Hi vee, finally got to do the thing people do to not be silly. This might come as a little shock, but I love this game. The characters are so real, so alive. I feel the soul behind them, behind the writing, behind the whole game. And this emotional contribution, genuine care, attitude to the project as to the story and not to the source of income or porn material is great and rare these days. You are far above average in quality, and your hardworking worth a praise and it is really paying off, even if it is not good to see you not sleeping. I hope you keep this attitude and quality improvements, keep the soul and love you are putting in your little project.
There are ups and down of the game, nothing is perfect, especially for the part-time dev who learned how to code and render from nothing at all. Aside from typos(which are still neither frequent nor annoying enough to actively affect the experience), the most noticeable for me were facial expressions. Sometimes it's really hard to get what emotion a character is having, mostly in early versions. Surprised embarrassment could be mistaken for anger(v1 Tsuki talk before the sleepover), sadness for annoyance(sometimes happens with Ai, due to open mouth or hands pose. In birthday party chain at least, probably talk on the couch). Though I notice this less with newer versions, it is still a thing that may happen. I think there was similar problem in v5 with Tsuki in "wake chari the fuck up" minigame, sadness for annoyance. Could be just a me problem though. Also yeah, I already mentioned it, but the speed of transition is, in my opinion, underutilized. Noticeable in Rise Hinata talk in v6. Literally writing is nice. There are moments where I would word something differently, but it's a matter of taste. Nothing feels out of place, speaking of wording choices.
Music is great an fits the mood, though I already said that rise's theme has a long silent ending and doesn't loop as nicely. Not a big deal, but if you can edit it without copyright problems and such, that would be lovely. Renders are very pretty, love the lighting. The story and dialogue writing are great, I didn't have anything close to "that makes no sense" yet, and a lot of jokes are hilarious. Characters' developments and self-reflections are great to see, this self-awareness adds a lot to the scene and to the character. Dialogues feel natural, and it is a good experience to get into the head of a total disaster, who still stays a person and isn't a gag personality. I'm grateful to see her putting the romance and emotional bond before the sex she has been dreaming of so far. It could have been a story game about magical girl using her powers to seduce girls, but instead we get real interactions, self-regrets and complicated conflicts. The game is both chill and serious, putting emphasis on each of those depending on the event and keeping the balance overall.
Interestingly enough, the contrast between early game's goofiness and serious vibes around v3 might be confusing or even make people think of early game and games's description as misleading. I think this is where a huge part of negative scores come from. But I disagree with it being misleading, even though I did spend quite a lot of time trying to figure out what you want this game to ultimately be. You aren't looking for realism with magical stuff and Calamitas, you aren't looking for carefree gaying with realistic conflicts and serious topics brought up every now and then. I wasn't sure what attitude you want players to have. And I get the feeling of being fooled, but imo it's nothing more than a surprise, for Chari as well. V3 changed the characters, and thus changed how Chari perceives the story. It was carefree goofing before for both reader and Charity, it is more serious but still a lot of fun for both as well.
I wish you the best of luck, you are doing a great job so far, keeping good quality and utilizing your great potential. You never fooled my expectations and you keep cooking great stuff. I see you reflecting on your project, improving every day and avoiding the fate of proud and cocky dev. It is a pleasure to see the story taking shape over time, and I am glad to be there from the very beginning and give you both financial and, I hope, emotional support you deserve.
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