Premise
This review reflects my personal experience with the game. While I aim to write thoughtfully and as fairly as possible, my reviews are subjective in nature and should not be used as objective metrics to assess/critique a game. I also curate a steam group which focusses on reviewing BL/Bara/MxM VNs. Feel free to join if you would like to see more reviews! :) [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46061383-Gay-Games-Vault] Gay Games Vault[/url]
Worth Playing: ★★★★☆
Writing & Story — ★★★★☆
You play as Drok’tar, an orc bounty hunter sent to the town of Gabranth to track down a target. The story unfolds through your main character point of view and most of your time is spent moving between areas, speaking to characters, and completing small tasks that open up new interactions. Some of these are tied to specific conditions, so you will not see everything in one run (there is an excellent Steam guide that helps with achievements).
Many encounters are self-contained. You meet someone, complete what is required, and simply move on. It fits the structure of the game, but it also means some characters feel like they could have been explored further.
Representation — ★★★★☆
The game focuses on bara characters (and one human) placed across different parts of the town and surrounding areas. There is wide variety of character, including orcs and minotaurs, just to list a few, but the confine of the game is bara. Each character is tied to a location or event and the game is not built around long-term relationships. It is built around simple encounters.
Gameplay — ★★★★☆
This is a point-and-click game built around movement and interaction.
You travel between locations, click through environments, and test different actions to see what unlocks. Certain scenes only appear if you meet the right conditions, which pushes you to revisit areas and try different choices. The day/night system is excellent, but be mindful that you need to take as little as possible to complete your story and side quest. If you push past day 7, you will not get the good ending!
If you miss something, you either figure it out or come back later. It can be unclear at times, especially when a trigger is tied to something small (for instance, the spa-the most frustrating area of the game), but once you understand how it works, the loop becomes more straightforward.
Art & Direction — ★★★★★
Each character has a distinct design. The CGs are animated and are the main reward for progressing, placed behind specific interactions (you will have to work for them!). The environments are simple, but they serve their purpose and you move through them quickly.
Do I recommend it? — ★★★★☆
Yes, if you enjoy figuring things out as you go.
You will be moving back and forth between locations, testing interactions, and trying to unlock what you missed. It does not guide you much, so patience helps. Some characters feel underused, and a bit more structure would have helped in a few places.
Tags:
• Bara • Point-and-click • Exploration • Explicit Content
