Heirs And Graces

TL;DR: boys love visual novel with interesting characters and overly simple game mechanics. Recommended for yaoi fans and fans of other Winter Wolves games. The story is structured around a simple stat-raising simulation with a weekly schedule and scripted events. The main plot around Marcel's relationship with his father is the same no matter what romance you pursue, and the romance is more of a side plot. Raising skills is necessary to pass skill checks. Events occur on certain days no matter what you have scheduled (e.g., you don't have to be in the library on Monday of Week 14 to trigger an event with Eloy; you'll just show up there). Skill checks are the same for each playthrough, as well, and so the strategy is very simple: [spoiler]raise all skills to 10 as soon as possible, then raise them all to 20, raise your chosen love interest's skills to 90, then concentrate in those to increase your reputation and affection.[/spoiler] These design choices make the game friendlier to fans of pure visual novels, but they also make it kind of annoying to play through the game multiple times to see everyone's romance. Failing a skill check just gets you a few different lines, and the bad endings (other than [spoiler]the non-inheriting friendship end with Licia[/spoiler]) aren't very interesting, so once you know how to "win," there's nothing new mechanically or strategically, and the simulation parts are just dull busywork. There's also no "successful" romance ending if you don't inherit, which doesn't make sense for characters who aren't tied to the estate. The art is nice, although it seems like the artist has trouble drawing hands. (Marcel's seem oddly small, and most other characters have their hands behind their back, in gloves, or otherwise hidden.) The sprites have different costumes and a good variety of expressions. For some reason the sprites don't show blushing when it's mentioned in the text, though, which disappointed me, because blushing sprites are the cutest. I'd also have liked more than two CGs per character route, especially since Borges and Vincent's "sexy" CGs seemed very out of place, more an explicit reward for the player than something that makes sense in the story. Winter Wolves games typically just have a kiss CG at the end, so I didn't really expect more, but I think it would add a lot, especially considering the game's price. The story is set in Aravorn, a vaguely medieval fantasy world, and mentions characters and events from [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/257970/]Loren the Amazon Princess[/url] and [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/333390/]Tales of Aravorn: Seasons Of The Wolf[/url]. However, [i]Heirs and Graces[/i] isn't an RPG adventure with epic battles, and instead is confined to a noble estate and a small town. Elves exist and the doctor uses magic spells and potions to treat patients, but other fantasy elements don't come into play. I actually like exploring how "normal" people live in a fantastic world, and look forward to seeing more of the setting in future WW games. All the romances are BxB, which is a first for WW. Sexual preference isn't a major theme or source of conflict, but one love interest is explicitly bi, one is explicitly gay, and the protagonist might be gay, so the "straight except for you" yaoi trope is avoided. Marcel, the protagonist, has a developed personality (and a bit of snarky narration) and isn't just a player self-insert. He's inexperienced in relationships, but not shy and passive about it. The romances all have an open sort of "let's see where this goes from here" ending, rather than a conclusive happily ever after, but I like the realistic awkwardness of that, and it fits with Marcel's character. If you're avoiding the game just because [i]you[/i] don't want to romance guys, I'd urge you to give it a chance. (There's a [url=http://winterwolves.com/heirsandgraces.htm]free demo[/url] at Winter Wolves' website.) I read fast, and it took me 3 hours to complete my first playthrough, 8 hours total to see all events and endings (skipping previously read text and not using a walkthrough).

I found this game accidentally and noticed it was a BxB VN (which there aren't a lot of on Steam!) so I bought it and I spent all night playing it and I don't regret it a damn bit. Y'all need to get it. It was cute. The romances are cute. The characters are all great. The bit with Marcel and Lord Sandor was nice and touching. A+ writing.

Warning: my playing time on this game is extremely short for someone who got all the achievements. That is not because the game itself is short, but because I had already played it before it was released on Steam (having bought it directly on [url=http://www.winterwolves.com/heirsandgraces.htm]the developer's website[/url]). I only did speed-runs on Steam to get the achievements, hence the very small play-time. [h1]Description[/h1] Heirs and Graces is a yaoi dating simulation. A dating simulation is a game genre found in-between visual novels and life simulations where you get to decide the activities of the protagonist (which will impact their stats) and their answers in dialogues (which will impact the story and/or their relationships). A yaoi game/manga/anime/anything contains male homosexual romance and/or sexual content (note: the sexy scenes here are very tame). If you take any sort of issue with the idea of playing a male protagonist having to react to the advances of male suitors, STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME. It was not made for you. It was made for people who can either identify with gay males or who like their gay romances or who like their romances no matter the genders involved. If this game was not made for you, don't fret, don't hate, there surely are games out there made for you, leave this game alone. You play Marcel, a guy whose mother was cast away when her lord got her pregnant with him. At some point, he decides he really wants to get closer to his father to know what the bastard looks like and takes advantage of a job offer for a new servant at the manor (unbeknown to his mother). He just plans to take a quick look, make some decent money and then be off, but nothing will go as planned... [h1]Pros[/h1] [list] [*] Super Deformed art style in activities screen is SOO DAAAMN CUUUUUUTE [*] Good story with some nice character development and plot twists [*] All four romances make a lot of sense and every character involved seems to know exactly what they want [*] A very different take on the world of [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/257970/]Loren[/url] and [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/333390/]Seasons of the Wolf[/url]... [/list] [h1]Cons[/h1] [list] [*] Quite repetitive music that will probably grate on the nerves of many (remember it can be turned off) [*] Female characters who look SCAAAAARY when they go O_O (no, seriously, I'm a yuri fangirl and the two main female characters freaked me out XD) [*] Simplistic stats manipulation that can easily be deciphered and used (it can be a good thing, though, when you're trying to get all achievements, as the RNG has almost no impact) [*] The most jealous and exclusive romances I've ever seen in video games... Characters will demand that you choose between them and other suitors VERY EARLY in the game... in fact, at a point where you barely started a relationship with any of them. It is a bit frustrating to not be able to go further on many relationships before having to commit to just one. [/list] [h1]Verdict[/h1] In a vacuum, I would say Heirs and Graces does not stand out either as a dating simulation or as a visual novel. But given how few and far between yaoi games are, I say that if yaoi games fit anywhere in your cup of tea, this one is worth trying. Remember before buying it that you can alway first get the demo, straight (no pun intended ;) from [url=http://www.winterwolves.com/heirsandgraces.htm]the developer's website[/url].

It's rare to get LGBT content so I really wanted to like this game but it's just not very good. STORY The main story is passable but very predictable there's a twist in the last few weeks that I could see coming a mile away but the main character seems totally oblivious to. The actual final scene few scenes are also poorly written. I won't spoil anything but a few things are done just for dramatic purposes but don't actually make sense for the characters to do and don't end up having any consequences anyway. ROMANCE The romance is tepid. I romanced Vincent and the romance CG is whispering in his ear! Not even a kiss. It's just too tame. I was hoping for something passionate after all that time spent on him but you barely get anything more than flirting even at the very end. Romancing Eloy is no better. It really puts into stark contrast how unlikeable the main character is. He is a cold fish and I see no reason any of these men should be interested in him. GRAPHICS The graphics are too simple. Everyone has one pose with slightly different facial expressions and maybe one costume change. There are probably less than a dozen characters in total that get a character model. There's probably that many backgrounds too. There's almost nothing to look at in this game. It really should just be a book. GAMEPLAY The actual levelling up system is totally unnecessary. Once you realize the tests happen very infrequently and if you have 20 in every stat you pass every single one of them and if you do that you'll get the best ending. Only the romance requires more in your stats and as I said that's so underwhelming. FINAL WORDS Not worth the relatively steep price for this style of game. I recommend Coming out on Top for something LGBT but steamier, or Long Live the Queen for something with a stat system that matters.

A good BxB (boy x boy [b]only[/b]) visual novel. I’m glad that the developers didn’t made the status raising a boring thing (there are a few requisites, but they’re easy to figure out), and added a lot of character interaction. I loved the art style, and I also enjoyed the story/writing a lot; the romance routes are good and not forced [spoiler](except for Eloy. But that’s understandable, it’s part of his personality)[/spoiler], and there’s no “cheesy methods to suddenly fall in love” here, everything felt natural to me. Vincent is my favorite, I simply adore how shy he can be around Marcel. 8/10, honestly worth paying the full price in my opinion since the writing and characters are interesting.

I really enjoyed Heirs and Graces. The writing and story are excellent, the art is good (especially the backgrounds) and even the music fits perfectly. The actual "game" part of the VN experience was innovative, too, and I appreciated the effort to make the skills line up with what you might be doing as a servant. I might have chafed at the fact that I had a "schedule" confining my options, but combined with a helpful guide (provided by the developer, no less) to make sure I got what I wanted out of the game, it turned out to be a good way to keep the story moving. Yeah, I might have liked to be more carefree with my time, or even to romance multiple characters at once, but the tradeoff was excellent pacing and keeping me invested in what was happening from start to finish. Most of all though it was the story I recommend. Marcel (that's you) is not the most likeable protagonist, but his development through the story (and through the romances) is worthwhile and meaningful. Even if you aren't into the "game" part (the schedule and skills and stuff), you can use the guide to sort it out and then focus on the tale. The romances themselves were all different and enjoyable, and I liked the fact that they developed over time. The incremental experiences built up a more sincere conclusion than the typical rush to love. If there's anything I [i]didn't[/i] like about them, it would be that I felt forced to choose too early (at just 20% affection). I would have liked to see more first, and it was a little strange to have my options fighting over me when things were only just beginning to bloom. But as I said earlier, I think that was to keep the pacing strong; the balance between the main story, a romance and the forward march of time seemed just right. Finally, I'd like to personally thank the developer for taking a chance on a BL-only game. That's not to say the game would have been less appealing with more options (I'm all for inclusivity, especially with romances), but since it [i]was[/i] exclusive I felt like it was made just for fans like me.

[I] Heirs and Graces [/i] is a Boys' Love visual novel and that's the main reason that helped me endure that damn torture of this unbearably annoying stat-raising process ⋋_⋌ I was furious and mad so many times, ready to quit BUT all 4 routes are actually well-written and all love interests are very appealing. I still believe it was TOO MUCH effort for rather meager content but what I got felt still rewarding enough. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2842251996 Maybe it's just me but I HATE it when I have to waste so MUCH time having to meaninglessly raise different stats. Because of that stupid feature you can't even skip fast. Story-wise (if you delete all that pointless reputation earning) it's a very short game buut in reality... There's a guide created by the devs, it was very considerate and generous of them, otherwise it'd be impossible to understand what kind of checks you'll have to pass during your first playthrough at least. By the way I played easy mode game, I can't even comprehend what kind of hell it could be if I'd chosen a more difficult level. Maybe I'm daft but I find the guide actually kinda misleading. For example, they claim “The best strategy for weeks until week 20 is to do 1-2 days of an activity that might raise the value of the remaining checks, and the other 5-6 days do the 2 activities related to the character you're pursuing.» I tried that, thank you very much, I got a bad ending, because 1-2 days is not enough! So the strategy should be to obtain the necessary minimum of the stats you need to pass and THEN focus on your guy's stats. But again even with an easy mode it's IMPOSSIBLE to pass ALL the checks because otherwise you'll just fail the most important your LI's check. Being a perfectionist it's very irritating! There're 34!!! weeks where you have to schedule EVERY freaking day (so monotonous, ruining all the pleasure) BUT you have to gain 90! points for you char about FIVE weeks earlier. You may be lucky enough and get not 1 but 2 points from time to time, I actually managed to finish one route with all checks passed ideally but I guess it was a divine blessing for my suffering before. Why is the required number of the stats so high?! Why is that damn check so early? Years ago I played one similar Winter Wolves' game and I was as annoyed as I am now. I guess I'll risk trying their other games (I have some unplayed in my library) again after years! It feels like mockery. Why is it created like this?! It's no fun at all. And you know what all that trouble is just to unlock one CG, you can't even reach it later in the gallery because it just directs you to the beginning of the scene where you can see it. Why can't I just open it?! Plus, the gallery is slightly spoilerish, showing black-and-white images of CGs. Despite all my rage, I still feel like choosing a thumb up because all the love options were truly gorgeous. It's almost a miracle how in that short text the author managed to show great char development and make us fall in love with all the love interests. –stat-raising hell --lack of CGs (and normal gallery for them). I mean sometimes all that stat-raising ordeal was not even to unlock a CG but to see a changed sprite of the character, like for example, his shirtless state. It's so unfulfilling. --no explicit content (except a butt CG XD). I mean it's not like a flaw, reading part was still quite delightful. Just a fact and a yearning for more xD --typos ('you're' instead of 'your' several times was painful to read) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2842120976 +art is pretty +story is quite captivating despite its length +the gorgeous elf doesn't deserve a thumb down (♥ω♥*) +achievements, cards, plus one 'perfect game'. So, I'm still mad, no stat-raising games for me in the coming years but the STORY was quite fascinating and worthy of playing. The way the characters interacted was so enjoyable to watch, it was too little but still impressive! <3 [table] [tr] [th]More thoughts about the game in a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/readingnook/discussions/0/3475107714839627698/] Reading Nook [/url][/th] [/tr] [/table]

A yaoi romance sim game about a guy who is secretly the son of a noble. His noble father having left his commoner mother due to societal pressure, Marcel seeks out his father for answers. He poses as an average commoner in order to get an employment position at his father’s estate and gradually discovers that his father isn’t as terrible as he originally believed. Romance can be found among staff and guests at the estate. [u]Praises[/u] • Well-written, intriguing story and pleasantly developed characters. • Four romance options: the estate manager/butler Vincent, the town doctor Borges, the bodyguard/gardener Kamal, and the estate’s main guest, an elf noble Eloy. • High tension romantic interactions. • Decent artwork. [u]Complaints[/u] • A lot of build up for a small pay-off. The romances all end in small gestures, nothing grand for all the work put into getting their ending. • Unfinished work? Two paths lack CGs where other paths have them. It seems like maybe Winter Wolves was getting to their deadline for the game and didn’t get to finish? However, it’s been out for a while now. They could’ve done an update with more CGs. • Stat building often requires a lot of reloading in order to get the game to randomly give more points toward a stat. Each route requires 90 points in a given stat to see a particular scene and if you don’t reach that, you have to start from an earlier save. Frustrating. • Several typos. I feel neutral on this one, but I didn’t dislike it overall, so I feel a negative review would be too harsh. There’s room for improvement, but it isn’t a total loss if you like tame romances where very little physical affection takes place.

I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I bought it on sale figuring that there would be SOME gay (male) options but they are all gay male options! Usually, these visual novels are fairly heterosexual. There is sometimes one bisexual male character which doesn't give you many options if you want to romance a dude... I've seen lesbians fairly often in these types of games as well as bisexual women. It's refreshing to finally see a game that caters exclusively to gay men. Anyone can play it, by all means, but you are going into the game knowing that there is only gay romances. Some people complained about that which I find fairly ridiculous taking into account that there are SO MANY visual novels that cater to heterosexuals and that this is the first exclusively gay one that I've ever seen. The plot isn't horrible but it could be better. The only ''issues'' are typo's and a believable ''gay reality'' at times. One speaks their ''peace'' for example and not their ''piece''. It doesn't ruin the game, obviously. Your character is fairly prudish so don't expect much action. This didn't need to turn into a bad pornographic visual novel but you don't even see any characters kiss. A bit of a let down. There isn't enough romance to make up for it either. I wonder if you had any gay writers work on this or if you kind of took a heterosexual model and changed the characters that would be females into males? It doesn't entirely feel authentic to me. Even when the characters couldn't like each other more in the romantic way, they remain cold and distant. It's almost as if you wanted to make a gay romance game but not really go too deep in order to avoid angering some people. It's still the best entirely gay visual novel that I've seen out there due to lack of choice. I encourage my fellow gaymers and those who support the fact that there are people like me who make a viable enough audience to warrant making more exclusively gay visual novels to encourage this game and maybe we can get more and better content.

A BL VN which is mostly in the category of shounen-ai instead of yaoi which is rare. The stat raising is very simple and straighforward that it's a bit tedious once you know how things work. The story is linear outside of choosing a love interest and while the main plot is interesting it doesn't change no matter which guy you're after so it's a bit disappointing that it doesn't change how anyone behaves in the story until the last scenes. I feel mostly neutral about this but I did like the main plot.