The characters are, as mentioned, expressive visually, and it’s the same in terms of writing. It’s easy to navigate, which leaves… The writing.
Let me romance this charming partner in crime, god-dammit! Look at that radiant smile, and the willingness to help cover up my crimes! Do poorly, get more of the latter, and expect your reputation to plummet. Do well, get nice things, maybe some bad things, like Peril (leading, obviously, to bad things. When you do, you get two social encounters, picked from a pool. When you’re not at a party, you get one thing to do a day, like buying a new dress, selling or disseminating that Hot Gossip, engaging in encounters, trysts, furthering one of the stories, some days gives you invitations to parties, where declining hurts your credibility (remember, this is also the word for “Someone believing you”), and accepting sets a day aside for attending said party. The gameplay is simple in all its elements. Now, the core gameplay loop and the writing? Oh. Oh, and the windowed mode going a bit fucky from time to time. Expressive characters, solid writing, clear UX, music that fits both the period and the mood, good tooltips… My only bitch with the UX is that when something is grayed out, this is the time to hit Escape to go back, but it does not, in fact, inform you of this. Yes please, and thank you.Īesthetically, I love it. But when they understand me this well? Yes. So, what do I like and dislike about the game, then, now I’ve mentioned this? I’m not normally one for older women, much less toppy ones. I could have curried favour with another lady (a painter for the Queen), some men, the military, the church, but… Naaahhhhh. Perfect path for me, honestly, I love me Dat Good Queer Shit, I dislike the Bourgeoisie, and the noblewoman who snubs you at the beginning of the game is a hateful bitch. Read the text, enjoy the expressions, pick the most suitable path for you, and see what ending results (or, you know, aim for a specific one)Īt the time of the review, I was, essentially, already on my way to revenge, revolution, and a lesbian romance with an older widow. In any case, this is a life simulation game, in which you’re balancing various stats (it’s a relatively simple one, so it’s favour with factions and characters, money, peril, and exhaustion) while engaging in social situations in a visual novel style format. Who shall you side with, who shall you snub, and what shall you wear, while avoiding poverty because your fiancee ran off to God knows where before you even arrived? The obligatory Map Screenshot. But that’s the most fitting intro I could think of for a game set just before La Revolution, in which scheming is rife, including yours. I mean, I’ve heard some… Interesting things about the developers, nothing you could repeat, mind you, but… The Mad Welshman would like to be, under the sea, in a cute dolphingirl’s parlour, in a cave… Alas… I like my Good Queer Shit, but this… This ain’t it. SIGH.Īs such, I… Really can’t recommend this, unless you’re a masochist, or are as internet poisoned as the two jackass boys who seem to be the nominal antagonists of the story. I didn’t really feel any attraction to anyone (much less the protag), and… I… Really wasn’t joking about the Darude Sandstorm thing. It grated a whole lot, and the humour seemed forced. Respectfully.” But then, shortly after?… Stans, Stands, Darude’s Sandstorm, lots of cheesy lines… It grated. See, I was down with “It’s time to pick up women.
The writing, on the other hand… Ohhh boy. Aesthetically, it be pixels, with hand drawn character art for the conversations, so I’m not complaining about the aesthetics. Honestly, that’s mostly dissatisfaction with the jank of the top-down, majority segment of the game. There are set situations you’re faced with, things only opening up (a little) when you get to a certain point, so… Why not go with a more traditional structure, choosing where to go, etcetera? Cheese. Top down walking that scrolls somewhat jankily, and… Feels superfluous, honestly. It’s a visual novel made in Ren’py, simple choices, a choice of sea life gals to smooch on Valentine’s Day, short, to the point… And it has top down walking in it.
Okay, maybe more than a little, this thing… I think I heard ten memes in the space of five minutes, and my brain (and teeth) ache a little. Considering this is using a visual novel engine, I’m slightly impressed. But… When you’re not talking to people, you’re walking through a smallish world. I like gijinkas (human anthropomorphisations of various stuff), and I like games that use engines that aren’t really built for the game. On the one hand, I love my Good Queer Shit, this is well known.