracks that the Internet psyche has indelibly associated with Kerbal Space Program. I know Kevin MacLeod's music is non-proprietary, but KSP has a de facto monopoly on many of those tracks now — if only because the mood of a scene is severely compromised when the music evokes visions of little green men running around in a launch vehicle assembly hangar.)

Sound effects are well done throughout. In particular, the sounds of physical contact during sexual encounters are good quality, which is important as these sounds are highly repetitive in looped animations. While some refinements could be made, there were no sounds that were so out of place as to be the least bit distracting.

Heroines utter generic moans during sexual encounters, and these are extremely very well done. There seems to be a varied set of "voice packs" leveraged for this purpose, such that many character's moans sound distinctly different from others. There are variations that follow the escalation of the encounter, and the sound loops are very well put together. The result is a powerful synergy with the animations that makes the H-scenes supremely satisfying. (Again, the Krystal encounter toward the end of Episode 3 Part 2 features some fantastic voice work, especially at the height of the copulation. There is even voice work for the animated moments of orgasm. Top notch!)

GAMEPLAY ★★★★☆

In its currently form, Ripples is what I would describe as a "kinetic visual novel with an illusion of choice" — insomuch as the choices that are offered seem to mostly govern whether or not the main character will have an opportunity for future sexual encounters with specific characters. The main plot seems to be essentially on the rails, though I could be failing to discern some longer-term plot deviations that my choices may be affecting. A common ailment of AVNs is that choices tend to accomplish nothing more than selectively limiting opportunities for sexual encounters, rather than guiding truly interesting branches in storyline. It's a malady I've come to grudgingly accept about AVNs, and Ripples walkthroughs are available in the community for those who want to make sure their choices don't irrevocably close the door on future intimate moments. Various response options are even more trivial and simply exist to help vary the dialogue on subsequent replays.

A gallery exists to allow convenient replay of lewd scenes once they have been encountered at least once — a near-mandatory staple feature of AVNs. My main gripe is that the gallery thumbnails are not blurred prior to being unlocked, potentially resulting in some spoilers for the unsuspecting. This may very well be addressed in a future update.

OVERALL ★★★★★

Ripples is shaping up to be my favorite HS-based AVN yet! The story is superb, with an intriguing plot, interesting cast of characters, and range of situational scenes. The novel falters a bit out of the gate trying to balance character development with early H-scenes, but manages to find its stride and deliver a well balanced cocktail of erotic storytelling. The graphics and sound design are top notch, and I still marvel at what the author has accomplished with the HS1 rendering toolset. (I can only imagine what the newer HS2 Studio would be capable of in the hands of such an artist.) Episode 4, recently released at the time of this review, further expands the intrigue of the main plot, and I eagerly look forward to seeing where the author takes the story!

That might have something to do with a choice you made a bit earlier…………

For some reason this gem had no presence on VNDB. I endeavored to stand up a decent entry for it this week, but it will need to be updated with new content and intel from Ep 4 over the next few weeks. https://vndb.org/v33448

I was getting ready to write a review based on Ep 3 Pt 2, but I think I will hold off until Ep 4 is in public release. Thanks for all your hard work. It sounds like you've been pressing forward on this project in the midst of some pretty difficult things going on in your life. You have our sympathy, support and appreciation.

(Review is based on Eternum 0.2)

A while back I did a review of Once in a Lifetime. There's a lot to love about OiaL, and my regard for it has grown as I've revisited parts of it. That said, there were also opportunities for improvement, particularly in some technical areas, and so I sat down to try Eternum 0.2 with an eye for how it improves upon the solid baseline that OiaL established.

STORY AND CHARACTERS
★★★★★

Once again, Caribdis demonstrates a superb knack at story-first novel design. The premise of the story draws heavily from influences like Ready Player One, but is already setting up to head in its own direction. It is so rewarding to have the novel focus first and foremost on the story, with the various sexual encounters finding themselves organically in the main plot arc. I'm really enjoying it so far!

The cast of characters is interesting, and we've already seen some solid character development and even some heartwarming backstory exposition. All of the characters so far seem interesting, and each for their own unique reasons. A small but amusing gaggle of supporting characters are already providing lots of comedic moments to keep things lighthearted.

Compared to OiaL, it feels like several characters' "corruption" (as it were) is ramping up at a faster clip, and I'm unsure whether that's anything to be concerned about. It's important that the reader feel vested in the evolution of each character's trust in the main character and (eventually) their willingness to act on their desires and lusts, so that the payoff moments are more rewarding.

GRAPHICS
★★★☆☆

The biggest opportunity for improvement in OiaL is in the graphics, and while Eternum inherits some enhancements by using the updated Honey Select 2 renderer, a lot of the same critique still applies. Much of this can be chalked up to HS2's rendering being based on Unity, which is a rasterization renderer and not a full raytracing/raycasting renderer. Let's take a closer look at some areas that could be improved upon.

(Note: A lot of this feedback comes from my humble place as a Blender hobbyist. It is by no means meant to impugn the author's hard work, nor their workflow, but perhaps may offer ideas to pursue in future projects.)

Depth of Field (DOF)

There is almost no DOF employed in the camera shots. DOF is often a critical means of drawing attention toward the subject in frame, especially when the background has a lot of its own detail and can be distracting. The dystopian backdrop of Ion, while gorgeous, can also make it very difficult to pick out the things that matter in a particular shot. For an example of effective DOF usage, look no further than Square Enix's Life Is Strange, which made heavy use of DOF to artistically draw the player's attention to desired areas of focus throughout the game.

Shadows

Shadows in Eternum are texture-based, and there are places where this really shows, especially in some animated shots. Some shots employed very low-res shadow textures, resulting in blocky artifacts that can break the immersion of the scene. Also, shadows tend to all be very sharp and thus distracting at times; this is a combination of heavy dependence on point lights (versus area lights) and no secondary reflected light sources (which are a hallmark of raycasting renderers but typically not available in rasterization renderers).

Ambient Occlusion

There appears to be little or no ambient occlusion, even screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO). Ambient occlusion is a subtle but profound factor in giving more depth to the surfaces in a scene, and can go a long way toward ensuring that a scene does not feel too "flat".

Screen-space Reflections

The scenes use screen-space reflections. They are a fast method of generating reflected scenes in water, but are susceptible to a lot of unsightly artifacts. This is especially noticeable when characters are standing in front of a body of water (like a school pool?) — they become outlined in a haze of phantom reflections that should never exist. Full raytracing or raycasting does not suffer this issue; absent that, some scenes could be remedied by rendering the foreground characters separately and compositing them into the final shot (assuming HS2 supports this workflow).

ANIMATIONS
★★★★☆

OiaL's animations were enthusiastic, energetic, and a lot of fun to watch. Eternum is doubling down on the energy with a lot more animations, even beyond just the sexual encounters.

Several key characters are introduced with a camera rotating around the character while panning up from foot to head. It's a great way to bring in a new character with pizazz, and in one instance (where two characters were in the middle of a stand-up shoving contest), it even gave a cool, momentary "bullet-time" vibe to the shot.

The most exciting technique in Eternum, I think, are the sex scene animations in which the camera itself orbits back and forth between two points in the course of the animation loop. These shots add an immense amount of life and interest to the scene, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. I look forward to many more instances where this technique is employed.

A number of animations have nothing to do with the sex scenes but help bring the main story arc to life; the most dramatic examples (so far) take place toward the very end of 0.2. I anticipate that these additional animations will continue to make the core story a lot more vibrant, compared to what OiaL was able to achieve.

As with OiaL, animations for sex scenes — which naturally involve a lot of surface contact scenarios — suffer from a fair amount of polygon clipping that underscores the simplistic (or nonexistent) physics of the scene. It's a mildly distracting characteristic that can be easily forgiven in light of how lovingly designed the animations are otherwise. For an example of the impact that can be achieved when contact surfaces are given additional attention to detail, consider NLT Media's Treasure of Nadia. The subtle but detailed behavior of lips and vulva are inspiring.

SOUND & MUSIC
★★★★☆

So far, Eternum seems to be leveraging a lot more background music than OiaL, to very good effect. The music tracks that are used have mostly been well picked and really help bring the scene to life. Music has also been used to enhance some comedy moments, also to very good effect. I like how the music landscape in Eternum is shaping up!

Usually, if I had a complaint with the music, it was because the track had lyrics. I find this highly distracting when trying to read the dialogue. Solving this may not require a different musical track; in some cases, some simple post-processing could better incorporate the track into the scene. For example, the music in the cafe could be filtered to sound more like it is being piped into the space from some speaker in a corner. It would give the scene a feeling of physical space while also relegating it to a more appropriate background role. For an example of really well done ambient audio, consider Fallen Snow Studio's Lucid9: Inciting Incident; it does not specifically feature ambient background music (all music is front-and-center but has no lyrics), however its other ambient sounds are incredibly immersive.

(I would be inclined to extend my complaint of lyrics to the use of Snake City's "Run Boy Run", but I cannot help but forgive the distraction given that the sexual encounter in which it was used was arguably the frickin' hottest scene in 0.2, and the music had a lot to do with that — so I give it a pass and even a nod of respect. By the way, apparently the YouTube of that track is getting a lot of love from the Eternum community, and "my shirt is itchy" is on track to become a bona fide meme in the comments section.)

Sounds effects are passable and about equivalent to what we enjoyed in OiaL — no crafty sound design work here, pretty straightforward, but generally the sounds get the point across. The one sound effect I would call out, however, is the "slapping skin" sound that is used in sex scenes; this one misses the mark and ends up sounding more like something is slapping against a wood board. Given that it's a key, repetitive component in the escalation of sexual encounters, I would love to see this one undergo some refinement.

CONCLUSION

So far Eternum is shaping up to be a really fun ride! I enjoyed the content in 0.2 and look forward the upcoming content. Mad props to Caribdis for  impressive storytelling finesse and lovingly scripted and animated sexual encounters. This is going to be quite the story!

(This review contains no spoilers or very minor spoilers. It is intended to be readable by someone who has not yet played the game.)

Story

There is no happy ending.

Lucid9 is a tale of dealing with trauma, both past and present. A circle of friends are just trying to make it through their current year in high school, but a dark pall is cast over the school as students begin one by one going missing… and worse. While facing the fear, anguish and anxiety arising from these tragedies, the characters — especially the main character — must confront traumatic events from their past and the inner demons that still thrive on those experiences. Along the way, they learn how to overcome the shadows of the past and find new ways to move forward with their lives. And they grow closer together in the process.

But make no mistake. If there is one thing you, the reader, take away from this review, it is this: THERE IS NO HAPPY ENDING.

Lucid9 will unapologetically take you through some of the most psychologically damaging experiences a high school student (or anyone, really) could conceivably endure. It will do so with explicitly descriptive narrative and — lest the reader's vivid imagination is not enough to do a number on their psyche — graphic visual depictions. It does everything in its power to make the characters' trauma become the reader's trauma. And when you, the reader, have weathered this emotional storm, you will not find a fairy tale ending waiting on the other side.

Because this is a story about life. About fate. About the incomprehensible meaningless of tragedy.

And in life, sometimes, there simply… is … no… happy… ending.

Characters

Lucid9 is ambitious in the level of emotional investment it needs to instill, not just for its main character but for many of the supporting characters as well. It does an incredibly good job of this, especially considering that the core of the story takes place in a span of less than 2 weeks. The novel wastes no time as it begins to lay out the pieces for the core mystery around which the story revolves, but it also manages to deftly incorporate myriad side adventures and interactions that steadily and methodically reveal the critical backstory of each character — including past interactions between key characters that shape their present relationships.

Core to the story are 8 high school students (including the main character). All of these characters have unique and diverse personality and sufficient backstory development, with some characters requiring more in-depth treatment than others. In addition to the 8 students, there are a handful of other characters that are also key to the story, and all of them are also well developed. The end result is that no character feels like a cardboard standup, and the reader is properly invested in key characters sufficiently enough for the emotional impact of the story to take a weighty toll.

In one of the more impressive displays of character development, the novel has to introduce two side characters that the main character has never even met before, and build up an emotional investment in those characters in the span of one scene. The writers did a wonderful job of pacing this scene to ensure that the reader could develop requisite sympathy for those characters almost as deep as their sympathy for the core characters.

Graphics

Backdrops in Lucid9 are illustrated, not rendered, and adequately convey the scene. Certain aspects of the backdrops are simplistic enough to be distracting at times, especially in the main character's home. (Why is that dishwasher so tall? Why is that oven rammed all the way into the wall and has no stovetop?) But these are minor distractions. Many scenes feature multiple versions for different times of day, which helps keep the reader grounded in the chronology of events

The characters themselves are beautifully illustrated with many different mood and pose variations. Many characters (among the females especially) include catchy signature facial expressions that really help congeal the essence of their personality type.

Unfortunately, there are numerous places throughout the game where the reader will be confronted with IMAGE NOT FOUND placeholder text instead of a character sprite. I don't know if this was always an issue with the game, or if it came about as a result of upgrading the Ren'Py engine (which, if I understand correctly, happened during the "Heroine Prologues" update). The issue is not a showstopper but definitely breaks immersion briefly in many moments of the game. Some scenes seem to have a particularly high concentration of issues (such as the amusement park).

A handful of custom illustrations with character-in-scene placement are used to deliver added emotional impact at key points in the story. These illustrations have been crafted with extra care and go above and beyond the sometimes simplistic style of the normal backdrops. Once encountered, they can be accessed later from a CG Gallery available from the main menu.

Sound & Music

Lucid9 features what appears to be a full, original soundtrack. The songs are very well done; they definitely capture and reinforce the emotional state of the reader throughout the story. The opening theme for the main menu is instantly riveting for new readers, and also manages to serve as a reflection of the emotional journey for readers who have just completed the story. Once the game has been completed, music tracks can be accessed from a Music Room available from the main menu.

Sound effects are well done, and I'm particularly impressed with the background ambience in many of the scenes. As I was wearing full gaming headphones through much of the story, I repeatedly heard subtle background sounds that I at first thought were filtering through from the room I was sitting in. There's a depth to the sounds that give some scenes a real sense of space, especially in outdoor scenes like the street corner. (Those footsteps moving from left-to-right behind me repeatedly gave me a thrill.) And heartbeat sounds…. Given what this game was doing to my own heart, at times I wasn't sure if I was hearing a heartbeat effect in the game or my own heartbeat.

There is no voice acting, so use your imagination. Frankly, after having completed the story, I'm inclined to believe that the imagination is the best place to give these characters their voices. There is… a raw intensity to some of the scenes that, in my estimation, are brought to life most intensely in the theater of the mind. To apply any kind of voice acting would be to potentially limit what the reader's imagination brings to the scene, and may potentially undermine the immersion that the story's most intense moments have otherwise.

Gameplay

Lucid9 is a "choices matter" visual novel, but through most of the game, you won't really feel those effects, even when presented with some options. There is an overarching effect that your choices have on certain opportunities to interact with specific characters later (in particular, at one point toward the end of the game), but these choices are otherwise essentially inconsequential.

Choices begin to become crucial very close to the "climax" of the story, which interestingly occurs about 75% of the way through. It is at this point that the character's choices have life-or-death consequences, and success at this point depends on walking a razor's edge of appropriate choices. There are many "Bad Endings" at this point, so saving frequently is advised. It will likely take many attempts to find that one combination of choices that will allow your character to successfully navigate the scenario.

This is also where the story also starts to really wring out the reader's emotions. Because the section will likely be played over and over, it also means the reader will be subjected to some of the most psychologically intense portions of the game repeatedly. By the time I successfully navigated the scenario, I was emotionally exhausted from the graphic depictions of the deaths that resulted from my choices.

After this "climax", the remaining 25% of the story is back on the rails, and essentially plays out like an extended epilogue. Although it feels weird at first, upon reflection I think this was carefully designed. You, the reader, are not just there to witness the triumph of the characters; you must also follow them on their subsequent journey of recovery and healing, because in life, no victory comes without scars. By this time the game has likely managed to really do a number on the reader's emotions, and so the reader — like the characters — needs that return to some semblance of normalcy to serve as a balm, soothing the intense effects of what they just went through.

And so the story delivers that balm, while also providing some post-climactic plot exposition that will tee up nicely for any kind of sequel. But just as things seem to be returning to some complacent sense of happy mundane, the story has one more gut punch to deliver; and if anything can be said about this novel, it's that it does not pull its punches.

Because in this story, there are no happy endings.

Conclusion

Lucid9 is a powerfully crafted visual novel, but also one that forces the reader to stare fixedly into the abyss of some of life's ugliest experiences. If you are looking for a happy, relaxing or uplifting visual novel, you may want to steer clear of this one.

Also be sure you are in a healthy emotional state before starting in. I made the mistake of consuming this novel during a night of severe insomnia; by the time I reached the devastating end in the wee hours of the morning, I was exhausted, hungry, and an emotional wreck (thanks to having to navigate the climactic life-or-death scene over and over earlier in the night). The novel does a perfectly adequate job of yanking one's emotions around, and that is only amplified if one goes into it in an already vulnerable state.

It will be a long time before I can pick up this novel again. There is an Achievements section that suggests there are many miscellaneous accomplishments I can go for with my choices, but I cannot bring myself to relive the events of the story again any time soon. The intense psychological impact of the characters' experiences certainly made an impression upon my own psyche.

If anything, that is a testament that Fallen Snow Studios has succeeded spectacularly in their storytelling. Well done.

Story

One Thousands Lies is a high school coming-of-age story focused on 6 students during their last year before graduation. The story focuses on their interactions in the present while alluding to some traumatic past events that have had a hand in shaping their path to where they are now. To the point of the title, the tale is a study in how all of us, whether subconsciously or not, try to influence the narrative surrounding our lives and choices, both for others and for ourselves — even if our attempts are sometimes nothing more than an exercise in deception and misdirection.

Through the everyday adventures of the main character and his orbit of friends, we start to get a sense of the shape of critical events that have shaped their view of the world, their place in it, and their relationships to each other. The "peeling of the onion" proceeds slowly, and most of the critical reveals occur in the epilogue, "One Hidden Truth", which is only available to play through once the main body of the novel has been completed. This is intentional; the story takes great pains to emphasize that for every truth that is core to our being, there are a thousand stories, explanations, justifications and deceptions that we weave around ourselves to protect ourselves and others from the thorny facets of our existence that we are reticent about or ashamed to confront.

At times the story grows burdensome under the weight of its own introspective and philosophical meanderings, but the emotional impact of the story is worth the frequently rambling journey.

Characters

The 6 main characters of the story are all very well developed. Diniz is perhaps the most opaque in terms of character development, but that is in a way simply intrinsic to his personality. Each character has their own quirks, and when they're not busy waxing philosophical, their interactions are hilarious and, at times, stirring.

My main objection to the heavy philosophical musings is that they are conveyed via high school students. It's rare to find young adults that age who analyze life, the universe and everything in such intricate detail. Consequently, the internal musings of the main character stretch the limit of plausibility, and when deep analysis of humanity starts to spill out into the dialogue between characters, it downright undermines the immersion. Yes, the story is trying to weave a set of concepts in preparation for the big reveal at the end; but in the absence of other, older characters who can serve as a platform for such observations, there remains little choice but to deliver the concepts through the most unlikely of demographics.

Interestingly, one of my favorite characters — for situational comedy — isn't a leading characters and doesn't even have a visual representation: the substitute teacher. I laughed every time the substitute teacher became haplessly involved in yet another prank, and of course the twist toward the end had me in stitches. (No spoilers.)

Graphics

The backdrops to this visual novel are very impressionist, which serves well to keep attention focused on the characters themselves. Each character is beautifully portrayed, with many different poses to convey the right mood at each point in the conversations. A few select scenes feature full in-scene character placement to further bring the characters to life during key moments in the story, and these are beautifully done as well.

The main character is not represented graphically; use your imagination. Most side characters (of which there are few) also do not have a graphical representation.

Sound and Music

The music appears to be largely composed of free-to-use or public domain content. The songs are diverse and well selected to support the storytelling; some reinforce the quirky relationships of the characters, and others do a good job of underscoring the more poignant moments of the story. A music player available from the main menu lets the reader play any of the tracks they have heard so far in the story and also doubles as a place to give attribution.

Sound effects are used judiciously but are well done and do help bring parts of the story to life more.

Gameplay and Controls

This is a kinetic visual novel. There are no choices to be made; you are simply reading a story with visuals. Interface is standard Ren'Py. The on-screen interface is intuitive enough for mouse usage, but the game does not have any sort of help screen for the keyboard interface (always appreciated since the game engine doesn't come with an out-of-the-box help screen).

Interestingly, the "Skip" function is enabled, which for a visual novel without any interactive elements, causes it to speed forward all the way to the end of the novel. Also, a recurring gripe I have with Ren'Py is that "Skip" is mapped to the Tab key, and it also reacts on key-up when using Alt+Tab to switch back into Ren'Py from another application — thereby triggering a Skip when it wasn't desired.

Conclusion

This is a beautifully portrayed story with fun, engaging characters. It suffers only from a top-heavy encumbrance of introspective ruminations and philosophical dialogue, which probably could have been more smartly presented by relying on the reader's ability to discern the author's perspective through more subtle conveyances. The result is a number of awkward speed bumps in the storytelling; but otherwise the shenanigans are fun and entertaining, the emotional moments are appropriately poignant, and the final reveals are especially impactful.

Definitely worth a read!

(Purchased w/DLC on Steam)

This is such a gem of digital storytelling! Don't go into this expecting a point-and-click adventure game, because this is not a puzzle adventure in the vein of Thimbleweed Park or the LucasArts classics. Rather, this is an "on-the-rails" anthology with a point-and-click interface. You're here for the story, not for the gameplay.

And what a tale! The anthology consists of the backstory for 3 strangers on a train that they have no recollection of boarding. Each story is presented in a different way, leveraging a variety of storytelling techniques. Each is well paced and at times very creative in the reveal of key plot elements. The author has achieved a perfect balance in the storytelling. They don't spell everything out for the viewer, instead letting the viewer discover for themselves what is going on. At the same time, the author is never overly oblique, nor do they presume to try for clever plot twists. The brilliance of the design is that even as you come to realize where the story is going, there is still a powerful impact when a key plot point is reached.

[MINOR SPOILERS?] This is especially felt in Acts 2 and 3, both of which, compared to Act 1, contain a great deal of character backstory reveal. In Act 2, even as I came to the dreadful realization of what Lady Winterbourne would discover in the pond, I still clenched in agony when it was finally revealed. In Act 3, even though I knew full well what Dr. Samuels was going to do for the wounded soldier who lost his legs, I still jumped at the moment when… well, best not to reveal everything.

The fact that the game could evoke such a strong emotional responses, without being excessively cagey with the plot exposition, speaks to an impressive storytelling finesse and a proper respect for the intellectual and emotional potential of the viewer. Few games can claim such insightful design.

The entire interactive story goes quickly, lasting only 2 to 3 hours depending on whether you get hung up on any of the sparse puzzles that it presents. (Also, depending on how long you spend listening to Lady Winterbourne's vinyls. I for one thoroughly enjoyed listening all the way through each one while enjoying her spontaneous dancing. Scandalous!) The game focuses on quality over quantity, and those few hours are time well spent.

STORY [9/10]

A mysterious plot that threatens the world as we know it — this premise serves as a compelling framework in which to develop the cast of characters. There's enough meat to the story that it makes for a varied experience throughout — part thriller/horror, at times sinister and gritty, but with plenty of detours for humor, fun and erotic encounters.

CHARACTERS [10/10]

Every protagonist character in this game brings something unique to the experience, and they are all given sufficient backstory and in-game treatment so that nobody feels like a cardboard standup. The key to a rewarding erotica story is to develop reader sympathy for the characters, establish believable motivations, and take us on the journey of their growth, so that their decisions to engage sexually with the main character (or whomever) feel grounded and more satisfying. In this, the author has succeeded spectacularly. In every erotic encounter, I felt vested in the characters and empathy for what led them to that moment. Kudos!

(SEMI-SPOILER: There is one scene early on that almost made me think the game wasn't going to give its characters adequate investment. As I watched it I was thinking, "If this is not a dream sequence, I am so done with this game." Fortunately, it was a dream sequence. Whew!)

The supporting cast brings a lot of fun elements to the story as well. There are some great humorous moments precipitated by many side characters. And look for not-so-subtle shenanigans going on in the background during some of the dialogue. I found some of them hilarious!

GAMEPLAY [5/10]

This game bills itself as a choice-based visual novel, but there are some key deficiencies in the design. The main issue is that the story does not actually have any significant divergent storylines. Consequently, the most keenly felt variations are whether erotic encounters will take place or not — and this undermines the fundamental point of an adult visual novel (AVN), where the reader is engaged specifically for the erotic content. The issue is exacerbated by the fact a decision can end up negating current and all future encounters with a particular character. (The game even has a tracker that depicts this as "Path Lost" for a character. Ouch.) In fact, I discovered the hard way that one can lose the ability to have an erotic encounter with any of the female protagonists, and this is achievable by the time the game is only halfway through (around the time the character returns from Japan). From then on, the game doesn't even feel like an AVN anymore.

Further confounding the experience is the fact that the game also employs a dating sim-style relationship scoring system, which also governs whether many erotic encounters will take place. This system does not jive well with the "path" system described above. It is possible to accumulate relationship points with a character even though their "path" (the possibility of future erotic encounters) has already been lost; and the points don't offer any "redemption" pathways to put the main character back in the good graces of his romantic interests.

Ultimately, then, this game is more of a Kinetic Visual Novel with an illusion of choice — insofar as the only consequences of your choices are the suppression of the erotic scenes that constitute the primary reason for consuming the content. Choice-based mechanisms are only worthwhile if they result in meaningful variations in how the story plays out. For an AVN, choice-and-consequences design must focus on alternative erotic opportunities — if a choice is going to close a door, it should open a window somewhere else. Since this game only takes away erotic opportunities without offering anything in return, there is really only one choice.

Consequently, players are advised to either consult the included walkthrough document (which basically tells you exactly what choices to make to retain access to all of the scenes), or they must keeping using the Back navigation to rollback their choices once they see the impact — if the impact is even immediately evident. Neither option is conducive to an immersive experience, nor do they leave the player feeling comfortable to RP their character in any way.

VISUALS [7/10]

First of all, props to what I assume is a sole author for the incredible number of scenes that this game has. There's a lot of assets that were modeled for this game (hence the 5GB download size!), and the sheer volume is impressive.

That said, overall, the scenery tends to look pretty flat, and evokes a feeling of GTA3-era graphics. I believe lighting is key to giving a scene depth and character, and the use of lighting in the game is pretty simplistic. Water effects are also simplistic and not terribly believable. On a technical level, I expect that the scenery is mostly texture-based with minimal use of shaders, which would explain the very flat feel.

The character models benefit from more attention, which is arguably key in an AVN. Here too, though, some shortcuts have been taken. Hair has been modeled somewhat simplistically, which leads to some jarring artifacts in some poses and camera angles. For the most part, though, the character models work well and provide the requisite pleasing aesthetics.

Animations are mostly well-done, again with some shortcuts taken. This is especially noticeable in water scenes, where increases in the speed of copulation also causes water ripples to move faster, suggesting that a separate animation was not built to maintain consistency in the water's behavior even as the character's movement speed increased. Points of coupling between characters are usually modeled just well enough to get across the point, without devoting a lot of attention to detail in the physics of two surfaces rubbing against each other.

Where the animations might lack some attention to detail, they make up for in sheer energy. As the story progresses, the erotic encounters become increasingly complex and stimulating, and the animation manages to keep pace. In later encounters, more camera angle options are offered; there is  more variation in camera angles between stages; and the character's poses are adjusted between stages in ways that help avoid a repetitive "same motion but faster" vibe.

SOUNDTRACK [7/10]

The game does not have a huge amount in the way of sound assets. What's there is reasonably well done — mostly background sounds for select scenes, a few basic music tracks, and key sound effects such as gunshots or knockouts. Some erotic scenes contain sound effects to depict the sounds of physical contact (or, in one scene, squeaky bed springs). There is NO voice work for this game, and the erotic scenes do not contain even generic sounds of the characters' pleasure. Use your imagination.

INTERFACE [8/10]

The interface is rightfully minimal and mostly consists of click, click, click. My main gripe is that keyboard shortcuts were not spelled out anywhere that I could find, and it took me a while to figure out that I could actually use keyboard keys to advance or back up the story. Everything about the interface is probably standard Ren'py; but as the game engine itself does not self-document its keyboard shortcuts, it would be helpful for the game to offer some documentation, if not fully configurable keyboard shortcuts. (Case in point: "Tab" apparently engages Skip mode, and can be triggered on keyup  when using Alt-Tab to return to the game window. Very annoying if you weren't intending to skip.)

OVERALL [8/10]

This game is definitely worth a playthrough! It has an engaging story, very well developed characters, and rewarding erotic content. Aspects of the game design and visuals are somewhat rough around the edges, and the use of the included walkthrough document is almost mandatory, but much can be forgiven for how satisfying the story is when all of the scenes can be experienced. I look forward to seeing how Caribdis improves upon their interactive storytelling formula in the next project, Eternum!