Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain

OMG!! This game is phenomenal! The design, art, story and so much more is crafted with so much care and effort. The intertwining arcs are so fun to follow through and I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a new game in this genre.

Excellent!

It is visual novel fun.

I just grabbed this on a whim because I thought it looked fun and ended up really pleasantly surprised at how deep and well-made this is! It's very [i]Young Justice[/i] in that it starts off light-hearted but goofy little jokes and puns become significant and meaningful later on. The writing is what really makes it stand out among visual novels. The characters are really well thought out and internally consistent. It also handles the presence of an omnipotent player really well. You're a voice in the head of the protagonist, and it's not just a plot device - it's an essential part of the plot itself. I thought it all worked out really well. As Penny you pick different villains to work with as their minion and encounter different heroes along the way. Each starts off seeming like a caricature, but most of them end up a lot deeper than they come across at first. This seems like the result of the writers really thinking about how a superhero v. supervillain theme could actually exist in our world, and what the fallout would be. Took me just over ten hours to see the whole thing. If you're into VNs and comic books at all I really recommend it. Thanks for making this, I really loved it!

An fun in your face message with over the top characters who progressively get more grounded the more you hang out with them. From classic comic book schlocky misadventures to a deep introspection on human behaviour, cruelty and empathy, its a brilliant ride from start to finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fiction Factory's earlier visual novel offerings, the two Arcade Spirits games, but this takes things to the next level, building upon the successes of those titles while avoiding some of their weaknesses. In these types of visual novels, replaying to find alternate paths is part of the process -- but that can get repetitive and tedious. Here, that process is baked into the gameplay, giving the replays purpose. A single playthrough is satisfying and fun, but each iteration reveals new things. The game could repeat itself and be fun enough, but instead it keeps ramping up. It managed to surprise me more than once. Like the Arcade Spirits games, this one wears its politics on its sleeve and its tone is full of a certain kind of earnestness. Some may find this off-putting, of course, but it feels a bit more organic here than in the earlier games, and everything is presented in a thoughtful and self-reflective manner. The game clearly expresses opinions, but it frequently demonstrates how and why those opinions were formed, and sometimes acknowledges weaknesses and complications in its own thinking. More importantly than all that, the game is engaging throughout, and frequently very funny. I laughed aloud on several occasions. The subject matter is also more broadly appealing than that of Arcade Spirits, including elements that should appeal to fans of several different genres, and not requiring any particular deep knowledge to appreciate (though rewarding those in the know with a variety of subtle and not-so-subtle references). Arcade Spirits fans also have a few cameos to look forward to. As with many visual novels, there actually isn't much game here -- success is assured if you have the patience to work your way through all the paths. But gameplay isn't really the point; it's a tremendously entertaining experience, and the interactive format lets you explore it on your own terms. I strongly recommend this one!

It seems like a straightforward, fluffy, little supervillain visual novel, but trust me... you'll get an idea of what it's going for after the first playthrough. This is a clever, deeply touching narrative with lots of twists and turns to surprise you. The game plays it pretty safe, and works pretty hard to reassure you that things will work out. Lots of safety tools and check-ins. I personally don't mind those, as I know a lot of people really prefer to have them, but I can also easily see how others might find them a little "soft" on them ("Come on! Just trust me that I can handle difficult topics in a good story!"). Overall, I was really pleasantly surprised. I got really attached to some characters and felt invested, and really that's what you hope for in a good story!