College Craze

woah this more than surpassed my expectations, it's so rich and complex and [i]real[/i], I'm stunned! I think selling it solely from the point of view of its adult content (which of course, exists and is well done, as far as these things go) is such an undersell. Despite the natural "blocks", I absolutely fell into the character and felt every concern she did like I was really stressing over her grades and everything. (Blocks referring to being of a different gender & ethnicity than my character lmao - a small note of criticism, i think it's great that the MC is compulsorily a woman, but the skin tone & hair options are not great though of course, this [i]is[/i] a solo project i understand that this takes time but i think it's would make such a difference!!) The most powerful part of the experience for me is how viscerally real it is as a depiction of what it's like to move through the world as a young woman. It guides you through all the branching paths that circumstance, poor luck, bad choices, structural forces, push you towards. It doesn't flinch away from that harsh reality nor does it undermine the gravity of the situation most face and it still somehow manages not to be didactic, every choice made has notable effects. It balances player input and reflecting a harsh reality just absolutely beautifully. The characters are round and complex, even the main character which is not an easy feat in a format like this. As someone who's messed around with renpy and dabbles in creating interactive fiction I feel like I've just gotten a taste for the full potential of an engine i was ready to give up on (making 0 promises tho aha the documentation is frustrating asf) Some minor criticisms: - as aforementioned, the customisation options are not very good. The darkest skin tone's shadow is way off so i wound up just going for the mid one. The hair options are all straight or, straight w some texture lol - personally i don't love the art style. While visuals are so important for my experience (i feel bad but i won't even look at a game if its visuals are unappealing unless its really strong conceptually), I often make exceptions for solo indie visual novels when it feels like someone's poured their passion into it. This definitely hits the mark but I'm still adding this in my review as something of a challenge because I truly feel like with stronger artistic direction, maybe some edits at a later stage when the story is complete, this has real potential to be an award winning classic, proof of the potential in the immersive sim/VN genre that's imo shamefully slept on. - that's it. I guess i could say the fashion is dated lmao but like boohoo lol and it'd be cool to customise outfits but i can imagine how much work it'd be for a single person. Really I hope this to be encouragement, whether for the dev or for you if you're wondering, hmm is it worth me time? Yes. Whether you're just tryna get off, or are looking for a world to escape into or you want to feel seen or to reach into another perspective, the answer is yes. Just don't be silly like me and forget to save your game even after the cute little reminder at the end.

Very good, good story can reccomend. Can't wait for more!

I usually stay away from games marked "Adult Only." I'm glad I didn't. This is well written, engaging, and more than just your average adult game. I will definitely check out Pretty Ink's Patreon.

Free-to-play as a demo with 3 included chapters; full game seems to be behind a Patreon pay wall up to chapter 7. Lost my virginity to a guy in a dirty bathroom 11/10

This game is seriously underrated. I'm having so much fun with it.

i fxck with it frfr, i need the rest of the game play bc girl protagonists are boss

I love otome/dating sim games, but I rarely play them because I'm not into twinks or bishounen, womp womp. So this game caught my eye, because hey, there's at least some guys with facial hair in it. But if I knew "female gaze" meant guys still being creepers and focusing on MFF relationships (like, whatever, you like what you like, but it's so overplayed), I would have skipped out.