Maelstrom: A Yaoi Visual Novel

This is not as good as the novel. My second dislike with all Y Press Games is you can't name the character yourself. It kills the game for me, to be perfectly honest. It should only be ten dollars if there is no customization for the player of the games. I've played better visual novels for less and still got to name and somehow customize my character.

Ok. I'm not going to lie, this visual novel is really short. However, each route is unique and the character development is spot on. If you are looking for really steaming elements, there isn't any. Maybe just one visual towards the end but nothing that is revealing. Yes, the main character struggles with being in a relationship with guys but his character development makes sense. Overall, not a bad game.

Baby Jader so cute, must protect him.

почему нельзя свести джейдера и хеликса это несправедливо. и где озвучки разрабы обленились!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Half-way through all the routes and so far it's been a great visual novel! The story is enticing and interesting, the addition of BrainBox really helps to explain things. I also love how he turns out toward each love interest, it adds nice humor to the game. The art is BEAUTIFUL, however there are a few glitches with the art in game. One of which is Jader's blushing art, it's cut off around his eyes. Another pro of this game is they don't waste a lot of time on the intimate scenes. You don't get full-on nudity, and I think that's beautiful. It's a very romantic game. The main character is also overcoming his own issues which adds onto the drama and romance. One con I can think of is how short the storylines can be. I wish there was a way to drag out Jader's storyline, but I understand why they made it shorter. The side storylines also kill you abruptly or tell you to take the right path. Maybe more work on those in future development would help too? Also I'm totally team Jader. Love his storyline, hate what happens to him in others though, haha. I'll be doing some fan art for this game if you look for it. :) [spoiler]Alright what the HELL was Sawyers route? I'm so confused lmao. They also massacred my boy Jader again. Stoppit!!! Hes too innocent for this!! [/spoiler]

I did not get any "adult only" content after getting all the `happy` routes. Maybe they were going for rated age 12 and up? Maybe the adult content was censored out and you have to buy it separately? I should have suspected something was amiss when I was prompted to agree to see a man`s bandaged stump. I don`t know what I was expecting after the black screen, but not that level of tame. All the violence, love, sex, gore, etc. is only implied or hinted at. It`s like the story writer and the visual artist were both told the basic premise and were left to decide by themselves how far they wanted to take it. I would have rated the story 16 and up and the visuals 12 and up. If you are looking for an adult story with adult content, look elsewhere. EDIT: The developer responded to the review saying that they did not have control over the rating. Well, whatever the case just be warned then that there`s no truly adult content. The game is incredibly tame. Like really-really-really tame...

I confess I'm not generally a fan of the "fated mates" trope, in which some mystical power or biological function determines that THIS ONE is for you, whether you like it or not. I'm also VERY much not a fan of forcing people to go against their sexual identity. I cringed every time our heterosexual hero was told that he'd have to give in to gay sex, because "Lightning" had determined he'd fall in love with a man. Seriously? How many gay men have been told they'd eventually be okay with a heterosexual marriage society forced them into? At least in this one, our hero has 3 different "fated mates" to choose from. That aside, I did enjoy this game. For one, it's MUCH better written than most of the gay Visual Novels I've played through (with a few notable exceptions). There were times when I was clicking through massive dialog loops as characters argued about something they had ALREADY AGREED ON, but overall it was well done and very engrossing. The story was fairly long and convoluted, and a twist would keep it going when I thought I'd reached the end (which was good). It took almost 5 hours of game play to reach the ending, and I still have two very different paths I can go back and explore. The artwork was likewise considerably better than most of the VN games popping up on Steam lately. I was surprised to find all the sex scenes fading to black with no explicit sex on screen at all, but that's actually mentioned in the game description. I was just too lazy to read it. :-p It's fine. I don't need explicit sex. I need a good story and well-written dialog, and that's what I got.

Firstly, I would ONLY buy at at least 40% discount sale or higher, it isn't worth it otherwise. The title is misleading, it is in no way shape or form Yaoi, nor is there any explicit text pertaining to the sexual relationships. I wanted to point this out because I consider it false advertising , the only explicit text could be considered to refer to the "cannibalism" . That being said the story isn't bad at all , I have play all 4 routes, it could have been a lot better it developed more. I would consider this a Light BL read with a little action and some Horror themes. You get kissing and snuggling in all routes , however it's a damn lie to say anything is described outside of having some nerve pills and lube, it is only implied and inferred. I wouldn't pay more than 10 dollars and don't buy the walkthrough it's a waste as there is a guide on here and there are maybe 8 choices each route of which only 4 affect your choices.

- DIFFICULTY - ☑️ My 90 year old grandma could play it 🔲 Easy 🔲 Normal 🔲 Hard 🔲 "Dark Souls" - GRAPHICS - 🔲 "MS Paint" 🔲 Bad ☑️ Meh 🔲 Graphics don't matter in this game 🔲 Good 🔲 Beautiful 🔲 Masterpiece - MUSIC - 🔲 Bad 🔲 Not special ☑️ Good 🔲 Beautiful - STORY - 🔲 This game has no story 🔲 Like playing "Temple Runners" for the story 🔲 It's there for the people who want it ☑️ Well written 🔲 Excellent story ~ VOICE ACTING ~ ☑️ No voice acting 🔲 Oblivionly bad 🔲 Acceptable 🔲 Good 🔲 Pure talent - PRICE - 🔲 Free 🔲 Underpriced ☑️ Perfect price 🔲 Could be cheaper 🔲 Overpriced 🔲 Complete waste of money - REQUIREMENTS - ☑️ You can run it on a microwave 🔲 Average 🔲 High-end 🔲 "NASA" computer - LENGTH - ☑️ Very short (0 - 3 hours) (for one route) 🔲 Short (3 - 15 hours) 🔲 Average (15 - 50 hours) 🔲 Long (50 - 90 hours) 🔲 Extremely long (90 - 110 hours) 🔲 No ending - FUN - 🔲 I'd rather watch paint dry 🔲 Hard to enjoy ☑️ Repetitive 🔲 Actually pretty amusing 🔲 Ride of your life - REPLAYABILITY - 🔲 It's a one - time experience ☑️ Only for achievements 🔲 If you wait a few months / years 🔲 Definitely 🔲 Infinitely replayable - WORTH BUYING - 🔲 No ☑️ Wait for sale 🔲 Yes

Did I like the game? Yes! I really enjoyed it! The artwork's beautiful and I enjoyed the story and characters. Y Press is quite good at creating engaging stories, and this one was no exception. The drama and tension is real! I don't regret a single moment of time I spent playing it. Would I recommend it? Yes. If you enjoy the genre, go for it! Did it have any issues? Yes... but I feel that whatever issues I had won't necessarily be issues for others. The first problem I had was with the lack of choices. There's not a lot of them to begin with, so it was a bit frustrating to discover that a lot of them didn't make a difference at all. The second problem I had was with how it treated sexuality. Sure. Fine. I get 'gay for you' and the whole getting with a straight guy fantasy... but I can't help but feel it wasn't handled properly here. I'll give it a soft pass because much of it is explained in the setting - but it might not be to everyone's taste. The third problem - and it's tied to the second point - is the treatment of rape and consent. There's a number of instances that felt very, VERY iffy. Seriously. If you're triggered by potential non-consent, avoid!! You have been warned. But if you're not, and/or you have a certain kink, then by all means, there's one path here that's going to make you very happy. I'm still on the fence about how consent is treated here - but that's a ME problem, and not an issue with the game itself. It comes down to taste. Verdict? Suspend your belief for a little while and just enjoy the game for what it is. It really is a good story. All the paths have their moments. Some are better than others, with decent outcomes - though not all of them give you outcomes for every character. I really liked the characters, and he artwork is beautiful. As long as you know what you're getting into, there's no reason not to get this one if you're into gay visual novels. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did!