The Queen of Blackwood High

I gave it an hour and a half. I just can't finish it. It is [i]so[/i] boring. [u]All the Complaints[/u] [list][*] The writing is mediocre, at best. So much description about things that are uninteresting. [*] The CGs are lackluster. [*] Annoying "best friend" character (Molly). [*] Shallow romance scenes that elicit no romantic feelings from me whatsoever. [*] Poor understanding of bullies. The whole story revolves around Kendra, a bully, and how the protagonist wants to "help" her. "Spoiler": The protagonist is attracted to her despite her awful personality. Let me give you a reality check: Most bullies are not misunderstood kids with awful home lives. Most bullies are bratty, little sadists who delight in the suffering of others. The person who wrote this story has no f*cking idea what [i]real[/i] bullying is. [i]Real[/i] bullies ruin your life and f*ck up your mental health well into adulthood with the cruel sh*t they do, not this petty, mildly inconvenient sh*t that Kendra does. As someone who was bullied throughout K-12 schooling, I assure you I'm quite the expert on the subject. [/list] The story is an affront to yuri romance VNs and bullying victims, and I just cannot possibly recommend it. (And no, this isn't an April Fool's Joke. Ignore the f*cking date. I'm being utterly sincere.)

Pretty short but sweet VN. As the reader, you have a choice of continuing the game as a friend or lover. Either choice has a separate story line so I'd recommend playing through a second time choosing the alternate route to get more out of the game. Each route also has a good and bad ending. You don't really get many dialog options and they don't really branch into newer scenes, just different reactions leading towards the same linear path. Either way, the story is still very cute and worth playing.

[b] Story [/b] - I'd say the first half is really good and provides a sweet story. Unfortunately the 2nd half dragged on for too long and practically forces you down one path with little difference in dialogue choices. Also sad to see that there was no romance option for Molly even though [spoiler] she clearly seems to have a crush on Brooke[/spoiler]. [b] Soundtrack [/b] - The music is alright overall. One track is great (specifically the one titled mus_sad.ogg), but the first track (mus_casual.ogg) is over-used and gets very repetitive. [b] Art [/b] - Art style is really good. Not much else to say. With all this in mind, it's difficult to say whether I'd recommend it or not. It's fairly cheap though, so you can just try it and make up your own mind.

The Queen of Blackwood High is a Yuri Visual Novel, with just one datebale Girl, however that Girl has a very good Development over the course of the Story and the Relationship develops very nicely and also realisticly. I always like the Stories RhinoGearz comes up with and the Writing just fits my personal Taste. This time I didnt like the Sprites that much, however I dont really think that that hinders you from enjoying the Story. The only thing that I didnt like that much is how abruptly the Game ends, since it leaves a few things in the open that I would have liked to see how they would turn out. Overall though I can wholeheartedly recommend this, since the Story and Writing both are great and once you get past the ugly Side of your Love Interest you get a really great Yuri Romance. Score: 8.4/10 Check out my Currator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34401214/ for more Reviews :)

Really enjoyable game with a great story one of the best Visual Novels i have read in a long time 10/10

“The Queen of Blackwood High” is just the right amount of sweet and bitter, easily making it one of the most enjoyable VNs I’ve played in awhile. It has a short and simple premise, but I was pleasantly surprised that there was more depth and complexity than I expected. What captivated me the most about the story were that the characters all had quirks that felt real and relatable, and the story touched on topics and situations that felt applicable to experiences I’ve had in the past. I also appreciated that the friendship and romance routes highlighted different conflicts between the characters but also had unifying themes that made it feel like all of the loose ends tied up. I like being thorough, so here's more detail: [b]What I appreciated:[/b] [*] Immersive story with quirky and relatable characters [*] Interactions between Brooke and Molly were fun and wholesome [*] Presence of voice that’s sometimes missing in VNs [*] Routes were balanced, neither overpowering the other [*] Dialogue was fun, realistic, easy to follow [*] Story wasn’t one-dimensional or only about Kendra [*] Appropriate story length, giving enough opportunity to touch on deeper elements without dwelling too long on them [*] Contrast between characters made the dynamics interesting [*] Good amount of conflict and scene variety [*] Kendra and Courtney’s backstories [*] Text and font are easy to read with a nice color combination [*] Simple interface [*] Gorgeous BG art that fits well with GUI and character art [*] BGM really sets the tone and atmosphere without being too redundant [*] Frequent usage of “crap” become endearing after some point [*] Aunt Laura and Brooke’s mom [/list] [b]What could be improved:[/b] [list] [*] Allowing more space on the history screen for the character’s name to fit (since the edges of the names are clipped off) [*] Needs more of a visual transition between scenes, especially since some are broken apart by several days/weeks (such as a gradual fade transition) [*] Minor typos and grammatical errors [*] Anatomy and expressions on the characters were sometimes off, but the art fit well with the story overall [*] Amount of choices felt balanced but could use just a few more within the routes to break up dialogue and have more scene variety value when replaying [*] Some conflict scenes felt longer since the characters occasionally echoed themselves with some rephrasing [/list] I personally liked the friendship route more than the romance once, since I felt like that one gave more insight into the motives of the characters. Overall, I really, really enjoyed the read and recommend this game for anyone looking for something short and sweet, but also meaningful! (A sequel would be cool too.)

Honestly - this is a very adorable story .... the characters - Mostly are lovable .. Kendra is a girl with tough skin but truly is a softy - and the connection is so clear ... and i as a lesbian myself found that i could connect to the characters a lot .... but i was disappointed with the ending ... Honestly i assume i got the bed ending ... with Kendra breaking up and leaving me .... But honestly i don't see any significate choices that could really change the ending ..... i tried to google the other ending but i found none ... and having to go through it from the being is a total grind which i totally will ignore ...... its a sweet game .. which i will remember but at the same time i just feel completely disappointed ... mostly on how powerless they leave you.... mostly when your own aunty is a worldwide famous journalist .......

[h1]Overview[/h1] [i]The Queen of Blackwood High[/i] is a visual novel set at elite private school focused on a transfer student named Brooke who transferred due to bullying issues, and immediately ends up on the wrong side of the fear-inducing Kendra with a partner in crime named Courtney. Brooke immediately secures an ally in another student named Molly while Brooke makes the most of her situation all the while trying to figure out the motive for Kendra's behavior. [h1]Graphics and Sound[/h1] The graphics are purely original and the characters (and scenes) are very aesthetically pleasing, and with the exception of Molly, come across as very attractive, and may be refreshing to some people who prefer a visual novel that features something other than anime characters. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1715713124 The sounds are limited to basic sound effects that are few and far between, but the background music not only does it's job in setting the mood, but is also pleasing to the player's ear. [h1]Positives and Negatives[/h1] (Note: These had to be combined because this could go either way.) [i]The Queen of Blackwood High[/i] features F+F relationships, which may or may not appeal to the player. (The established term "yuri" cannot be applied due to the non-anime style of graphics.) There's also no sex or nudity which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the player's preference. (Despite the large amount of trashy visual novels on Steam, players have been encountered that would rather not have these exciting elements in their visual novels.... Plot twist?) The number of characters is also lacking, which wasn't quite so much of a concern for another visual novel found here on Steam, but in this case it's a bad thing because [spoiler]it's not known if it was the developer's motive, but Molly comes across as that unpopular student who attempts to take advantage a new student's ignorance by getting clingy so they'll actually have at least one friend.[/spoiler] When it comes to scenes, there's a significant amount of corner-cutting in the graphics. I know [i]Kindred Spirits on the Roof[/i] managed to get away with corner cutting by not featuring the main character's [spoiler]first kiss[/spoiler] due to everything else that was featured, but this is really inexcusable for any visual novel to omit this important part of the main character's life. [spoiler]Regardless of the presence of adult material, it's safe to assume that the player would want to see girls kissing girls.[/spoiler] [i]The Queen of Blackwood High[/i] does not contain achievements, which makes it more difficult for the player to know if they have seen every ending in the game. (The only way the player will ever know if they've seen anything is from the unique pictures that have been unlocked in the game's gallery.) [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Yes, the author is motivated to write reviews in recent times to help developers satisfy Steam's algorithm so that developers can release market items and have in-game achievements officially count on the profiles of Steam users, so go ahead and help out the developer (along with an untold number of other players) by writing a review, too. Heck, just adding this game to your wishlist is good enough to help with satisfying the algorithm. [h1]The honest word of Il Pallino... OR ELSE![/h1] This game has been reviewed independently by an administrator for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25150682/]REXCurse (REXnetwork)[/url]. No compensation was provided. Email contact@dnbmedia.co for requests & promotions

A visual novel about confronting a bully at school and getting to the root of the issue. I find this whole first half rather unrealistic as bullies wouldn't just crumple that fast, if at all. But I'm fairly cynical, so whatever. The second half is rather engrossing to read (more so the romantic route than the friendship route). The visuals are by far the thing that sticks out the most for me. Kendra looks decent enough, but the other 3 teeter on the line of "OK" and "something's off". I can't tell if it's proportions or just their faces in general. At least the CGs usually look better. Overall, starts well enough and finishes strong (so long as you get the good endings; the bad endings are a punch to the gut).

Brooke, dziewczyna jak wszyscy i nikt, przenosi się do fanika, znaczy nowej szkoły. Już na dzień dobry zdobywa psiapsiółę i wroga - wyniosłą, przemocową chuliganicę Kendrę, o której pięknych oczach złaknionych miłości nasza bohaterka będzie rozmyślać w wypaśnym mieszkaniu zamieszkiwanym pod nieobecność ciotki. W tle projekt z chemii. Co jest HOT: + w połowie gry można podążyć dwiema odrębnymi ścieżkami, romansu lub przyjaźni - i to są faktycznie różne drogi różniące się wydarzeniami, dialogami i artami; + dobre-złe, słodko-gorzkie zakończenia dla każdej ścieżki (choć trudno powiedzieć, które różniące się często tylko w tonie wybory do której bramki prowadzą...); + no są te okruchy uroczego, nastoletniego romansu, bez niekomfortowego rozerotyzowania; + każde visual novel w stylu nie-anime jest generalnie trochę na plusie. A co NOT: - no niestety, ta historia jest po prostu nudna (i piszę to jako osoba, której bardzo podchodzi motyw "królowa pszczół zakochuje się w dziewczynie spoza szkolnej elity", potrafię zbyt wiele tego typu wątkom wybaczyć). Gra niby próbuje przełamać schemat, ale ostatecznie wszystko bazuje na kliszach, i to takich prześwietlonych. Brooke jest tak nijaka, jak tylko główna bohaterka być może, charakter Kendry nie zostaje specjalnie zgłębiony, dwie postacie poboczne przypominają raczej rekwizyty (i zatrzaskują się w składziku w czasie jednej ze ścieżek, sądząc po ich nieobecności), świat przedstawiony jest ubogi, absolutnie wszystko kręci się wokół niezbyt porywających podchodów naszej dwójki. No żywcem nie ma tu elementu, na którym można byłoby się zawiesić, naprawdę trudno było mi się zmusić do odpalenia tej gry, zdarzało mi się przeklikiwać tekst bez specjalnego wczytywania się, tak bardzo te mdłe dramki mnie usypiały; - CGI to jest moment, przy którym grafik powinien szczególnie się przyłożyć (nie bez powodu w VN standardem są galerie). No tu się nie przyłożył; - tła generalnie wyglądają ładnie, więc po co psuć je paskudnymi elementami 3D? Ten misiek w sypialni wygląda jak byt z innego wymiaru; - sejfy nie lądują w chmurze (zachciało mi się dokończyć rozgrywkę na nowym komputerze, no i tak). "The Queen of Blackwood High" to dość mdła opowieść o platonicznym bądź nie uczuciu opartym na wierze, że każdy może się zmienić na lepsze (chyba, że nie jest materiałem na tru lova, to wtedy nie). To nie jest tak, że to totalna tragedia czy skok na kasę - to amatorska produkcja, której twórcy mają dobre chęci, mają opanowaną teorię, trzeba tylko teraz jeszcze rozbudowania warsztatu.