Knife Sisters

[b]TL;DR at the bottom.[/b] Are you gay, and looking for a gay game to play? Then boy oh boy, keep the line moving and stop rubbernecking at this accident. Before I even get into my review let me just provide a rough sketch of the dialogue from the game. You can apply it to anyone, anytime. "Hi, nice to meet you. I come to this club literally every day and have never seen you before. I like BDSM. You look like you do too." "That's a completely normal introduction. I too have never seen you for some story reason. Here's my full name, number and address." "OK, let's bang in 3 days. Don't mind the literal deer carcass in my pocket." "Smells great. OK, I'm giving you an orgasm now. Was that good? OK. My turn." "I'm crying now because I have trauma the game dev will never elaborate on." "This is weird. Let's pick up again in 3 more days. Bye." There, I just spoiled the whole game for you. It was a beautiful chilly October day that I first saw this game and clapped in excitement after buying and downloading it. The art, the plot, the characters--everything looked like it was lining up perfectly to be [i]the[/i] goth LBGTQ+ game of the century. Unfortunately... it just falls so short of even being worth the price as a regular dating sim, and ultimately, that's all it is. From the dawn of Newgrounds all dating sims have one single thing in common: making you, the player, feel like you have a choice. Hell, maybe even multiple choices. Woah! In Knife Sisters that is not the case at all. I will tell you the obvious now: Dagger is your girlfriend. No one else in this game will have a thoughtful plot, story or ending besides your forced relationship with Dagger. Seem like a spoiler? I assure you it's not. It's a lack of portrayal on the devs end. Upon my first introduction with Dagger I audibly groaned. Dagger is your textbook witchy-wannabe goth girl that doesn't shower and leaves crystals under your driver seat. Fight her tooth and nail all you want but she will [i]still[/i] come banging on your bedroom door at 3AM asking you to do another favor with promise of sexual/romantic opportunity. Well, what if I don't want that? Well, too bad, I guess. In all seriousness, I did not want to be with Dagger in the least bit. There were so many other interesting characters to pursue, but unfortunately the story just does not progress unless you humor this romantic interest between Leo and Dagger. If you do decide to "betray" her, she just meets you with a, "Oh no worries, I had a backup conveniently here anyway" and after a while, it just gets redundant. Suddenly, I'm not playing the game anymore, the game is playing me. I am hooking up with Dagger. Hurrah. Asides from this annoying crystal chick, the story is linear as absolute hell. Remember what I said before about the whole "giving you a choice" thing? Yeah, you [i]can[/i] choose who to get advice from (about Dagger), who to bang (you think about Dagger), who to hang out with (gotta get home to Dagger). See where I'm going? Every night you come home to your sweet, annoying [strike]live-in girlfriend[/strike] roommate, who else but Dagger. In fact, isn't there a third person in this house? We hardly see them unless they're needed for plot development with Leo. I forget about them all the time. During the game you ruin TWO peoples' lives. I am not kidding. You literally betray them and stomp their heart into the ground. One of them you share their DARKEST secret to the entire town. By morning, they've already forgotten. They give you the ol' "well, ♥♥♥♥ I forget what I was mad about, Leo! You're my best friend forever!" Personally, if someone told my darkest secret and ruined my life, I'd try to at least, I dunno, fist fight them? If I saw them at my mercy, I might like, think about it first, you know? But nah, the dev said, mmm yeah I'm over this, and wrote over the whole discourse you just created. Just totally skipped over it. If it's not obvious Leo is the main character. The only runner-up to Leo is my nails on a chalkboard. They are as typical as a badly written gender-neutral person can be. Like, I'm not kidding, I can tell the dev is as straight as can be just from how they wrote Leo. They claim they've always been into BDSM, but when it comes time for them to finally do the deed, they act like a deer in headlights and you'd believe Leo is a virgin despite screwing everyone in town. I know what you're thinking: "people are different," "BDSM has roles," and/or "maybe that's their kink" and you could be right! However, the poor writing in the game never tells us which is which, and Leo themselves could give a damn less about radiating any amount of personality, so I guess we'll never know. As long as it's up to my interpretation, I'm going to go with the developer doesn't know how to write a sexy non-binary character getting pegged down without turning them into a ~uwu soft boi~ during sex scenes, yet have them act like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth, ready to fight everyone during the day. I found myself physically cringing for most Leo's dialogue. There is no background or supports on Leo's character or story. They like BDSM, why? They don't drink, why? [spoiler]And then they decide to drink at the end of the game anyway? For absolutely no reason??? You don't even get a choice. Why game dev? Why??[/spoiler] They have no family, what happened? They're non-binary, why? The dev just hands you a blank plate and tells you to eat up. The dev goes so deep into these personality traits but fails to add any support beams to them. Alongside that, Leo also complains they have a hard time fitting in and falling in love, but there's no backstory why they feel this way. They mention being hurt in the past but nothing more. And to be frank - I could just see why no one likes Leo. The kid just busts into clubs looking for some midnight coochie and then cries during sex. What a weirdo. Leo has an anxiety system. Leo gets anxious three times. That's all, though. What comes of it? I sure as hell don't know. Maybe the game creator will tell us one day. Maybe Leo just falls over and dies from a panic attack. Who knows. Another little thing that annoys me is the game description making this game seem "kinky" or sex-driven. It's PG-13 at best, no nudity, just weird facial expressions and dialogue ("Ooh I'm touching you now. Do you like when I touch your ass?" *pan zoom to image of Leo making a 😩 face*) and has so much unnecessary plot it just does a 180 into a weird fanfiction. Even Huniepop found a way to insert plot into their game soley focused on sex without making me suffer through a 15-year old's bad writing. So, finally, take away the (awkward, and rare) BDSM scenes and the annoying cultist, and you're left with a dating sim worst than an early 2000's Newgrounds flash games, that just happen to be a little gay here and there because the creator says so. The art style is great, and I can't say it was a huge waste of time (I did enjoy it under the illusion my decisions meant something) but I wouldn't play it again and I would never recommend full price for it. If this game were 5 dollars, I'd be a hell of a lot more understanding and lenient with my review. I can see this is their first and only game. But for 17 dollars? Absolutely not. The dev has lost their mind. [i]TL;DR: This game reads like a bad Wattpad fanfiction. If the creator would have posted this with completely straight characters, I can guarantee no one would have looked twice at this game. If straight and/or "I make anime boys kiss on AO3" writing targeted to the LGBTQ+ community is your thing, you'll love it! If you're actually a part of the LGBTQ+ community and looking for something relatable, or representation? You're not going to find anything but disappointment by the end of the game.[/i]

[h1]A short story featuring a complex, diverse cast that mature romance enthusiasts will appreciate.[/h1] [u][b]Pros:[/b][/u] ✅ Has 3 defined romance routes you can switch between as you please ✅ Freedom of choice in romance (polyamory, bdsm, vanilla, etc) ✅ Queer-friendly characters ✅ Great flowing conversation mechanic ✅ Some replayability [u][b]Cons:[/b][/u] ⛔Story-based game but the main story is lackluster ⛔Main character is a bit boring ⛔Wasn't a fan of the art direction ⛔At times, seems to want to be deep but comes across edgy [u][b]Other Factors:[/b][/u] 👉 Adult only 👉 There is nudity (breasts) but no other genitalia is shown outside of underwear 👉 One playthrough is about 2 hours long depending on your reading speed 👉 Main audience is queer readers and people who like VN romance. For all its exploration of occultism, sexuality, and nonconformity, Knife Sisters is a fairly simple slice of life visual novel. This game tactfully ventures into topics that many VNs would never touch with a ten foot pole, with writing mature enough to back it up. It follows a well trodden path: a middling protagonist, plot linearity, and love interests who inexplicably fall for the protagonist character. I'd best describe it as palatable enough for someone diving in for the romance alone, but not so different as to potentially alienate readers. It's not formulaic by any means but the the game seems to hint at a darker, more intimate story and never quite takes the leap. You won't find any mindblowingly deep stories or characters here (as the game's moody synopsis might suggest) but this is first and foremost a game catering to romance enthusiasts. On this front, it delivers realistically well. Tl;dr: people wanted [i]adult scenes,[/i] and by god, they did it. [b]If you are looking for a decent romance novel and are wondering if this is worth a try, the short answer is yes.[/b] Knife Sisters is created by queer writers specifically with queer readers in mind, so this is the specific audience I recommend this game to, aside from the most savvy of romance VN connoisseurs. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1786902442 [i]New girlfriend, get![/i] [h1]A Critical Eye[/h1][i]Spoilers ahead.[/i] [spoiler]Throw yourself headfirst into the shoes of the young nonbinary protagonist, Leo. One part self-insert, one part cardboard, you wonder why the game didn't just let you choose your own character. Leo isn't inherently dislikeable but they add nothing to the story save for being a vessel for you to experience the game in, AKA "protagonist syndrome". Shortly into the game, you're introduced to a suspicious character, Dagger... is this the occultist you've been warned about? She goes out of her way to be untrustworthy, so you wait out the conversation until an appropriately skeptical reply can be chosen. This conversation mechanic is a quality of life change from the usual "A, B, C, D" or timed TellTale-style dialogue. It helps structure the game around conversation flow. Waiting out dialogue rewards you with new responses, which allows you to choose what you want to say (or omit) as the thoughts run through Leo's head. It's a great feature, one that hopefully catches on in future VNs. However, it unfortunately doesn't matter what response you pick and it won't for the entirety of the story because it IS the story. The game will have you go through a blood ritual whether you like it or not. This illusion of choice undermines the freeform dialogue mechanic, leaving you to wonder why it's so important in the first place. Dagger isn't a good person, and in the end, she has nothing to do with your character. There's no grand scheme, no dark secrets to capture the senses, and it leaves you baffled. Sure, it's a slice of life but it's almost anticlimactic. The game gives you no reason to care about Dagger yet you're forced to play along with her... for what reason? Since there's no opting out, you might as well experience the "lore". Inexplicably, everyone in the club is attracted to you but you aren't complaining. There is no inane gift giving or heart meter system and some of the most passionate writing in the game come from these romances. You can really tell that the writer put effort into making characters distinctive with their own likes, dislikes and outlook on life. The fact that you can potentially get two of your partners to meet (and from there leave one, both, or enter a threesome) is quite frankly novel. There is a lack of strong character arcs so it can be challenging to connect beyond what feels like one-night stands but those who enjoy romance/slice-of-life will get a kick out of the replayability these dates can provide. Freedom of choice is most prevalent here, as you can choose not only which love interest you'd like to see but also what you feel comfortable with in a love scene.[/spoiler] --- So, Knife Sisters... I'd classify this as a "passable" visual novel and a decent romance short story. There were a lot of things in this game that didn't click with me, but overall it wasn't bad and I know for sure a lot of people would love to experience this kind of game. If I could, I'd give a "neutral" recommendation, because it wasn't bad but I didn't outright love the game. If you've been looking for more games that lovingly feature queer characters, trans/nb characters, and sex-positive romance, add it to your wishlist. Try it on sale maybe. It's a short game and one playthrough can take less than 2 hours depending on how fast you read (5-6 hours for completionism), so it'll at the very least be an interesting way to spend a couple hours if you're bored of the usual. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/23741321/]Reviewed with a developer key for [b] Alexander's Club Curations[/b]. Check out the curator for more detailed reviews![/url][/quote]

[h1]«Knife Sisters»[/h1] [b]Визуальный эротический роман о любви, одержимости и нетрадиционных отношениях.[/b] Геймплей: https://youtu.be/mftPVkniwrw [h1]Сюжет:[/h1] Мы играем за юное 19-летнее создание по имени Лео. Лео – трансгендер с половой идентичностью, выходящей за рамки бинарной гендерной системы (не относит себя ни к женщинам, ни к мужчинам). Лео просыпается после бурной ночи с мучительной головной болью и осознает, что не может вспомнить предшествующие события, но чувствует, что произошло что-то страшное, и в этом может быть замешана художница Даггер, которая шестью неделями ранее втянула Лео в секту под названием «Сестры ножей». Даггер проводила мистические ритуалы и постоянно просила Лео делать странные вещи, которые с каждым разом становились все более пугающими. [code]Игра содержит описание сцен нетрадиционного секса с элементами доминирования и БДСМ, а некоторые арты демонстрируют полную наготу и сцены близости в стиле эротики. Арты не зацензурены. Вам не потребуется ставить патч или докупать DLC.[/code] [h1]Великолепный шедевр, достойный внимания:[/h1] На фоне засилья однотипных аниме-новелл «Knife Sisters» привлекает внимание необычной рисовкой в стиле карандашных набросков. Замечательные арты, но игра хороша не только графическим оформлением. Это уникальный и интересный игровой опыт. Сюжет глубокий, история захватывающая, с неожиданными поворотами и несколькими концовками, зависящими от вашего выбора. В «Knife Sisters» уникальная система выбора. Я такой еще не встречал. Во время бесед на экране появляются варианты ответов, но появляются они не сразу (тут нет фиксированного выбора), варианты синхронизируются с диалогом и могут появляться и исчезать неожиданно, а иногда оставаться на экране подольше, давая возможность повернуть диалог в другое русло. Это создает впечатление реальной беседы. Кроме этого в самые напряженные моменты, когда ваш выбор может повлиять на дальнейшую судьбу Лео, музыка становится громче, накаляя страсти и стихает, если ваш ответ не расстроил собеседника, а порадовал или развеселил. Играя, я часто ловил себя на мысли, что мне хочется вернуться в диалоге на несколько шагов назад и выбрать другой вариант, чтобы посмотреть на реакцию собеседниц. Уж очень хороши и реальны получились все персонажи игры, что хочется узнать о них побольше, посмотреть, как они отреагируют на ту или иную фразу. Кроме этого великолепно реализован переход между сценами в виде дневника Лео. Дневник можно полистать, прочитать записи о всех действующих лицах и сделать выбор, куда дальше направится Лео. Еще есть оригинальная фишка с балансом сущности и тревожности, чтобы постоянно держать Лео в руках, ведь бедняжка страдает психическим расстройством и любит поболтать с воображаемым другом, которого видит в своей любимой игрушке. [code]Великолепная игра, созданная настоящими талантами. Тема неоднозначная, многим она далека, но реализация потрясающая. Видно, что в игру вложили много труда, любви и вдохнули частичку души. Захватывающий сюжет, авторские арты, уникальная механика выбора в диалогах, глубина эмоций и отличное музыкальное наполнение делают «Knife Sisters» настоящим шедевром![/code] [i] Обзор был написан для группы [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/Obzzor4ik]Обзоры Онлайн[/url]. Почитать другие отзывы можете[url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28776273/] тут[/url].[/i]

TLDR; *inhales* If you want to explore queer relationships, empathic BDSM scenarios and wonderfully written trans and enby characters + enjoy a good mystery *exhales* Then go play! This was an amazing experience! I adored every moment, and the artstyle really sets the mood. The dialogue was wonderful, the characters felt complex and real. I also enjoyed the mechanic of the dialogue options and the mechanic of balancing the anxiety with fierceness and how to reduce anxiety by collecting posetive energy points from intimacy and exploration. It's wonderful to experience a game with BDSM portrayed in a way that feels grounded in reality. Regardless if you use the acronym SSC (safe sane consensual) or RASK (risk aware sexual kink) the narrative explores the layers of communication involved when consenting to different kinds of play. Above everything I felt deeply touched by the fact that I got to exerience a game where exploring complex and queer relationships beyond hetero-mono-normative framework didn't stand out as something strange within the narrative.

This game had a potential but in my opinion didn't deliver. My main problem with it is that it looks like your choices doesn't matter as much. A couple of examples of what I'm talking about: - I picked every option to get a root with certain someone — but the protagonist still says that they "just like to play" with this person and don't really have any other feelings, and the story still goes as it was, without any turns. - Your best friend told you that they like that one character. You can go talk to them and try to match them with you friend — and suddenly this one character kisses you — you have no say in it and you can't to chose not to. And after that they will go and tell your friend about all this, which really hurts said friend. Thanks you game! - You can't avoid the Dagger root. No matter how you'll try not to take part in any activities with her, you, again, just have no option to say "no" and focus on other characters, you are forced to spend time with her every week at least one time, and you can't refuse to do rituals with her. - The protagonist has a really strong position about not drinking or taking drugs. And there is a part in the game where you have no option to refuse drinking even though it's completely out of character. And the list goes on. I happen to really enjoy classic VN gameplay where you can have completely different stories with ending about each character depending on what did you chose, and "true" ending that will open after a few runs. So for me it was really annoying that you are pushed in that one direction and everything else what's going on around can just make the same story a bit different. This makes the game not as replayable, which is a huge deal for VN. This game has unique system of choosing options in dialogues, I really liked it. If only you had more options and more impact on the actual story, you know. I also liked the artwork, there are not many VNs with their own artistic style, and this one stands out. So in conclusion, again: I think this game didn't lived out to it's full potential. I would make this review neutral, if I could, but since there is no such option I decided to make it negative: if you are looking for the classic VN gameplay be aware that you will not find it here.

[h1] The lovingly crafted VN shows great attention to detail, from subtle facial tics to sound-cues, with a main character, Leo, you can't help but adore..... and the name "Scissor Sisters" was already taken [/h1] It's honestly hard not to fall in love with the protagonist, Leo, and her polite cynicism in the balancing act between adventure and insecurity. The novel's commitment to making her a character in its own right as well as the audience surrogate is a welcome change of pace from the usual Visual Novel approach of purposefully bland protagonists for absolute player projection to whatever fantasy land. It's clear from the get-go, “Knife Sisters” isn't just a story about that character's world, a story centered on Leo trying to navigating the world around her. The story opens with a jarring moment of lucidity as Leo seemingly snaps-to from a drunken blackout obscuring at least the last few hours--if not her whole evening---and finds her phone overflowing with messages trying to reach her. As an experience I'm sure most of us can relate to, it instantly evokes sensations of dread and embarrassment, thinking the worst from not knowing at all. The frantic mind hunts through fragmented flashes at best for any clue, but it’s all filtered through perceptions and anxieties shading reality in absence of real detail: what the ♥♥♥♥ did I do last night, and who hates me now… or, maybe it was nothing at all. It’s a wonderfully executed introduction that helps casts an ominous and mysterious vibe over the rest of the story with doubt in place at the same time that, just as easily, it might amount to nothing much at all. Then we jump back six weeks leaving it all behind—except for one thing. The audience will carry an atmosphere of uncertainty throughout the rest of the story that sets up space for constant questioning where reasonable paranoia starts and absurd insecurity ends. It does a great job of setting us into the mind frame of Leo for the rest of her adventure. The main dimension of Leo's story (and the titular "Knife Sisters") relates to the strange new girl, Dagger, who has recently moved into their commune. She invites Leo into her room on Sundays for something weaving between a ritual and a series of escalating dares. Whether mystical or crazy, she seemingly acts at the behest of entities behind the mirror and soon invokes Leo into a covenant for life as "Knife Sisters". What that means exactly, well, that’s left for you and Leo to find out. The clever ordering of plot structure works to imply hints of mystery across even the romance portions to create this sense of intrigue that leaves you clever to find out more, though similarly there’s a lot of other good synergy throughout the other game components. Like a lot of VN there are plenty of choices presented for different character paths and ends, though the dynamic dialog system here is especially cool. Those usual character choices are often presented in a sort of timed sequence, where initial options appear and others are added as you hesitate with some even disappearing in the time in between as their moment passes. It works to reflect Leo's thinking as she decides what to say, though it also mimics her sensations of anxiety and reluctance for any given situation with especially effective results. I'm really impressed with the lovingly crafted detail throughout “Knife Sisters”. I’ve talked a lot about the narrative, but even the subtle animations used for facial ticks and expressions are able to cover a massive amount of ground in creating an almost fluid sense of movement for a medium that is largely static. Meanwhile, the sound cues are delightfully matched to moments representative of atmosphere shifts, with the game appropriately scored as well. The faux-pencil shading style mirrors the atmosphere fantastically. I can't believe I didn't consciously realize it at the time, but subconsciously there’s an artistic styling similarity with a lot of alternative graphic novels really helped to set the scene right away and welcomes you on stage. [URL= https://store.steampowered.com/app/944910/Knife_Sisters/?curator_clanid=32660416] Check out KNIFE SISTERS on Steam now! [/URL] If you wanna check out the first chapter, we’ve got a quick playthrough up on our youtube channel:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpGSf_sPkIU Want more recommendations for weird and wonderful games? Stop by our Steam curation group sometime, and follow WWGW: [URL= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32660416-Weird-Wonderful-Game-Watch/] Weird Wonderful Game Watch [/URL]

I've been following Knife Sisters since it was just a demo and I can't recommend it enough. It's fun, kinky, sex positive, relationship positive, full of occult happenings, and is one of the best written stories I've read in a long time I loved it so much I interviewed the creator https://t.co/c2cB2NPQZA Go play it, because it's amazing.

Not to be dramatic, but I would protect Vicki with my life. A really well composed visual novel with wonderfully written characters and a very intriguing storyline. I can't wait to see more from the developer in the future!

If you like visual novels don't miss this game 9/10 Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX0KQTKDkCU

While playing this game, some weird dog came out of nowhere, hit me with a stick, said "NO HORNY!!! BONK!!", and mysteriously vanished But seriously... well-written game with queer characters and ritualistic BDSM. Wow. I'm seriously glad I own this and can play it whenever I want