Updated Review for Ch.11 Public
I think the game has now received enough updates to really set itself apart as something solid. I was going back and forth on whether I want to give this 4 or 5 stars, and I ended up feeling that 4 still fits pretty well for me personally. Don't get me wrong, this game is much better than most games I give this rating to. At the same time though, I do feel it has clear issues that, at points, have held me back from being 100% in on the game.
I think it would be fair to say this plays more into a fun focused power fantasy than anything. The plot goes like this: being the survivor of a racial purge, we live out in a cave with a warrior that took pity on us who then decided to abandon her cause and essentially raise us as her kid. We leave the cave one day, save a ninja girl from a goblin, and decide "hey, I want to be a ninja too." 90% of the game is just about being a ninja and going on random missions that always have some fuckery going on that we need to solve, which is fine honestly. There's also a big bad looming in the background which will no doubt be the focus at some point.
The MC. What is he about? His real motivations? His personality? I feel like it could all be summed up with a simple *shrug.* Now it's not as if he's a completely blank sheet of paper, but overall he has a very nonchalant attitude that sort of leaks into everything. Sometimes it does work, and other times it feels a bit bland. He does gain confidence as the story goes and grows into a character a bit more, but most of what I talked about doesn't change much. He's a nice dude I guess, and also happens to be an OP demigod, has magical sex fluids, and of course a comically oversized dick. It also feels like the dev breaks his character sometimes to play up elements of lewd scenes, like maledom for example, which is a bit jarring to me. Also may be because I'm not that into maledom.
I think the absolute best aspect of the game is the girls themselves and it's not even close. Do they all fall for the MC incredibly easily? Yes. But where most games would probably end it at them being brainless tropes, characters in this game feel very alive in a lot of ways. There's so many small moments expressing personality that it becomes incredibly easy to get attached to the girls. A lot of them have good designs, fun dynamics with both the other ninja girls and the MC, and are very hot when it comes to the lewder moments. Also having a spider girl with four arms is like the cherry on top. Misty best girl.
One thing I want to praise entirely on its own is that this is maybe the only AVN I've played that changes the girls clothes and even hairstyles on a day to day basis. It's very nice seeing the girls in all their different getups, and even does a lot for immersion. It's a level of effort I rarely see.
The sex scenes. This is probably where my biggest point of contention is. Now they are definitely better than your average HS game. The girls being as hot as they are combined with their personalities do make the scenes hit. At the same time though, with some exceptions, I can't help but feel like a lot of the scenes have missed potential in that they could be so much more. A lot of them felt fairly short is the main thing, but I think also commonly lack good setup scenarios. I'm going to use the scene with Siera, our fill in mother, as the prime example.
A lot of the game had little moments building up sexual tension with her as we mature as an incubus. We eventually get some relief handjobs, blowjob later, and she even helps us fuck one of her friends in a threesome. It was hot. It was creating that buildup to that full blown sex scene that we all want so desperately. So what was it like when that scene finally arrived?. We wake up with morning wood, she casually mentions never actually having had sex before, and then rides us almost like it was on a whim. The scene was kinda short, felt like it had few good angles, and overall felt like a throwaway of a scenario. It was disappointing. Almost all the scenes feel like quick/casual hookups with the girls, and I find that a bit boring.
I think in some ways it is, maybe not obvious, but noticeable that this is a devs first game. Things don't always flow the best, not everything feels intertwined in the best ways, not all girls get equal screen time, and overall certain elements feel... amateur I suppose (which I don't mean that as an insult). But then you look at the other side of the coin, where you notice just how much the dev has improved really every aspect over the multitude of updates that have come out. I remember being impressed by it the first time, and it's only stayed consistent. I still even feel the early game needs a rework to match the current quality.
It's by no means perfect, but at the end of the day the game truly is enjoyable. I think it's become a bit of a mainstay for some people and it's not hard to see why. Despite some misgivings, it really is a solid game for what it is.
