[h1]Intro[/h1]
In [i]Destino Indomable[/i], a choice-driven visual novel made using Unity, the player takes on the role of the newest actress in a Latino telenovela, or, for English speakers, a [i]soap opera[/i]. If you're a soaps addict, you've probably already decided to get this, and I don't think you'll be disappointed... but if not, then maybe you're thinking “oh heck, no thanks!” – and that's where I suggest shelving that thought a moment: I have never voluntarily watched a soap in my adult life either, my entire history being as a youngster when my mother had them on the TV.
[h1]Overview[/h1]
Upon loading, we're presented with a title page which is a full screen version of the game's Steam banner, which is very colourful and welcoming. This is accompanied by a lively backing tune which sits perfectly in keeping with the telenovela's origins.
The title menu is clear and friendly, and settings include full-screen/windowed, graphics resolution, text speed and various font sizes, plus full audio control.
There is also a CG gallery with a huge [b]94[/b] pictures to be found, and the credits screen presents an animated galloping horse in front of a pseudo-3D scenic backdrop. Although close inspection gives a mechanical-gallop feeling to this animation, all of the above nonetheless contributes to a very strong initial experience and left me enthused about what was to come.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
The game proper is in a more traditional VN style, and the story begins with a scene which – if you pay attention – will go on to make a whole lot more sense as you progress. Following this, and the very attractive episode-opening sequence, we cut to the director gathering the cast and the new actress – the player – who is immediately expected to name her character. Being of Spanish origin here would help, as you have to provide two names. Whether that is a first name and surname, or two christian names, I had to guess. A little guidance for non-Latinos here would be helpful, but ultimately doesn't matter.
This is then built upon with strong character appearance customisation. There are an amazing 20 hairstyles, complete with colour variations, to choose from for your MC, along with 9 outfits, 12 accessories and eye shape options. With that done, we're straight into shooting the episode, and there are five overall.
You may wonder how player options function within the confines of a scripted soap opera. It's suggested that the scripting is incomplete, and the actors fill in the blanks by improvising, giving them ultimate control over where the story in each episode goes. As this includes the MC, it allows for player choices to influence direction, and it works within the scripted framework really rather well. Being a soap opera, and moreso, I suspect, as a Latino one; the characters can be outlandishly unrealistic, display thoroughly unbelievable behaviour, and create ludicrous plot developments whilst never feeling out of place: just like you'd experience if watching a “real” one on the TV! Do bear this in mind if playing the game and finding some moments nonsensically extreme – it simply serves to capture the feel of your favourite TV soap, and does so successfully.
Each episode of the novela is followed by a review show called Que Lata, where a gossip host discusses the episode and sometimes conducts a cast interview which he then promptly twists into a tabloid-style sensationalist headline.
[h1]Graphics and sound[/h1]
Graphically, the game is great, with rich colour usage, attractive sprites and complementary backdrops which have just enough detail to avoid becoming the main visual focus; and regular, quality, smooth animations. All non-MC sprites have multiple expressions, too.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3436373835
The tunes accompanying the story are upbeat and eminently listenable, with just the one little hiccup in the end-of-episode tension-ramping piece which is on a very short loop, and you can clearly tell where it cycles around. A very minor glitch in an otherwise big audio success.
[h1]User experience[/h1]
I am avoiding story detail in this review so that you can enjoy it spoiler-free, but be prepared for it to feel utterly chaotic with every far-fetched soap-opera plotline imaginable getting a good airing, and connections between almost any pairing of the cast members going much deeper than you expect. If you're old enough to remember the Bobby Ewing shower scene from the US soap “Dallas” … yeah, that had nothing on this.
The English quality is very good, though to retain the flavour of a Latin American telenovela, a low percentage of lines remain in Spanish, with certain Spanish words also used regularly within the English language captions. As an English-only speaker, I can assure you that this does not leave you wondering what's going on. Everything is fully understandable as it is.
I didn't like the design decision for the MC once in-story. After all of that great work with appearance options, she then appears as a mini-sprite with no expression variation. Next to the full size sprites for all other characters, this left me feeling like she was comparatively unimportant, which is not a great place to be for the central actress.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3436373144
[h3]Important user control note[/h3]
When progressing the story, the telenovela episode intro and closing credits sequence will play through at the beginning and end of every episode, as will the animated intro to the gossip show Que Lata. These are very attractively done and well worth watching, but you will not want to wait for them repeatedly. They can be skipped by pressing the BACKSPACE key on your keyboard, or the B key on a gamepad. This is not mentioned in-game but will make a big difference to your enjoyment.
Thanks to Javier at Jandusoft for confirming this.
[h1]Issues[/h1]
At time of playing, ahead of release, I did find some things which will hopefully be addressed to improve end-user enjoyment:
There is no backstep function and it appears that there is no history log either. However, towards the end of a play through, I was presented with a pictureless screen which gave a full options list at the bottom as opposed to just four commands usually visible. This included a history log, which I selected, and it worked. So it looks like there is one which should be available either by or shortly after full release. Fingers crossed that this is nothing more than a tiny tweak to the coding.
When typing in the player character name (and that of the pet dog), you can enter these exclusively in capital letters, which then gets carried into the narrative, with the result that every reference to the MC and her pet appears entirely in BLOCK CAPITALS, and are the only names to do so. That's something which could be remedied easily.
If you're not a Spanish native speaker, then it's possible that not immediately understanding some repeated words will be an annoyance. It would improve experience if some words were clickable, and led to a translation. This isn't a huge pain, and not narrative-breaking, but adding this feature would help.
[h1]Verdict[/h1]
Despite some imperfections along the way, Destino Indomable benefits from high production values and a solid storyline which despite appearing to be beyond all logic, ultimately turns out to be pretty tight. I had a couple of laughs along the way, loved and hated the same character in different runs, and had a good time working my way through it. At £10.99 the price feels spot on for fair value; and whether you're a fan of soap operas or not, this one is worth a look.
Otome Lovers wishes to thank Jandusoft for providing a free review copy for this game.
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