Other games of the same kind

[Hannibal Barca]

High Rise Climb is very good, though: i played it for several hours straight last night. The grind is not that annoying.

Interesting game. Just poking around, if you use the console commands "money = (number)" can get you some more money.

[JFR]

Another new game that has promise, The Deluca Family. I overlooked it at first because a mafia-themed story did not seem to be in my wheelhouse. I was surprised by this title. Good graphics, good story-line, good writing, more humorous and less violent than The Godfather or The Sopranos. I am liking it enough that I became a patron. And the Discord channel has stayed civil and fun which is unusual these days.

https://www.patreon.com/HopesGaming/overview

[JFR]

I stumbled across another game that I have been enjoying - at least so far.

"It's a New World Out There." https://www.patreon.com/flamecito/overview

Frankly, this is a bit bizarre and the sexual content is still on the skimpy side as far as I have gone. It is more of a virtual novel with some interactive parts that really affect the direction of the story. I would normally avoid anything that starts with a "zombie apocalypse" concept but this one has an interesting, if rather wordy, story and the humor is pretty good. The author has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor and the story does not take itself at all seriously. Although everyone, including the "zombies" themselves, think there are zombies, the truth is stranger yet.

I am still in the stat-building grind portion of the story but am having fun because the author makes me laugh. If you want to try something new, you might give it a try. The creator/developer is just getting started so his patronage numbers are still pretty low. He doesn't ask for much, only a dollar or two, and the game is already free, so you might want to toss a couple of bucks his way.


EDIT TO ADD: Ok, I played some more and have to add that this game has gone from a little odd to outright weird. I am still quite entertained and looking forward to what will happen next but we have definitely gone down the rabbit hole. He is building to something but I have no idea what it is.

[omahan]

I saw this one posted in a different thread, but thought I would give it a shout-out here.

https://www.patreon.com/mrdotsgames

It's not complete, but there are still a few hours worth of content. Similar to BEW, you get rewarded for being a decent guy, which I really appreciate. Also no incest, which seems uncommon these days.

[boulimanus]

A couple more I've found in the past couple months as I was looking for something with a fantasy context.
They are pretty good and have a reasonable amount of content.

• Valiant Warrior Astrid
• Claire's Quest

[Hannibal Barca]

A couple more I've found in the past couple months as I was looking for something with a fantasy context.
They are pretty good and have a reasonable amount of content.

• Valiant Warrior Astrid
• Claire's Quest

I enjoy Valiant Warrior. Good content so far.

[ninjakab]

I saw this one posted in a different thread, but thought I would give it a shout-out here.

https://www.patreon.com/mrdotsgames

I tried this game a while ago and thought it was good, but now it's gotten really good.
One of the best games out there for us who like characters that aren't the worst of clichés

[moskys]

Another new game that has promise, The Deluca Family. I overlooked it at first because a mafia-themed story did not seem to be in my wheelhouse. I was surprised by this title. Good graphics, good story-line, good writing, more humorous and less violent than The Godfather or The Sopranos. I am liking it enough that I became a patron. And the Discord channel has stayed civil and fun which is unusual these days.

https://www.patreon.com/HopesGaming/overview

It has some potential. I'm not sure it would keep violence in a low level, though: there's a stat called 'dispassion' that will 'give you the options on different executions' options', according to the info section. Also, I feel this is a very ambitious project, maybe a bit too much for a beginner. There's the 'linear' story, the side quests and relationship building in the 'free-roaming' part, the mission board to increase stats, we've also been told about 'mafia tournaments' which I guess the developer wants to include in the game sooner or later... Quite a lot of things I honestly doubt he will be able to handle in a proper way if $$$ don't start to flow

[d22249]

Offcuts is a really cool game. There are currently two datable girls with a few hours of gameplay if you read all the text which I recommend.

https://stencilbits.itch.io/offcuts

[lurking]

Also no incest, which seems uncommon these days.

Melody is actually his second game, Patreon banned him from advertising his main game - which is totally incest.

[dutch]

I got a chance to try the game "Coming to grips with Christine". It was okay but not my cup of tea. It doesn't show a point system as you play so you are literally fumbling along blind. You answer the way you think and that takes you to your first ending, then you start looking for other endings. I'm sure some folks would love it but for me it was a miss. I guess there are 9 endings so far, I found 3 and was so bored I couldn't go on. But again, for some folks this could be the greatest game ever! If you like it more power to you. But I think a point system of some kind is helpful when you play.

[moskys]

I got a chance to try the game "Coming to grips with Christine". It was okay but not my cup of tea. It doesn't show a point system as you play so you are literally fumbling along blind. You answer the way you think and that takes you to your first ending, then you start looking for other endings. I'm sure some folks would love it but for me it was a miss. I guess there are 9 endings so far, I found 3 and was so bored I couldn't go on. But again, for some folks this could be the greatest game ever! If you like it more power to you. But I think a point system of some kind is helpful when you play.

CtGwC has 3 'best' endings (which also work as achievements to unlock the bonus scene), 3 'good' endings and a few bad endings. These bad endings are direct consequence of a)making an incongruent choice in the very last moment, according to how you've played your character before getting there; or b)being completely inconsistent on your dialogue choices (which reflects your personality and love interests quite straight).

Tlaero abandoned the 'point scoring' system some time ago, after 'Redemption for Jessika'. I think scoring played a big role in Getting to Know Christine' success because it was not also a hot and good-written game (by that time standards) but also a very challenging one. You had dialogue choices in almost every page and everyone needed like a ton of playthroughs to understand what was the best combination of choices. It was a 'guess the right answer to advance' type of play. But now she prefers a 'stick with a personality' approach and her focus is more on telling stories than on pure gaming. We get the whole story she wants to tell us and then, if we've been 'good' enough, we unlock an achievement or a nicer ending.

I discussed this topic with her and she explained that she felt that the classic scoring method was kind of 'unrealistic' because getting a sex scene should not depend on how many times you flirted with the girl instead of being nice or supportive or whatever. Let's say that, before Finding Miranda, the girls in her games only had sex if the boy pressed enough right keys at the right tempo, and now they are already attracted to the guy and only want his choices to be consistent with his character (a character the player can choose 'freely') during the whole game. Which, in fact, could be more realistic or, at least, more common in real life, but this is adult gaming after all.

But I can't blame her, I know she has tried a lot of scoring options and there were always lots of people complaining about the system chosen, so she just decided to put it aside and create the games just how she likes to do it.

[infiniteignorance]

Yea, if you want realism go out on a date. Games that are too realistic aren't all that popular.

[moskys]

But also we must consider that 'dating sim' and 'visual novel' are very different genres. In first it's only natural to implement a scoring system that sets the bar for how far you can progress in your date. In a visual novel, implementing a scoring system would quickly degenerate in BEW

[dutch]

Yea, if you want realism go out on a date. Games that are too realistic aren't all that popular.

Thought I had put in enough apologies to settle everyone feathers so that I could state my opinion. But some folks must live up to their handles.

Keep your game.