Eh... not gonna lie, the alien prison setting is very enticing, but... after being burned by "To Trust an Incubus", I'm giving this game an extremely wary side-eye. I just have this unpleasant gut feeling that it's going to be the same "TTaI" formula all over again. Basically, they tempt and distract you with "the shiny" (beautiful character/sprite artwork and uncensored, animated sex CGs), only to find out (after paying a very hefty price) that there's not much quality substance beyond that. A weak shell of a story with very basic writing. Short, boring sex scenes with moans, grunts, and groans, peppered with some cringy words/dialogue. And little to no emotional investment or real chemistry regarding the character relationships. We'll see, I guess... At the moment I'm mildly curious (regarding the setting, and about cost vs overall quality), somewhat apathetic in regards to the story thus far (the "questions" posed at the end of the demo didn't especially intrigue/hook me), and mostly wary about the game as a whole (Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...). Hopefully there will be some "Let's Play" videos once it's released, because I'm definitely not going to blindly trust glowing ratings/reviews this time around.
I'm extremely impressed with what I've seen so far! Normally, I wouldn't even consider spending $14.99 on an unfinished game, but... the Demo completely sold me, and I'll be picking this one up very soon. The artwork is gorgeous (and abundant). I love the Protag, and found all the characters (that have been introduced thus far) very intriguing. But what really shines in this VN is the writing and story-telling. I did notice a number of typos and mixed-tenses (which didn't bother me too much, considering this is still in development), but despite that, the writing overall is very well done. I was sucked into the story from the get-go (that opening/prologue was so tense and emotional), and I'm wildly curious to see where this all leads, especially regarding the mystery/horror elements. Also, I was a bit wary going into this (with it being an Omegaverse story)... thinking it might be a weak "story" that just relied on pretty/erotic artwork and rapey titillation, but thankfully, that does not seem to be the case at all (from what I've seen so far). It's obvious that a lot of love (and artistic/design and writing talent) has gone into this VN. I highly recommend you check it out. :)
The sprite artwork was very nice, but the backgrounds were horrendous... I believe they're stock photos with an "art" filter applied, which just turned them into a fuzzy, ugly mess. The story was intriguing at first, but soon became a bit ponderous and boring, only made worse by the fact that there's so few choices compared to the amount of text. Also, the partial voice acting was a very bizarre decision... I feel like it should have either been done properly/fully, or not at all. I did enjoy the characters, and I'm somewhat curious about the whole "mystery", but I do feel like I wore out my mouse for nothing. I just feel like this should have been a written novel/ebook (at half the price) rather than a VN. And I just can't bring myself to pay $10.00 for it. For now I'll just wait, and maybe pick it up if it goes on sale (at a hefty discount) in the future...
I'm not too sure about this one... the artwork is very nice, I love the vampire theme/story, really liked the Protag, and thought most of the characters were very intriguing (Dominic, Isaac, Rex). But the route we're forced into, in the Demo, is with the one character I really didn't like (Luka). So... Eh. I dunno. I'll probably pick this one up at some point. It's just not high on my "want to buy" list right now...
Nice artwork, well-written, and an interesting plot/setting... but the story was a bit slow to get started, and by the time I finished the Demo I just wasn't sure if I wanted to shell out $10.00 to continue. I may pick it up in the future, if it goes on sale...
12 days (and counting...) with complete silence from the developer (after an initial acknowledgement of the problem), and a Demo download link that's still not working. I had previously purchased "My Burning Heart", but I've since taken this game (A Hand in the Darkness) off my Wishlist, and in the future I will not be purchasing any more of their titles. I cannot justify giving my money to a company/developer that has such shoddy customer service, and who doesn't even have the common courtesy to respond to an ongoing issue with their Demo for a commercial product. Hell... even a, "We have no intention of fixing it at all (or) anytime soon." would have been preferable to dead silence. At least then I wouldn't have wasted my time, checking multiple times a day for almost 2 weeks, to see if the download was working yet...
This one is a little slow at the beginning, and I was thinking, "Hmmm... I'm not sure if this game is for me". And then some things started happening, new characters were introduced, and... I found myself quickly getting sucked into the story/plot and the mystery of it all. It's also well-written, the artwork is beautiful, and the characters are all very interesting. I was so disappointed when I reached the end of the Demo... I want more! :P This is the 3rd Demo I've played from "Crystal Compass" and I'm seriously impressed (so far). If they can deliver fully-released games that are as good as their Demos promise, they're definitely going on my "Favourite Developers" list. :)
I get to play as a murderer, working alongside the Police? Oh, yes please! This game is giving me serious "Dexter" vibes, and I love it. I also loved the artwork, the choices, the writing, and the characters. I'm really looking forward to the full release! :D
I love the story and setting! It's also well-written, with interesting characters and beautiful artwork. The only reason it didn't get a 5-star rating was because I would have liked to have seen a bit of the "romance" aspect. But regardless, I'm extremely interested in this one, and hopefully we'll get a longer/updated Demo before the release! :)
Really nice artwork, and a very cute, humorous story. However, after reading some of the comments/reviews, I just don't know if it's worth $9.99. I'd really like to play the full game, but I'm probably going to wait, and hope that it goes on sale sometime in the future...
I loved this so much! Extremely fascinating, intriguing story and characters, and very well-written. I cursed out loud when I reached the end of the Demo: "To be continued..." Gah! :( I can't wait for this one to be released! :D
This game sounds wonderful (and has gorgeous artwork!), but the English translation is quite bad. My brain went into full-on edit mode (mentally correcting everything), which made it impossible for me to focus on (and enjoy) the story. I ended up quitting the Demo after about 20 mins. I really hope it will get a proper English translation in the future.
My rating for this one is more for "anticipation" rather than the Demo itself, which is very lacking at the moment, and somewhat irritating. I hated how it took over my screen (no Windowed mode), and I missed 90% of the prologue because it was going way too fast (with no way to adjust the speed, or "click to continue"). No Save option either, but the Demo is quite short... so I guess that may not be an issue for some. I'm a bit surprised they didn't put out a better Demo for their Kickstarter, but on the flip side it probably didn't matter that much, as I'm guessing many people (like myself) backed the project simply because of how wonderful their other title is (When the Night Comes).
The intriguing story for this one (I love alien abduction!) prompted me to try the Demo. However, there were so many editing/proofing issues with the writing that I couldn't even finish the Demo (it was extremely irritating). And there was no point in continuing anyway, as I cannot justify spending $10.00 on such an unpolished product.
What little I've seen of this game looks absolutely wonderful, but the current Demo build is virtually unplayable (unresponsive controls and game-freezes). If they had another title under their belt that proved they could deliver a good game with a stable game-play experience, I would rate this Demo much higher (just for the "anticipation" factor). But as it is, I'm just not sure... it really worries me that they put out a Demo with so many technical issues. It's a shame really, because it looks very promising... well-written, gorgeous artwork, interesting characters, and an intriguing plot/story.
The story for this one is so intriguing! I'm definitely keeping my eye on it... I just hope they improve the interior backgrounds (the Protag's apartment looked horribly grainy and poor-quality) and the GUI (which is downright fugly!). :(
Loved the artwork, story, choices, and characters. However, I'm not too sure about the Training and Missions aspect. After a while it started feeling a bit like a tedious time-waster/filler. But this one is still very much on my radar, for now...
