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Post by phoray on Jun 25, 2023 21:40:35 GMT
- More companion content. I liked what we had but more banter between them would be great. Maybe increase the number of companions if possible. And would be great to be able to control them in battle. The lack of companion content is literally what took it from a great game to just a game I liked. I mean, I loved my chosen "bad end" and all, but the reason it was easy for me to go all evil was because I barely felt anything for anyone else. I felt closer to the Cousin so why would I side with anyone else.
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Post by phoray on Jun 25, 2023 17:25:40 GMT
Considering online support for games dies inside 5-10 years, I would also want a physical disk so I can play. There is already a lot of people concerned they'll kill DA keep and then all we get to play DAI with are the three origin worlds they set it up with by default. None of which reflect my DAO nad DA2 choices by a long shot
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Post by phoray on Jun 25, 2023 8:02:44 GMT
That list for $60? Good buy. Some of the titles are not my cup of tea though. Vampire Hunter sounds interesting but I get the feeling it would not be what I'm thinking about, you know, for triple A games. Outside of Ladykiller in a Bind, I think most of them are short projects that creators put out there to get their toes wet. Those were just the 24 that looked good to me from skimming, I got 16 pages of creator content, I think that totals 460 items. Not all are visual novels, there is some TTRPG stuff, card games, there are little comic books, and things that seem to be a interactive journaling game. Then there are visual novels I don't care to read- saw two about gay orcs, saw several featuring transgender linear stories, or even F/F linear romance stories. Those 24 were just the ones that looked like I'd be interested, and it does donate to a good cause so I said, why not. Edit: A Tavern at Night was short. A conversation with a green orc/goblin mercenary at a tavern during the rain. Can end with you sharing a bed (no explicit details) or just wishing each other well. I liked it, the dialogue carried it well.
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Post by phoray on Jun 25, 2023 7:00:39 GMT
Obsidian Gryphon The author of The Survival of Sarah Rose got back to me and I found more on the Princess routes side of things. If you do no romance Varga but decline Marion's proposal anyway, you get access to Lily the hostage turned Knight and two casual flings with Carolyn. It otherwise plays out the same, so there isn't tons to be gained there story wise. But it seems odd that it would have the same endings, I do wonder if the author won't write more on that side of things later. Otherwise, I bought the Queer Games Bundle 2023 on Itchio. Skimming through them, I'm curious about: 1. A Tavern at Night (Romance Options) 2. Repurpose (Romance options) 3. Stillwater 4. Sigh of the Abyss (Romance Options) 5. The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Lives 6. The Life We've Chosen 7. Limbo Line 8. Travellers Road (Romance Options) 9. Ladykiller in a Bind (Romance/Sex. Been curious about this one, not enough to pay full price) 10. Paradise Inc (Succubus! ya!) 11. Hoping this finds you well 12. Butterfly Court 13. Heart of Butterblue (Farming sim with romance options) 14. Moonflower (romance options) 15. Vampire Hunter 16. Quaint (romance options) 17. BDSM Boys (M/M romance with sex) 18. Coiled up together (F/F poy relationship with sex) 19. Curse in Bloom (linear/kinetic no choices) 20. melancholic-star-to-sleep 21. Your Lucky Charm (F/F romance) 22. The Priestess They Needed 23. Decay in Crevice
Captain's Farewell took only one minute to read one ending. Curse in Bloom (linear/kinetic with no choices.) Took like 5 minutes. Both Browser games.
Not a bad pull for $60
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Post by phoray on Jun 23, 2023 6:12:33 GMT
Obsidian Gryphon Survival of Sarah Rose Warrior Route had a short story added to it. Her new army marches on and takes a little time to stay in a village. A lot more CGs than I'm used to and I like the art of them.
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Post by phoray on Jun 21, 2023 6:27:18 GMT
That said, if DAD could be released before Bioware gets sold to someone, that would be great. I have no trust that a sale wouldn't just kill the whole thing. I think Dreadwolf would be fine with how far along it is. ME5 on the other hand I could absolutely see being scrapped. Although I wouldn't personally care either way, I know there are a lot of people who would. I always thought Dragon Age was better written, but ME world is more appealing to a broader customer base, so I feel like even with the sale, it'd be okay?
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Post by phoray on Jun 21, 2023 6:03:36 GMT
Dude, that thread title... I agree, I literally said, "WTF~" and clicked imagining all sorts of things. That said, if DAD could be released before Bioware gets sold to someone, that would be great. I have no trust that a sale wouldn't just kill the whole thing.
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Post by phoray on Jun 19, 2023 6:20:00 GMT
Gilded Shadows: Lance A dollop of destiny makes my heart grow fonder. It is a safe warm cute romance with plenty of space for them to grow and know each other. I like the alternative background music, it was fresh. I loved the resolution of not just Endgame’s issues but for Caissa and his father, I was very glad to see them all reunite with Lance. At this point, we’ve seen MC train 7 times, and the author was aware of that and changed the approach of it. MC didn’t get to be as much of a powerful bad ass on this route, but it was okay. We have other routes for that, and it suited Lance’s pacifist nature that there would not be constant battle. MC is just as happy about her career trajectory on this route as she is on Quill's. Loved all the CGs of his entire route so much, some really good eye gazing. I like how he handled MC--treating her softly like a precious found person. There was swooning. Muah, sweet Lance.
Yuu the Endgame doctor route has not been released yet, but he seemed quite charming on Magnus’ route. It was there that I finally understood why he would get a route to himself although I do wonder what his story will really add. After the other Endgame three routes, I already know that Endgame is not entirely full of assholes.I wonder what kind of world lore smooching him will bring to the table
Story Ranking - Jack
- Lance
- Quill
- Magnus
- Caissa
- Rueben
- Caleb
- Ari
Romance Ranking - Quill
- Jack
- Lance
- Ari
- Caissa
- Caleb
- Rueben
- Magnus
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Post by phoray on Jun 18, 2023 21:28:55 GMT
Gilded Shadows: Visual NovelI've named freedom fighter MC, Morgan Culver. And Resigned MC Mia Cameron. See it? ha. They are similar people but very different people at the same time because of a big decision- one accepted fate and one did not.
Binged Caleb and Magnus' route. Some more comments about Ari's route now that I have more to compare it to. I did actively dislike what a wimp she was on Ari's route. She was so much more powerful with less training on other routes, Jack and Rueben routes come to mind. It seems like being locked up somewhere safe receiving formal training actually inhibits her powers. Her imagination combined with the stresses of being in harsher elements pushed her to find some of the coolest powers she can use on other routes. I just don't understand how to she can mimic super rare Celeste after a few observations but struggles so much with psi, shieles, or teleportation. On other routes, it's very much, "I wonder if I could... or I need to!" and then it happens. So it can be frustrating to see her struggle so much on the Ari/Caleb route.
The routes where she chooses Endgame are simply a worse deal for her-all 3 Endgame routes, her family has to go into hiding. Her mother, an renowned artist, now literally will not be allowed to do art. And MC doesn't get to do the research she worked so hard for on Ari's route at all- this is the worst narrative outcome, because she just becomes a good little soldier, reflecting I guess that Ari is also a good little soldier?
Random, if you pick silver hair, there will be extra comments about it. Then Magnus implies she accidentally killed kids when she was a child if she has silver hair. That's not the unique references to hair I would have hoped for, like, ouch. Pass on
MC's ability to express unhappiness with Endgame: It's unfortunate that I don't get to tell Magnus that Endgame sucks in as quite as much detail on Ari's route. We're both very much aware of it sucking on Magnus' route. But on Rueben's route Magnus admits that MC may not have been even forced to go to Endgame. Even if she goes, they do a lot of reliance on the ignorance of the new member to never consider finishing their safety training and just going back to their old life. Yet on Endgame paths, he's right there, feeding her that very lie to ensure she doesn't go anywhere. It's really brutal, telling her with dead eyes that her dreams don't matter anymore.
Caleb's route had lore on it and she had a better career outcome in that she learned how to interact with alien technology and that got her back into her research. I enjoyed seeing Caissa saying what he did about breaking her out of Endgame. It's what made me do Caissa's route 3rd, that kindness. It was just, once I was on that route, Caissa had his criminal father to contend with and that kindness doesn't come through until the route is half over. Overall, I'd rank Caleb slightly below Caissa. They both have some issues with the romance but believe in her freedom. It's just on Caissa's route she can actually be free.
Nothing about Caleb and Ari's routes made me want to date Magnus. Only his words on Rueben's route really intrigued me about him. He's one of the more prettiest love interests for certain, I'll give him that. They sell up Caissa as the prettiest but Magnus wins. But Magnus is cruel to her on Ari's route (those brutal lines) and on Caleb's he decides to do relic experiments on her without her consent. I'd suspected during the non Endgame paths that Magnus was happy that she didn't end up in Endgame. I observed on Ari/Caleb routes that Magnus was not so secretly upset angry MC chooses the Endgame path. On his route, it was confirmed. When she wakes up from her pseduo coma, Magnus confronts her and is like, "Why did you come here? there were other paths." Then implies that some sort of sexual desire for Ari/Caleb is what made MC's decision to capitulate to my kidnappers. WHAT a bit of revolting garbage to hear come out of that pretty mouth. "You made the wrong decision, is it because my lackeys got you all hot and bothered?" is a disgusting question, no matter if you word it nicely.
Yuu the Endgame doctor is quite charming on this route, I finally understand why he would get a route to himself.
There are just... so many wrong things happening on the Magnus Path. Very story heavy, so I like it for that reason. He seems very aware of the other paths she could have gone on. But after accepting that she'd chose this one, apparently he did try to use her for his own goals but then realized he'd fallen for her and couldn't use her as a tool anymore. But he doesn't really do this at all on the Ari/Caleb route, so that plot point doesn't seem as well explained. Did he not use her as a puppet as much on Ari's route because she'd fallen into being a good little soldier and so was not the renegade he would need? But when she does kick up some fuss on Caleb's route, she did get more space for her research dreams, but still not enough of a renegade I'm guessing? Or does it require renegade plus more extensive time around her to suddenly make him realize she was the puppet he was looking for? And if he hates Endgame so much, what is the incentive he has to be so cruel to her on Ari/Caleb routes? Magnus got brain wiped 5 years before, so he's not entirely whole of mind, but even after his own route, I don't understand his decisions. The romance itself... there was a point where I thought I was on the bad ending because Magnus seemed insane and I'm just supposed to trust him blindly without explanation to make sure people can't follow. He does explain, later, why but that I had no sense of trust of the man at that point says something about the writing to support this romance naturally. Then there is the sex scene reading out like MC capitulated to a desperate person throwing caution to the winds The seduction was zero, haha he's so random he just loves me and sees no reason they can't have sex on his friend's couch after a frantic trip across the planet? I dunno. I've noticed in visual novels that sometimes the romances suffers from being on a "BIG STORY" path. There isn't enough space for both the romance and story to coexist in a balanced fashion when you get to that level of "world is in peril."
I rank Magnus route higher than Rueben because of the lore. But the romance itself has as many problems that are worse than Rueben's romance.
There are 2 more romances available, but one isn't being finished writing yet. I plan on smooching a guy that represents a 7000 year old AI program next.
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Post by phoray on Jun 18, 2023 5:56:18 GMT
Gilded Shadows: Visual Novel
I played Ari's route. I had to poke at it a bit to reduce the dissonance from falling in love with someone who kidnapped MC. Make sure they met before, had a nice conversation. Make sure to run away, so Ari would be defensive of Caleb being rough. The guide I was reading recommended analytical character traits but I will have none of anything that will make me be mean to an NPC by name of Rory. Rory is a gentle cinnamon roll, albeit mind controlled. Not picking the emotional trait means he's locked under that control. I may not have seen Rory again on the Endgame Ari route, but I know where he ends up. He's safe. He's finding a new life and what more could I want for that sweet boy ahem.... I liked Ari's route. They didn't focus too hard on him being a virgin, the jealousy was well done since he has absolutely no relationship experience and called himself out on it. I give him spot #3 of my heart in Gilded Shadows. Oddly enough, I was actually kind of bummed I couldn't get back with the Ex? Gorgeous, affectionate, actually concerned about her safety with no selfish desires to cloud it. Well, I guess Rueben had that but ya... Rueben. Not my favorite digital dude. Ari's is probably the least problematic route of the Endgame routes, just because to be in this part of the story, you have to get kidnapped. Although I become less outraged the more I replay the kidnapping, Caleb is just such a fucking asshole at the start. Shoving, yanking. Even with a psi inhibitor making her a complete non issue (he doesn't know it doesn't work) he still yanks her around. SIGH. I must get through the roughest part of that route. There may be like, information on it that adds to the universe and story. I can NOT skip ahead to the two final routes when they are going to contain SO MUCH world lore. If I don't give Caleb a shot now, I will never do his romance.
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Post by phoray on Jun 17, 2023 20:18:01 GMT
Other games have done 2 protagonists talking to each other, both controlled by player, I think it's doable....This aspect of Tales from the Borderlands was one of the best parts of that game. Also done in Detroit: Become Human I just want Inky to be able to have a final conversation the level of Trespasser quality where instead of a lost arm we have the option to give Solas a knife to the gut. And for those who loved him, hold him as he breaths his last breath. If no love, dump his body on the ground and not look back. That's the finality I want with Solas. I don't need a whole game for that. It's going to be frustrating acting like I don't know what Solas is up to the entire game as a nobody. But I'm cautiously optimistic that Solas will not be who Nobody is after or dealing with for most of the game. I want them to deal with a war in Tevinter and a slave uprising and shifting loyalties to a fracture Qun and crazy monsters in the sewers.
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Post by phoray on Jun 17, 2023 20:08:21 GMT
corrupted Justice will pop up trying to fight Hawke at the start and he will be forced out of the party, leaving the player with two companions to face the fights. I played one time intentionally bringing only people who would be tempted and leave me. The last battle was hard, but I love all their faces being so sorry about it XD Especially Fenris since he acts like mages are weak. I him so much, but thought he needed the humility of the experience.
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Post by phoray on Jun 16, 2023 4:04:13 GMT
What? really? How did your mage path even go? 1. Chomp Xan 2. Spririt tells about door to desert city, you go, speak to it's full form, break chains or don't 3. Come back and Zan's old apprentice comes by and offers to do some magic teaching. He also secretly teaches Sam 4. Apprentice leaves letter. After he leaves, Sarah reads it. 5. Sarah decides she needs to go to the ruins, Sam comes with her. 6. They approach ruins and there are two camping nights. First one, nothing happens. Second one, orcs and goblins attack. (maybe I flipped that.) 7. During day after second camping night. Witch and Knight come up and say, "Hey, we saw all that magic. Who are you, we are Witch and Knight." 8. Continue into ruins with Witch and Knight as NPC companions and events occur.
Did that not happen? Strange. I remember going to the ruins with Sam but nothing of the Witch and Knight. I'll have to find a save point before the visit to the ruins and play it. I dunno, I thought the Goblins/Orcs were a locked event, didn't even know you could miss it. Truly branching stories are so fun, aren't they?
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Post by phoray on Jun 16, 2023 1:23:21 GMT
The duo came over when Sarah jumped in the air to shoot the poison dart goblins as opposed to remaining and helping Sam with the Orcs. The Witch then said, "We say your magical attacks from a distance and sought you out." I thought they'd meant the fight in general, not the big jump into the sky, but maybe that is required to meet them. Wow, I don't remember this because it never happened for me. Goblins? I didn't encounter any goblins. This event must be linked to a decision I never took. What? really? How did your mage path even go? 1. Chomp Xan 2. Spririt tells about door to desert city, you go, speak to it's full form, break chains or don't 3. Come back and Zan's old apprentice comes by and offers to do some magic teaching. He also secretly teaches Sam 4. Apprentice leaves letter. After he leaves, Sarah reads it. 5. Sarah decides she needs to go to the ruins, Sam comes with her. 6. They approach ruins and there are two camping nights. First one, nothing happens. Second one, orcs and goblins attack. (maybe I flipped that.) 7. During day after second camping night. Witch and Knight come up and say, "Hey, we saw all that magic. Who are you, we are Witch and Knight." 8. Continue into ruins with Witch and Knight as NPC companions and events occur. Did that not happen?
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Post by phoray on Jun 15, 2023 19:24:30 GMT
I don't remember meeting the Witch. It could be an option I missed or something. The duo came over when Sarah jumped in the air to shoot the poison dart goblins as opposed to remaining and helping Sam with the Orcs. The Witch then said, "We say your magical attacks from a distance and sought you out." I thought they'd meant the fight in general, not the big jump into the sky, but maybe that is required to meet them.
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Post by phoray on Jun 15, 2023 6:34:05 GMT
Well freak, I don't know. What would you have chosen? I picked the dark end in Greedfall and let the island fall under the control of a corrupted but beloved Cousin because I liked him more than everyone else I'd met. I totally would pick the Demons.
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Post by phoray on Jun 15, 2023 6:30:19 GMT
Obsidian Gryphon I was skipping most names because 1. I do not remember all of them or how to spell them. 2. Other folks on the thread may be reading and it's better for them that I use roles they took in the story rather than Xan, or Carolyn. "Drunk thief best friend" tells folks more than "kate" for example. And MEntor Mage says more than Xanthippe, nick name Xan. But ya, we could just use names at this point. We keep using "the Spirit" but his name is actually Rosophael or something. Spirit is way easier. I was thinking; she looks like a villain She looks like the Time witch from XXXHolic She's scheming. I think she does have emotional ties to Rosana which Sarah can press. But she'll save her own skin before falling for the cause, no matter which it is. She is not so much a villain as very human and lacking in bravery. On Mage path, Sarah and Sam go to the ancient place where humanity began. They meet a Knight and a woman who literally refers to herself as a Witch. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a small rogue group that decline to go to the Mage Citadel to be indoctrinated. Oooooo. Interesting. I feel like the Mage Path where she goes to the ruins is pretty close to done. I don't get the feeling there is time in the narrative to go find renegade mages. It's unclear how she will resolve the issue of the Voidlings on that route, if one does need an army. Mage Path I played the same way you did. Saved Sam and spared Kate. Doing both regain some humanity for Sarah which could be why the Spirit felt it could tell Sarah the information. Before, I think she was closed off, as you said, and becoming cold and sterile as Xan. Spirit made Sarah to promise a future favor for the murder of Xan. Before the murder, Spirit was holding back on the fact that Xan tortured him. I was suggesting that perhaps it was holding back on everything because he needed Sarah to complete training with Xan before giving too much information. She would not trust Xan to keep her safe or train her if she actually knew everything Spirit knew, and Spirit needed her to train and grow powerful. So I don't think it was about how empathetic she was, I still feel like it was just timing. now that I've had time to reflect, it makes sense, although I was initially confused why Spirit was so talkative on Warrior route. Because she's already ready to learn more and be more on that route when they finally meet. Did you find the Fan Guide online or did you explore naturally?
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Post by phoray on Jun 15, 2023 2:09:41 GMT
I don't think the author intend all Paths to lead to the Spirit. There should be some in which Sarah's decisions lead her to fall away from her intended destination. Agreed. On Marion's path (incomplete) she eventually makes plans to hang out with the Royal Finance character that you connect with on the Warrior Path. It ends after agreeing to the plans. Sarah only becomes Regent because Thomas is so traumatized by the war. But the war doesn't happen on this path. For some reason, this makes me think Fate could be brought up here. Rosanna is peaceful, and she's submitting to Marion and then--what? just happy ending where Thomas actually learns to rule? She has the King's ear. If the spirit could reach her, and Marion trusted her, she has the entire army of Rosana and it's nobles to essentially do her bidding, even if she can't fight herself. On the Varga path, the country has been moderately weakened, so I could see why Fate wouldn't be there. Is this a criteria for the Spirit Path? As a mage, her power gives her the abilities to hold off / destroy groups of soldiers. If it's intended she the aid of other mages, she will have a formidable force The Witch she meets is supposed to be truly powerful. But why are the mentor Mage and the Deadly Voidling blind to her and let Sarah destroy them easily on the Warrior path? Something outside of her skills, maybe due to her soul type is happening here. Anyway--the Mentor Mage can see her when she screams in the alley, so maybe it's only after her spirit has been sharpened through some sort of training that she becomes something else. Anyway, since you have to kill Mentor Mage to even meet the Witch, I am very uncertain that Sarah will be able to gather the mages. If you remember, the mages actually want the Voidlings to perish and they want the Golden Path to reach completion. The mage order will not be supporting Sarah if she's at all truthful about the murder or the goals of her actions. The Spirit wants to break the Golden Path and the Mages do not. For Crime which I did not play through to the end, it could be unfinished, Sarah may pick up fighting skills; daggers, etc. In which case, the Crime Path may lead to the Spirit. It is unfinished. They go rob the market place. The thief is actually awful at being a thief. Sarah doesn't seem correct in the head on this path, honestly. It's like she forgot she was capable of making policy and war decisions on a council, her literacy, like, literally she could be doing anything else. It's just a Kink Path, there is no way it could be a Narrative one. The Slave Path is likely a non Spirit Path. If you mean the Tribes path, going into the Kahn's harem is definitely going to connect Sarah to the Spirit. If you mean Jair's path, I'm less confident but it could still happen. Even becoming the slave of that soldier, if you go to the end (incomplete) there is the option to "run away" with the help of the other slave. This could again lead to some trip into the dessert, and is that not where she has met a hermit in a cave before? he is a servant of the Golden Path, with support from the pantheon of gods, and miracles like healing potions. My point is, even this little weird path could wind back to Fate as well. When the spirit offers to break her bound fate, it gives her choices. She could still complete the directive of the Golden Path and kill the Voidlings. The Spirit is more active than the gods but the gods still have their servants like the hermit. I'm not saying I know this is where the Author can take it, but with as many paths as there are, it feels like it could be possible to not only find Fate in unique ways but even support the gods rather than the Voidling spirit. Why did you say the Spirit not recognise her on the Mage Path? Are you referring to it not telling Sarah immediately about the dig site?If so, the Spirit has said it hides away parts of itself... so that particular piece has different experiences and is more wary and suspicious due to the treatment it has received from Sarah's mentor. On the Warrior path, the spirit freezes time and has a discussion. They see Sarah, they name her, they reference other versions of her, and seem just as knowledgeable as the full version at the Pillar. I don't know why the stone that the Kahn has or why the version the Mentor Mage keeps in a cup has different reactions to her. Maybe because I haven't gotten to see Sarah meet the Spirit, alone with some time to speak, on the Harem route yet. As it ended right after she found a secret underground passage to a large room. But my playthrough, Sarah has a mutual relationship with the spirit for the whole 3 years of the Mage path and it never spoke of a bigger picture to her until after it killed Mentor Mage. It just seemed so slow to really do anything. You could be correct that it is more wary- Sarah can't even go to the Spirit at the Pillar without full control of the House Creature to make the door and no control can happen until the Mentor Mage is gone. So telling her may only interrupt her training, since Sarah is not a very controllable person by the Spirit and it was biding its time until it could chomp. Now I'm wondering if Sarah had been more cold and less empathetic, would it tell her about the dig site? My Sarah was having sex with it for years, so I don't think there was a way to be more empathetic. I honestly feel like Sarah is actively depressed on this route, completely locked away and sheltered, with only Mentor Mage to imprint his morality on her. She was very low after the destruction of Rossana and her brother, so the Mentor Mage found her in pieces and put her poorly back together. I tried to play her as conflicted, because she saved Sam, and spared Kate. He didn't tell Sarah of the dig site until Mentor Mage was dead, so I don't think it's how you play.
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Post by phoray on Jun 14, 2023 18:18:33 GMT
Oh my gosh, you had me laughing. I didn't actually think anyone would want to read this based off my description even if I said the story was good. I feel like the author could just make Thomas not such a baby, the war is going bad, so he forces her to go with Kate over the sea. KAte could still betray and everything continue, but as cute as Varga is, that whole storyline just seems like it take away completely from what readers should be directly brought to. It's so good and I nearly missed it entirely because who would abandon their country to leave with Kate the grabby drunk on her words alone? It is possible, ish, that the Marion route may also tie into the Fate path, which would make it interesting again.
It's so cool you tried this out. It was fun chatting with you about it. Your suggestion is a good one. 👍 Have Thomas know about Kate and her offer, then insist Sarah leave with her if the good Council decisions are not picked and the war is clearly lost. That would make a lot more sense. This will negate the slave path unless the devs put in two choice options; Sarah refusing to leave, lead to slave. Sarah agree to leave; lead to mercenary / mage / crime paths.
I wonder if the standard path will be reworked considering the Spirit thing is entirely missing. The mercenary and mage path have it. No idea about crime. However, considering that the Spirit said there are seven candidates who are suppose to complete the Gods' plan, it's probably not necessary that every path should lead to the Spirit.
There'll probably be a bight fight / decision on the two world question. With such a title, Survival of Sarah Rose, it doesn't seem likely she would die.
Nice to chat about this with you too. It would be nice if there was a way to enter the Crime path that didn't immediately start with a non con scene. I say that but-- the game is what it is. It's 60% this cool epic story, and then 40% of the content seems devoted to letting readers get their kink on, and that was the author's goal all along. Maybe the Crime path is simply not more than a sub path of the MAge PAth, and therefore, was never meant to be really legitimized with a narrative that makes sense. So then it's like, really just 3 Main Narrative Paths: Regent, Mage, Warrior-- although I feel like Fate will/can be pulled in via the Tribes and Rayahal Land Path routes, so that may make 5. And everything else, crime, sailor, sex slave without love, is just for the "fun." There are actually romance routes with a merc on the road to Rayahal, and with a soldier on the Tribes path. I do also wonder if Sarah can't find Fate even with Jair- it's incomplete, but he's close enough to the Kahn that mayhap the spirit reaches out. I'm the most interested in the 7 souls the spirit speaks of, and how it doesn't seem to recognize Sarah outside of the Warrior path. Sarah is one soul, Vaelen is another, and Samayra a 3rd. But the spirit has looked at all futures, and clearly found Vaelen lacking, using him as a mere tool to guide Sarah along to him. And although Sam starts growing on the Mage path, she is a very passive controllable creature on all others, so the Spirit clearly finds her lacking as well. But even though the Spirit has already spoken to Vaelen, given him visions- Vaelen exists in all world states. so why does the Spirit not recognise her on Mage or Tribes? I wonder if we will meet 4 more, or if the remaining 4 are either too young, old, or far away to serve the purpose the Spirit wants and so are just to be ignored. And also! that line from the Spirit saying, "I don't like this version of you" on the Warrior route. The author hinted on their itchio that there will be a Meta Fate path. That makes me think that perhaps Sarah becomes just as aware of all the versions of her that the Spirit seems to be aware of in that world state.
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Post by phoray on Jun 14, 2023 7:09:58 GMT
Then COVID happened and I said, why not finish reading that bad visual novel you started, dear Phoray? Apparently once you get past the introduction it gets a million times better, so I'm really glad I gave it another chance. here sits my review after exploring 15 hours of content. The Survival of Sarah Rose: Early AccessYou pricked my curiosity. I have played VNs before with decent stories. No sex involved in those though so this would be a first for me. ... I then picked the go with Kate. This is really stupid imo. Not really good story telling. Just drop everything and leave your home on the weak words of a childhood friend not seen in donkey years?! Seriously? Ok, nvm, I'll play an idiot. Total moron. Of course, she ended up realising what she had done once she's on the other side of the ocean.
The warrior path from the Leave Home choice is actually pretty good. I enjoyed this one. The story for this path is incomplete but then the game is EA so hopefully, the devs will complete sometime this year.
I also took the opportunity to branch out to the other path, the mage. It's also good. Pick certain choices and I think Sarah would up up as cold as her mentor, completely dropping human connections and her humanity.
I have not tried to be stupid with the Council decisions that would end up having the kingdom lost and Sarah becomes a slave. Not really keen on it but maybe I'll try it once the game is complete.... Some pretty good art on other parts of the story. The Other World Spirit reminds me of Kaonashi from Spirited Away. Wouldn't be surprised if the Other World Spirits are inspired by the anime movie.
Overall, not too bad a VN. Oh my gosh, you had me laughing. I didn't actually think anyone would want to read this based off my description even if I said the story was good. Yes, nothing about Kate breaking into her room, drunk, trying to rip a blanket off Sarah enticed me into following her across the ocean. At that point, I didn't even know you could lose to the Tribesman to the East so after I tried Marion with much dismay, I was like sure. Let's see if this VN literally has anything else to offer, and ran away with Kate. And then there are options to forgive and romance her but I never forgave. I did head canon that after 3 years of fighting together they could be friends again, but nothing else. And you're right, I feel like Sarah became very very cold on the mage path. Even saving Samayra didn't ever do more than knock a bit of frost off. But without Sam, I don't think I would have liked that path as much. And then I could enjoy, narratively, consensual sex with her since she wasn't a slave on this route. I only mention narratively, because I'm a very het lady. The crime and Sailor were horrible, and there are some other sub routes that are clearly there just for people with a degradation kink to enjoy. Not kink shaming here, but not for me.
I do recommend the Tribesman: Jair path (he's the emissary that asks Sarah's brother to simply capitulate to the hoarde). Just to get a bit of a taste what that storyline looks like. And oddly, it has the only sex gif in the entire game, if you're into that. Based on the Khan path (incomplete, don't bother reading it at the moment) there is a secret room she finds that looks like it will bring her back into contact with the Spirit from the other Fate Paths. But immediately after discovery of the room, it ends, so there isn't much to get there if you don't plan on having sex with the Kahn. Since I didn't actually enjoy most of the sex scenes, I managed not to have sex with him at all until the incomplete route ended.
I really liked a lot of the background art of the huge exotic places they'd visit. Baghrad was nice, and then the one where she's like, "Follow me we shall retake my kingdom!" And some others. I almost feel like starting in Rosanna, the way it's written, it just doesn't contribute anything to the best part of this VN. I feel like the author could just make Thomas not such a baby, the war is going bad, so he forces her to go with Kate over the sea. KAte could still betray and everything continue, but as cute as Varga is, that whole storyline just seems like it take away completely from what readers should be directly brought to. It's so good and I nearly missed it entirely because who would abandon their country to leave with Kate the grabby drunk on her words alone? It is possible, ish, that the Marion route may also tie into the Fate path, which would make it interesting again. It's so cool you tried this out. It was fun chatting with you about it.
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Post by phoray on Jun 12, 2023 21:29:10 GMT
I'm sick with COVID. As soon as I could do anything other than sleep, I turned on a visual novel I'd bought a month back. Now, to be clear, I'd bought this game with little outside of a few checkboxes: a. female protagonist b. romance options c. swords and magic. A bonus was actual true 18+ mature sexy content. And not enough mature content actually has a story worth reading, so the reviews being positive about there being a story I was like, well, I should support this. Bought it. Played it for an hour and was like... this is not very good. Then COVID happened and I said, why not finish reading that bad visual novel you started, dear Phoray? Apparently once you get past the introduction it gets a million times better, so I'm really glad I gave it another chance. here sits my review after exploring 15 hours of content. The Survival of Sarah Rose: Early AccessThere are at least 7 paths with or without an epic Fate related story line 1. Princess- no Fate 2. Warrior- Fate 3. Mage- Fate 4. Tribes: 1 path may have Fate in it, but the other two don't 5. Crime- no Fate 6. Rayahal - Think this could have Fate in it someday 7. Sailor- No Fate There are probably close to 100 sex CGs. This is a dark fantasy world, and there is a lot of non consent and frequent exploration of the main character's innate sexual pleasure with degradation, exhibitionism, humiliation, and light masochism. She has seduced only three of the many options I've seen so far, so she trends very passive/bottom/submissive. Sometimes she struggles a bit with liking what she likes, but she often can embrace it without shame. On the words of the creator, all non consensual content can be avoided. But you can't choose to be a Sailor or commit to a life of Crime without non con being a requirement, so consider some paths lost to you if you don't want to see non con. There is something to be said that the art can be very much from the angle of "male gaze" as it mainly focuses on Sarah's nudity, and the nudity of her female lovers, but very little on the nudity of her male lovers. Her sprite is often naked while the male sprites remain entirely clothed (I do think this is because of the game being incomplete and not all the sprites being the final version). Still, this focus on Sarah is not as nice for the heterosexual female readers. Some of these scenarios... I often feel like the sex is there to support the dark fantasy of the world, and it not really meant to be enjoyed. Do I really want to see 30 different bandit sprites raping Sarah? Do I really want to see the fat old body of a Sea Captain treating her like a living hole? No. So when I think of the male art I have seen, it's been in the Consensual/romantic sex arcs. I got to see the body of: Varga, Atilla, Jair, Caleb, and Ephraim. All the female sex is consensual, so I get to see their bodies too. I feel like there is a point to be made, artistically, that the floating genitalia of the men being attached to those that take advantage of her versus getting to see the whole bodies of those her truly like her and mean her no harm. Rankings of the paths so far: 1. Warrior with Atilla will give you such a great "come back" story to rival many a movie. 2. Princess with Varga will give you a happy ending 3. Mage, even with Samayra is psychologically lonely. But you get more info about the Fate stuff. 4. Tribes: This has 3 sub branches: Harem, sex slave, slave with love. Slave with love was very sweet, but i'm curious if the Fate stuff gets brought into the Harem storyline and this could be a comeback story as well. 5. Rayahal by land with found family 6. Crime- required non con, but after is consensual. Then you step back and realize she chose this over being a cool ass warrior and you kinda shake your head. 7. Sailor is dead last. I couldn't make myself pick it past a certain point. Every other path, Sarah is trying to make the best of things--- being powerless she makes choices to survive. But voluntarily sexing the sea Captain when she had other options already lined up was just too much for me to click through just to get more content. Blergh For the most part, this is not a novel about romance. Especially the really well written Fate paths, it's about a sheltered lady finding strength through hardship and effort. She can also enjoy shame free sex along the way.As I got more used to the style of nearly literally everyone being available to bang, I actually got to roleplay why she would have sex with this person at that time but not another. Or sleep with those folks, but not these folks. That's so unique to me. I'm actually curious to try it one more time and see if there is a sex free way to play the game. My favorite path, I picked Atilla the orc and that turned into such a bittersweet romance arc. They decide to part ways, because she's a fated exiled princess that can't be tied down right now. But what was amazing about breaking up is that she thinks of him, often, later. While she's in discussions with other people, or while simply contemplating by a lake side. The continuity is beautiful, and my heart ached. I actually like Atilla even more having romanced him and lost him but still getting to hold him in my heart. And although you can sleep with Kate, the built in best friend, anytime, I got to choose a non sexual friendship route with her and I've loved it so far. Going to Kate and helping her deal with her grief, a grief you also shared, was touching. I was sad when I reached the end of the Warrior path- it's incomplete. To me, this is clearly the path that lies in the heart of the writer. I really liked it. The approach to sex, masturbation, and a nod to how romance can be true and full of love and still need to end, it's very mature. I rarely see this in stories with the otome tag. There are a lot of NPCs to love. This is early access and all the major routes are incomplete. Some of the smaller routes are complete. but I got my $12 worth, even though I disliked all of the non con and only liked the romantic sex. In spite of there being tons of sex, I recommend this game for the story found on the Warrior & Mage Path. And may Sarah Rose get new art in the full release for her princess dress because she looks like a 14 year old the moment she puts it on.
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Post by phoray on Jun 5, 2023 0:52:12 GMT
colfoley who said "was talking with phoray awhile ago about the game's length and basically given the wait and the money I will probably drop on it I hope that they make Dreadwolf into a longer game." I bought a PS5 by rationalizing that I'd need it for DA:D. I play HZ:FW and then turned it off. It is waiting for the glorious day of the DA:D release. And yes, I want it to be about as many hours as what I played in HZ:FW (98). kind of why I got mine. Granted in 2020 I think I had some expectation that Dreadwolf might be far away so it wasn't critical but then a pressure was on because of the console shortage and also figured that the backwards compatability would make it so it wouldn't go to waste. Still waiting on Dreadwolf though. and right now generally I love the dual sense so much I keep wanting to play PS5 games but seems I keep on running into walls of games to not play and waiting for sales so my full immersion into the generation is a bit... stuttery. I tried a demo of a PS5 game, I think it was Forbidden. Some teenager gets sucked into a world and has a talking bracelet. Not a fan of the demo, it had like 1% story and way too many random encounters, felt a bit like the Hinterlands. I scrolled around all the other offerings and was like, maybe BG3 later this year? I want two copies so I can play with a partner, haven't touched BG3 for 2 years
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Post by phoray on Jun 5, 2023 0:49:23 GMT
gervaise21 who said "I hardly call that growing a little more fond of the Dalish." Darrah openly admitted that they turn to the fans for basic more questions so like... He is definitely not remembering the dialogue minutia of playing a Lavellan interacting with Solas.
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Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition
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Post by phoray on Jun 5, 2023 0:12:43 GMT
colfoley who said "was talking with phoray awhile ago about the game's length and basically given the wait and the money I will probably drop on it I hope that they make Dreadwolf into a longer game." I bought a PS5 by rationalizing that I'd need it for DA:D. I play HZ:FW and then turned it off. It is waiting for the glorious day of the DA:D release. And yes, I want it to be about as many hours as what I played in HZ:FW (98).
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Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition
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Post by phoray on May 17, 2023 11:27:25 GMT
Fenris and Sten: respect
Isabela and Oghren: many dirty jokes and laughing
Merrill and Shale: confusion initially, an argument eventually
Dorian and Alistair: Dorian would do to Alistair what Zevran did, which is make Alistair uncomfortable on occasion.
Sera and Morrigan: Sera banter would involve threats of tearing her eyes out
Vivienne and Zevran- oof. I'd like to think the repartee would be amazing. Initially, considered Zev would pull and IB respect but reconsidered. Zevran won't crack, Viv would give up
Wynne and Cole- the hypocrite would be nicer to him than Viv was but that's about it
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